Thoughts of this week

This last week I have been reading the book Heaven Is Here by Stephanie Nielsen, a survivor of a plane crash with her husband that left her with 80% of her body covered with 3rd degree burns. She has such passion for marriage and motherhood and her book has inspired me to to cherish the true blessing it is to be a wife and mother to my incredible husband and two amazing girls. I have felt prompted all day to write a post about my little 10-month-old Eva. I have enjoyed every moment of being her mother. She has a fighting spirit inside of her that I admire. She has a love for her family that shines through her eyes. When she is proud of herself she is excited to share her excitement with me. Every time she comes bounding around the corner and I hear her little feet pad the floor, she always greets me with one of the best heart-warming smiles that make her little blue eyes shine bright. Makes me feel like a million bucks. I can truly feel her love and need for me and there is nothing more rewarding about motherhood than that, to feel needed by your children. It puts into perspective the responsibility and absolute importance of my role of providing them with a safe, nurturing environment of love, hope and peace that in turn provides an escape from the chaotic world around us.

I have had a week of sleepless nights as Eva fights through yet another cold, and there are moments where I can't fall back to sleep after getting Eva back to bed. A couple of times in those moments I have thought about the book I was reading and felt completely ok with being woken up by my little spunky girl because I knew that I was blessed to be her mom, to have the beautiful life I had with the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father that loved me. What more could I need?

As I watch Eva grow in every way at such a rapid pace, I want to freeze time and keep her just the ways she is, the happy, cuddly, sensitive, and determined little person she is. Then I realize, who she is now will probably be who she is for the rest of her life. I feel a peace and comfort to know that her strong little spirit will fight for the cause of good. Somehow I just know this. The Spirit probably wants me to know this so that I can somehow deal with the fact that I am bringing these sweet innocent children into a scary world. I have to remember that their souls are much older than their bodies and they have the capability to do great things. I have never understood more than I do now that Heavenly Father has saved the valient for this time. To fight for the cause of good.

May we take a step back and look at our lives and recognize the amazing blessing it is to be alive with those we love around us. May we always cherish the wonderful moments so they will carry us through the challenges and remind us of what matters most.

10 Months

The traditional picture on the chair doesn't seem to work anymore. She either slouches or....

Tries to grab the camera.

I decided to let her walk around so I could see the big 10 on her shirt.

Wedged between my knees.

This sweet little girl has a lot of determination, spunk and personality. She loves to dance, kick her ball, make mischief and run around. She is so much fun.

The night before we left California, Spencer and I went to my high school reunion. I should have taken more pictures but caught one with an old friend from Elementary School. I found that the people I cared most to talk to were those I grew up with from kindergarten. I am glad I went.

We decided to stop in the Sierra Nevadas at a special place on Rainbow Road. This is the spot where Spencer proposed to me. nearly 6 years ago. Love that memory.

The view.

Our dear Optometry friends are currently living in Reno so we stopped and ate lunch and had a great visit. Look at Jaxon and Maren, both looking at the ground, then look at Risa and Eva, smiling and looking at each other. Classic. Can't believe the optometry adventure is almost over and these dear friends will move back to Canada. Guess we will have to go visit!

Family Pics...attempted

After taking extended family pictures I thought I would try to get a few of our own. Lets just say the kids were getting tired of cooperating.

This could have been a nice picture of Maren would have been looking

Eva has a kind of scowl on her face.

The last thing they wanted was a kiss at that point!

Eva and Allie

The girls! Three generations

Love this one

Again, no kisses.

Thanksgiving in California

We had a great trip to California to have our 1st, yes 1st Thanksgiving since before Spencer and I were married. It was a great time. To say the least we got a family picture. Maren loved the time with her cousins. My family tradition growing up was to go to a great place called Apple Hill. I LOVE Apple Hill. It has all the beauty of Oregon with beautiful hills of apple orchards, nice small town local people, and delicious apple treats. It is not very often that we get the entire family out together and so it made the trip extra special.

Maren and Tatum eating the best Pink Ladies I have ever eaten.

Eva discovered the mini carousel. She fell in love. She pitched the biggest fit when we took her off.

The feasting table

The turkey leg

Maren found a great movie watching spot.

The kid table

Scandia! Can't go home without making a stop to grandpa's job (or daddy's job as I called it when I was little). Eva's first round of mini golf. She made it through all 18 holes!

This picture is hilarious and so typical of Eva. She really is such a happy girl (like the balloon tells you) but sometimes she really knows how to pitch the biggest fit. I love Maren's face looking down at her. So funny.

Eva discovered her belly thanks to Aunt Amber. Look at the way she is looking at her like "Not again."

Time with Grandma

Love from oldest cousin Dalin. So sweet.

Sharing a GIANT carrot with daddy.

Dalin is a great cousin! My girls loving him like a big brother.

We had a great time together as a family. Moments that can't be repeated but cherished always.

Viewing Order!

Pictures are out of order! Read the 2nd post called VACATION first then read the 1st, then the 3rd and so on. Thanks for reading! Click on the collage to get a closer look!

Disneyland: The Main Focus-Princesses

This post comes completely separate as it was the highlight of Maren's time at Disneyland. The princesses were so cute and personal with her that her obsession with them has only heightened. It was so fun watching her interact. I especially love the picture of her and Belle. Belle was especially cute with her and the picture shows just how Maren felt about it!

VACATION!



Spencer just finished his 2nd rotation and will be moving on to the 3rd which left us with a whole week off! Since we did not have to use that time to move, we decided to get away. Our great Optometry friends were so GRACIOUS to invite us down to stay at her parent's home in St. George. We had plenty of space for all of us! It was awesome. We had beautiful 80 degree weather. We relaxed, hiked in Snow Canyon, swam in the pool, ate great food and enjoyed each other's company. Spencer and I were able to go to the St George Temple which was so beautiful inside and out. We realized it is the oldest active temple currently built as Nauvoo had to be rebuilt. We also saw a few church history sites. My grandparents are buried in Hurricane, which is just east of St George. We saw their grave site which brought back a lot of great memories of my grandparents. I then realized that my Grandma passed away 12 years ago that very week. The picture of Maren and I crouched behind the grave was taken to mimic an awesome and comical picture of my grandma. In the pic she is crouched behind the grave of one of her ancestors with only her head showing and this classic expression on her face. The face I remember so lovingly when she would greet me with raised eye brows and the biggest smile on her face. For some reason she reminded me of Minnie Mouse. I love and miss you Grandma! Can't wait to see you again! We loved the memories we created on this trip. Continue following the pics to get the rest of the vacation below. You can click on the collage to get a closer view of the pictures.

Disneyland-The Happiest Place on Earth

We had the BEST time at Disneyland. The girls did so well and loved every minute of it. Maren of course loved meeting the princesses but also loved riding the mini roller coasters, playing in Minnie and Mickey's house, riding the classics like Dumbo, tea cups, the carousel, Pirates and Its a Small World. It was a classic trip through the eyes of a 3-year-old. I did not expect Eva to respond to as much as she did. I didn't care to take the precious time we had left to go into the Tiki Room (An old classic robotic bird show where the birds come down from the ceiling and sing and dance) but I will never forget this awesome memory. Eva thought it was the best thing she had ever seen. She danced, (a bobble-head torso-wave kind of movement) sang, and squealed with delight. Adorable. She was also quite afraid of Pirates of the Caribbean. She clung to Spencer the entire time. Who knew it would be so fun to live vicariously through your kids at Disneyland. Can't wait to do it again and again.

Laguna Beach-Last Day of Vacation

 

Halloween 2012

 I have a lot of catching up to do so I decided to bombard you with a whole bunch of pictures. They say that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, so here is about 13,000 words.

October Fun

Eva turned 9 months!

I thought I would put her in her halloween hat for the fun of it.

I am amazed I got these few shots with the witch hat as she could hardly handle it on her head for even a second.

Maren is enjoying Joy School. This witch made with part of an egg carton was a fun craft we did this week.

In all the excitement Maren fell off the table and gave herself a goose egg.

For a halloween party with some Optometry friends in the area I made a chocolate cake with a couple fun decorations. The spiderwebs are made with drizzled white chocolate.

For the spider I used a stencil and sprinkled black sprinkles on top.

Maren was Mary and Eva was her little lamb. We went with a Nordic look. My mother-in-law helped me make the dress. I told her what I wanted and she did most of the sewing. Thanks Mom for you amazing skills! 

Maren was getting really into this photo shoot. Looks like a Disney princess pose to me. Shocker.

Love it.

Eva riding a horse.

Sophie, I mean BATERINA. Her own creation.

The kids crawled into a pack and play to watch something on a tiny ipod screen.

Pin the face on the pumpkin!

Our sad attempt (one of many) at getting a group picture. The guys talked Optometry, the girls caught up, and the kids went crazy, high on candy, and excitement to have familiar friends to play with.  It was a lot of fun.

Eva's first pic of her top tooth! You can see it only when she squeals and shrieks the loudest sound a girl of her size can make.

Mary and her little lamb

Ward party fun. I won 2nd place in the chili cook off and got a $20 gift card to the movies. Considering I don't win much I was pretty excited.

Farm animal friends reunite.

Eva by the kitty pumpkin! The cat was Maren's choice. We had a great weekend.