And its 10 for her

 

This year Bailey was able to spend her tenth birthday with us.  Probably nice to have a little alone time with mom and dad, but not quite as fun either!  Luckily she had about 3 birthday parties so our little one was quite nice.  We are so lucky to have Bailey in our family. She is so sweet, easy going, fun, and loving.  She takes after her dad in so many ways, which is a huge compliment!  She is a good example to Elli and Carter and it's only when she is with us that we really feel complete.  We love you Bailey!

Baptism

Elli had a wonderful baptism on July 2.  After a mix up with dates with the stake, we ended up having our own private baptism.  I was worried about it for a while, but it ended up being perfect and I was so grateful that we were able to do our own thing.  The Spirit was so strong and Elli felt so special.

 There were about 60 people there for her and I think she felt very loved.  Kevin and Neisha gave the talks and did wonderful.  She had asked me the week before if she could share her testimony at her baptism since she wouldn't be in church the next day.  So after she was baptized and confirmed she shared a short, simple, and pure little testimony about how she felt.  It was the cutest thing I had ever heard.  I am so proud of her.

 After she was baptized and I was changing her, she said to me, "Mom, it's hard to believe I am perfect right now."  She really seemed to understand and take in the whole purpose of baptism.

Later that day Elli got in a little fight with a friend. She pulled me into my room crying.  She said to me, very upset, "Mom, I just did my first sin.  What do I do?"  She proceeded to tell me that she had mean thoughts about this girl and she knew the spirit didn't like that.  She was worried because Kevin had said in his talk that when you take the sacrament you can be forgiven again but she wasn't going to be at church for a few weeks and didn't want to wait until she went to church again to be forgiven.  It was amazing to see her little mind really trying to do what she could to stay clean.  It was a great experience for me to be able to talk to her about prayer and repentance.

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for my little girl.  I am so lucky to be her mom and feel blessed to have the Gospel in our lives.

Summer is here!

The big 8

How she got to 8 whole years so fast is beyond me!  This little girl is sweet, sassy, sensitive, loving, honest, silly, happy, devoted, caring, and everything in between.  I am so proud to be her mom!
I love you Elli!

Father's Day

I am so blessed to have many amazing men in my life.  A husband who makes me laugh everyday, supports me in everything I do, and offers encouragement, kind words, and love constantly is enough to make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.  But on top of that, I have a wonderful dad who has always been there for me. He offers support, encouragement, and compassion.  I feel better just having him around. This year we can add Steve's dad to my list of Father's Day blessings.  He is so much like Steve, so need I say more?  Nothing not to like!  

I am so thankful for the "dad's" in my life, how they honor their Priesthood, and exemplify all the good things of family, faith, and fun.

Our daddy was lucky enough to get a scrumptious breakfast in bed from his little boy.

I couldn't resist letting Carter join. He was SO excited about making it for him and even more so joining in the feast!

The kids each picked Steve out a present and spent a good hour of their Sunday decorating them.

So you think you can dance?

Pure talent I tell you, pure talent.

They get it from me.

Preschool graduate

As you can tell by the plugged ears and his far proximity from the rest of the group- he wasn't about to participate.

Even with his cute empty chair waiting for him and all his little friends enjoying their performance, he found too much enjoyment on the picnic table.

He started at the fence, then gradually made his way from the fence to the picnic table.

This is as good as it got for the day.