Abby at 2 months

10 lbs. 9 oz. 22 inches long. She's in the 25% all around. Still a little runt. All of my kids have been. That said, she is growing fine and is healthy. Can't complain.

Valentines Day

I think this was my best Valentines Day ever. I woke up to beautiful roses. (I should add that I got to sleep in until 9:30!) We stayed home most of the day as a family and for dinner I made homemade pizza. It was so nice to just stay home. Attached to the roses were little cards that Aaron had made. Each card had a different coupon for me to redeem. Some included, foot rub, clean all the bathrooms, put the kids to bed while I take a hot bath and read a book, etc. So sweet and so thoughtful! I sure love my man!

Friends

My greatest hope is that my children will be friends with eachother. When I was younger I would fight all the time with my sisters. My mom would say to us that someday we would be the best of friends, so stop fighting! Well, at the time I couldn't imagine that that could be true, but like everything my mom has told me, it is true.

Hannah and Nathan have their fair share of fights, but ocassionally we'll catch them being sweet to eachother all on their own. One thing that we've discovered is that regualarly we have to go in after the kids have fallen asleep and move Nathan back to his bed. He loves to get in bed with Hannah and fall asleep. She doesn't seem to mind it either. We're glad they love eachother.

Our Little Ones

We think he's a stud!


Abigail has started smiling at us. Here she is smiling in her sleep.



Hannah with her cousins and friend Chadley.

52 Blessings/ Week 6: Love Unfeigned

I went to a Relief Society Enrichment meeting on Saturday. It was SOOOO good. One of the speakers talked about love unfeigned. I guess I never knew exactly what that meant, but he said it means it's not phony, or fake, but that it's true love.

The Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith about how the Priesthood should be used only in righteousness. This is what He said, "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion (communication), by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile- Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upone by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy".
D&C 121: 41-43

I've thought a lot about these words the last two days. To have love unfeigned means to forgive, to put your feelings aside, to show forth more love for another than for yourself. I dare say, that I haven't mastered that. I can say I have that kind of love for my husband and children, but I'm not sure I've always exercised this with everyone. What a blessing it is to know that we can become like our Heavenly Father, through our Savior. I'm so grateful for His love that is perfect. I chose this as my blessing for this week because I have been the recipient of this kind of love and consider it to be one of the greatest blessings of my life.

Bugged!!!

My sister Carlee tagged me to write 10 things that bug me. Hmmm....only 10? LOL

1. A floor that needs to be swept. Can't stand seeing crumbs on the floor.
2. Ironing bugs me to no end. I do not like to iron! Poor Aaron's shirts. LOL
3. Toothpaste that spills out of the lid and makes a mess.
4. When Nathan or Hannah lose their blankies. Unbelievable drama!
5. being tickled.
6. Whining
7. Petty problems. Too many to go into detail.
8. Selfishness
9. Greed
10. Unfinished projects!

Baby Blessing

Yesterday, Aaron blessed Abigail. She is such a sweet little baby and Aaron gave her a beautiful blessing. I'm grateful that my family was able to be there. Standing in the circle was: Aaron, my Dad, Trent, Travis, Tyson, Mike, Jeff Nielson, and John Whitehead (he was the missionary who taught Aaron the gospel 12 years ago).
A friend was thoughtful enough to write down some of what Aaron said in the blessing and gave it to me afterwards. This is what she recorded.

*Father We ask thee to bless this child with strength and health throughout her days
*Endow her with courage of heart and strength to carry the mantel as she shares the gospel.
*Endow her with an understanding of the teachings of the gospel.
*Bless her as she learns and accepts the principals of the gospel.
*Help her to abide by the principles we teach her.
*We plead with thee Father to protect her and keep her from harm.
*Help us look after her in this world and keep her safe.
*We love thee Father and are grateful for this child.
*Bless her to be a light and guide to those seeking the gospel truth.

I feel so privileged to be my childrens mother. I feel that they are choice spirits of our Heavenly Father. I am humbled beyond words to be their mom. I feel the great responsibility everyday, to teach and nurture them.

52 Blessings/ Week 5: Sleep

Me and Hannah zonked out on my bed one night and Aaron took this of us.

Ever since I can remember, I've LOVED sleeping! I love "the bed" as I refer to it. Well.....having children has altered to some degree, my time in "the bed" so therefore, sleeping has become all that more precious to me. This week has been HORRIBLE in the sleeping area of my life. My sweet little baby has been sleeping better than my other two children, who I've always prided myself on being AMAZING sleepers! Since we moved into our new home, Hannah and Nathan share a room together. For the most part it's been great. This week however, twice they've woken up in the wee hours of the morning and will not go back to sleep! I can hear them playing in their room. After 1 to 2 hours of persuading and threatening them to go back to sleep, mean mommy had to come out and get real serious. (I had to take away their night light). If only they could understand just how much sleep means to mommy! LOL I'm happy to report, last night was heaven and they slept without any interuptions and my precious baby only woke me up once. Hooray!

I'm so glad when daddy comes home, glad as I can be!

I have to admit that it is a happy time for me when Aaron walks in the door each night. After my fill of fun with the kids for the day, (lol) he comes to my rescue and plays with the kids. This is my time to clean up, rest if I want, and sometimes, I even join in the fun. Hannah and Nathan LOVE it when Aaron comes home. Games usually include, hide-and-seek, reading books, making forts, or tickle tortures. He gets them all wired before bed. It's great! I don't know how he has the energy to play after a long day at work himself, but he always does.

52 Blessings/ Week 4: Freedom

How could I not write about this wonderful country this week? I am so grateful to live in America and to have the freedoms we enjoy. Having lived outside of the U.S. for a time, I really saw first hand just how wonderful our country is. I realized while I lived in the Netherlands that our founding fathers were truly inspired by God to create a declaration that would allow for mankind to live with the ability to use their God-given agency to dictate their lives. What a blessing! I pray that our freedoms will always be protected.

Walking with Dinosaurs

Aaron took Hannah on a daddy/daughter date last week to walk with dinosaurs. Literally. I dropped Hannah off at her daddy's work where he then took her out to dinner, then down town to see the show. She was soooooo excited all day to go with her dad. A couple of times she said, "the dinosaurs are going to eat me". I laughed and told her that her daddy would protect her. She was satisfied with that.

I guess the show was incredible. Life size dinosaurs that looked so real. Hannah wasn't scared at all until the very end when the T-rex came out. Aaron said it was as loud as Jurassic Park. Very thrilling! Hannah was a little nervous by that, he said. However, daddy did protect her. :o)

Thank you Trent & Cheryl for giving Aaron the tickets. Both dad and daughter had a wonderful night out.

52 Blessings/ Week 3: Friends

I consider my friends one of my greatest blessings in my life. From childhood, to adulthood, I've made great friends along the way. I think back on my childhood friends that would play "house" with me, or "dolls", or sell lemonade with me outside. Good times! Then during my teenage years my friends were so very important to me. I look back and am so grateful that they never asked me to compromise my standards or beliefs. I can remember one time in particular when one of my friends had just gotten her drivers license and so we went "cruising" while listening to church music. Yep, that was the extent of my "wild" days. Boy my parents had it easy with me! LOL When I went away to college I made my lifelong friends. One of those gals just left my house and I'm so bummed that I forgot to take a picture with her. These women have molded me in a very real way. They are women I look up to, respect, and deeply admire. I continue to meet wonderful women and am truly thankful for each one of you ladies. Thank you for your friendship. I hope and pray that my children will also be blessed with wonderful friends.

My Best and Eternal Friend

My dear friend, Suzanna

I'm happy to say that my brothers and sisters are some of my greatest friends

Highschool friends

College Friends

Terrible 2's

How did we go from this....


to this...



He was always my sweet, cuddly, happy little boy! Now he is independent, screams at the drop of a hat (and might I add that his scream is just a few pitches higher than a high C), he likes to go around pointing his little finger at me and say "dop" for stop as he looks at me real stern like. Quite honestly, I can't help but laugh at this little one, but I am sad that he's hitting this 2 stage 6 months early. Just means that my babies are growing up and I don't like that one little bit! From time to time, my sweet little boy will come out and want me to hold him and rock him. I live for those times. Thankfully he still wants his mama when he's sick, hurt, or sad.
Here's just a few more pictures of this little guy that I soooo LOVE!!!

52 Blessings/ Week 2: Dave Ramsey

Ok, I know I should probably think of something more sentimental, but really I am so thankful for this man who preaches to whoever will listen, about the importance of living on a budget and how to get out of debt. Aaron and I started listening to him on the radio a little over a year ago and I'm here to tell ya, he's fantastic! His philosophy is easy to follow. The tricky part is being disciplined enough to stick with it, but we are here to tell ya it works if you stick with it. So, it is deffinately a blessing to be on a budget and also, if you've not heard of him before, he is my gift to you all to start out a wonderful 2009! Happy New Year!


This is what Dave Preaches
Get out of debt the same way you learned to walk, one step at a time. Dave has taught these principles to millions via radio, books, Financial Peace University, Live events, and online:
1- $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
2- Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3- 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4- Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5- College funding for children
6- Pay off home early
7- Build wealth and give!

For those interested, check him out at daveramsey.com

Abby at 3 weeks

Some Pictures of our House

So, this is for you Grandma Rietfors. I've been meaning to post some pictures of our new house, for quite some time now and keep forgetting. Here are just a few. Sure love and miss you.

Christmas 2008

CHRISTMAS DAY!

Aaron and I were soooo excited for Christmas since Hannah was old enough to understand the whole Santa thing. Christmas Eve we had a nice dinner together, then made a gingerbread house together. We each opened one gift, then put the kids to bed so "Santa" could come.

The next morning we could hear the kids in their bedroom so we knew they'd be coming to get us anytime. However, they didn't come into our bedroom as usual since the Christmas tree lights were on, they were drawn to that instead. We could hear them ewing and awing (sp?) so we came out to join them. They were so excited! Santa really had come and he brought them more presents then they knew what to do with.

I was most happy when I caught Hannah talking on her pretend phone laughing and really having a good conversation to someone. When I asked her who she was talking to she said, "Jesus, it's his birthday today". So, even though she was excited about the presents, she still understood why we have this special day.

Christmas Day, we went to dinner at my parents house where the fun only continued. All the grandkids were excited to share with everyone what they received that year. Mom and Dad read us the story of the 3 trees and to the kids they read "The Grinch who Stole Christmas". We played games afterward and then headed home in a blizzard! It was such a wonderful Christmas this year. We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a very happy New Year!

The kids sporting their Christmas pj's.

Our finished gingerbread house, which is slowly being eaten!

Grandpa Eyre reading "The Grinch who Stole Christmas". Hannah couldn't see the pictures, so climbed on up to have a better look.

Opening presents from Grandma & Grandpa.

Hannah & Gracie

Adult Christmas Dinner

Every year my parents take all their children out for a nice dinner. This year we had the dinner at their house and did some fun things afterwards. We made homemade candies, peanut brittle & pulled taffy. These were some things we would do as children, so it was so fun to share this with our spouses this year, plus it was fun to think back on Christmas' past. My parents also put up a baby quilt in the basement to tie and they will be giving that away. To end the night my dad has been working on his lifes' history for several years and finally finished it as a gift to each of us kids. It really is a treasure to have this book. What a wonderful Christmas present!


Susan & Trent working on the vinegar taffy
Aaron's finished taffy. I must admit that his was one of the best and certainly the best looking!

Dear Friend

I think we all know someone we'll never forget and Anne Shirley, of Green Gables, calls them "kindred spirits". Jen is my kindred spirit. She was one of my great mission companions. We had the greatest companionship. Working with her was such a blast, so much so that we would often find ourselves working over the expected hours asked of us. During the time we served together we laughed, and cried, and grew in ways that I'm not sure we would have with any other companion. I must admit that when I think of my mission it is mostly the time I spent with Jen and the people we taught together.
She now lives in Indiana with her husband and little boy. As if that isn't far enough, they will be moving even further this next year to Pennsylvania! (Darn you Cory)! LOL Thankfully they have family here in Utah and seem to make it back for a visit atleast once a year. Although our visits are limited and short, I ALWAYS look forward to seeing you Jen! I love you girl!



This is her adorable little boy, Jake.