Sunday

I hate to say this is as good as it gets...but for today, it is!:) WHAT A DAY!
Tonight I told Kris, "Next Sunday I think I will make up my mind about whether or not to go to church AFTER I find out nobody is going." I decided this morning we were going (despite a couple days of diarrhea from my toddler), no matter what. No Dad, no Grandpa, no Auntie. That's how you spell trouble.:)
Super grateful today for friends who let us sit by them (and keep Annie entertained). We sat next to our neighbor and it was SO awesome to watch her 15 year old son coloring with Annie. It melted my heart. Of course, then she had this awesome little tantrum, which required carrying BOTH children out during the middle of Sacrament meeting. I didn't know whether to be irritated or amused when one lady told me after church how "cute" she thought it was. It wasn't cute to me.:) THANKFULLY, our friend was out in the foyer with her son and they kept Annie occupied.
Then there was the poop that leaked through Annie's tights and onto her dress.
Then there were the two hours where Emily was supposed to be sleeping but SO wasn't!
Then there was the fits both girls threw when we got home, just before everybody finally got a short nap.
WHAT A DAY!

Despite all the hullaballoo of our life, I have had something on my mind. I've been especially grateful lately for the people I am so blessed to have around me because of the Gospel in my life. We're so lucky to live in a great neighborhood, a great ward, and a great little town.

Today, it started with "Sounds of Sunday" and a talk about the Golden Rule. Then it was even more real to me, watching my 2 year old color with my 15 year old neighbor. The Relief Society lesson was lovely and wonderful and talked about the history of Relief Society and really made me think about the people I've known, all my wards and places I've lived. I thought about my friend Tristen. She was my Relief Society president in Tucson. She spoke in church one Sunday and after I went to her and said, "I'm pretty sure we need to be friends." And we were/are. I wouldn't trade that for anything. And I wouldn't have met her otherwise, if it wasn't for the Gospel. I get to see her in a few weeks, and seriously, I can't hardly stand it. Love that girl.
I think that's the only reason I'm surviving these days...good relationships with good people. It's freaking great.
Our closing song in Relief Society today was this...it really touched my heart.

Each life that touches ours for good,
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

Grateful

I am a complainer and I'm okay with it. Sometimes I just can't help myself. I need somebody to feel a little sympathy for me, to remind me that I'm not alone in motherhood, wifehood...life in general. So I complain.
The last week and a half (10 days exactly, since Kris and the girls just took the end of their antibiotics) has been ridiculous and I have done nothing but complain to anybody who would listen. Double ear infections, bronchitis, strep, coughs and colds have plagued our house. I felt like hanging a "Quarantine" sign outside on the door. As Mom, it is my responsibility to take care of everybody...even when I'm sick. No sick days.:( Between being severely sleep deprived and having non-stop coughing fits, I have nursed my little family back to health. Now I'm working on myself.
While I've been on the mend, I have thought about how lucky I am to have my little Annie. She is the sweetest kid EVER. She is so concerned about me - when I cough, she comes and puts her hand on my cheek and says, "It's okay, Mom." When I start crying because Emily won't stop crying, Annie stands by me and pats my knee. When we go somewhere she stands still, with her little hand up in the air until you take it and walk with her. She is a great helper and wants to do anything she can to make you happy. She sings and dances and will run up and yell, "HUG!" and wait until you hug her. She wants to be wherever the excitement is, and is lucky that the excitement usually follows her.:)
Someone once asked me if I could see my mom in Annie. She was little then and I didn't think much about it at the time. The bigger she gets, though, and the more I find myself thinking, "I wish my mom were here...", the more I feel her through Annie.
I must be the luckiest Mom in America.



Uncle David & Aunt Amy bought Annie a Beauty and the Beast tea set for her birthday. She loves to serve Emily.:)
In case you can't tell, she's singing about ducks.:)

Annie's Big Girl Haircut

Annie got her first big girl haircut this week. This wasn't her first haircut, since she's been hairy like a monkey since the day she came home from the hospital.:) But I decided I couldn't make it look decent anymore, so we went to my friend Jen's house!

Here's her before...And after (and no I don't know what is with the crazy faces!)...
Aunt Amy gave me this fun curler idea, so I put some in Annie's hair. She thought it was great, and has been asking for them ever since!

Sunday

I couldn't get a cute picture of the two of them together (one would look, the other wouldn't), so two separate ones this week!:)


At the moment I decided we would go to church this morning, my phone rang. It was my Dad saying he would NOT be going to church. I figured since I already decided to go, we would just tough it out by ourselves (Kris is on graveyard shift). We survived (with the help of Auntie Ruth).
Being sick has done a few things for me, most of which aren't good. I definitely haven't been very spiritually minded, and I've been very selfish. I'm also exhausted and SO grouchy. I mean, I really don't remember the last time I was this grouchy. Having everybody else in the house be sick, too...icing on the cake. My confession...I haven't liked me at all the last few days. In fact, if I wasn't required to be me, I totally wouldn't.
On "Music & the Spoken Word" this morning I overheard bits of a story, but the line that struck the chord with me was "It's okay if you don't believe in God - He believes in you." Don't get me wrong, being sick hasn't made me question all my beliefs. But I did need to hear that somebody believes in me, especially when I don't.
The other thing I heard today that was a great reminder..."Faith precedes the miracle." We don't see miracles to give us faith. We see miracles because we have faith.
Forgive today's scattered ramblings...I just took my Nyquil.:)

Valentine's Day

My two sweet Valentine's...

Annie's Birthday Extravaganza

Thursday was Annie's SECOND birthday! I can't believe I have a two year old. Heaven help me.:) Annie is a great kid. She's so smart and perceptive. We really have to watch what we do and say, cause she repeats EVERYTHING. She loves to color, read, play with her babies, blocks and parents.:) Annie is a super big sister. She has really become a great helper - she will get blankets, diapers, etc. She'd rather sit with Emily than anybody else in the house, and as soon as she gets next to her, she snuggles up and puts her arm around Emily.

We had a really great day, after our pipes were un-frozen, of course! Thanks to some unseasonably cold weather, we woke up to no water. Thankfully, my dad still had water and we were only frozen on our outside pipe. We poured hot water on it and a couple minutes later...water!

After that, it was off to the doctor with Annie. She is now weighing in at 29 pounds and is 35 inches tall (75th percentile for both weight and height). Guess what that means?! MATTERHORN!

After her doctor's appointment, we headed to McDonald's for birthday lunch. Annie ordered chicken nuggets, but ended up with Kris's hamburger.:)

Thursday afternoon we got a visit from Grandma Vesta. She brought Annie her first Barbie...which Annie has been carrying around ever since!:)

Thursday night was birthday dinner with Grandpa and Aunt Ruth. We had Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole (SO yummy!), mashed potatoes and broccoli. Chocolate cake and ice cream.

Grandpa brought Annie some new books. She also got a cute outfit (which its still too cold to wear, of course), a LeapTop, and some coloring books. Oh...and a potty!
I don't know where she learns this stuff...

Friday, Grandma's present arrived from Idaho. Annie opened her dress first, which she ooh-ed and ahh-ed over. Then she opened her bear. As soon as she pulled it out of the wrapping, she said, "Oh, its a bear!" She is a funny kid.
Saturday was Annie's birthday party. Since all of Annie's cousins are in Idaho, and a family party is only fun when you have little cousins to play with, we decided to have a little party and invite some friends. I felt so lucky that so many people came! We really have some great friends and neighbors.

My gourmet cupcakes.:)

We let the kiddos play at the park, and then we had cupcakes and opened presents. Annie got some really nice gifts. Her friend Abby helped her open up her presents.:) The best was when she opened her Zhu Zhu Pet - she got one for Christmas, which she ran away from, saying "I scared, I scared." As soon as she pulled this one out of the bag, she said, "Its a scary!"


Jerry Seinfeld once said, "A two year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it." I think that pretty much sums it up.:)

Sunday

This is pretty much our Sunday in a photo.:) Safe to assume I didn't get much out of church today.
While getting ready for church this morning I was thinking about faith. I had this interesting thought, how faith is more than believing in things we cannot see. It occurred to me that faith is also choosing to give up our agency to God, knowing that we have control over some things, but having faith that God's way is better than ours (even if its not what we want).
Every Sunday morning we listen to the Sounds of Sunday on BYU Radio. I heard this Kenneth Cope song this morning and it really pierced my heart.

Groundhog Day Eve.

Seriously, my kids have the cutest smiles in America. I get that I'm biased, but it's my responsibility to tell everyone how cute my kids are, how they're cuter than your kids, etc. And it is a responsibility I do not take lightly!:)
Both Annie and Emily have these freaking adorable dimples. They melt my heart. Emily has been smiling alot lately and its so much fun.

I just couldn't resist posting this cause every time I look at it, I crack up.:)

We were watching "Annie"...Annie loves all the music and so I was trying to get her on camera dancing (with my armful of baby). I looked over and she had taken her pants off (its a new thing...who knows why) and was dancing around in her diaper. Of course when she saw the camera she stopped!:)