Merry Christmas

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

November 1st: I am grateful for...

I am so very grateful the Lord blessed us with this little guy:

William says, "Ribbit!"

The trash can is an exciting new toy. William giggles like crazy and runs around the house with it on his head.

We sit together at my desk a lot while I work. He always finds something fun to do!

Me: William, daddy said he'll cut the watermelon when he gets home.
William: No mama, I cut it. (salad tongs in hand)

William: Here mama, hold this stick. (hands me a tiny little stick)
Me: Okay
William: Swords! (starts hitting my hand since my stick is so tiny.)
Me: Gee. thanks for taking the great big stick and giving me the tiny one.

No hands

Being a mom is such hard work. Harder then I could have ever imagined. Some days I feel like I'm not any good at it. Luckily my little dinosaur disagrees with me! I often hear, "Mama, I wuv you." I look at pictures like these and think how lucky I am to have such a cutie pie! He keeps me running, chasing, wrestling, scolding, laughing, exploring, and playing like crazy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Grateful

This past week I was in Utah visiting my mom and step-dad. My sister and her 4 kids were there as well so we were having a blast. However, there was this lingering worry that we felt despite trying to stay positive.

Let me just start with some history. My grandpa has had several heart attacks in his lifetime. He is in great shape and eats very healthy, but he has very narrow arteries that easily become blocked. The first heart attack was when I was very little. I can still remember my grandpa laying in bed at home resting after having a stint put in his artery. Then when I was in middle school he had open heart surgery. I remember that day vividly. I even cried at school with worry. I remember hearing about the experience the surgeon had while operating on my grandpa. He said that his hand was guided through the entire surgery and he knew there were angels there helping him.

 About a year and a half ago my grandpa had to go in for another open heart surgery. This was by far the most difficult time for me. I've always been close to my grandparents, but I've grown even closer to them during the years I spent living in Utah. Thankfully the Lord blessed our family once again and all went well. Grandpa has healed and as long as he doesn't stay out in the heat too long, he has been able to do most everything he has always done. My grandma and grandpa eat even better then before (which is hard to believe since they already ate very healthy).

This last month grandpa has been having chest pains that have caused him to gasp for air. He was told to take it easy, but he was still having chest pains. Wednesday his doctor called him to tell him he had a serious blockage and would need an angiogram Friday morning to figure out where the blockage was and what type of surgery would be needed. I've been praying like crazy since hearing about his first chest pains. Of course I've also been very emotional this past month as well. Poor Kaden has had to deal with me saying over and over that my family cannot part with my grandpa yet, and how devastated my grandma would be. I truly believe that they have that type of love that one can't live very long without the other.

My grandpa is the only grandpa I've ever known, he has been a shining example to me of how a husband treats his wife, he is a strong priesthood holder, he is the kindest and gentlest man I know, he is an extremely hard worker even in his 70's and he loves everyone. I love him so much that I wanted William to have his name, William Kent. I very much hope that William is like my grandpa in more ways then one.

Now back to why I am so grateful. I am probably one of the most emotional people when it comes to things like this. I kept praying this past week and I kept having such calm feelings. For the first time ever I wasn't emotional and thinking the worst. The Lord kept giving me these feelings that all would be well. Now, I didn't exactly know how to interpret these feelings, but I did know that I needed to focus on everything being okay no matter what and to stay faithful. I told both my grandparents how I was feeling because I needed them to know that I was having good feelings about all that was happening. I hope in some ways it helped them as well to stay calm.

Friday grandpa went into have the angiogram and they found out that the blockage was in an artery below his heart. This artery had never been worked on and although completely blocked, they were able to balloon it and put in a stint. They checked on all of his other stints and bypasses as well. Everything looked perfect! I was able to visit with my grandpa before I left to come back home. He told me he was feeling great, just tired. Now he is at home still taking it easy, but feeling much better.

 I am so unbelievably thankful to my Father in heaven for helping me to feel at peace during this time. Sometimes I let the daily stresses of life overshadow all the blessings that I have. I'm grateful for this humbling experience, knowing that above all my faith is the most important thing and I can rely on Him for comfort, guidance, and peace. I am grateful for my elder brother Jesus Christ for atoning for my sins. I know that through Him I'll be reunited with my loved ones again and that it'll be the most joyous occasion. I know that the Lord hears my prayers and answers each and every one of them. I know that the Lord has a plan for me and that has become even more apparent this last year. I am grateful to be reminded of what is important in this life and I am grateful for all of my blessings.

Grandpa holding William in the hospital the day after he was born.

My Adorable Niece

I'm sitting here thinking about the fact that my summer break is almost over and I have not one scrapbook page of William to show for it. I was determined to get in the groove again, but you know how sometimes you sit down and just don't feel creative. I think I've been in that mode for quite some time now. I haven't taken as many pictures this year as I did last year either. Maybe I'll blame it on having house chores and meals to prepare. Not to mention William is pretty demanding of my time and I freely give it because I know once school starts I'll be ignoring spending less time with him. Oh AND William hates the camera. He purposely turns his head so I only capture the back of it, which is very cute but I don't need 150 shots of all his blonde hair.

So the other day I did finally have some creativity come to me. I was browsing some digital scrapbook paper and elements and came across some pink floral ones that I just loved. Of course I'm not going to splash pink behind pictures of just William so I decided why not scrapbook some cute pictures of Lydia at William's 2nd birthday party. It can still go in his scrapbook and I'm sure he'll ask me why a whole page is practically devoted to her... I still don't know what my answer will be, but perhaps, "She's just so adorable" will have to do.

Christmas 2011

We had a couple Christmas' this year. We had an early Christmas with my mom since we'd be gone Christmas day. William was thrilled to finally open some of the presents that were sitting under the Christmas tree all month.

Once he saw this truck he no longer had any desire to open his presents.

Christmas Eve we went bowling with Kaden's family in Mesquite. We had a lot of fun, but boy was it exhausting keeping William from running down the center of the bowling lane.

That's my baby!

Zoe and William sent their balls down the lane.

I'm always the one behind the camera. It is rare that I have my picture taken. Of course I was cheesin it!

They love each other!

We had a great Christmas morning as well.

William had a great time with his toys and stocking stuffers.

I think we may have over done it. :)

As I look through these pictures I realize how much William has grown! He looks so much older too.

Thanksgiving 2011 - 7 Months Late :)

I am so far behind on my blog. I thought I'd just blog about the big events from Thanksgiving to now...

Thanksgiving 2011
Is it sad that I totally forgot about what we did last Thanksgiving. I am so glad I have pictures to remind me!

The boys went 4-wheeling:

My nephew Nicholas is ready to ride the 4-wheeler.

Nicholas and my brother Kade

I was apprehensive about letting William ride the 4-wheeler without a helmet. My brother Hayden found an old skateboarding helmet that made me feel a little better.

Papa Lonnie and William

Later we chilled until dinner was ready:

Dog pile on Kade!!

Uncle Logan joined his nephews

Lydia LOVES William

She especially enjoys when he is being crazy.

 I didn't take any pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner. Sooo unlike me!... I must have been too famished. Later that night we played several games. The game that got the most giggles was Quelf. Here are just a few of the antics we were required to do: Say izzy after every statement we made, snort every time I laughed (by the end of the game my throat killed!), wear a bib the entire game, hold your belly while you laughed, dance like a ballerina, dance in a circle while slapping your behind while saying giddy up, make fun faces, put on lipstick, make and wear a necktie from something in your proximity, wear a mask/helmet, and Ashley was not allowed to use her hands. We had to have lost all of our Thanksgiving feast calories from the amount of laughing we did.

I had to include these two videos because they are too funny not to share.