Sami's Baptism

The best part of 2015 for our family was Sami's baptism.  I am a little late in posting about this, since it happened before Christmas. But since this was the highlight of our year, it seemed appropriate that this be my last post of 2015.

Sami was so, so excited to be baptized and waited in great anticipation for her big day. 

It was such a special day, surrounded by family and friends.  

My mom works in a department store part time in Nebraska and found this beautiful dress for Sami. I found this coat a few years ago at a yard sale and have hung onto it, waiting for baptism day. 

Sami looked so grown up and so beautiful. She literally brought me to tears. 

 

 My mom did a fancy braid in Sami's hair. 

The baptism was early on a cold, Saturday morning. We got up early and got there early, and that in itself was a miracle. We were able to have family pictures. 

 It was such a special experience for me to get to help Sami get ready for her big moment. 

I am so proud of the girl that she is. She has really tried to be obedient, say her prayers, read the scriptures, and learn the gospel. Of course, her testimony is young and she will continue her whole life to grow and learn, but this is a great start. She truly wanted to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

This picture just touches my heart. I am so pleased with Sami's choices and Jonathan's choices. I don't think Sami can appreciate how special it is to be baptized and confirmed by your dad, but one day she will. 

 So many special people were at Sami's baptism. Both Jonathan's and my parents were there. Aunt Tami was there from Arizona. Neighbors and friends came. But the most special visitor was her birth mom, Becca. Becca and her husband, Preston, and their baby, Colby, came all the way from California to be at Sami's special day. It was a huge sacrifice for them. It meant so much to Sami and probably even more to Jonathan and I because we understand the hardship financially and physically of coming this far and with a newborn. 

But Sami will look back and I hope she never forgets how much her birth mom loves her and how much she has sacrificed for her. Again, maybe it's one of those things that we don't really "get" as children, but one day, she will. And I think it will mean so much to her.  We love our Becca. And Preston, who gets smothered every time he visits us. And sweet, chubby Colby. 

For me, it was the perfect day. To have Sami so beautiful and sweet, and to be surrounded by people we love was perfect. 

There are so many people who could  not be there in person, but we felt your love for us as well. Our dear friends in Arizona, Missouri, and Omaha. For friends and family all over the country. (If you are reading this, then that's you, for sure!) Thank you, all, for what you have done for our family. For teaching Sami, being a good example, sharing your love and friendship. It has made all the difference and we thank Heavenly Father for you. 

We are so proud of our Sami girl and her choice to join the church. 

Good things keep on coming. 

Merry Christmas!

We had one of our best Christmases ever this year. 

And interestingly, it was one of the smallest, as far as presents go. 

Before we moved from Omaha, I had two big yard sales and I sold stuff still unopened from the Christmas before and things that they never even played with. I decided I wasn't going to do that again. I was going to give everyone 3 presents and Santa would give them one. I also set a very small strict budget for the girls and I stayed within it. 

I tried to get the girls things they would really want: books, art supplies, dress up. And then in their stockings they got little make-up things, some chocolate, and more art supplies. 

 All three girls got these "super girl" outfits and they all love them, even Sami. I thought maybe Sami would say she was too big but they are in them all the time, fighting the "bad guys." I love it. 

After we opened presents, we shoved snow for a couple of hours and vowed to get a snow blower before next year. 

Then we made a ham/scalloped potato dinner for our neighbors, the Lazos, and Jonathan's dad and his wife, Aloma, his brother, Gregg and Gregg's girlfriend, Alice. It was really fun. 

I am grateful for Christmas. For the great family memories and fun.

But mostly, I am so, so thankful for the blessings of our Savior. I love Him. My life is so richly blessed, not only because of my family but because of my knowledge of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Merry Christmas 2015!!

Happy 7th Birthday, Janie!!

Janie is our best Christmas present of all time. She never complains that her birthday is the day before Christmas. In fact, she likes sharing her birthday with Jesus. 

 She is such a bright light in our family. She is loving and kind (most of the time). She really tries to be obedient. She tries to make us happy, which is great but we often remind her that her job is not to make everyone happy. 

 She is getting really good at reading and is starting to enjoy chapter books. Sami gave her her favorite chapter book and Janie was so excited to get it. 

 She still loves frozen. 

 And she almost every "Fly Guy" book out there and is a huge fan. 

 She gives the best hugs ever. 

Other fun stuff about Janie:

-She loves stuffed animals.

-Her favorite food is macaroni and cheese, both the blue box special and homemade "healthy" kinds.

-She has promised me that she won't grow up or stop cuddling or move out of the house.

-She asks for cuddle time every day.

-She loves all things girly: lipgloss, clothes, shoes, hairbows, etc.

-She is an artist at heart. She loves all things art, does art everyday, and covers our walls with her creations. 

We are so, so blessed to have Janie in our family.

We LOVE you, Janie girl!! 

Polar Express

On December 19th, we took the kids up to the Heber Creeper to ride the Polar Express. 

It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it. It really helped us get in the holiday spirit. 

 We did a lot of singing and the girls got the isle and danced with the "elves." They had a blast. 

 Lucy was a stinker during the train ride back and she lost her stuffed animals until after Christmas. But you can't tell from this picture. 

 The highlight was when Santa boarded the train and passed out bells. All the girls enjoyed this but Janie was freaking out she was so excited. It was fun to see how much she got into it. 

 Janie's hair didn't look like this when we boarded the train. This is how much fun she had. And you gotta love that toothless smile. 

I don't know if we loved it enough to do it every year, but I am glad we got to do it this year. 

Happy 8th Birthday, Sami!!

Sami is turning 8 on Tuesday and is getting baptized on Saturday. 

I can't believe how time has flown! She was a baby yesterday. Time is every mother's lament, I think.

We have lots of family coming for Sami's baptism so I decided to write a little early, since I know it won't happen if I wait until Tuesday. 

It's hard for me to express what this girl means to me. She is such a gift from heaven. I love being her mom. 

She is sweet and spunky.

She takes forever to get for school in the morning. But thankfully, she loves school and is doing really well. 

She wants to grow up. She told me she wants "teenager stuff" for her birthday, like jewelry and lipgloss. She has a "crush." His name is Max Munk. He is in her church and school class. He is a great kid, but I am ready for crushes already? No. No, I'm not. (Which is why Jonathan has told the girls he will pay them $1,000 the day they graduate high school if they don't' kiss anyone before they graduate.)

Sami loves kids! She loves being around people and friends. She loves to talk. 

Sometimes this love of talking gets her in a little trouble at school. We are working on it but it is just so much a part of who she is. I love to talk too so I can't get too upset by it. 

Sami is fun.

She is always coming up with fun ideas. Having a lemonade stand. Playing a game she has made up. Hosting a yard sale with the toys downstairs.

She also likes to be in charge, which can be challenging but I think she will be a great leader when she grows up.

Sami is a bright light in our house. She reads her scriptures and loves church. She gets ready for church without us asking her to. She prepares family home evenings for us. I am so thankful for her example to all of us, especially her younger sisters. 

Sami, I hope you always know how loved you are!!

She is so excited to get baptized. 

We are so proud of her. 

Love you, Sami girl!!

All She Wants For Christmas Is Her Two Front Teeth

This was a huge week for Janie.

Her two front teeth have been wiggly forever. 

She pulled one out herself at school. Then Jonathan pulled the other one out that night. So she lost her two front teeth on the same day! 

She was so excited.

The tooth fairy left her some extra treats for getting two teeth out in one day, like gum and chapstick, plus the money. Not to mention an extra big certificate.

 And then yesterday Janie came home with another front tooth missing. The one next to her front tooth on the left. 

The poor girl can hardly eat with three front teeth missing! It's more like gnawing. She has food all over her face from trying to bite it with her side teeth.

But boy, is she cute!!

Halloween 2015

I figure I should blog about Halloween before we get to Thanksgiving. 

I really enjoyed this Halloween. There is something so nice about Jonathan being home every night and on weekends. It makes things more fun. 

Lucy had a fun, little party at her preschool. I got to be there and help out. Man, her preschool teacher is organized. I got tired just watching her.

 Just a little side note here for later. I was at the girls' costume parade but didn't get good pictures, hence why there are not posted. When I got Lucy to the car after the parade, there was a note on my windshield that said I had a flat tire. I was so thankful for that note so I didn't ruin my wheel. I called AAA and they had someone out within 30 minutes to fix it. While that was going on, a lady from our ward saw my car on the side of the road and offered to take Lucy so that she could play and wouldn't be stuck in the car. It was all around miracles! (Although at the time I super frustrated because it was Halloween at school and I had a ton to do. Hindsight is a blessing.)

Okay, back to Halloween. 

Janie was a super cute pirate. 

 Lucy switched up her costumes. For her school party she was a "good little witch." That's what she told everyone. But for trick-or-treating, it was Tinkerbell. 

 I love Sami's Pocahontas costume. She loved all the accessories and so do I. Can someone please make her stop growing up? I am getting hives just thinking about it. 

 Love, love, love my girls!!

 Jonathan got in the Halloween spirit this year. He painted his face and the girls LOVED it. They thought it was so fun that he "dressed up."

 We went trick-or-treating with out neighbors. It just sort of happened. We opened our door and they invited us into our group. I really, really love our neighborhood!! 

In addition to all this fun, our friends Brandon and Whitney Hale and their kids came over for breakfast on Halloween. It was a perfect day. I truly cherish this time in our lives. I don't ever want them to go away. 

Mom's Visit

Life has been crazy here lately.

Our basement flooded about a month ago.

It was a lot of water, so much that we were very alarmed.

We called our realtor and she called the realtor of the people we bought the house from (who happened to be the seller's brother). They said they never had water problems. The neighbors disagreed. Two neighbors told us on different occasions that there have been lots of water issues in our house. One neighbor said the sellers put fans on when it rained and she could smell the must when the previous owner opened the door after a hard rain. The other neighbor said that they house had had issues for a long time, since before our sellers moved in. 

There was nothing on the seller's disclosure about water problems and we feared the worst (black mold/foundation problems). The sellers told us we were on our own, that it wasn't their problem. And so did our broker. We opened the walls and found that water had indeed been a problem for a long time.

So we got a lawyer. We just wanted them to help pay for the repairs, and we would even work with them on that, but they refused. 

It's been so stressful. (Ironically, we found the water damage on the day we closed on the house with the bank.)

BUT. We did get the repairs finished yesterday and I am so happy to know the mold is gone, the repairs should take care of the issue, and that the girls can play/sleep down there safely. 

Now we are just waiting to hear about the lawsuit, we are hoping the sellers will just settle, but who knows. 

Jonathan's clinic officially opens tomorrow. This has also been stressful. They were supposed to open on October 1st, but there were problem after problem. There is a lot of work going into opening a new clinic. Thankfully Jonathan wasn't on his own, his partner and his wife did almost all the detail work. We are excited for his commute to only be 30 minutes each way, rather than 90 minutes each way. I am praying and praying that the clinic will be a success. 

My mom came to visit us this week and that was fun, especially for the girls. 

Mom is moving in with us on December 10th. We are making plans on where she will be and she brought a load of things with her. She helped me out a ton with housework and watching the girls as I worked with the contractors on the basement and tried to help put up pictures at Jonathan's clinic. It was just nice to have her around. 

She bought each of my girls a pumpkin for carving. They loved it!

 Mom also let the girls have corn dogs and fruit salad outside one night. Jonathan and I were going out on a date and they were excited for us to leave so they could have fun with Grandma. 

In spite of all the things going on here lately, I do feel Heavenly Father's love and for that I am so, so grateful.  I know that I am truly, truly blessed. This past month has been hard for me and I have felt sorry for myself, wished we hadn't moved here, etc., but then when I am still, I feel Heavenly Father reminding me that I so blessed and that these are small things in the grand scheme of things. I need to be patient, and have faith, and remember that we are here to face difficulty without losing faith and becoming bitter. So I am still learning and growing and thankful for the truly blessed life I have.