So, I know that it is the END of the month and no one is really talking about Thanksgiving anymore, but instead of posting every day what I am grateful for, I kept track on a notepad throughout the month and wanted to post my whole list at once. I may have repeated myself a time or two, but hey, I must be really grateful for those things. So without further ado, this November I am grateful for:
1) modern medicine
2) a selfless husband, who continually serves me without any expectation of return
3) a close and fun extended family
4) Hallie-- the joy, laughter, and spunk she brings into my life, plus the sweet hugs and kisses and "I love yous"
5) My good parents who raised me with strong values and principles-- and most importantly, the Gospel of Jesus Christ
6) The good country that we live in and the democracy that allows us freedom
7) My Grandmothers. Both have shaped and added much to my life. I appreciate the spunk and love of adventure of one and the kindness and knowledge of the other.
8) The close relationship I have with many of my aunts and uncles.
9) Good friends- movie nights, talking, enjoying treats together.
10) the chance to start every day new and have a "better tomorrow" than today
11) The opportunity to attend church, to feel of the Spirit, and to partake of the Sacrament
12) Family time. Hearing my kids laugh and play together.
13) Good books
14) Spirituality
15) My sweet Flor. Her smile, her laugh, what she teaches me. The fact that our Heavenly Father loves us enough to sometimes give us what we desire, but then to also give us opportunities to learn and grow in the process.
16) I am grateful for beautiful art, music, and theater that uplifts me
17) Grateful for the plan of Salvation and the knowledge that we can be with our loved ones again
18) I am grateful for temples and the meaning that they have in my life
19) I am grateful for my job and the joy I get from being involved in the beautiful world of adoption.
20) I am grateful for my Jacer. No matter how the day is going, he can always make me laugh and smile. He has my heart and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent his happy and silly spirit into our home.
21) I am grateful for good food and for good exercise :)
22) the friendships of our adoption friends and the examples they are to me
23) Days where we can just spend time all together as a family! There's nothing better
24) Best friends from high school who I have remained close to. They are incredible friends and I am grateful for each of them
25) hot chocolate
26) My personal testimony
27) The laughter of my children
28) Adoption. I am thankful that a wise Heavenly Father instituted such a beautiful thing. It has touched me so many times and so many ways, of course in my personal life, but also in my professional life.
29) I know I have said it before, but my darling husband. I love him so much. He brings out the best in me and makes me feel like I am the most beautiful woman in the world.
30) The home we have to live in. It is simple, but it is ours and it brings us a lot of happiness.
Still to come...the recap of our multiple Thanksgivings. I know, I know, I am tardy. Oh, well.
November 30, 2012
November 27, 2012
Flashback-- 1988/89
I was looking through Devin's scrapbook from when he was a child and thought it would be fun to see what each of us looked like when we were about Hallie's age. I am starting to see a little bit more of myself in her, but overall, I still really don't think that she looks like either of us. You can be the judge:
The bright blue eyes? Yeah, still a mystery.
And, just so you know-- that mushroom cut was a staple of my childhood. So classy. Thanks, mom.
 |
| Devin in 1989- age 4 |
 |
| Me in 1988- age 3 |
 |
| Hallie 2012- age 4 |
And, just so you know-- that mushroom cut was a staple of my childhood. So classy. Thanks, mom.
November 25, 2012
The Linda Portrait
I have had some of my friends ask to see the picture that we had painted of my Aunt Linda, so here is the back story and some pictures.
It has been about a year and a half since the sudden death of my Aunt Linda. Her death has been really difficult on everyone in the family. To say "difficult" is even an understatement, but I don't have words beyond that to describe the hurt and loss. Linda's death has been devastating for my sweet grandma in particular as she has lost 3 children in a 4 year period and the fact that Linda is her baby and left behind four young children has made it even more trying.
When my Uncle Charlie died, my Uncle Lynn had a portrait painted of Charlie that was absolutely beautiful and a perfect portrayal of him. This portrait was painted exactly from a picture that existed of Charlie (which is important to know for the later part of this story). My Grandma has the portrait hanging in her front room and she has really treasured it since (I wish I had a picture of it-I'll have to take one next time I am at my Grandma's). Since Linda's death, she has wanted to find a good picture of Linda to have framed and hung up as well. The only problem is that Linda hated to have her picture taken and so to find a good face shot of her to blow up and frame proved to be a challenging task. Earlier this year, my cousin Che'Lyn and I were talking and decided that it would be really nice to have a picture painted of Linda for Grandma like she has of Charlie. We coordinated with Lynn to get the same painter to do it as we know that he is obviously extremely talented.
Che'Lyn and I gathered a number of pictures of Linda for him to use to base the portrait and then we went and met with him to tell him exactly which hair, eyes, cheeks, smile, clothing, even eyebrows that we wanted him to use. We were nervous to see how it would come out because combining all these different elements from a number of pictures is obviously more challenging than just taking one picture and painting it. However, the painter was amazing and expertly combined a number of pictures to produce an absolutely breathtaking and perfect picture of Linda. This man is an artistic genius and beyond that, he was one of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met. He took the pictures we gave him and painted this portrait in about a week's time:
When we went to get the portrait, I knew that it would be emotional for us and it definitely was. It was so overwhelming to see her painted so beautifully and perfectly, right down to the little smirk/smile. It is amazing that the painter has the talent to embody her personality in the portrait, even though he had never even met her. At the same time, we were able to laugh a little about how Linda would be hating us and calling us losers or nerds for having her painted. She would have been absolutely opposed, but there is no denying that she would love this picture as well.
We were anxious and excited to give it to Grandma. The whole family knew about it and everyone had contributed money and ideas in order to have the painting come to fruition. We celebrated Grandma's birthday during our early Thanksgiving last weekend in Idaho and that is when we presented the painting to her.
Again, we knew it would be an emotional experience and it most certainly was. Grandma was really surprised and very emotional. You can see little Jack (Linda's 4 year old) next to her in the picture. He ran up and looked at the picture and said, "That's my mom! I miss her!" So heartbreaking. My Grandma looked the picture for quite a while and just cried. She then stood up and told us all how much she loves and misses Linda and how grateful she is every day that she got to have Linda in her life for 38 years. She talked about how she might never have known Linda if the Lord hadn't brought her into her family through adoption. It was definitely a moment I won't forget.
I think the picture is something that Grandma will treasure for a long time and I am glad that we were able to do that for her. She already has Linda hung up on her mantel and talks to her every day, just as we expected she would.
It has been about a year and a half since the sudden death of my Aunt Linda. Her death has been really difficult on everyone in the family. To say "difficult" is even an understatement, but I don't have words beyond that to describe the hurt and loss. Linda's death has been devastating for my sweet grandma in particular as she has lost 3 children in a 4 year period and the fact that Linda is her baby and left behind four young children has made it even more trying.
When my Uncle Charlie died, my Uncle Lynn had a portrait painted of Charlie that was absolutely beautiful and a perfect portrayal of him. This portrait was painted exactly from a picture that existed of Charlie (which is important to know for the later part of this story). My Grandma has the portrait hanging in her front room and she has really treasured it since (I wish I had a picture of it-I'll have to take one next time I am at my Grandma's). Since Linda's death, she has wanted to find a good picture of Linda to have framed and hung up as well. The only problem is that Linda hated to have her picture taken and so to find a good face shot of her to blow up and frame proved to be a challenging task. Earlier this year, my cousin Che'Lyn and I were talking and decided that it would be really nice to have a picture painted of Linda for Grandma like she has of Charlie. We coordinated with Lynn to get the same painter to do it as we know that he is obviously extremely talented.
Che'Lyn and I gathered a number of pictures of Linda for him to use to base the portrait and then we went and met with him to tell him exactly which hair, eyes, cheeks, smile, clothing, even eyebrows that we wanted him to use. We were nervous to see how it would come out because combining all these different elements from a number of pictures is obviously more challenging than just taking one picture and painting it. However, the painter was amazing and expertly combined a number of pictures to produce an absolutely breathtaking and perfect picture of Linda. This man is an artistic genius and beyond that, he was one of the kindest, most genuine people I have ever met. He took the pictures we gave him and painted this portrait in about a week's time:
We were anxious and excited to give it to Grandma. The whole family knew about it and everyone had contributed money and ideas in order to have the painting come to fruition. We celebrated Grandma's birthday during our early Thanksgiving last weekend in Idaho and that is when we presented the painting to her.
I think the picture is something that Grandma will treasure for a long time and I am glad that we were able to do that for her. She already has Linda hung up on her mantel and talks to her every day, just as we expected she would.
Hallie's 4 year pictures
First things first, don't be alarmed that the posts are going to say that they are posted by Devin now...it's really just that the blog is telling me I ran out of storage, so instead of buying more, we are using his email address. I'll try to figure out how to make it say my name still so no one is confused. :)
We were a little late on getting Hallie's pictures taken this year, but we got them done and then turned out so well! Our neighbor, Nicky, took the pictures for us and did a great job. Hallie was a total cheeseball the whole time, so the fact that we got some really cute ones is an added bonus.
Without further ado, some of my favorites:
We sure love our big girl!
We were a little late on getting Hallie's pictures taken this year, but we got them done and then turned out so well! Our neighbor, Nicky, took the pictures for us and did a great job. Hallie was a total cheeseball the whole time, so the fact that we got some really cute ones is an added bonus.
Without further ado, some of my favorites:
November 14, 2012
Jacey- 20 (and a half) months
So I am a little delayed on this post, but who cares, right? I probably wouldn't feel the need to update, but I have been wanting to upload some recent videos of Jace, so this is a perfect time to add a few comments about what he is up to as well.
So, at 20 months, this little (big) guy is busy, busy, busy, and hitting the terrible two's a bit early. He seriously has the most murderous scream. Most of the time he is pretty darn cute, though, so we will keep him. :)
Some tid-bits about Jacer:
*Everywhere we go, people tell us how big Jace is. Yes, we know he is big. Well, actually I forget until I see other kids his age and then it becomes pretty apparent. I don't know his latest stats, but I do know that he is over 30 pounds. He probably weighs more than Flor nowadays. Hmmm..
*He has an ever-expanding vocabulary, but his most often repeated phrases are "I hungry" and "I eat." He has a physique to keep up after all...
*Jace says "no" all the time, but does not say "yes." When he is asked a question and the answer is "yes", he either says, "ok" or "oh." Here are a few examples from today alone:
-"Jace do you want breakfast?" "Ok."
-"Jace did you throw your shirt?" "Oh."
-"Do you want to come with Mommy?" "Oh."
-"Does your bum stink?" "Ok."
...you get the point. He does nod his head, but that is usually only in reference to food, such as "do you want some of this?" Nod, nod. Funny boy. (you'll see an example of the "ok" in the dog video below. Hallie asks him if he was a dog for Halloween and he says "ok").
*Jace thinks it is great to pinch my face or hit me randomly, but will immediately say "I sorry!" then give me a hug and a kiss. I know I shouldn't laugh about this, but I just can't resist sometimes. He is so clever to know that I won't get after him if he immediately apologizes. Little poop.
*Jacer moved to a big boy bed! Well, it is really his crib just turned into a toddler bed, but Devin and I are big believers in getting the kids used to changes earlier versus later so they have less resistance. He has adjusted like a champ. We haven't had any problems at night, but the first few days at nap time, he would get out and play around. However, the last few days he has gotten right into his bed and napped during nap time too. What a good boy!
*The other thing we are getting him "used to" is the potty. I am really NOT eager to train him too soon-- diapers are just so convenient-- but we do want him to get used to the potty and so he doesn't develop a fear of it. It is funny to think that we really were potty training Hals when she was this old. Jace is definitely not ready, but he does like to sit on the potty and say "I pee-pee!" haha. No, you didn't. However, the first time we sat him on it, he did go #2. I think it was just a fluke, but he was sure proud of himself. I know that is TMI, but gotta record the facts of life. :) So, we just let him sit on his little potty when he wants to. Sometimes it is for 1 second and sometimes it is for 1 minute, but it's all up to him.
*Nursery-- oh nursery. We thought things were improving there...the week before last, he went right in and stayed almost the whole time by himself with no problems. However, last Sunday was horrid. During Relief Society, a ward member came in from Primary to tell me that she could hear someone crying upstairs so she went to check and it was Jace. Not only was he crying, but he was kicking the door and pounding his fists (remember that early terrible two's??) She was so alarmed that she came right to get me. Sheesh. Yes, mine is the kid kicking the door up there-- don't worry! We will keep trying though and see how things go.
Here are a few cute pictures of our boy:
And some videos: The first is Jace acting like a dog. He uses this dog towel and as soon as we put it on him each time, he makes a "woof woof" sound. He feels the need to act the part, you know. His "woof woof" is funny though as it is closed lip- always.
src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o3Y8yPgd8fo" width="560">
This one is Jace saying some of his words. I love his little voice and was happy that he cooperated enough to capture some of the things he says. Apparently he was wanting to talk about airplanes the whole time. Who knows where that came from...
And a couple of him dancing. He has some awesome moves; I am telling you...
So, at 20 months, this little (big) guy is busy, busy, busy, and hitting the terrible two's a bit early. He seriously has the most murderous scream. Most of the time he is pretty darn cute, though, so we will keep him. :)
Some tid-bits about Jacer:
*Everywhere we go, people tell us how big Jace is. Yes, we know he is big. Well, actually I forget until I see other kids his age and then it becomes pretty apparent. I don't know his latest stats, but I do know that he is over 30 pounds. He probably weighs more than Flor nowadays. Hmmm..
*He has an ever-expanding vocabulary, but his most often repeated phrases are "I hungry" and "I eat." He has a physique to keep up after all...
*Jace says "no" all the time, but does not say "yes." When he is asked a question and the answer is "yes", he either says, "ok" or "oh." Here are a few examples from today alone:
-"Jace do you want breakfast?" "Ok."
-"Jace did you throw your shirt?" "Oh."
-"Do you want to come with Mommy?" "Oh."
-"Does your bum stink?" "Ok."
...you get the point. He does nod his head, but that is usually only in reference to food, such as "do you want some of this?" Nod, nod. Funny boy. (you'll see an example of the "ok" in the dog video below. Hallie asks him if he was a dog for Halloween and he says "ok").
*Jace thinks it is great to pinch my face or hit me randomly, but will immediately say "I sorry!" then give me a hug and a kiss. I know I shouldn't laugh about this, but I just can't resist sometimes. He is so clever to know that I won't get after him if he immediately apologizes. Little poop.
*Jacer moved to a big boy bed! Well, it is really his crib just turned into a toddler bed, but Devin and I are big believers in getting the kids used to changes earlier versus later so they have less resistance. He has adjusted like a champ. We haven't had any problems at night, but the first few days at nap time, he would get out and play around. However, the last few days he has gotten right into his bed and napped during nap time too. What a good boy!
*The other thing we are getting him "used to" is the potty. I am really NOT eager to train him too soon-- diapers are just so convenient-- but we do want him to get used to the potty and so he doesn't develop a fear of it. It is funny to think that we really were potty training Hals when she was this old. Jace is definitely not ready, but he does like to sit on the potty and say "I pee-pee!" haha. No, you didn't. However, the first time we sat him on it, he did go #2. I think it was just a fluke, but he was sure proud of himself. I know that is TMI, but gotta record the facts of life. :) So, we just let him sit on his little potty when he wants to. Sometimes it is for 1 second and sometimes it is for 1 minute, but it's all up to him.
*Nursery-- oh nursery. We thought things were improving there...the week before last, he went right in and stayed almost the whole time by himself with no problems. However, last Sunday was horrid. During Relief Society, a ward member came in from Primary to tell me that she could hear someone crying upstairs so she went to check and it was Jace. Not only was he crying, but he was kicking the door and pounding his fists (remember that early terrible two's??) She was so alarmed that she came right to get me. Sheesh. Yes, mine is the kid kicking the door up there-- don't worry! We will keep trying though and see how things go.
Here are a few cute pictures of our boy:
 |
| Resting on mom and dad's bed |
 |
| Yummy donuts with Aunt Mari Ann |
 |
| This is the only time I have found him out of his bed at night. Poor thing-- sleeping right there on the floor. That can't be comfortable! |
src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o3Y8yPgd8fo" width="560">
This one is Jace saying some of his words. I love his little voice and was happy that he cooperated enough to capture some of the things he says. Apparently he was wanting to talk about airplanes the whole time. Who knows where that came from...
And a couple of him dancing. He has some awesome moves; I am telling you...
November 10, 2012
InstaSample October
Sorry if you follow me on Instagram; this will be repetitive as well. Here are some of my instagram pictures from October. Can you tell I am still having a lot of fun with this?
That's it for now! Maybe soon I'll come up with something to write instead of just posting pictures. Probably not, but we will see.
 |
| YUMMMMM. I am craving some right now. Smith's has sushi in the store now- made fresh daily and fairly cheap. It's a favorite lunch of mine now, but I have to limit myself, otherwise I would eat it every day and we would go broke. |
 |
| Backyard picnic for dinner. Please note Hallie's lovely dance outfit and Flor's pajamas. Yeah, we just go with whatever works around here. |
 |
| Surprise flowers and chocolate from my sweet husband. He's my favorite. |
 |
| triplet jammies from Ecuador! |
 |
| Cutest bum |
 |
| Jace loves riding this little bike. It is really funny because he tries hard to keep up with the girls (meaning Hallie and the neighbors) on their bikes, but since they have pedals and he doesn't, it doesn't usually go so well for him. |
 |
| Got to meet up with my Cheetah friend Jaime for lunch! She was here from Alaska and I got to meet her sweet baby Judd. We got together again one more time later with our other Cheetah friend Jessica, but I have no pictures of that...Boo! Especially since Jessica has a new little one too- Josie. Judd and Josie are something like 12 days apart. Too cute. |
 |
| Hallie's preschool class took a trip to the temple for one of their lessons. Such a cute group of kids (plus a few younger siblings...like Jace. do you see him?) |
 |
| I think the caption to this one went something like "Mom, Flor is such a cute girl!" |
 |
| This was about 8 am one day--- apparently we had had a rough night at our house. |
 |
| I came in to the room one day to find Jace laying like this. Apparently he needed something? |
 |
| Just us |
 |
| We have loved fall around here! |
 |
| Flor and I at her appointment at Shriner's |
 |
| Saturday night movie night. This generally means chaos, but we have fun. |
 |
| Jace trying on my high-heels one day. Looking good buddy. |
 |
| Pumpkin carving. If you wonder why Flor is not in any of these pictures, it is because the only time Devin and I could both be home to do this was during school hours- so poor Flor missed out. Not on too much, really. We are not pro pumpkin carvers, if you can't tell. :) |
Logan Weekend (Part II)
Just some more pictures from our weekend in Logan from Carlie's camera (which is better than mine and she is a better photographer than mine). I expect that this post will be boring for most of you as it is repetitive but it's mostly for my sake, so skip if you desire. :)
Bowling:
Bowling:
 |
| Tim and Sue |
 |
| two cute 4-year-olds ready to bowl |
 |
| Hudson taking his turn! |
 |
| Pro bowler and looking cute while she does it |
 |
| Sue didn't bring any clothes to change into so she bowled two games in her skirt. She even won. Apparently she used to be in a bowling league! Who knew? You learn new things every day. |
 |
| Carter |
 |
| Handsome boy with a diaper sticking out of his pants :) |
 |
| Jace and Grandma Lisa |
 |
| This is just too cute |
 |
| As is this... a conversation with Grandma. So precious. |
Dinner:
 |
| Jen and Steve |
 |
| Love these grandparents! |
 |
| Che, Landon, and Hudson |
 |
| Twins |
 |
| The whole group. Not sure why I look pregnant in this picture-- rest assured, I am not pregnant, but apparently I should be eating less sugar or something if I look pregnant but am not.... |
 |
| The plated cake. Looks so professional, right? |
 |
| Oh, these are backwards. Oh well- the cake before the cut |
 |
| Someone enjoyed it |
 |
| As did someone else! |
 |
| Birthday sheets. Nothing better. |
 |
| Such a ham |
 |
| And again |
 |
| Two girls lugging a present to grandma. What good helpers! |
 |
| Too cute. Tim and Flor on the way out. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)