ANOTHER DAY

 Well, it has been just us for a very long time.

For three years Sierra has been in school and Madison has been my bestest little friend.

In six and a half weeks it won't be just us anymore.

I am very excited and a little sad.

 I have been washing clothes and getting the room ready for the little ones arrival.

It has made it real.

As I looked at all these tiny clothes I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Gratitude for the generosity of friends, who have more than supplied me with enough clothes for the first year of this little guys life.

Gratitude for this little life we will be welcoming into our family very soon.

Oh, how blessed we are.

How blessed I feel to be his mother.

How anxious I am to look into his eyes for the first time and hold him in my arms. 

She and her daddy have set aside Thursday night to study the gospel together, so she will be ready to get baptised.

It was so beautiful to listen to them discussing the gospel and reading the scriptures together.

I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love for him and her and the goodness of their lives.

She was so excited to learn from her daddy.

He was excited to teach her.

 

She has worked so hard this week on studying her spelling words.

She begged me to quiz her one more time before she left for school.

She kept getting 100 percent but she still wanted to practice one more time.

It was a rough list.

All the words made the long e sound, even though they were all spelt very different.

It is so confusing and I wonder why they make those lists so hard.

I am so proud that she works so hard.

I am grateful to be a mother.

I just kept thinking that over and over as I was vacuuming, sweeping and scrubbing my house yesterday.

I know they are very simple tasks and most of the world can't appreciate how important they are.

However, I can.

I love being a mother.

VISTING DADDY's OFFICE

 I broke my lens over Thanksgiving holiday.

I have to get use to less than sharp pictures.

It is hard.

I went into Nate's office today to take a picture for their Christmas card.

Madison helped decorate the office.

Don't you love the little tree?

 

She hasn't been feeling very well lately.

She has been super whinny.

I was so frustrated with her.

Then that night I discovered she had a temperature.

Poor thing.

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY

I love being with my family.

I went to a 7:30am session at the Provo Temple. Alone. It was beautiful and peaceful.

I and the girls got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa McKnight and go to the Wendy's together.

I finished my sister Jennifer's quilt top for her little miracle.

We went to JCW's to celebrate my Dad's birthday.

We made rainbow cupcakes for Emma, my niece's, birthday.

We ate good food, Curry, Chili, and a yummy Thanksgiving dinner.

We chatted and laughed and cried and shared.

We marveled at how much we have grown and how much our babies have grown.

We wondered where time has gone.

We loved each other.

 

I know how precious life is and how precious having a kind, loving, supportive family is.

I am grateful for all my siblings and their spouses and children and most especially my parents.

How blessed am I.

SNOW

 Last year it snowed once. It was sometime in January.

I told the girls when it snows again, your baby brother will come.

Well, it decided to snow in November.

Madison was so excited.

She squealed, "Is baby brother coming?"

No.

Sorry.

Madison helped me put the tree up before we left for Thanksgiving holiday.

She wanted to.

She was so helpful.

ASIAN COOK-OFF



Barbara challenged me to an Asian Cook-off.

She is of Vietnamese descent, therefore I knew from the start she would win.

How do I get myself into these things?

We invited all of our friends and cooked our favorite Asian dishes.

Barbara cooked these to-die-for egg rolls. They are stuffed with noodles, pork and Asian mushrooms.

Then you wrap them in lettuce and cucumbers and dip them in a lime, fish sauce.

I think I had five.

She made a delicious curry.

I did teriyaki chicken with carrots and Asian dumplings.

The food was really yummy.

It was so fun to spend time with our friends chatting and eating.

We will have to do it again but this time I may have to challenge Barbara to a classic American food cook-off.

 

It was Elizabeth's birthday.

I am an amateur photo shopper.

Elizabeth loves Justin Beiber.

I photo shopped Justin kissing her.

It is not perfect but I thought it was awesome.

She was a little embarrassed.

Sorry, Elizabeth.... but you are beautiful.

ELECTION

I have been sad about the elections result of last night. However, this sadness has turned to hope as I have reflected on these things....

1. Jesus is my King.
2. I have a Prophet that leads and guides me in these Latter Days.
3. I am a Mother, and there is great power in that.

I love this clip and these quotes. They make me happy and fill me with peace.

I truly love my country!

 

This nation, founded on principles laid down by men who God raised will never fail..... I have faith in america: you and I must have faith in America if we understand the teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Harold B. Lee. Ye are the light of the world [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book co., 1974] p. 351.)

 

How long will it be before the words of the prophet Joseph will be fulfilled? He said if the Consititution of the United States were saved at all it must be done by this people. It will not be many years before these words come to pass. [Discourses of Brigham Youn, comp. John A. Widtsoe [Salt Lake City; Deseret Book Co., 1971] p360.]

 

When, the people shall have torn to shreds the Constitution of the United States, the elders of Israel will be found holding it up to the nations of the earth and proclaiming liberty and equal rights to all men, and extending the hand of fellowship to the oppressed of all nations. This is part of the program, and as long as we do what is right and fear God, he will help us and stand by us under all circumstances (John Taylor, Gospel Kingdom [Salt Lake City; Bookcraft, 1964 p. 219)

 

The kingdom of God is here to grow, to spread abroad, to take root in the earthand to abide where the Lord has planted it by his own power and by his own word in the earth, never more to be destroyed nor to cease, but to continue until the purposes of the Almighty shall be accomplished, every whit that has been spoken of it by the mouths of the the holy prophets since the world began (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctorine [Salt Lake City;Deseret Book Co., 1968] p.76)

 

  

PRE-SCHOOL

Pre-School has started and she loves it.

It is just her and me.

We do a few worksheets that I print off the computer.

We try to read a few simple words.

She loves it!

She was enthusiastically telling her Daddy about it this morning over breakfast.

She was showing him all the pages she has done.

I thought it was so cute.

 



PICNICING

 We had a picnic and went fishing with daddy.

It has been a while since we have done anything as a family.

Dad has been so busy with work.

It was nice to be out in the sun together.

The girls begged me to go on a hike with them.

Dad was determined to catch a fish, but didn't have any luck.

A friend, her children, and her puppy met up with us a little later.

Sierra was in heaven.

She asked today if she could see that puppy again.

I asked her why she would want to.

She said, "Because he made me so happy."

(Forgive her unzipped pants, she walked around all day like that, I guess she felt her pants were a little too tight.
I have been feeling the same way lately, so I get it.)