The Girls Host a Dinner Party

 

What a lovely treat! The girls were so incredibly thoughtful and decided to host a dinner party. They did EVERYTHING!!! They planned a centerpiece and fancy napkin/paper rings to hold silverware.

 

They cooked spaghetti and a delicious cake with homemade frosting!

 

It was very tasty and awesome!!!! Thanks ladies!!!

January Art Weeerrrrk

 

Anna and Elsa this month from a really cool Mormon guy Arthub.com

 

Maria's New Year's Resolution- love that she mentions her sneak reading

 

Martin Luther King Jr. LOVE these!

Heavenly Father and Jesus love me.

I'm supposed to teach Primary tomorrow. I was thinking about experiences I could share with the children of specific times that I have felt that Heavenly Father and Jesus love me.

Really, there are too many to count!! Every day I feel of their love for me. Every day I know of the blessings that are poured upon my head.

However, one in particular did stand out to me. When I was pregnant with Christina in Washington DC, it was the first time I'd ever experienced true sickness. I couldn't keep food down. I must have lost 20-30 lbs while I was there.

I remember all I could eat were these Greek Salads from Au Bon Pain, bagels, and these peach mango smoothies from a little hole in the wall place.

Man, DC had good food options. There were restaurants everywhere you turned.

But I digress.

One day, I was feeling nauseous. I had gotten sick a few times. It had been freezing temperatures. And then the sun came out. I was walking like I never walked before in my life. We walked EVERYWHERE!!!!! Miles and miles every day!! I happened to walk upon some sort of street fair. Unfortunately, I can't remember all the details (10 years ago!!!! When did that happen??!?!). However, I do know that I somehow won a free Dunkin Doughnuts T-Shirt.

The sun started shining, literally. I was warmed up. I felt a little better.

I felt my burdens lifted and knew that God was near.

Plus, I got a FREE T-SHIRT!!! (That I still have to this day!)

There are moments that may seem small and insignificant. But I truly believe that we need to be aware of these God given moments of grace. That we need to be thankful. This is what life is. A series of beautiful and constant blessings.

There is a book series the girls have read called A Series of Unfortunate Events. Too often in life, the pessimist emerges. The "supposed" hardships weigh us down.

In fact today, I was having a tough time finding joy in the moment. I was letting myself get bogged down in the mundane. I was letting myself worry about things that weren't important. I was feeling sorry for myself.

And then, we went to a park. We enjoyed the fresh air. I played with the kids. We got home and the girls cooked a beautiful meal and prepared a beautiful table! They requested reggae music while they cooked... how awesome and cool and fun are they!

The light re-entered my heart. I prayed for forgiveness for my selfishness and ingratitude. And I know to keep plugging along.

Heavenly Father and Jesus love me. I'm so blessed to know this. I'm so grateful to see this love every day in my life.

To remember always.....

We finished Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince.

It was down to the final 100 pages. I will always picture the girls just standing on their bed for an hour while the intense scenes unfolded.

Puffy, red eyes. Muffled sobs into blankets. Staring at the wall, tears streaming down faces. True grief, true grief felt by these little souls of my babies.

Disbelief. Realization. Ache. Hurt.

Maria, "I hope he kills Snape. I hope Snape dies."

Christina, "That was my least favorite book ever."

Reading with them is my favorite. I'm so grateful for good books that make us think.

There was the slightest of jokes. The language seemed a little complex, and yet Maria chuckled. I'm amazed at how she understands.

It was a good night. A sad night. But a good night.

11 Months

 

Ella at 11 months is Baby Michelle Pfeiffer.

She loves Uptown Funk!!

In fact, Maria can get her to say, "HOT."

Which I love.

 

Walking is coming along. She is taking steps without support and getting stronger each day!

 

We had a couple of biting instances this month.

Poor Mommy's boob. But all is healed and well.

 

Ella loves to laugh. She loves to play. She loves her brother's digger. She loves If You're Happy and You Know It.

 

She really likes fish. And makes a big, "oh!!!!!" whenever she sees one.

 

She is the best CAR TRAVELER EVER!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe how well she did on vacation. I kept having to ask if she fell asleep she was so quiet!

 

She loves bath. She is in the big bath now and likes dipping her face in the water or sticking her tongue under the faucet.

 

She especially loves me. If anyone else is holding her and I reach for her, she immediately reaches for me. I love doing this while Joe holds her.

 

She still wakes up about 1-2 times a night. But we've had many nights where she hasn't woken up at all. They have been here and there, but much appreciated!!!

Lovely Ladies

After Stake Conference

Getting Ready for Maria's Baptism

 

I am one blessed mama!

There is nothing more beautiful than to watch your children help and care for one another. It's like the spinning world stops and eternity fills your moment. I'm so grateful to have 2 little girls that are the best of friends.

 

Christina played the part of fashion assistant while Maria tried on several different baptism dresses.

 

Yaya came up with the (generous... understatement) tradition and the girls love being able to do so!

 

Prettier than the brides trying on their dresses!!

 

Her dress she picked was perfect!! I hope I can get some good shots later that capture the pure and kind Maria that I love so much.

She has been wonderful in preparing for her special day. She's read the Book of Mormon, memorized all her articles of faith, knows the covenants and promises of baptism....

I've always told her that this is her choice. That we would love her no matter what.

She said, "I'm very excited to be baptized. I know it will be the best choice I can make!"

 

Yaya and Papa ordered her the scriptures she liked and had them embossed with her name.

 

We ate a delicious lunch at Whole Foods and then watched Paddington Bear together!!

 

We are so blessed to have the love and support of my parents. They do so much for us and our children. I am beyond grateful to have my children know my parents so well and to be able to have such beautiful and cherished memories with them.

LEGOLAND - The Camera Breaks....

Before I start this post, I just want to make a statement. I live in the moment. I don't feel like taking pictures detracts in any way shape or form as I go about.

 

My camera broke on day 2 of our trip to LEGOLAND. I was devastated. It could possibly be just an addiction. But in all reality I have a bad memory. I can't really see things in my mind. I can't remember names or experiences.

 

I really rely on Ramya and Joe for memories past.

 

That's why my camera is so important. That's why I blog quickly after we do something. I don't want to forget. I don't want to mess up any recollection of what happened! Hence, a lot of pictures. But I don't apologize, because these moments are what give me joy. I hope years down the line when my beautiful babies look back, they will understand that they were my everything. That I never wanted to fail to recall these precious times that I fully understood were so very precious indeed!

 

 

LEGOLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was cheapest to get a 3 month pass from Costco... so who knows, maybe we can sneak in another trip! Although.... it's a looooooong car ride! :) But worth it!!!

 

I loved how there were brick stations everywhere!!! So fun, especially if you had to wait in line.... which we rarely had to do!!! The weather was marvelous and on day 2, we rode things upwards of 20 times because no one was there!!!

 

All the giant lego statues were impressive! We thought that it would be an awesome job to be a lego artist!

 

Ella and I had lots of down time while everyone else went on rides!

 

A woman who looked like the female version of Snape photobombed us.

 

Me and my sweety!!

 

The rides were just right for our ages. Not too fast. Not too scary.

Maria we learned is not a thrill seeker at all.

 

There was a couple really fun playgrounds. I loved how age appropriate everything was.

 

The big hit though for all of them were the cars! They loved driving around!!

 

Elijah went on them more times then I can count. He must have gotten 10 driver's licenses!! He was thrilled. He was very serious about showing his driver's license while driving for some odd reason.

 

Lunch was actually really delicious.... I guess it should be seeing as it was $12!!! But everything was locally grown and we didn't waste a single bite!!!

Key: bring plastic baggies!!! Save what you don't eat for later!!!

 

I checked out their mother's area. WOW!!! It was lovely!!! They had big and little rocking chairs, blocks for toddlers to play with.... it was just nice. It's great that major organizations value breastfeeding!! On that note, I didn't use the room. I fed in public without a cover.

Woooooooo. Finally. 5 children later. I didn't get a single "weird" look or comment or anything. I stayed as modest as I could and fed my Ella. I was glad to do that for my girls because I never want them to be ashamed for doing what's best for their children.

 

I think my favorite part of the park (besides watching the children on the rides) is the landscaping. The flowers were sublime, hanging bells of gold... symmetrical circles of hot fuchsia.

 

 

But maybe, my favorite part is the crazy faces these kiddos make and that I happen to capture!!!

 

Or moments like this when Ella took her first steps!!! It was only 3, but she did great. She hasn't walked since, but we are proud of her none the less!

 

We run them ragged!

 

Lego Mini Land is quite enchanting. It's like we're Godzilla ready to wreak havoc! They had quite a few cities and everything was detailed extensively!

 

I'm always on the look out for BURNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

These benches saved me. My back held up, but when I needed to sit, I needed to sit. I'm glad there were so many of these everywhere!

 

There was a lego person even using the potty!

 

This was our favorite star wars display!

See... she loves her daddy, but she's still a mama's girl.

 

PO- SER!!!!!!!!! Oh how I adore my Eli. He desperately wanted to ride the dragon roller coaster with Daddy the big girls.... but we avoided a melt down. Sugar is good for that right?

 

As the day wrapped up we ended with Bionicles!!! I remember when Christina was 3 and Jody bought her some for her birthday. I thought it was such a dumb idea.... but it was their thing and she has loved them ever since. What a good daddy we have.

It was a great time!!!