Did you know?

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Just the validation I needed
to make it through my day.

A Name & A Blessing

On July 6, 2008

Kent blessed Jillian at Church.

Jill received a beautiful blessing
Here are few bits and pieces:

courage to do what is right,
the ability to recognize the spirit,
compassion and caring for those around her,
a desire for spiritual learning,
good health,
and the ability to be a good sister
and a friend to Jack and all siblings to come.



It was a wonderful day. Perfect for
blessing our special little girl.



Kent's Mom, Terri, made the beautiful blessing
dress & the slip that went underneath.
Heirloom pieces for sure.
And my sweet friend Keely
made Jillian's amazing little bracelet.
Thank you Terri;
Thank you Keely;
Jillian looked like a princess!

Jillian Marie we LOVE you!
You are the perfect addition to our family.

Skadoosh!

A couple Saturday's ago (yes I'm all blogged up),
Jack and I had a little "Mommy & Kidlet time"
alone and went to see Kung Fu Panda.

For those of you that haven't seen this flick we definitely give
it 2 thumbs way up! Then again,
who doesn't enjoy 90 minutes of
cool animation, ninja moves, and banter witty enough
to make this Mom laugh?

This was Jack's first trip to the Movies.
He loved it all! And I had so much
fun watching him take it all in.

He loved the busy carpet:



The snacks:



And Wall*E:



But he was terrified of the Hulk:



I tried telling him this 15 foot monster was fake.
Didn't work.

I tried to pull Jack over to touch this green guy.
Didn't work & I ended up falling over,
that's right, onto the floor!

Finally, I told him the Hulk was a giant TOY and he
calmed down enough to walk past him toward our movie.
I guess I just need to use language he was familiar with.



There really is nothing better than taking
time to enjoy your kids. We ran, laughed, and
smiled all morning. Not once were there tears,
expectations, or reprimands; PARADISE!

Blog Post Learning

There are tons of reasons why
I love to blog
here are a couple of my current favorites:

1. It keeps family & friends updated on our lives.

2. I'm still up and up with friends that live
100's of miles away. Long distance friendships
can actually flourish when blogging!

3. I've made new friends through this blog.
How cool is that?

4. I hate to journal, but blogging comes easy
and I can count it as journaling
as long as I get my posts hard bound.

5. I learn so many great mom tips/advice.

6. I'm reminded daily that I can, should,
and will be a better person if I work hard
and strive for excellence.

#5 & #6 are constantly on my mind as I
read through my favorite blogs.

Recently I was enjoying a friend's blog and she
reminded me that I need to appreciate
my crazy "learning to be a mom of 2" days.
Not every moment is awesome, and truthfully
I don't think it's supposed to be. But I need
recognize and appreciate all the beautiful moments
of my life even if that means drowning out the noise,
seeing past the clutter, and striving to see the bigger picture.

Here's the music video that inspired her post:

"You're Gonna Miss This"

And I'm going to follow her lead
to spend more time on the floor playing with
my kids and less time blogging.

That doesn't mean that I won't be around,
but it does mean I'll only be online when
the little ones are asleep. It's going to be
hard at first, but my kids are worth it!

I belong

As I'm sure some of you have noticed I have a new icon
that greets you as you upload my blog.

For those of you that don't know, this "blog button"
takes you directly to mormon.org
where you can learn more about bein' Mormon.

On two separate occasions now Elder Ballard has asked
the general body of the church to share our beliefs
through conversations on the internet & on our blogs.

I'm ready to get started Elder Ballard.
I think I'll start with this button and
see where it takes me...

If you would like a button for your blog click here.
Then scroll down to the May 12th post that reads
LDS Link Buttons. Follow Leelou's easy
instructions to add your favorite button to your blog.

I want all my blog readers to know that
I'm proud to be:

I believe in Jesus Christ.
I know that he is mindful of my life.
I know that if I follow his teachings I can live with him again.

I believe in scriptures like the Bible & Book of Mormon.
I read them and I read them to my children.
I know that by reading the scriptures I learn
how to be more Christ-like, which in turn
makes me a better person.

I know that I can live with my family forever
and that my marriage doesn't end with death.
These truths bring me great comfort.

I believe in latter-day prophets,
blessings, temples, regular church attendance,
service, baptism, the golden rule,
family home evening, Joseph Smith, seminary,
missionary work, enduring to the end,
the second coming, family history, and a million other
"Mormony" principles.

I have a testimony.
I know this Church is true and I'm proud to be a member.

tardy yet true

On behalf of our little family,
I'd like to thank everyone that has helped
us welcome baby Jill into our lives.

Thank you to our families who watched Jack,
held Jill, cooked meals for us, cleaned up after us,
and let me nap. We appreciate all you do for us.
We love you so much. You're wonderful!

Thank you to our ward family who invited Jack
to play, brought meals, dropped by to help, and took
over our callings while we adjusted to life with two kids.
We are so lucky to be part of such a wonderful ward!

Thank you to our friends who have called
to see how we are doing, sent notes to wish
us well, and showered us with little girl clothing
and accessories. It's friends like you that
make life interesting and fun! Thank you for loving us.

Our cup runneth over...
We are so blessed to have each of you in our lives!

Mini Me

Errr... Mini Kent.


The resemblance is uncanny!



-Minus the 25 year age difference.

PS- Happy 4th of July!

Don't do that...

...your eyes just might stick!

Did you ever hear that growing up?

I sure did.
What am I talking about?
Crossing your eyes.

Be careful Jilley, you seem to be
tempting fate.



At least you look cute doing it...

Tide pools & Temples

(Jack, Mama, and Jilley ready to explore)

Every summer a friend and "Super Mommy,"
from my ward, invites everyone she knows to
play weekly. She plans the activities and hands out
a calendar. This labor of love has affectionately been dubbed
"Boredom Busters." Last week, with the help of
Nana and Mack weheaded to Newport's
Little Corona Tide Pools.


(1st photo-kelp 2nd photo-tightly closed sea anemones)

This was my first major activity without Kent. You
all will be proud to know that we made it to the beach
on time! In fact, we were the first family there
(sounds impressive, but this was a large Mormon activity).


(1st photo- a crab hiding in the shells 2nd photo- hermit crab)

Jack had a blast! We saw hermit crabs,
sea anemones, shells, rocks, kelp, and kids.
When we first started exploring Jackwas very tentative.
He didn't want to get his feet wet, he didn't
want to touch anything, and he didn't want any help!
But with time and a little coaxing he took off his shoes,
waded into the pools, and eventually was seen
blowing bubbles in said tide pools.


(Blowing bubbles!)



As we watched hermit crabs walk and sea anemones
hunt for food, my teacher instincts kicked in.
I couldn't help but regurgitate every fact
I knew about each creature (it's a sickness).
I'm sure Jack won't remember what anemones eat, but
he will remember how they closed their tentacles around
his little finger and that's still learning .

While we were at the tide pools
I learned a little something too.
Does this picture look familiar to you?


(1st photo from the cliffs, before the fog blew off 2nd photo b-e-a-utiful!)

It might if you have ever been to an Endowment Session at the
Newport Temple. The artist who painted the
murals for those rooms
used this scene for the Terrestrial Room.



We had a great time and definitely want to go back with Dada, so
we can show him all the tide pools have to offer.


(Learning is fun.)

(Thanks Super Mommy we had a blast! And thanks
Nana and Aunt Mack, without you we wouldn't
have had nearly as much fun!)

Rub-a-dub

I love tiny babies & bath time.

This bathing beauty already loves the water,..



getting dried off is another story.

For some more cute pictures of Jill
click here, then scroll down to June 28th's post.
Special thanks to my friend
and photag lover- Shari. You did an amazing job!