Park Day

We had a pretty warm day a week and a half ago, so we spent the morning at the park! (Daddy was at work and we were tired of being cooped up inside.)



Alex driving the train

Katie and Abby conquered the boulder!

 

Sarah liked swinging . . . but only for a minute!

 

Kirtland, Ohio

At the beginning of November, my mom and dad came out for a fun visit that included a trip to Kirtland, Ohio. We drove about five hours each way to visit this place of great historical significance to our church's history and had a wonderful weekend there.





Alex trying to keep warm

Katie and Abby

The whole bunch at the Newel K. Whitney Store, where the prophet Joseph Smith lived with his family for a time and held the School of the Prophets.

Inside the Whitney Store. (It was an exhausting weekend for Sarah! She was grateful to catch a nap on Pops's back.)

An upstairs bedroom in the Whitney store. Abby was especially interested in touring these restored buildings, being an avid reader of historical fiction.

The Kirtland Temple, built through immense sacrifice by early church members and heartbreakingly left behind amid persecution. (It is owned today by the Community of Christ, which split off from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1840s. Our guide from the Community of Christ was gracious and informative, assuring us that in their eyes, this temple belongs to all branches of the "LDS tradition.")

A beautiful depiction of the crowning historical event in Kirtland, when the Savior, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the temple and accepted it as His house.

At the John Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio, where Joseph Smith and his family also spent some time living. This is the site of a cruel mob attack on the prophet, which, tragically, led to the death of his infant son. It is also a place where many meaningful revelations were received for the church, and where many missionaries came to receive counsel from the prophet before setting off to preach the gospel.

It was wonderful to be together and to immerse ourselves in the spirit of this special place. I am in awe of the early church members and their unwavering faith in Jesus Christ, even when their trials were almost insurmountable. I hope that I can face my own trials and tribulations with the same fortitude and grace.

Sarah Is One!



That's right, our baby is a year-old today! (I guess it's a good time to give the poor, neglected blog some attention . . . )

 

We had a fun family bash for little Sarah, made even better by some friends spontaneously stopping by just in time for the Happy Birthday song.

 

The Birthday Girl

 

Some Adoring Fans

Delicious.

 

I mean, de-lic-ious!



New toys!

Loving her newfound mobility . . . yeah!

 We love our curious, blue-eyed, wiggly, giggly, little girl.

Grandma Phyllis

Last Sunday, my sweet Grandma Phyllis turned 100 years-old. I only hope to live as long and as well as she has!

I have picked up a few "Tips for a Long Life" from watching her, though:

1. Never walk up the stairs when you can run up them (even in your high heels . . . even when you're over 90).

2. Indulge your sweet tooth a little bit each day -- preferably with chocolate.

3. Always, always laugh at yourself.

4. Lose your life in the tireless service of others (as Jesus taught us).

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

An Update

We're still here!

I do have high hopes for getting caught up on our blog, but for now, here's a little update on everyone:

Sarah will be 6 months-old tomorrow, and what a jolly, roly-poly little baby she is! She's jabbering quite a bit and beginning to roll over both ways. She keeps us all entertained!

Alex is content to play "vehicles" all day long with Katie, as long as he has plenty of "bunny chocolate milk" (Nesquick) to keep him going. He picked up potty-training this winter faster than anyone I've ever seen . . . he had it down-pat in about 3 days. I think I've discovered the magic bullet for potty-training: wait, wait, wait! (He was 3 + 3 months.)

Katie had so much fun at the Butterfly House last week with these friends (plus a few others)! She and Alex are such cute little buddies, and her obsession with Baby Sarah continues too.

Abby is doing great except for this shiner (which she asked me to show on our blog, by the way!). She found herself on the receiving end of an alarm clock being hurled by Katie, and this was the result. Let's hear it for sisterly love!

Luke celebrated his birthday in March with a fun family party. We haven't been seeing too much of him lately, unfortunately, since he has to stay after work Monday-Thursday for review lectures. (He has his huge end-of-residency test, the oral boards, coming up in May.) I guess it makes the times when he can be home for dinner with us all the sweeter. (And oh, what a relief when I'm drowning in the throes of the bedtime routine and he walks through the door to rescue us!)

This picture sums up my life pretty well . . . a little crazy; yet, there's no place I'd rather be (most of the time!) than home with these little ones.

We've been quite consumed the past couple of months trying to fix up and sell our home, but we finally signed a contract today! Now we're just hoping and praying that it all works out.

I sure hope we are done forever with showings . . . talk about stressful! On 45-minutes' notice, we clean up the house as perfectly as possible, round up the kids, and find somewhere to go for an hour while complete strangers walk through our home. Not super fun! We're just grateful to have found a buyer and to be moving forward.

It's looking like spring here, with gorgeous blossoms on our magnolia and flowering pear trees and unseasonably warm weather. It feels so good to be outdoors. We're looking forward to Abby's and Katie's spring break next week . . . we'll report our adventures!