Dancing with the [Bollywood] Stars!

I've been postponing this so that I could also include an article that Spencer is writing for the school newspaper about his experience...but I got bored of waiting.  This is worth putting up.

Spencer includes this note: I uploaded a clip captured by my buddy in the audience of us dancing with Shahrukh. Check it out on YouTube. We were a little out of sync at the beginning as I was following the sequence from the movie, but once we started following SRK's lead it smoothed out.



Here it is, the moment Spencer has waited for his whole life, queu the song, "One Moment In Time" that we sang for fifth grade "graduation".... (and then queu the Bollywood Classic Chaiya Chaiya).



Yep, that's my husband.  On stage in front of millions of screaming fans.  Strange, we expected to hear from the Bollywood talent scouts by now.

Blah Blah Black Sheep

Not once, but every time:

Cadence's version:

"Blah blah black sheep, many many wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.

One for my mastard, one for m'day,
One for the little boy, who's asleep under the haystack,

Blah blah black sheep, many many wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full."

I think my favorite is "mastard". 


BTW, Spencer has returned safely from India and pics and footage will be available shortly.  And yes, it really was as awesome as he said.

The Slurpee Down the Street

Although I'm a little more than half-way through my second Chicago winter, I had never witnessed this sight until now.  I never wanted to get close to a frozen lake with kids in tow, so while my mom was here and I was on my way home from a grocery trip where I had NO kids with me, I took the opportunity to jump out and experience Lake Michigan in slurpee form.  And that's exactly what it was.  It was weird.

I stood there at the edge of the water (well, about 10 yards back) completely alone and felt like I was in a sci-fi movie on a weird icy sci-fi planet.  A lone sci-fi girl with only her sci-fi cell phone to get photo documentation.  If you've never seen Lake Michigan, which is really only a few blocks away from us, it seems an awful lot like an ocean.  It's big.  Great, if you will.  A Great Lake.  And this Great Lake was rolling massively--up and down, and as it did so, that ocean-sound was missing.  Instead it sounded just like a really giant slurpee.  I really came home craving slurpee. 

That sorry excuse for a skyline is NOT my beloved Chicago, but actually Gary Indiana, I think.  If I had only turned my phone about 90 degrees to the left I would have gotten MY skyline, but I wasn't thinking of that.  I was trying to capture the giant chunks of ice crashing against that... thing jutting out. I'm sure it has a name.  Like Jetty or something.

I wasn't really expecting to be so amazed.  It was just crazy how the waves still rose but they were like waves of ice.  Ice waves, I call them. 

Okay, okay, I suppose I've overstated myself.  It's kind of what I do.

Rising Star

Here's the email I received from Spencer today:

Hey Babe!!


Well the show was a hit. Much bigger deal than expected. They've been running 18 commercials per day on 18 channels for the last 2 weeks to advertise the event. The indoor stadium had 3,000 fans. The bad news is that we got 6th place out of the 6 teams. The good news far outweighs the bad however, as we were the crowd favorite, and as a result won some awesome prizes, including SRK's [Sharuhk Khan's] jacket and a big-screen TV. The way we became the crowd favorite was due to 1) your line about giving him a kiss from my wife (which he allowed me to do not once, but twice (and he loved it), and 2) I made friends with a dance choreographer back stage who taught me the dance moves to the sequence from the theme song we chose for ourselves (Chaiya chaiya - look it up on Youtube). So when it was our turn to dance on stage with him, we already knew what his moves would be, so we took it up a level. You'll be able to see that part on a video from our camera [unfortunately the video clip he included does not work]. I'll explain details later, but it was great!
Love you. I really missed my girls today. Tried to skype you today but it didn't work for some reason. Anyway, we'll have a lot to catch up on. I hope things are going well for you, and that you're having a great time with your mom.

Anyway, I love you! Peace out.

Spencer

I want SRK's jacket.  And my husband back.  But I'm pretty dang proud of him.  As soon as I get any form of footage of this event, it will be available for your viewing pleasure.

Ballet, Big Words, Smiles and New Dehli

Everybody's got something to crow about around here, except me, but I'm town cryer, I don't have to have my own stuff to talk about.

Cadence:  Started her first Ballet class last week.

 It's actually called "Creative Movement", which is pre Pre-Ballet.  I thought my little spit-fire would jump right in there and rule the roost.  Didn't you?  Since it was the first week of the semester, the parents were allowed to stay in the dance room and watch.  I thought this would help her get warmed up.  She felt like she was on display and became very self-conscious.  Miss Aimee, the teacher, came and pryed her away from me, playfully brought her to the dance floor where the children were supposed to be sitting in a circle, and tried to sit her down with the class.  Cadence was frozen STIFF.  Not exaggerating.  Her toes were pointed, knees locked, arms straight at about a 30 degree angle from her body.  As Miss Aimee tried to move her down to the floor her legs just sort of spread...I hope you are imagining this as I paint the picture because it was hilarious.  The same thing happened when it was time to get UP off the floor and dance.  Miss Aimee tried to lift her to stand but when she put Cadence's weight on her feet they just slid out from under her as everything was locked up.  She spent the rest of the class clinging to me near the wall.  And then when the others cleared the room afterwards she took to the dance floor and started cavorting her pelvis in her typical fashion.

Campbell is learning words at a much quicker pace these days, which is fun.  She still has her base words, the building blocks she uses for each new word, "quack", "ish", "bub", and "bap".  But her new favorite words are "backpack" ("Bap Bapck!") and "map" (Bap!).  Can you guess which little latina they've been watching an awful lot of?  Campbell has also taken to dress ups lately.  I love it.  And she gets REALLy REALLY excited when the camera comes out.

Layla has been smiling for a few weeks now.  I love those big, innocent, sincere baby smiles.  Her eyes are turning blue, her ears are still a little furry, and she is officially sweeter than pie.  We kinda likes her.  Remember when I was scared out of my wits to be expecting her?  We're pretty glad that all happened.

Oh, and the other day, Cam and Layla both had well-child checks.  Campbell is EXACTLY 2x the poundage of Layla. 12 lbs 2 oz and 24 lbs 4 oz.

+

=

Spencer is en route to India as we speak!  How crazy is this:  a few weeks ago he comes home with that look on his face that looks like he just found out that it's not snowing, but actually marshmallows are falling from the sky.  He has received an email that says that a business school in India is hosting a Marketing Challenge game show which is to be hosted by none other than Shahruk Kahn!  What, don't tell me you don't know who that is?!? 

Only the biggest Bollywood star!  Yup, we've enjoyed several of his movies over the years.  Anyway, so the email says that they are looking for a two person team to represent the school.  Blah blah blah, (my mature way of saying, "to make a long story short") anyway, because he is AWESOME he was chosen and today he is on his way.  Yes, he could win money.  How many Rupees, you ask?  I don't actually know.  It had better be like a million.  The whole thing is shadier than you'd think.  He didn't even know when the flight was scheduled until a few days ago, he doesn't know where he's staying, etc.  But he does know that he gets to see the Taj Mahal and a few other cool things. 

I'm SOOO excited for him, but I already really miss him.  I'm used to him being away but India is pretty dang far.  Look for a follow up about this trip.

(and don't worry your pretty little heads about me, my mom is coming tomorrow!  Bless her soul, and that of Spencer's mom, too, who used her Frequent Flyer points to help get my mom out here.  Love those moms.)

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I have to be grateful for and how lucky I am to be where I am in life and have three great kids and an amazing husband, and such supportive friends and family.  The other night Eryn and Robyn and I were talking about our recent attitude adjustments and finding that we were happier than we realized.  I had just seen this video on my cousin-in-law's blog and it came to mind when our discussion turned to how easy it is to get bogged down when, as a full time mom you don't recieve the kind of constant feedback that an employed person does.  All your efforts are either swallowed up in your child's choices (efforts of disciplining and teaching) or undone within hours (efforts such as laundry and dishes).  But this video is a nice reminder that that's not what matters.  I don't need appreciation.  I need to do the work that will further the Lord's work.  And that is motherhood.

I've also been thinking a lot about this quote by C.S. Lewis (gotta love that guy) that I read on Amy's blog:

"The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.... It is in light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendship, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations--these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with , marry, snub, and exploit... Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, our neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses."


In conjunction with these lyrics of an Alanis Morissette song called "That I would be Good":

that i would be good even if i did nothing


that i would be good even if i got the thumbs down

that i would be good if i got and stayed sick

that i would be good even if i gained ten pounds



that i would be fine even if i went bankrupt

that i would be good if i lost my hair and my youth

that i would be great if i was no longer queen

that i would be grand if i was not all knowing



that i would be loved even when i numb myself

that i would be good even when i'm overwhelmed

that i would be loved even when i was fuming

that i would be good even if i was clingy



that i would be good even if i lost sanity

that i would be good whether with or without you

 
The interpretation may seem obvious to you.  I've thought about these words for a long time. I used to imagine her singing to a negligent boyfriend.  Now I imagine her singing to her parents, or maybe the parents of the world.  The full sentence is, "I need to learn from you that my worth does not hinge upon any external factors.  I need to know that I would be good..."

I feel a real responsibility to let my children feel ths is true of them, so that they can understand the real worth of their soul and the souls of all those around them.

I also think maybe she's just telling herself.  Do I need to remind myself that my worth does not hinge on whether or not I get the dishes done in a timely manner?  On how much more rowdy my kids are than some others? Or that my clothes don't quite fit the way they should?  Maybe.

Do with this what you will.  Just thought I'd share my thoughts.

I'm A REAL Girl!

For our entire 5 1/2 years of marriage, Spencer and I have constantly been working toward, planning for, anticipating the day when we would be "real people".  It didn't come when we graduated BYU, or when we had our first baby, our second, or our third.  It didn't come when we became financially independent, or when we planned and paid for our first real family vacation... Everything we have done has been in preparation for graduating Grad School and starting the rest of our lives.   I can't emphasize enough that all of our lives and plans have led to the great mystery of what comes after grad school.

Okay, he didn't graduate yet, it would be a weird time of year for that, don't you think?  But yesterday (last friday) my husband who has a fear of career-commitment (hence his love for consulting, which puts you on different types of projects every few months) finally committed to a full-time post-MBA job, which means we know where we are beginning the rest of our lives!



And that place is.....

dun dun dun....

dun... dun.. dun....

Bentonville, Arkansas!

Of all the places that we considered, imagined for all these years... Bentonville Arkansas was not one of them.

Many of you may know already that Bentonville is the birthplace of Walmart and is where the company is still headquartered.  Yes, my husband will be working for the "Behemoth of Bentonville"!  Oh, sure, people have a lot of bad things to say about Walmart but I have always loved it.  To me it stinketh not.

We're very very excited about this great opportunity for Spencer to work at this great company and also the opportunity for our family to live in Bentonville.  We got to go see Bentonville quickly last month as we considered our options and really, I loved it.  It's small.  Spanish Forkish, for my fellow Utah-countyers.  And then there are a few Provo-ish sized "suburbs".  But we liked Bentonville proper and will be looking there for housing.

After accepting, Spencer came out of the room and tossed chocolates all over the place in celebratory fashion.  The girls caught on to the excitement and stuffed their faces.

Yay, Spencer!  I'm so excited for him and proud of him and grateful for him.  He has made a lot of sacrifices for me and my sanity over the years and is the only reason I'm not checked in to an instution right now.  And inspite of all the family demands he's had he still managed to rock his interviews and get a great job in a place where the kids will be safe, have great schools, we'll be so close to the office, etc.

I am so so so so excited.  I have been watching every episode of  HGTV's "my first place", to try to warm up for house hunting.  It's all I can think about.  Arkansas!  Who knew?

Oh, and in case you were wondering, Layla is getting cuter every day.