Days of May

May has been full of really fun celebrations. First up, on May 3rd my dad turned 51! He is such a sweet, loving father and grandfather and has raised amazing children who have followed his example in serving the Lord. My dad has so much faith. Growing up he would consistently reassure my anxieties with the message everything will work out, which is much like Pres. Hinckley's quote: Things work out. And it always has. He was my seminary teacher and bishop for a few years and I admit, I was not the most respectful daughter. Yeah, yeah, you probably can't imagine me as a bratty little teenager (or maybe you can...) but I was very critical of my father at times and I sorely regret it. With maturity you realize that your parents are very human and have emotions and are doing the best they can. Parenting is hard, and I hope I can instill as much faith in my children as my father has.

As a teacher he loves his students and sees the very best in people. Every student was a "good kid" at heart, even when we tried to correct my dad that no, they really weren't a good kid. God sees our hearts and our potential for good, and I'm so blessed for his example in my life and the legacy he has left in the Raleigh name.

Another birthday in May was Claire's uncle Richard! Like the rest of those Bennion boys, he's great with babies and it's been fun to have him close until we move.

And we can't forget Mother's Day. I talked about my mom recently in this post but I truly am blessed by her faith and love for her children. I also am so grateful for my mother-in-law Lorraine (aka Mother Bennion). She has always been very welcoming and loving as I entered the family and I am blessed by her spirit which shines through. And I realized kinda late that wait, I'm now a mom too! That meant I got to justify getting myself a gift this year :) Here's a pic of mom and happy daughter.

And on Mother's day we got to chat with this fine young man. Dave-o my bro! I love him so much. He is extremely talented and I am edified weekly by his emails from his mission in Chihuahua. He is growing so much and I know this mission is molding him into the incredible man he will be the rest of his life. So grateful for missions and missionaries.

Now that we have basically missed spring here in Utah, I'm looking forward to our last Utah summer. Yay, warm days and barbeques!! Bring it on.

Jellybean/Spring Shedding

Here's some new pics of our easter jellybean. Can't wait until she can hold an easter basket find eggs next year!

Roll over!

Photo by Anna Jeffries

So, I'd heard that you shed a lot of hair after giving birth, but in the month or two after I had Claire, I was surprised that my head was still holding on to its pregnancy-induced volume. However in the last couple weeks, bam! Handfuls in the shower, strands everywhere after blow-drying, and the constant picking of hair off my clothes, the carpet, etc. Sorry if loose hair grosses you out, but I need some hope. For those of you with experience, when does it end?? At this rate I'll be bald by Memorial Day.

The following people may look great bald, but I don't think I'm one of them:

Best Friends

This weekend I was able to attend the wedding reception of my very first and one of my best childhood friends - Alyssa Rhodes (now Andrus). We started playing together when we were only two and three years old. We lived down the street from each other for four years, but in that short span of time we spent LOTS of time together doing what preschool and kindergarten age kids in the 90's did best:

Fighting over My Little Ponies

Watching Little Mermaid and Cinderella over and over again

Recording our voices on my Fisher Price tape recorder

Lots of playing pretend (house, hair salon - including actually cutting our hair, library, store, etc.) In fact I have a tape where we recorded ourselves playing house and I assigned us to be the mom and sister - but we had no dad because he died of AIDS. I must have been listening to too much news, yikes!

Getting in trouble together. Once when we were really little we drew all over ourselves with markers. When my mom came in and discovered us, before she could get angry I started to sing the Primary song, "if you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay..." We also enjoyed making prank calls and definitely got reprimanded for calling 911.

When I moved to a different part of Salt Lake and then to Oregon, we still made sure to have sleep-overs during my visits and wrote each other lots of letters on Lisa Frank stationary. When I was nine I even named my first pet goldfish after her.

March 1990 - Alyssa age four, me age three

My fourth birthday party (Halloween-themed of course)

Isn't it crazy how some memories stick in your mind? I can even still remember her phone number. Wow, she made a big impact on my childhood - thanks for being such a great best friend Alyssa Rhodes!

At your service

Last fall I went through a three day training to become a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technician (aka: car seat installation nerd) I learned so much great car seat information which became especially relevant as I had a baby coming my way. On the heels of the recent updated American Academy of Pediatrics car seat recommendations, I wanted to mention how much I love child passenger safety and how much I'd love to answer any questions you have on the topic. Confused on what seat to use or when to switch to a new one? Don't know how to get your car seat to lock in tight with the seat belt? Car seat tipping at a weird angle? Feel free to ask me any time - I'd love to help! In fact, there's a car seat check point the afternoon of May 7th at RC Willey in Orem. More than 80% of parents install car seats incorrectly - Come and have your seat checked by a professional for free! You can also find a local inspection station anywhere in the US by going here.

Some interesting resources:

• Recommendations: Ages and Stages

• Top Ten Ways to Reduce Car Seat Safety/Common Errors

• Why rear-facing is so important:

• Booster seats - not just until age 8: http://boosttil8.org/

Haha, it would be ideal if I had a picture of her happy and content in her seat, but the reality is they sometimes would rather not be in it! With patience and consistency we can make sure our kids always ride safely. Kids: We do it out of love - we promise!

Me and Nie/Special Birthday

Not too long after I had the baby, I started reading the blog the NieNie Dialogues. The author is Stephanie Nielson of Provo. You may have even seen this beautiful Mormon Message about her. Well, reading her blog was like reading a book I couldn't put down. I re-wound in time back to her and her husband's tragic plane accident in 2008 and read going forward. For hours over a span of a week and sometimes late into the night I read, finding comfort in her hope-filled messages during her times of extreme physical and emotional pain, smiling at the cute pictures and stories of her four adorable kids, sighing at her love story with Mr. Nielson, and gaining motivation to live life with more faith in God, more beauty, creativity, and more expression of my womanhood and motherhood. Well, after reading her triumphant story, I fantasized about meeting her - running into her at Target or the mall. She felt like a character in a book, but she was real and living only miles away from me! I got my wish last night. I attended the premier of a student-made film about a 12 year-old burn survivor (read about him here) which she promoted on her blog. She mentioned she'd be in attendance and so I made sure to go meet her and her husband Christian afterwards. I told her about our family's eery similarities (which I talk about here). They smiled, laughed, we chatted for a sec and she gave me a hug. She is spunky, fun and such a sweet person. It's easy to feel kinda dorky meeting someone you admire in real-life, but she was extremely kind. I'm so excited I didn't let this opportunity pass by. Love you Nie Nie!

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Before I go, I need to mention the most important event of the day: the birthday of a special someone.

Who is...

beautiful

spunky

loving and forgiving

creative

loves learning and teaching

likes organization and beautiful things

is an amazing preschool teacher

loves playing tennis

was born in SLC on April 6, 1965?

If you haven't guessed yet, Pamela Denise Johnson Raleigh - my mom!

I always loved having a cute, young mom. Growing up kids would always tell me, "your mom is so pretty!" I thought it was cool to tell people she graduated high school in 1983 - which at least to me doesn't seem like that long ago! Beyond the exterior, my mom has constantly served her family. She has cooked innumerable family meals to foster precious family moments, instilled in me a love of learning by reading to me from a young age (I still remember her reading Alice in Wonderland and other classics to me in first grade), and supported and encouraged me when life was difficult. During some especially tumultuous middle school years she sensed my need and started reading the Book of Mormon with me every morning. That began my understanding of the crucial nature of the scriptures in our life and I've read the Book of Mormon over and over again since that time. She was quick to forgive and give hugs which communicated a very special motherly love. She's spent countless hours sewing Halloween costumes, a prom dress, and other special things. Her 20+ scrapbooks of our family have preserved a history which is priceless. She is intelligent and has a very special spirit and spiritual sensitivity which blesses her family. It's been fun to see her raise my amazing brothers and sisters and I've learned so much that I want to implement with my own family. I love you so much mom!!!!

Christian Bennion: Second Lieutenant, US Army

Christian getting sworn in

Well, we did it. We are now a part of the US Army! Christian received the Health Professions Scholarship which will pay for all four years of dental school plus books and fees as well as provide monthly living expenses - a blessing considering I will not be working. He has no commitments to the Army during school but afterward will attend a six week Basic Officer Training in Texas and then begin four years active duty working as a dentist for the base he's stationed at. We will spend our time stateside on or near a base but if he does get deployed overseas we would come with him unless he's sent to a war zone (where he would work on teeth away from enemy lines - no fighting thank goodness). Of course no one wants to be separated from their family, but you have to be ready for such a sacrifice. We could experience some of the greatest hardships we've every experienced, but also some amazing blessings as well - being debt free a huge one as well as having a job straight out of dental school. We have thought and prayed about it a lot and feel this experience will bring blessings and growth to our family.

After 4 years active duty he will serve 4 years reserve where it is extremely uncommon for dentists to be called up. Then you're done unless you decide to make the military a career (which I highly doubt we will but I can't speak for myself 12 years down the road).

So, big decision but the reality of it all is four long years away - the moving around and ups and downs that come with military life. Right now we're just focusing on school which isn't too far around the corner. We'll be moving around the first of August.

Lots of crazy changes in our life just keep coming. Life is great and our Claire becomes more special to us every day. Here are some smiley highlights from the last month of her life: