And So It Begins

As soon as I picked up Braden from school yesterday, he showed me his new prize, a paper camera Amanda had made him at school. Follwing this, he exclaimed, "Mama, Amanda and Bianca fight over me, and I don't like it. They both want to hold my hands, and then they pull me; I don't like it." What he doesn't know as he is making this announcement is that I was already privy to this information, due to a recent conference with his teacher. During the conference things were reviewed, samples of his work were shown, and then his behavior was discussed. It turns out that our little Braden here is quite social at school, especially with the ladies; I'm sure these dimples of his help in the cause.

Sadly though, Braden often wants to socialize rather than listen in class (no Mama, I have no idea who that sounds like), and the majority of the time it is the girls he wants to socialize with, though we do sometimes also hear the names Gabe, Victor, Manning, Junior, and Jeremiah. I guess that saying the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree is true. I was relaying the story of Braden and his Casanova ways, including his picture day studliness, to my good friend Bonnie when she commented, "Oh, a male version of Carrie." What me?! You must be talking about someone else! Okay, it is true before Rich I was a huge flirt, not a twirl your hair, toss your head back, and laugh with airheaded abandonment. I preferred to use my intelligence, wit, and charm to woo the boys. I remember having a friend giving me the advice to 'dumb down' to appeal to the boys more, and I thought, 'Are you nuts?' 'Any guy who wants a dumb girl is not the guy for me!' After thinking about her advice, I thought I would ask my dad what he thought of her teenage wisdom; needless to say, it wasn't much. My dad let me know that I didn't want the kind of guy that wanted a dumb girl. I thought, 'Good, I will just stick to my plan; it seems to be working for me.' So, until the summer of 99' I flirted, hung out, and had fun; that is, until Rich Maseda walked into my life. After laying my eyes on him that summer day in June, all bets were off; the only one I wanted to flirt with the rest of my life and for the rest of eternity was him. Of course, this meant sending out very clear signals to all the guys in the singles' branch at church that my flirting days were over and to, "BACK OFF!" I had seen who I wanted to spend eternity with; I met the hubba hubba stud of my dreams, and I didn't have time for mere boys anymore. I was going after a man! He was everything I wanted: intelligent, quick witted, spiritual, honest, trustworthy, funny, tall, handsome, kind, a man of character, and a good kisser to boot! :) So these days, the only flirting I do is with the one and only Rich Maseda. That's right folks, my flirting and charming ways worked; Rich Maseda is now mine and I am his for time and all eternity, and I can't think of anyone else I would rather have by my side!
I just hope that Braden and his flirting, socializing ways will one day lead him to a woman he can't imagine spending a day without, a woman of beauty (inside and out), integrity, charm, intelligence, wit, a strong testimony, and a kind heart. Braden luckily gets that already; he explained to me just last week, "Mama, I want to marry someone who is not mean. I want to marry someone who treats people like Jesus." Yep, sounds like he will do just fine, but he has plenty of time; now I just need to get him to realize that, and so it begins.

*Obviously, Braden will have the confidence he needs; when he saw the picture of himself I had posted he said, "Hey cutie pie Braden!"

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OVER IT!!!!!!!!

I am just here to publicly announce how tired I am of having my husband out of town! Last week he was gone to Atlanta, and this week Rich is in Tennessee doing recruiting for GP. I am glad tomorrow is Friday, because

I am soooooooooooo over it!!!!!!!!!!

Words of Affirmation

If you haven't read this book, it is a must read if you have children. It talks about how children have five languages of love, and to show love to your child you have to discover their primary love language. I think we have discovered Braden's primary love language, Words of Affirmation. Receiving compliments makes his little face light up and makes him stand just a little taller. He also likes to give compliments a.k.a. Words of Affirmation to his family. Braden usually compliments me two to three times a day, even if sometimes there is little to work with, case in point, this morning. This morning I was looking rough, we are talking, "Don't you dare get near me with a camera, or else!" I was sporting the bed hair, still got the glasses on, going to clean before getting ready for the day look. We are talking, a face only a mother or a madly in love husband could love, and they do, thankfully. Anyway, Rich, the cuties, and I are sitting at the table getting ready to dine on our late breakfast of pancakes and bacon, when I notice Braden staring intently at me. I knew he was contemplating something, but I wasn't sure what until he said, "Mama, I like your glasses." I guess I didn't give the boy much to work with this morning; he did the best he could with what he had. I think that boy deserves a bundle of Words of Affirmation just for his ingenuity and quick thinking. What do you think?

Braden~our little soccer player

Here are some pictures and video of Braden's soccer practice. We signed Braden up for soccer when he was three, but it didn't go over too well; he only would go on the field if accompanied by Rich or myself, so we thought we should wait until he got a little older to try again. Case in point, here is a picture of our little 3 year old Braden during one of his games, notice his partner on the field, a very pregnant mama.


Luckily, now that Braden is 5, and asking on his own to play soccer, things are much different (except I am pregnant again). Rich and I get to watch from the sidelines during practice (unless we are running after Emma), and Braden is always so proud of himself after practice. This afternoon I told him we would go in the backyard and practice kicking. I hope his games will go as well as his practices are going!

The Hero~Mommy

Did you know that if you hunt down and ruthlessly kill a giant flying cockroach your kids will think you are a hero? They will sing your praises and thank you for saving them; hero worship will abound, believe me I know. Last night I killed said giant flying cockroach (loathsome creatures), and now I can do no wrong in my children's eyes, at least for now. I guess I will just revel in the hero worship while I can, mothers get so little of that.

*Just as a little added note: After the killing was done, Braden asked if he could take the nasty carcass (yes, I know roaches don't have carcasses, but it sounds so dramatic) to school to show everyone. In an effort to save everyone and continue my hero duties, I promptly flushed the vile creature down the toilet, never to plague us again (I think his teacher and classmates would thank me)! Here I come to save the day, Super Mama, Super Mama, armed with a fly swatter and a shoe, she is unstoppable!!!!! (and so modest to boot :) )

Braden the Casanova

For whatever reason Braden always seems to be drawn to the ladies, not that I'm complaining; I am just a little worried about his teenage years. Well, tomorrow is picture day, so he doesn't have to wear his uniform; before going to bed tonight he wanted to pick something out, so I went into his room and showed him some of his options, most of which he vetoed. I finally left him with his choices to select, and told him that he had some more choices in his drawer. Approximately five minutes later, Braden emerges from his room carrying three button up shirts in hand and poses the question, "Which one of these shirts do you think Amanda and Bianca would like the best?" Rich looked at me and said, "That is your son; have fun." (you may have guessed, fashion is not Rich's area of expertise) So Braden and I went to my room with his three shirts, where my full length mirror is, and held each shirt up to him one by one. Braden asked, "What do you think? Does this look good?" I told him, "They all look good on you Braden; you have to decide which one you like the best." Finally Braden decided on the light blue shirt, which was a very good choice considering those big baby blues of his. With the decision made and the problem solved, or at least I thought, we placed his selection across the back of the couch for me to iron in the morning. Braden quickly let me know that the problem was indeed not solved when he said, "Mama, now I need some pants to wear." First we had to decide on pants or shorts, shorts were quickly selected and laid on the bench by the shirt. Braden looked at the two pair of shorts I had laid out for him, touched the first pair and said, "Gross!" and then touched the second pair and said, "Yes, these are the best; I want to wear these." Of course with my luck as it is, he picked a pair that was dirty, so I am now washing his shorts as I type; he has to look good for Amanda and Bianca don't you know!?! Think our evening of prepping for the big picture day was over? No, Braden still wanted me to dry his hair; he got a little spoiled by my mama this past weekend. After his hair was dry and combed, he informed me that in the morning he also wanted to smell good; I let him know that we would indeed put some cologne on him. He also asked if his hair would mess up while he was sleeping, and I reassured him that I would do his hair again in the morning; Braden wants to look good for Amanda and Bianca, so that is just what he will do. I'll just make sure to have a little talk with him in the morning, as I gel his hair, that looking good on the inside is more important than his outwardly appearance; can't have the little Casanova getting too out of hand!

Brooke our little Prima Donna~I mean ballerina (Freudian slip)

Well, Brooke started dance class today, and she absolutely LOVED it!!!!!!!!! For those who don't know, she has been begging since she was about 2 1/2 to take dance; now that she is 3, her dream has come true. Here are some pictures and video of her first day; enjoy! (just turn the music off at the bottom first)

Brooke the Inquisitive

Brooke and I have the most interesting conversations, which I attribute to her inquisitive nature. Last week a simple question asked by a 3 year old led to an in depth conversation about eternal families, the temple, and death. I know many of you are thinking, What? Let me explain. It was a typical morning of craziness: get up at the butt crack of dawn (Rich still isn't sure about my phrasing), make breakfast, talk about the upcoming day, realize how late it has gotten, rush around like chickens with our heads chopped off getting ready, load up the van, say family prayer, and head to Braden's school; also like a typical day, we pull up to Braden's school, and one of the teachers helps him out of the van. On this particular day, it was Braden's art teacher, whose voice I guess is a little deeper than what Brooke is used to hearing, because after hearing his art teacher say, "Good morning Braden!", Brooke asked, with a puzzled look on her face, "Why is her voice like that? Why does she sound like that?" Luckily, Brooke waited to ask said question until after the van door was completely closed. From there the conversation went something like this:



"Brooke, everyone is different. It would be boring if we were all the same."



"Why? Why is everyone different?"



"Well, Heavenly Father made each of us different. Each of us is special and unique. We each sound different, look different, and we each have different things we are good at doing. Some people have brown hair, some red hair, some black hair, and some yellow hair."



Before I could continue....



"Mama, do some people have pink hair or orange hair or blue hair?"



"Honey, if people have pink hair, or orange hair, or blue hair it is because they made it that way; they dyed their hair that color. Heavenly Father and Jesus didn't give them that color hair; they don't like that color hair. If they did, they would have given us that color hair."



"Will they die?"



"Will who die?"



"Will the people with the pink hair die?"



"One day they will die, but not because they have pink hair."

"How do people die?"

"People die for many reasons. Some people die, because they get really sick with cancer. Some people die, because they get in a car accident. Some people die, because they get really old; they fall asleep one night and just don't wake up. That is how I want to die. I want to go to sleep when I am really old and wake up with Jesus."

"Mama, I don't want you to die!" (tears forming in her eyes)

"Honey, I am not dying right now. I want to get really old. I want to see you get older, grow up, get married, and have children of your own. I don't have any plans to go anywhere right now."

"Mama, who will take care of me if you die?" (starting to cry)

"Honey, I am not dying, and if I die when I am really old, you will be taking care of yourself by then. You will be in your house with your own husband and your own children."

"Will Daddy die too?" (tears running down her sweet face)

"Yes honey, one day Daddy will die too. Even when we die though, we will always be your parents."

"But you will be dead."

"Yes honey, we will be dead, but we will always be a family. Mama and Daddy went to the temple to get married, so we are an eternal family; we are sealed together forever. You will always be my daughter, and I will always be your mama."

Brooke looks at me with a puzzled look, so I say, "I will show you when we get home."

As soon as we enter the house, I head to the pantry to retrieve tape, scissors, a marker, and construction paper. (some of you may guess where this is going) Brooke and I sit down together, and I ask her to list the people in our family. As she lists each family member, I write them on a construction paper strip and link them together. After beginning with Rich and I, I then take the opportunity to pause and tell the story of how her daddy and I met, fell in love, and got married in the temple. I showed her the picture of the Columbia, SC temple, and I told her how it was a very special place. I explained that because her daddy and I got married in the temple, we would be together forever, even after death; I explained that also meant all of our children were also part of that eternal family. One by one we then added all of the children, all of them, even the ones we lost; I then pointed out the children on the chain that were not living with us right now, and we talked about how they were living with Jesus. I then asked her some questions, "Is Spencer living with us right now?" "No." "Where is he living?" "With Jesus." "Will you see him again one day?" "Yes." "Is he still your brother?" "Yes." "You're right honey, Spencer is still your brother; he always will be, just like Mama and Daddy will always be your mama and daddy. It doesn't matter if we die, we will always be a family! We will always be a family, because of the temple." We then paused from our chain creation to look at pictures of the temples around the world. Brooke then announced that she was going to get married in the temple. We then went back to our chain creation, because I explained that one day she would get married and that man would also be part of our family. We then added another link for her husband, and Brooke insisted we add two more links for her children, Dave and Ainslee. We of course also had to add a link for Braden's future wife and Emma's future husband, and then we held up the chain and talked again about how we were like that chain, linked together forever; I also reemphasized to her that not even death could break the chain. As I stared at the chain with Brooke, I thought about how grateful I am to have an eternal family and how grateful I am that Brooke is part of that eternal family! I love her sweet, sassy spirit and her mind that never quits; when you start a conversation with Brooke, you never know where it will lead you.

Our Chain