Old Blog - Love and Babies

Mushy:

Babies are so cute!! To be completely honest, I always thought babies were some of the ugliest little humans and I couldn't understand why people always "ooh"-ed and "aww"-ed at them. I am proud of myself for not being one of the worst offenders though. Guess who is. Charles! (And apparently he's proud of it.) He has this ability I call "Baydar" or "Baby Radar" because if there's a baby anywhere in our vicinity he seems to find it and coo in its direction. The younger, the more he melts. It's so adorable. On that note, he has a brother who is very similar in his reaction to babies and young children. I remember on the night of our open house he ended up holding a little girl who is the same age as Charles's daughter from his first marriage, Onnamaria. Chris was soo gentle with her and walking around like he was holding something really fragile and important (because, well, he was.) In fact, I heard him mumble how he didn't want anyone to bump the baby - they could bump his injured knee, but "don't bump the baby." It's super cute. Charles's other brothers aren't really old enough to care about babies yet but I'm sure they'll all be just as good with them. I'm so excited for when Charles and I have one of our own and his whole family is just melting over our precious gift from the Lord (whose middle name will not be "juvenile delinquent.")

Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea how my two brothers are with babies. I think they pretty much fall into the "don't really care" category for now, although I'm sure they would have a similar response just because of how they are. As far as sisters go (Charles and I both have one biological sister each) Kymberlee is really great with little kids. They typically really enjoy spending time with her - almost as much as she enjoys spending time with them, I think. Brittany babysits a two year-old on a fairly regular basis and enjoys it but I don't really see her melting over babies like her brothers.

On the subject of names, it's interesting how everyone has their own unique preferences when it comes to how their relatives will refer to them. All my life, my grandparents were "Grandma" or "Grandpa" unless we were being formal (with talking to someone else) and I referred to them as "Grandmother" and "Grandfather." Now that I think of it though, my grandmother on my father's side goes by her first name, not her last. Instead of "Grandma Eden" it's "Grandma Nadeoui" (it's French - that might help with pronunciation.) I guess I always just figured my children would call their grandparents, my parents and in-laws, Grandma and Grandpa so-and-so. As it turns out, however, my Step-Dad, Mark, wants our children to call him "Poppy" and Charles's dad wants "Granddad." I guess their only "Grandpa" will be my dad. It doesn't bother me - it's just interesting. The only other name preference I know of is my sister, Kym. Instead of "Aunt Kym," she wants to be called "Aunt Kymberlee," which, again, I don't mind. It's actually kinda cool that everyone is thinking about those little things for when there are grandchildren/cousins to worry about.

I do love my family. In the previous paragraph, I mentioned my step-dad, Mark. He's awesome. Yes, my parents are divorced and both re-married. I'd lived with my mother and step-father ever since I was about 14 or 15. Even before they both got re-married, our family was pretty large but their marriages made it even larger. Both of their new spouses already had four children, so I have many more than just one sister. I actually have seven, both older and younger, if you include my step-sisters. I also have two step-brothers, one older and one younger. Again, I love my family - and that does include them.

Not-So-Mushy:

HAHA!! A friend of mine posted a Christmas video from this company to her daughter and I HAD to give it a try with Charles's name. Here's his (yes, he's on the naughty list!):

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/g0S-h5pLNR7fV46JpaTQ0yA?utm_campaign=share-video&utm_medium=share&utm_source=copy-paste

It's ridiculously hilarious and would make any kid happy to see their own personalized message. I know I was very impressed with how detailed it gets.

On another note, I surprised myself yesterday. When we went to go pick up my medicine from the Walmart pharmacy, the lady at the counter asked me my name and I said "Lora Eden." Oh no!! Yeah, that's definitely not my name anymore. I guess I'm still in the newlywed grace period, but it's weird. I know my name is Lora Lacey now, but it hasn't really sunk in yet. That's what happens when your answer to "What is your name" for twenty years has been one thing, but now it's another thing - an awesome thing, but something different nonetheless.

Speaking of my last name, I'm so glad it's "Lacey" and not something really off the wall like (ha - you thought I was going to give an example. Pshhh.) But you know what I mean. Growing up, my mom would tell this story of girls she knew who were named "Ima" and "Ura Peacock." Then, when one or the other of them got married? Last name: "Hog." Ouch. As if growing up with first names and last names like that wasn't bad enough. Sheesh. Anyway, I love my last name. It also happens to sound awesome paired with my first and middle names. When a former Young Womens leader heard I was getting married and whom I was getting married too she said "That's a sexy name!" Score! Know what else is awesome? The man I married to get that name. Really, though, I would have married him even if I didn't like his last name. He is everything I've ever wanted and more. I never expected to get someone as amazing as him but I'm so glad I did!

So, tonight was our ward Christmas party but my sweetheart was officiating in Marshalltown so I tagged-along with my in-laws at their ward's party. Thing is, the only people I really know are my in-laws and a few families with small children. I basically followed my sister-in-law, Brittany, around the whole night. I don't think she minded because she was grabbing my hand and making sure I was around her while we were moving around the room. (I really appreciated it because I'm not good at being on my own.) Thankfully, Charles called soon after we started eating to say he was on his way there. From that point on, I jumped every time I saw someone come up from the direction of the front door. What can I say? I was excited to see him! Finally, he appeared and I jumped up to hug and kiss him. It was nice spending time with my in-laws, whom I am grateful to have and especially grateful for the fact that we get along well, but I was so happy to see Charles standing there. It's true when you say your "significant other" is your "better half." I literally felt complete when I saw his face across the room. Cliche, I know, but it's true. I am so grateful to have found that one person who completes me and makes me feel comfortable even if I'm in a room mostly full of people I don't know.

More:

Quote of the day:

"People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos, is because things are being loved and people are being used."

I think this is very appropriate, especially for the current holiday season. As a child, especially a child in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I knew the answer to the question "What is the Christmas season really about?" but I think a lot of the time it wasn't really internalized. When you think about it, people don't typically ask you "How did you celebrate the birth of the only sinless man who ever walked the earth?" They ask "What did you get for Christmas?" or "How was your Christmas?" - referring to the time spent with friends and family, meals eaten, and/or gifts received. How much more of an impact would our holiday celebrations make if they were actually centered around Christ instead of the things received? Sure, it's nice to get a present every once in a while but even if you don't have one cent to spend on gifts for those around you or yourself, the way you treat those around you can make a world of a difference. Sometimes all someone really needs is a smile, a hug, or a conversation to see that someone actually cares about how they're doing. You don't have to spend money to fulfill the spirit of Christmas - just give your time, energy and thoughts to those around you and you have done a small part of what our Lord and Savior, the "reason for the season," did. Anyway, it's late. I hope I've made my point.