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!!