The Peterson's

Letter to Daddy

2011-07-13T15:15:00.000-07:00

Dear Daddy -
I miss you. I couldn't have know how much this would hurt until you were gone. The day you passed is so far the hardest day of my life. Holding your hand as you took your last breath felt overwhelming. I can honestly say it took my own breath away. I have no words for the feelings I felt and still feel. No real way to explain how I miss you. It's truly incredible, sometimes overwhelming the pain of your death. You were so young. Too young. I feel selfish sometimes for my feeling. I am glad you no longer live in pain... how you went on day after day is something I don't think anyone can truly understand. I used to cry after leaving your house because even though you tried hard to hide it, I could see your pain. I hated it. I still hate you lived through that for so long. But, for my own selfish reasons I still want you here. I want to see you kiss Cady. I can hear your voice in my head, " I'm excited to watch her grow up. She wont be afraid of me like the other kids were when they were little because they didn't know me." I want you to watch her grow up! I want to watch you, watch her grow up. There are nights that don't seem to end. When the hot tears wont stop. Your face that day in the hospital wont leave my mind. Your last words repeating over and over... "I just want to feel better." I'm so sorry you had to feel those things. They rip me up inside. Before I lost you I thought I knew what sadness was. I have been through hard things but, nothing compares to this sadness. I know I will see you again and that is the only thing that gives me peace. I have prayed so hard to know that and it has been confirmed to me that I will see you. I will hug and kiss you. We will be reunited and for that knowledge I am thankful. But, knowing these things doesn't mean that I miss you any less. Sometimes I feel so alone in my feelings (even though I know I'm not the only one who lost you). I get scared to speak of you because the tear come so fast and don't stop easy. I want you to know I love you Daddy. I want you to forgive me for not being a better daughter. I'm sorry for not calling more while you were in TX. I'm sorry for not being kinder and more understanding while you were sick. I hope you knew how deep my love for you is. Gosh I miss you! There is one more thing I want to tell you. Something only you will understand. I know it was you... Thank you!

It's been a while

2010-04-15T19:35:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since I have blogged... oh well! Ok so I can't believe this.... I came in here to blog a little and Amber work up. Oh well. Maybe next time. But here are some pictures.

Giveaway

2009-10-15T21:04:00.000-07:00

Go here :

http://thevintagepearl.blogspot.com/

To enter to wins a SUPER cute charm necklace!! You CAN'T win if you don't TRY!!

Good Luck!

My Joy

2009-09-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

So here is the story! Amber is in Joy school this year and she loves it. It is teaching her how to find joy in herself and the world around her. It has wonderful music, fun lessons, new things to learn and explore, and new friends to get to know. It has been going wonderful these past 3 weeks! This week it has been at my house with my sister in law teaching. SO fun to see it up close and not be the one teaching! I got to sit back and observe the learning. I saw the lights go on in their eyes. The joy they felt learning a new song or understanding what their senses are and help them do! SO MUCH FUN! Alysha - you did an awesome job - I love you! So here are some pics from this last week. I tried not to take too many because I didn't want to distract the kids... I really had to fight the urge to bust out the camera every 5seconds!
These are from Tuesday; the kids were just sitting around the table for an activity.

Here is Thursday (today). We had an extra kid today. I was babysitting my neighbor's kid while she went to an interview. THX Alysha for taking on an extra kiddo!

As you can see they got to make pudding and use it to finger paint! It was a huge hit. So after school was over I made lunch for my two. Amber wanted more pudding and I told her if she eats all her soup she can have some before her nap. That was all I had to say! If you know Amber, she doesn't eat that well, so that was huge for her. I guess she wanted the pudding. Here are some pics before lunch/pudding...

They were both clean and so was my kitchen
Then I gave them pudding....

Amber is such a sweet big sister! She loves feeding Brigham and asked to share her pudding with him. After these first pics I asked Amber to now feed Brigham the right way or she won’t be able to anymore. Ok. I walked away... After about 5 mins of me doing laundry I thought they are being to quiet. This is what I found!

I laughed and laughed! I should have taken a picture of the highchair, table, and floor! She did the total job. After my great laugh I stripped them down to take a bath and found another surprise that made me laugh even harder.

She even painted his back! It was too good. These two are the joy in my life! Moments like this I will remember forever and they won’t remember them at all. These moments and memories are what life is about! A sweet brother and sister doing what they do best, sharing and making a mess! Life doesn't give any more joy than that! Times like this make all my other worries/problems seem so unimportant. With everything that causes me stress I can still find joy each day! I still laugh. I still smile. How could I not? I know you smiled when you saw their cute, messy faces! I have two healthy, happy, beautiful, JOYFUL kids! I am so blessed!
This is My Joy!

9/11/2001

2009-09-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

I remember. GOD bless the USA!
Ground Zero in 2007

Joy School

2009-09-01T11:53:00.001-07:00

My girl started Joy School! She was so excited and had a really good time. I can't believe I have a 3 year old... I'm ganna blink and she will be 18! AAAAAHHHHHHHH. I love her so much. She is such a sweet girl and so smart ;)

The Gift

2009-08-23T19:59:00.000-07:00

Church was difficult today. A family in my ward is going through ever parent's nightmare. My heart is just broken for them. There were a lot of tears listening to the update by Bishop in Sacrament meeting. It's a good thing Brigham needed to walk the halls. I lost it pretty bad and was glad I wasn't in front of to many people. Primary was something I will remember for the rest of my life. They spotlighted little Rachel today and we sang her favorite primary song. As soon as the children started singing the Spirit just intensified! I can't explain it; it was like a wave moving through the room giving us all a hug. Honestly the most beautiful feeling ever. How thankful I am for my children. I pray I never have to experience what this family is going through. But if I do, I am deeply grateful for my knowledge of the Atonement! Jesus Lives! That is pure truth and because He lives, we will all live again. With Temple Covenants and enduring to the end we will be together forever. That is such a precious gift! Hug your babies... we never know when they will be called home!

First Ride

2009-08-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

My camera went dead before they actually got going but I think it's still cute! Amber loves riding on the quad with Daddy.

Hair Cut

2009-08-11T21:46:00.000-07:00

Brigham got his first hair cut. I love it so much! He looks so grown up. Thanks Aunt Susie for doing such a wonderful job with a screaming, crying baby who wouldn't hold still!!

Before:

After:

I LOVE MY SWEET BOY!

1 Nephi 7 : 12

2009-08-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.

All Grown up!

2009-08-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

I have been reflecting on my childhood a lot recently. Probably because I have children of my own and when I do something with them I think, maybe my mom and dad used to do this with me. Right now my oldest, Amber, is getting to the age where she/I want her to start participating in activities like pre-school, dance, piano, swim... just to name a few. These are all things I did at her age and loved! These were things my parents sacraficed money and time for me. Back then -obviousley- I didn't understand those sacrafices. But even as I grew older and did understand -to a point- those sacrafices didn't stop and my activities didn't stop. My parents never told me no or discouraged me away from any thing I felt like doing! They were always %110 supportive. Looking back on this now, I am a little ashamed because I don't think I ever showed the gratitued I should have to them. Being a parent now and being a poor parent (only poor financially, I am RICH in all the ways that matter)I see and feel how hard those sacrafices can be. Expecially the finacial ones! I don't know how my parents did it back then... when we were young, they weren't rich. They struggled like every young family does. But, it didn't stop them from giving me and my brothers every opportunity we need/wanted! Amber isn't as blessed as I was, I guess... I can't put her in all the activities I participated in, at least not right now. We are going to take them one at a time;) This year is Joy School and I am struggling with paying for just that alone!
So here is my point. I wish I would have given my parents a few more hugs, a few more kisses, and a few more thank you's! I guess I'm all grown up now!?!? My mom always told me I wouldn't understand until I was a mom myself! She was right! I didn't understand, and now I do!
Thank you Mom! I know you don't read this often... but I LOVE YOU TONES! I wan't to be like you. I want to love like you love and give like you give! You are perfect and beautiful! YOU ARE MY BEST FRIEND.
Thank you Dad! Thank you for all the butterfly kisses. All the daddy daughter camp outs! I love you and miss you TONES! I hate that you live in TX, I really do hate it! I miss seeing you every week. I miss you being with us on Holidays, birthdays, and just because days!

Family Pictures

2009-06-19T13:05:00.001-07:00

We had our pictures taken a few months back and I wanted to post some of them. They turnned out so cute ;)

I love this picture of my Mema and Olepa! It is so special to me. They have been married 55 years!

These are of my Mom and her parents with my brothers and I!

Here are the Cousins! I can't stand how freakin cute they are!

This is my Mom with the kids. She is the BEST Nani and Mother on earth. She loves with all her heart and gives everything she has to her family! I love you Mom, more than you know!

And here is my little Eternal Family!

Vacation

2009-06-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Billy and I went on vacation with Sarah and Stephen. WOW we had fun. We had some really good laughs and much needed relaxation! Here are some of our fun pictures! We had a blast taking pictures in every hat we could find.

Sarah and I also had a brush with fame... At Universal Studio's we met the stunt guy for Twilight. I don't know why, but that was pretty cool.

We also ate at Pink's and Randy's and they live up to their fame. BOMB FOOD!

I will leave you all with some more hat pictures...

Brigham turned One!!!

2009-06-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

I can not believe my baby boy is one. The year has gone by so fast. I absolutely Cherish him. He is the happiest baby, always ready to smile and laugh. We had his birthday on the 30Th and it turned out awesome! So much family came to celebrate. Thank you everyone for coming and for all the wonderful gifts. He loves them and so do I. I really appreciate the clothes. He grows so fast I can hardly keep up with him;) And a special thank you to my mom. You always go above and beyond for my kids. I was really worried about how Billy and I were going to be able to afford the new car seat... I should have known I didn't need to worry, you always take care of us;) I love you, thank you! Here are some pics from his party. I made the cake. I am pretty proud of it. It was the first time I have ever made a "fancy" cake.

The 31st was his actual birthday so we made him his pancake breakfast and sang. Brigham loves pancakes and he almost ate the whole thing.

Here are some things about Brigham that maybe you didn't know:
His first word was dog. He loves his puppies and likes to look out the back door and watch them play. If he ever gets to quiet the first place I go look is at the back door. More times than not, that's where he is. Brigham is very happy and easy to get laughing. He doesn't just giggle, he laughs hard. Almost anything will get him laughing. Like runing his hands down daddy's chin when he hasn't shaved in a while. To jumping and spining with him. Chasing him around the room gets him laughing. There isn't much that he doesn't find funny. I could go on and on and I actually want to, but this is going to have to be continued later... We are leaving for Cali in the morning and Billy is telling me it's time to get stuff ready, I guess he is right. So I will leave you with a few pictures of Brigham from the past year.

WANTED! 5 Men Armed and Dangerous

2009-04-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

The boys went shooting today. Here they are with their guns. Watch out!

Oregon

2009-04-07T21:28:00.001-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Oregon with my Debbie and Don this past month. We went to see Alexis get baptized and seeing the Mathias family made me realize how much I missed them. The kids are growing so fast... Alexis is still as sweet as they come. Family is so important and I have the best family on all sides. Abby started walking while we were there. It was so cute ;) Just sitting here thinking about them makes me miss them so much. I took for granted them living so close for so long. I miss seeing their faces at Sunday dinner. I miss being able to hug them each week and hearing their silly stories. I miss Ammons warped sense of humor and Tammy just shaking her head at him...
Anyways, it was good seeing them. The ride in the car was LONG to put it lightly. The kids did great however! I only wanted to pull my hair out a few time, JK. Thank you so much Debbie and Don for taking me. It is something I will never forget! And I really want us all to go back to the parks for a camping trip! Lets plan it... Here are a few of the hundreds of pics!

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Christopher's Wedding

2009-04-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Chris tied the knot with Brittany on March 21st. It was such a fun day. Lots of family and friends came to support the two in starting their lives together. I am so proud of Christopher, words can not express how happy I am to see him settle down. Brittany is beautiful and so much fun. Here are some pics of the fun day! Amber was the flower girl and she looked stunning! I was a brides maid and Billy was a grooms men!

25 Interesting Facts

2009-03-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

I saw this on my cousin’s blog and thought it was fun. While I was reading her answers I was thinking about what I would say. So I decided to just do one myself. Not sure how interesting it’s going to be...

1. My biggest pet peeve is un tucked pockets - Not sure why...
2. I'm obsessed with not being fat, really obsessed – Not sure why on this one either.
3. I eat the same thing at every restaurant we go to. Example - if we go to Chilies I will get the mushroom fajitas (every time). Or Subway, I get a turkey sub.
4. (This is one of Truly's, but it goes for me as well) I cry much harder when an animal dies in a movie than a person. Weird.
5. I will take a bath every night, if I can. I also like the water on as hot as it will go, no kidding. When I get out I look really sun burnt!
6. One of the hardest things I have ever gone through is my parent's divorce. For a lot of reasons, it's still hard.
7. My favorite time of day is when Amber wakes up from a nap... she is always so cuddly and touches my face and kisses. Sometimes she falls back asleep and I get to just hold her.
8. I love the hot summer. I guess this is why I love Arizona. I will take heat any day over cold.
9. I hate being pregnant. I love the outcome of pregnancy and I love some things like feeling the baby move. But, everything else I can do without. I think this has a lot to do with being obsessed with not being fat. I feel so fat pregnant.
10. I LOVE Disneyland. I am really a little kid at heart. I get more excited than most kids. It really is a magical place.
11. I drink Diet Dr Pepper like its water. YUMMY! When I'm hungry sometimes I find myself drinking one instead of eating food. I like it so much I will actually choose which restaurant to eat at based on if they have it or not.
12. I am a totally basket case in a car when other people are driving. Sad, I know, but I really do get scared. I try to control this as much as possible. It really makes Billy mad sometimes!
13. I love movies. We own a small fortune of them.
14. My favorite sound in the whole world is Brigham laughing! It gets me every time.
15. I am jealous of Becky Jones and how dang cute she does her girls hair! I try but, I just can't do some of those styles!
15. I run for fun and Billy just does not get this at all!
16. I like being Blonde and hate it when people say I have brown hair. I was brave a few months ago and colored my hair "darker" blonde but, now I have that out of my system I'm going back really blonde!
17. I love to travel and don't get to do it near enough.
18. I hate doing laundry. Really and truly hate it.
19. I like to make up songs to sing to my kids that make no sense what so ever and laugh at myself when doing this. Billy thinks I’m a dork but the kids seem to like it.
20. My biggest regret is how I treated my mom while I was a teenager! I know a lot of people say don’t regret but I do.
21. If I had three wishes they would be; for my dad to not be sick anymore, that ALL my family will be in the Celestial Kingdom together one day, and that I could speak to my papa again just once.
22. I really enjoy sign language and want to become fluent.
23. I love being with Billy and I really mean this. I sometimes follow him around the house without even realizing I’m doing this, I know, I’m weird. I don’t like doing anything with out him and it’s not because I’m dependent on him it’s because I enjoy him. Everything is better with him there. Ahhhh…
24. I can’t sing or dance even if my life depended on it.
25. My family is my life.

OH NO! GUM....

2009-02-27T07:11:00.001-08:00

Ok so I woke up this morn to find gum in Amber’s hair. I didn't freak out like I though I would... probably because I had just woken up and my brain hadn’t kicked on yet! So, I have never had to deal with this sort of thing before. As a little girl I never got gum in my hair. At least not that I remember. So I just started going about my morning (still not quite awake and not ready to deal with the gum in Amber’s hair). Not long after that Billy wakes up and I very matter of factly state Amber has gum in her hair. He goes right over to her, assesses the damage and goes and gets peanut butter. Now the gum wasn’t in the bottom of her hair. It was wadded up right in her scalp. I didn't really think peanut butter would work and we would have to cut it out. I was wrong, PEANUT BUTTER WORKED EASY AND FAST. I couldn't believe it. So can anybody tell me why Billy knows all the tricks I should know as the wife and mother??? I swear I married the perfect man. I'm so thankful he didn't have to work this morning because I probably would have spent and hour trying to do what he did in 5 mins. So next time any of you moms find gum in your little girls perfect locks, bust out with some peanut butter ;)Oh and another bonus, now Amber smells so yummy I want to take a big bite of her!

Backyard FUN!

2009-02-08T20:13:00.001-08:00

Amber got a play set and Daddy and Uncle Chris set it up Saturday Morning. We had some cousins over late that afternoon to play!! It was fun and I know it will provide hours of fun.

Crawling

2009-02-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

Brigham is officially crawling. He has been getting around so far by pushing himself backwards or rolling. But, tonight I gave him Amber's beach ball, he pushed it away, then got up on all fours and crawled right over to it like it was nothing new!! He is growing up so fast. I wish time would slow down.

Family Home Evening

2008-12-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

It is so fun having FHE with a little toddler. Amber gets so excited to learn about Jesus. She asks me several times during the week to teach her about Jesus. Each time, of course I do, but a formal sit down with prayer, song, lesson, and treat is saved for Monday nights. Tonight we talked about the meaning of Christmas. She is so cute and loves talking about baby Jesus. We sang some Christmas songs before we started and Amber's favorite was Jingle Bells. "Again, Again!" she kept saying. After we talked a little about Christmas we made snowflakes. Amber would tell Billy what shapes to cut out and she colored them when they were done. After the snowflake making Billy and Amber made a Christmas chain. We told Amber she can pull one off each day all the way until Christmas. I plan on telling her a little story each time before she takes off a ring. We then hung up the snowflakes and chain. Amber wanted to hang the snowflakes on the front door. Here are some pictures of our fun FHE!! I love my family and the simple things (like FHE) that keep us close.

Temple Lights

2008-12-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

We had a blast at the Temple looking at Christmas lights. Logan and Amber were so cute together. Like every year it was beautiful and I love being on the Temple grounds with my family. It reminds me of why we are here on earth; to return home to Heavenly Father as one big happy family!

Billy made hot chocolate and I made cookies that we brought and ate while watching a group sing Christmas songs. YUMMY YUMMY

Merry Christmas!! 17 more days :)

It's been a while

2008-12-05T12:51:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted for a while so I figured I would make an update. Ok. That was it. Nothing much going on in my life. Seriously now, there have been some fun things. First CHRISTOPHER IS GETTING MARRIED!! I am SO EXCITED. The girl is Brittney and she is SOOO BEAUTIFUL. She has a son named Logan that I can't get enough of. He makes me laugh so much and everyone can use more laughter in their lives. Chris and Brittney are so sweet together. The date they picked is March 21st and they asked me to be a bridesmaid, Billy to be a groomsman, and Amber to be the flower girl. I really feel so honored, Amber will make the cutest flower girl ever. Brittney picked out the most beautiful wedding gown. I really LOVE it, she will look stunning. If you can't tell... I am really excited for them!! Not only do I get another sister, which is BIG for me because I don't have any blood sisters, but I get a new nefew. It can't get much better than that.
Second, one of my best friends had the baby yesterday. Mindy had baby Brody on 12-4-08, he was 8p3oz, and has a FULL HEAD of black hair. He was so little and it was crazy to think he is a pound bigger than mine when they were born. YOU GO GIRL!!
And thirdly, It is the Christmas season. I love this time of year. There is really a differsnt feeling than the rest of the year. I have really enjoyed teaching Amber what CHRISTmas is really about. I am so greatful for Christ's birth and his life. I am thankful for my knowledge of his Church. I love the peace I feel when I know I'm doing what he wants me to be doing. What a blessing the Gosple is, The Church is TRUE. I KNOW it, I FEEL it, and I do my best to LIVE it. The greatest gift ever given was the gift of Jesus Christ. He gave his life so that we can live again.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a busy, fun day. We got up early and went down to vote early. It was the last day for early voting. I was so GLAD we did it because the line was only about 20 mins. It felt good knowing I did my part for my Country and State both of which I love.
Then we went down to the United Food Bank and got a lot of food for only $16. When we were there we saw another early voting line that looked like the wait was well over an hour. People were sitting in lawn chairs, I'm so glad we didn't have to wait like that.
When we got home that afternoon we let Amber paint two little pumpkins we got at the food bank. She had a lot of fun.

Then we got the kids dressed for Trick or Treating at Talan's house. Amber was a little Devil and she looked so adorable in all red. Brigham was our bumble bee.

Painting Pumpkins

2008-10-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

We had Nani, Uncle Ernest, Aunt Alysha, Talan, and Kamden over last night to paint pumpkins. It was seriously SOOO MUCH FUN. I enjoyed it so much more than carving pumpkins. Amber and Talan were able to paint their own pumpkins and spend as much time on them as they wanted. They seriously painted them for like an hour. Verses if we carved pumpkins the kids couldn't have really done anything but watch... Thank you Mom for bringing all the art supplies and pizza. I can't believe it's already Halloween. I am so excited for the holiday's this year. I think Amber is going to understand more what it's all about. This year has gone by so fast. Were going to blink and it's going to be 2009 YIKES!!!

What did we see at the Zoo?

2008-10-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Zoo was wonderful. Amber loved every minute of it. We got some AWESOME pictures and laughed a lot.

Our Life

2008-10-08T21:38:00.001-07:00

A lot of FUN things

2008-10-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

Well, first I would just like to ask... wasn't conference WONDERFUL?? Billy and I totally enjoyed the spirit. We are so blessed to have such spiritual giants lead our Church. The talk that had the biggest impact on me was David Bednar's about prayer and being thankful. I am so thankful for all God has given me. I know I don't show that gratitude enough. So the challenge to say prayers every so often and only thank Heavenly Father is one I am taking on. And lets not forget to give credit where credit is due. Thank you Debbie for giving that exact challenge at Sunday dinner the week before Conference. You are so inspired by the Lord of what our family should be doing. If anyone missed the talk please listen to it at lds.org.
Next and just as wonderful is that Amber is potty trained!! Yes, it is true. After a lot of hard work and cleaning up after messes.... HAHA, not even close. She took to it so naturally I hardly had to do anything at all. I started with her on Monday and by today she is doing it all without even being asked or reminded. I shouldn't be surprised, every thing that I hear other parents say is a hard adjustment for children, Amber has taken to like it's nothing. I had no problems taking away the bottle or pacifier. I had no issues transferring her from her crib to a bed. She is making my life so easy as a mom.
Brigham is 4 months and an absolute joy. He got rice cereal two days ago. He actually liked it, didn't make any weird faces or anything. He also stayed relatively clean compared to how Amber was the first time she got rice cereal. Even though he did well, I'm not going to give it to him again for about another month. I want him to sit up better before I start giving him it all the time.
The last thing I wanted to talk about was our family garden. We started our garden in September and just finished planting last Saturday. This season we have broccoli, sugar snap peas, carrots, lettuce, and spinach. The best part of the garden is seeing Amber 'working' with daddy in the garden. I will keep everyone posted on how our crops turn out. And those of you who live here in Arizona, we will share ;)

Praise to the Man

2008-10-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

I just watched a very inspiring movie last night called Praise to the Man. It was about Joseph Smith, his life, teachings, visions, blessings, trials, and death. What a wonderful man and Prophet Joseph was. The devotion he had to Heavenly Father is humbling. It made me feel the will to do more to build up the Kingdom of God on earth. Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God. He truly saw God our Father and Jesus in person. They chose him to be the instrument in restoring the true Gospel to the earth. This movie taught me things I didn't know and reminded me of things I already knew. The sacrifices of the early saints were incredible. I kept asking myself, could I have stayed true in the midst of such adversity? I like to think I could. What a man and what joy I feel to be a benefactor of his sacrifices and devotion to God. I love this Gospel. I love Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the Atonement and it's role in my life. I know I can be forgiven if I truly repent of my sins and short comings. I believe in Eternal Families. I have hope in a brighter tomorrow and a happy today. We live in a world that is getting increasingly evil. But, I can't help but be thankful to live at this time. Because while things are getting worse in some cases, things are also getting much better in others. Just look at our children. Their spirits are strong and unwavering. We are raising a righteous generation who will be able to stand up to the storms of Satan. Look at the Church and it's growth. Look at the Temples and how they dot the world, which is a fulfillment of a prophecy. I am grateful. I am happy. There is much to be thankful for. And there is still much to be done to build the Kingdom. I hope I do my part and make my Father in Heaven proud.

Rolling Over

2008-09-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

Brigham is exactly 4 months today. The time is passing so fast. He had a mile stone today; he finally rolled over. It was really neat because I caught him in time to be able to video tape it happen. It was also special because Billy got home in just enough time to see the final push onto his belly. Most of the time Dads miss out on things like that. The only set back is Brigham didn't totally get his arm out from under his belly. Other than that he was all the way rolled over. And just like Amber he learned from his back to his belly first. My understanding is most babies learn from belly to back because they don't like doing tummy time. Well, neither of my kids have followed that rule.
Brigham is so fun and lovable. I can't get enough of him with those big blue eyes and flirtatious looks he gives. He is finally starting to fill out. And really starting to look like Amber when she was a baby. I know every mom thinks this but, I really do have the most wonderful kids. Every moment is a treasure and adventure.

Rachael's 4th B-day

2008-09-29T17:31:00.001-07:00

Amber's First Picnic

2008-09-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Amber has asked a couple of times to go on a picnic. I have always planned on taking her but, just hadn’t yet. So this morning I figured today is as good as any. When I told her we were going to have a picnic today she started running around the house asking for her shoes and saying "Get ready Mommy!" You really can't imagine how excited she was unless you were here to see her. I told her we had to wait till lunch time but she could help me pack for the picnic until it was time to go. So there we sat on the kitchen floor making sandwiches. Around 11 I couldn't make her wait any longer. We loaded up the car and went to the park. She didn't even want to play first. All she wanted to do was sit on the blanket and have the picnic. It was so cute and fun. We will have a lot more picnics when it starts getting cooler out side.

The Temple

2008-09-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

Amber is so adorable. At Grandma Debbie's house, Amber was playing with blocks while I was cleaning. She came running up to me saying Mommy look, Temple. I figured she saw a picture of the Temple in the house or something. I followed her and she pointed to what she had just built with the blocks. It was so cute to see how proud she was of herself for building the Temple with the blocks. It also made me very proud of her. It's amazing how Amber already understands the Temple is special. She has such a strong spirit and she blows me away every day at how close she is with Heavenly Father. When we drive in the car she points out the window and says look Mommy, Jesus is hiding in the clouds. She loves saying the prayers and can almost say them without help. She just turned TWO!! She is so smart. I could go on and on about things she does that just melt my heart. I love her so much and I know she brings joy to all those she is around.

Proud to be an American

2008-09-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am proud to be an American. I love my country and am thankful for my freedoms. Both my grandfathers served in the armed forces. And my dad always taught me to be proud of our Country. I am thankful for my knowledge of the Gospel and knowing that Heavenly Father had a direct hand in helping our Founding Fathers set up our government and laws. Reflecting on what today means... I thought of times in my life when I have felt the power of my patriotism. One time that really sticks in my mind was on a vacation. Billy, Debbie, Don, my Mom, and I all went to New York in May of 2007. We went to ground Zero and the fire Station across the street. We saw the memorials; on top of the Empire State building we saw the Twin Tower Memorial lights. We saw the damage and we also saw the rebuilding in that area. There is a very interesting story my Father in Law told me was of the church directly across from the Twin towers. As we all know MANY buildings were damaged and destroyed on that day, not just the Twin Towers. Well there is a church DIRECTLLY across the street that didn't get any damage... WOW!! Bet you can't guess why... Well President Washington prayed in that church and prayed for our Country's protection. Coincident... probably not. When the chaos of 9/11 was happening fire fighters, police officers, volinteers went to that church for refuge and to pray. What a blessing.
On that same trip I felt the spirit and deep love for my Country when we were leaving New York for the start of our Cruise. The Ship played very loud one of my absolute favorite songs. It is the song that reminds me of my Papa. We played this song at his funeral... I am proud to be and American. As the song played we passed by the Statue of Liberty. I was deeply touched by the spirit and even thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes. I am truly Proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free. And I won’t forget the men who died and gave that right to me... There is no doubt I love this land. GOD BLESS THE USA!!!

Sleeping Babies

2008-08-06T15:12:00.001-07:00

I found my kids both sleeping soundly. Aren't they soooo cute?

My daughter the sponge

2008-08-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have a rule that each day Amber goes out side to play. During the summer months this is a little more difficult to keep up with. I usually like to get up and take her down to the park at like 6am. But, when I'm to tired or it just doesn't happen we play in our back yard. So anyways, that's what we did today. We were having a good time playing with bubbles and the football. I had Brigham out there in his bouncer chair. He was sliding down a little bit so I turned my back from Amber to sit him back up. In those few seconds Amber decided to put her face in Bridget's face (our cat). Not a good idea Amber... Bridget got spooked and clawed her face. My poor baby girl. She screamed and cried "Bridget got me Mommy!" I swooped Amber up to comfort her and I was a little upset with Bridget. Now I know, I know, Bridget was doing what was natural for her. But when your child has claw marks on her beautiful face and is crying probably from fear and pain you can't help but feel a little upset. So, without thinking I said loudly... "Stupid Bridget!" And without missing a beat Amber started saying "stupid Bridget" over and over again. I brought the kids back inside and cleaned Amber up. The whole time she is saying stupid Bridget, stupid Bridget. I laughed because it was funny hearing her sweet little voice say something so ugly. I then told her I was sorry for saying those mean words and that she shouldn't say them either. She seems to have understood because she repeated we don't say ugly words and hasn't said stupid Bridget since. Instead she is just saying "My scratch, Bridget." Or in other words here are my scratches from Bridget. It is so true that our children are listening and watching our actions all the time. We really have to think about what we are subjecting them to.

Brigham's Baby blessing

2008-08-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

Billy blessed Brigham
yesterday and did a
wonderful job. The spirit was really strong. I could tell he was feeling what he should say through the Holy Ghost and not just talking. He blessed Brigham with a strong body, to be a light unto those he will come to know, to help spread the gospel. Brigham was blessed to find refuge in the holy scriptures, to study them. Then he was blessed to find a worthy companion to be sealed to in the temple. There was a lot of family there to support us and others who wanted to be there but couldn't. I feel really blessed to have a husband who is worthy to use the priesthood to bless our family and others in need. The priesthood is truly the power of God on earth. Through it all things good come to past. I am happy to have this knowledge and to have it's power leading and directing my family every day.

(side note) - I wish I would have written down what was said at Amber's blessing. I can remember some things but, not them all. I am glad to have a way to share the special event with those who couldn't make it. And also this gives me something to look back on to remember.

Princess Party

2008-07-29T12:14:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Brigham

2008-07-25T12:21:00.000-07:00

Brigham was born on May 31st. He has been such a perfect baby and has brought such a sweet spirit to our home. He is 8 weeks old now and we can really start to see his personality shining through. He has the most precious smile and when he gets excited he sighs... it melts my heart every time.

Amber's B-Day Party

2008-07-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Pictures from her party. Thanks for everyone that came and all the wonderful presents she got. I love being apart of such a big family who love my family as you all do!!!

Amber Turned Two

2008-07-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

My baby girl is growing up so fast. Her Birthday was such a fun day. We started out by making her a pancake breakfast. We put a candle in her pancake and let her blow it out(figured it would be good practice for her b-day party the next day). For lunch we took her to Peter Piper Pizza. She loves pizza and really loves to play at those pizza joints with all the lights, music, games, and other kids running around. After her afternoon nap we took her to Grandma and Papa's house to play on their splash pad. It was her first time on it and she LOVED it!!

Second First Post

2008-07-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Ok - I'm trying this again. Thanks to Alysha, I know how to do a lot more things on BLOG. Some how I messed up my last blog page so I am starting over from scratch. A lot goes on in my life and I am going to do my best to keep this as up to date as possible.