latest creation...

This afternoon I sewed together my first bag!! It is a gift for a friend who just had a birthday. (so if she reads this before I give it to her oops!) I have never made anything like this. I saw a bag by Amy Butler that had similar colors and I just loved it. I didn't have time to order the pattern on line, so I did it with out a pattern. I think it turned out great considering I am a first timer!

we thank thee O God for a prophet...

June 23, 1910-January 27, 2008

I don't even have words to adequately express how I am feeling at this moment in time. The moment I heard the news that my beloved prophet President Gordan B. Hinckley had passed away my eyes immediately filled with tears.

When I was little then President Ezra T. Benson was really ill and hadn't spoken in conference for many years. When he passed away and President Howard W. Hunter was sustained as prophet I remember how I felt as I listened to a prophet of the Lord for the first time. When he passed away just a few short months later I remember where I was when I heard that news. I was in my math class in Jr. High.

As Travis and I talked tonight about how President Hinckley has changed our lives many thoughts came to my mind. He has been the prophet of my youth. The prophet during Travis' mission. The prophet for the 7 1/2 years of our marriage. The prophet that our children have learned about and love. They know his name and picture. We have decided that for Family Home Evening tomorrow we will tell the kids about what has happened and talk about all of the wonderful things President Hinckley has done.

I remember watching the funeral broadcast when Pres. Hinckley's wife passed away. He spoke so beautifully and recited a poem that he wrote years earlier. As he spoke I tried to write every word down but couldn't. I ended up trying to look it up. His talk from the May 1988 Ensign entitled The Empty Tomb Bore Testimony contains that poem. (Click HERE to read the entire talk.) His poem spoke to my soul and I thought it would be appropriate to share it with you.

What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
’Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch Thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change
With recompense for victory won;
The gift of Him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.

What a wonderful man he was and is!! At this time my soul sings out the words: "We thank thee O God for a prophet. To guide us in these latter days..."

cute faces...

Sticky faces, bath time... precious moments that will soon be gone.

magical websites...

I just added some links to a few of my favorite websites on my blog.

First is Shutterfly. A friend of mine sent their Christmas card that she ordered from Shutterfly and I thought it was so cute. I checked out the site and loved all of the choices. I have already made a calendar for Travis' office and a 5x7 book for my mother-in-law. It was so easy to make and I love the styles. FUN!!

Modbe Clothing. If you are like me and looking for some modest yet cute clothes check this company out. They run kinda like Avon where you order from a consultant near you, or on the website. I bought a swimsuit from them last summer and I love it!

Mormon Share is a must for me with my calling. I have been our wards YW Pres. for about 2 years. This website has the most amazing handouts, activity ideas, FHE stuff, primary talk helps etc.. You want it, they have it. The best part is it is all FREE!!

Your Heart Out is a website I just ran across on someone else's blog. Now...I am totally hooked. It is a blog that reviews tonz of local shops, restaurants, and has posts with all sorts of fun things that are happening around the Wasatch front. Just a quick breeze through and I had a list of 5 places I wanted to check out. One of which is just down the street from where I live. So fun!!

Family Fun is a site I discovered when trying to come up with an idea for Noah's last birthday party. He wanted a jungle birthday. I was trying to come up with games and stuff that wasn't too babyish, but not too old. This site had everything from ideas for the invitations, 5-6 games that were so fun, a cake to die for, to super inexpensive decorations. I love this site!

I will add more when I come across them, so just check to the bottom right for more.

it's just oatmeal...right?

This mornings breakfast was the worst ever! We were out of milk and so I made a bowl of instant oatmeal for each of the kids. Bailey has oatmeal every morning anyway, so she just gobbled it up. Zach likes oatmeal and he ate his quickly too. Then there was Noah! He hates oatmeal! We had an episode once before where he gaged, and cried, and threw a tantrum. But this was about a year ago, so I figured he might handle it a little better and just get it down. Boy was I wrong! What a disaster! Along with the gagging, crying, and tantrum we also had the pressure of getting him done and out the door to catch the bus to school. I was not very patient! He was being so dramatic that I insisted he finish every last bite! Mean mom right? The poor kid! When I dropped him off at school and watched him walk away I was almost in tears. Oatmeal was not worth what we both just went through. I am considering it a lesson learned!! Next time I'm making toast!

hey I want a turn!...

So after the many comments about how cute Bailey's video was Noah came up to me after dinner tonight and said, "Mom take a video of me. I have some really funny faces. You could even put it on your blog!" He can be really silly sometimes and loves attention. He is my wonderful big boy!

So this post is for my sweet Noah Balboa!

caution...don't cut while cranky...

On Monday night Travis asked me to cut his hair. He came home really anxious about a big presentation he had the next day and wanted to look his best. He was a little cranky from his long day and demanding about the hair cut, and wanted it done right after the kids went to bed. In response I crankily went down stairs and got out the clippers. I usually cut his hair about 1 inch on the top and about 1/2 in on the sides using the preset clips. I got the clips out and put what I thought was the 1 inch clip on. Travis sat down and I ran the clippers through the front of his hair. "Wow!" I thought, "that sure is a lot of hair coming off!" It only took one more pass through his hair before I realized that I had the 1/2 inch clip on instead!! Travis could tell by the look on my face that something was wrong. Oops! I started laughing! I know that probably wasn't the best response given our cranky attitudes from moments before, but I couldn't help it. We ended up needing to buzz his whole head at 1/2 inch to fix the mix up. I think I laughed through the whole haircut. Although Travis didn't laugh at all! I felt so bad! He looks fine. It really doesn't look that different. I think he looks nice! Travis thinks he looks like a turtle! He even came downstairs after his shower and laughed about it too. Sorry Honey!

conversation with a 2 year old...

Every night Travis and I take turns either putting the boys to bed or putting Bailey to bed. A few nights ago Bailey was really talkative. She was going on and on about the dentist. We went to the dentist like 2 months ago, but for some reason she was talking like we had gone that day.

She is such a joy! We have little conversations like this one all the time. It is always fun to get a small glimpse into what is going on in her little 2 year old mind!!

books...

So most people who know me know that I am addicted to children's story books! I worked for Deseret Book for about 4 years and was over the children's department. Needless to say when we got married I had several boxes already. Having children of my own has just given me more of a reason to keep my book buying habit up! The kids have grandparents on both sides who like to buy books for them as well, so we have quite the collection. My newest favorite is one that we bought for Zach for Christmas. In November I took the kids to a little play put on by my cousins BYU elementary ed. class. One of the girls had this book memorized and recited it all in a southern accent. Zach loved the story. He laughed through the whole thing. Much to the delight of the college class. (My kids were the only kids there) When we got home I told Zach that he was my stinky face. He said: "I'm your stinky face and you are my stinky face." I know it is a weird term of endearment, but you will understand when you read the book. I highly recommend it! They also make more like "Stinky face goes to school," and "I miss you stinky face." I think we might just have to collect them all!

Here are some more of our favorites:



It Could Always be Worse is fun to read with an accent.
Watch Out! The perfect book for anyone with a busy, active, not so good at listening child.
We love all of the Wombat books. They have different authors, but the illustrator is what we love. Charles Fuge. The pictures are just adorable!

happy new year...

Wow! I can't believe that it is a new year! I took down my 2007 calendar and put up my 2008. I have kept all of our calendars since we have been married. I know it sounds weird. As I was putting my 2007 one away I looked back at some of the things that we have done over the last 7 years. From the count down to the birth of each of our babies, building two homes, various church calling meetings, doctors appointments, to the daily hum drum stuff it always amazes me how much we do in one year. I sat and looked at my virtually blank 08 calendar and thought what will this year bring?

One thing that we are going to focus on as a family is emergency preparedness. Both Travis and I have felt a need to get our family ready. We don't have anything!! We have decided that instead of the various gifts that we buy each other for birthdays, mothers day, fathers day, anniversaries, valentines day, etc... we will take that money and buy stuff for 72 hour kits. I was talking to the boys about our plan and explaining that instead of gifts for their birthdays they will get to fill their own 72 hour kit backpack. They were actually excited! They will help pick out coloring books, and small games. I guess it is all in how you spin it with kids, but it was great to see them get as excited as I am. I have even found an office emergency kit that the kids and I can put together for Travis for father's day!

Can you tell I'm excited? Anyhoo, I just thought I would share one of our resolutions for the new year. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!