I started taking piano lessons when I was eight years old. I continued until I was 16. I remember begging my mother to let me quit....but she wouldn't...not even in the summer. And I am grateful. I can take out the hymn book and play any hymn.
I can't believe I haven't had a piano in my house for 13 years. Thank you to my sweet father-in-law for letting my house his for the time being. It has filled our home with joy this past week. And thank you to my wonderful husband (and my great brothers-in-law and Caleb) for delivering it on Valentines Day. What a great gift.
We have the best grandparents in our family and they didn't disappoint this Valentine's Day. Thank you Grandma Nona and Grandpa Randy for sending the kids this great package...the pjs, the movie, the coloring books, and ohhhhhhhhh the candy.
And I couldn't resist this picture. Andy fell asleep today with one of Ephraim's birthday balloons.
And for those of you who have been worried about Ephraim's chocolate, he got some more for his birthday.
On Sundays, Ephraim and I teach the Sunbeam class in Primary (3 year olds). Eph's birthday is this Friday (the 13th) so on Sunday the Primary sang to him and gave him a Nestle Crunch candy bar. Later that day, while Ephraim was taking his Sunday nap, the kids and I helped ourselves to a little bit (well, most) of his candy bar. My thoughts...my husband is not a big "sweets" person and I can buy him a new candy bar anyway...he won't mind. Well, he did. He was a little upset and said it would have been nice if I had asked to eat his candy. He was right. The situation was made a little funnier later that evening when Ephraim's parents came for dinner and his mom helped herself to the rest of the candy bar.
Yesterday Ephraim was sick so I went to the store to get some Advil for his pounding headache. I was standing in line to check out when I spotted a Ghirardelli all milk chocolate giant sized candy bar. Perfect, I thought. Ephraim's favorite is all chocolate with no bells and whistles. $2.50 later, I was heading home with the chocolate bar. Expensive, yes (I'm usually a pretty intense bargain shopper) but worth it. Eph would love it.
I came home with Ephraim's candy bar and laid it on his nightstand next to the bed. And then proceeded to lie down to take a nap (I haven't been feeling well myself...you know, this whole pregnancy thing). I woke up an hour later, feeling very refreshed. I looked on the nightstand next to the bed where I had laid the candy bar. Hmmmm, no candy bar. Ephraim must have found it and eaten it. Nope. "I know I laid it there," I said to him. So the interrogations began.
Mom: Noah, did you eat a candy bar that was laying on daddy's nightstand? Noah: Yes. Mom: Did you eat it all? Noah: Yes, Andy and I did. Mom: Where is the wrapper? Noah: We ate it on the couch.
Not seeing any evidence of this anywhere, I wasn't sure I believed this version of the story. And my thoughts...there is no way my boys could have eaten this whole candy bar.
So I went to the 2-year old (not expecting much of an answer): Mom: Andy, did you eat a candy bar today? Andy: Yes. Mom: Where is the wrapper? Andy: In the trash can.
Sure enough, there was the candy bar wrapper lying in the garbage. The kids had eaten all three ounces. What was most amazing to me was that there was not a drop of evidence anywhere and that the wrapper ended up in the trash can.
So let me explain my Color Code situation to you. We (the Hanks Family) are believers in the Color Code…we don’t base our lives on it, but are believers…we got into it because my husband’s company pretty much runs off of it. I post this explanation because of the comments on my “red” personality from my last post.
I am a red. I was born a red, raised a red, and will innately always be a red. Ask my mom. I have always been very independent, bossy, focused, and goal driven. I used to correct peoples’ grammar when I was younger…not something of which I’m proud.
At one point I must have realized that the strength of my red personality turned people off. The biggest complaint I had from every guy I dated semi-seriously was that I never opened up. Reds are not great at sharing feelings. So I slowly changed little by little. Every day I would try to play down the limitations of the “red” personality in me. But I regressed a bit when I got married almost 8 years ago.
My lovely husband is a white. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Color Code, whites are motivated by peace and have this amazing ability to stay calm in any situation…very self-regulated and diplomatic. These are some of the great qualities my incredible husband possesses. But every color personality has its weaknesses. Whites can have a hard time making decisions, are quite unassertive, and can be very laid-back. Ephraim is so slooooooow in making decisions…very methodical and precise but slow. This has brought back a lot of my red, at least in my marital relationship. Someone has to make decisions, and sometimes quickly. I love that. I know where I’m headed, where I want to end up, and am usually quite efficient at getting there. When a decision needs to be made (and greatly affects me), I’m usually on my feet, making that decision (and many times a darn good one, I like to think). So I am the primary decision maker in the life of my family (after consultation, of course). And Ephraim is OK with that most of the time…except for every once in a while when he remembers that he is the Patriarch of our family and should probably be doing more of this type of stuff. And blue is my secondary color, for those of you who guessed that. I can be compassionate and sensitive when I let my guard down.
Eph and I have had many interesting discussions on this in our marriage. I love that he is a white and has such a calming effect on our family. Many times the balance of our personalities comes together well and sometimes we still have to work on it (ie, me not being so bossy and controlling).
As for “Popeye”, here is the picture. Dad, I hope this makes you happy. I’m not sure why Ephraim is making this face or why his lips are green. But here it is. I think this is the first picture I have posted of me not pregnant. Hooray! Hopefully we'll be having a baby next month.
We are a family of five living in a sunny (and hot) town in southern Utah. We love life and would love to share some of it with you! Thanks for visiting!
