Sunday, November 9, 2008

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .


Charles Dickens opened up "A Tale of Two Cities" with those most familiar words (I need to read that one again--one of the first books I really loved and cried through)--wait a minute--he wrote those words when? 1850-ish? But aren't the best and worst of times NOW?

It has always been a weakness of mine to fear--fear what might happen if . . . or if . . . .but wouldn't it be awful if . . . etc. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I have passed this trait on to the sweetest of 6-year-olds, Eden. I have spent the last 3 full days trying to convince her that she shouldn't worry that she's going to get cancer and have to go live in heaven away from us (and also that her permanent teeth aren't going to fall out). Its heartbreaking. What does a mom do? We've tried to make her forget about it, explain it logically, or tried to ignore it, but those things don't work for long. Just like us BIG people, she needs to learn that there are things that are out of our control, and things that we can control--like how strong our testimonies are, how we treat people, and whether or not we choose to find hope and joy among the chaos. (Read about what has helped me the last few weeks here). But how can I teach this to her better?

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

man-tagged

Becca man-tagged me so here you go!
yard work a la baby
Joel's favorite pastime at Cannon Beach--crabbing
His other favorite pastime on the beach--running and playing with his babies
What is your husbands name? Joel Arthur Swogger (Arthur is his grandpa’s name—on his mom’s side)

How long have you been married? 8 years—it will be 9 on Dec. 27th!

How long did you date? We dated 3 months before his mission to Belgium, then I waited and wrote diligently—well, I didn’t write the most diligently, but I made sure I knew he was way better than anyone else out there while he was gone . Then we got married 4 ¾ months after he got home. Soooo, really, we dated almost 3 years—right?

How old is he? The big 3-0
Who eats more sweets? Him. He has the tastebuds of a 10 year old—he loves gushers, sour patch kids, nerds, etc.

Who said I love you first? It’s debateable. I said something about him being the one I was in love with—then he told me “I love you” later.

Who is taller? Joel

Who can sing the best? I THINK I sing better, which probably isn’t true, truth-be-told—he really can’t carry a tune to save his life, but I still love it when he sings—especially with the kids. BTW, he raps WAAAY better than me—surprised?

Who is smarter? Joel. He reads way more boring books than me and was an econometrics TA at BYU—but I’m really good (or was) at memorizing and multiple choice tests--so, yes, he's smarter because I think I once saw a documentary on gorillas that could take multiple choice tests.

Who does the laundry? ME. However, when the pile of clean-to-be-put-away laundry turns into what I lovingly call "the mountain" he'll start folding it while watching sports.

Who pays the bills? I click “pay bills” on Bill pay, but he does all of our banking—hence the job title “Private Banker”.

Who mows the lawn? Joel. But, I would rather do it than clean up the kichen/bathrooms/laundry on Saturdays. (Okay, he helps with that too)

Who cooks dinner? Me. However, Joel can and does make the girl’s favorite dish (and I’m talking favorite—they would eat this over any restaurant or anything) oatmeal and scrambled eggs a.k.a. “oats and eggies” .

Who drives? Joel.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Usually him. I have to start cleaning really fast and let it fester until I can’t stand it anymore then I say I’m sorry.

Who kissed who first? Joel kissed me first—outside San Juan hall at Utah State on May 21, 1997—errr, something like that, I think.

Who asked who out first? We were studying for a Geography test at his apartment with Coby Rich (because they were roommates and we were all in the same class—that’s how I met him) after we were done he asked me if I like to go to Jazz games—and if I wanted to go to the playoffs against the Lakers—game 6. Ummm . . . I guess so. Believe me, I was turning on all the charm and giggles and unnecessary arm touches—I’m sure it would have been embarrassing and awful to watch, but I guess it worked. Who knew?

Who wears the pants? I think we both do—don’t we?


The rules for this tag: answer questions about your spouse, list names of people you are tagging in your post, then leave a comment on their blog letting them know they've been tagged.

I am man-tagging Rachel Sandberg, Kat Fuller, and Katie Blatter (if you haven't done this before)