Inspirational Sunday

"It would be easy to become discouraged and cynical about the future-or even fearful of what might come-if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. Today, however, I'd like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as member of the Church. The Apostle Paul declared, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

None of us make it through this life without problems and challenges- and sometimes misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, :Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy.

...I testify that to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."

~President Thomas S. Monson, April 2009 Conference

The Stats on Eden:
3 years old
kitties, kitties, kitties
barely 25 pounds
nickname 'Little Bumb'
willing to try spinach wraps and salsa
incredible morning hair
pouring sand, buttons and water

The stats on Ryan:

8 months old
'MAMAMAMA'
army-crawling around
loves to be outside, but not so fond of grass
Switched successfully to bottles and is much happier
wiggly, wiggly, wiggly
vanilla yogurt and cinnamon
blessedly sleeping through the night again

Journal excerpts May6-13th:

May 6th:
*Laura went to preschool and the littles and I went grocery shopping
*Laura's friend Adri came over after preschool. She's an 'old soul', very serious and quiet. She and Laura didn't have too much in common.
*Walked to the park with the kids
*Brent was wonderful and did the dishes, helped get the kids bathed, and put them to bed while I went on a bike ride.
*I just went and checked on the girls: they're both giggling in Laura's bed- with both of their pillows. I know I'll have to go in in a few minutes and put Eden back in her bed, but for now I'll just enjoy them being friends.

May 8th:
*Ryan is starting to push up on his knees. It won't be long before he's crawling.

May 10th:
*Went to Logan yesterday for Allie's 4th birthday party. While we were there Brent took Laura with Nate and Allie to the 'Health Days' fair. They got to ride a few rides and bond. I took a much needed nap at Sarah's.
*It's been a good mother's day: Brent and the girls gave me a toaster and a blender (mine died in our wave of appliance malfunctions). and Brent arranged for us to go this weekend alone to Park City alone. Now that is a mother's day present! I can't wait.
*The reality check: the little ones were exhausted and we spent all of sacrament meeting out in the foyer. Oh well, 'mother's day' comes in small moments, not miracles!

May 13th:
*Had the girls make cut-outs of their hands, print a chore on each finger, and set them to work. I set a mental timetable, two hours, for them to finish before I started getting frustrated, and you know what, they actually did it.

Picture: Laura is decorating the 'rain stick' we made out of a paper towel tube, aluminum foil, and rice. Eden is practicing scooping rice and pouring into bowls and cups; it got everywhere!

Little Edee turns the big 3

Today is technically Eden's third birthday, but because Brent had the day off work we celebrated yesterday. We surprised her and went to the petting zoo and rode the ponies, she had a great big smile on her face the whole time and even asked Daddy to let her go around the circle a few times by herself. She is getting big!

We went to dinner with her cousins Makayla, Dylan, Braydn (and their parents) and had cake, icecream, and presents at their house afterwards. Her favorite presents were the bright yellow croc sandals from Grandma Martha, the castle playset from Laura, who kept it a secret for a whole month and is so happy she gets to play with it too, and the lantern from the Whetsels.

We called her princess birthday girl, she got to choose the movie in the van, only had one too-much-birthday meltdown on the way to the restaurant, and shared with her sister the whole day.

Ever since Eden was born she's been a sweetie, and my little pixie friend. She loves her sister, but definitely doesn't get bossed around if she doesn't want to be, and can entertain and play by herself for hours. She loves to draw, loves her Daddy and loves to eat.

Happy Birthday little Eden Elizabeth!

Friday Evening Hike up the Mountain

The girls loved this hike. The last time we were up there Ryan was only a few weeks old so we didn't get very far. This time we got to skip across rocks to fjord a stream, look at he wild flowers, move out of the way for the bikers, and look across the valley.

We were lucky to have one of Brent's coworkers give us this great hiking backpack. Ryan loved it. No 'bee-bites!' Like always we had to keep yelling for Laura to wait for us, and I ended up carrying Eden on my back for the way back. Next time I'm bringing my wrap to tie her on.

Thursday Laura, Eden, and I went with Laura's preschool on a fieldtrip to Hamblin Dairy Farm in Syracuse. We got see the milking room, the big cows and their stinky field and the cute baby calfs that were born a day earlier. The girls were both really interested and Laura liked to feed the cows grass. I was glad that there were no 'my mommy must be a cow!' comments from my girls:) Here's Laura's preschool, both classes, she's really going to miss it this summer!