for my jewels : 2016

Sunday, November 20, 2016

kids say the darndest things

These two melt my heart. They are such good kids. I have moments where I want to pull my hair out, but still they melt my heart. They are learning and growing so fast. They say the funniest things! Here are some of the things they have been saying lately:

M: Mom, did you know I can count to a hundred? 1, 2, skip a few, 99, 100!
Mom, in her head: Classic.

***
A few weeks ago, we were getting into the car after picking M up from school.

M: Whoa, Mom, I just like saved your life.
Mom: You did? How come?
M: I just shewed that fly away.

***

This week J has started saying, with a hint of sarcasm, "Ha, ha, very funny!"
This sounds like something her brother says...

***

The kids were in the car with their aunt, uncle, and four boy cousins. The cousins are all older than our kids. They were watching a show in the car that had an elephant in it. J pointed out the elephant and said, "Elephant! There's the elephant!" The cousins were laughing and laughing. They were so amused by her. She obviously liked that and kept saying it. After a while M says, "Stop it, J! It's not funny."

***

Some background: This week we separated the kids into their own rooms. M absolutely loves having his own. J hates it. She misses having M in the room with her. It has been so good for M, and I definitely think he was ready for his own room. However, my heart breaks for little J!

The last couple of weeks we have checked out Handy Manny DVDs at the library. M has really taken a liking to this show. So much so, that he built his own "repair shop" this morning in his bedroom. So here is what happened tonight:

M had a paper he needed to put in his backpack, so I asked him if the backpack was in his room or in J's room. He said J's room. He then started to count the number of things in his room.

M: This isn't fair. J has more things in her room. I only have 18.
Mom: Well, that's okay. It doesn't matter how many things you have or don't have in your room. Are you happy you get your own room?
M: Yes.
Mom: Okay, quick, tell me 3 things you're thankful for about having your own room.
M, without hesitation: I get to play in it. I get to have my own room. And I have the best repair shop ever.

***

While Jake was putting J to bed, here is what happened.
J: I don't like this room anymore.
Jake: You don't? Where do you want to sleep?
J: With brother.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

little miss J

It has been forever since I have written a post about our little J. Little by little, she is growing. She is a petite little thing and has always been small for her size, but she is growing! The following pictures are from the first half of the year.

Here are Jake and little J around the campfire at cousin Evva's birthday.

One day while she was eating breakfast, I just couldn't help but snap a picture of her. She had on brother's t-shirt for pajamas, messy hair, applesauce all over her face, and her beloved 'croc' shoes.

Playing in the backyard. Here she is coming out of the slide. She LOVES being outside!!!

Miss J loves to hide. Here she is hiding in the curtains and some clothes. She still loves to hide. Now she has moved onto hiding in closets!

M was never big into coloring when he was younger, so I didn't really think to try it until J was about 2-years-old. It was easy to see from the first time I let her that she LOVED to color! She sat in her chair coloring for about an hour, content as can be.

Here she is helping brother unload the dishes. Brother was a good helper in teaching her how to unload. Her job is to put away the silverware. She likes to help brother put away the plastic plates and bowls, though, too.

Why not?

Pigtails for one of the first times! I can't get enough of these on her!

There is something so precious and special about watching your children sleep at night or naptime. It makes me feel such tender emotions towards them. Creepy as it may seem, I love to take pictures of my kids sleeping. I never want to forget how they looked when they were little and those feelings that come with watching them sleep.

More hiding...

Content as can be at Aunt "Titi's" house, eating cereal...

She really enjoys dressing up in any kind of clothes. Here she is sporting her bathing suit!

We love this sweet little girl. She is sweet as can be, with a spunky personality. She keeps us laughing!

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

moment of arrival

Hi again. It's been awhile! So much has happened since I wrote last, but I'll play catch up later. Right now I'm going to jump ahead. I want to remember this moment of time in our lives.

Back in March, Jake received his acceptance letter into the MBA program at Brigham Young University. To say we were excited is an understatement. This was something that we have been working towards for years.

Here is the acceptance letter when it arrived in the mail (we lived in a basement apartment, so our upstairs neighbors would slide our mail under the door...)

A few days before the actual letter came, he received an email telling him that he had been accepted. I was at my parent's house when he saw it. He called and told me to check his email. I knew it had to have been something about school. When I read what it said, I couldn't help but shed a few tears. WE HAD BEEN ACCEPTED!

Long story short: Jake had his last day of work in July, we moved closer to campus, and now he is full-swing into classes.

I am so proud of Jake, and all of his hard work and sacrifices to get here. They have been endless. We feel incredibly humbled and thankful to Heavenly Father for helping us, and providing the way for us, to be at this point.

I have been thinking about how we each have our own journey in life--a journey that is so individually unique. With these journeys, there are these sweet and awesome 'moments of arrival.' Moments that have been worked for, sacrificed for, waited for, and prayed for. The last couple of weeks have been one of those 'moments or arrival' for our family.

Two weeks ago, Jake started orientation for the MBA program. It was so fun to have him come home each day and hear how the day had gone. A couple of times as he was telling me what he had been learning , I had to hold back tears. I was just so excited and in awe of the reality of what was happening, at this 'moment of arrival.'

Classes started this week. We knew it was going to be hard and busy, and already, we are feeling that. There are many experiences ahead (good and bad), but we are so thankful for the opportunity to do it here at Brigham Young University.

I'll end with the video they sent Jake with his acceptance email. This was from an orientation a couple or so years ago.

Thursday, May 5, 2016

it is OK...

Today I listened to a talk by Sis. Linda S. Reeves from the April 2014 general conference, Protection from Pornography- a Christ-Focused Home. As I was listening to the following paragraphs, I couldn't help but think, "This is for you!"

She said:

Some of you have heard me tell how overwhelmed my husband, Mel, and I felt as the parents of four young children. As we faced the challenges of parenting and keeping up with the demands of life, we were desperate for help. We prayed and pleaded to know what to do. The answer that came was clear: “It is OK if the house is a mess and the children are still in their pajamas and some responsibilities are left undone. The only things that really need to be accomplished in the home are daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening.”

We were trying to do these things, but they were not always the priority and, amidst the chaos, were sometimes neglected. We changed our focus and tried not to worry about the less-important things. Our focus became to talk, rejoice, preach, and testify of Christ by striving to daily pray and study the scriptures and have weekly family home evening.

Wow. As a busy mom, her words helped me to feel relief and a peace! I wanted to share what insights I received from her talk...before I forget.

Tiffany,

It is OK you have piles and piles of laundry.

It is OK that your counters and floors never seem to be free of crumbs.

It is OK that the shower never seems to get cleaned.

It is OK if your appliances aren't cleaned on a regular basis.

It is OK to say no to some things.

It is OK that your 'to-do list' each day doesn't get done.

The only things that really matter are daily scripture study, prayers, and weekly family home evenings. Keep your focus on these things. Plan for a time in your day to make these things happen--especially time to plan family home evening.

Stop with the unnecessary guilt. Enjoy this time with your children! You have just been given the "OK" that your house doesn't have to be spotless! (Shoot for healthy enough to not get sick, dirty enough to enjoy life!)

Soak up this time Heavenly Father has given you and Jake to teach your children about Him, our Savior, and the Gospel.

These thoughts made me think of a picture from a family home evening we did a couple of months ago. We talked about a testimony, and what tools we have been given to build and strengthen our own testimonies. I'll be honest, when I first saw the pictures I thought, "Whoa! Look how dirty the doors are. I didn't realize how bad they had gotten." Now, after listening to Sis. Reeves talk, I can look at the picture with a smile on my face and a peace in my heart. A smile for the fingerprints on the door, and my somewhat homely looking children. And a peace knowing that gospel learning was taking place.

Strive for more moments like these! ^^^

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

life with M

Time is going way too fast! I am loving the stage the kids are in right now. I don't want to forget all the details of how these kids are learning, growing, and having fun! So, here is to remembering what M has been up to the last few months...

M was our "stair shoveler" this last winter. He got pretty good at it! I know it was nice for Jake to get home from work and have the stairs shoveled.

Putting away Christmas decorations in his room.

Warming up by the "fire" with little sister.

The faces!!! He has a lot...

He loved playing on his snow "slide." He was extremely entertained by his creation.

He wrestled for the first time this last winter. I'll write more on that later. Here he is in the middle of a match.

He LOVES being with cousins! Here is him, cousin E, cousin K, and papa watching a show.

Grandpa B gave him some real tools and wood blocks for his birthday. He has loved building things with them out on the porch.

Playing with our neighbor girl.

Learning how to make a paper airplane from Dad.

I cut out the hearts, and M made napkin holders with them for our Valentine's Day dinner.

Pirate Day at preschool.

We got two old boxes, and he transformed them into his "house." He played with these boxes for months! One night before I went to bed, I went to check on the kids. I found him asleep in his "house."