Bertha is BACK!

Who is Bertha? Well, obviously the woman pictured above is Bertha. Who is she?



I don't know.



I just googled "Bertha insane" and this is the first image that popped up, so there you go.



But, she's back!!!!!!!!



Bertha is back, and it's Bertha's fault that I haven't blogged in a long time.



It's Bertha's fault that I didn't shower until 1 pm today.



It's Bertha's fault that I eat McDonald's way too much!



Oh yeah, I never explained who Bertha is.



Well, if any of you all have read the captivating classic, Jane Eyre, you know about the crazy lady in the attic. But unless you've read Wide Sargasso Sea, the prequel written over 100 years after Jane Eyre, you don't know that crazy Bertha was not always crazy Bertha, but started out as lovely Antoinette.

Ok, sorry to bore you.

Bertha is nothing more than my adopted name for myself when I am pregnant, with child, "in that way".

Yes, so there's the news.

Bertha is Back!

And why am I Bertha when I'm pregnant?

Because from conception to birth, this fog takes over my brain and transforms all my normally charming personality traits:-) into weird, awkward, irritable, not so desirable traits. :-(

I'm telling you I am not myself!

I know, I know! Pregnant women are supposed to be glowing and exuberant with the new life in them. Kudos to the women who are. Because, in my book, pregnancy is a necessary evil, an unpleasant means to a glorious end. And hey-according to the scriptures, it's not meant to be a holiday picnic, so I'm not totally off my rocker.

Am I choosing to blame all my unfriendliness and laziness on this non-existent Bertha?

You better believe it.

After all, I am pregnant. I deserve McDonalds when I want it. I don't have to shower if I don't want to. I can eat cold cereal all day if I want to. I can have bad grammar if I want to.

(See what I mean??? This entitlement attitude is not Sara! It's Bertha!)

So, basically -watch out. Cuz, Bertha's Back. It ain't gonna be pretty. But, sometime around the middle of March, it will be over.

Yes, there is a deadline to the madness.

So, now that you've been properly warned....

Keep LIVIN' THE DREAM!

By the way, can anyone explain to me why McDonald's doesn't start it's lunch menu until 11am? I mean, come on! Can't they give a pregnant lady a cheeseburger at 10:30 in the morning if she wants one?????

Maybe I should call 911 and complain.

Better yet, I'll have Bertha do it.

Like Lambs

Even down to old age, all my people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love.
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still,
Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

verse 6 of "How Firm A Foundation"

Once my Dad saw a picture of the Savior carrying a black lamb. Many times since he told me that he felt like that black lamb. (Of course, once I lovingly told him that he actually enjoyed being a black sheep:-)

Today when I was singing my all-time favorite hymn, "How Firm A Foundation", this verse made me think of my Dad. I'll always remember those gray temples that I kissed so many times in the last few weeks of his life, the whole experience that proved Heavenly Father's sovereign and unchangeable love, and the knowledge that once Dad's life was finally complete, he was indeed borne in the bosom of our Savior.

Thanks Dad, for making the hymn sweeter still.

Wallace Falls

Wallace Falls!

I love this hike. Olivia wanted to go hiking for her birthday today, and it was the perfect day for a hike. The great thing about this hike is that it's so dense with Washington foilage that I don't have to lather up 8 arms, 8 legs and 4 faces with sunscreen! Whoo-hoo! But, really-it's a gorgeous place, and I'm hoping these pics entice people to come visit us in Washington! Come on--you know you wanna!














I love the mossy trees. It's so not what I'm used to-being from Idaho desert. The spongy beauty gets me every time.















stair-step kids on the bridge



















Crazy Kids. Anyone want to take a shot at guessing how come my kids are so weird???
AIEE didn't think so...
















At one point, Emily fell behind. When I looked back, she was like this. She popped her head up for a second and said, "I need to pray." ????
















Me with Kevin in the backpack. I think he liked it. He fell asleep at the end...

Great quote. Just ignore the graffiti on the side

So, it was a great day. All that was missing was our manly man, missing in action as he works hard to wrap up work before a long-needed break next week.

And aside from several all-natural potty breaks and Sam calling a fellow hiker a "booger king", it was pretty uneventful as far as patience-trying-events go.

Oh-and it took my lame self like an hour to upload and arrange all these pictures!!!! So, I hope all you peoples love looking at them, because uh...things might be more sparse in the future.

Manners Backfired!

When I was pregnant with Kevin, my little Emily was very interested in large bellies. She would point out various pregnant and not-pregnant people, and ask if they also had babies in their bellies.

Eventually, I told her that it wasn't really nice to ask people if they had a baby in their belly, because if they didn't, it could hurt their feelings.

Well, let's just say that my little manners lesson backfired.

While visiting family this last month, my sweet Emily said to someone,

"It wouldn't be nice for me to ask if you have a baby in your belly!"

Sigh...

You gotta love innocent children-unrestrained in their speech and free from social boundaries!!!

Still Here!!

Nope, I haven't entirely given up blogging. I still stink at it, but that's not why I haven't blogged for a while.

I've been very blessed to be able to spend the last few weeks with my father before he passed away yesterday.

Since I don't really blog about my real life (just silly rantings), I will not elaborate.
Sorry!
If you care to know any more, give me a call! :-)

Or you could check out my sister's blog
http://www.nelsonhappenings2.blogspot.com

She's posted a little about the experience, AND she has pictures of my ultra-handsome and amazing Dad.

Anyway, just wanted to let y'all know I'm still here disgracing the blogging world!!

but, hey-did I just post a link that actually worked???

This could be progress.

I AM NOT WORTHY!!!!

Ok...so why did I ever start blogging?
I only wanted to start a blog so I could talk to myself!!!
But now I am feeling inadequate.

"A post is not a post without pictures" -quoth my ultra-blogger sister, Becca

Great!!! Now I have to put up pictures or it doesn't even count!

I know I'm a boring blogger.
And my links don't even work
That's so mean of me! to make people cut and paste the links.
Too
Much
work.
and I don't know how to put up videos onto my blog.
I know!
I stink.

Sigh....
Problem is...I don't really care that much.

I just wanted to blog so I could talk to myself in a more...socially..acceptable way. :-)
So, forgive me.

But, I think I will try adding pictures.
baby steps.

I can DO IT!~

Who writes your story?

How do you know when you have a budding author for a daughter?

Well, besides the fact that my almost 7 year-old is writing stories and drawing illustrations every spare minute she gets, something else happened today to remind me that yes, she is constantly thinking like a little author.

We were making Kevin's birthday cake, and she was going through all the numbered candles in the cupboard. She only found 1, 3, and 4, so she asked if we had other numbers. When she found some more she said, "Yes! We do have more!" Then, more quietly she said, "...she joyfully exclaimed."

It cracked me up! Her life is her story. It reminded me of when I was younger, and wished there could be a soundtrack for my life...sad, break-up songs, triumphant "Rocky" songs, 80's love songs, Chopin for the peaceful times, etc.

Wouldn't that be cool?

It would be like a built-in sensor for when something good is about to happen, or if something dangerous is around the corner....like a movie.

It also made me think about how we each write our own stories. (whether we're quipping, "she joyfully exclaimed", or not.:-)

We make choices every day, choices to determine what our story will be. Are we choosing to let someone else determine our emotions or are we blaming parts of our story on others?


Sometimes things happen that we didn't choose to put in our story, or we make mistakes that we'd rather not have in our story. But, how we respond to things we can't control can be part of our story, too.

Remember-it's not the obstacle that counts, but how you overcome it!

I love reading biographies about people who let God write their story. My recent favorites are "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom, "The Story of the vonTrapp Family Singers", and most recently I read about the Duggar family with 18 kids (and one on the way). Life can be pretty amazing, scary, and unpredictable when we let God write our story. But, God can make so much more of our lives than we can, no matter what we try to do to make a great life.

So...Who's writing your story??

Livin' the Dream!