Forever and a Day!

It seems I've taken an unintentional break from my blogging the last few weeks! Life has been busy and good. We made a decision to get rid of our cable service this month so we won't spend so much time in front of the television, but now we've become addicted to the Farm Town game on Facebook! Oh, those darn weaknesses!!!

I love my life! I love being Emilee's mother and I love preparing to be a mother to our soon to be daughter! I love my incredible husband! I love being surrounded by family and feeling the closeness and love we share. I love having goals and reasons to improve myself and my home. I love knowing who I am, and that with God all things are possible!

Why then, is it so hard to stay focused on the things that really matter? The things that really really bring happiness? I don't know. There are a million answers to that question. I'm just grateful when I wake up each morning and realize I have another day to try again. There is so much to learn and so much to let go of in this life. I feel like I've been working on my weaknesses forever and a day, and still here I am addicted to one more thing that distracts me from something greater.

I need to get out of the house more and stand on more mountain tops, swim in more lakes, sit around more campfires! Those are the kind of things that make me feel alive! I want to teach my daughters to love the world we live in. For today though, I'll settle in for a good night sleep, and we'll see if I can waddle my pregnant body out for a stroll with Emmy tomorrow! I know I'll get it figured out eventually.

Rain Showers

A couple of strange things have happened this last week. First, Emilee has become deathly afraid of bath time! I am baffled by this, because up until a few days ago, she loved baths. She loved splashing in the water, chewing on the wash cloth, and relaxing in her bath chair. Since the day she was born bath time has always been a happy relaxing time for her. I can't figure out what is happening now so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know!

The second thing is the rain! I can't think of a time living out here in the desert, when it has rained and rained like this.....especially in June! Yesterday afternoon in began to pour once again, and Emilee, still in her church dress, danced and pranced around on the porch until she was completely soaked! It was cold out there, but she refused to come in. She just ran and ran and played and played! It occurred to me that one strange thing, may be the solution to another strange thing!!! Perhaps it is time to switch from baths to showers!! I'll just have her soap and towel on hand in anticipation of our daily rain shower! Perfect!

A Little Break!

So Sunday night my mom, Amber and I left the babies, husbands, and work at home and headed for Las Vegas!! It's not that Vegas is a favorite spot of ours really, we just wanted to go some where different and we wanted to try out the new Serendipity 3 at Caesar's Palace. Amber and I love the one in NYC and wanted to share the Frozen Hot Chocolate with mom!! It was quite satisfying, however, my heart still yearns for the magic of New York City, oh how I long to go back!!! Although the Frozen Hot Chocolate was delicious it just wasn't the same as being crammed into a corner of the eclectic cozy Serendipity 3 on 60th street! Sigh.

We stayed one night at the Stratosphere were we treated ourselves to a round at the oxygen bar. It was wonderful, we got to relax and enjoy massages while we inhaled oxygen to our heart's content. I felt great when it was through....I would highly recommend it!

The next night we stayed at the beautiful Bellagio. That hotel is so amazing and we spent the evening relaxing in our robes and slippers as we ate our complimentary chocolates. We spent hours wandering, shopping, stopping a the bathroom for the preggo lady (me!), and of course eating.

Our final night was spent at the Loews Resort at Lake Las Vegas!! It was beautiful!!! After a dinner and pina coladas in the "village" we returned to the hotel where we enjoyed another pina colada on the veranda, taking in the fresh air and moonlight. We spent hours talking about life, love, sorrow, family, relationships, and how we want our lives to be!! It was so nice to share that with my mom and sister. Sometimes we get too busy with life to be there for each other the way we would like to, so thank you to my sweetheart and little mini for letting me take some time away to reconnect with them.

As usual, the time went by too fast, and there are so many details I'm leaving out, but I'm so glad we made it happen!! This memory is already a cherished one. I'm definitely looking forward to next year!!

Tiny Dancer

I'm surprised I haven't written anything before now about Emilee's dancing! She has been bopping, swaying, jammin' and head banging since she was teeny tiny! Sometimes she really likes to put on a show during family dinners at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Tyler and I are sure she is destined to entertain the masses with her repertoire of soulful movements! Until that day, she will continue to entertain her crowd of two (Mommy and Daddy). Honestly we just can't get enough!

Warm Springs

Not to far from where we live is a little oasis in the desert! Yesterday we enjoyed a lazy afternoon at the nearby warm springs with Royce, Lupe and Adolfo, splashing in the water and noshing on fire grilled hot dogs!

Emilee had the time of her life, and so did Mommy and Daddy!! She is such an adventurer, not afraid of anything and always excited about everything. It makes life so fun having her along for the ride!

Can't wait to do it again!

By the light of the moon

Finally.....after almost three and a half years of wedded bliss we made it to the mountains for something we thought would be a regular part of life for us.....camping!!

We have gone camping a few times during the last few years, but never just our little family. So since Tyler had some time off of work, we decided to make a quick over night trip to the nearby mountains and some much needed rest and relaxation for my hard working sweetheart!

Immediately upon arriving, Emilee headed directly for a fast moving creek running through our camp site. She ran fearlessly as she cried "Waa Waa! Waa Waa!" which is baby for water! She wasn't happy dipping her fingers in while being held by mommy, she wanted to immerse her entire body! I knew that we were in for quite a challenge. She deffinately kept us on our toes the entire evening.

When darkness finally came, we set up her bed between our two sleeping bags and hung a battery operated lantern in the tent so she had a little light. She settled right down with her bottle and peacefully fell asleep! Tyler and I sat around the fire for about a half hour more before sneaking into the tent and settling into our sleeping bags. Within ten minutes I needed to pee!! Oh no......I forgot about my constant nightly trips to the bathroom. After leaving the tent to pee multiple times, I was starting to get really cold and really frustrated! I could not stop shivering and finally left the tent in a frustrated huff. My sweet Tyler was already outside warming rocks in the fire to put down in my sleeping bag, but I was so cold I knew I needed to warm myself in the truck if I was ever going to be able to sleep.

When I returned to the tent he had stuffed his sleeping bag into my bag and loaded it up with warm rocks and water bottles wrapped in towels. That's right......he sacrificed his own sleeping bag for his obnoxiously cold wimpy wife. Instead he laid down the sun shade for the windshield, laid on it and then covered himself with one wool blanket!! I felt like scum.

By now it's about 1:00 a.m. and we are finally.....finally getting back to sleep when what do I hear, but a sweet little voice in the dark. "Hi....hi mama!" I rolled over to see Emilee sitting up in her bed, her big blue eyes beaming in the moon light. She was more than thrilled to wake up between mommy and daddy! She thought it was time to play and quickly threw herself onto her daddy squealing with excitement! Oh.....it was hard to be upset seeing her so happy, but we were exhausted and not exactly up for a tickle fest. After about an hour and a half she reluctantly settled back into her bed and drifted to dreamland. I think Tyler and I got about 3 hours of sleep that night.

Wow!! What a memory. No sleep, lots of work, and a new found respect for our own parents! It is a wonder they ever took us out to do anything. It is true that you have to work for anything worth while and as far as I am concerned being surrounded by my little family on a cold, restless, moonlit night is something to be cherished....at least now that we've survived it!

Pretty in Pink

This is an older picture, but I love the memory it captures for me! It was the day after Christmas, and I picked out some pretty new Christmas clothes for Emilee to wear. The outfit was from Grandma Bernier and the new coat was from Grandma Iverson.

After she was properly dressed, I lifted her up so she could see herself in the mirror. Her little face beamed with a deep satisfaction! Delicately, she rubbed her tiny hands over the soft material. She could hardly contain herself. It was so sweet and very touching to see her feel so beautiful!

I realized that there have been very few times I have been so pleased with what I saw in the mirror. Did I ever look at myself with that same admiration? It made wonder why that has always been so hard for me! The truth is that we come into this world completely beautiful and that it is Heavenly Father's desire for us to hold on to that beauty and self respect by honoring our bodies with our thoughts and actions! I unfortunately haven't always thought very highly of the body I have been given, constantly comparing it to others and telling myself that I'm not good enough. Luckily I am finally seeing the truth.

There is no doubt, that for me, my daughter is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It just makes me happy to know that she can see that in herself too!