After A... but Before C... the Letter B!

Ah. The letter B. This is a good one. And I know... It has been more than a week since my last post. I warned you all that I am very bad at this.

1. Bryan. Yep. Funny that I should put that one first on this list. Bryan is my husband. Who loves me more than I can express and beyond what I frequently deserve. We met at the mall and I tease him that he was "shopping for a date". A statement which he will not openly deny. But we met, dated, were quickly engaged and married soon after. (Can you say "Whirlwind"?) Sometimes I feel very grateful that Bryan is as great as he is... because I occassionally question my rationale for jumping right into marriage at the ripe old age of 19. But we are going on 18 years now, and so I figure someone must have had some foresight there on my behalf. Bryan is a great husband and a fantastic father. The girls love him... as do I.
2. Beehives. For those of you who follow this post, who have no idea what a beehive is... it is a group of young ladies in my ward (church) from the ages of 12 to 13. And I am lucky enough to work with them. I get to hang out with them in class on Sunday and then again at an activity on Wednesday nights. They keep me young. They keep me patient. They teach me to love and appreciate those outside my normal circle. And they teach me to have faith and trust in my Heavenly Father.
3. Botox. There is nothing like not being able to make that face where you scrunch up your forehead and let people know that what they are saying is actually annoying the crud out of you. I love it that those muscles are paralized and my forehead stays wrinkle-free. Perhaps if I didn't make that face so much in the first place, I wouldn't need the Botox.
4. "Blessings". I put this on my list because when I pray I frequently just say that I am thankful for my "blessings", trusting that my Heavenly Father knows what I mean by that.
5. Butterflies. I think butterflies are one of the most amazing of all God's creepy crawly things. Imagine starting out as a tiny, squishy little thing and then morphing into something beautiful. Something with the power to fly high above ground that used to hold it. It is the ultimate example of change. Now, being the realist that I am, I recognize that not all change results in something beautiful... but sometimes it does. And for that, I am grateful.
6. Birthdays. I don't mind my birthday. But I like celebrating my kids' birthdays. I like to see if I can create a unique cake for them. I love to see them excited about their gifts and their parties. However, as both of my children's ages have hit the double digits, I have started to be a little less celebratory when their birthdays roll around. Marking the passage of time makes me more nervous as I begin to realize just how fast their childhoods are going. It makes me a little sad when I realize they are closer to adulthood now than I am ready for them to be.
7. Bella. Yep... I mean Bella Swan. I am addicted to the Twilight books. I am as bad as any teenage girl.
8. Baptism. I don't really remember a lot of details surrounding my baptism. I remember that my hair was in a braid and there were a lot of kids sitting on the benches next to me. (I got baptized in Utah where they do monthly stake baptisms and there must have been thirty other kids who turned eight in the month of April 1980.) And I remember that some guy (don't know who he was) talked for a VERY LONG TIME. But I do remember Taylor and Morgan's baptisms. They both looked so cute in their little white outfits, standing next to their daddy (who looked like he was wearing some white pajamas...). Both were relatively small events with just a few friends and family supporting my children as they took this all important step. I liked it better that way. It seems like a common thing that we do in our church. But when I stop to really think about the magnitude of the baptismal covenants, I am a little overwhelmed. I guess, since I was, like most of us, baptized when I was eight, I sometimes forget how important those things are.
9. The Book of Mormon. Yep, I've read it. Yep, I know it is true. Should probably be more diligent in my reading. I have the Book of Mormon on my iPod and I try to listen to them. I won't lie... sometimes I listen to them as I am falling asleep... in hopes that the monotone narrator will lull me into slumber. Maybe if Ilyana Kadushin narrated... nevermind.
10. The Bigelows. Tammy Bigelow is my very best friend from when I was in 7th grade. She has been a part of my life for longer than she hasn't. And I am a better person because of her. And her family is great. Tammy and her husband are probably the most righteous people I have ever met in my whole life... I like hanging out with them (secretly hoping that if they get translated and I am standing close enough, I might make it too...). And her children are adorable. Sara (Tammy's oldest) is one of Taylor's very best friends. Megan (Tammy's middle child) is just a little bit younger than Morgan and they get along quite well, and Spencer (Tammy's youngest) is so cute that my husband actually said "If we could be guaranteed to get a "spencer" I would actually wish for another child." We hate that the Bigelows live in Utah. Too far away!
11. Babies. Who doesn't love a good baby? So perfect. I loved my kids when they were babies. So different from each other. I guess that is how it is though, we are all different people. I like that even so early I could see their own little personalities develop. Right now, I just like borrowing other people's babies. I also like giving them back when they stink or won't stop crying.
12. Beauty. Not just talking about physical beauty. (Though I won't lie... I like that too...) But I am talking about the beauty of a sunrise or sunset. The beauty you see when the light shines through the trees and just the right angle. The beauty of watching your children grow up and make good choices. The beauty of being on the receiving end of a kind word, a smile, or a hug.
13. The Bahamas. Have you seen the bahamas? I haven't. But I am SO EXCITED for the Disney Cruise to the Bahamas that we are taking in a mere 234 days. (Keith has a count-down clock on his computer... He's excited too.)
14. Budgets. Don't really love them. But there is some satisfaction at looking at the cute little graph that shows me where all of my money went! And living within our means was a hard lesson learned a while back. So I am firm believer in the budget!!
15. Bed. It seems that I talk about this a lot. Apparently sleep is one of those things that I focus on way too much. But I do love my bed. Not just any bed. MY BED. It is as perfect as any bed out there. Basically, my body would be best served if I could sleep standing up, but my comfy, squishy bed is the next best thing. Hotel beds are the WORST! I do look forward to returning from vacations just so that I can crawl into my own bed at night.
16. (King) Benjamin. He is my favorite from the Book of Mormon. What a great guy. I think I like him so much because he didn't abuse his authority. He loved his people, not his power. I think his reminder to everyone that no matter what we do, we are still in debt to our Heavenly Father is good counsel. And we need to love others. And serve others. Even when it's hard to love and serve.
17. the Bosch. I have heard the debates. The bosch versus the Kitchen Aid. I am a firm supporter of the Bosch. Tragically, after 19 years of faithful service, my bosch has finally reached the end. So, I am working on purchasing the new (and even BETTER) Bosch. Yah!
18. Books on Tape. I love listening to books on tape. When I got old and my eyesight was started to go, I found that listening to books caused less headaches than reading them. (Actually, a good pair of glasses solved the problem, but by the time I figured that out, I was hooked on the book on tape.) It is totally about the narrator, though. Bad narrator = bad book. And, as an added benefit, when you're listening to a book, your hands are completely free to do other things, like laundry or dishes. (Not that I choose to do those things while listening to books, but the option is there.)
19. Better and Best. It is a blessing to ponder on how I spend my time. Are the things that I do better? Are some of them best? I will admit... have a quite a few "good" things (and to be completely honest, some things that wouldn't even rank that high...). But it helps bring balance. Which is another good B word!
20. The Bernalillo Ward. That was our little ward in New Mexico. It started out as a HUGE ward, and then they split the ward into a very tiny ward. (Since we have moved away, I think it became huge again and has split several times again...). But when we were in that tiny little ward, we made some great friends. There were no cliques. There was no way to hide. People just loved everyone else. And served each other like they really wanted to. It was probably the best ward I have ever been in. I worked with the Young Women in that ward too. I have found most of them on facebook (I know... there it is again...), but I am so grateful to see what beautiful, strong women they have become. Some are married. A few have kids already. I would hope that I had some small part in the people they have become. But really, I learned more from them than I ever taught them.