Two Little Fishes

Today is a day I want to remember especially since I took almost zero pictures.

Our nephew Tyler opened his mission call on his Dad's (my brother) birthday. I'm so excited for his next chapter. (He hasn't posted about it, so I'm going to wait to share where he's going.) I love that the letter has changed so it explains what is means to be a missionary before the location is stated. I know that he's going to have a positive impact in so many lives.

Next, we went swimming with our favorite Paynes. How we love them! Lucy and Aaron were constantly asking Liv for help even when they didn't really need it. Lucy has gotten so much more confident in the pool. Samuel basically hates his baby floaty and wasn't really in a mood for swimming. Thankfully he felt better after a bottle and lounging with me. My ankle is doing better and was really good in the pool. There are some light sunburns on us because we delayed leaving to be on the video call for Tyler. I forgot to put another coat of sunscreen on us.

Aaron loves man handling Samuel and thankfully Samuel typically likes it. These brothers are so cute together!

Today was such a good day. 

I Need Thee Every Hour

A few months ago while studying the scriptures, the hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour" came into my mind. I felt so strongly that it is so true that I really do need Jesus every hour. Then the thought came that I need to remember Him every hour if I truly want Him to be with me every hour. I am not good at thinking about Him once my day gets going. I decided then and there to create multiple alarms to go off throughout my day to remind me to pray.

I have noticed that even though I still need these reminders throughout the day, there are times that I am quick to pray. Frequently it's prayers of gratitude but at times it is for help for my kids or me. It's a simple change but I'm like the difference it's making in my life.

Happy Sunday!

Scenes in church:

I love the boy, the outfit, the naked baby doll, and the partially eaten sandwich.

Last week, Aaron quickly volunteered to give a talk in Primary. He loves talking in the microphone and he was so excited to use it today. He was assigned to give a talk about section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Aaron wanted to talk about planets. We were able to connect the two by sharing that God and Jesus used priesthood power to create the planets. We are given His power as we make and keep covenants and it enables us to help others come closer to God. Aaron struggled starting his talk, but he was able to share it. It was hard to understand because he kept the microphone too close to his mouth, but he's getting more experience.

As we left church, my heart was overflowing with love for these three. It helped that we were listening to Jupiter by Gustav Holst. (I introduced Aaron to Holst's The Planets suite well over a year ago. He loved planets and I told him it was planet music. He quickly loved listening to it and started recognizing each planet.)

Aaron wanted to drive on the "new" bridge on the way home and I loved the beautiful view.

Fleeing the Scene of the Crime

Jonathan took the big kids to run some errands and so naturally it was Samuel's turn to get into baby mischief. He loves playing with the big kid toys but more especially enjoys making his way down the hallway. (You never know what treasures are there like diaper bags and shoes to chew on.) I heard him playing with paper and then the boing of the doorstop. I let him play with it for awhile and then when it was quiet for too long I went to investigate.

The suspect was fleeing the scene of the crime by belly as I approached. (He still hasn't quite got the hang of crawling on his hands and knees.) He played with the doorstop until it fell out. I was just glad it wasn't in his mouth. I do love my boy!

Mixed Feelings

This past week, Lucy has been calling Aaron by his name more often. I am having mixed feelings about it. She typically calls him bubby. For awhile it was bud and buddy, but since about the beginning of the year it's been bubby.

It is cute hearing her say Aaron, but I love hearing her say bubby. When my parents were visiting in January, my dad didn't understand her and asked who's Bob?! It was a good laugh.

It's so cute how much these two love each other. Aaron regularly tells me Lucy is a fun girl.

Overheard

This is a conversation I recently heard between Aaron and Lucy.

Aaron: "Lucy. I'm going to marry you."

Lucy: "Why you going to marry me?"

A: "Because you are a cute girl."

L: "I'm already married."

A: "You are going to grow into a grownup. You aren't going to stay two."

After she doesn't respond, Aaron starts using his train whistle and walks away.

 I love these two so much! I wholeheartedly agree that Lucy is a cute girl.

P.S. My ankle is slowly healing. I still can't do too much, but I am not in pain while I do little walks around the house.

Happy Sunday

"Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?

’Tis not so; all is right.

Why should we think to earn a great reward

If we now shun the fight?

Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.

Our God will never us forsake;

And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—

All is well! All is well!"

Second verse of hymn #30 "Come, Come, Ye Saints"

By: William Clayton

It was so good to be at church to worship with our ward family. There is power in gathering together and renewing our commitment to follow Christ. I taught the women in our congregation today and they shared so many wonderful thoughts and stories that helped me.

After church and a good nap, I finally got a picture of Samuel on his hands and knees. He's been working on crawling for the past week. He's really skilled at belly crawling and so I've been wondering when he'd switch over. He is so wonderful! He also got his first two teeth over the weekend and has been so chill about it.

Mr. Blue Eyes

After two brown eyed babies, I am thrilled to have a blue eyed boy!

Even as a newborn, it was obvious that there was more blue in his eyes. There's still a chance his eyes will change color, but I'm enjoying our little Mr. Blue Eyes!

Five Years' Time

So much has changed in the past 5 years.

And I couldn't be more grateful!

Church At Home

"So many choices with so much at stake.

Life’s full of pathways, but which should I take?

If I lift up in prayer in the name of the Son,

Through the pow’r of the Holy Ghost answers will come.

Heavenly Father is there,

Ready to answer my prayer.

I will find my own sacred grove.

Away from all of the noise in the world.

I will turn to prayer,

For I know He’s there

I will find my own sacred grove."

"My Own Sacred Grove"

By Angie Killian

It was a good and chaotic church at home kind of Sunday. My ankle is healing, but two hours of sitting still is a bit too much. I'm so grateful for all church at home we did in 2020 because it's so easy to do it now on those off weeks when church attendance just isn't possible.

A Change of Plans

I planned on going to the Houston Temple today. As soon as I hurt my ankle on Sunday, I knew that would not be happening. Earlier in the week, Jonathan said we need to get out of the house on Saturday. By Thursday that seemed reasonable and I knew I wanted to go to the Austin Temple. 

We stopped for donuts on the way there. Aaron picked one with white frosting and green sprinkles and Lucy chose pink frosting with yellow sprinkles. While we were looking at the temple, Aaron grabbed rocks and screws that were in the dirt. He decided the rocks were dinosaur bones and the screws were tools.

It is so exciting to see the progress each time we visit the temple. While this wasn't the temple trip I originally planned for today, I'm still glad we came and we can share our excitement for the completion of our temple.

On the way home, we went through a carwash. While no one cried, Samuel did look extremely concerned about what was going on.

I was wiped out after our morning adventure, so I got the kinetic sand and dinosaurs ready for the big kids while Samuel and I napped. I hid dinosaur bones in the sand and Aaron loved the surprise. It was perfect after how he had been playing at the temple.

This has been a hard week and I've felt discouraged by my injury. I'm definitely healing, but I'm ready to get back to my normal activity. I'm praying that things will continue to improve and I'll be able to get to the temple very soon.

Quiet Mornings

For the past few weeks (before I wrecked my ankle), I've been going on morning walks. They started with Samuel in the front pack, but he now sleeps in late enough so I walk alone. I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this time walking while the sun finishes rising because I am not a morning person. It has been so wonderful and I miss it so much. I walk around our neighborhood and see so many bunnies darting around that I'm certain I've startled Peter Rabbit.

While I walk, I listen to some of my favorite podcasts. They connect me with heaven and how I can practically live out my beliefs. I miss this time terribly, though I don't miss the humidity. I'm hoping that it won't be too long and I'll be back.

My podcast list:

Talking Scripture

Grounded

Inklings Institute

Walk With Him

Magnify

Occasionally I'll also listen to a BYU devotional

Third Time's the Charm

I got out today! I went on a quick drive and it felt so good to be out of the house on my own. While I was gone, Samuel ripped up Lucy's letter Q from the wall.

That was Lucy's second letter Q because she played with the first one too hard and it got ripped. I'm hopeful that third time's the charm and this one will survive.

Wrecked

I wrecked my ankle on my way into church on Sunday. We drove through some massive downpours and it was a light sprinkle when we pulled into the parking lot. As I herded the kids into the church, I slipped on the dirt that turned into mud on the sidewalk. While I didn't fall over, I knew my ankle was sprained very badly. I knew I needed to sit, so we still went inside. It was obvious that I couldn't stay, so as more of our friends arrived we left.

To say it's hard is an understatement, but there are still positives. A big one is that I didn't drop Samuel since I was carrying him when I slipped. Another is Jonathan is able to work from home, so he's been able to fill in a bit during the day. We're praying that my ankle heals quickly so I can get back to normal soon.

One More Minute

I love Lucy. She sits back and observes what is going on around her before joining in. Typically, she jumps in when it's nearly time to go. That happened again today. I told Aaron one more minute until we needed to leave. Lucy ran out to join in the playing. I couldn't stick with leaving in one minute so we let them play longer.

Lucy and Aaron kept up with the big kids fairly well.

Samuel's diaper leaked during Sacrament meeting and his backup outfit wasn't as cute as his original one. We'll try again another time.

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."

Hymn #1028 "This Little Light of Mine"

African American spiritual

Soggy 4th of July

It was an odd 4th of July this year. I started it out by giving all three kids and Jonathan haircuts. It was my first time cutting Lucy's hair in about 2 years. She was better at sitting still, though watching her favorite movie (Cars 2) helped. It was an okay first big girl haircut, but I definitely have more to learn. Samuel still doesn't like sitting still, but it went well. Aaron was so much better with the buzzers. He typically raises his shoulders making it so much more difficult but he didn't do it this time. I'm happy to report that Jonathan is the best of the four at sitting still.

We headed over to the annual celebration at a nearby park and it was a soggy ghost town. We went last year and there were people everywhere and this year we got a close parking spot, there were no lines for the rides, food trucks, or bounce houses. We still got bit from a few fire ants, but it was a great time.

I was so impressed that Lucy wanted to go on some of the rides this year. She typically sticks to me and observes what is going on and then maybe for the last few minutes before we need to go she will participate. This time she immediately knew she wanted to go for a "train" ride. (Can you you really call it a train when it's a small tractor pulling barrels?)

Aaron loved the train and had a great time with all the different bounce houses. There was never more than two other kids on the same one he was using. It was so odd!

Then we hustled back home to get dinner ready since at the last minute the missionaries needed a dinner. It was so delicious we forgot to take any pictures. We had homemade barbacoa tacos on homemade corn tortillas with homemade salsa rojo and homemade guacamole. It was so good! Part way through dinner, Lucy wasn't feeling well and so we ended up snuggling in my bed and she was asleep by 7 pm. We heard some fireworks later, but didn't see any.

It was an odd holiday, but still a good one.

Independence Tray

I love a themed sensory tray, so I made one for Independence Day. I made a Texas flag with the rice since it's a lot less elaborate than an American flag.

Both kids dug in and loved it. The Army men and the various vehicles were a big hit.

Aaron used the blue stars to make a river and pushed the rice to make a hill for the vehicles to drive on.

Summer Sickness

For a week, Aaron and Lucy were congested. Aaron slowly got better while Lucy finally had a fever on Friday afternoon. I started feeling a bit under the weather, but nothing near to Lucy. Thankfully, we got lots of naps this weekend including a car nap. And no, it's not cold enough for a sweatshirt, Lucy just likes wearing them no matter the weather.

Hello Again

I feel like it's time to once again use this space to record what matters most in this season of life. Thanks for being part of our journey.

Mobile

Samuel is growing so fast. He is officially mobile. He hasn't tried getting up on his knees yet, but he has mastered the belly crawl. Samuel uses his arms and legs and he can get around quickly.

He's so much happier now that he can get to where he wants to be. It means we now get to be vigilant at keeping tiny toys off of the floor!

Mr. and Miss Bones

Lucy has been obsessed with her bones pajamas for at least a year and a half now. I think they are size 18 months, but she can still kind of fit in them. She was so excited to see Samuel in his matching bones pajamas this morning.