Snow Day!

Just to show the disparity- Sunday it was 80, today it's 30 and we've had 4 hours of snow flurries coming down and sticking! Wierd!!

Daddy Daughter Dates

Jessica attended the Father Daughter Dance in town last night. She wanted her dad all to herself, so to make it up to Lily, she got her own special date with Dad tonight. They went to her favorite place - McDonalds of course! Both girls got to do their hair, makeup and paint their nails. Dad gave them flowers and treated them like little princesses. They both had a wonderful time.

Jessica had a romantic candlelight dinner for two before heading off to the dance. The highlight for Jessica was getting to show off her dad to her friends from school who were there with their fathers. For Lily it was playing on the playground at McDonalds. Both ended their date with rootbeer floats at home. What a treat!

Jessica's Date

Lily's Date

History Repeats Itself

1976

2010

Playing Catch Up i.e. Christmas and 2010

So much has happened in so little time. Here are some precious moments with my little ones.
Grandma bought the girls new Christmas dresses. They looked fabulous. Jessica sang "Would I Know My Savior" by Sally Deford with her dad and I in the Christmas program. She had a solo part and did an exceptional job! I was so proud.

The kids watch Brianne open her gift before she left for Washington with her family for the Holiday break.

Santa didn't disappoint on Christmas morning. Lily is all ready to put on her new clothes for school. Jessica was happy to get the Secret Garden on CD and Gavin was just happy about all the new boy toys.

Jessica is gaining a testimony and preparing for baptism this year. We finished the Book of Mormon just before we rang in the New Year! and she decided to follow Moroni's promise (on her own!). She was excited to tell me she got an answer. For Christmas, uncle Jake surprised Jess with a PS2 system. She was thoroughly surprised and has been enjoying her games ever since. She especially likes to play with a partner.

Lily got into Discovery Days in January. Here's a picture of her on her first day. She kept giving me a profile because she wanted me to get her pretending that she was talking to her teacher. I finally convinced her to face me! She's loving it by the way. Tomorrow is her PJ day. She's also looking forward to Pizza Hut field trip next week.

We loved watching Lily and Jessica during their parent visitation week at dance lessons. Lily is always the entertainer. She was very cute in her "I want a hippopotumus for Christmas" dance.

As Lily has been going through her terrible 3's stage, I've not been quite so humored with her Lilyisms, but I need to catch up with them a little. Just in case you don't get my Lily, you have to know she always needs someone in her corner. For a long time it has been "Grandma". Whenever she was in trouble or feeling less than loved, she insisted that she wanted to go to Grandma's house. She still loves Grandma and LOVES to visit her. But now that she is in Primary, she has learned that Heavenly Father is her daddy and he loves her even more than mommy. So now whenever she is upset with me she says, "I want to go back to Heavenly Father. He's my daddy!"

Yesterday, during a mild meltdown she added, "Don't you know I never wanted to leave him in the first place?" After trying not to read too much into her speech, I helped convince her that she could pray to Heavenly Father any time and he can hear her.

Lily: "How can he hear me? I can't even see him!"

After convincing her to just try it, she did. We let him know she was not having a good day and needed some help to get happy again. Later as we were getting shoes on for school, she said, "Thank you, Heavenly Father!" I asked what she was thanking him for and she said, "For making me happy again!" Gotta love that girl. For now, she's decided to stay with me for a while longer.

Gavin got a radio flyer for Christmas. How exciting!

I look at this little guy and my heart fills up with joy. I just love his sweet happy smile. His daddy wears a similarly charming one. I think it was the thing that started everything. . .

Today I took Gavin to Dell Children's Hospital to see a Hemoglobin specialist. I really have not been worried that anything is wrong - but wanted to solve the mystery about why he keeps showing up anemic on the blood tests when he's taking an iron supplement and when tested the iron levels were in a normal range. The tests today showed up fine, but they're running more just to be sure. We'll find out next week. My boy was so sweet. First he was hungry and went after the crackers in the diaper bag making a huge mess all over the floor because he only cared to eat the peanut butter off of the insides. Then after trying to change his diaper, he toddled off to the patient and family kitchen for some more snacks and was excited about the milk cartons there. I of course was quietly observing the other children in there either waiting for a chemo treatment, going through a treatment or finishing up one. I felt a little obtrusive being in that sanctuary considering the fact that I don't think he's got anything wrong with him, but feeling the weight of anxiety for parents in there who are watching their little ones go through chemo thinking what if it were us? Emotions from that were hard to explain.

After downing some milk it was time for his labwork to get started. He was a trooper and didn't flinch while they drew his blood from his tiny arm. I held him and thought I might faint, but he didn't cry or move at all. The nurses couldn't believe how good he was for them. I was especially impressed with how warm and inviting all the staff were there. Even though my child wasn't critical or anything, I could feel the love radiating from them and how genuine, accepting and accomodating they were. If only all doctors and nurses could make you feel like that. I was glad to know there is a place like that with people like that for those who are going through much more difficult times than we were today.

This week, I've been impressed with how grateful I am for my children and how much I love them. Each one is so unique and special. I love them for completely different reasons. Each one is so like me and yet each one is SOO different from each other. How ironic is that? I just hope they know that for different yet equal reasons, I am proud of each of them and love them so much.

New Year New Hope

The subject of my RS lesson today was Ether 12- Hope for a better world which comes from faith in God and is the motivation for abounding in Good works. I learned a lot from preparing this lesson. Especially about HOPE! I've often wondered what am I supposed to be hoping for. Duh. It was so obvious I'm surprised that I didn't see it before. Hope for a place in the mansions prepared for us on the right hand of God.
I learned that we can have hope and be partakers of the gifts that God has to offer us. I asked myself - what am I hoping for? Can this blessing be obtained? Is it a righteous desire? What is required of me to obtain this gift? Good works and FAITH. Only after the trial of our faith will we see the gift.
I know all this stuff, but it's nice to be reminded and have it sink deeper in it's meaning as we go through life and wonder again - now why was I doing all this for? Oh yeah - the hope for a better world!
My little boy is in nursery. My little girl is in Primary and my big girl is getting baptized this year. I'm looking forward to a New 2010 and a renewal of our Hope, Faith and Charity!

Display of Nativities

Rockdale Nativity Parade