A Poem

My mom sent me this poem...I really liked it. Hope you do too!


Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, "Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome
My noble, most excellent son."

I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward - there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.

By: Anna M. Molgard
January 27, 2008

Glenn Beck

If you have a minute, check out this quick clip of Glenn Beck sharing his feelings about President Hinckley. It's touching.

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/200/5127/

Our Beloved Prophet, We'll Miss You

"

"If people don't believe Mormons are Christians, just have them look at this picture of Sister Marjorie Hinckley." I so agree.

Now these two sweethearts are together again. I'm so sad to know he's gone from this life, but happy to know he's been reunited with his wife and other family who passed before him. I am so grateful to have lived during his time as prophet and to have been influenced for good because of him. I know he was a true prophet of God and that he loved us all dearly. I am so grateful for his tireless service and for his awesome sense of humore. I was so impressed by his ability to say things so matter-of-factly and to be bold when talking about our church. I wish I could be more like that. Thank you President Hinckley for being the mountain of a man that you were, and thank you for setting such a great example of how to dedicate your life to serving the Lord.

Why you shouldn't swallow bubble gum...

Check it out now, funk soul brutha...

My little brother John made a cool video...check it out on YouTube!

Our almost 3 month old...

On Saturday morning I took a few pictures of Drew on my bed...he seemed cooperative at first...but as you can see by the end, he had had enough!

I can't believe he will be 3 months old in 10 days! CRAZY! He is such a sweet boy and we love him dearly!

I hope you enjoy looking at his sweet face as much as I do!

They're 2, they're 4, they're 6, they're 8...

If you have little boys who love Thomas & Friends, then you will without a doubt be able to sing the rest of that song...if not, then here's the rest:

"...Shunting trucks and hauling freight.

Red and green and brown and blue,

They're the really useful crew.

All with different roles to play,

'Round Tidmouth Shed or far away.

Down the hill and 'round the bend,

Thomas and his friends!"

This is the train table that Brad built...which is amazing and I am so proud of him for doing such a great job! The kids absolutely love it, and as you can see, Joshy is right at home laying on the table getting up close and personal with his trains. The following picture is what I imagine he sees as he's getting cozy with his trains.

Can't you tell that these trains have been well-used? I mean, loved, not used! I am so glad that they still have fun with these trains and that now they have a platform to build tracks on, or to just ram them into the sides. It's a great coffee table and a great train table! Who knew Brad could be so handy!! Thanks to my ultra-handy and talented sister-in-law, Beverly and her tools, Brad was able to get this table on it's way.

P.S. How sad is it that I am quoting the lyrics to the Thomas song on my blog?

P.P.S. If you know that song, and that tune is now stuck in your head, I'm sorry. Very, very sorry!

Catchin' some zzzzz's

Well, for the most part Drew has been amazing at night. For a while he would wake up around 2 or 3am, I would nurse him and he'd go right back to sleep. Even if he was wide awake after I nursed him, I could lay him down in his bed, kiss his forehead and walk out of the room and he'd fall back to sleep on his own. Then he moved on to not waking up until about 4 or 5am - being fed around 9 or 10 pm the night before. A-MAZING! So...last night I fed him around 9pm, and as the night progressed into early morning I was getting a bit restless -- you know, engorgement doesn't make it easy to sleep! So, I looked at the clock at 5am -- not a peep yet from the babe, tried to sleep a bit more...but around 6am I finally decided to get up...because when you start dreaming that you need to get out the breast pump, it's time to get up! So, here I am now at 6:20am, sitting in the same room where Drew is sleeping, and I'm typing away on my blog, and he is still not awake! He's made a few noises here and there, and I'm sure I'll just have to wake him up after I post this so he can relieve me, but I am just so grateful for a baby who likes to sleep!!!! It seriously makes my life so much better. Joshy never wanted to sleep more than a few hours at a time -- I was still up with him multiple times a night all the way until he was about 9 months old. Therefore, I was a psycho woman. But having an almost 3 month old baby who can sleep through the night is just a miracle to me. I hope it doesn't change!!!!!!!

Something to make you smile...

Who doesn't love seeing a squishy, pink baby butt every now and then??? And yes, that is a birth mark!

New Beginnings

I love this time of year, when it feels like you can start fresh and move forward with the new year. This past weekend we attended our Stake Conference, and I loved all of the messages given there. One message in particular was given twice though...during the adult session on Saturday night, and then again Sunday morning. It was that of John 2:5, which reads, "...whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." The "he" they are talking about is Jesus Christ. We were admonished to apply that message to our lives. How simple is that? Whatever Jesus Christ tells you to do, DO IT. It seemed so simple, yet so overwhelming at the same time. But when Pres. Monson said just pick 1 or 2 things to work on, and if you do, then at the end of this year the amount of growth you will have experienced will be remarkable. So, Brad and I talked and decided that the 2 things that we need the most work on right now, is prayer and scripture study - DAILY. Last night we had a good FHE with the kids (well, mostly with Jakob because Joshy was running around in circles the whole time!) about why we need to read the B of M and why we need to pray. I love hearing their answers to our questions and seeing how eager they are to learn. We got a sing along DVD of Primary Songs, and so it was really cute to see the kids singing I Am A Child Of God and Reverently, Quietly...ahhh, their voices are like angels!

With all of the things that I would like to work on in my life, I sometimes get overwhelmed and feel as if it will never happen. That kind of negative thinking never helps, so I try to find ways to stay positive and I especially love inspiring quotes. I was looking through some of my old talks, and came across this quote by Heber J. Grant:

“I feel that we should learn never to become discouraged…I believe when we determine within our hearts that by and with the blessings of God our Heavenly Father we will accomplish a certain labor, God gives the ability to accomplish that labor;”

So, if I am praying diligently for help to accomplish the things that I desire, the Lord will most definitely help me do that. And I've learned that it's OK to pray for small and simple things...like asking for the energy and motivation to just get the laundry done, or the dishes put away, or the grocery list made. When you have a house full of crazy kids and it seems like you can't get a quiet moment, the bathroom fan can work wonders to drown out the noise! No one has to know that you're not really using the bathroom!! :)

I hope that whatever you've decided to work on in your life this year will be accomplished and I hope that we can all help eachother in any way we can.

Jakob's 5th Birthday...

I can't believe it, but my baby boy is 5! Yes, F I V E! So crazy! We went to Prehistoric Pets on his birthday, and then had his party the next day. As you can see it had a dinosaur theme. The kids had fun coloring, playing with dinosaur masks, digging for fossils, making a volcano erupt (a video of that will be posted as soon as I can figure it out!) and generally acting loud and crazy and chasing each other around the house acting like dinosaurs. I think they all had a fun time and Jakob was really happy to have his friends/family there to celebrate with him. Happy Birthday Jakob! We love you!

Christmas Season 2007

There is way too much to tell you about our Christmas this year...so hopefully you can figure out some of the things we did by watching this slideshow! Just know that was all had fun and loved spending so much time with both sides the family! Thanks for a great time everyone!! We love you!

All About Us

How long have you been together? We just celebrated our 6th Anniversary on Dec. 29th.

How long did you date? We didn't really. We met online at the end of August 2001, emailed back and forth, then chatted online, then started talking on the phone. At the time, he lived here in CA and I was going to college in Utah. At the end of September I flew out to meet him in person for the first time. That was on a Friday...by Saturday night we were unofficially (no ring) engaged. Then we got married Dec. 29, 2001 - 3 months later!

How old is he? 29, he'll be 30 on March 31st.

Who eats more? These days, probably me! Hey, I'm a nursing mother!!

Who said "I love you" first? I did, in Slovene. (Rada te imam)

Who is taller? He is. Only by a few inches though!

Who sings better? He does, definitely.

Who is smarter? That's a hard one. If it has anything to do with numbers, he is. Writing/grammar, etc. it's me. Our strengths are different.

Who does the laundry? We both do.

Who does the dishes? We both do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Brad

Who pays the bills? Brad.

Who mows the lawn? Neither , the beauties of HOA.

Who cooks dinner? Usually it's me. But he helps out alot too.

Who is more stubborn? That's another tough one. We are both very stubborn!

Who kissed who first? He kissed me!

Who asked who out? Like I said earlier, we met online. So...it wasn't your typical dating story!

Who proposed? Well, I kind of blurted it out. "I want to marry you!" but then later, when he had the ring, he got down on his knee and asked me. (In front of my mom & dad!!!)

Who is more sensitive? Both of us...I think we are pretty equal here.

Who has more friends? Probably me...

Who has more siblings? He does. He's #6 of 8, and I'm #4 of 6.

Who are you tagging? Evaly, Tiffany, Emily (please don't feel obligated!)

Twilight Movie Poster

A friend emailed this to me today...not sure if it's authentic or not, but I thought it was a cool poster! Ooooh, I am excited for this movie!

TANK

Today was Drew's 2 month appointment, and our suspicions were confirmed:

He is indeed a TANK!

He started out 20 inches long and weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz. Now he is 24 1/2 inches long and weighs 15 lbs, 4 oz! He has grown 4 1/2 inches and gained 6 1/2 lbs! Crazy isn't it? Well, I was curious to see how big the other boys were at 2 months, just to get an idea of whether or not he is about the same size. He is the biggest! (But just by a few ounces!)

Joshy started out at 23 inches (we think that was a mistake!) and weighed 9 lbs, 8 oz. By 2 months he was: 23 1/2 inches, 13 lbs, 2 oz.

Jakob started out at 21 inches and 10 lbs, 1.4 oz. At 2 months he was 24 1/2 inches, 14 lbs, 9 oz.

So, even though Drew started out (relatively) small, he is now techincally the biggest!

Sometimes I call him my little "sweet pea" and Joshy will say, "No, he's not sweet pea, he's tank!" It's pretty funny.

FYI: We have lots of pictures from Christmas, Jakob's birthday, etc. to post, but I haven't had time to sit down and edit them. Those will come later! We had a great time with my family during the week of Christmas, and then with the Hansons during the week after. We have great families and are so grateful that we can have so much fun with them when we get together. Even though it was very fun, we are glad to be back to our simple little life. :)