I Can't Help Myself!

Sometimes I simply can't help myself and I have to share all the joy my children bring to me with you!

Left: Aaron putting on Daddy's sunglasses for him. Center: Aaron sharing his fruitsnacks with his cars. Right: Under that pile of "blankets" you will find a car that is now "warm" ... no wonder we run out of babywipes so fast...

This morning, Aaron came to me and said, "Mama, come to the couch." I went and saw that he had laid out a pillow for me. He then said, "Mama, lay down," and proceeded to cover me with a blanket. "Mama, you warm? Ok, go to sleep Mama. I snuggle with Mama." Well ... who am I to argue with that?

We cleaned the playroom today so Aaron had a blast playing - in fact, I thought he was in his room napping but I came to find he had shut himself in the playroom and was quietly playing :)

Aaron made Audrey some "chocolate milk" 

 A lady bug made it's way through the hole in the screen and after some coaxing, we got it inside. Aaron was so gentle and just let her crawl all over his hand. She kept flying off him to the window so we let her go. Aaron was sad to watch her fly away, but I told him she was headed to see her family. This made him happy ... I apparently wasn't wrong because soon there were three lady bugs on the window for him to watch!

Thoughtful Friends

People at Precoa are always thinking of our little family ... they periodically send Eric emails with fun ideas for the kids and they bring in things that they see and think we would enjoy for Eric to bring home :)

Shelley has sent home some fun hats and cups for Aaron!
Quynh sent home a gorgeous bookmark and magnet for me!
Leslie is always finding cute things online and sending Eric links!
Martha brought in the cute cars/legos table that Aaron plays with daily!
Jana brought in a bunch of cars and some cute tents for Aaron to play with!
Kathy brought in cute boxes - a car and a house - for Aaron to play pretend in!

Last week, Eric messaged me asking for Audrey's height and weight. Figuring he was showing off how small she still is (still in newborn size clothing) I sent the information and didn't think much about it. But yesterday, he brought home this adorable beauty made by Sharon at work. I honestly don't know if I have ever seen a more adorable coat! It has a gigantic hood that shields her eyes from light. It is reversable and super warm! I love it!!!

We appreciate every thought that is sent our way!!! Thank you to all of those who think of us and love us!

Cutest 'lil Pumpkin

Aaron Shares, Audrey Stares

Aaron loves to share with Audrey!

Aaron also loves to take pictures. He has started mimicking me when he plays "photographer."

He comes over and says, "wait wait" as he moves my legs or turns Audrey's head.

He says things like, "just one more minute," "just one sec," "please stay calm! relax!"

The other day, Aaron popped his head out of his room while he and Audrey were supposed to be napping. He was saying that the baby was crying. He usually informs me when Audrey cries, and she wasn't, so I told him he needed to go back to bed. But he insisted, so I went to see him. He had his baby, Ella, in his arms. I asked if he meant Ella and he said, "she crying. she sad." I asked why she was sad and he said, "she hungry." I asked how we could help her feel better and he said, "maybe she need to eat? get baby food?" He wouldn't go back in his room until I tracked down the pretend milk and juice for his baby.

He is so thoughtful and caring! I love him!!!

3 Months!

This little bundle of joy turned 3 months old on Thursday ... WHAT?!? I can hardly believe it!

We have moved Audrey out of our room to share with Aaron and it is working out great! She goes down around the same time (between 7 and 8) as him and eats once during the night to then wake around 10

(unless Aaron gets excited and wakes her around 8:30-9 when he gets up).

Audrey is still mostly in newborn clothes. 

The newborn pants are too short, but anything a size up is way too big around for her! 

She is still so good natured!

She is always happy and it is beyond easy to make her smile :) She even smiles for Aaron, which he loves!

Captain Phillips

The weather has been a little crazy lately. It has been freezing but sunny and this weekend is supposed to be cloudy but warm ... hmmmm We have been making the most of it though.

Tonight we went to see Captain Phillips. Eric's parents took the kids again and Aaron was so excited, we got ready a bit early... It ended up working out perfectly though. He wanted to go immediately but I informed him we had to wait for Audrey to wake up (if I simply said we can't go for 20 minutes he wouldn't understand)... so he promptly went upstairs and woke her. So the rest of my preparations were centered around Audrey which made me thankful for the extra time not having to get Aaron ready :)

We saw the movie in the GXL theater at Cinetopia. The movie was quite amazing and we definitely enjoyed it. But at the end, it left me feeling like a non-contributing, lay-about... They show the amazing heroes - the navy seals and helicopter pilots and people who put their lives at risk to save others... and here I am living in boring old Oregon sitting in my comfy house all day. I started thinking about Doctors Without Boarders and all those other amazing organizations that go around the world helping people while I simply live my own privileged life... This started to drag me down.

But then I remembered ... I remembered thinking about my purpose. I remembered how the spirit has led us here - that this is where we are supposed to be, right now. I am not supposed to be serving in Africa or be a member of the military. I am where I am supposed to be, where I can learn the most, and where I can make the biggest difference. This brought me immense comfort. There is a plan for each of us, and each plan is different. Certain people are made for certain things and no one calling is greater than another. I can magnify the world around me just as strongly as others in other occupations, I simply need to put my heart into what God has given me.

Scripture Thought

I have discovered that for me, the best time to read scriptures is while feeding Audrey. There is nothing else I can really be doing at that time (I am glued to the my seat) so why not read my scriptures? I often sit and ponder afterwards and today I had a particular thought and just ran with it.

I was reading D&C 23. In this section, several people asked Joseph to pray and ask God what their purpose and role is in the church and in life ... The Lord graciously gave them their answers. Explained that they are pretty much awesome and then informed them of their purposes. I started wondering, what is my purpose? What is my reason for existing right now...

• I of course thought of these two little monkeys:

Aaron pretending to sleep in the swing we pulled out today and Audrey actually sleeping in the swing... Aaron also paraded around today with a purse saying, "Where are my keys?"

I need to teach them. Help them grow and develop in a way that is pleasing to the Lord - in a way that will help them be the best that they can be and to help them then go forward and make the world a better place.

• I thought of Eric and his job and how I support what he is building.
• I thought of my dance teaching and the lives I hope to change through that.
• I thought of my brother being on his mission and the increased need I now feel to find people for the missionaries to teach and to feed the missionaries (not that we didn't feed them before, but I have a feeling we will feed them more ... have food in the crockpot and cupcakes made for them tonight!). I have never actively searched for people for the missionaries to teach or prayerfully pondered how to share the gospel with my neighbors. This is all new to me and I feel the desire to do it! So, Eric and I are thinking on a FHE lesson to share with those who live close to us.
• I thought about my calling in the Young Women's. While I don't work very closely with the Young Women themselves as I have an administrative role, I can make the job easier on those who do.
• I thought about Visiting Teaching. We are actively teaching 2 of our sisters, but one is hard to get in contact with. Am I trying hard enough? What more can I do for this sister and for the others that I am teaching? How can I better anticipate their needs?

Anyway - these were the thoughts that I had today while rocking Audrey. I figure, if I don't write them down somewhere, how am I supposed to remember them?