candy is good for colds

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

My thoughts have been all over the place the last few days as we prepare for Christmas. I just love this time of year. Right now it is lightly snowing. How Beautiful! Today I am really missing my grandma. She passed away last January so this will be my first christmas that I can remember without her. I made carrot cookies today because they make me remember her. Each year at Christmas she would invite us kids over to make cookies. We always did carrot cookies and sugar cookies.

Nick spent the morning making sushi. That is one taste he must have got from his Japanese side, but one that I don't share. He did find someone to eat it with him. (our nephew Dallin)

This last week Molly has kept us busy as she has learned to crawl up the stairs and is getting really fast. I still don't trust her to do it alone. Too paranoid that she will fall. She has been sleeping so good the last 2 nights. In fact, I think I got the longest uninterrupted sleep the last 2 nights then I did before Molly was born. (Now if only Nick would sleep through the night!)

One of our traditions is to get a bouquet of Christmas flowers each year. These are the ones from this year. They brighten my day!!

I made this ornament with Molly for her "first Christmas" ornament. On the other side in gold marker it has her name and year. I think I will make a small angel ornament for our angel baby in heaven. A few more traditions to go and soon Santa will be on his way. Tomorrow our plan is to make tamales. On the 24th, off to brunch with the Sidwell's and then to Price for Christmas Eve dinner at Grandpas! Can't wait!!!

Spoof blog, like "Seriously so Blessed"

Check out this funny spoof-blog about "craft bloggers"!

craft-your-pants.blogspot.com

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms

I just finished reading Dr Laura Schlessinger's book "In Praise of Stay-at-home Moms" and loved it!! This may get me in trouble with some of you working moms. I realize that not all women want to be home, (although I can't see why) or circumstances make it necessary for you to work (although if you read her book you may realize there are some sacrifices worth making-even financial ones). Anyway, I give her book a thumbs up for stay-at-home moms, (SAHM) those considering being a SAHM or those who are not a SAHM but have a little guilt that you are not home with the kiddies. She even has a chapter to get your husband on board if he isn't. She talks about what being a SAHM really means and how to make it the best job for you. She discusses your responsibilities as a mom, wife, homemaker, financial advisor, and your husbands girlfriend. I have always had the desire to be a mom. That is why it was so hard when for almost 6 years of marriage we were childless, but if the wait taught me anything it would be to cherish every moment. Here are just a few short quotes that I really liked.

Speaking of your children

"...One day they can't walk, the next day they're running. On day they can't talk, the next day they won't stop. Everything they see, smell, hear and do is a new miracle-enjoy the ride, even though the house isn't perfect and your neighbor has more jewelry."

"Being responsible for children, a home, and a husband teaches you to live outside yourself, for something and someone other than yourself. Getting accolades, applause, bonuses and such is great. It's just taht the ultimate quality of your life is not in your resume but in the minds and hearts of those you mean something to because you gave of yourself to them."

"You know that there are no worries about what your kids are being taught or how they're being treated, or how they are feeling, or what they are doing, because you are there! You want to be the one to feed, hold, and love your baby. You want to be the one to experience every new synaptic brain connection that leads them to their next ability. You want to be the mother."

"The key to perspective is that what you feel is put second to your life. You can feel severely tired after a long day and gripe about the aches, pains, and pure exhaustion, or you can say to yourself, "You know, at the end of the day, it's kind of great to feel this worn out- it means I've experiences a lot today." Share the experiences as a blessing, instead of curing the aches."

"Having great luck and fortune is not the conduit to loving and enjoyable life; gratitude is!"

I am SO grateful to be a SAHM!! I am thankful that my hubby works so hard so that I can be home with our little one. This is a time I wouldn't trade for anything! (even if it means taking a few months to save up for our wants...it is worth it!

Santa

This is Molly before she looked at Santa

This is Molly after.

These are a few of my favorite things...

As I thought about this post, a "few" of my favorite things began to turn into a ton of favorite things, but for tonight, I will limit it.

1st-My baby. This smile of hers I can't seem to get enough of. Even when she is sleeping I miss her. The other day I went to a ward RS Christmas dinner and I was eating peas. I smiled because it reminds me of how much Molly loves peas. Then the next night I found evidence of her food choice when I went to get her in her pj's for bed. Right in her belly button sat a green pea. It had made its way down her onesie and into her belly button. So funny. But seriously I love this girl so much and I am so thankful that I get to be home with her everyday. I am spoiled.

2nd-My hubby. He actually is my Most favorite! I don't know what I did to deserve him. The other day I went to load the dishes to find they were already done. Then the next day I went to take out the garbage and again it was already done. Not just the main garbage, but all the bathrooms and Mollys room too. I know those things are just simple things, but they make me feel appreciated. Nick is the best thing for me.

3rd-My Ensign. A random thing to call my favorite, but I have been so enjoying my November Ensign. My mom got Nick and I both one and had them spiral bound and the cover laminated. It has been so nice to study a conference talk each night together.

4th-Heat. I feel so blessed to be warm tonight.

(PS-Thanks for the cute Christmas dress and Ensigns mom!)

Monkey Business

The last week Molly has learned so many new things!! She started to sign "more" and "all done" She says "hi" and yesterday (with her dad behind her) she climbed all of our 10+ stairs. How is it possible that my baby is almost one?!? Today at church 3 older ladies came up to us after sunday school and told us they wish they had a porcelain doll with her face and hair. They googooed over her. Enough to make any mom feel proud. They also told me how cute Nick is with her and what a great dad he is. (something I already knew but it was fun to hear.) Nick takes Molly during most of church so I can do my calling in Young Womens. She sure loves her dad. The other day I was busy cleaning and Molly and Nick came crawling around the corner with a monkey on Molly's back. She thought it was so funny! I can't resist this sweet girl!

Hair

I guess you can see who she got her hair from.

Open House

This weekend we had an open house so friends and family could come see the finished product. (when I say finished, I don't mean completely...there are still some pictures to hang, curtains to make, etc. but this is as good as it gets for a while) It was a lot of fun! Thanks to those who made it.

I am a little behind in the blogging world. This is for my mom. Molly loved her new dress and we had so many compliments today about how cute she looked. Thanks!!

Last weekend we went to my cousins basketball game. She plays for the aggies. Molly had this hammy-down Utah State cheerleader outfit. She looked so cute in it. She wasn't too sure about Big Blue. We spent the whole weekend with my parents eating out, shopping and visiting.

This last photo is for Nick. Last Sunday Molly started coming down with something. She was a little grumpy when we went to church- (we had to give talks, so mom and dad watched her) but after church she got a fever that lasted until Thursday. Poor thing was so sick, but when I took her to the doctor they said it was just a virus. She did have a sore throat that they checked for strep but came back negative. Anyway, we had been up all night for about 3 nights in a row. Nick felt pretty helpless because when Molly is sick she wants mommy. So he bought us matching warm, fuzzy socks to hang out in. We love you Nick!

Forever Safe

A while back a sent out an email telling about a side job we are doing, but I thought I would also mention it on our blog. We are selling YUMMY freeze dried food. I highlight yummy because it really is good! Of all the people we have taken samples to everyone has loved the food. (can't say that about rice and beans)

We actually bought freeze dried food a while back before we found out about forever safe. We ended up spending about $150 more for the same amount of food. In other words, Forever Safe is less expensive than any other freeze dry food company. The food is great, they have about 15 different entrees, you just add water and they store for 25+ years. One thing I really like about them is that they come in small zip pouches (not cans) so you can just add water right to the pouch. We have had several people get them just for 72 hour kits or car kits. They would be great for camping trips or backpacking trips. They are nutritious and even kids like them. Shipping is free in Utah. If you are interested in finding out more, please call or email us. Also, spread the word.

These would make a great Christmas gift! Who wouldn't want easy food storage?!?

You can go to the following website to find out more. We can get you even better prices than on line, so once you know what you want, or if you want to try a free sample let us know.

http://www.wisecompanyus.com/home/

Just for clarification: Forever Safe and the Wise Company have merged. That is why some of the info is from Forever Safe and other stuff says Wise Company.

Also, read a "testimonial" from my sister-in-law on the comment page

Crawling

Molly has been crawling for a while but I have never been able to catch her on camera. She did her belly flop crawl for about 2 months. Then she mixed the two together doing the regular crawl when she was just getting around and the belly flop crawl when she was trying to get to something fast. I finally caught a real crawl. Sorry it is sort of dark but I didn't want to stop recording for fear I couldn't get her to do it while the camera was rolling.

Happy Halloween!

As most of you did, we had a great Halloween. We went to a Halloween party that my 5 year old nephew planned in the morning. It included playing "Don't eat Frank," A pumpkin puppet show and pumpkin carving. We ate lunch and the boys went to the Hobby Shop while Jess and I hung out and the babies slept. When they got up we went trick-or-treating. Nick was a Ghostbuster and Dallin (my nephew) was a Ghost. Matthew was a duck and Molly was a pumpkin. Of corse we finished off the night by watching a scary movie. The Others. While we were watching the movie, Molly played with her candy for over an hour. She would put it in the bucket and take it out. Then put it in and take it out. She loved it!

This little Piggie got Swine Flu

It is true. Somehow this little piggie got out of Molly's hammy-down pajamas and the last 5 days we have been stuck home with swine flu. It started last Tuesday night when Molly woke up about 11 pm crying and I went to check on her. She was HOT! I brought her into Nick and he confirmed my suspicion. We took her temperature- 102.5 and then gave her Tylenol. She wouldn't go back to sleep, so we spent the next hour or so cuddling on the rocking chair. After several more times awake, a priesthood blessing and many prayers the sun came up and we called the doctor. After going in, the doctor diagnosed Molly with Swine flu. Not exactly sure where she picked it up but my suspicion is that she got it at her "well baby" check-up a few days prior. Anyway, we have spent the last week shut in trying not to infect the rest of the world. I started showing symptoms a few days later. I think we will stay in for a few more days. Molly doesn't have a fever anymore (and hasn't since last Wednesday) but still has a yucky cough and nose. I just have the nose stuff still. The good news is that it seems like a mild flu and we are slowly getting better. Here are some things we have done while stuck home.

Molly had suckers to keep the couch down a little. She loved it.

Curled Molly's hair for the first time.

Made a cute craft for her bows.

Read lots of books! (Molly loves to pull them all off the shelf)

Hung blinds in the house. Tried a new recipe. Hung out as a family. Watched several movies.

Happy Halloween!

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Idaho & Friends

Yesterday we drove up to Twin Falls ID to visit some of our friends from grad. school. We visited, went to church, went to see the falls and to the Twin Falls temple. It was so much fun to see the Johnson's again! (They were in ID for a medical rotation, but heading back to vegas next week) We got to meet their baby Russell who is about a month and a half younger than Molly.

We also had Molly's 9 month check up this last week. She is doing great and growing strong. She was 15 lbs. 12 oz. (6th percentile) and 27 inches tall (40th percentile) We didn't get a H1N1 shot because they didn't have any, but the health dept. does and I have been going back and forth about it. Any advice?

There's No Place Like Home

This is a tile that my mother-in-law gave me. I love it and now having our own home, it means even more to me. Yep, it's true...we are in our new home! It is such a blessing and one that I don't want to take for granted. On our second morning in our new home, Molly woke up and Nick brought her into bed with us. I laid there with the two people that I love the most in my own home and I felt SO BLESSED! It was a great moment for me. We have been busy unpacking, organizing and cleaning. I think I have most of the boxes unpacked, but nothing on the walls yet. I am so indecisive when it comes to decorating.

Here is Molly doing her P90X push-up and then doing her crawl to get into things. She also got her first tooth this last week on the 6th of October. My baby is growing up!

Closing

Tomorrow we are supposed to close on our loan for the house and 24 hours later it should be ours. That is to say everything goes as planned. We are so excited to get moved into our home, but honestly the packing has been such a bore. I keep thinking, "This is the last time you have to do this for a long time," but it still seems tedious. I went there tonight and there are still a few last minute things to do so I hope they get busy. (mirrors to put up, windows to clean, a few touch ups)

This last weekend was a lot of fun. Last minute we decided to go camping. We went with my sister Jess and her family. Molly totally loves being outside, even if it is cold. We loved making smores and talking around the camp fire. Around 1 am, I had enough of Molly crying every 20 min. so her and I took the 10 min. drive home (we were just up Logan Canyon) and slept in our own beds. Then Saturday morning we went back.

On Saturday we went to Salt Lake and visited some friends at Wheeler Farm. They took these cute pictures of Molly. I love her eyes in them. After seeing them, we went to dinner with the Sidwell's and then went to the RS General Broadcast. We met my mom and sister-in-law Julia there and also my mother in law Ali and sister in law Kim and Crystal. It was fun to be all together. Thanks Ali for getting us tickets. Saturday night we went to the Bodily's where Nick had been hanging out while I was at the broadcast. We enjoyed a really great visit with them. We have been blessed to have the best friends!

Molly is SO CLOSE to crawling. We haven't tried to teach her, hoping that she wouldn't be too mobile until we got into the house, but everyday she gets closer on her own. It is fun to watch how her mind works.

Molly loves to splash in the tub. Isn't she so cute!