Welcome to our World

For Christmas in 2008, my brother-in-law gave me the book Broken Things to Mend by Elder Jeffery R. Holland. I had heard it was a really good book, so had told my mother-in-law if he needed ideas for me, that was an option. Well, almost two years later, I am very grateful for this book. There are times in your life where everything is just so grand & other times when you really need a pick-me-up & a to-do list at the same time to get you going again. Elder Holland's faith in the Savior Jesus Christ & the good news of the gospel permeate throughout. The chapter entitled "With the tongues of Angels" was especially important for me to be reading right now. I have never been good at communication in general & I can't hide shock or any other emotion, but becoming the sort of woman he describes in this chapter is a must for someone like me. I can tell I will re-read it again & again. Here's a quote I liked so much I put it on my Facebook profi...

Danny & Michelle have begun having their check-ups with the pediatrician together. Today was for his 15-month & her 6-month. These two have grown so much in the last month and it is becoming such a treat to watch them interact with each other. I feel that before we know it there will be no more babies in our home & only toddlers. Slow down, you 2! Waiting for the doctor to come in. Danny is continuing to surpass all expectations of a little boy his age. Our doctor said that he is acting like a 22-month-old & it is time to mentally prepare for the terrible twos. I must have gotten quite the look on my face because she then said, "the good news is you aren't even rusty yet." I adore our pediatrician. Before the denim diapers Grandma bought him ran out, we had to have some fun taking pictures with a root beer bottle. Entertaining someone else's dog at the lake with the ball thrower. Big boys like big sticks. And yes, I took my son to the park with...

I really didn't want to turn 30, but having wonderful family & friends sure does help. Sorry my huge sombrero is covering you up, Dad! Ever seen the episode of Friends where they all turn 30? It made me laugh so hard, yet realize I have been truly blessed for an entire 30 years. I might even go so far as to say I'm still the spoiled only child I have always been. How on earth did I get lucky enough to live the life I do, I have no clue. Makes me think I need to be a much better 30-year-old than I was a 29-year-old. When I look back on the past year with our miraculous additions of Danny J. & Michelle to the family, I wish I could delete a lot of my impatience with Kaelah, etc. Here's to hoping a new decade will usher in a better mommy for my children. Thank you so much for planning this, Shannon. You are the most wonderful friend in the world.

At Christmas time my in-laws told us about going to San Diego. The thought of taking a 4-month-old, a 14-months-old, & a barely 3-year-old made me shutter. Turns out it was terrific! The mini van made a huge difference -- those reclining captain chairs are amazing. And Michelle is definitely our best infant traveler to have graced our little family. The V55 & iPod video I was given while working at the Apple Store was a huge hit too. Kaelah wishes we could go to California every day! It was also nice we could break up the trip by staying for a day with family in Utah. Dan's grandmother & brothers & sisters have all now met baby Michelle -- yeah! I'm grateful they were all willing & able to meet us when we were on such a tight schedule. 24 hours really isn't that long when you have meal time, nap time, & bed time to worry about. I also got to surprise the M. family, who was so good to my family when we lived in Hays. Mylee's mother wa...

Our littlest girl is growing up way too fast! Here are some pictures from the last little while that seem so long ago already. On the day Michelle turned 4 months old she weighed 14 pounds 6 oz. I wish I could tell you how tall she was, but I lost the piece of paper & my mind is mush. She was in the 90th percentile for height, which is no big surprise considering who her daddy is. Much more impressive than Michelle's weight gain is how much she has changed in the last month. She fell in love with toys, interacts with Danny & the dog much more, gets so excited she gasps as loud as an adult (& flaps her arms), rolls around to get to where she wants, & can completely destroy a TIME magazine while you think she's sleeping. She just seems so big now. Not a newborn anymore, but an infant. Oh, and she can tell quite story. My father said she sounds like a cat in heat sometimes. lol. Michelle is such a wonderful baby. At times I go to check on her although sh...

This year Dan & I escaped to Manitou Springs for the weekend of our anniversary. Michelle got to come along because she's so little & won't take a bottle. She sure enjoyed being an only child for a day & a half, though! Look at that huge smile while riding the cog railway. Here's a couple pictures of the view. We were above the clouds at over 14,100 feet. Amazing. This was our first 14er. Someday Michelle will be lucky enough to say she went to the top of Pikes Peak at only 4 months old. The woman working at our motel is from Poland & recommended a great bistro in town own by a Polish man. Dan was soooo excited to get eat authentic Polish food. Here he is with his bigos. It was delicious, but not as good as my Havarti pirogi & smoked salmon. Yum. I get such a kick out of hearing Dan talk about his time in Poland & when he speaks Polish. It seems like such a wonderful place. It is on our list of places to visit together "someday....

Thanks to a forward from my friend, Kelly, our family has been going to a farm on Wednesday mornings this month. It is so interesting to see what my children do & don't like and do & don't know. For instance, although the group is all 3-year-old girls & Danny, Danny J leads the way! And even though I've been trying my hardest to teach Danny animal sounds, we got NOTHING. But after a bull mooed so loud at him he cried, when he sees a cow he says, "moooo." And the next time he saw that bull, he screamed at it & the bull startled & backed up. Turn around is fair play. My father couldn't have been happier to see it happen, too. Here he is carrying the bucket to go pick green beans. Kaelah refuses to take buckets from strangers, it turns out. And he knows just what to do to get vehicles moving! (Notice his hand on the gears.) Kaelah & Danny make a great team. Her cautiousness keeps everyone alive & his adventurousness keeps us ...