Welcome to our World

When I told Dan about the nicknames my friend, Stephanie, has for her family members on her blog, we came up with blog names for our 3 cuties: Smarty, Speedy, & Smiley. I don't think I'll end up using them since this is a substitute journal for me & hope to get printed out "someday." But for just this one blog post we'll give it a whirl. Speedy in action: helping Daddy blacken the front yard a bit with top soil. Smiley joining the fun. Smarty's front row seat. Smiley still isn't sleeping through the night consistently. Smarty complained & then Speedy started getting cranky, so now her crib is in our walk-in closet after being kicked out of both her siblings' rooms. I felt bad putting her in there, but it turns out having extra space between her & Smarty & Speedy makes the 3 of them much happier... and Smiley looks so cute! She is also very pleased she can reach the light switch & turn on the light when she wakes up from he...

I love history. My parents helped it come alive for me. In my home were pictures of my ancestors & I knew some of the marvelous stories behind them. I thought since the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War was yesterday, I would copy & paste something my dad wrote recently as a tribute. He mentions the next time he goes to Gettysburg... our entire family is planning on going for the 150th anniversary of that battle in July of 2013. Quoting my dad (who was born & raised in PA): Inexplicable Feelings at the Site of Pickett’s Charge The Civil War began in April 1861. By the summer of 1863 the armies had suffered about a quarter of a million casualties, nearly all of them in battles in the South. In early June of that year General Lee began moving his Army of Northern Virginia toward Pennsylvania, intending to take the war to the enemy. He hoped a victory there would strengthen the growing peace movement in the North and hasten the end of the war, with the C...

I guess I'm going slide show crazy. Apologies. I'm also going to copy & paste from something I wrote last Sunday morning while we were still in Utah: "This weekend has been such a blessing & it is not even over yet. We were privileged to attend Brett & Shelley's sealing in the temple. I held it together pretty well until it was time for Alexa to be sealed to them. What a beautiful reminder of Kaelah's sealing to us. So strange to think how many mighty miracles have been worked in our family within the last 4 years, all made possible by the atonement of our Lord & Savior. Yesterday Dan & I were also able to see the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU MOA with Aunt Keri & Grandma Wilcox. What a strength to any testimony of the Christ that would bring! The presentation on Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was my absolute favorite. To see the raw feeling in the painting, to learn of details, and then to hear Elder Maxwell's w...

Where has the last year gone?!? I just cannot believe my baby is 12 months old, yet the things she is doing testify that yes, my baby won't be a baby much longer. I get all choked up every time I think about it. So I'll cop out & simply paste here what I wrote her on her birthday: To my sweet baby, Michelle You have grown so fast! You have been such a wonderful baby and all of a sudden in the last couple of weeks you are turning into a toddler. I’m so proud of you for all you can do yet so sad that my baby isn’t going to be a baby anymore. I feel so blessed I got to have you grow in my tummy, that I could feed you, and that you have been such an easy, smiley baby. Sometimes when life is crazy I can’t help but wonder how you keep that smile on your face. I hope you will always find joy in life and know that you are loved by your family here on earth and your Heavenly family as well. Thank you for coming into our lives and thank you for being who you are. We love ...

On March 19 we were blessed to meet with friends from out of town at the Denver Children's Museum. This was the first time Francis got to meet my family & the first time I got to meet her new baby girl, Lily. (Somehow we didn't manage to get a good group shot on our camera.) I met Francis & her husband in Taiwan and she was so nice to bring me Pineapple cake her mother had mailed over! This was also our first time to the museum & we had a blast. I'll post the video on Facebook of my 3 & Lucy painting together b/c it is so cute too. On the way home we stopped by the mall I used to work at and got to talk to a couple of my old Apple co-workers. Turns out I'm not the only one with 3 children ages 3 & under anymore: one of their wives just had twins!

Here's a few pictures from March -- I can't imagine how empty my life would be without my little ones, but boy, do they keep me busy! Afternoon snack of chocolate pudding. I don't think I'll be doing that again soon. Here Dan tried to get a good picture of Danny after going to urgent care. He fell down inside the van while avoiding getting in his car seat. We were afraid he would need stitches, but he was just under what was deemed necessary for them. Poor Danny had to live off of milk, Michelle's squeezable baby food (below), & ice cream. He loved it. Grandma Karyl has been coming over a few afternoons a week so I can prepare dinner in peace. I am so glad to be a spoiled only child! Can you see Michelle's bruise on her ear? That's when she tried to go out to the backyard by herself & Danny smashed her head with the sliding glass door. She had a mark on the other side of her head too. Recently Danny has decided he is such a big boy he can pla...