Sunday, July 25, 2010

Lessons Learned

This could get kindof mooshy . . .warning. . . read only if you dare.

So I had one of those "ah ha" moments today in Relief Society at church. The lesson was from Elder Uchdorf's talk from last conference. . "You are My Hands" It is all about using our hands as if they were the Hands of the Savior and using them for good and to serve those around us. I was thinking, as I sat there, about all the service that had been done for me over the past nine months. It seems every time I move I spend some time reflecting on what I have learned in our last location. Living in Rogers to me was like a dream. Right next door I had a friend one could only dream about. She walked right into our life and invited us right into hers. She taught me more about love and charity than I have ever learned in any church meeting. She more than believe that charity was a good thing, she practiced it daily. She is constantly thinking for and doing things for those around her, regardless of life circumstance, race, religion, or color of car. She is truely one of the most accepting people I have ever met. At one point I felt like I was in Rogers to help "share the good word" and after reflecting I realize that I was there on a intermission to see what true charity is and how much happiness it can bring.

We also moved into one of the most fabulous wards, I am pretty sure, on the planet. Right away the girls from chruch welcomed me in. They included us regardless of the fact that Dan wasn't around a whole ton. They had us for dinner, and invited us to all the fiestas!! The girls were invited for play dates from the minute we got there, we in a sense, found a whole new set of family members. We had Sunday dinners with friends we will have forever.

The entire time spent there I feel was a little "re-grouping" or "intermission" for our family. As I look around in our new ward, I realize that all the things I was a part of the past nine months, were meerly preparing me for what is about to be. Although things are not going as WE planned here so far, I feel like they are definatley going according to "the plan" for our family. We are learning patience like we have never had to before and also learning about true faith. We are moving forward with hopes that we can keep ourselves sane and our family strong. We have been seriously blessed in our life to have had some incredible people helping us along, including both of our families. . . now I guess it is time to pay it forward . . . Like the song says "Onward Christian Soldiers."

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Wyatt UpDate - - and some June stuff

So, I guess I should update on the newest member of our family. I took him in for his 4 month well check last week . . .he is actually 5 months old, but who's counting. Seriously, poor baby number 4, does get neglected some. Anywho, got him into the doctor and he did great. Got his shots etc. He weighed 16lbs and 2oz. . and was 26 inches long. He was in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th for height. I wonder if he will follow suit after his brother. Walker was 20 lbs at 6 months. . .I think he can do it. My kids always gain a little weight when I switch them to formula. I guess I don't have very fatty breastmilk. Anywho, here are some recent pics of our adventures. . .


Wyatt got blessed on June 12th in our new ward in Hot Springs. He was my first baby that ever fit into his blessing clothes. That was the longest we have ever waited to bless one of our babies. It was nice to have my mom and dad and Robby and Katie here with us. We also went out on the lake here in Hot Springs while they were here. It was so much fun. Wyatt was a trooper wearing his fancy life vest for the day.

He even went for a swim in the lake


We all decided after a fun day on the lake . . that renting a boat is the way to go. Drive up, get on, play for a few hours, park it back at the dock and get off. . no pulling, storing, launching, etc. It was great, and really not that expensive when you consider the costs that come along with owning a boat. For the amount of time that we actually could use one, this was the perfect solution for our family. Unless, that is, we one day live on the lake, and then that will be a whole different scenario.

Walker enjoyed riding on the tube. . .slowly but mostly jumping off the boat and swimming back to it. We spent a lot of the HOT day swimming in the lake

Robby and Tarin were the brave ones that got whipped around the lake some. I think Tarin would have lived on the tube if we would have let her.

Ella and Katie rode for a bit, but we decided it probably was not the best idea for Katie to be on the tube. Ella was the perfect partner for her because as you can see, Ella was a little, or a LOT nervous. Dad had to bribe her with silly bands to even get her on. It was funny.