Merry Christmas!

I don't have my camera cord with me, so I had to use a picture we had on the computer (from CO in November). But we did have a white Christmas here in southern Oklahoma with Alex's family. The boys are enjoying all their toys - too many of them. We're enjoying time with family and just relaxing...

1 year postpartum...

...or 9 weeks pregnant?

Yep. It's no secret that we're expecting again, although it was a surprise to us! Let's just say girls, that you shouldn't trust your 1st postpartum period. You know, when you're breastfeeding, your cycle doesn't kick in for a while - say 9 months, but then it might not be normal. If you ever have mid-cycle spotting, just consider that as good enough for "prime time" 2 weeks later! Anyway, our timing is just great - due date is July 20th (as of the 1st ultrasound). Alex starts his job in CA on July 1st. Might be a little crazy...

By the way, why do I have a belly at 2 months instead of 4 months? Anyone with more than 1 kid find that they start puffing out really early? I guess some of that IS still postpartum belly, although I did lose nearly all the weight I put on last time...

1 year!

We started out the day with eggs and toast, which Big O loves, but we usually only have on Sunday mornings. He was pretty happy...

Since he's one year and 20 lbs., we switched car seats - he was pretty happy...

And the weather was nice - about 50 degrees, so we played outside. He was pretty happy...

although this picture doesn't show it... he just wanted to ride some more... no pics mom...

Present time - he's a bit of a climber and pretty happy....

Dinner time - McDonald's! (Thanks for the gift card Aunt Jane!). He was pretty happy...

I'm not sure if we should be proud of this, but Big O can eat almost an entire Happy Meal... (check off those important milestones in life :))

And he downed the juice box...

I don't really want the cupcake...

...but I'm happy to sit in a box!

Do you think I could return this "toy"?

Owen's party

I counted Owen's party on Saturday as my service for the day - we had 12 kids and their parents over for lunch and cake. For our ball theme, we played with balls, the gifts were balls, and we had cheese balls, hotdogs, and round crackers and cheese for lunch. And of course we had ball cupcakes! Basketball and baseball ornaments and rice krispie balls were the favors. I probably could have done a little better, but it turned out just great for a 1 year old party. We had fun!

For Audrey

My sister Audrey served a mission in Bulgaria. She encouraged us to donate to the orphanages - just a little bit goes a long way. Anyway, I came across this video, and it really touched me - I love the song!




www.oneheart-bg.org/ - link to the website if you want to donate

Gratitude post 31

I just found out that my mom was in a car accident, but she walked away from it. The car was totaled, but she was fine (just a few bumps and bruises). I'm thankful that she was okay.



On a side note, my mom has a dress store in Houston called The Silver Hanger. I have a link on the side of my blog. Go check it out and buy something or send the link along to someone you know. She specializes in modest formal wear, so if anyone is looking for a great wedding, bridesmaid, or prom dress, send them her way.

The cookies were a separate thing than the card. The card, with a nice $urprise in it said, "Hope your holiday season is full of surprises." Since it was anonymous, I sure hope this person doesn't know about my blog... shhhh... don't tell!

Christmas tree magic

There's just something magical about those lights. Owen loved them - he'll probably pull everything off the tree before Christmas. Nathan and Jared loved decorating the tree, and the magic got them too. They just stared at the lights. I do the same thing. It's magical.

Because I have been given much...

...I too must give.

November was a perfect month for gratitude. A couple of weeks ago, I made this post. I had the thought that gratitude was great, but service is even better, and it is a way of giving back to the Lord what He has given to us. I knew that December would be the perfect month for service. So... I'm going to try to do some act of service every day this month. I know we all serve in some way every day, but I'm going to try to do something that I normally wouldn't do. I'm not sure if I'll post about it or not - I haven't decided if that's appropriate or may seem "showy." I'm not sure if I can do something every day, but I have to try, if only in some small way.

In the recent conference of the church, the prophet gave a talk called, "What Have I Done for Someone Today?" In it, he referred to an interview and said this, "Just over a year ago, I was interviewed by the Church News prior to my birthday. At the conclusion of the interview, the reporter asked what I would consider the ideal gift that members worldwide could give to me. I replied, “Find someone who is having a hard time or is ill or lonely, and do something for him or her.” He wanted us to serve, and I can't think of a better season of the year to take that daily challenge.

The words of this hymn inspire me:

"Because I Have Been Given Much"

Because I have been given much, I too must give; Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live I shall divide my gifts from thee with ev-'ry brother that I see who has the need of help from me. Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care, I cannot see another's lack and I not share my glowing fire, my loaf of bread, my roof's safe shelter overhead, that he too may be comforted. Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord, I'll share thy love again, according to thy word. I shall give love to those in need; I'll show that love by word and deed: Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

Who's with me? You just thought we were done...

In addition to the last post

Here's some words to a hymn that I love and tell how I feel about those friends and family around me.

"Each Life That Touches Ours for Good"

Each life that touches ours for good reflects thine own great mercy, Lord; Thou sendest blessings from above thru words and deeds of those who love. What greater gift dost thou bestow, what greater goodness can we know than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways strengthen our faith, enrich our days...

End of the month

It's the end of gratitude month and the daily posts, but hopefully I'll still think about what I'm grateful for each day. It has been a great experience. I have so many things to be grateful for - I knew it wouldn't be hard to think of 30 things I'm grateful for. I barely scratched the surface. But it was hard thinking about that day's events and how the hand of God had touched me that day. I appreciate those who did this with me - my mom, Krista, Michelle, Jill, Liberty. Did I forget anyone? I have really enjoyed reading your posts. And I'm thankful to those who followed along. I'm thankful for wonderful friends!

Good neighbor

I'm thankful for our wonderful neighbor Betsy. She noticed that we were gone this week and took the initiative to pick up our mail for us. She is always watching out for us, bringing us homemade bread, bringing presents for the boys birthdays or for new babies, and she is a great example of hard work. We see her working in her yard all the time - I know the boys see her doing that too. They wanted to rake leaves too after Betsy had done so. She makes me want to be a better neighbor and to work harder.

Extended family

I'm thankful for my aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents. I don't have a picture of everyone that we saw over Thanksgiving, but I'm grateful for each of them. We saw my aunt Angela, uncle John (my dad's brother), and cousin Enola on Friday. They made a wonderful Mexican dinner for us, complete with homemade salsa and brownies. Yummy! We also got a kick out of the hula hoop and enjoyed singing. We don't get to see them nearly often enough.

We stayed a few nights with Gary, Quin, and Braden. I'm grateful to them for their hospitality and also for watching the boys while we went to the temple. We enjoyed pizza on Wednesday night with them, my cousin Justin, GG, and uncle Doug. We also went "turkey bowling" with them on Thanksgiving morning. We had pizza at CiCi's, watched football, and played games at their place on Saturday night.


GG - we tried to get a picture! Doug - Thanks for being courageous and sitting next to Owen at Famous Dave's BBQ and sharing the huge brownie a la mode with us...

Special thanks also goes to Grandpa Bob and Mary Ann for paying for our Thanksgiving dinner (Doug may have helped too?) - and also for hosting all of us at their house on Thursday and Friday. It was great to see everyone! I just wish we had some more time... and we missed Mike and Carrie!

-

Parents

Just wanted to mention something that would have been Friday's gratitude post. The day after Thanksgiving, all of the little kids and big kids, plus my dad (the biggest kid...) played football and kickball in the morning. We had a great time. I appreciate how my dad loves sports and how he'll probably be playing right along with us until we have to wheel him around the field (which, by the way, will not be anytime soon - he still has a lot of spunk left in him). The other thing that I was grateful for, which wasn't just Friday, was my parents willingness to watch the kids for us. It gets a little tricky with little kids who need to go to bed early to play games or hang out in the evening hours. My mom stayed with Jaden and Hailey in their motel room, and my dad stayed with our boys while the big kids played cards until 1:30am. I really appreciate that and know that was a sacrifice for them. They would have enjoyed hanging out too, but sacrificed for "the team". Thanks Mom and Dad! I love you.

In-laws

I'm playing catch-up on some posts. I missed an important post a few days ago. It was my sister-in-law Carrie's birthday on Thanksgiving Day. Happy Birthday Carrie! I'm thankful for my in-laws and what they have brought to our family, particularly in bringing so much joy to each of my siblings. I also appreciate the "spice" that each of them bring with their personalities to make for fun times. Thanks Carrie, Sam, Micah, and Daniel! I'm also thankful for Alex's brother Jim, who is Alex's best friend, and has always been very accepting of me into their family. What a blessing it is to have good relationships with all of my in-laws!