Let Me Hold Your Crown, Babe..

I just love this. I can't wait for her new cd to come out!

Enjoy :)
(but first TURN OFF the music at the end of my page!)

Halfway to ONE!

Today is our baby girl's 6 month birthday! A few things about her:

• she weighs 18 lbs
• she sits up all the time now
• she's almost crawling (hopefully by next week!)
• she will only go to sleep if her left foot is sticking out from under her blanket
• she only laughs if something is REALLY funny to her
• she LOVES her daddy

Abby is such a blessing in our family. We are so very blessed to have her. She is happy 98% of the time (and a pill the other 2%, but that's ok :) and makes us laugh all the time. We love her sweet personality and the joy she brings to our home. I can't believe she's already 6 months! Before I know it, she will be walking.

Finally found the words!

Too bad I didn't think of it myself.

It's a funny, this whole life thing. So much to learn and so many different ways to go. My SIL, Liz, hit how I'm feeling right on the head. I'm so glad she is so eloquent in her words. Oh Liz, just move up here already! Can't wait to see you next week ((Hopefully!))

Cutest Sicko

Abby has been sick for about 2 weeks now off and on. The first time she got sick we utilized the humidifier, a vicks vaporizer, and the suction. We also put her mattress at an incline. It seemed to work, but then came back about a day after she recovered even worse and accompanied with a cough. Go figure. Today was doctor day. We found she has pretty bad allergies and a sinus infection. The next 10 days are filled with antibiotic.

The bottom picture is Abby waiting to be seen at the doctor's office. She was making all kinds of faces and haming it up. In the picture above, she was supposed to be eating. I pulled out Paul's phone to play and we came up with that. She's so fun. I love that even though she's sick, she still has fun and smiles and laughs.

What do Mormon's believe?

*stop music at the bottom :)*

Are we Christian?



Why do we have the Book of Mormon?

Don't you quit.

Our Sunday School teacher shared this with us yesterday. Every women there was in tears. Stay till the end. It's great.

"Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Enough is Enough.

Yesterday in church it seemed every message I heard (and taught) was about service. A lot of you have heard me grumble about some of the service that Paul has done or even that I've been asked to do.

After church Sis. Van came up and talked to us because we mentioned in her class that I have a hard time with this whole service thing. She told me she knows and doesn't miss the feelings that I'm having. She then told me that blessings will come, even though it just seems like a big pain in the rear. Then I started thinking about all our blessings we have in our life. Endless blessings, over and over again. It was so great to have that "duh" moment and realize that Heavenly Father helps us out so much, the least we (or Paul) can do is donate a couple hours on a Saturday morning to help some one in need. Even if we've never even met this person that needs our help.
This quote was part of my lesson yesterday in Young Womens. It's one of those things that you hear a million times, but this time, in this season of my life it really means something totally different and has great significance to me.

"Sometimes the solution is not to change out circumstance but to change our attitude about that circumstance.... God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom."
-President Spencer W. Kimball

So this is me saying that I'm done with the whining. It's really hurt me more than anything and I can feel the repercussions of that. I know people in our ward and other places need service, and I really honestly feel like service is a great thing. So now when Paul gets call at 10/11pm on a Friday night and finds out he needs to organize and/ participate in a move the next morning at 8am (even though we already had plans), I'm just going to bite my lip and say okay. Hopefully soon I wont even have to bite my lip and it will be something I no long am bothered by.

Supposing today were your last day on earth,

The last mile of the journey you've trod;

After all of your struggles, how much are your worth,

How much can you take home to God?

Don't count as possessions your silver and gold,

Tomorrow you leave those behind,

And all that is yours to have and to hold

Is the service you've given mankind.

-Anonymous, as quoted by David O. McKay

Stop #3- Wyoming :)

Turns out, Wyoming is on the other side of the country. It's a pretty far drive, but it was totally worth it.

We loved getting to see my Dad's family and my grandparents, who I hadn't seen in y.e.a.r.s and they've never met Paul or Abby, so it was an extra sweet occasion. My grandma has been pretty sick lately, and they live in Canada, so it really was a treat to get to see them.

While we were in Wyoming we ate a lot of ice cream from DQ, we drove around a lot to see wild life and scenery, we played a lot of cards, and we got to hang out a lot and just enjoy each other's company.

I didn't take as many pictures as I should have... I tend to have that problem. I'm not a huge fan of taking pictures, but I love having them. Oxymoron, huh?

Abby rode like this most of the time (only with a buckled car seat, we were eating while she was sleeping this time). She will only fall asleep on her back with something on her face. Weirdo.

We got to hike up a mountain to the very top to see "The Medicine Wheel" one afternoon. Before we got started, we stopped and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for smores, of course!
It got pretty cool while we were hiking. There was still a good amount of snow on the ground, so Abby got all bundled up. She was so content in this stroller almost the whole time. She's pretty awesome :)
This is just a short part of the hike. We thought going up was bad... then we went down and somehow we ended up going "uphill" way more than we should have.
This is the Medicine Wheel. People come from all over to see it. When you go, you can leave something tied or sitting on a post.

Beautiful scenery everywhere. I loved it!

If you look close, you can see a blue bird in the center of the picture. They're my grandma's favorite. They are SO blue, it's unbelievable. One of God's many beautiful creations we were able to appreciate while we were there.
Paul was a trooper and held Abby most of the way down. Turns out a stroller wasn't the best idea for a mountain. Go figure..

My grandpa, Abby's G.Gpa Mac. I love this. Gma and gpa loved seeing Abby.
Meet Lyla. She's a tute sometimes, but she's so adorable. She wouldn't smile for me, so I took this picture, showed it to her and she laughed. She's pretty cute.

See? Told ya :)

4 generations. I love this picture. They're actually smiling! ;)

My dad and Terri.


Gma and Gpa with some of their great grandkids. Coen wasn't happy about taking pictures... He'll regret this picture when he's older :)
This is everyone! :)

We so appreciate the hospitality of everyone we stayed with on our long vacation. We don't regret going one bit. Abby was a champ in the car everywhere we drove. She's such a joy and we are blessed to have an awesome baby girl!

Abbikinz

Abigail is now 5 months old! Here are some fun facts about her:

• Abby is 17 lbs and 25 inches long
• Abby loves to jibber jabber in her bed when she's supposed to be sleeping.
• She loves to laugh and has a sweet little smile.
• She loves to play with her feet.
• She's finally rolling over.
• Abby can sit up for 20+ seconds unsupported, and especially if she's sitting on our lap.
• She's awesome at grabbing things.
• Abby's been teething off and on now for about a week and a half. She slobbers like crazy and by the time her naps are done she's swimming her a puddle of saliva.

We love Miss. Abigail. Sometimes being a parent is hard and frustrating (I know, I know, it'll only get worse as she gets older) and sometimes I catch myself thinking "Why didn't we just wait a little longer" when I feel like Paul and I have no a lone time. But then Abby does something totally cute or just flashes her big toothless grin and I realize how blessed we are to have this sweetie in our lives! I honestly wouldn't change a thing and I feel like Abby came into our lives at the perfect time.

Abs is such a blessing to our family and we are learning more and more each day. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. She's as awesome as they come :)

Since she's been teething, she's been sucking on her bottom lip like this constantly. She's pretty cute :)

Colorado...

Colorado was our 1st and 4th stop on our vacation. We LOVE to visit Michael, Beth, Sarah and now Caleb! We were extra excited to get to meet Caleb for the first time. I couldn't find my camera the last time we were there, but luckily Beth took some picture of Abby by Caleb that I'll have to post later! He's such a cutie.

We stopped at M&B's house on the way back so we could spend a few more days with them and we are SO glad we did. Every time we go there, they are so accommodating and chill and just a blast to hang out with. Since we don't get to see them often, we cherish the time we have there even if it's spend hanging out at the house or even watching tv. :) It's always a great time.

We were able to go on the Air Force base for an Independence Celebration while we were there. (Michael is now a Capitan in the Air Force. Pretty cool.)

There was tons of food and fun to be had by all. And best of all, it was completely free! Sarah got her arm painted and when I asked her to hold it up this is what she did :)

Paul found some big guns... Good thing they weren't loaded.

There was a Black Hawk Helicopter there that we could sit in and take pictures and eventually we got to watch it take off. It was awesome!

And this is Abby by little Caleb. He's super long and skinny and a-dorable. Abby was never as light as he was when we were up there, so I felt like I might break him every time I picked him up!

Sarah is such a great big sister. She's absolutely hilarious in just about everything she does!

We had so much fun visiting in Colorado. It's so beautiful there and we would LOVE to live there some day... Yes.. Some day... :)