Have Your Self a Merry Little Christmas

"  You can give a great and marvelous Christmas if you will remember the gifts God has given you, and as best you can, offer them to others as He would. That is the spirit of Christmas and true happiness every day."                  -President Eyring


(Quote from 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional- entire devotional can be found here.

Now that Russell and I have our own family and can start our own traditions, we really want to focus on traditions that bring us closer to Christ. We especially want our Christmas traditions to be focused on the Savior, his birth, his life, and what that means for us.

OUR TRADITIONS:

1)   As one of our new traditions, we have decided to create a gift that expresses the gifts that God has given us. (This year, we have also tried to keep a book that records how we have seen the hand of the Lord in our daily life.) We will use our book of remembrance to help us write lists for one another. I will write a list for Russ, he will write one for me, and we will write one for James. Our lists will include instances throughout the year, of God's hand in our lives and other gifts that we have seen God give our family members that may have not been recorded throughout the year. We will wrap these letters up and open them on Christmas, just like our other gifts. It will be a time of reflection and gratitude. We decided to write lists for each other instead of for ourselves, because sometimes people on the outside, who are close to us and love us, can see more than we can see at times. And it will become more of a gift than a task.

2)   We also plan on deciding upon a gift that we can give God this next year, and the following Christmas we will share with one another the gifts we have given God throughout the year. We will remember that we serve God by serving our fellow men. We hope that it is a tradition that helps our family remember why we have Christmas all year long and that it becomes something they strive to do better throughout the year so that when Christmas times comes they can be excited to share what they have given.

We hope as our children grow that these traditions will help them to become charitable sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, who see the hand of the Lord in their lives, and seek to be the hands of the Lord for others- not to gratify pride, but to express sincere love and gratitude.

Gifts, Miracles, and Thanks!

As mentioned before, I love this time of year! Yesterday we started out our Thanksgiving festivities with a good game of Turkey Bowl! The plan was to have James and I watch Russell play...

And we did...

 well kinda... 

Except I couldn't keep James sitting still enough or happy enough to watch much of anything. I tried to leave a few times, but he would get even more upset. My darling husband came over and picked James up and starting carrying him onto the field. I will never forget the excitement and joy that followed as a huge smile BURST from James' face!

And together, the boys played. Yes Russell would throw and catch and run with sweet baby James, and from clear across the field you could see his bright smile saying: "LOOK! I get to be just like Daddy!"

This time of the year is a time when our eyes are opened to all of the gifts and miracles of God that surround us, and I join in the voice of giving Thanks! 

I am thankful for my FOREVER FAMILY

for SCRIPTURE

for PROPHETS

for PRAYER

for MUSIC

for this FREE COUNTRY

for the HEALING POWER

of the ATONEMENT

and for our TRIALS which bring us CLOSER TO GOD

Since May I have been passing out anywhere from 8 times a day to 2 times a week. The average is twice a day. We have been to doctor after doctor after doctor and have not been able to be healed of any.

But since November 2, I have not passed out once. 

I thought I knew what faith was and I thought I knew the atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. But through the loving guidance of Priesthood leaders I was told that when I had great enough faith that things would work out. I pondered and prayed and searched for what more the Lord expected me to do. I turned to the story of the woman with the issue of blood who was healed through faith in Jesus when she touched His robes (Matthew 5:25-35). I continued to ponder these things, but still did not find any answers or guidance. The next day, while in prayer, I suddenly felt like I had been healed. But I felt unsure, I was worried I was making it up because I wanted it so badly. I continued to study and pray. I began studying words that spoke of the power of the atonement and the ability for us to STAND BLAMELESS before God because of what Christ has done if we are faithful. Although I had read this many times before, I suddenly felt great anguish

.

I AM NOT BLAMELESS! I cannot stand before God!

Immediately a very powerful and peaceful feeling came over me and I could almost hear the words:

"Just as I have TAKEN AWAY your SICKNESS, I can TAKE AWAY your SINS!"

In that moment, I realized if it would have taken me 12 years to be healed, like the woman in the Bible, it would have been WORTH IT! For I came to understand, FAITH, the LOVE of my SAVIOR, and the POWER of the ATONEMENT like I never had before.

Since that day, I have not passed out once.

I bear firm testimony, that Jesus is the Christ- The Savior of the World. He loves us, and that love has given Him the power that is His. It is only through Christ that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and that we can live with our families forever. I owe everything to Him, and yet, I know that all I can give will never be enough to pay him back. Despite this tremendous gap, the Love and sacrifice of the Savior fills the entire gap and makes the way possible for us. I am grateful for my Redeemer and I know that it is though Him that I have been healed and through Him that I will one day become Whole. And just like my son, one day, I will be able to say: "Look, I get to be just like Daddy!"

What a perfect lesson for the Lord to teach me as the Christmas season rolls in. And may we all remember the true meaning of Christmas and celebrate Christ- His humble birth, His miraculous life, and His saving sacrifice.

Holiday Season Kickoff

Fall time is one of my favorite times of the year. Even though Halloween isn't my most favorite holiday, it does start off the Winter/Fall holiday season. I love this time of year because it is a time of remembering, a time for family, and a time for love. It is a time of remembering all that we have been given and it is a time of remembering our greatest gift of all: Christ. We need all of these things all year round, but I think it is wonderful that we have holidays to remind us.

Halloween was pretty fun this year with a little 15 month old. James loved being a dog for Halloween. He would even bark while wearing the costume, it was SUPER cute!

 We went trick or treating at the historic downtown shops during the day with a group of other children and their mom's from the ward. We had a good time. It took James a little bit to get a hang of but he finally got caught on. I will never forget the way he looked at me, with the first time someone dropped a piece of candy in his bag, with his huge, excited puppy dog eyes!

 And of course we had our Annual Ivie Halloween party. James had his first experience mini-golfing, and loved it!

 James has a great mentor, not only for golf, but for life. Russell is such a wonderful dad and is such a great example to him.

Another exciting thing to note is that I have finished all of my classes!! The last class I had to take was on-line and go at your own pace and I finished mid-october, except for all the paper work to process, I am graduated!! Yay! I graduated with a bachelor of arts, with cum-laude honors, in Liberal Arts. It has been a big accomplishment for me with everything going on in our lives right now.

My Little Helper

It has been so fun to have James to be our little helper the last several months. I figure I better take advantage of the help while he happily offers it, because I don't know how long that will last :)

Helping in the garden

Helping Daddy fix the sprinklers

 Helping Mommy with the laundry 

Sweeping the floor

 Washing the table

And helping to put away the dishes!

But the help I love best, is helping me to know how much God loves me through his own sweet tender love.

 While talking about help and great love, I cannot leave out my amazing husband, who does so much for me and our little family. I love him dearly! He gives our family so much strength, and I am grateful for him. I am so grateful that we can be a family forever!

What is Strength?

As I was falling asleep last night, the image of lifting weights came into my mind. When you lift weights you get to the point where it becomes a struggle to lift anything anymore, even though you are giving your all. In a weight lifting situation, one remembers how many times they lifted or how much weight they lifted, and they are proud of themselves for that accomplishment, the focus is not on the weak feeling that comes after a period of working out, it is on what was accomplished.

With our own lives we sometimes struggle to see that perspective. When we get to the point where we can't lift anymore, we criticize our selves for being weak. We forget to remember all that we have already come through, and all that we are lifting. When lifting weights, you find that the more you lift, the more you can lift. You find you can lift more reps or lift more weight. Even though each time you come to the point that you just can't lift anymore, it is making you stronger, and next time you will be able to handle more and more.

"Strength isn't something you have, it's something you get."

Big Boys and Geese!!

So my adorable boy turned one a month ago, I can't believe how BIG he has gotten. It is so much fun!! For his first birthday I made him a train cake because he loves Thomas the Train and I decorated it with fruit because he LOVES fruit!!!

We celebrated James birthday at a Park-He LOVES parks too!! Especially the swing! And we enjoyed friends and food.

Sometimes Russell wonders how James can be his son, James likes tomatoes AND pickles!! But he should not have any worries- his beautiful eyes tell all! Like father, like son. :)

James also absolutely LOVED being sung to several times throughout the weekend.

He figured out just what to do....

 MAKE A WISH!!!

  squish the cake!

and open Presents!!!

It was a wonderful birthday!!

For Labor Day we went to the park to feed the ducks, well...the geese.

 James didn't quite get the idea that he was supposed to throw the bread to the geese, he wanted to eat it!!

James is walking EVERYWHERE now!!! He loves it, it is a lot of fun!

Yup, that's our big boy!!

He is our Embrace!

This week has been a more difficult one. On top of James having to say bye-bye to his dear binky, he cut his finger yesterday and blood was everywhere. I could neither stop it from bleeding nor get him to sit still enough to wrap it up. We went to the doctor, where everyone looked at me like a terrible mom. But we finally got it taken care of and then found out we would have to give him another TDAP vaccine today because of the cut. Poor James, good thing for suckers!! Once we got home and got him down for his nap, I was so exhausted and just cried. Despite the tears, I could feel God's love tell me that everything would be alright. That He is HERE and He loves me. I do not doubt the Lord is with us. I feel his love strengthen me through all of our trials, even the seemingly small trials which still make me feel so weak at times.

He is HOPE,
              He is LIGHT,
                              He is LOVE,
                                           And He is ever ready to be our EMBRACE.

My dear cousin, inspired as she is, posted this video on her blog. It was just what I needed this week. A great reminder of comfort and the power of the atonement and God's love.

It makes me so excited for General Conference this weekend where we can hear the voice of the Lord through Prophets. To find out more about watching/listening to General Conference by going to: lds.org

Our Journey with Angels

Just thought I would give a quick update on how our family is doing. Russell just began school a couple weeks ago. He is taking his last year at USU and is also student teaching seminary. He loves teaching!! I am taking my last class online and should be finished in a month!! YAY! I finally got into the endocrinologist about 3 weeks ago, I was very impressed by her! She took me off synthroid because she thinks I don't actually have hypothyroidism, but that I had a temporary thyroiditis. The ten days after going off the meds were terrible. I passed out several times throughout the week and I was out for 45 min to an hour each time. The episodes had never been that bad before, but we stuck it out because we needed to wait 5 weeks to retest my blood once it was out of my system to make sure that I really didn't have hypothyroidism. The past ten days have been the best yet!! I have passed out, but just a couple times, and they were very short. In about 2 weeks we hopefully should find some answers.

It has been a journey... but that's okay. That is what life is. This experience has helped us to better see the hand of the Lord in our lives. He has blessed us so much!! And I know there have been angels with James to comfort and protect him while I have not been doing well. When I first got sick, James would lay on top of me and just cry and cry and cry when I would pass out. I was so worried about James and how this was affecting him. After the first week or so, Russell gave him a Priesthood blessing and since then James has stopped crying. He will usually sit two feet away and quietly play with his toys, every few minutes he will come check on me and give me a hug and then go back to playing. Some days he would be so fussy all day long, but when I passed out he would be as calm as could be. I know that the Lord has been with us through it all. We are in His hands and He has allowed angels to be our associates.

Sweet Baby James: My Precious, Determined Explorer

There are three words that often come to mind when I think about James: determined, explorer, precious. Russell and I are so grateful that he is a part of our life. He brings us such great joy, and teaches us so much about life. He helps us to remember to stay focused on the things that are most important.

Determined: 

James wants to learn how to do everything! The past few weeks he has really gotten better at his fine motor skills. It started out with just taking things out and putting things back in a bucket or bowl. Then he moved to putting Legos together, and just a couple days ago he was determined to figure out how to put a lid on a pen. He tried and tried for a half hour. He would get frustrated and cry and walk away, but then thirty seconds later he was back at that pen, trying to put the lid on. Once he finally got it, he continued to take it on and off over and over and over again, for another fifteen minutes, just to  make sure that it wasn't a fluke and that he really had mastered it. It is so cute, every day he finds a new thing that he wants to master and he works at it until he can do it perfectly!

Explorer:

 

 

James loves to explore. Not only does he try to figure out how everything works, but he loves to explore the space around him. He loves to put himself in small places, like the shoe box in my closet, and in the bathroom cupboard under the sink.When we go to the park he loves to explore and play in the tunnels.

Precious:

James babbles a lot, and he says mommy, daddy, ouch, thanks, here's this, up, hi, yes, and no no no. I haven't been able to get him to repeat any words after me. He wants to do say things when it is his choice, not mommy's. But today as I was singing to him before his nap, he was staring at something on the wall. I turned to look, and he was staring at a picture of Jesus with little children. I said "That's Jesus," and he pointed to the picture and said "Jesus!" It was so sweet and tender. James truly helps me to focus my life on the things that matter most. My life has totally changed since having a baby, and I am so so grateful for how it has changed. Sometimes it is overwhelming, and you feel like you never get anything done anymore. But what could be more important than teaching your little ones; what could be more important than becoming like your little ones! I can't think of anything in the world!!

Hair Cut!!

Ever since James was born he has been teased about his old man hair do. Well he is finally getting more, and even though it is not much, it is enough for a hair cut!!

He saw daddy get his done, so that means James had to too! He loved the feel of the trimmer and sat very still.

Before.....

After!!

Oregon Trip!!

The Ivies favorite vacation place is Cannon Beach, so last weekend the whole crew drove the 12 hours up to the beautiful Oregon coast. I was so worried about how James would do, but the whole ten days, James cried for a total of 15 minutes in the car. It was a huge blessing!!

 

Cannon beach was so beautiful! We loved watching the sunsets and walking along the beach.

 

Kaden and Amanda doing handstands on the beach!

Corey and Holli

This is one of my favorite pictures. Riley, Jaxon, Amanda, Jaden! So cute! Jaxon was so funny, he was so excited to get in the water but after falling in, the one phrase we heard all week long was "Water cold!"

While walking along the beach Riley felt something bite his foot so then he and Russell were determined to catch what ever it was!

And they did! :)

James loves his grandma! He also loved all the dogs on the beach and every time he would see one he would bark! hehe, it was so cute!

James has become quite the walker! He loves to walk! During this trip he finally got brave enough to take 5-6 steps by himself!

We thought that James would just love the water and the sand...but he didn't. It took him several days to warm up to it all.

 But he finally did!! He still never wanted to put his feet in the water, I'm sure next summer we won't be able to keep him out of the water though. And he'll be saying the same thing as Jaxon, "Water cold!"

We did many exciting things during our trip. Including:

 Smiling big at big waterfalls

 Playing bochee ball on the beach

Finding seashells and sand dollars on the beach at Cape Lookout

 Ate lots of ice cream

 Looked cute in our swim wear

 Made sandcastles

 

Caught and ate crab and salmon

Hiked to Cape disappointment and saw lighthouses

 Wrote our names in the sand

 Rode horses on the beach

 Looked at amazing sand castles at Long Beach, WA just as the tide came in to take them down.

 Visited Holly and Burdette in Hermiston and picked 23 pounds of Blueberries!!

 We had such a wonderful time!! It was the family vacation that we needed :)