eve’s blessing day

Our sweet Eve received her baby blessing at church on September 23rd.

Several members of our extended family came into town, and the love and support we felt from them was immeasurable. At times, the love that comes with family ties seems almost tangible, and as we stood, surrounded by many of the people we love most in this world, that is exactly what we experienced. I know just how much each of my daughters is cherished by our families, as well as our God. There is no shortage of love here, that’s for certain.

As always, I couldn’t narrow down the photos from this special day, so there are a lot. Really though, who can have too many cute baby photos?That little tongue!She just looked so excited here!
Grandma Gina made her dress, headband, and booties. They were so perfect, and I’m grateful for her talents and ability to make these precious gifts for her grandchildren. It was fun for me, too, because I got to choose exactly how I wanted each piece of the dress to look. Evie’s blanket was made by me.
Those slightly-ruffled sleeves on chubby baby arms… melt my heart.Her little profile! Even the back of the dress was beautiful!Someone was very sleepy by the time I finished her photos… I’m so so grateful for all these amazing people.Of course, we had to get silly for one of these group pictures.She has some amazing grandmothers to look to as examples. We had everyone come back to the house for some lunch (homemade sub sandwiches) before they all had to drive several hours home. We had a full house, and so were our hearts. It truly was one of the best Sundays.I love you, Eve!

when you need a sister

We’ve had a rough couple of days this week, with all four of us battling the stomach flu. I wouldn’t usually write a whole blog post about us being sick, because I never want it to seem like I’m complaining (I know it could always be worse)!

But sometimes, you just can’t do it all alone. Yesterday, I was so blessed when my sister (in-law, technically) came over to take care of all of us. Seriously… she came into our germ-infested house to make sure we were doing okay.
_MG_4661Lelia disinfected everything, stripped all the beds down, washed and folded all my laundry, made playdough cookies with Kaya, let me nap, and just watched over us all afternoon. It was so comforting to not be alone during our bout of sickness and exhaustion, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I also might’ve cried on her shoulder about how she’s moving away about a month from now.

Jeff is just as awesome for bringing us Gatorade and giving priesthood blessings to Michael and Kaya.

I don’t know what we would do without our family.

a blessing, not a burden

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I’ve spent most of this week sick (for the second time within the past two weeks), which is normally a rare occurrence for me. I’m finally starting to feel like my normal self again (just in time for some Christmas festivities this weekend)!

Honestly though… It’s not easy being mom and feeling awful all at the same time. Your body just begs you to sleep and rest, but you’ve got mouths to feed, bums to wipe, and two-year-old mood swings to handle.

It’d be so easy to see all this as a burden (especially when you don’t get that nap you so desperately need)…

… but I’d count having my babies with me on a sick day as a blessing.

How couldn’t I feel a little better at the sight of their smiles? Having Kaya play kitchen with me was also a pretty good distraction, and I had the best little snuggle buddy in the world to keep me company.
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I’d spend any day with them. I’m so grateful for my little sidekicks and honestly wish they didn’t have to grow up and leave home.

(Let it also be noted: Michael is equally amazing. He finished my laundry, let me go to bed early, and even did my grocery shopping!)

I am one lucky gal.