Do Spirits come to Earth on Rocket Ships?

The day after our Boy Baby's ultrasound, I tucked Noah into bed and took some time to explain to him that we each have a Spirit that lived with Heavenly Father before it came to Earth and into our body- which of course grew in mommy's belly. We talked about how his Spirit was the first to come, then Naomi, and now our new baby's. Noah was very quiet and attentive thoughout our discussion, and I thought I'd continue talking about Spirits and bodies, and why we need both when Noah asked, "Do Spirits come to Earth on Rocket Ships?" I paused, not really sure what the correct answer was. I had never thought to ask how our Spirits came to Earth, I just asummed they could float/ go anywhere they pleased to it wasn't too dificult to find their way into their body. But that certainly isn't church doctrine so I decided to tell him the truth: "I don't know how our Spirits come to earth, but I don't think they come on rocket ships." He seemed content with my answer and then rolled over, told me he was tired, and closed his eyes. So I gave him a kiss, told him goodnight and left. Our converstation was over as quickly as it started.

Of course I immediatly felt like our little chat was blog worthy becuase Noah's question was very cute and very Noah-like. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how profound his little question was. It was a reminder that sleeping down the hall from me is four year old boy with the capacity to comprehend and the faith to believe that we are more than just the body that we see reflecting in the mirror. We are Spirit children of our Father in Heaven and we lived with him before our mortal life began. And if we came from Heaven, then of course we needed a mode of transportation to arrive on Earth. It's a very logical question. I think it was his capacity for logic that I found so profound! Often it's hard to see beyond the energetic, constantly moving, noisemaking, part time ninja turtle, knight, astronaut, jungle animal, car crashing, train building, sister teasing, dirt collecting exterior. But there is so much more than that exausting and often exasperating exterior to my little Noah and maybe, if I don't mess up this whole parenting thing, I'll be pleasently suprised at the young man who emerges in the years to come.

Is it a Boy Baby?

From the moment we told Noah that he was going to be a BIG brother- for the second time, he informed us that we should have a "boy baby." When I asked him what this "boy baby's" name should be he responded, "Boy." When I told him we couldn't name our baby Boy and asked him for another suggestion his response was, "Guy." When I told him we would not be naming our baby Guy he said we should name our baby "Taco" or some other absurd food. Apparently he's been in talking to his uncle Isaac too much. When I asked him what we should name the baby if it was a girl baby he responded with a  slightly horrified look saying, "You mean like Naomi?" Apparently another girl baby was not on his Christmas wish list. That is why on Wednesday October 20th, we were VERY pleased to announce to Noah, and everyone else, that we are indeed having a "boy baby." Here's the proof!

Picture soon to come


I wasn't so certain (I never know what I'm looking at during the ultrasound), but Tyler and the ultrasound tec were entirely confident in our newest munchkins' masculinity and, after much deliberation, Tyler and I have decided this boy baby's name will be Abram Scott Petersen. We think it fits, and Naomi does too. Noah just threw his hands in the air, shouted, "NO! NOT THAT NAME!" and walked away. We don't discuss names with Noah anymore. Apparently he can't handle defeat.

TYLER PASSED THE BAR!

The same day that my children were making potty mischief of one kind or another, a certain white envelope came in the mail congratulating Tyler on passing the Washington State Bar! We knew his results might arrive that day (Monday, October 18th-to be exact) and Tyler was more wound up with anticipation than I've observed in our five and half years of marriage. He called to make sure I would check the mail the moment I returned home from running errands. Finding this certain white envelope had indeed arrived in the mail, I picked up Noah early from school and we went to deliver it to Tyler. Climbing in the car, Tyler quickly took the envelope and ripped it open. I believe his expression says it all...

(picture soon to come)

Needless to say Tyler was thrilled and very relieved that he had passed (although I told him he had nothing to worry about). We spent the car ride home calling family to spread the news and we went out to dinner at the Ballyhoo Grill to celebrate. So, now that the bar is over and behind us (as long as we live in Washington state) we're excited that we can move on to tackle the next big hurdle...Finding a Job.

Potty Mischief

One of the first lessons I learned as a mom of toddlers is that silent children are either sleeping or up to no good. That is precisely the reason I went to investigate when I finished doing the breakfast dishes and discovered that the house was eerily silent. True to form, I found Naomi in the kids' bathroom playing with toilet paper in the toilet bowl. Noah was quietly watching from a corner- knowing that Naomi was making a "bad choice" but not wanting to miss out on the action either. I must have slept well the night before, because I didn't lose my temper and the kids escaped with a mere "Don't do that again!" I cleaned up the mess and afterward went to fold laundry. Naomi tagged along, but Noah stayed in his room to play. After I finished folding the laundry I called him for Scriptures and his response back was, "HOLD ON, I'M TAPING." Taping?? Again I went to investigate and again I found a child making potty mischief- but of a different kind...

When I asked Noah what he was doing he proudly responded, "I taped the toilet shut so Naomi can't play toilet paper anymore!" Not knowing what else to say, I told him he did a wonderful job and asked him to pose for a picture.

I didn't bother to tell him that his "taping" the toilet shut might prove problematic the next time he actually needed to use the toilet.

Instead, I let him discover this on his own!!

The most amusing part of this little story is that when Noah was dancing around the toilet needing to go pee, he asked me why it wouldn't open!!

I eventually did help him get the tape off. But I thought it would be educational for him to have a go at it himself. Amazingly in the two weeks since, I've had no issues with children playing in the toilet or taping them shut.

Gator Gratitude and the Beach- October 16th 2010

I have never been anywhere with as much school pride or enthusiasm for school sports as Gainesville, Florida. Everywhere I go I find people clad in blue, orange and white. These Floridians hang gator flags on their houses, have gator mailboxes, fill their store front windows with gator logos and as if this wasn't enough, they transform their vehicles into permanent gator parade floats.  Even the school system caters it's schedule to accommodate all major University of Florida events.  To avoid being overrun by the many tail-"gators" on home game days, the law library closes causing Tyler to study at home. At first I found the overwhelming enthusiasm of these fans extremely annoying as I tried to keep two little children from bothering their dad every other Saturday while he tried to study. But over the last few weeks I've realized that I owe these fans a debt of gratitude. If it weren't for their over the top devotion to team spirit, I would never have found the courage to escape town on a home game day and tackle the sand and salty sea at Crescent Beach on my own, pregnant, with two very adventurous little children. We left mid morning, arrived at the beach shortly after lunch and had a fabulous afternoon building sandcastles, splashing in the waves, finding shells, crabs and eating yummy treats! Here are a few pics...

This is Noah after he found his first sea shell. Having lived lived in Washington for the past three years this was the kids' first trip to the beach that they can remember. Noah didn't even know what a sea shell was at first!

 Naomi didn't like the water. She got splashed in the face once and thereafter declared the water "scary." When I asked her why it was scary her reply was "sharks."

Fortunately she LOVED the sand. Naomi was an excellent bulldozer too. Every time I tried to build a wall for my sand castle she knocked it down before I could fill my bucket again!

Since we went to the beach mid October the water was a little chilly. This is Noah warming up.

The Skittles were a big hit!!

This is Noah pointing to a crab that we found. Noah thought he was pretty cool . Maybe that was because the crab was dead and couldn't chomp at us.

We were all sad to say good bye to the beach. But, after an eventful day it was time to go home, take baths, and let Tyler have the car so he could go watch the game with some friends. GO GATORS!!

The Petersen Post is Born

A few mornings ago I was standing in the kitchen putting away the milk and cereal box when Noah, clad in his gray and blue lightning McQueen pajamas climbed onto the table and loudly announced, “I grew bigger last night. SEE!” He then stretched his arms wide and tall showing me he how much he had grown. At the moment I replied, “Yes you did grow bigger! Now get down from the table and eat your breakfast so that you can keep growing bigger.” But the issue persisted and for the next few days Noah continued to announce his growth. At first, I didn’t think too much of his new obsession, but his continued reminders soon festered into a panicked realization that my little children were not only growing bigger, but at a faster rate than I ever imagined and if I wasn’t careful, my memories would fade just as quickly as their tiny bodies. An unknown author stated, “The strongest memory is weaker than the palest ink.” Thus The Petersen Post is born. It’s my attempt to reinforce the memories of my family and our adventures while here on earth with a little permanent ink- blog style.