Bishop

This evening Jason went to see the bishop for his PPI (Gavin was napping when he left.) When he got home Gavin said "Daddy went to church" because Jason was in his church clothes again. Jason corrected him and told him that he went to see the bishop. Well, Gavin was insistent that HE needed to go see the bishop too. We kept telling him he didn't but he wouldn't listen. He ran over to the shoe basket, put on his shoes (he was in his nap pj's btw), went out to the garage and got in the car and tried to go see the bishop! hehehehehe

What a funny kid! :)

Craft Moment

I am NOT crafty, so why I decided to make a homemade gift for my sister's wedding I don't know. But here it is- this is what I made (with a lot of help) for Katherine's wedding gift. I think it turned out AWESOME!
(they put a picture of themselves in the frame and it's velcro'd onto the board so they can switch out the picture any time-sweet huh?)

Inspiration

The Lord loves little children!
Gavin's had a lot of change in his life over the last few months. We moved the middle of November to a new house. He moved out of the crib and into a toddler bed. Daddy's business started picking up so he's home a lot less and at later times. He keeps hearing lots about some "baby sister" and Mommy isn't able to wrestle and play as much. And we successfully completed potty training! What a busy 3 months!

Well, gradually over the last 3 months he has changed. Jason wouldn't get home until around 7pm so Gavin's bedtime at 8pm starting becoming 8:30 or 9pm so that Jason could spend some time with him. Then we thought it was a good idea for Jason to wrestle and get extra energy out of him since I couldn't do it anymore being big and pregnant. The transition to a toddler bed was difficult on top of the later bedtime and Gavin started waking up multiple times at night. Then he would be up around 5 or 6am and want to start the day.

We were hoping once he got used to the toddler bed and the new house that his waking up at night would lessen but it never did. Always good about going to bed and taking a nap, we started getting resistance from him on both. He would throw huge fits about taking his naps and going to bed. I would try to put him down at 1pm for his normal nap time and instead he would trash his room and take all his clothes out of his drawers and off his hangers and play/cry until about 3 or 4pm when he would finally crash and sleep until 5 or 5:30pm.

His whole demeanor changed too. He would be really fussy when he got up in the morning and from naps for over an hour before he became somewhat pleasant. He threw fits ALL the time, was grumpy and whiny and seemed generally unhappy. I didn't know what was going on and if this was all just part of the "terrible twos."

Jason and I didn't know what to do. Plus this all came on so gradually that we didn't really connect everything. We would pray every night to be guided by the Spirit on how to be good parents for Gavin and help him learn to behave and not be so unhappy but didn't know where to start.

That's when the inspiration came. Jason out of the blue said one day "hey don't we still have that sleep book that we borrowed from my uncle? Maybe we should read through it and see how we can help Gavin sleep better?"

So a day or two after I did...and it was TRUE INSPIRATION from God. We didn't know what Gavin needed or even what exactly to pray for but Heavenly Father knew and loves our little guy so much that He gave us a huge nudge in the right direction. I put into practice many of the suggestions in the book the next day and switched our schedule around and...

WE HAVE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT HAPPY LITTLE BOY NOW WHO TAKES GREAT NAPS AND SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT AGAIN!

I'm so grateful for prayer, personal revelation,a loving Father in Heaven and for a husband who listens to the still, small voice without even knowing it!

Thoughts while driving...

I was driving alone (which is rare) today and wanted to share some thoughts since Jason says I don't share the things of my heart enough.

I can't imagine being any happier in life than I am right now.
I have a wonderful husband who is so hard working, smart as all get-out, compassionate, forgiving/understanding, and who I am SO IN LOVE WITH. He amazes me with all that he does. I couldn't imagine a better father or husband. But what is truly the MOST AMAZING thing about him is his love for the Lord and his never-ending desire to serve those around him. I am constantly in awe of the depth of his humble spiritual ponderings and desire to magnify his calling as ward mission leader.

I have the cutest boy in the world! Gavin is so full of spunk and life and yet so gentle, tender and loving. My heart has never known such love until he came into our lives. And though he can be stubborn and wear me out sometimes, he is the light of our home. I love how much he is learning, how curious he is and how his imagination is beginning to soar. He makes us laugh everyday at the funny things he says and does.

I am so excited for our baby girl!! I feel so blessed to have had such an easy pregnancy. No nausea. No vomiting. No heartburn. No swelling until this week at work. (12 hr shifts on my feet-it was bound to happen sooner or later) No waking up 10 times a night to pee. I literally feel GREAT!! I have so much energy and forget I'm even pregnant sometimes because I feel so good and awake and alive! I can't wait to dote over our little girl and for all the dresses, bows and pink!

We are surrounded by the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for. They have shed tears of pain and sadness as well as tears of joy right along with us over these last 5 years. They have always been there to lend encouraging words when we needed it. Thank you!

I feel so inadequate at expressing the things of my heart. So please forgive my awkwardness. But this is just a glimpse into the thoughts of one truly content and joyful mom, wife, daughter and friend.