Favorite TV show: I pretty much only watch two shows. "Modern Family" (love, love, love) and "Good Luck Charlie," which I realize is a Disney Channel show, but it's so funny!
Favorite songs: Right now I'd have to say "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLachlan (even though it's an older song, I've been listening to it a lot lately) and "Just a Dream" by Nelly. But mostly I've started listening to Christmas music the past couple weeks. My favorite Christmas song is "Oh Holy Night" by Josh Groban.
Favorite movies: The Toy Story trilogy is just so great. Besides that, I don't really remember movies well enough to say what I liked the best. I got "Slumdog Millionaire" from the library last week, and thought it was a very good film. We love to watch library movies and often frequent Redbox, but I rarely remember movies later on. This comes in handy when I can re-watch a movie and have no idea how it's going to end!
Favorite food: For the most part, I eat fairly boring foods. Bread, cereal, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. I really like Mexican food and think spinach ravioli is divine.
Favorite apostle: Elder Holland. Hands down.
What drives me crazy? My children all trying to talk to me at the same time. Or when they won't leave me alone when I'm on the phone.
5 good things about myself: Ouch, this one is hard. 1) fairly patient 2) good sense of humor 3) compassionate 4) forgiving 5) hardworking.
3 things I would like to change about myself: 1) quit biting my nails 2) get control over my addiction to sugar 3) chose to act and not be acted upon, thus making it impossible for me to feel offended.
What I think my life will be like in 5 years: Let's see, my youngest will be well into full-time school, so I'm hoping I'm working on a college degree, volunteering often in the schools and working one day a week at the KC temple. Then spending my evenings running my kids around to all sorts of fun events.
10 years: Can I say what I HOPE? That Brevan is back from serving a mission and enrolled in college, that Brynlie is enjoying her new independence as a freshman in college, that Lindsey has good friends and is being a responsible 16-year-old, and that Logan is being a nice 13-year-old who is involved in many activities and loves his parents!
15 years: Logan will be in his Senior year of High School, and my older kids will be well into their adult lives. I hope my children are happy in whatever choices they make, and are well-rounded and family-oriented. Ryan and I will be preparing to serve a mission in the near future. Maybe at the same time as our youngest son?
What 3 things I would grab if the house was on fire: Well, I'll have to make the kids count as my first thing. Then my purse and as many scrapbooks/important files as I can grab.
What is the secret to a good life? Don't get your panties in a bunch too easily. Be happy and learn to laugh at yourself. Be a life-long learner and treat everyone with respect. Value education and learn something positive from every experience. Gain a relationship with God, follow the law, get involved in your community, serve others as often as possible, enjoy the beautiful earth, be honest in all you do and make your family and loved ones your first priority.
What do I think about right before falling asleep: Not much. I fall asleep within just a couple minutes of laying down. Seriously. All I have to do is close my eyes and I'm immediately dreaming.
What qualities make a good friend? Number one, trustworthy. Also, comforting, compassionate, kind and positive. Knowing they got my back and will kick some booty if necessary.
What makes a person good-looking: Smiling and having a positive outlook on life.
If I could change my name, it would be: How about I change my last name? Hehe. I actually like the names Ali and Alison, but the Ellefsen . . .it could go. Ryan Springer sounds much better than Alison Ellefsen.
If I could travel in time, I would: Hang out with my parents at the time that they were dating and newly married, spend time with my grandparents in the child-rearing days and get their advice on life, have some good conversations with past prophets and pioneer women, see what the mothers of the stripling warriors did to make their kids have such respect for them and God, and maybe even catch a ballgame in Ancient Rome.
A typical day for me: Wake up between 6:30 and 7. Wake up Brevan and have him start homeschooling. Wake up the girls and have them shower and get ready. Make breakfast (which often means just putting cereal on the table), help with all the morning needs of the kids before having a prayer and getting the girls on the bus at 8:10. Turn my attention to Brevan and help him with his daily school schedule. Clean. Get Logan ready for the day. Take a shower. Run errands. Get Brevan to school at noon. More cleaning or errands. Kids start getting home at 3:00. Spend the evening cooking, helping with homework and driving to all sorts of activities. After the kids are in bed about 9:00, me and Ryan will watch TV or read in bed. Asleep by 10:30.
What makes me happy: Knowing that no matter how stressful or mundane my week, I get to feel like a young, flirty girl again on my weekly date with my husband.
What makes me sad: Seeing my children be sad, and realizing they have to solve their own problems.
An experience I've had where my prayers were answered: Which one? So many, usually daily. I am completely inadequate without divine help. I love that trials can be so awful, yet teach and mold us in so many ways.
Chore I hate the most: Scrubbing pots and pans with caked-on food.
A talent I have and how I've developed it: I hate questions like this, and always have. I have never been one to have many talents or hobbies. I know I'm good at expressing my feelings because I am married to a wonderful communicator and have always loved to write my thoughts down on journals, scrapbooks or blogs.
What I remember about the days I found out I was pregnant each time: Brevan: I took a pregnancy test at work (XpedX paper store) on a Saturday morning. It was only me and my friend, Cassie, working that day. I brought a pregnancy kit with me and peed on the stick in the bathroom. Even though I was trying to get pregnant, I was shocked when I saw a plus sign on the stick. I spent the rest of my time at work making a cute note to leave on the counter at home. When I got home, I put the pregnancy test next to the note, and Ryan saw them when he walked in the door a while later. He came into our bedroom and starting crying with happiness. It had taken me 4 months to get pregnant.
Brynlie: Is it awful that I don't remember? I do know that I kept the pregnancy a secret for a while because my next-door neighbor had just miscarried, and I felt badly for her. We lived in the condo in Pleasant Grove at the time. It had taken me 6 months to get pregnant.
Lindsey: I remember driving to the pharmacy to buy a test late one January night. The other kids were in bed, and I went by myself. The song "Remember When" by Alan Jackson was on the radio, and I sobbed as I listened to it for the first time. When I walked in the door, I told Ryan that I had better be pregnant or I had just gone crazy because I was crying for no reason. To this day, we consider "Remember When" to be "our song." It had taken me a full year to get pregnant, so the news was very exciting.
Logan: With this one, the news was a bit shocking because I got pregnant the first month. We had been debating having one more baby, and finally decided to take the plunge. We think Heavenly Father was saying, "Finally! You knew you had one more waiting, but kept postponing!" and sent him quickly. Ryan actually thought I was joking when I came out of the bathroom one evening and told him I was pregnant. His exact words were, "What? Since when does that happen? I didn't even know you could be pregnant already." We were both very excited about our last little bundle, and even more excited when we found out he was a boy and would complete our family perfectly.
Average amount of minutes I spend on the phone in a day: Maybe a half-hour? Unless I talk to my sisters on the phone, because that often goes well over an hour.
Average amount of minutes I spend online (at computer or on Blackberry) in a day: About an hour, I'd say. I check my phone fairly often to get new emails and texts, but put it back down within a couple minutes. I'm not an internet surfer, but do enjoy checking out friend's blogs or Facebook every once in a while.
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