Of Thee I Sing

I may or may not have gotten totally choked up just now while trying to read this book to my belly. What an inspiring children's book!

I was like, "My baby is so lucky is gets to be an American!"

I never say the popular phrase, "Proud to be an American" because I really don't get how you can be proud of something you didn't earn. If you traveled oceans to get here and worked your butt off to be made a citizen, be as proud as you want. But I didn't help found this country. I didn't choose to live here. I was born here. I didn't earn anything. I just got lucky.

So I will tell you all day how blessed I feel to be an American, how I love to be an American, but not that I'm proud to be an American. Just doesn't sit right with me. Plus the whole concept of pride makes me uncomfortable on numerous levels, but that's not for this post.

So much is imperfect, but that's with any nation. I'm so thankful my baby will have freedom of speech. I'm so thankful he or she will walk down the street and be relatively safe from a war attack, unlike many children in Israel or Palestine. I'm so thankful a Black president won't be anything to blink at for my baby, nothing to be as excited as I am about it. It will just be a given, like when I was little and it was like, "Why not have women vote?" Why not have a Black president? I'm so thankful for my baby's sake that it already happened. I'm just feeling thankful. Darn book got me all choked up.

Valentine

In high school and college, my Valentine's Days were always disastrous. Bad bad things always happened. Even if something good happened, it would cause catastrophe. Thus, while I've never hated Valentine's Day, I never really loved it, either. Why would I?

Ever since Ryan has been my Valentine, though, Valentine's Day has been awesome. The last two years we've stretched it out over two or three days and really gotten into Valentine's Day. Now I just love this holiday. :-) Guess it took finding my true eternal Valentine to turn "Valentine's Day" from being a holiday accompanied by a host of yucky memories to some of my favorite memories.

And today has been no exception! I woke up early with plans to make Ryan a red and pink breakfast, only to find he'd woken up early for the same reason and he beat me to it. :-) I got to start off my day with pink waffles. How's that for festive?

Then I heart attacked his office. Some hearts had love messages, some had special coupons, and some were just plain hearts. He was surprised! Yay.

Tonight is our date, and I can't wait! Our third Valentine's officially together, and the last before we become parents! It's going to be awesome.

What are some of your favorite Valentine's Day memories?

100 Things (By Lola)

My sister-in-law did this on her blog, and I thought it was kind of fun. I don't expect you all to read it through, but I thought I'd do it for me. Something to look back on in future years. Maybe we can get Ryan to do one, too, since this is also his blog. We'll see, though. :-)

1. My favorite color is red.
2. I am LDS and it makes me happier than anything and adds so much meaning to everything for me.
3. I want to go on a cruise for every vacation. I love it.
4. I have a fear of heights but I went parasailing on our anniversary trip and it was awesome.
5. My favorite place to be is in the temple, standing in front of the ocean, snuggled in bed with Ryan, or onstage.
6. I don't find myself onstage anymore, but in my teen years it was a regular part of my life. I sang, danced, and acted, but mostly sang.
7. I feel really blessed to be tight with my in-laws.
8. I like dogs, but I'm a cat person.
9 I love anything soft or silky. I'm very tactile. Probably why I'm a cat person.
10. I have the best mom in the whole world.
11. Mashed potatoes are my favorite.
12. A little obsessed with polka dots.
13. Every time I see a cute baby, I want to chew on it.
14. I love to play volleyball.
15. I'm a Democrat.
16. I was born in Boston.
17. I grew up in Portland, Oregon.
18. I've lived in Utah for over 6 years...in my 7th! Crazy.
19. I'm pregnant for the first time. And I love being pregnant.
20. I love herbal tea more than anything. Especially mint. Soothes me and pleases me like nothing else can.
21. I only eat meat 2-3 times a week (maybe more when I'm pregnant).
22. My favorite temple so far is the Portland Temple. Salt Lake is awesome, too. It would be my dream to do work in every temple in the world.
23. I was married in the Portland Temple.
24. July has always been an awesome month for me. When I was younger, I'd travel, fall in love, and have adventures in July. Ryan and I became official in July, I was endowed in the temple in July, I was married in July, and now I'm set to have my first baby in July.
25. I prefer odd numbers. I never like the birthdays in which I turn an even number. I was married 7/11/9.
26. I don't believe in war and never, ever will. I think it's inarguably evil. Don't waste your time trying to change my view about it. I don't care what looks good on paper. "The heart has reasons which reason can't explain."
27. I like all word games. Scrabble, Boggle, TextTwist, etc.
28. I love to decorate my home for holidays.
29. Anne of Green Gables is my favorite movie.
30. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott is my favorite book.
31. I love to ballroom dance, especially Latin, and I'm okay at it, but I love to watch the pros and be impressed/jealous.
32. I like going to Jazz games.
33. I am really close to both my sisters and I adore them.
34. I'm the oldest of 6 kids.
35. I think two boys and two girls would be ideal for kid-having, but we'll see!
36. I speak Japanese.
37. I've never broken a bone.
38. I genuinely enjoy my husband more than anyone else. We can read each others minds and we have so much fun together. People think we're opposites, but we're more compatible than anyone really knows.
39. I love baby laughter, or being somewhere and overhearing someone guffaw. Sometimes people turn around and glare at loud laughers, but I'm glad they're adding some happy noise to the world. I'd love to know why they're laughing so I could laugh, too. :-)
40. I don't much like TV, but I have a guilty pleasure show: Pretty Little Liars.
41. I don't have cable and don't intend to ever get it.
42. I own every season of Friends and Cosby Show.
43. I love pizza with olives, but plain cheese at Escape from New York Pizza on 23rd in downtown Portland is the best pizza in the world.
44. I think in puns all the time.
45. Can't live without my planner.
46. My Aunt Pam lived with us for a lot of my childhood and she's still the best aunt ever. We're really close.
47. My brother Joseph was one of my very best friends during the high school years.
48. I have a "soulmate" friend, Bethany. We share the same birthday, similar hair, same eye color, pale skin, and a lot of the same personality traits.
49. I've been to Canada and Mexico but never outside the continent, and I'd love to travel to Europe and Africa.
50. I had LASIK eye surgery and a couple years later, I have to wear contacts and glasses again.
51. I still have the same BFF I had in the third grade: JuJu. She was a maid of honor at my wedding.
52. When Heidi and I first went to college together, people thought we looked like sisters. I love that she will always be one of my very best friends.
53. I collect children's books.
54. All of my kitchen stuff is red and a red rose is my favorite flower.
55. My friendship with Isaac Holyoak has been one of the most influential of my life.
56. My favorite song is "You'll Never Walk Alone."
57. I cry easily when I'm touched, but not when I'm sad or hurt.
58. Ralph Nader quoted me on the front page of the Oregonian in the 8th grade.
59. I love museums, art galleries, and old bookstores. D.C. was one of my favorite trips because I could wander for free through the Smithsonian museums all day.
60. My mom's family mostly lives in Michigan and I spent some time out there one summer a couple years ago. I loved getting to know my mom's family better.
61. I got a Bachelor of Science from Southern Utah University.
62. My degree was a composite major in Public Relations and Interpersonal Communication, with a minor in Early Childhood Development.
63. I'm really interested in health promotion and positive social marketing and would love to work on health campaigns.
64. I'm a nationally certified prevention specialist.
65. I like everyone. To know me is to be loved by me.
66. I am fiercely protective of my girlfriends.
67. I'm a feminist, but feel like saying that doesn't mean much, because no one really seems to know what feminism is anyway. They say it with such a bad taste in their mouths. It's a little disheartening how uninformed and closed-minded people are about it.
68. I teach special ed preschool and love it!
69. I think I have learned some of my greatest lessons from the very young and the very old.
70. The calling that seems to follow me most is relief society teacher. Even if I have a different calling, it ends up being an aspect of my calling to teach relief society.
71. I think I could live off fruit.
72. If I find out someone is racist, they lose a lot of credibility with me.
73. Being itchy is my biggest pet peeve.
74. I think ignorance is a really ugly trait, especially among people who are supposed to be an enlightened people.
75. My three favorite words in the English language are: Integrity, Peace, and Grace. I strive to live those every day and sometimes fall short, but those are the qualities I strive for and the words I hear in my head constantly.
76. As a general rule, I don't eat red meat, but now and then a REALLY good hamburger hits the spot.
77. I never like steak, though.
78. My first kiss is debatable between two guys. I'm not sure if one of them counts, because it was a New Years out of nowhere kind of thing, but the funny part is they were both Daniels, and they were within a few days of each other.
79. My favorite boy name has always been Ryan, but now I can't use it as a first name because I married a Ryan.
80. I like my name and think my parents are awesome for naming me Lola. I really think it has made life more fun to be a Lola.
81. One of my favorite memories is my senior trip with my best friends at Tyler's ranch in Sisters, Oregon. It's just one of those times you look back on with soft music and lovely sunlight and beautiful smiles permeating the playback of the memory.
82. I believe if you look for the positive, it will be there. I laugh every day.
83. People always ask if I'm Latina, Asian, or Middle Eastern. I blame the name, but sometimes they even ask when they don't know my name. I find this amusing because I think I am very plain-looking.
84. I really enjoy talking to my parents. My mom is a great listener and really supportive. My dad's texts always crack me up. He's funny and gives great advice.
85. I love the Oregon Coast. That's where we had our honeymoon.
86. My whole life I dreamed of marrying a man like Ryan, and never believed such a guy existed, or that if he did exist he'd ever want to spend eternity with me. I feel so blessed and like I'm living a fairy tale every day because of him.
87. I honestly think my husband is the most gorgeous man on the planet. Celebs don't do anything for me anymore. AND, I thought he was super hot before I ever had feelings for him, so I know it's not just marital bias.
88. I get high off of budgeting and saving and using coupons and finding bargains. I love dumping a whole paycheck into a debt and eliminating said debt.
89. I think midwives are awesome and I'm so glad I chose to go that route.
90. I started wearing a bra pretty young and got so much crap for it. The guys harassed me, and the girls were jealous...as if being harassed was fun or something. Sometimes I'd hide in a classroom between classes so no one could holler at me while I walked down the hall. I still have bad posture because of it.
91. I like sage green. I think it's a healing color.
92. I love yoga.
93. I like to cook. It makes me feel happy to make someone else feel happy and full. I try to make my home a healing place - where you know you can always go for a hug, a good friend, a mug of tea, or a warm meal. I've known people and places like that in my life and want to be the same healing presence for others.
94. I plan the menu two weeks at a time.
95. In college I was on student government and made some amazing friends and great memories. I was involved in a lot of other stuff, too, and I think that is the way to go for college. The college years are my favorite memories.
96. One of my favorite college memories is Tues/Thurs Rotunda lunches with my best girlfriends - Marie, Chelsea, Bethany, Kylie, Jordan, Megan, and then whoever else could make it.
97. I knew my hubby for 5 years before we got married.
98. I'm not addicted to caffeine, or sugar, but I am addicted to bubbles. I love anything carbonated. I avoid caffeine, and 100% while pregnant, but I'm still a sucker for any bubbly beverage and suspect I always will be. I love the bite.
99. I love adventure. I love trying something new. I love going to a restaurant I've never been to, or stopping at a little craft fair, or just whatever. I love those events in Portland where you can listen to different musical artists and watch old hippies with long gray hair dance. I just love exploring and seeing everything that is out there.
100. My family and friends are my everything.


Whew! That was long. I hold nothing against you if you did not read it. :-) Have a lovely day!

Carl Bloch

Okay I was totally confused/wrong about the art exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art we went to for date night on Friday. It was NOT an LDS artist, it was Carl Bloch! The Lutheran painter from the 1800s who did a bunch of famous paintings from the life of Christ (as well as some other non-religious paintings). His paintings are well-loved and much-used by the LDS church, though.

It was free. You just reserve your tickets online, and you get a free parking pass, too. I'm so glad we went. I was so touched, and so was Ry.

Music is the one kind of art that I would consider universal. Music moves everyone. Everyone has been uplifted, or felt melancholy, felt the need to dance, or cried because of music. Other art forms, however, don't affect everyone like that. Dance, theater, visual art like paintings or sculptures...not everyone is equally affected by those forms of art.

I am no artist. And I don't always get art, either. I appreciate art. I stop and visit every art gallery or art museum I pass when I am able. I feel like it's a wholesome recreation that makes me a better person, and so I go and I appreciate. But I don't always get it. Which is why exhibits like this are so great for me - I can read the little explanations to the side of the art and see what the artist was trying to do. And then I can be touched.

Well, I was incredibly touched at this exhibit. I spent the whole evening with a lump in my throat and tears behind my eyes. One wouldn't even need to read the words to feel it, but reading them made it that much better.

I just couldn't believe the talent of this man. And how sensitive he was to the situations of others. He would paint people he saw in the street that he felt the world overlooked. There was this particular painting of a poor old woman sharing her meager crumbs of bread with the birds. It reminded me so much of Mary Poppins and "Feed the Birds, Tuppence a Bag." Ryan was particularly affected by that painting.

(And might I add that when I first knew Ryan, when we were college freshman, he didn't seem that deep to me. He seemed nice, but...good-looking and into sports, you know? Which is fine, but through dating him and being married to him I have come to learn how much he appreciates anything edifying and anything beautiful in this world. I hope our sons learn that trait from him.)

It was all just beautiful. Google the artist if you want. They had these enormous originals flown in from Copenhagen and other places, and in front of the especially big ones there were chairs set out so people could sit and marvel. This was one of my favorites:



The plaque next to it explained that the artist paid particular attention to light and dark. His paintings are his interpretations of scriptures, and this was the scripture about Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, when an angel comes to aid him. Traditionally, artists have depicted the angel bringing Christ the bitter cup or the cross, but he chose to interpret it more sensitively. The rock is to remind us that Christ is our rock, and the red robe reminds us He bled from every pore. The bright light in the engulfing darkness is to draw our minds to the Atonement - how it can be a light in the dark of our lives. Isn't that incredible? I sat for a long time in front of this one.

This man was so inspired. I really believe that. It makes me a little sad to think about people who think we are just animals, eat drink and be merry, we're just a bunch of bloodthirty savages, nothing more to us than that. That we just eat, make whoopee, and die. It seems like a way of...avoiding responsibility, maybe? I mean, this man was so undeniably inspired! Look at the kind of beauty he created. Look what human beings can do when they tap into their talent and their spirituality. Not everyone can be an amazing painter, but I truly believe we all have gifts and we can all do beautiful things with our lives. This man didn't avoid his gift - he harnessed it. I wonder how many more people there are who could do such beautiful things. I'm thankful that people like Carl Bloch existed and do exist to remind us of that incredible potential inside us.

Art really does offer a spirituality about it that you don't feel or experience in quite the same way anywhere else.

I'm glad we went, and I'm thankful that there are things like this for us to attend and enjoy, nearby and without cost. It was a great date night.

Baby Copeland!

Well, I'm really terrible with this blog and still don't know how to do anything cool, but to the few readers, I thought I'd announce that Ryan and I are having a baby! I'm in my 14th week and began the second trimester today. It's all very exciting. We already love this little babe so much and it's barely a few inches long! Pregnancy has not been nearly as hard as I was expecting, and we have felt very blessed. We told my family at Christmas by wrapping the ultrasound picture and putting it under the tree and they were shocked! Obviously there are a lot more feelings and emotions about all this, but I am pretty devoted to my other online journal so that's where all the real stuff is at. So far, everything is good! We heard the heartbeat last week and I cried. I can't wait to feel this little baby move inside me. Ry and I love each other so much, we just can't wait to meet this little manifestation of that love. Ryan has been the best husband anyone could ask for during pregnancy. Every day I'm amazed by him. He loves me and serves me so unselfishly. I've got to stop though because it embarrasses him when I talk on the Internet about all he does for me. See, he's humble, too. ;-) I love being a mother - none of this mommy-to-be garbage - if you're growing a life inside you from scratch, you're a mother! So that's the news! Baby Copey due July 17, 2011.

Onward to Oregon!

Let me just state for the record I have no idea how to use this thing. I don't know how to "become a follower," I don't know how to set it up so it looks nice, I don't know anything at all. I already keep a journal online and feel like I can't be bothered to try and learn to navigate a new site.

But, I'm getting really excited for our Oregon Christmas and I thought I'd share why.

Reasons I Can't Wait to go to Oregon

-I get to see my family who I never really see anymore.
-I get to see my sister who I have not seen in one whole year.
-It's prettier than Utah. Sorry, but it's true.
-The trees.
-Can't wait to fly over Portland and see all the water, boats, and forests.
-The smell. I love that wet tree smell in the early morning in Oregon.
-I get to meet my cousin's baby.
-I get to see said cousin and his awesome wife and hopefully do a double date like last year when we went to a Winterhawks game and out to dinner.
-Annual trip to Sleighbells for the tree hunt and then the grunt and toil of getting it cut down and carried down the big hill. Seeing Santa and the free hot chocolate and the ornament shop.
-We'll get to see Heidi and Deric and MEET THEIR BABY!!! I can't wait.
-The Portland Temple. I'm excited to do sealings there and think about our sealing.
-My family is moving, so I'm excited to enjoy one last Christmas in that house.
-Downtown Portland. Oh how I miss the vibe of Portland. I just want to walk around in that city and be happy just to be there.







Oh Portland, how I love thee.

Thanksgiving

Every year at Thanksgiving I try to write what I am thankful for, corresponding to my age. I am 25, so here it is.

I'm thankful for...

1. The temple.
2. My job - how it teaches me, increases my patience, increases my love.
3. A wonderful ward.
4. My parents.
5. Missionary opportunities and my calling.
6. My sweet husband - specifically for his love and patience and how he supports me and encourages me.
7. Insurance.
8. When the alarm goes off early and we sacrifice "getting ready" time to have the cuddles.
9. Preschoolers - how they make me laugh, brighten my world, make me love even more, and help me rediscover the magic of colors, words, shapes, and worms.
10. Cosby Show for making me laugh and being wholesome.
11. Sales ads - allowing me to grocery shop in a way that is better for my family.
12. Literature.
13. Scriptures - the opportunity lately to read the New Testament and learn more of Christ.
14. The priesthood, and the way my husband honors his.
15. Paul Cardall - his music casts peace over my home.
16. Our anniversary trip and all the memories it provides.
17. Medical advancements.
18. A Heavenly Father who listens, who knows my needs when I don't.
19. Nail polish.
20. The Sacrament.
21. Personal revelation and free agency.
22. Ryan's job and benefits.
23. General Conference.
24. James Talmage and Jesus the Christ.
25. Weekly date night.


I am thankful.