Eden's Five...Serious?

I can't believe I have a five year old. Crazy.

While Eden was deciding on what kind of cake she wanted, it came down to three choices.

1. Care Bear
2. Malaria
3. A Termite Mound

Oh, my Eden.

In the end the Care Bear cake won.

Eden is an amazing girl. She never ceases to amaze me. She's sensitive, smart, loving, and (almost) always tries to do what is right. She's learning to read which is a slow process due to my lack of diligence. She loves little Molly. And she's definitely a mommy's girl. We love her!

The BFG

Eden and I have been reading books together and then celebrating with a party at the end.

Our first book was Charlotte's Web and for the party we watched the movie and had lots of snacks.

Next we read The BFG. Since there isn't a movie about these people eating giants (thank goodness) we needed to put on our creative caps for how to have a party.

We decided to play giants and make mini cupcake "people"....and of course eat them.

 Mean, Angry Giant Faces

 Eva's Cupcakes

 Eden's Cupcakes

 Leila's Cupcakes

 My Cupcakes

St. George

Our little family spent a month in St. George (Tyson did a rotation there). I neglected the blog...but here's proof that we had a blast! (Minus a few pictures of Eden and Leila rock climbing that I plan on posting later cause it was quite awesome.)

Results Are In!

Tyson found out where we are headed for residency. And...

It's back to Kansas City for us!

We are very excited (although I originally didn't want to return...I'm super excited now)!

Let the games begin!

Molly's Blessing

Molly had her blessing on Saturday. My sister knit her dress for her and it fit perfectly! It was wonderful (even though Molly cried the whole blessing...) and a great experience. After we had soup and salad and just spent time with family.

A little about Molly...

She loves attention...she loves to smile and talk to people who give her attention.
She sleeps about 8 hours at night.
She puts herself to sleep. We wrap her up while awake and then she'll lay there until she decides to fall asleep.
She's a picky eater. She'll get really upset at me if I try to feed her sooner or later than she wants to be fed.
She only does a short laugh that is pretty hard to get out of her. She's also ticklish but doesn't like to be tickled.
She is a tough cookie. With all the things her sisters do to her (out of love) she's really calm and tolerant about it.
She often likes to just lay on the floor or counter and will do better there than the couch or some place softer.
She likes her moby wrap and puts her to sleep instantly for hours.
She says "mom" although probably not on purpose...but I like to pretend it is.
She is a mommy's girl...more than my other girls at this age. If she hears or sees me she often wants to come to me.

Overall, I love my Molly girl. I'm so glad she's in our family. I'm so blessed to have her in my life.

Happy Birthday to Me!

This post is a little late....but I'm officially 29!!!

But I had to post these pictures....cause my husband rocks when it comes to cake building.

(Ignore that Leila and I look like hobos off the street...nothing against hobos...) Alright, the cake was actually much easier to create than it looks.  Cause it sure does look impressive.  If you want to know how to build it, click HERE.

The kids and hubby were pumped to get me a few gifts that they picked out.  Eden gave me colorful hair elastics "so you don't have to wear those black ones that blend in with your hair".  Thanks.  I now often sport hot pink, bright blue, green apple, and pretty purple hair elastics.  Not to mention the hot pink Minnie Mouse shirt Leila got for me "to wear to Disneyland".  I'm totally stylin'.

Speaking of "stylin'"...The big gift that the kids and family chose out for me was....my own pair of footie jammies.  Jealous?  You should be.  The kids were so excited when they saw these.  We then had a pajama party to celebrate.  Its like wearing a blanket wrapped around me, snug as a bug.  And yes, they have a bum flap...

I did also get a special gift from Tyson, that I don't have a picture of because it was shipped to me and didn't get to me in time for my birthday.  It was a necklace.  I LOVE IT.  I was telling Tyson a while back (and I was quite surprised that he remembered...although I shouldn't be surprised because he's way better at remember things than I am) that I wanted something to remind me to constantly be doing what is right, follow the Spirit, and to be happy.  He has a ring that is a replica of the one Joseph Smith wore.  And I honestly have a hard enough time wearing my WEDDING ring, let alone another ring.  The necklace is of a compass and it came with a long letter telling me about the symbolism involved with the compass and how it applies to me constantly striving to follow the commandments and never stray.  Once again, my husband is amazing.

In other news...we are back in Orem after having been in Grand Junction for four weeks.  It was a little too short for me, but its OK.  So, here are a few pictures as a tribute to our little month in Grand Junction.

 (Below is Leila at a friend's house...she was quiet, too quiet.  She found a box of stickers.  Stickers stickers everywhere!)

And of course...pictures of Molly.  Its hard to get smiling pictures (although she does smile quite a bit) because when she sees the camera she stops smiling).

But she's still as cute as cute can be!  And look at those kissable, squeezable cheeks!

 The only thing I wish I had a picture of...that I didn't get a picture of...was the "Leila's potty trained" celebration.  We took her to Yogo Mojo (a frozen yogurt place) and she loved it!

Love

Its funny how Valentine's Day is celebrated.

The grocery store is filled with funny stuffed animals, roses, and chocolates.  The library has out all the books about love and gift giving.  Everyone sends cards and notes with candy.

And you know, I decided that Valentine's Day is pretty awesome.

Maybe I didn't give it enough credit growing up because its the day after my birthday.  Or maybe because I always considered myself a non-romantic.  Or maybe because I always felt like those Valentine cards you buy at the store were always so cheesy to read and often didn't have much feeling attached to them but was more exciting to get the candy taped to the front instead.

But after 29 years (Yes, I'm now 29...my last year in my twenties.  Happy birthday to me!) I think I've finally figured it out.

Its about love.

As a child I always thought "love" was chasing boys around the playground.

As a teenager I always thought "love" was about your boyfriend giving you a teddy bear.

As a newly wed I thought "love" was about Tyson doing the dishes for me and ....

But that's not REALLY love.  Love is what the Savior gave and showed.  Love is showing how much you truly care and appreciate another.  Love is kindness.  Love is service.  Love is charity.  Love is a feeling that leads to action.

I guess I was selfish and always thought Valentine's Day was about the girl getting something from the boy because boys needed a reminder once a year to do something sweet for their significant other when it seems all other days of the year they may forget to do so.  I'm selfish.

This year was different.

We are still in Grand Junction, don't have lots of "stuff" and realized that our "budget" is going to tighten a bit in order to make it through until residency on our student loans.

We didn't go out to eat.

We didn't get many gifts.

We didn't have family around to take the kids so we could go on a date.

But something did happen at the last minute.

We found a opportunity to serve.

Tyson and I spent a few hours working together to give service instead of most years when we would be thinking "where do we want to go out to eat" or "we need to clean up the house before our date night".

Then we came home and gratefully ate leftovers for our Valentine's dinner.

The kids also had time to serve as they helped me make some cookies and we delivered them to a few friends later that night as well.

Best. Valentines. Ever.

A new tradition is born.  I want to think of others on Valentine's Day instead of thinking of myself.

I also gained a greater appreciation for those who took the time and money to give me Valentine's packages even when we're in Grand Junction for a month.  They seem to understand love better than I have for the past 29 years.  I am truly grateful for their love.

I love you all!
Happy Valentine's Day.