Montreal Temple

On Saturday we went to the Montreal Temple with some friends and switched watching eachother's kids while we both did a session. It was wonderful!! The session was so beautiful! At this temple there are obviously a lot of French speakers, being that it is in Montreal, but that day we got to hear the session in English for the first time at this temple. After our session, we watched our friends kids so they could do a session. We went outside to have a picnic and enjoy the sun. It was a beautiful day. Before we went outside, we let the girls watch a movie about the Book of Mormon. As they were sitting on the couch in the waiting room sort of watching the movie, Kelsey turned and looked at Addi, her friend, and said, "Addi, I love Jesus, do you love Jesus?" Addi then responded that she did. There was also another lady in the waiting room, so Kelsey looked over at her and asked her the same thing. She smiled and nodded her head yes. So sweet!

Bad Hair Day!

The weather has been so beautiful lately! This whole past week has been near 80 degrees. So unusual for this time of year, but hey we will take it! Because of that my girls have been filthy at the end of the day from playing outside, especially Kelsey. So we have switched our routine from having morning baths to nighttime baths. Doing their hair is always a bit more of a challenge in the morning, especially when Kelsey gets breakfast food in hers. Mylee's had quite the due this morning. Check it out!

Going on with the bath theme. The other night Kelsey got out of her bath and didn't want to get dressed. This is a common problem. Instead of struggling with her, I told her to come get me when she was ready to get dressed and I would help her. In this past this has worked like a charm. I went downstairs and did dinner dishes and after a while I called up to Kelsey to see if she was ready yet. I didn't get any answer. I tried a few more times and still no answer. Afraid that she might be into trouble, I ran upstairs and this is what I found. She was so tired! Playing outside all day does a number on her. Sweet little girl.

"Mom, the Prophet!"

Today when we were walking from the parking lot into our church building Kelsey saw an older man wearing a suit and holding a brief case. Excitedly she shouted, "Mom, the prophet!" Her happy exclamation was an answer to my prayer. Let me explain: last week during General Conference I felt so uplifted by Elder Ballard's talk on Mothers. In it he said:

"There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment, but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy, monotony, and frustration. Mothers may feel they receive little or no appreciation for the choice they have made. Sometimes even husbands seem to have no idea of the demands upon their wives."

He then counsels that we need to "recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction" Today I had a joyful moment! There are times I often feel inadequate in my roles as a mother. I feel there is so much I need to teach my girls and I have such high hopes and aspirations for them. When Kelsey thought she saw the prophet today, I felt Heavenly Father was sending me a message that what I had been doing in trying to teach Kelsey the gospel, in particular about our new prophet President Monson, was working and that I was doing a good job.

There are so many times I feel so inadequate and that I am not doing enough, Kelsey's joyful exclamation brought me comfort and then today as I have been studying, I felt an added peace when I came across a talk given by President Erying in the October 2007 conference entitled, "Rise up to your call." His talk is counsel to those who have callings in the church, but I am relating what he said in this instance to my calling as a mother. He said:

"If I only think of my own performance, my sadness deepens. But when I remember that the Lord promised that His power would go with me, I begin to look for evidence of what He has done in the lives of the people I am to serve. I pray to see with spiritual eyes the effects of His power."

Kelsey was evidence for me of his power today when she saw the "prophet". It was also evidenced when Blake called from the hospital to talk to us during his dinner break. Kelsey and I had just sat down to read scriptures, when Blake called. I talked to him a while, then Kelsey wanted to talk to him. I heard Blake ask her if she was going to bed then Kelsey responded, "No, have to read scriptures first." Pure evidence that the Lord is magnifying my abilities as a mother and that He is with me in my mothering. President Erying concludes:

"You can have the utmost assurance that your power will be multiplied many times by the Lord. All He asks is that you give your best effort and your whole heart. Do it cheerfully and with the prayer of faith The Father and His Beloved Son will send the Holy Ghost as your companion to guide you. Your efforts will be magnified in the lives of the people you serve. And when you look back on what may now seem trying times of service and sacrifice, the sacrifice will have become a blessing, and you will know that you have seen the arm of God lifting those you served for Him, and lifting you."

AMAZING! I LOVE THE GOSPEL!

M Russell Ballard, "Daughter's of God," April 2008 General Conference
http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-851-37,00.html

Henry B. Eyring, “Rise to Your Call,” October 2002 General Conference
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/EmailArticleProcess?action=update&cmlId=217658&locale=0&emId=593568239

Latest Events

Finally we have been getting some spring weather. It has been so wonderful! This week inparticular has been wonderful because Blake has been home during the day. He is working in the Emergency Department right now and is on the 2 P.M to 11 P.M. shift. We don't get him at night, but it has been a great change to have him a part of our daily morning and afternoon routine. Above, Kelsey and I made princess crowns and then had a picnic with Daddy outside. Kelsey loved it except for the flies. She had a panic attack everytime one landed on her. Humm...we're going to have to work on that one.

Yesterday, we had pictures taken of the girls. Kelsey for her 3 year and Mylee for her 6 month. They were so adorable! I got some good ones of them. Days before I had been preparing what they were going to wear, here are some pictures of my trial outfits and poses. I know, I'm a little obessive! I chose the red poka dot dress with Mylee in the red jumper. I made Kelsey a pretty white and red bow to go in her hair and made Mylee a little skirt, but didn't end up using it for pictures. It will be cute for church though.

So this is funny. It was after the girls bedtime, Mylee was sleeping and Kelsey was trying to. Blake called from the hospital on his dinner break to talk then Kelsey came down stairs crying because she said she had an ouchy and needed a bandaid. In an effort to get her back to bed so I could talk to my husband in peace, I went upstairs to find her a bandaid even though she wasn't bleeding and didn't need one. Much to my dismay I couldn't find one. When I told Kelsey this, she threw a huge fit. I then proceeded to look harder, I finally found a wierd shaped one. It was a bandaid though and Kelsey was satisfied. She took the bandaid from me and put it on herself. My moments of frustration quickly turned into a memorable, precious and hilarious moment. Look at this picture and you will see why. I was cracking up on the phone with Blake.

One last thing, is this baby not the cutest thing you have ever seen! She's such a doll!

Mystery Shop Disaster

Blake graciously watched the girls for me while I did some errands yesterday. It was so wonderful to move in and out of stores so quickly! One of my errands was doing a mystery shop at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I have done this shop numerous times before and usually do it because they not only pay me, but reimburse me for an item up to $8. I usually can always use some new kitchen gadget. Well, I had quite the experience yesterday. As part of the mystery shop, I have to browse through all the departments and note the names of all the employees I pass by and whether or not they greeted me. I also have to ask an employee where an item is and see what they do. For this particular shop, I had to ask about air purifiers and judge them on their selling abilities and so forth. As I was pursing the store, I saw a lady that had helped me during a previous shop I had done there. During that shop I had to pretend I was engaged and had to start a wedding registry. I remember being frazled as she asked more and more detailed questions about my presumed wedding. Well, she took one look at me yesterday and I know she recognized me. She must have caught on last shop that I was a mystery shopper. As I walked away and went into another department, my suspicions were confirmed as I saw her scurry by, whispering to every employee she passed. I knew exactly what she was doing. When I walked by the employees she had already talked to they were overly attentive to me. Employees starting coming out from everywhere and all of them were overly excited to help and assist me. I felt like a gold fish in a glass bowl. Everyone was looking at me! I would have left, but needed the money, so I proceeded with the shop. I had to make a return and a purchase as part of my requirement. When I got in line to do my return and make my purchase an employee immediately picked me out of a line of people and took me over to an empty register to do my return and make my purchase. I couldn’t get out of there faster! I felt like saying, "Yeah you figured me out." But I was afraid that I might not get paid if I said something. All that and I only got $8 bucks and I ended up buying fruit snacks because I couldn't find something under $8 to buy that I needed. I’m not going to do that shop again unless they offer me big bucks!

6 Months Old!

Today was Mylee's 6 month check up. She looks great! She still is up in the charts, weighing in at 18 lbs. 14 oz. and is 26 3/4 inches long. Her second tooth also popped through on Monday. I some how got her to do a huge open mouth smile to show them off. You will have to enlarge the picture to see them.
Mylee also got her first taste of rice cereal today. She wasn't too excited about it. Oh well, we'll keep trying. Here is a video of our attempt. Kelsey was thrilled about feeding her baby sister. Notice in the video how she was mimicking how Mylee was to eat. She had her mouth wide open and was saying, "Ahhh". Adorable!

This is also a precious moment. I was doing chores around the house yesterday and left Mylee on the floor to play with some toys. When I came back to check on her, this is what I found.

A New Tooth and the Easter Bunny!

We have had a pretty eventful weekend. Mylee's bottom right tooth finally cut through. Yeah, a happy baby again! A very special guest also dropped by some yummy Easter treats! He brought my favorite: Cadberry cream and chocolate eggs. He also knew that Blake couldn't let Easter pass by with out robin eggs, and jelly beans, so he brought those especially for him. Kelsey was thrilled about getting any sort of candy. She was particularly thrilled about her marshmellow chocolate bunny and her new toothbrush and watermellon-flavored toothpaste. The robins eggs weren't too bad either; in the above picture, she has a mouth full of them.

We celebrated Easter Sunday by going to church of course and having a yummy feast. We had a honey glazed ham, cheesy potatoes (funeral potatoes), fruit salad, and the favorite--homemade orange rolls. Delicious! How grateful I am for the Savior. I know that He Lives and I love Him.

This is a few days before her first tooth came in. See the drool and her wet clothes. She was talking to Blake in this picture saying, "Da da da da." It was so precious.

Sunday Naps

On Sunday Blake and I were particularly tired and wanted to take a nap. We are used to a 9:00 P.M. bedtime, but had stayed up late the night before to watch a movie. Mylee was cooperative, but Kelsey was convinced she was not tired. Her new saying lately is , "But mom, I woke up last morning." It's her way of telling us she is not tired. Blake claimed the lazy chair and I took the couch and we tried to relax with a three year-old running loose in our house--dangerous!

After hearing the fridge open too many times and chairs moving in the kitchen, I made the rule that she had to stay in the livingroom and read books or play with her toys were I could see her. This still was not flying with Blake, so he told her to go upstairs and lay down in her pink bed. She resisted this for a while and continued to play and I fell asleep. A huge no, no when you have a 3-year-old loose! After laying down for I don't know how long, maybe 30 minutes or so, I woke up in a panic because Kelsey was no where to be found. I went up stairs and found her in her bed in her jammy dress that she had pulled out of the laundry sleeping. My heart just melted. She was trying so hard to be obedient.

After letting her sleep for a while I went and got her out of bed so she would go to sleep that night and had her lay with her daddy on the lazy chair. Notice how her night gown is inside out :)

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday our housing unit had an easter egg hunt for the children. Kelsey had so much fun! Yes, believe it or not, it is spring time here in Vermont. You would never know it with our freezing temperatures and snow, but we had fun on our egg hunt any how.
When the children had finished searching for eggs, prizes were awarded to the kids with the most pink, blue, green, yellow, and purple eggs. And then a big prize was awarded to the kid who collected the most eggs. Kelsey didn't win any prizes for having the most eggs of one color, but won for having collected the most eggs in her age group:)! Above she is raising her hand as our community aids were calling out who had the most eggs. She collected 9 eggs. Blake is laughing in the picture because Kelsey was so faithful in holding her hand up and had absolutely no expression.
This was Kelsey's prize, a PINK chocolate carebear. She immediately wanted to eat it, but was told to wait until later. On our walk home in the stroller, Kelsey ate the whole bear! Well, she did wait until later...


This is Mylee and her friend Macie hanging out at the easter egg hunt. Macie is only three weeks older.

Ice Storm Aftermath

So we had a pretty big ice storm Saturday night. On the way home from the hospital, Blake said there was ice tummbling off people's cars and shattering all over the road. Good thing they all missed him. Everything was covered in ice; our cars, trees, sidewalks, and scariest--the roads. I feel blessed we had a nice warm house to stay in during it--except for the fact that Blake had to drive home in it. We're thankful he made it home safely. Kelsey, Mylee and I decided to go for a stroll the Monday after the storm to check out the damage and enjoy the SUN! Yeah, we like the sun and have been missing it. I pushed my baby in my stroller and Kelsey wanted to push her baby in her stroller. Hence the pictures. Mylee loved the ride. She cooed and talked almost the whole time.

Smiley Mylee

So I am in the kitchen A LOT! When I am there, this is where Mylee is most often booted. This day she didn't seem to mind. Look at those gummers!

Kelsey's one-liners

Parents: Kelsey how many do you want?
Kelsey: I want 5!! (She always wants 5 of everything, it doesn't matter what. Even when i put more than 5 on her plate she says, "No, 5 mom, 5!")

Parents: Kelsey do you need to go to the bathroom?
Kelsey: No, just doing a potty dance.

Kelsey: I'll be right back "k".

Parents: Kelsey it is time to go.
Kelsey: One minute "k".

Parents: Kelsey let me help you.
Kelsey: I can do it by myself! (this response is becomming all too common!)

Activity: Eating dinner
Kelsey: Delicious!

Kelsey: That's awesome!

Parents: Kelsey why don't you go get your pajamas.
Kelsey: My jammy dress?!

Parents: Kelsey did you wash your hands?
Kelsey: Yep, germ cleaner, see! (hand sanitizer)

Kelsey: What's that noise (to almost everything)

Kelsey: Oh! (her response usually when we answer her questions)

Parents: Kelsey can you do...
Kelsey: Sure, Mom, sure (I wish she said this everytime, the only problem is that this statement is usually not followed by an action)

Parents: Kelsey what do you want for breakfast?
Kelsey: EGGS! (usually doesn't want them when I fix them)

Kelsey: Mommy, I want to help me (hasn't quite figured out her pronouns yet)

Kelsey: Mommy, what's her name ("her" is used for both boys and girls, again we need to work on the pronouns)

Kelsey: Mommy, look what I made!

Kelsey: Mommy, watch me! (usually does some sort of twirl or dance move)

Parents: Kelsey do you want....
Kelsey: I don't want it. (or)
Kelsey: No thank you (this is also the response we often get when we ask her to do some sort of chore like clean up her toys--boy these kids are smart!)

Mom is crying or noticaby sad:
Kelsey: Mom, it's okay (as she sits on my lap, looks straight into my face and strokes my head)

Cami: Kelsey where is....
Kelsey: It's in the livingbedroom (most commonly known as the livingroom or family room)

Cami or Blake: Kelsey we shouldn't be doing that.
Kelsey: Sorry!
Parents: Kelsey put it away please.
Kelsey: Sorry!
Parents: Please put it away, don't let me ask you again.
Kelsey: Sorry! (eventually, she does put whatever it is away)

When saying goodbye on the telephone
Kelsey: love you, see you tomorrow!

Parents: Kelsey will you please go....(this command is usually, "Kelsey will you please go to the bathroom?")
Kelsey: Can't I'm busy right now (humm, I wonder where she learned that from, opps!)

Kelsey: Mom, come wipe my bottom
Cami: I can't right now, you can do it, you're a big girl!
Kelsey: Feeding Mylee mom?

Blast From The Past

So I have been tagged....

What television show or movie did you want to be in when you were little? Full House

Which character or star? I don’t know? Probably Kelly in "Save the Bell" because I thought she was pretty.

Most embarrassing moment your friends will never let die? I was in college at BYU-Idaho doing baptisms for the dead at the Idaho Falls Temple with my ward. To get to the font in that temple you have to climb a pretty big flight of marble stairs. I made it up just fine and did baptisms, which was great in itself, but it was even better because the guy I had a crush on was doing the baptisms that day. I stepped out of the font soaking wet, which is always a little embarrassing because your clothes stick right to you from being wet. I tried to quickly cover myself with the towel the temple worker handed me and then preceded to walk down the stairs to get to the dressing room. As soon as I took my first step I slipped and slid the whole way down—OUCH! Everything and everyone stopped, looked at me and said, “Are you okay?” I was so embarrassed! I had bruises for a while. The temple worker felt really bad.

Your proudest moment or accomplishment? Can’t think of one specifically, but these top the list: graduating high school with a 4.0, getting an academic scholarship to college, graduating college, getting married to an awesome and wonderful man in the temple, and having Mylee naturally.

What adult did you have a crush on when you were little? I’m with Miquelle: Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.

What habit or personality trait do you have of your mother or father that you swore you would never do? I really don’t know. My parents were pretty good to me.

What did you want to change your name to when you were little? I didn’t, I liked my name.

Who was your first kiss? Dave, at age 20! Yeah, boys scared me for a while.

What are 3 adjectives that someone from high school or middle school would use to describe you? Quiet, shy, nice—hum…Miquelle, Natalie and I have something going here.

What hairstyle, clothes, or other accessories did you rock back in the day when it was cool? I had the big fluffy bangs, wore headbands on my forehead—was that even cool? I wore the jeans with the patch on the fly—it started with a “G”, I can’t remember the name.

What job did those long and annoying surveys in school say you would be good at? Nurse

And what did you try and make the test result outcome be? Anything that I was interested in at the time. In high school, it was nursing and teaching.

Favorite memories of hanging out with your best friends? Playing house with my aunt Diana (3 months older than me) at her house in Farmington, New Mexico. We would make tree houses and play restaurant in her bedroom using her bedroom window as the drive through. We would use my grandma’s old checks to pay for our food. One time we had a customer come in that ate and ate and kept getter fatter and fatter until he filled the whole room and we were being squished against the walls. Weird!

What's the most trouble you have ever got in with your parents? I don’t know? My sister and I would fight and argue a lot and we would always get scolded about that.

What was your 5 year plan when you had to write it out in high school? Go to BYU on an academic scholarship, graduate college with a masters degree, get married in the temple, have kids.

And last but not least...What is your 5 year plan now? Get through medical school and then residency! This surgery schedule is the pitts! Have more kids.

Now I tag: Megan, Diana, Niki C., and Nicole G.

I Did It!

Well, I finally did it! After thinking about it for months and convincing myself that I did not have time for a blog, I finally gave in with the rational that it will help me keep up on my journal and let my friends and family know more about what happens to us on a day-to-day basis. Enjoy! I am still learning how to blog, so there may be lots of changes as I learn more.

Kelsey's 3rd Birthday

Kelsey had a wonderful 3rd birthday. it started Saturday February 23rd with a Cinderella Ball and a few friends closest to her age. Kelsey loved it! All the girls came dressed up in their princess dresses. Kelsey even convinced her mom to put a little bit of mascara and lipstick on her. We served homemade pizza bites with carrots and olives, made beautiful princesses crowns to get ready for the "ball", played duck duck goose, head shoulders knees and toes, and follow the leader. They of course made their own fun as well. The cutest was when they danced around the living room, holding out their beautiful dresses. The birthday afternoon ended with a pink rice krispie cake and lots of smiling faces. Each friend got to take home a pink rice krispie star wand. While we were waiting for the moms to come, each of the girls had fun pointing their wands at each other and saying, "bibidy, bobidy, boo!"

Sunday we had a double-stacked round rainbow chip cake topped with its own princess crown and wand. We had to chase off Blake while Kelsey and I were putting the frosting on so he wouldn't eat it all. In Blake's world, cake is much better when it's still batter and frosting is best eaten out of the jar. Same goes for cookie dough. To get back to our birthday story, Kelsey was all smiles when we sang her happy birthday that evening. She got some dress-up clothes for her baby and best of all, a new pink princess dress with a crown, wand, and a bracelet. That night she went to bed with all her princess things except her dress because mom wouldn't allow it--what a mean mom! It was a perfect end to a perfect day.