Monday Adventures

Hopefully your Monday was better than mine. Normally I don't mind Mondays, but yesterday was brutal! The day started off with learning that something I had been working hard towards wasn't going to happen. It was a bummer, but that is life sometimes.

Just as I was getting ready to head out the door to an appointment Bubba decided to eat my stick of deodorant. We got to make a first call to Poison Control, oh boy! He should be okay, but I was late to my appointment.

Our insurance coverage recently changed. My husband's workplace claimed that the changes would save us money, I learned that that was not true. The change is going to cost of several more thousand dollars out of pocket. This wasn't happy news.


Then Bubba and I ran to the store to get supplies to make Valentine's Day cards. Bubba ripped an item off the shelf and broke it and you know who got to pay for it. My phone decided it didn't want to work and I wasn't able to pull up the coupons I was planning on using.

When we got home I attempted to put a very tired Bubba down for a nap and he protested for quite some time, this was not an enjoyable experience for either one of us.

By this point in time I was starting to feel depressed and pretty defeated. While Bubba slept I worked on Valentine's Day cards to try and help myself feel better.

The cards helped a little bit, but I needed something more so I decided to surprise our neighbors who have been sick with dinner. They were incredibly grateful!

The day ended with Bubba throwing an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet (tube and all) and attempting to flush it. He wasn't very happy when the roll didn't go down the hole and Daddy discovered what he was up to. Busted!

I can't say that it was the best day I have ever had but, I survived.

Update

The weeks have been flying by, I can't believe it is already the end of January!

I don't have a lot to share this week. Andy and I decided to go refined sugar free for 30 days, so far it has been an interesting experience. I am looking forward to sharing more about our experience when we are done.

Bubba likes garbage cans!

Aside from that, we have been staying busy and living life. Bubba becomes more active each and everyday. It really is amazing how quickly he grows, learns and continues to develop.

We went out for Barbara's birthday lunch.

He loves fries and fry sauce.

Andy and I went on a date, Friday night. We went mini golfing and then stopped at the grocery store to stock up on some of our healthy favorites-- you know your getting old when you enjoy time alone at the grocery store with your spouse. It was nice to get out, just the two of us.

The Lord's Hand

Sometimes it is easy to feel weighed down by the stresses of life. Sometimes we are so caught up in the hustle and bustle that it is easy to forget to take time to nourish ourselves spiritually. We may go for long stretches of time without replenishing those spiritual reserves. At times it can feel as though the weight of the world is on our shoulders and we may even begin to wonder if God is there. If He is there, how come I can't see His hand in my life? Why won't He answer my prayers?

A sweet cousin of mine sent me a little note one day and the back of the note said this...

This sweet little not has become one of the things that I cherish. The words that are written on it are SO TRUE! If we are living our lives the way we should be and making a diligent effort to keep God's commandments, He will bless us with ALL THINGS, not just some. As we make time for the Lord in our lives we will see His hand more frequently.

E-I-E-I-O

The weather has been hit and miss here lately. On the days when it isn't pouring buckets we like to go on a walk. Going on walks is something we all enjoy. Bubba, recently you have started meeting me at the door when I say, "Lets go on a walk." I frequently find you standing there in your sock trying to unlock the door. If I take too long to get us out the door, you aren't very thrilled. I love going on walks with you and I'm glad you enjoy going with me too!

How does it work?

Splashing is the best!

The other day I put you down for a nap and I knew you were not sleeping. About every five minutes or so I would here you sing, "E-I-E-I-O." It was really funny and made me smile!

Story time at the library.

You have also learned how to clasp your hands together when we pray. You figured out how to do this all on your own. It is the sweetest thing to see! *Shhh, don't tell anyone that we peek at you sometimes when we pray.

For fun we invited some friends over to play games--- this was the first time we had done something like this since you were born. It was nice to have people over. Thankfully you slept through the entire thing. We will have to do it again soon!

Playing at the doctors office.

Bubba At 14 Months

I realize that "belly badges" stop once a child turns one, but I want to continue to give monthly updates on Bubba.

Bubba, we feel so blessed and privileged to be your parents. You bring so much joy, love, mischief and adventure into our lives. You find the simplest things to be hilarious, like Mommy blowing on your food to cool it down. You laugh and you laugh and you laugh. That little laugh of yours is sure contagious.

You have been walking for just under a month now and you get better at walking every single day. It won't be too long before you start running.

You love to sing! Your favorite songs are "Popcorn Popping" and "Old McDonald". You know when we get to your parts and you proudly sing along.

You look forward to going outside on a walk each day and you enjoying feeding the chickens.

You currently have 7 teeth- three on top and four on the bottom. There is another top tooth that looks like it will pop through any day now.

Got poop?

Mmmm....

Chocolate avocado mousse.

We love you little one! Stay sweet.

Sickness...Blah!

There is not much to report this week, Bubba. We are all still sick, we been cooped up in the house for what feels like foreverrrrr.

Petting the moss.

I took my last round of antibiotics yesterday and am finally starting to feel a little bit better. I am so grateful for antibiotics and modern medicine!

You decided to eat all of my coasters.

Found this gem on Daddy's phone.

Hopefully this next week will be better and we can get outside on some walks.

Life Unplugged

A friend of mine decided to say "bye bye" to Instagram for the month of January to refocus. I found myself thinking, "That's a great idea!" and I decided to do it too. In addition to staying off of Instagram I decided to give up Facebook, too. I stayed off of Facebook for about two weeks (I serve on my H.O.A.'s Board of Directors and some issues came up on our community Facebook page and I was asked to take a look at them). Unplugging was easier than I thought it would be and I think it has been a really good thing for me and my family.

Unplugging has allowed me to think about the things that are most important to me (my family and God), I have had more time for my son and my husband, our home is cleaner and I think we have all been happier. All positives for the win!

Our family went on a walk yesterday and as we were walking, we started talking about social media. Our faith teaches us that all things need to be in moderation, too much of anything can be bad. We are also taught that you cannot know joy, if you don't know sorrow. You might be wondering what these things have to do with social media. Let me share.

When you think about your life, how much time are you spending on social media? If you're like me you get online intending to look something up only to become distracted. Minutes tick by and before you know it an hour or more has passed. What could I have done with that time? Spent time with my family? Cleaned my house? Called a friend? Exercised? Magnified my calling? Spent time in the scriptures? All of these things are good and wonderful, but these opportunities are missed when I am plugged in.

Often I hear other women say that they only share the good things that happen in their lives. I think it is great that people want to be positive, but I think it is also important to share the heartaches and the sorrow. By sharing the hard things our loads become lighter and other's can learn from our experiences.

When we only share the good and the positive we create a false image that our lives are perfect and that we have it all together all the time. For an onlooker they subconsciously and maybe even consciously begin to wonder why their life isn't a great as yours. This can lead to depression, loneliness, isolation and even personality disorders such as narcissism.

I recently started reading a book by Brene Brown (she gives TED talks on shame and I love her!). In this particular book that I am reading she talks about how narcissism is caused in part by a fear of being ordinary. Who wants to be ordinary? When we constantly surround ourselves with perfectly Photoshopped images of people who are happy all the time and living the perfect life, it's easy to begin to feel ordinary or like you aren't good enough and THAT my friends is NOT a good thing.

I have learned a lot from my little experiment. I hope to be more aware of my time. I want to fill my life more fully with the good things that matter most to me. And I am contemplating sharing more about my trials on the blog. Currently the hardest trial I face is one that has been going on for many years, it involves another person and I don't want the things I share to change the way other people see this person.

Utah Christmas Adventures Part 3

We were hoping we wouldn't get sick on this trip, Bubba, but luck was not on our side. Monday night you were barking like a seal (the dreaded croup), it was bad. I made a midnight run to the store to pick up a cool mist humidifier to help you get through the night.

On Tuesday my ears were hurting a little bit, but I didn't think too much about it. We did take you into the doctor though to get you some steroids to help you breath easier and I wanted to get your ears checked since we were to fly out the next day. Your ears were just fine-- Heavenly Father answered our prayer there.

Daddy asked if I wanted to be seen too and I told him I would be fine until we got home-- that was a decision I would soon regret.

The next day we flew from Salt Lake to Portland and from Portland to Eugene. Papa flew on the first flight with us, it is always nice to have some extra hands. As we were starting our decent into Portland my ears hurt so bad. By the time we were on the ground they were plugged pretty bad. The second flight was worse than the first, the pain in my ears was severe. That evening I could not hear out of my right ear and my left ear was incredibly plugged. I did everything I could think of to get my ears to pop. My ear drums felt like they were going to rupture. I accidentally turned my head to the side and the pressure drained. I don't know how or why that worked but it was amazing!

The next several days were miserable. My airway swelled up, my throat hurt, I could hardly talk and I was coughing up a rainbow. Friday I drug myself to the doctors office. I was diagnosed with double ear infection and an upper respiratory infection that is supposed to last for about two weeks. I can't tell you how grateful I am for antibiotics.

Saturday, Daddy came down with the same thing.

It's been rough, but we are surviving.

The washing machine broke right before we left to go to Utah. We ordered a part while we were gone in hope that changing out the part would fix the problem. We soon learned that we didn't need a new part. Your sock got sucked down a hose and into a motor on the washing machine. I'm sure glad your Dad knows how to fix things.

What was left of your sock.

Utah Christmas Adventures Part 2

We are still in Utah and keeping ourselves busy. There never seems to be enough time to see and do all of the things we want to when we are on a trip.

Monday

We woke up to 8 inches of snow on the ground, it made for the perfect Christmas morning. I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. I feel blessed to have a personal relationship with Him and God the Father. I love that the Christmas season gives us the chance to remember everything He did for us.

Hanging out with Papa.

We enjoyed spending time with Nana, Papa and Uncle Russell. We opened gifts and then took you sledding for the first time, Bubba. You loved sledding! You giggled with delight the whole way down the hill.

Our little sock monkey.

Tuesday - Friday

We drove out to the Uinta Basin to spend time with Daddy's side of the family. We enjoyed playing games, eating at the lodge and spending time with family. On Friday, we drove to Vernal with Uncle Shaun and went swimming at the aquatic center. You enjoyed splashing around the pool! You love the water so much! It was fun to watch you kick your legs. Daddy and Uncle Shaun both went off the high dive.

Spending time with Great Grandpa & Great Grandma.

You liked crawling on this thing because it made it move.

On our way back to the house, we stopped at the high school so Uncle Shaun could sing the national anthem for the school basketball game-- he  did a good job! It was fun to walk around and see where Daddy went to school.

Uncle Shaun.

Daddy's old high school.

Union Cougars.

Where's Daddy?

Saturday

On Saturday we headed back out the Wasatch Front. We stopped at BYU and picked up a few things from the bookstore. Campus has sure changed a lot in the last few years. I wish we had more time to see and explore some of the changes.

Then we headed down the road to see the new Provo City Center Temple. When Daddy and I were newly weds what is now the temple used to be a tabernacle. We attended stake conference in the tabernacle and one winter day in December the tabernacle caught fire and was pretty much completely destroyed. The outer walls of the tabernacle survived along with a picture of Christ, it was burned around the edges. We wondered what would become of this once magnificent structure. We were thrilled when we heard the announcement that it was going to become a temple!

The now temple is simply beautiful! We walked around the temple grounds and looked at the Christus with you. I can't wait to go back someday and do some work in that temple, it holds a special place in my heart.

We ate dinner with my good friend Shannon and her little family. This was the first time I had seen Shannon in over four years. She is now married and has a cute baby boy. It was so good to meet everyone and catch up! I wish that we had had more time to spend together.

Shannon & Mommy- you know you're good friends when you dress alike lol.

Sunday

We spent Sunday afternoon and evening with our good friends Trent and Kirsten and their little boys. Once again, it was so good to see our friends! We stayed up late playing board games and talking about life.We rang in the new year in the car on the way back to Nana and Papa's house.

As far as development goes, you decided to start walking the day after Christmas. You took about 20 steps before you fell. We are so proud of you! At the same time my heart breaks a little bit because you are growing up so fast.

And you also cut another tooth on the top.