Church Members Today are Blessed for Choosing the Right

Jacob gave his first talk in Primary on Sunday and he did AWESOME!

I was so proud of him.  He was so brave and went right up to give it.  He was all smiles and I was just bursting.  He talked about his Dad and the good choices he had made in his life.  This little boy is getting so big and I am so proud of who he is becoming.

"When my Dad was little he liked to run and jump and play.  His Mom and Dad loved him.  They taught him lots of things.  They told him that someday he would grow up to be a priesthood holder, a father, and a leader in the Church and that he needed to learn the gospel.  My Dad listened and obeyed.  

Just like my Dad, we will have to make important choices in our lives.  We will each have to decide if we are going to keep the commandments.  We will choose our friends and how we will treat others.  All of these choices are important.  Just like in times of old, we are blessed today when we 
choose the right."

Sixth Anniversary

Sunday was our sixth anniversary!  We celebrated on Saturday by going over to Midway and snowshoeing for the first time together.  I got Mark a pair of snowshoes for Christmas and we were finally able to use them.  

We had such a good time and I love that we love the same things!  We both decided it is something that we could definitely get into. 

After we headed down to Provo for lunch and then met up with Jenny, Jessica and Megan at BYU and saw Jessica's artwork that is being displayed right now.  She is so talented and we were glad that we could see them for a little bit.  

We then did a little window shopping and then headed out to dinner.

The kiddos had a blast hanging out with Gramps and Grammy all day!

After dinner we went and picked up the kiddos and headed back home late.  

Sunday, the actual day of our anniversary, was really low key.  We went to church and just spent the day together as a family.  

I love Mark so much.  I feel so blessed to have him in my life.  He supports me in all that I do and makes me feel loved and cared for.  I can't wait to spend forever with this man.  

Museum of Natural Curiosity

This last weekend we headed to Draper for some family time.  Friday morning we went and visited my Grandma Moldenhauer.  It was so wonderful to visit with her and it was the first time she was able to meet our little Ben as well.  It was a sweet visit together.  

Afterwards we planned a day with Jacob and Sarah.  Ben has taken a lot of the attention the last couple of months and we thought we could all use some time together.  We went out to lunch and then headed to the Museum of Natural Curiosity in Lehi.  We had never been before and it was AWESOME!  We all had so much fun and it was great to just play and focus on the kiddos.  

The museum was awesome and we could have spent all day there easy!  We love these two and are so grateful they are in our family!

First Shots

This little guy had his first shots last week.  He was so brave and took them really well actually.  His measurements from his appointment were 22.7 inches in length (21%), 11 pounds 12 ounces (32%), and 15.5 inch head circumference (19%).  

We love you, little man!

Valentine's Day

I love an opportunity to celebrate - and especially an opportunity to celebrate love.  I get to spend every day of forever with my best friend and husband, Mark.  And I have three children that I love more than I ever thought possible.  I feel so blessed to spend every day with these four - they are my world.  

We stared our day with our traditional double chocolate waffles and ended with reading our love letters to one another.  I love this tradition and hope my kids always feel and can express their love for one another.

Happy Love Day!

Big Girl

This has been a LONG time coming but we finally moved Sarah into a big girl bed!  It has been quite the experience but after some shuffling around I think we finally have it figured out.  

The house we are renting was left with a lot of furniture.  Two of the bedroom she left her things in.  One of them has a bunk bed in there and we initially wanted to move Jacob into that room.  But Jacob wasn't wanting to and so we didn't push it too much.  So we asked Sarah and she was all for it.  We have a barrier thing we can put up along the edge but how the bunk beds are laid out there was quite a big gap between the wall and the bed and then some fairly large slats along the top.  Sarah is active even in her sleep.  The first two nights she woke up several times because she had fallen out of bed in between the slats.  I felt so bad - she started to tell me that she was scared to go to sleep.  

So we went to Jacob again and asked him if he would be okay moving into the bunk bed room and asked Sarah if she was okay moving into Jacob's old bedroom.  They were both excited about the switch and we shuffled them around again.  Sarah hasn't fallen out of bed once anymore and so that is going a lot better.  However, that doesn't stop her from getting out about a zillion times - especially during her nap time - but she is getting a little better!

I can't believe how big this girl is getting.  She is our feisty, lovable, little girl and we can't get enough of her!

Grand Opening

On February 17 the Montpelier Clinic opened and we are so excited!  Mark was given the option a couple months ago whether he wanted to be the pharmacist at the clinic in Garden City or Montpelier.  Even though we are currently living in Garden City we hope to build closer to Montpelier and after many lists and talks Mark decided he would rather take the position in Montpelier within the company.  I think it will be a great fit for him and I am excited that he has the opportunity to start and watch this clinic grow.  

It is amazing how much they have changed the building and really have created a beautiful center.  I can't wait to be able to see it grow and hopefully be embraced by the community.  

The Waiting Place

A couple weeks ago I was reading Jacob books before bed and he asked to read, "Oh the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss.  I've read this book countless times over the years, and truly love this book, but for some reason this night a part of it really stuck out to me.  

On his journey, he finds himself in "The Waiting Place".  It's for people "just waiting".  And it just hit me that too often I think I find myself in "the waiting place".  I am always looking for the next thing.  And it's really not productive.  I've noticed this about myself before but sometimes I forget to find joy in my journey.  I always think "things will settle down" or "be easier" after (---) and something else always happens.  And that's just life and I need to stop "waiting" and find joy in this stage and every stage.  

So here is to spending less time in the waiting place - and finding the places where boom bands are playing ;)

2 Months

This little man is 

two months old!

Benjamin is a growin'!  At two months he is 23 1/2 inches (73%), weighs 10 pounds 11 ounces (27%), and has a head circumference of 38 1/2 centimeters (17%).  He is tall and skinny.  He is still in three month size clothes.  And has a three ounce bottle 7-8 times a day.  He is still getting up twice at night (though he has done only once a couple of times) and takes three naps during the day.  

Benjamin has had a rough go this month.  His tummy troubles have continued (but are getting better!) and he is still pretty uncomfortable and fussy a lot of the time.  Lots of tears and lots of snuggles.  He loves to be held!  He is still struggling a bit with his RSV but we are hoping it clears soon and grateful it wasn't worse.  

The last couple of weeks Ben has started cooing with us a little.  It is adorable and we love those moments with our little man.  

He is also becoming a lot more aware of what is going on around him.  He will follow with his eyes more and seems to be growing more interested in what is happening.  

My favorite moment with our little Benjamin came just the day before his two month birthday.  It had been a long day and I had just finished giving him his breathing treatment (which usually turns him into a wild boar but he was surprisingly calm during this session) and I was holding him and looking at him when all of a sudden he gave me the cheesiest grin.  I started crying I was so happy.  We then spent the next couple of minutes smiling at one another and me crying happy tears.  We've been trying to get him to smile for weeks and it was such a tender mercy to finally see our little man happy.  

We love you, Benjamin.  We can't wait to see more smiles! 

RSV

Our little Benjamin just can't catch a break.  I feel so badly for him.  It seems like he just keeps having things happen to him.  Ever since the beginning of January he has been congested.  But our whole family has had the sickies all month and so I just figured he had caught a little bit of that and it would pass. 

But then about two weeks ago he started to get a bad cough.  I looked up what the symptoms of RSV were and I read that it is usually accompanied by a fever and Benjamin never had one so we thought it was just a nasty cold.  But we started to get nervous that it may be something more.  So I took Benjamin to our pediatrician on Thursday and he immediately told us that it was RSV.  I got worried as I have had several friends that have had their littles hospitalized over RSV.  But he said he didn't think hospitalization was necessary so we were really grateful for that.  

We got sent home with a nebulizer and have to do breathing treatments every three hours.  The hard thing with this virus is there just isn't a whole lot that you can do because he is so little.  The treatments help open up his airways but it is a really slow process.  After four days I finally feel like I have noticed a slight improvement.  

We have wondered if this was part of the reason why Benjamin has been so fussy the last month and I am sure it at least didn't help.  Our poor little guy.  So here's hoping that he can finally have some peace soon and some sleep (for all of us!).  

Colic

Our little Benjamin has colic.  I don't know why but I've been so hesitant to say it or even think it.  I guess I just don't like the idea of that label and for some reason it makes me feel like saying it means I am saying he is a "bad baby".  Which is silly because I never think that when others say that about their babies.  But I definitely could not accurately journal the last several weeks without writing about it.  

Around three weeks Benjamin started to get fussy...like really fussy.  It has continued ever since.  Benjamin has to be held constantly, awake and asleep it seems.  It has been hard.  It's hard having so much crying constantly.  It's been the first time with any of our kidlets when there are times when I just have to put him down and walk away for a minute.  It's hard not being able to just "fix" the problem.  Daily life has become very long and very boring.  Nothing gets done.  It's sad that I feel "accomplished" when all I have done is get dressed for the day.  So much crying...but we are surviving and hoping the end is near.  

We love our little boy.  We know this is just a phase and there is a happy boy inside there!

Big Sister

This little girl has been such a great big sister!  She loves her "baby Ben"!  She loves to hold him, help him with his binkie, get diapers, help hold the bottle, you name it!  She is always willing to help and it is always very helpful!

Sarah is so sweet and so good with people.  She always seems to know what anyone needs.  She is such a good sister to both Jacob and Benjamin.  She is such a good sandwich between our boys and we are so grateful for her and the spirit she brings to our home.  We love you sweet girl!  Thank you for always being there for your brothers!