Maren is walking!

Maren, who is now over 13 months old has been walking for a couple of weeks. We have footage of the night she first walked to us but cant seem to get it loaded on the computer, so for now you can see her walking after about a week and a half.

Pictures taken by a kind professional photographer in Seattle

 

This is Spencer. I just have to say that this is a pretty great blog. I might be biased, but I think that the two girls on here are the two cutest I've ever seen.

"We Are Family" My choreography for a wedding.

Trip to Cali

 

We just got back from a great trip to California to visit my family. It was the first time in a long time since my whole family had been together so it was time to take a family picture. Since the last family picture there has been 5 additions. Spencer, Ambers' kids, Gavin, Tatum and Colton, and our Maren. We celebrated a number of birthdays in the months of May, June, and July and enjoyed BBQ's and family dinners. Just how I envisioned it would be and just how it should be. Spencer and I were able to have a date night out to a movie and also to attend the temple. Thank goodness for grandmas! Thanks mom for watching Maren. My dad, the sweetheart he is, made sure we had a car that stays in good condition. The car needed a tune-up and replacements that we would have never known about if it wasn't for the handyman of a dad we have. Thanks dad! Every time I go home to visit I feel grateful for the wonderful family I have been given. Though we are imperfect, life's lessons are invaluable and can teach us a lot if we let them. It always comes back to love as love is a healing agent and will bring us back to what is most important. May we always have love.

Summer Has Begun!

Spencer had a successful first year of Op school and we are now ready to enjoy the summer sun. Can't say I've seen it too much as this week has been cold and rainy. We did get a bit of fun out of the last two weekends where we went to both Rockaway and Cannon Beach and had a fun day camp BBQ at Browns camp. Spencer started his new job at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course last week and lets just say the 4:30 wake-up time is kinda hard on him. I can't say that it hasn't been an adjustment for me too since my day revolves around when my husband gets home! We will get used to it and soon enough we will be on vacation as we have a couple planned for the summer. In a week we will go visit my family in California for a week. I am excited to have family pictures taken and to enjoy the family time by the pool and in the sun. It just sounds so relaxing just thinking about it. Maren just turned 10 months and we are realizing that she will always have something to say as her babble contains more of a variety of consonants and vowels and she looks at you as if she is really telling something important. It's fun. It's silly but I am excited because I bought her some jelly sandals like I had growing up and it makes me happy to think she will be walking around in them by the end of the summer. How they grow. Hope you enjoy the pics we post of our summer so far!

Can't seem to get the girl to smile at the camera anymore.

 

Time flies

I cannot believe that our first school year in Oregon is coming to a close. Spencer has only two finals left this next week and then the summer will begin. He got a job doing landscaping maintenance at a fancy golf course where the WPGA comes to play. It will be nice for him to labor physically and take a break from the mental labor. He will have pretty good hours working from 5:30 am to 2:30 pm. May not sound fun for people who hate getting up early, but for me, its exciting because then I have him home the rest of the day (as long as golf doesn't become his new favorite pastime!). I am looking forward to a fun summer with lots of beach time and family time. Maren is approaching a year in July which will provide for a lot of new exploration as she gets more and more curious with age. As usual we are enjoying the little girl she is becoming. We are always grateful for the abundance of blessings in our lives.

How time does fly.

How time does fly. Spencer is in the middle of mid-terms and is working hard and doing well. I am enjoying beautiful weather, good friends, and spending my days watching Maren grow. She is in the stage of life where it seems like you can see the mind-body connections happen right before your eyes. This may seem like an obvious statement if you understand the development that happens in the first year of a child's life, but when it happens to your own child, your own flesh and blood, you see the masterful power of God and the feel the special and specific love He has bestowed upon women to create and be nurturing teachers. Spencer also spends every spare moment he has, helping her explore the abilities of her growing body and mind. She has not shown too much interest in crawling yet but wants to skip ahead to walking. She loves to bounce in her jumperoo and gets excited when we show her how to walk. You can see how much she loves to learn. We have thoroughly enjoyed the journey of learning and growth that we have experienced with her in her first eight months of life. Though Valentine's Day has come and gone, we still wanted to post pictures of our little cupid as we like to treat this blog as our family journal. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have.

The weather here has seemed to take a turn -- a break from the never ending blanket of gray clouds that often loom overhead. It has allowed for some really beautiful walks, gatherings at the park and just a sign of renewal and change that brings a happy feeling. The trees around here are blossoming beautifully with pink and white flowers. It is fun to live in a new place to experience the vast array of God's creations through seasons of change. We are loving the new experiences we are having and recognize the hand of God in all we do. For His blessings we are eternally grateful.

Our last couple months-Double Click to view larger

 

Our little big girl!

Maren is now 5 months old. How the time has flown by. She makes every day so much fun as we get to see the development happen right before our eyes. I never knew it would be so quick and apparent. She can almost sit up by herself, she eats rice cereal, peas, green beans, squash and carrots, she grabs things and stays entertained by them because her fine motor skills are working, she can roll over, and she even knows how to kiss and hug her mom and dad. She is quite the loving and affectionate baby. We love it. One of my favorite things to do is read the scriptures to her because she loves the black and white contrast on the page. I can get through a whole chapter before she loses interest. It's all too much fun. I couldn't ask for a better baby.

Since Spencer and I will be flying this year to see family, we decided to have our own little Christmas starting on the first of the twelve days of Christmas. Maren loved to rip the paper off the packages and was thoroughly fascinated by the ribbon. Spencer is in the middle of finals right now and is finding it to be quite challenging. He has eleven finals total. Lets just say he is ready for a break.

I recently lost my wallet at Winco where someone probably stole it. I have to say I did not endure the trial well to begin with. I lost faith in the world for a few days feeling really sad that we live in such a place. I can see now that when I changed my attitude and pressed forward to begin replacing the needed cards, etc things worked out and life did not end. I feel blessed that it wasn't worse and can see that life really is good and its not such a bad place after all. I am grateful for trials.

We hope that all who are reading this will have a great Christmas filled with joy and love and can be surrounded by the ones you love. Merry Christmas!

Fall!

It has been too long since I gave an update on life in Oregon! Fall is truly beautiful amid the green farmland and rolling hills. The trees are changing from green to gold, orange, red and purple. The crisp autumn air and beautiful sunsets seem to make Fall Oregon's prettiest season. I can already foresee that we will look back on our days spent here and remember the beautiful Falls. Our little Maren is approaching her third month of life. It is amazing how much she has changed in such a short amount of time. She has been many fun places so far. The coast, Tillamook for the cheese and ice cream, blueberry picking at a U-pick farm, Portland to the open-air markets, Washington Park to see the rose gardens and the arboretum, and all around town as she rides in the jogging stroller. She goes with her mama everywhere and is a great sport. Spencer has jumped full-fledged into his first year of Optometry School and is finding it interesting and challenging. He still manages to make me feel like I have a husband by giving me time and being such a great dad. I feel blessed to know that his priorities are aligned. I love this time of year because there are so many fun projects to create. I am glad as I have had to adjust to the changes of being a stay-at-home mom. I made Maren's halloween costume with the help of a new good friend. She will be a ladybug. It just seemed to fit a newborn don't you think? Before we know it we will celebrate Thanksgiving, which will be here-our own for the first time. Then, we will celebrate Christmas in Utah this year with Spencer's family. It's nice that Spencer has a long Christmas break so we can see my family also for a week after the holidays. All in all, life is good, safe and happy. Hope all is well with you. We love and miss you all. Stay tuned for more fall fun!