Family Time

My mom graciously offered to fly me home last week in honor of my birthday last month..but I know the real reason was to see Sarah. I didn't mind and hopped on the plane to Gig Harbor, WA. Sarah was surprisingly good on all 4 flights (we changed planes in Denver), considering all she wants to do is crawl around and bounce on things. I chose my seats carefully and sat next to some wonderful ladies who played with Sarah and gave me a few moments of relief. They all commented on how impressed they were by the diversity of things I had in my bag to distract Sarah.. from a wisk, to Mardi Gras beads, to lots of books and Cheerios.

Grandpa reading about the Old Testament to Sarah.. she lasted a few minutes and then tried to crawl away. "This is boring Grandpa!"Aunt Pat, Me, Aunt Kathleen, Mom

My Aunt Kathleen with SarahSarah and Woody. Poor dog did NOT want to be around Sarah. Don't blame him. My cousin Steph and I

Easter DinnerPlaying with my cousin Syd's daughter Saffi

I spent the week lounging at home, watching cable TV, being pampered by my mom, taking a few refresher piano lessons, talking with Dad, seeing Aunts, Uncles and cousins I hadn't seen in a while and just relaxing! It was pretty cold and rainy the whole time but so GREEN! I couldn't get over that. There was moss everywhere, caking the trees like fuzzy, green frosting. We're just starting our spring in MN so it was nice to see some green for the first time in months. We also had a nice Easter dinner and got to watch Conference. What great sessions!We also surprised my Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Steve at Easter dinner with a little celebration of their 20th wedding anniversary. Yay!! 

Sarah had a great time playing with Grammy and Grandpa, Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Thanks Mom and Dad for having us! We had such a wonderful time. We love and miss you already!

Attitudes

No, this post is not in response to my 9 month old's needy attitude.. although she has been lately..

Kurtis and I both had our birthday's this month.. 27 and 25 respectively! Crazy that another year has gone by. We didn't really do much.. just a few nice things for each other, lots of treats and a couple little buys. I also don't have any pictures because our camera has issues.. lots of them.

I do have some thoughts on life..with my newfound wisdom of another year.. hahaha! It really comes from this month's Ensign, which I thought was excellent! I'm only going to put in a couple quotes that caught my eye.. ironically about trials. I feel so blessed with my life right now that I feel bad when I complain about things. How selfish and impatient am I! But eventually we will have trials, and the Savior can be there with us, no matter what size they are.

Apostle Orson F. Whitney explained "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called children of God...and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we have come here to acquire." (having patience is my personal trial I think...)

Elder Richard G. Scott taught that "the Lord is intent on [our] personal growth and development...Progress is accelerated when [we] willingly allow Him to lead [us] through every growth experience [we] encounter...If [we] question [every unpleasant challenge]...[we] make it harder for the Lord to bless [us]." (Ahhhh.. so true! I'm a questioner.. and complainer.. and whiner.. which brings me to my final quote..)

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland wisely counseled, "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."

So, having an attitude of gratitude and patience is good. Thoughts for you on this sunny day.. gotta go, baby's unhappy! ahhhhhhhhhh grant me patience please! :)

Visit my new blog!

I decided a while ago I wanted a place to record my recepies..along with a note about the final product..so I've finally put together a blog and am sharing it with the world. I'm a food addict, what can I say? So please, go check it out and enjoy! I'm still tinkering with it but it's close to what I'm wanting. Thanks!

http://fordinnertoday.blogspot.com/

While we're young and beautiful..

Ha! I just have to laugh at my title..because I totally don't feel that way today. However, last weekend was a youth (16-18) winter formal for our Stake and Kurtis and I went as chapperones. I usually don't agree to these dances but when Kurtis asked me if I wanted to go I responded, "I get to wear a pretty dress???" And was therefore excited to go. So we got all dolled up.. I wore my bridesmaid's dress from my cousin's wedding, Kurtis in his manly duds and Sarah in her Valentine's dress (clearance from Old Navy!) and headed to the dance. I immediately took off my shoes (because I'm practical) and put on socks I'd brought. So much easier. We danced around with Sarah who got ooooh's and aahh's from the girls and stole the evening and even got to dance a few alone when someone graciously offered to hold our clingy child who promptly fell asleep. She was a bit scared by the lights and loud music I think. Anyway, we also had our picture taken... and I have to say I think it's the BEST dance picture I've ever taken.. period. Its got my favorite man and woman in it and I look great! I couldn't ask for more. Thanks to my wonderful husband who forced me to go in the dance circle for the first time ever, making my horrible dancing look good and for being such a stud on the dance floor! These dances are so much fun when you're older..but they help keep you young and beautiful. :)

New tricks

Gotta really clean up the house now.. Sarah can crawl! She's still getting the hang of it but she can move! She can also pull herself up on just about anything.. as seen here (you've got to tilt your head, sorry!)

She is also moving a lot in her crib, as I mentioned in a previous post and is finding the most interesting positions to sleep in.. she almost always ends up sideways like this

And speaking of clean, I knocked over the Cheerios the other day and figured, 5-second rule and put Sarah on clean-up duty. I think more Cheerios were smashed in the effort but she enjoyed it! Has the pendulum of cleanliness swung too far in the other direction? Naw...