So it wasn't the cheesecake

After a day of terrible fussiness, and blaming it on the delicious cheesecake at General Women's Conference and the additional to die for key lime pie at my mom's house afterwards, Little Miss showcased her first pearly white this morning. So Honey IT WASN'T THE CHEESECAKE (or at least I'd like to think so). P.S. A special thank you to Jess for rescuing me from insanity. All your help with her yesterday meant more to me than you know. You are an angel!

You call that camping

Erick headed up to Heber for the weekend. Unfortunately that left us out of the Ward Campout fun. I typically would have taken the opportunity to catch up on housework or projects. However the urge to let it all go and just play with my kids came over me. I love it when I follow through on those urges. So what'd we do? We camped in the backyard. I have never camped in the backyard before, not even as a kid. I must say, I think a found a new favorite way to camp. My favorite part about the backyard verses backwoods camping... Little time spent packing and unpacking! The kids and I set up the tent, ate pizza, made smores on the barbecue, and they (not I) put down a whole gallon of chocolate milk by morning. We played games and just hung out. We missed dad, but the experience was definitely a favorite! Thanks kids. You are great!

Oh my cursed weakness!!!

Little Miss has by far the most sensitive stomach of all my babies. From early on I learned all dairy, nuts, seeds, beans, garlic, onion, peppers, green chilies, curry, chili powder, sugars, chocolate, and soy reeked havoc on her poor little tummy. Even a snitch of the afor mentioned items was guaranteed to result in a miserable day thereafter in our house. Not willing to give up nursing combined with complete and utter bottle refusal on her part, I hunkered down on what felt like the strictest diet ever. I was already an avid label reader but further became a "if you have a label I can't eat you" gal. And well, restaraunts were pretty much out of the picture. So what have I subsisted on? Canned chicken (yes, I can it myself), triscuits (the only thing with a label that is permitted entrance), eggs, beef, oatmeal, rice milk (gag - but a saving grace), and most fruits and veggies. Eventually I began making my own loaf of bread, separate from the families, with no milk and agave nectar instead of honey (for some reason the agave didn't seem to bother her like honey and sugar). That was a huge help. And then came the goat milk. A few weeks ago, at the suggestion of a friend, I tried fresh goat's milk. FABULOUS!!! A definite winner. My shredded wheat (okay one more thing with a label but as with triscuits the ingredient list consists of merely wheat) and bananas became much more enjoyable. A little pricey, but worth it. All was going well, but I was seriously missing butter, chocolate, and sugars. A couple weeks ago, I began testing the waters.... A little cheese here, a little butter there, a touch of onion and garlic and, with the exception of hummus, things were running smoothly. Well yesterday a serious day of weakness befell me. I can't call it a moment, because it was literally all day. I have a massive weakness for butter brown, sugar, and coconut. I think it stems back to the days when my mom used to make oatmeal cake with a broiled coconut brown sugar frosting on it. Oh the memories. Well the Choir treat was just that. You know those bars with the coconut, chocolate and butterscotch chips, butter, brown sugar and sometimes sweetened condensed milk. Yeah that was it. Can you say suicide? I couldn't stop eating them. In all seriousness I think I ate ten of them (maybe even more). They were so yummy! Granted it could have just been the months of sugar starvation talking - either way my poor baby had no chance. I was hoping for the best, but I suppose I knew deep down I was in serious trouble. Sure enough after 45 minutes of screaming in her crib this morning at naptime, I gave in to her cries, nursing the darling to sleep, something I don't want her to be dependant on, but pretty much the only thing she wants when gassy and exhausted. Unfortunately, until it has run its course, nursing feeds the problem, yet provides her the desired comfort she wants. Let's just say, hopefully I'll be wiser in the future. So sorry baby!!!

SLOW DOWN!!!

I thought your last baby was supposed to take the longest to learn all those things that moves them from baby to toddler. You know like rolling, crawling sitting up, standing, and walking. Then tell me why is my baby already doing this....

Yes, she not only rolls,

crawls,

and sits up,

but now she also pulls herself into a standing position at the couch, in her crib or anywhere else she can find something to support her. Funny thing is she hasn't yet figured out how to sit back down. Consequently, naptime is torture. She gets stuck standing up crying and doesn't know how to lay herself back down to go to sleep. At the rate she's going she'll probably have it figured out by next week and be walking the next! SLOW DOWN BABY! Let me enjoy the ride! I have to say, I truly am enjoying this earthly little angel. Even with the STILL sleep deprived nights, she is ray of sunshine. Her smiles, laughter, cuddles, hugs, kisses, and tantrums are such a delight. I'm so grateful the Lord sent us one more.

A warm fuzzy night in the jacuzzi!

We had a great night tonight! A couple weeks ago we had a family home evening on friends. Included in our discussion was the importance of our family members being our friends. I told the story of cold pricklies and warm fuzzies. The following week the family worked extra hard to share warm fuzzies. By so doing we filled our warm fuzzy jar and earned pizza movie night in the jacuzzi. Tonight was our first chance to cash in on it. Erick fired up the jacuzzi and set up the entertainment system outside. I made the best grilled pizza and cinnamon rolls ever! We pigged out while watching Veritas: The Prince of Truth and relaxing in the jacuzzi. Even Alex, the cutest baby ever, was loving the special occasion kickin back in her baby float. 

I sure am grateful to be part of this family.

No empty chairs

For my dad's birthday Chrystalyn suggested we (my sisters) all get together and take my dad to the temple. A date was set and arrangements made for all our hoodelums. To my amazement we were all there, including mom. We hit an old family favorite restraunt , Red Robin, first, dropped off Alex with some friends then headed to the temple. Dad requested we do sealings instead of endowments, allowing us a more intimate setting. My heart was full of gratitude as, while, yes, we were without our spouses, I was still reminded of the story of the empty chairs. There we were together sealed as a family with no empty chairs amongst us. My hope and prayers are that one day chairs will also be filled with our spouses, children and their spouses. Grateful tonight for the temple, its sealing powers, parents who constantly pointed us to the temple, and my Savior who provides me the opportunity to obtain all the blessings that accompany sacred covenants made within its holy walls.

What a special day

We had the sweet opportunity of doing baptisms for the dead with Kess on Friday after school. Erick took the afternoon off work and the three of us went in to the Mesa temple together. After making all the arrangements for the other kids, getting ready, and driving in to town, Makessa realized she forgot her recommend on the kitchen counter. Thankfully the temple workers were able to reach Bishop and get the okay for her to go in. It certainly rattled her nerves a bit but hopefully just enough to help her remember it in the future. Despite the rough start, our experience was beautiful. It felt so good having Erick with us. He performed the confirmations and the baptisms. While in the locker room dressing into our whites, the spirit of that special day and what we were doing was so powerful. I asked Makessa how she was feeling. She took my hand got a little teary and said kind of scared. I asked her is it that you're scared or are you overwhelmed with the spirit? She answered, I'm not sure; maybe both. We prayed together and went on to finish our work. The following day a close friend of ours, Hannah Reid was baptized. I love attending baptisms because the spirit is always so strong. So it was that day as well. The following Monday Erick asked Makessa.to share her temple experience with the family. (An inspired request.) She told Sam and Jacob the nuts and bolts of it all. Coaching her I asked and how did you feel, expecting to hear a standard "good" answer. But instead, with tears in her eyes she said, at first I thought I was scared, but then when I went to Hannah's baptism I realized what I was feeling was the same feeling I felt at my baptism and inside the temple. It was a powerful feeling of the spirit. It was so tender; so genuine. My heart melted. I gave a silent thanks to the Lord for allowing her to embrace this experience of feeling the impressions of the Holy Spirit.