Battle wounds

Moving is only for the brave of heart. John has had it rough. He may have fallen out the sunroom window onto the driveway 4 ft below.....

Playing like it's his job

I'm in love with this busy boy! ....most of the time... Especially when he plays like it's his job.

Boxes boxes everywhere!

I'm trying to see packing like a game. Have to find the right box, the right size that fits the right stuff. And then I have to add it to this mountain.

Date night

We have committed to having date night once a week. Sometimes that means that after John goes to bed we turn off all the electronics and stop cleaning and working and just spend time with each other. But it also means that we go out more regularly. It is really fun to get ready to go out and do something exciting together. This has truly enriched our marriage and blessed our relationship. There is nothing like regular date night to light the fire in your romance. Even when times are busy, or maybe even especially when times are busy it is so important to keep our relationship fresh and happy by spending time with each other just us as adults, spouses,  lovers, friends.

This picture was from our date night a few weeks ago.  We checked out Trader Joe's for the first time, we went to Barnes and Noble and bought a book, we sat down at a table outside the bookstore and we played a terrible game of chess. Yes it was my idea. I don't know why I thought I would have gotten better at this game with no practice… Seth kicked my trash! And we enjoyed a lovely drive together of our favorite neighborhoods around Chagrin Falls and Chesterland. We love it there; it is so beautiful!

Date night has really helped us to understand each other and to communicate better. It also just helps us to love each other more and do things for each other that makes the other feel loved. Like when Seth let me sleep in on Sunday and take care of John, and made me breakfast, and wrote me a love note, and left it in the fridge for me. And when Seth writes notes for me on the bathroom window like this one.

It is wonderful to be loved! And it is wonderful to love! So All you married people out there, commit to date night, spend time with your best friend and spouse, and light the fire of your romance again!

Healing Power

"The healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it removes our burdens or strengthens us to endure and live with them like the Apostle Paul—is available for every affliction in mortality."
—Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2006 general conference

Yes, we are still alive

I know it has been a long time since my last post, so much has happened! We went to Virginia on a family vacation with the Shepard's for a week in June, my sister Ashley stayed with us for a week, and my sisters Claire and Martha also stayed for a few days. Then Seth's sister Lani and her six kids came to stay with us last weekend. We have had so much fun being with family! Pictures forthcoming. 

I have also really felt a connection to my Cleveland ancestors as we are closing this chapter in our lives, I have been finding them at cemeteries all around Cleveland, it is amazing how much history my family has here.

We have also been busy bees packing and preparing for our move in two weeks. It is amazing how much more difficult it is to prepare for a move when you have a toddler that needs constant attention! My hat goes off to all of the mothers and fathers out there, especially my own! We moved quite a few times and moving with seven kids cannot be easy, when it is so hard with just one toddler. Seth's sister Kristina, and his sister Lani (and their families of course) are also moving very soon, it is a big transition time for our family! Seth's brother Jacob is getting married in August, and we are headed to Houston in a few weeks, after we move.

John will turn two at the end of this month. He is the smartest little guy I know, he is just bursting with new talents and abilities. He is really learning so many words very quickly. With all those talents and abilities comes the frustration of not being able to fully express himself, or to do everything he wants or explore anything he wants. He is very into things that are dangerous, like scissors and knives and box cutters. And although it seems to break his little heart, I can't let him play with those… 

John has not been getting the undivided attention that he so craves, since I have to at least spend some time packing and preparing for our move. It is really hard to let him watch TV every day, but there aren't really many options right now. And I tried to have him watch movies in Spanish, so he's learning right? I just have to keep reminding myself that after we move and get home from Texas things will start to settle down and we will get into the swing of our new life.

John is definitely into his terrible two phase. I never thought that such a sweet little angel could have tantrums like he does sometimes. Tonight was the worst tantrum I have ever seen him throw. We had a code red dinner time meltdown! John really just wanted to eat cornbread, and he didn't want to eat anything else, and he didn't want us to break his cornbread up into pieces, he just wanted to shove the entire muffin into his mouth in one bite which would have been serious choking hazard. Oh the crying and the screaming! Then we just decided to give it up, and we let him go free, we thought he was just playing in the kitchen, but then he came out with some cornbread that he had snatched somehow off the stove. He came out with such a smirk on his face. You should have heard the screams when he didn't get to eat at all. It seems like there is no point in reasoning with a toddler, he can't really understand half of the things that we say anyway, no matter how logical or fair we are trying to be.

Then while we were cleaning up dinner we turned around and John had somehow gotten to his bowl of chili and dumped it all over the dining room floor. It is kind of hilarious and being a parent.

It is so wonderful to have such a supportive husband to be apparent with me! Seth was so nice to immediately give John a bath, while I cleaned up the chili. 

John is truly a sweetheart 75% of the time. I am thankful for those times, because my patience really wears thin the other 25% of the time. Stepping away and do you put breathing is really helping me to keep my cool with him. Instead of dwelling on the times when he hits me or pulls my hair or steps on me, I am trying to remember the sweet and gentle moments that we have together. Like the time on Saturday, when John said his first prayer. He repeated every word after me "Dear Heavenly Father, We are thankful to be a family. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Well, he didn't say Amen, he said "down?" Because he wanted to go down and run away to play. But he was pretty close!

Happy Independence Day! 2014

Seth made us a delicious pancake breakfast to celebrate the Fourth of July. We made sure to have our blue and red all accounted for. Although we didn't have any white… We ran out of bananas. 

John and I had some fun playtime out in the yard while Seth finished up some assignments to prepare for MBA school. Our neighbors left out some chalk, which John began trying to eat, so I thought it would be good to teach him that those are actually for drawing on the sidewalk. So we got our creative juices flowing and drew a flag.

The Star-Spangled Banner By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation! Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! Last Sunday, at church my friend Cicely gave a beautiful talk about our country, she recounted the tale of how the Star-Spangled Banner was written. And she brought to our attention that there isn't only one verse. Intrinsically, I knew that but I think I had forgotten. Then she had our other friend, Anne Evans, sang the first verse of the Star-Spangled Banner. She sing it a cappella, and everyone in the congregation stood and listened with their hands over their hearts in reverent silence. It was truly a beautiful moment. Then at the end of the meeting, we sang the last verses of the song while we stood. I was truly struck by the fourth verse, I think that if we as a nation paid more attention to what our national anthem taught us, we would all be a lot better shape. The fourth verse of the anthem teaches us that we need to put our trust in God, he was the creator of the earth, and he made it possible for our nation to be created. He inspired men to create it so that we could enjoy the freedoms that we do. He is our maker and he is the highest power that we can look too. Instead of taking God out of the United States, I pray that we will all look to him for the source of our strength, for he is the one that gives us all of our freedoms.  I am thankful to be part of this country, and I am proud to be an American. I am grateful for all those who have made it possible for me to be here at this time enjoying the freedoms that I do.