The Big 1 0

Well, it's official. As of Friday, we have been married for ten whole years. That is a long time. That is more than one third of my life and slightly less than one third of Marc's life. This is a big deal. I am ashamed to say that with the insane pace at which this month flew by thanks to rehearsals, a trip to North Dakota and helping friends move, I failed to write Marc a card for our anniversary. I wanted it to be pretty great and just didn't have the time and space to sit down and write it. So, babe, this one's for you:

Ten years ago I was 18 and you were 22. I thought I wanted years more of being single, serving a mission and changing the world all on my own. You changed my mind. Instead, I found myself trusting you to take care of me and wanting to change the world together. You haven't let me down.
Ten years ago I was without trepidation as I knelt across an alter from you, surrounded by family, and said "yes" to our life together.


Since then, I've had plenty to be trepidatious about but "us" was never one of those things. We've
moved, totaled cars, battled illness, run a business, been (almost) arrested, written a thesis, survived medical school, worked multiple jobs, mourned a miscarriage, suffered a failed adoption, lived in the ghetto, endured a robbery,  lost a lot of money, short-sold a house, gone through five rounds of IVF, lived through the infancy of premature twins, moved again, had two more beautiful but active boys, and have just about (one month to go!) finished a medical residency. Through it all, you have been my rock. Except when you haven't, and then I have been yours. It's nice to be needed. I guess that's why you wanted to marry a "hard-headed woman". I think you got one.

Looking at this list of stressful life events probably should be traumatic, but many of them bring up memories that make me laugh. Life with you is good, so good. I like the comfort and familiarity that comes with this decade of marriage and yet I feel that I am still getting to know the person that is you. You still surprise me. I'm glad I have a lot longer to figure you out. Maybe I'll eventually understand why you suck on your chocolate rather than just chewing it like a normal person. Maybe not. I love you anyway.
I'm sure that I will have new experiences to add to our list over the next ten years. I know that some things will be hard but I know we'll get through. You just can't keep a good couple down. Thank you for being my better half, my sounding board, my biggest fan, my broccoli-checker, my emergency substitute and my designated hug-giver. I love love love you. Happy Anniversary, baby.

Ben There, Done That

Marc has an inordinate number of friends named Ben. In the past two weeks alone, Marc has interacted with no less than five Ben friends. First, there was the Ben that Marc met because his daughter was in the NICU and Marc was caring for her. As it turned out, this Ben also happened to be friends with someone in our ward and he and Marc helped load their moving truck last Saturday morning. Then there is the Ben who is a resident in Marc's program and with whom Marc has a running text message conversation. There are two Bens from Marc's mission, one who is now in our ward and one who lives 2 hours away that we get to see on the weekends. Finally, there is the Ben that Marc met in high school because they both worked in the same ice cream parlor despite going to rival schools. They still play an occasional game together online. Our boys have given the Bens nicknames to keep them all straight. Marc's ice cream friend? "Computer Ben". Marc's resident friend? "Tall Ben". Marc's former mission companion that now lives in PA? "Badduru". That one probably needs some explanation. He has an interesting last name that is our boys' closest approximation of it. They also call him "Big Benjamin" in order to distinguish him from their brother "Little Benjamin". We really enjoy all the Benjamins in our lives. Here is a picture of "Tall Ben" reading to our boys on the couch. He is really great about playing with our kids whenever he swings by.

I also wanted to share these pictures of our trip to PA to visit "Badduru". They came to visit us this weekend and just left this afternoon. We had a really great time with them. It is kind of crazy to get together because between us we have seven little boys ages seven and under. At least they are expecting a girl in July so she will kind of even things out... okay not even close but team estrogen will take all the help we can get. :)

We hit the children's museum in Pittsburgh, PA. Gabriel's favorite thing was this three story vertical maze. All the boys called it the "giant hamster cage".

Benjamin was mesmerized by the spinning disks on this giant screw. I think he would have stayed there all day if we let him.

Elijah loved the make and take workshop with  recyclable materials and tools. He created this egg carton car to take home with him.

David John enjoyed the wheels room which included this tractor tire play area.

 They all liked the studio portion of the museum where you could paint, sculpt and make silk screens. From left to right these are Elijah's, Gabriel's and David John's paintings.

Here are all seven crazies on a trampoline at our friend's house.

We are so grateful for good friends, even if a ridiculous number of them are named "Ben".

Campaign of Cuteness

Benjamin is a quirky kid. There is no denying that he is cute, but he is definitely an individual. One of these quirks is that the child does not appreciate having anything on his feet. No socks, no shoes, no sandals. Any footwear is removed in record time even if we are outside and it is below freezing. Once, Marc and I were in the van together when a sock came flying forward and landed on the console. Marc said, "If Benjamin were a politician he'd be running on an anti-shoe platform." Or is it platform shoe? Anyway, it got me thinking about campaign slogans, about which groups of voters were likely to be pro-Benjamin and which were not. These are some of my campaign ideas. Be warned, you may experience painful puns.
Slogan: "Benjamin, the candidate who bares his sole."
or "He may be desocked, but never defrocked." Catchy, right?
last one "He throws the shoe at government corruption!"
I think his anti-shoe stance might be popular with denizens of nudist colonies, nail salons offering pedicures and carpet stores. I have a feeling he may have more trouble getting the women's vote in general, podiatrists, shoe stores and any persons living with people who have exceptionally smelly feet.
As far as Benjamin's reasons for not wanting footwear, I think it has to do with wanting to show off his exceptionally long toes and with being able to use those toes to grip things when he climbs. I think these tendencies will likely win him the ape-man vote.
"This anti-shoe business is all well and good," you may be thinking, "but where does Benjamin stand on other important issues?"

I am so glad you asked. I can tell you that he is pro-dental hygiene in a big way. He has a great love of toothbrushes. Recently, we have discovered him in the bathroom, perched precariously with one foot on the toilet seat and one foot dangling in midair while he leans over the sink in order to reach the toothbrushes in the cup and the toothpaste in the medicine cabinet. He was even trying to get the toothpaste on the toothbrush by smashing the two items together repeatedly. His advisors had to inform him that, regretfully, osmotic toothpaste has not yet been invented that one has to remove the cap in order to effectively dispense the paste.
Benjamin is hyper-aware of toothbrushes and can spot one a mile away. If he sees a toothbrush in the house, at the store, or in someone's mouth and he is not currently in possession of it he makes his displeasure known. He spends an inordinate amount of time brushing all six of his pearly whites and chewing on the bristles. I think this pro-dental hygiene stance will be universally appealing with the exception of toothbrush factory employees who are on strike.




Despite his strong political views, I am afraid that Benjamin will not be able to run a successful campaign due to his terrible table manners. If some of the photos of him eating got out, it might be a scandal. He frequently eats wearing nothing but his diaper.

 He has a terrible habit of trying to pick up food off the plate or table with his mouth instead of picking it up with his hands. That poor hotdog bun never had a chance.

Finally, he has difficulty observing the rule to keep his elbows off of the table. Also his legs. And his feet. And his bum. This has caused some issues at formal dinners. Also, his demonstration of the restorative properties of milk on skin has never been well-received.

I am thinking that politics may not be the right path for him after all. I guess he'll have to find another way to make a difference. Maybe he can just create informative pamphlets to distribute to the public with titles like "Free the Feet! (a mainfesTOE)" or "Sock it to Dry Socket". Whatever he does, we know it's gonna be cute.