Hero

Sometimes my kids surprise, even shock me. This evening was one of those times. You may know from past blogs or even our most recent Christmas letter that for years now Dallin's least favorite time of day has been dinner time. No matter what I've fixed for the past two to three years, if it had the title "dinner," Dallin despised it. He much prefers "kid" food, like chicken nuggets, french fries, ramen noodles, PB&J, macaroni and cheese-you get the picture. We've had many dinners that involved crying, gagging and even the occassional throwing up. But we've stuck to our guns and had a hard and fast rule that he is given a little bit of everything and then must finish his plate, especially if he wants anything else to eat later [like ice cream, one of his very favorites along with donuts, cookies, fruity candy and all other sugar-laden anti-health foods. To his defense, he also loves fruit (could it be the sweetness?), especially apples.] On a few occassions his big sister Alexis has felt so bad for him that she's come to his rescue and finished his dinner for him just so he wouldn't have to miss out on a special treat. However, dinner time has gotten a little bit easier for Dallin lately--I think he's finally realized he was fighting a losing battle--and he has recently begun to finish his dinner without much complaint.

Dallin, standing next to Trista's plate of unfinished food.

This evening was like most others. Tonight I served spaghetti, and Dallin was having a bit of a hard time finishing his plate. Trista was having an even harder time, and the rest of us were finished and up doing dishes while the two of them were still at the table. Finally Dallin finished, and as he rinsed his plate I told him that he could have an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Trista's ears perked up at that, but still, she just couldn't make herself finish. She was whining and crying about how she couldn't eat but she wanted ice cream and so on. I was quite successfully tuning her out. Dallin ate his ice cream sandwich, and then to my amazement walked over to the table and began eating Trista's dinner for her! When he finished he said, "There Trista! You can have an ice cream sandwich now!" My heart just melted. What a sacrifice for Dallin, who could barely choke down his own dinner, to finish his little sister's for her so she could have the ice cream sandwich she wanted. And what an example Alexis has been in the past to do the same for Dallin. It's nice to see signs that they actually do love each other--a lot! What sweet kids! I'm so grateful for moments like these.

HIS and HERS

I thought this was an appropriate tag since Valentine's Day is this week.

HIS and HERS
This is just like 25 things about me,except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you AND your spouse!! And of course,tag people!!!

1. What are your middle names? Arlene and K. (just the initial, no actual name)
2. How long have you been together? We'll celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss April 24th! We dated for six months before that.
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 4 days--we talked on the phone a few times and I loved his sense of humor. I couldn't wait to get to know him better and see him in person!
4. Who asked who out? Jordan invited me to a hockey game but I had to work. In the same conversation he mentioned a football game and I had to REALLY hint to him that I wanted to go before he finally asked, "Oh, would you wanna go?" Duhhh!
5. How old are each of you? I'm 31, he's 34. I always tease him that he's an old man because he's soooo much older than me. Especially now that he's becoming more distinguished (aka--getting gray hair).
6. Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine. His live further away.
7. Do you have any children together? Yes, two girls, two boys.
8. What about pets? No way! And we're both in agreement about that!
9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Making enough time for just us while having four young children.
10. Did you go to the same school? High school, no. University, yes.
11. Are you from the same town? No. I grew up in Missouri, Jordan in California.
12. Who is the smartest? Since I consistently score higher (by one point!) on the online IQ tests, I'd definitely say I am. But he applies himself more.
13. Who is the most sensitive? Probably me.
14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Chili's--it's cheap and it has bottomless chips and salsa for my frugal husband.
15. Where is the farthest you have travelled as a couple? Cancun.
16. Who has the craziest exes? I guess me.
17. Who has the worst temper? Hmmm, that's a toss-up. We both get worked up about different things.
18. Who does the cooking? Definitely me, but I don't mind. He brings home the bacon and does a lot of other stuff around the house.
19. Who is more social? Some might think Jordan is because he's so funny and makes people laugh and feel comfortable. But I think I am because I like to go out more and be around people and he'd really rather just stay home.
20. Who is the neat freak? Neither of us. We're both pretty clean, but having four kids has made me less of a freak about things--I just accept now that messes happen.
21. Who is more stubborn? We both are--it's so hard to be humble, to be the first to say "I'm sorry." Especially when I KNOW I'm always right!
22. Who hogs the bed? Jordan, he usually ends up in the middle, which is fine in our king-sized bed, but not so great when we go somewhere and end up sharing something smaller.
23. Who wakes up earlier? Jordan. He usually wakes up around 5:30 to workout before work.
24. Where was your first date? A BYU football game.
25. Who has the bigger family? Neither. He has three sibblings and I have three sibblings. This made it pretty easy to decide to have four children of our own.
26. Do you get flowers often? No. I used to think I wanted them, but now I'd rather spend the money on other stuff, and he knows that.
27. How do you spend the holidays? Usually with my family, because they live closer. But if his family would hurry up and move here, we'd split the time with them as well!
28. Who is more jealous? I am.
29. How long did it take to get serious? Not long. After the first couple of weeks we were together everyday, and we were engaged within three months of our first date.
30. Who eats more? I depends on which of us is trying to "be good" at the moment. Right now, I do.
31. Who does the laundry? When we got married Jordan told me, "I like to clean bathrooms and do laundry." It's great! I usually wash and dry the loads, but he's great about folding everything while watching TV.
32. Who is better with the computer? Jordan, by far, especially the technical parts like setting it up and programming and stuff. And I really don't want to learn. I tell him that's the reason I keep him around:)
33. Who drives when you are together? Usually Jordan, but sometimes I do--especially if I don't feel like giving turn-by-turn directions to somewhere we've been before. He's not good with directions, and he's the first to admit it. He's good at a lot of other things though!

Now I'm tagging Angie, Becca, Carley, Kim, Aimee, and Crystal!