One thing I love about Ariana is that she pens the sweetest notes for members of our family.

A couple of Saturdays ago as my sister Lisa and I were bustling around the kitchen baking bread (her first foray into the wonderful world of YEAST), the door bell rang. A Hispanic gentleman with a sweet smile stood on my doorstep and, in broken English, asked if I needed my yard mowed. I was grateful that he phrased the question as . . . well . . . a question. Frankly, he could have said, “LADY, you’d better mow your lawn before the HOA sends you a nasty-gram.”

BT had already come to the conclusion that we needed to hire out the yardwork this season. He didn’t have time to do it. And although I had been saving the fliers that the landscaping companies had stuck to my door over the last several weeks, I hadn’t made any calls. Part of me was still holding out hope that I could somehow find the time and energy to get out there and do the work myself.  And yet, as I stood on the doorstep and negotiated with Mario, I felt strongly that I should hire him to help us.

We shook hands, and he went to work, transforming our yard in a way that neither BT nor I ever could have. I was thoroughly impressed with Mario and his son’s attention to detail. And when their plans to come and trim our shrubs the following Saturday were preempted by rain, Mario Jr. showed admirable professionalism when he called to reschedule. I couldn’t be more pleased with the job that they did and will happily recommend them to anyone needing yard service.

Mario Mejia’s knock at the door came the Saturday afternoon that BT was at the church interviewing with visiting General Authorities . . . hours before BT was called as the 2nd Counselor in the Stake Presidency . . . a calling that will result in less time at home on Saturdays.  

A happy coincidence?  I think not.  I KNOW not!

I can’t bring myself to pay $ to put her in a real preschool, and the thought of having a gaggle of preschoolers at my house for a co-op preschool makes me break out in hives.  Instead, I ordered some preschool materials online (www.funsteps.com), and Vivi and I spend some of the most delightful hours each week in “Mommy/Vivi School.”

This new addition to our routine is one of the best things I’ve done as a mother. The one-on-one attention Vivi gets during our “preschool” time is priceless; it helps set a happy tone for the rest of our day.

Last week, our theme was “Favorites.” Coming off the high of baking banana bread together (her favorite food) and reading Book of Mormon stories (her favorite stories), her sweet smiles could not be contained. And neither can mine when I think about our special Mommy/Vivi time together.

A few of my favorite images from yesterday morning’s photo shoot with sweet baby Colt. (Don’t you just LOVE that name)!  (And I’m LOVING my new 24-70mm f2.8 lens).

“My Daddy knows good things.” ~Vivian Grace Tolbert (5/6/09)

I know of nothing sweeter than the pure love of a little girl for her father.

“And as [Jesus] entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:

“And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

“And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

“And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

“And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?

“There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.”

Luke 17:12-18

Over the course of my life, I’ve heard and read this account more times that I could count, and each time I’ve had the same judgmental reaction:

“WOW! How is that those nine lepers could be so ungrateful?”

But, today, as I read a recent conference talk by President Monson where he related this familiar Biblical account, I had this sobering realization:

“I am one of the nine!”

Like the lepers, and in ways no less miraculous, I have been healed–physically, spiritually, emotionally. And like the “ungrateful” lepers who were cleansed, much too often I fail to truly appreciate the source from which my blessings come.  In fact, not only do I not appropriately recognize the source of the blessings, too frequently I’m not adequately grateful for the actual blessings, either.

“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”

~Sarah Ban Breathnach, in John Cook, comp., The Book of Positive Quotations, 2nd ed. (2007), 342.

Rather than enjoying the luscious aroma of the roses in my garden–healthy children, a husband who loves the Lord, my opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom . . .

I bemoan the thorns–messes made by my healthy children; the many hours spent serving by a husband who loves the Lord; my under-paid, over-worked, under-appreciated opportunity to be a stay-at-home mom.

I’m grateful for the spiritual pruning I received today while there is yet time to stop and smell the roses.

It’s a SNAKE!

Or at least it’s his skin that BT found in our backyard.  I’d REALLY like to know where HE is . . . so that I can ensure we don’t cross paths.

I honestly don’t know what is more disturbing–the fact that I might have a really big snake in my backyard or that Vivi, my pink princess, has no qualms about picking up the skin (and chasing Ariana around the house with it).

To impress upon Vivi the importance of holding my hand when crossing the street or while walking through parking lots, I’ve warned her that, if she strays from my side,  she’ll get “squished like a bug” by the cars and will then go to live with Heavenly Father.

Today, Vivi wanted to know about her grandmas–where they live, what their names are, etc.  One of her grandmas (Grandma Diana) lives in UT and the other (Grandma Janna) in GA, I explained.  She then asked about my grandmas, both of whom have passed away.  I told her that they were living with Heavenly Father, to which she quickly and astutely asked “DID THEY GET SQUISHED LIKE A BUG!?!”

I bet Grandma Clara and Grandma Fern had a good laugh on the other side of the veil.

I’ve debated whether to write this post, thinking that it falls into the realm of TMI (too much info).  But I’m nothing if not blatantly honest . . .so here goes!

I recently wrote about the gourmet cupcakes that my friend made for me.  Well, let me tell you, they were fabulous.  All four of them.  

Day 1–Ate mine.

Day 2–Ate BT’s because . . . he’s not a big fan of chocolate.  Why waste culinary perfection on the ungrateful.

Day 3–Ate Ariana’s because . . . she had strep throat. Everyone knows that chocolate makes strep throat WORSE! (Don’t tell Ariana otherwise).

Day 3 1/2–Ate Vivi’s because . . . it looked so lonely sitting on the plate by itself. In fact, I could hear the poor little guy crying out to me in his sweet voice, begging me to put him out of his misery. 

Day 4–Left a message for my friend, asking for the recipe because the cupcakes were now all gone, and I was mourning their absence.

Day 5–Went to the store and bought

Day 6–Because I hadn’t heard back from my friend, and because it had been a full 48-hours since I’d had an oreo cupcake, I attempted to recreate the chocolate masterpiece after scouring the www searching for a frosting recipe.  The resulting goodies were edible but not nearly as good as the original.

Day 7–Ran into my friend at church and got the REAL recipe. Went home and whipped up another batch of frosting using her instructions for the remaining cupcakes.  DIVINE!  I sent home plates of cupcakes with friends so that I wouldn’t be tempted to sneak downstairs for a midnight snack.

Day 8–Wishing that I hadn’t given away ALL of the cupcakes, I ate frosting for breakfast.  Nothing else.  Just frosting.  It’s THAT good.

Day 9–Found this darling pan at Williams-Sonoma.  Reminded me of my new obsession. Like all the other darling pans I’ve acquired from Williams-Sonoma, I may never get around to using it, but it is CUTE, isn’t it.

Basically, you put 1/2 a brownie mix in the one side of the pan, 1/2 a brownie mix in the other side of the pan and bake.  Spread softened ice cream on the bottom half and freeze.  Put the top on and return to freezer until firm.  YUM!

I guess it’s a good thing I’m a nursing mother who burns calories like a marathon runner or I’d be in big trouble. (Pun intended).

UPDATE: Recipe for the Oreo frosting has been posted here. A word of caution: don’t blame me if you, too, develop a world-class sweet tooth after you make this stuff.