Feeling Blessed

I was singing to my sweet girls this evening and had a strong feeling on how blessed I truly am.  At times I look at my life and think "why can't I have this or that?" the this or that changes with my mood but it always seems to be something that appears greener.  But tonight I just thought "Boy am I one lucky momma!"  Here I have 2 very sweet little girls that bring so much joy in my life and I have a wonderful husband that is working 2 jobs sometimes the equivalent of 3 jobs just so that I can stay at home with my children.  He never complains and always is happy.  Yes there is a lot in life that would be nice but not needed for my happiness.  One of the things that brings the most joy in my heart is when I see Abigail smiling up at her big sister Baylee  and Baylee smiling down on her sister, the love they share makes me so happy.  I am so glad to be their mother and feel like the luckiest mother every to have them in my life.  If Jon and I never have any more children then that is ok because we have been blessed so much already, and if the Lord sees fit to bless us with more children we will welcome them into our home with eagerness! 

Picnic Fun

Baylee and I were having a picnic and Abi was feeling better after a few days of being sick so she got to join us.  She sure loved the chicken!  She knew right what to do with the food that was handed to her, it went right to her mouth.  Her favorite was the chicken and hot dogs. 

My Girls!

 

 

 

 

 

These girls keep us busy but they also keep us laughing.  As soon as Abi wakes up for the day Baylee is begging to hold her.  She will hold her and talk to her and sing to her and even when Abi is done and crying Baylee wants to hold her and make her happy.  Abi is getting to a point were she handles her big sisters craziness a lot better.  Abi loves to eat Baylee and Baylee thinks it is great!  At bed time Abi joins us in Baylee’s room as we read Baylee as story, do prayers, and sing one of Baylee’s favorite songs which is fast becoming one of Abi’s favorites as well.  When it is song time Baylee scoots over in her bed to make room for Abi. I will lay Abi next to Baylee and Abi turns on her side so she is facing Baylee and they hug with huge grins on their faces while I sing.  I love moments like that.  I sure hope they continue to have that kind of love and friendship as they grow older.  I know that the age gap will create some challenges but I sure hope they can over come that.  These two girls are the joys of my life!

Baylee’s Room all finished!!

Here is What we started out with.  A basic light tan almost white wall and then we added some color!!

But that still was not enough for us!  We went one step further and added some fun! 

The empty space above the dresser will have a picture of the temple there just have to get it first.

We are loving the way this turned out! 

Our Getting Ready for Christmas Adventures!

So this year we decided to get a tree just for Baylee to decorate and the crazy momma that I am thought oh it would be a blast to make all of the ornaments for it!!  Some of the days I was thinking “What the heck am I doing!” but for the most part it was fun and Baylee really enjoyed it and that was the whole purpose.  We started the adventure out by borrowing an air pop popcorn popper.  Baylee had never seen popcorn made any way other then the microwave that I know of and she was really interested in how this thing worked and thought it was great when the popcorn came popping out.  After we popped as much as I figured we would need for our popcorn garland we let it sit out for a few days to make it easier to string.

While we waited for the popcorn to be ready we worked on the star for the top, I was so busy helping with this project that I didn’t get any pictures of us making it but here is a picture of the finished project, It was fun to see Baylee be creative with it. She was so proud of her star she couldn’t wait to put it on her tree.
After a few days we began work on the popcorn garland,  I have never strung popcorn so I didn’t know what to expect but it was a lot of work but fun in its' own sort of way.  Baylee really loved to do it and was really good at it. Every piece she did she would remind me that she was not going to poke herself so that I wouldn’t worry. 

Next we had to move on to the ornaments.  I had big plans for this, we cut up oranges, limes,lemons, and apples and put them in the dehydrated to let them dry our, well only the oranges really turned out all that great, I think I will try grapefruit another time.  Then I found a recipe on line using Applesauce, cinnamon, and allspice to make ornaments.  It was kind of messy but smelt so yummy when cooking.  Baylee and Grace got to help with the cutting out part and thought that it was fun.  After they sat out and were dry all the way Baylee and I spent fHE putting the finishing touches on them with lots of glitter.  Baylee loves anything that sparkles and had so much fun sprinkling glitter all over.  I am sure that I will be finding glitter for months to come all over this house.

Christmas ornaments VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I tried to squeeze each of these activities into times that Abi was asleep but she did get in on the decorating part.

The Final Product!!!!

That smile made all the work wiorth it and I can’t wait to keep up this tradition with both girls as they grow.  It will be so fun to come up with new ideas for decorations that we can make! (we do have a real and much bigger tree that Jon and I decorated this one is just for Baylee)

Beans by Candlelight: Quick & Easy Bags!

Beans by Candlelight: Quick & Easy Bags!: Quick and Easy Bags! I have a small bag that I use for my scriptures and everyone asks where I got it,(Which was at a yard sale...

These bags are very cute and my cousin gives a great tutorial on how to make one. hope you all enjoy!!

Oh how she grows!

Abigail Brynlee joined our family 3 1/2 months ago and boy is she growing!  It seems like everyday she is learning something new.  She loves to lay on the floor and just play! She will lay there and talk for almost an hour if she is left alone by Baylee.  She loves when Baylee talks to her and sings to her.  If we are in the car and Abi is crying Baylee will start to sing A Child’s Pray and sure enough Abi quiets down and falls to sleep.  I love that my girls are getting along so much better now.  Abi looks all around when she hears Baylee’s voice trying to find her big sister and when she finally spots her she gets a huge grin on her face. 

Abi’s love for her big sister is not the only thing that is changing.  She has to be sitting up watching what is going on around her most of the time.  She sits in her Bumbo and smiles while she watches cartoons with her sister or she will sit and watch her sister dance around the room for her.  I am sure that she is thinking about how fun it will be when she is big enough to join in the dancing. As Abi gets bigger her legs are getting stronger and she wants to stand a lot so I pulled out her Jonny Jump Up and she loves it!  She will just stand in it and look around unless she is chewing on it.  Right now everything that can go in her mouth to be chewed on gets chewed on. 

Jonny Jump Up VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

As I said earlier that everything goes in her mouth, because of this reason her love of kisses has grown.  When ever I lean into her to give her a kiss she will grab my hair, earrings, or face to pull me closer and hold me down while she tries to eat me.  She has a favorite little zebra that gets kissed  tons. She grabs a hold of it and brings it right to her mouth and coos while eating it. 

Oh how we love watching all the new things that Abi is learning!  We sure love this little girl! 

Halloween Fun!

With all the stuff going on this month Halloween kinda snuck up on us.  Our ward put on a great party with carnival games fallowed by a trunk or treat. It was on a Wednesday night so Jon got to join us this year. It was a lot of fun having him there. He dressed up in his cowardly lion costume, Baylee was Cinderella, and Abi was a lady bug which she hated having on. With all the craziness I did not manage to get any pictures.  Baylee loved going around to all the different activities.  Abi slept through the whole thing.  There was a Haunted Alley at the party and Baylee wanted to go in so we sent her in with a group of little kids.  I hurried to the end so that I could see her face when she came out and to be there to comfort her if she was really scared.  When the door opened I see my sweet niece almost in tears looking for her mom and then at the back of the group I see my daughter almost laughing as she walks out.  She did not think it was scary at all.  It is funny how some kids find things scary and others don’t.

Saturday we went over to Lori’s house and worked on pumpkins,  everyone was carving their pumpkins but since I had Abi and she had not been feeling well I had Baylee just paint hers and she loved it.  She was so excited about it and still enjoys looking at it sitting by our front door.  We ended up going Trick or Treating(which I wasn’t planning on since Jon had to work and Abi was sick) with Lori and the girls and Baylee had a blast!  I am not a huge fan of Halloween but I am so glad that we have these kinds of traditions to create wonderful memories for my girls!
While we did pumpkins Abi for the first time that day actually laid on the floor and played happily!!

Halloween Fun! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Abigail's Blessing

One of the things that was the hardest on me during our struggles to have children was whenever someone blessed their baby. That day always seemed to be the hardest Sundays. It was once again a reminder that Jon would not ever get that opportunity. Yes he got to bless McKenzie and Vanessa in the hospital but that was different because he only gave them a name and not a blessing. Baylee was blessed before we even met her so we did not have that opportunity with her either so it was one thing that still hurt a little. Now don't ask me why it was so hard because in the whole picture it is just a little thing that is not really that big of a deal to miss out on but for some reason it was hard for me. So needless to say I was super excited about Abi's blessing. She wore the same dress that she was sealed to us in. She looked beautiful. Danielle who was taking pictures for us at the temple could not come up to the blessing and Abi was done for the day after the temple so we didn't get any pictures of her by herself in her dress. I really wanted some cute pictures and so I asked Danielle when she came up the next weekend for our annual cousin day if she would take some. So in an already crazy weekend we decided to cram in some pictures. We remembered to do this the last night we were together and right before it got dark so I hurried and threw Abi in her dress and we headed out on a chilly night to get a few pictures in the yard. Boy was Abi not happy about this. It is hard to tell from the pictures but she was crying most of the time. The grass was cold but she w didn't seem to mind when we laid her down in it. I have to say that I am very happy with the way they turned out! I am so happy that we were able to get a few great shots to capture this important event.

Greatness of October continues

One of the great joys of adoption is that you get the opportunity to take your children into the temple and be sealed for all time and eternity! It is so wonderful to have your children dressed in white in the temple with you! We looked forward to this date with great anticipation and when it finally arrived we enjoyed it with all of our loved ones. I do have to laugh because during the sealing Abi cried the whole time which I figured she would do because she hates to have her hand held. Oh well it was still so wonderful. Thanks to all those that came and supported us!

All of our loved ones that where with us on this special day

Our Eternal Family(minus our angels)

Me and all of my girls(teddy bears represent McKenzie and Vanessa)

Thanks Danielle for taking such great pictures of our day!

It is official!!!

The next exciting thing that happened to us in October came totally unexpected. In the adoption process there are several milestones that you look forward to because each one means you are closer and closer to being done with the process. One of those milestones is the court date for finalization. We were planning on this taking place sometime in November possible the Beginning of December. For emotional survival purposes you put this stuff out of mind knowing that you have hired a great lawyer to take care of it so you don't have to worry about it. Well my phone rang one afternoon and it was the lawyers office calling to tell me that all the paper work had gone through and they were able to get a court date scheduled for us. At this point I thought wow that was fast! Then my next thought was so when in November is it going to be? Dove(lady from lawyers office) then proceeded to tell me that the date was October 13th! I thought for sure that I heard wrong so I repeated it back to her and she confirmed it. Wow!!! That was fast!!! That was only a week away!!! I ran out to Jon in tears to let him know. We immediately started talking about sealing dates(more to come on that) and calling family to let them know. On October 13th we got our little family dressed up and went before Judge Gary D. DeMeyer where after some questions were asked we signed and he signed that papers that make Abi ours legally! I know some of you are thinking she has always been yours, and yes she has and we have felt that way about her way before she was born but there is something about having in on paper. For those who have not adopted it may be hard to understand but for my many friends out there who have gone through the emotional roller coaster of this process you can understand my excitement of having it final!

With Baylee's adoption when we finalized our lawyer asked the judge if we could have a picture with her so we did, and I wanted that with Abi as well. It is nice to see the people who have been part of the process, anyway our lawyer was not able to be in court with us and sent someone else who has never done and adoption so I knew he would not be asking this for us. The judge was very intimidating at first and I thought "oh no we will not get a picture" but I got brave and at the very end asked and he was more then willing to take one and I am so glad he was! Now we can show Abi who helped make it happen when we tell her her story.

The Big 4!!!

The month of October has been a very exciting and busy month. It started out with a bang! Baylee turned 4 on the first of the month! I can't believe she is 4 already, she has grown so much. I was watching some video of when we first got her and can't believe how little she was. She is a little girl filled with personality. I love it even though at times it can be very difficult to deal with. Right now she is always busy dancing and playing with whatever friend her mind can come up with. You never know what little friend will be joining us that day because it is constantly changing. She likes to change her name as well and makes Jon and I call her by the name she chooses. Most of the time it is Genivive(hope I spelled that right but don't think so) off of the 12 dancing princesses. She loves her little sister and can't get enough of her so she is constantly waking Abi up from her naps to play with her. She is really into ice cream cones lately so we decided to give her an ice cream party. I made an ice cream pinata, and we had ice cream sundaes with lots of different toppings to choose from. It turned out great. I think she loved that fact that she got stuff for her birthday so now I hear "I get that for my birthday mom" everytime we go to the store. If she wants something she tells me to get it for her birthday.




The pinata broke off the string so we played pinata baseball. Clara was the one to break open the pinata! She is a great little baseball player.

I am so thankful for this sweet very opinionated child. She has been a real challenge but so worth it. Yes we go head to head about almost everything but there is nothing better then when she crawls up next to me and wants to cuddle or wants to help me in the kitchen or read her a book. She knows what she wants and knows how to get it yet she loves to give and gets excited when others are happy. I love how excited she gets when her daddy comes home and how she asks him for a strawberry lemonade every night even though she never drinks them. I love to listen to her sing "I love to see the temple" and get every word right. I love everything about her and am so thankful that I get to be her mom. Not a day goes by that I don't look and her and am amazed at how much I love her. I never knew that you could love someone so stinking much! I am excited to see what new adventures come our way this next year with Baylee!!

Camping!!!!

This past weekend we went on a camp out with my family. I was a bit nervous to take a one month old out camping but Abi did great! It was not as bad as I anticipated and we were all able to enjoy time with family. As Jon and I were loading up the truck for our adventure Baylee decided Abi needed some help on looking cute and put her hair band on her. Abi was a great sport and didn't even fuss about the fact that she couldn't see out of one eye.

We had to get a picture of Abi wearing the outfit that her Uncle Kortney had picked out for her. The onsie says "my mom doesn't want your advice". I think she looks super cute in the hat that Grandma Karen made. If you look closely you will see Uncle Kortney sticking his tongue out, he and Abi both seem to like to stick those tongues out.




Baylee enjoyed running around playing with her bigger cousins. She had a blast swimming in the pool and was all for the water balloons that Grandma Karen brought for the kids. They grouped up into teams and played a balloon toss. It was fun to watch the kids just enjoy being cousins. I am very glad that Baylee and Abi have lots of cousins to spend time with on both sides of the family.








It was chilly at night so we had to bundle Abi up nice and warm and she was not a fan. She did not like having the hat on at all, but boy did she look cute! I loved how she looked all bundled. She fits in great with our family she was a great little camper! She loved the fire and loved to be outside looking around. She even did well at night. Mama on the other had did not do so well at night and ended up spilling formula at night and not realizing it had gotten all over the tent until the next night when the tent stunk!! Baylee did great camping and was so worn out at night the she would fall right to sleep. I knew that Baylee was a sleep talker but boy does she talk and move at night. She would end up yelling out for Jon or I at random times during the night and when we would try to find out what was wrong she would be snoring away. I also woke several times to find her in the strangest positions and still moving and talking away. I am so glad that she sleeps in her own room so that I don't have to listen to all the talking at night. We had a blast and can't wait for our next camping trip!