Creative Monday

This is a darling idea for a newlywed or maybe for a wonderful
mother-in-law/in-law. So click HERE to view the tutorial
(and really, it is pretty easy!) I will be making ours soon!!!

Family Sealings

Picture of the Mt Timpanogos LDS temple where we were sealed.

As most of you know, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (aka the Mormons.) There are many beautiful temples that dot the earth, and many are beloved by members of the LDS faith and those not of our religion too. One of the greatest blessings about these temples is what can be done inside. When Mike and I were married, we were also sealed for time and all eternity. I grew up in an area where those of the LDS faith were the definite minority, so I attended many marriage ceremonies where the words "until death do you part". I am not trying to make my readers Mormon by any means, what I am trying to do is share a simple part of my faith that brings a lot peace to many, most especially those that have lost a family member. You see, even though Lilly and Ryker have passed, they are still our children. This is because they were sealed to us, long before they were born. That is how I get up every day, and when those hard days come, I know that I will can be with them again.
This last week, my Dad (who joined the LDS faith when he was one month shy of 19 along with my Grandma) were sealed. The situation is interesting, and I will not go into specifics, but this now makes it possible for our Grandparents and Great-Grand parents to all be sealed and for the line to go back as well as forward. It really was neat. and the peace was beautiful. I can not wait for October when we will take Collin to the temple and have him sealed to us (children that are adopted have to be sealed to their parents) and to have that peace of him being legally and spiritually part of our family. It's going to be a great day!!!

Creative Mondays

I know I have discussed my West Virginia/craft-show going root with you, but what I have not shared is my love for all things creative. I am a do-it-myself kind of gal. I love to learn new things. I love to perfect new things (hence the reason the hat I am knitting to match Collin's winter coat has been knitted about 8 rows and unraveled and re-started about 8 times!) There is something about this time of year (could it be that my Mom had to put together hundreds of crafts for the dozen or so craft shows she did this time of year and we were persuaded to assist in stuffing, gluing, and painting the parts of her crafts?) that pushes me to get creative. I think it is the weather starting to cool down and knowing that sweaters and leaves are right around the corner. So this week, I have been exploring the internet and have found SOO many talented people and so many wonderful ideas. I think I will try and share one of the wonderful ideas. I think I will call it "Creative Monday" and try to do a post that gets all of you excited to (even you non-crafters!) So here it goes!!!

Fabric Dollhouse/Barn

This darling little number is being taught over at this extremely talented gal's blog, and is being done up in both the dollhouse variety and barn yard. I do not have cute little pig-tailed girls running around in my house, but Collin would appreciate the barnyard (okay, really he is still too little but it still is dang cute!) So head on over and give it a try. I think I will be making a few myself because heaven knows that Christmas is already headed here to quickly!

*Also, my EXTREMELY talented Mom, who is a FABULOUS cook (I'm not chubby because my Mom is a bad cook!) is venturing out of nursing after 30 + years and is going to become a caterer. So spread the word, and hire her because her food is FANTASTIC!!!!

Milk and Asthma Attacks

I know this picture is blurry, but since our camera's flash decided to die before we could get a decent picture, we could not get a shot that wasn't blurry. He HATES getting breathing treatments (understandable, right?) but Collin has asthma. We are not sure what triggers the attacks, but I have my suspicions that it might be cows milk. You see, last week we ran out of breast milk, so for 3 or 4 days Collin had Nestle Good Start formula (before he came to us, Collin was tried on different formulas to help with his Colic, which seemed to disappear when Collin was placed completely on donated breast milk. But when we run out of breast milk (which has happened several times) we have had to give him formula. But doing this seems to lead to Collin's asthma attacks. So I am asking for help. If anyone has extra breast milk they could spare or has a sister or friend that would be willing to part with milk, could you please e-mail me at littleforeverfamily@yahoo.com? I am having a post placed at one of the OBGYN offices and also am part of milk share, which puts allows users to donate and request milk from all over. PLease help us, because we just really want Collin to have the best start possible.

Almost Heaven, West Virgnia

A beautiful misty morning along the banks of the Shenandoah in Harpers Ferry.
I lived off of this river and loved waking up to misty mornings: they were really magical!!!

I am not from Utah. Just knowing me, you know I am not a Utah girl. I refuse to be a Cookie Cutter,and actually broke the mold long ago. I am somewhat of a mutt. I was born in Ohio, grew up in West Virginia, and lived shortly in Southern Florida till we moved to Utah my senior year of high school. I am on Facebook, which to me is an interesting site. I can go back and look up and add friends that I have not seen in a long time. The most interesting thing about where I grew up, in the pan handle of WV, is that there was SUCH a blend of people that I went to school with. Utah is pretty dry on the black culture, a culture that I love and have some very close friends. In fact, when we moved to Utah, one of the girls in our ward told us that she did not really know any black people, but if she did, she bet they were a lot like us. I took this as a compliment. But in going through pictures of people I went to grade school with, Jr. High, and most of high school, it is strange to see where they are in life. A lot of the people I knew drink a lot, and seem to have a lot of pictures of them drinking posted in Facebook. Now you know I'm about as dry as they come (at least besides my personal vice of Diet DP!!!) and I have a lot of family on my Dad's side that drink, but it kind of makes me sad seeing some of the pictures. I know that where we grew up, that unless you made about a 30 minute drive to a larger city, or drove the 1 1/2 hour drive into Washington D.C. that there really was not a lot to do except drink or go bowling. I think my disappointment stems to the fact that these people I was friends with to me are still the kids I went to high school with, not the 20 something year olds that are allowed to party and drink now legally. And part of the disappointment stems from how truly magical it was growing up there. This was a place you could explore, whether in the little creek that ran beside our house, or the Shenandoah river that ran in front, or the forest or fields where Martha Washington's mother grew up. It makes me long for those Golden days.

This is so beautiful!!! Can you see why I miss it so much???

I miss West Virginia still, and either next year or the year after, I will take Mike back and show him my home, well, better my stomping grounds. But for now, I will just long for the beautiful rolling hills, that soon enough will be turning to every gorgeous shade imaginable and long for those days of craft shows and harvest festivals and pumpkin patches. I will just have to make do with my memories of walking around darling little towns like Harpers Ferry and Shepherds Town, and hope someday I can show and share my love with my little family.

It's Going to Be a GREAT day!!!

You see this cute little guy? You know, the chubby little boy that makes us smile each day? Well, come October, our little family will be forever. Both legally and spiritually. You see, the paperwork has been started so that we will be able to finalize the adoption the beginning of October. Than come a week or two later, on the 16th of October, this little guy will become part of our forever family. I know that that day will be filled with a lot of tears, for it will have come full circle. The sweet gal I talked to when we scheduled the sealing asked if we had any other children. I told her we did, but explained briefly that we did not need to worry about them being dressed in white (and soiling or doing whatever) that they had already passed on. She reminded me in that beautiful English accent that they would be there. It brought tears to my eyes, ones of joy. I just picture our little family, all 5 of us and I imagine the ones to come, there for our little sealing. It is truly going to be a beautiful dress. Now if I can just loose 20 pounds. Hmm.. better get working on that!

Hooray!!!

We finally got our computer back today. It honestly has been really weird to have our computer out of our home. We ate dinner together as a family, I read more books. I read Collin more books, and my house was cleaner. I cooked dinner more and really, it was nice. I told Mike last night that I really liked having the computer gone (the only hard part was not being able to read the blogs/emails I am addicted to and yes, I blog-stalk too which is pretty silly!) It is convenient having our computer, but it really opened my eyes to how much I relied on this computer. I really need to spend less time on here, and find a balance. Our baby is growing up right before our eyes. Really, I went to get Collin out of his crib the other morning and I swear he had grown another three inches over night. He is the happiest little guy (95% of the time) and his giggles melt my heart. He loves to play, loved to be held, and loves to cuddle on his way to sleep.
One of the hardest parts about our situation with our kids is always the question about how many kids we have. Yesterday was the first time I answered "one, a little boy." I cringed when I said it, and when I walked away from the lady I looked up in the sky and said "sorry you guys." It is such a loaded question, but yet it is so simple for so many. I know there is no right/wrong answer, but sometimes it is just hard to answer on so many levels. Lilly's and Ryker's birthdays are coming up soon, and I already know how we will honor Lilly, but I still have not decided how to spend Ryker's birthday and give back. For Lilly's last year, we made up headbands and donated them to the new baby girls at the hospital. It was a sweet way. Any ideas out there?
The last thing I will blog about is that it is again that time of year for the Intermountain Healing Hearts Fun-Run. I will post more details about it, but really this is an AWESOME cause and we need all the supporters! Click HERE for more info and to get your family/friends signed up!!!!

Out of Commission

Just an FYI as to why I have not blogged in awhile: our computer is being fixed again (yes again!) and so not computer access in our home until we get it back. All is well in our little house. The only crumby part this week being that I had a kidney stone/kidney infection that really kicked my butt. But hopefully, all will be on the mend soon. On a funny note, Collin thinks our dog Skip is the funniest thing ever (besides his Aunt Millie) and just giggles and giggles at him. He just makes our day.

We've Been Busy!!!

Really and truly, we have loved these summer days and sharing the firsts with sweet Collin. The picture above is just about how you will always see Collin right now: he is 100% in the oral stage. Loves to suck and drool over everything!!!

My Mom is a nurse, and up till this last month has worked just about every Sunday night for the past years. Because of some health problems, she was able to cut back, and so we have started to go out there Sunday evenings for dinner. We love having our families close, and having Collin makw wonderful relationships with both sets of Grandparents. My Mom and Dad have a really funplay room for the Grandkids and my Mom loves to take Collin in and play with him. Hence the picture of him sitting in this big Tonka!




This was the first year that we took part in the Steel Days breakfast/parade. It was a lot of fun (and pretty yummy too!!!) It was REALLY hot, the hottest day of the year but we could not have had Collin miss his very first parade. He really loved it and seemed to enjoy the festivities (although was pretty pooped after being woken up and all the excitement that followed!) We can not wait till next year when we can take him on the little rides!

When the boys are away, the girls will play (well and the little boys!!!) When Mike and my brother-in-law are working, my sister and I will spend our days together. And so our little boys spend their days with one another, usually just chillin'!

We just love these two together (notice they are both wearing matching Green Eggs and Ham little onesies, soo dang cute!) I just know they will be the best of friends. I think it's funny how they are both holding on to each other, and I hope that as they grow they will be as good as friends as their Moms are.

Collin is getting more and more mobile. He rolls around in his crib, rolls away when we are trying to change him, and just simply likes to show us he can get around. He thinks he is pretty funny. We love the curiosity, but the scary part is when we sit him in his Bumbo to feed him. Because of that wonderful curiosity, and his attempts to explore his wonderful new world, he makes us pretty nervous some times. While he is being fed in his Bumbo, he has come very near to falling out and getting quite the bump on his little head. My Grandma has some very neat traditions, one of them being buying a highchair for the first Great-Grandbaby in the family, Because Lilly and Ryker never needed a highchair, this honor has been passed down to Collin.


So after much research and investigation into what highchair we should purchase, this model is the newest recent member of our family (and hopefully will be an addition that will aid in many wonderful family memories.)

The coolest thing about this highchair (I really should be the spokesperson for this highchair!) Is that it has four different seating systems. It can be used to seat two different children at one time. What I mean by this the top part of the chair becomes an infant chair, once detached, and the base becomes a child's chair that can be scooted to the table. The infant chair reclines, so that smaller ones can be seated, and can also be separated from the base to be locked down to your table's chair. Pretty confusing I know, but it sure brings a peace of mind to be able to safely feed Collin (and the siblings to come, but just not anytime soon!!!)

Finally, just want to wish our darling little nephew Ethan a HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY!!! It is crazy he is 3 because he was only 2 months old when Lilly was born. Cray, huh? I would have an almost three year old. But am grateful to have Collin as our son, because we would not have him blessing our life had we not lost our sweet angels first. Funny how the Lord works, huh?