Brownies, and fairies and imps! Oh, my!

Last Friday was a fun day for Miriam and her best friend, Becca. Brandon Mull, for those of you that don't have children of school age, wrote the "Fablehaven" series, and also "The Candy Shop Wars". Miriam loves his books almost as much as "Harry Potter". Almost.

He came to her school last year, and they didn't have time for signing books. This year she is in a different school, and sure enough, he showed up last Friday. He is so good at promoting literacy for children. At the back of every book there is a list of questions to answer about the book to get you thinking about what you read in the story. This time they had a chance to have one book signed by him, so Miriam took "The Candy Shop Wars". She was so excited.

She went straight to Becca's on the way home and spent the afternoon with Becca and her mom. They went shopping and bought matching hoodies. Yeah, that's just what they needed. One more thing in common. Soon, I think they need to separate for an afternoon, or they may actually merge into one bizarre being with two heads, lots of hair, and eight long, wiggly tentacles that used to be arms and legs.

That evening, they were going to go to another book signing at Deseret Book in Provo to have Miriam's "Fablehaven" book signed, but things didn't work out, so I recieved a phone call at about ten minutes to six. 'Mom, can you take us over to the book signing, Becca's mom can't. Pleeeeeeaaaase? Pretty Please?" "Ok. Run over and get in the car, I'll take you." So off we went.

There were quite a few kids there, and the two I brought had to be the loudest. They were running all over looking at books and movies and games, and racing each other back to the line while wearing their matching jackets as I held their place in line. After awhile, I got smart, and had them stand in line, while I went shopping. They were the ones that wanted to be there, after all.

When we got to the front of the line, they suddenly became very quiet and shy. Brandon (or should I say Mr. Mull?) was very good with them. He got them talking by saying, "You two must be sisters!" They both giggled and said, "No!" Long silence...... I had to jump in to explain that they were just best friends, and he actually looked surprised. He signed Miriam's book, signed a poster for each of them, and then they talked for a bit about their favorite parts of the stories. I asked if I could take a picture of the three of them, and he replied, "Absolutely!" What a nice guy. Miriam and Becca had the nerve to look horrified that I would even suggest such a thing, but I think they were happy about it after we left.

Is there something wrong with me?

Today I have turned 40. To some that is old. To others it is young. I prefer to say I am 40 years young today. What a baby I am! I must admit I have an unusual opinion about aging. I love it. I can't wait for it. I hear from others that there is something wrong with me. It sounds bizarre, I know, but that is how I feel. When I turned 20, I had some of the best friends a girl could ever have, and I still love them all. I got married to a wonderful, adventurous man in my 20's, and I learned to paraglide. Who would ever think that I would someday run off of a mountain, and enjoy it? I went to school and became a cosmetologist, and then became an instructor. I learned more than I taught, which is saying something. I also made more friends that I truly admire. I also had more sadness in those years than I care to think about. It is hard not being able to have children like most of the people you know, but even that has made me who I am.

When I turned 30, I was relieved. Wacky, yes, but true. I couldn't wait to be done with my 20's. I thought my 30's would be much more fun. I don't think that was the case in general, but there were many fun things that happened in the last 10 years. I do have to say that for me the most life changing things (so far) have happened in my 30's. I finally became a parent to a challenging but wonderful daughter. I learned to scuba dive. How many people do you know that can say they went scuba diving in Yellowstone Lake? I worked for a company I loved, and then had to leave for reasons beyond my control. (Being hospitalized, and then unable to move does that to a person.) I have had the opportunity to consider that someday I will die. Not something the average person wants to think about, right? I was never afraid of death until a few years ago. I am not afraid of it now, but there was a moment in time that it stunned me. Realizing that things were happening to me that could someday cause such an event was life changing for me. I was able to take stock of my life, and decide what I truly wanted to accomplish with the time I have been given on this earth. I am grateful for that. (Please don't panic, and think that I am dying, I'm not. I was just forced into the realization that I could have had that result, if it wasn't for modern medicine. I have so much gratitude for doctors, nurses, and medication!)

I have made some truly wonderful friends in my 30's. Many of them are in their retirement years. Nothing is better for your perspective in life than to live in a community of people that have lived and loved almost twice your age. You forget that they are the age they are, because they are so full of life, and so fun! Then someone dies, or an ambulance arrives in the middle of the night, and you remember.

I love the idea of being able to look back at life and reminisce about your friends and family, the adventures you had, and the things you have learned. I love that I can tell my future grandkids that Michael Jackson was the coolest when I was in high school. (I know, I know. Things change.) I love that I will be able to marvel them with stories about how we used to ride in the car, and roll all over the place whenever there was a turn taken a bit too fast. We even rode down the freeway in the back of my dad's truck. (How did we survive to adulthood without being permanently injured or mangled? Ah, the danger of a childhood without seat belts.) Of how we never wore bike helmets, and had a stream in my backyard that wasn't fenced off to keep kids out of it. (Four and a half years in that house, and nobody drowned! Amazing.) There are so many fun things to look back on.

The more I live, the more grateful I am for the adventures I have had. Some have been more difficult than I would like, but they are the ones that mean the most to me. I appologize for the downer this may have caused you, talking about death, and all. To me it is a celebration of who I am becoming, and I am looking forward to my 40's with great excitement. I wonder what friends I will meet, and what things I will accomplish that I never thought I could do. I have earned every gray hair, wrinkle, and freckle, and I am proud to have them. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Hail, my conquering hero! Wahooo!

I want to say that I am so excited for Doug. He had a major accomplishment happen on the 20th, and I thought I should explain what he did. Doug's company needed a code exception for one of their products. The National Electric Code is a huge book that comes out every few years with all of the codes that pertain to the electrical field. It is the reason you have to have so many smoke detectors, and have an outlet at the end of your counter. They decide how your house, or any building for that matter, will be wired, nation wide. Every two years, every electrician has to take a code class and have so many hours of education to renew their licenses.

I must say, at this point, that Doug is wonderful with code. He is one of the best. Now, I know that being his wife, I should say that, but it happens to be true. He seems to get a call every few weeks from someone asking about clarification on a code. Although that is not his job, there are electricians nationwide that know they can call him to get an answer. I've always thought it was kind of funny, but cool, too.

On Monday night, He drove to the airport for a red-eye flight to Atlanta, where he had a layover and then caught a flight to Savannah. From there he rented a car (He wants me to say it was a gray, Dodge, small car thingy.) and drove 40 miles to Hilton Head, South Carolina. (Oh yeah, it was a Dodge Nitro. Quite an oxymoron, apparently.) He then had to wait to meet with the board for a few hours.

Here is how it works as far as I understand it, thanks to some clarification from Doug: The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) has about 20 panels or so that manage different parts of the code. NFPA 70 is the National Electric Code (NEC). He met with NFPA panel 9 that governs the particular part of the NEC that he needed an exception to. (If I got this wrong, I appologize. Doug will see that I correct it, I'm sure.) Now you all know more about the NFPA than you ever thought you would, or wanted to know, right? Please stop snoring, you are waking the next person reading this.

According to Doug, he thought the panel would be about 10 or 12 people, but when he walked in, there were about 35 or 40 people in the room. He should have been more nervous, but we think the lack of sleep and food prevented that. He said it all went very smoothly. He answered all their questions, and was able to explain everything very clearly. It passed unanimously. He did it on his first try, and apparently that almost never happens. Usually there are many changes that have to be made before they will accept it. His company was ecstatic. They really needed this for one of their products to be used, and a lot of money was riding on this.

He then had to turn around and catch his flight back for a layover in Cincinnati, then catch his connection home. In all that time, all he ate was a hamburger, and he didn't sleep a wink. I was worried that on the way home he would fall asleep. I kept thinking that I should have driven him to and from the airport. However, he was not the only one not sleeping. The night he left, I would fall asleep, and within a half hour I would jerk awake and lay there for hours. I was too worried about his meeting to sleep, and then I had our pinewood derby that night. (Miriam had never been to one, and although she had fun, I think she was a bit let down. She expected a bit more excitement.) I don't think either of us was fit for driving by Tuesday night. In case you are wondering what it looks like to travel that long without sleeping or eating much, here it is:



He was so tired and hungry, and had a killer headache, but he was so happy and relieved, it didn't seem to matter. I expected to snag a picture of my sweetie looking a bit more haggard, but he seemed to look fine. Dang, that is definitely not what I would look like after all that traveling in 24 hours. Our many prayers were heard and graciously answered, which has happened a lot lately. I have to say, I am incredibly grateful. We have worn holes in the carpet from being on our knees. (Maybe I should start saving for new carpet, we aren't out of the woods just yet.) Congratulations, Sweetie! Just in case you need something to help you sleep sometime, you can try reading his exception. It won't be out until 2011, I believe, but it is number 404.9 exception 1B. I know you are going to rush out and look it up in a few years, right?

What happened to the primary colors?

Today is Miriam's birthday. She is 12. Doug isn't happy about it at all. He wants her to stay the same age, or younger if it were possible. I know how he feels. What happened here? She is 12, but we have only been parents for almost 9 years now. We missed the first 3 years, and it's amazing what a difference that makes in how ready you are for the growth and progression of your only child. We aren't ready for her to move on to Young Women's yet.

Miriam, on the other hand, is sooooo ready for this day. She has been counting down to it since we were sealed after her adoption. Ever since that day, she has wanted to be back in the temple, and she knows that she has to be twelve to have a recommend to do baptisms. She is so excited to move out of primary, and be able to have activities every week. I keep trying to tell her to enjoy the moment, because she will never be this age again. That is a valuable lesson in life. Enjoy where you are, because tomorrow will be different. I don't think she cares.

Last night, you would have thought that it was Christmas, and she still believed in Santa. I went in to say goodnight, and she was all wriggly, giggly, and happy. I just had to laugh. I remember being excited for 12, but not like this. It took her forever to go to sleep. When I went to wake her up, I sang 'Happy Birthday" to her. With her eyes still closed, her arms shot out and grabbed me and hugged me so tight, I almost fell over on her. She had a grin on her face from ear to ear, and she still couldn't open her eyes. I hope this isn't a let down for her, she seems to have ginormous expectations. Don't those things always end in tears? I am going to do my best to make it wonderful for her, and try not to think about the time we missed in the beginning of her life. I think I will spend the day reliving 12, too. Might as well have some fun, and maybe, just maybe, I can come to terms with this..... Happy Birthday to an incredible girl!