Blogging again...

So, I'm going to try to write more often again. My Praxis is behind me (except for the score), which I spent obscene amounts of time studying for, and which took me 40 minutes to go over and answer all of the questions twice. My husband told me if he'd spent anywhere near the amount of time studying that I did, his college GPA would have been a 4.0 =) But the test went well, even if the administrators were ridiculously unorganized.

After the test on Saturday, Timothy and I attended Calista's 2nd Birthday party, where lots of fun was had by all. Especially the birthday girl, who I think managed to sneak at least 5 cupcakes from under her Mommy's nose. Here are the cute friends, enjoying the good food. =)
















Since then, a heat wave has hit us. Temps were in the 90s for 4 days... in April! It didn't help that we're on the 4th floor of our building, with no AC, and heat rises. We were pretty miserable, and spent as much time as possible out of the house -- at the library, the park, houses of friends with AC -- so were able to manage during the day.

At playgroup yesterday, Timothy discovered "bubble flowers" and amused himself for a good 15 minutes with a field next to the playground. He even brought some flowers to the other kids (mostly girls) so they could blow the flowers too. So cute! Here's some of his "little house on the prairie" shots... =)



































Anyway, now that the weather has blessedly turned, and I feel human again, I have lots to catch up on: Cleaning, blogging, finding the desk... So hopefully I'll be able to post more often. I'll try anyway. =)

It's Officially....

Another boy! The ultrasound was quite conclusive. Timothy is getting a baby brother. He seems pretty happy with it. Or at least with the pictures. Check it out. =)



The ultrasound place was really nice. I hadn't been here before, and they were very thorough. I came away with 14 pictures, 4 of which were in 3D, so we got some unique shots. I was quite impressed

We're excited to be having a healthy baby boy. I am a little sad that this great blanket pattern I found will have to wait, but mostly, we just wanted a healthy baby. And I think the boys will grow up together well. I did make a joke about 1/2 a hockey team to John...

Anyway, here's some of the shots. For more of them, you can check out our flickr page. Enjoy!

Easter Sunday

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why then are they then baptized for the dead?" -1 Corinthians 15:29

As we have been approaching this Easter Sunday this particular verse of scripture has been weighing heavily on my mind. Growing up, Easter Sunday was always a bit of a miff to me. I always wondered why it changed days. Why we got pictures taken with a bunny and what in the world was up with the Easter baskets (although I love the peeps that come in my Easter basket every year, including this year...thanks Margaret!)

It seemed to me that we went to church on Sundays because that was the day of the week that Jesus rose from the grave, so why in the world did we need to have one special day to celebrate this, instead of remembering, every Sunday, the victory that Christ had over death.

This year, as I have said, this one verse has weighed particularly heavy on my mind and on my heart. As I have thought about it, I've begun to realize the full meaning behind this one very powerful verse of scripture.

Not only did Christ rise from the dead, gaining his victory over death and hell, but his rising has ensured that we, too, will one day rise from the dead and be united with our Heavenly Father and with our families.

This verse is the basis behind a lot of work that we, as members of the LDS church, do in the temple. Without the resurection of Christ, all of our work that we do in the temple would be in vain, for we could have no power over death. However, as Paul argues in 1Corinthians, not only has Christ risen from the tomb, but because of his ressurection, we too, can have the victory over death.

What a comfort to know, that as our loved ones pass away, this world is not the end. We have the bright hope that one day we will see them again. And this time they will not be confined to the weak and frail bodies that we have seen so many struggle with while on this earth, but rather in a perfected state, walking the streets of glory, singing with the chorus of angels, and seeing the Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer face to face.

I think that this year, for the first time in my life, I've begun to truly understand the special spirit that Easter brings. I am so thankful for the gift of my Saviour, and the sacrifice he has made to allow me to have the victory over death.

Bye-Bye Baby Locks....

Well, I finally did it. I buckled down and gave my son a big boy haircut. It shouldn't have been that traumatic, but I guess I just wasn't ready to let the baby look go. He looked so cute with it! (See "before picture...)
The decision was taken out of my hands, however, when the scissors became a source of terror anywhere near his head, and I had to resort to clippers and bites of snack to keep him still enough to trim.

So, here he is, big boy cut and all. Even though Mommy will miss the baby locks, he still looks cute, and will probably be a lot cooler this summer... =)

Ups and Downs and a growing boy

So, these last two weeks have been full of ups and downs... Weather, health, Timothy, my panic level...

First, we had a huge snowstorm (for this area at least) right with the beginning of March. The area got between 3-9 inches. We were right in the middle with about 5 or 6 inches. Timothy had grown out of his snow clothes already, and I wasn't feeling that well, so we didn't spend a lot of time outside. But the little time we did spend outside was thoroughly enjoyed by our little man. He figured out really quickly how to pelt Mommy with snowballs, although most of them weren't this big. =)



Then, by Friday, it was 70 degrees. Which Timothy really enjoyed. As did I. Timothy went all over, and I sat and enjoyed the fresh air and the sun.

We made several trips to the playground, even as the weather cooled back off. We're back to winter coats today, but just 5 days ago, it was in the low 60s. On that day, we went to a playground with lots of fun things to do. There was a playset for the little ones, and one for the big kids. Guess which one my little man wanted to play on..

Yep, that's right... He climbed this thing all by himself. Followed closely of course by an anxious Mommy. He didn't fall, barely even hesitated. But I think I'm starting to understand how my mother felt when her 18 month old son climbed a tree in the front yard, and was level with the attic before she could get him to stop. They just have no fear...


























In other news, We're all finally recovering from this nasty cold. John's wasn't too lingering, and Timothy is doing okay, but considering my immune system is lowered for pregnancy right now, and I can't take anything over the counter, and I was out of all my Shaklee vitamins, it's been pretty miserable. I have Shaklee now though, and seem about to kick this cough. Yay!

Oh, One more thing... My big boy is all about growing up these days. He's flat out refuse his porridge, and this morning, pushed it away, pointed at mine, and said "that". Much to his excitement, I relented, and gave him some wheat puffs in milk. He did really well, and is very proud of himself. Here's a few shots to enjoy: