Pity Party

Here's a screen shot that I took off of my iGoogle homepage yesterday. It has reached the same temperature today.


There is one major problem.

We have NO AIR CONDITIONING.

Somebody shoot me now, please.

Happy Birthday Bayba!

Ok, so this is my (that is Tom, you know, the weird guy Amy is married to) first official, or unofficial for that matter, post. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do but here goes. I just wanted to wish Amy a happy birthday and publicly tell the world that I love this woman! She is my best friend and will be forever. I love her with all my heart and here are 30 reasons why (the number 30 is random, it has nothing to do with age, because we all know that 30 is sooooooooooooooooooooooo old):

1. First of all, I think she is absolutely gorgeous. I still get butterflies when I look into her stunning blue eyes.
2. She is my earthly rock. Without out her, I'm afraid there would be a palatial estate on some extreme beach front property (i.e. the foolish man built his house upon the sand).
3. Her calming effect on me. She can always soothe my soul, even if my pants really are on fire.
4. Her way with the children. Let me just say she is good. She has a sweet way about her.
5. Her ability to think on her feet.
6. Her ability to encourage me to do better, to try a little harder.
7. She's feisty. She ain't Irish, but dang she is feisty.
8. Her love for the Savior and others. I have HONESTLY never met a more Christlike person.
9. Her dancing skills. She is good, really good.
10. I've never told her this, but I think she has an excellent singing voice and I'm just as picky as that Simon chap.
11. Her dedication. Once she puts her mind to something, she gets it done.
12. The fact that she is the one person in the world who got me to like country. WOW! From Nirvana to Dolly, what a jump!
13. Her cooking, oh my gosh! Let me just say there's a reason I'm going to the gym every night!
14. Forgiveness. NEVER, have I met a more forgiving heart.
15. Her laugh! If she laughs, then my day is happy.
16. Her sense of humor. She loves to yank down my pants when I'm not looking (not sexual, don't be dirty!)
17. Her love of fun! She loves carnival rides and my attempts at dancing.
18. Her love of life and adventure! She is always grateful for whatever situation she's in. Even if it is a roach infested apartment we call home.
19. Her trash talk! That's right, she can talk some major smack and she generally has the goods to back it up!
20. Her kissing! Yep, she's a good kisser. In my opinion it's her Mcdonald lips.
21. Our talks. We have some of the most interesting conversations. One of my personal favorites: politics! Sorry honey, I couldn't resist!
22. Her willingness to sacrifice. She has given up so much for our family's happiness.
23. Her prayers. She has taught me a lot about how to create a personal relationship with God.
24. Her faith. It is amazing. I have seen miracles because of her faith.
25. Her patience. I'm still a kid at heart. Ask anyone who knows me.
26. She still dances with me at random moments throughout the day, while I hum some random tunes like "I'm every woman" or "Jingle Bells".
27. She always makes me feel good about myself.
28. Her intelligence. She always stumps me in a debate.
29. Her grace. I swear she floats sometimes.
30. Her role in helping me find Jesus Christ my Savior. For that I will be forever and eternally grateful. You helped saved my life.

I love you girl!

Busy day for a sick kid

So, Jackson has been sick for a while now and we're pretty sure he has the swine flu, or the regular flu, or just a really crappy miserable sickness.

NOT. FUN.

As we woke up early this morning to his cry (a.k.a screech), Tom ran to get him. As Tom carried him into our room, Jackson was talking up a storm to Tom. He was looking at Tom's recently grown beard, and he had a LOT to say about it. A lot of it was jibber-jabber, but he was definitely worked up about Tom's facial hair. As Tom handed him to me he said, "Boy, Jackson really doesn't like my new beard. Geez."

Feeling self-conscious, Tom goes in to the bathroom to take a look in the mirror. Much to his dismay, he sees a long gooey streak of Jackson snot going from one side of his beard to the other. After gagging, he realized THAT'S what Jackson was talking about. He wanted Tom to know that he had just wiped his nose... on his FACE. Gross.

Jackson has a bit of a temper when he's sick. Everything makes him mad. This morning while sitting on our bed with his little baggie of pretzels, something ticked him off. He grabbed the baggie by a bottom corner and swung it around over his head like a lasso, as about 50 pretzels go flying in every possible direction.

I also caught him "combing" his hair today with my foot pumice. Niiiiice.

He won't let us take off the shirt we put on him yesterday morning after his bath. He screams and arches back if we try. He may grow old in that shirt.

And he probably watched five movies today. But with a face like this, what else ya gonna do?

1 Year!

I have officially lived in Jerusalem, Israel for a whole year now. I can hardly believe it. Has it really been a year since that horrific plane ride? I remember when I first got here I would think about what it will feel like once a whole year has passed. It didn't seem like it could ever become reality. My mind was still in America with my family, friends, and a Walmart in every town. I used to long for all the things I left behind. My regular dreams at night were often about being in a Target store, and those dreams haunted me once I would wake up.

But now all that seems so silly to me. I love it here.

Some things that used to seem weird but that I'm completely used to now, include....

- wild, disgusting cats everywhere I look.
- there is no such thing as one-stop shopping. If I need an extension cord, milk, envelopes, and band-aids, I better plan on a whole day of shopping because I will have to go to four different stores, on opposite sides of the city, all by bus (or on foot).
- constant fireworks at night. Big, loud, wake-you-up-at-night fireworks.
- people here don't seem to have a concept of racism or discrimination. People openly talk about their hatred for people different than them.
- BIG guns.
- milk sold in bags.
- little to no rain.
- no customer service.
- when planning a fun day out with the family, we choose from possibilities like the Garden Tomb, Megiddo, Gethsemane, Masada, and the Dead Sea.
- metal detectors.
- overlooking the Old City and the Dome of the Rock during sacrament meeting.
- baking cookies in a toaster oven.
- no air conditioning.
- dirty looks from strangers.
- starting most conversations with, "Do you speak English?"

I remember having almost no concept of what all the discord in the Middle East was about, despite the coverage on the news. None of it made sense to me because I couldn't visualize the different countries, religions, and people. But now I see it all with a new eye. I have a new appreciation for minorities, the possibility of war, and the reality of fear. These things can be hard to swallow, but I have a new empathy for people here and I am grateful for that.

I will forever be grateful for the small presence of the LDS church here. We love our little branch like family. We get together for holidays, birthdays, and Sabbath dinners. We serve each other, love each other, and appreciate each other. It's the way the church should be everywhere.

Best of all, Tom and the kids have never meant so much to me. We have experienced all of this together. It has been a great year.

Western Wall