maximus moments

there is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby, except one that is sleeping and smiling.
poor boy has lost all his hair on top since this photo was taken :(

love the extra chins




he actually doesn't take a pacifier at all, but I got him to chew on this one for a second just for a photo opp...there went his last bit of baby dignity.




that little turned down mouth looks just like his daddy's




daddy's nickname of the moment is the "hairless, toothless wonder"




my sweet, sweet 13-week-old boy who just weighed in at 17 1/2 lbs...we might be growing a linebacker over here.

tickle torcher

this is what was missing from our life 3 months ago...

it's true Dorothy,
the world does turn technicolor
when you step into
munchkin land.

{too bad this munchkin has to grow up so fast}

one-by-one

tonight for our family home evening we watched
Another Testament
Reflections of Christ

it is a documentary about the experiences
of producing beautiful photographs
depicting the Savior's visit to the Americas
as told in 3 Nephi.

this experience resonates with me
because of my own interest in photography.
moments of intense emotion are suspended in time
and we are asked to suspend our belief
and imagine ourselves in those photos.

for me the images communicate
a testimony of the Savior's divinity
just as forcefully as the mediums of
paint, sculpture, music, or the written word.



One of the historians pointed out
that the scriptures say
whenever the Savior was
blessing or healing he did it

one by one

until now
I had never truly considered
the impact of that
simple act

I am an individual
and our Savior
will never make me feel lost in the crowd.


the Savior isn't here
in person
to teach
and bless
and heal
so he sends the next best thing...

{yep, current Elders in our ward}

it's hard to believe
that these young men get anything done.
but the truth is
they
along with faithful, Christ-like members
are saving the world

one by one


over the past year
12 souls
have joined themselves
to the gospel of Jesus Christ
and we are honored to have crossed paths with them

Jamie | young, single mother of Jared

Marvely and her son Tyler



Eunju who came here from Korea with her husband.



Irene{with Chester}, originally from New York City and formerly of the Jewish faith.



Gwen{with Sam}, also a former practicing Jew. As a doctor of psychology, she was counseling a member of the church who ended up counseling her that she needed to be baptized by the proper authority--that patient later performed her baptism.



Mike & Meaghan--baptized the week after they were married.


Mallory{right}--originally from Alabama. Had only been baptized for a month when she attended her first General Conference!



in a tiny way I believe that
the experiences
Adam and I have had
in this ward
have undoubtedly given us
a glimpse
of Zion.

not-so-common name

As a child
I was always so disappointed
there were never any products
such as
mugs
keychains
pencils, etc.
with my name
J.O.I.E.

it never dawned on me
to blame my parents for pushing me
to the brink of depression
because the spelling of my name caused me to be an outcast
{how do you like that melodrama?}


as I got older I, obviously, matured
and embraced my name for its uniqueness

well, almost

I'm not afraid to admit that in cheap souvenir shops
I will always scan the "j" section--just in case.
Who cares that it's all flimsy, useless junk.
I always hold out hope that I will see my name
among the Jennifers, Jodys, and Julies.

Alas, in the 80s it was never meant to be.
Along came google.
All of the sudden my name
is know for good and evil in English and French.

Then a miracle happened.

On my birthday this year
my mom made up for all those years of disappointment
by giving me a whole breakfast cookware set with my name on it!

No, she didn't have them personalized for me.
There is actaully a store called

Joie Shop
{click}


and every kitchen gadget has
my name
on it.


They are just the cutest little pans I have ever seen! Thanks, Mom!

So take that...
you over-priced
massed produced by children in sweat shops
tacky
common-name souvenirs.





{however, thanks to a large explosion
of little girls named Madison in the 90s,
I can now check for my last name :) }

Joie, a party-girl?

for some of you who don't know me very well,
or maybe THINK you know me
i'll have you know
there is a party going on in my brain.

constantly.


i've only been invited to this party a handful of times.
in fact, this party may have been
going on for years under(above/behind) my nose,
but it's hard to know really.

my first time to the party was was about 2 1/2 years ago
and it was pretty embarrassing
i convulsed violently
stopped breathing
came to in a zombie-like state for about an hour
fought with paramedics in my underwear
finally regained consciousness in the ER

luckily, i have no memory of going to party at all
--tragically, Adam does :(

some of you may have figured out
that the "party" i'm refering to is
my epilepsy.
i don't mean to be glib about a very
serious condition,
but sometimes it's hard
for even me
to understand what's going on.

i went to the party 5 times
over a two week period.
ironically, only at night.
when i finally got in to see a neurologist(special party-doctor),
he ordered a battery of very expensive tests
my knight in shining armor
Adam
sold his beautiful motorcycle
to pay for them

one of the tests was an EEG(electroencephalogram)
which basically measures
how the neurons in my brain
fire electricity back and forth.

to make sure they could capture the party at its wildest
i needed to be
deprived of sleep
given verbal commands and
have a strobe light going off incessantly in my face.
(no joke and all essential elements of a good party)


this is what a normal brain looks like:

apparently, my brain looks something similar to this:(not my actual test)
i was
thereafter
promptly medicated
and haven't been to a party since.


well, last week i had the test done again
(blessing of insurance)
to see if the party was still going on...





it is.




keep waiting party people.
i don't plan on attending any time soon.

ward spooks