My neck is a pain in the neck!!

I have had a pinched nerve in my neck since Tuesday and it is really starting to get annoying. Here it is Saturday and I am still dealing with it. One would think things would be back to normal by now but alas, I am not normal so normal is not my normal. Although I don't think anyone is truly normal when you think about it. I have gone to the Chiropractor twice and have done tons of stretches and taken almost an entire bottle of Motrin but the pain remains. It is still hot to the touch. I tried taking muscle relaxers but I don't think it helped much. The worst part is I can't carry my baby. We are big baby wearers in this house and Iyla is used to being close to me for a good part of the day and sitting on my lap is just not cutting it lately. I think she is gone on baby strike, she is wanting daddy ALL the time now. When he is not home she crawls around the house saying "daa daaaaa daaa daaaa" It's kinda cute but she used to be all about mama!!

Also this week we finally got our garden planted. It looks really nice and I will post pictures when I can sit at the computer for more then a few minutes. I sure hope my neck is going to get better soon. It's such a pain in the neck!

My Three White Dresses

In my life I have had three white dresses that have been the most important. My blessing gown, baptism dress, and my wedding gown. I feel so blessed to have these dresses. Not so much for what they are but for what they represent. I found this video on You Tube about the 3 white dresses and wanted to share it with you.

20 thing you never knew about me and never knew you wanted to!

1)My favorite scent is Lilac. So lets just say my nose is in heaven this time of year

2)I collect crystal. I don't have a very big collection yet but if you ever come over for dinner, at least one of my pieces is bound to make an appearance

3)I am afraid of Dinosaurs. I know it sound silly but I can't even watch the land before time with having nightmares for like a week!

4)I never make my bed. (unless my mother-in-law comes to visit!)

5)My secret dream is to be a ballroom dancer. I don't know if it will ever happen but who knows!

6)I don't have split ends. Call it a gift from God but split ends have never been a problem for me and thank goodness, I would hate to have to deal with that. Sorry if you do.

7)I was not popular in high school. Although nowadays I have many wonderful friends, back then I had few close friends but mostly hung out with the Librarians.

8)I can make a camp fire with one match. Thank you girls camp!!

9)I enjoy being pregnant. It has some ups and down but on the whole, I really do enjoy it.

10)I don't do dishes! My AMAZING husband does them for me. I help out sometimes but Jacob likes doing them and likes helping me. Now if I could only get him to wipe the counters when he's done...

11)I hate chocolate. It just tastes funny to me, but I love hot Cocoa, go figure!

12)I don't like walking downstairs. I fallen down flights of stairs enough to know I don't want to do it again. I always have to watch my feet as I am walking downstairs.

13)I am left handed. That might not sound to interesting but try cutting with left handed scissors! The world was not made for people like me!

14)I LOVE my mother-in-Law. I hope you believe me because I do. I feel so blessed to have such an amazingly capable, talented woman as another mother. She must be amazing, she raised my eternal companion!!

15)I was a twin. My mother miscarried my twin while she was pregnant with us. Could you imagine a world with two of me. Sounds pretty awesome huh!!

16)I cut Jacob's hair. My mother-in-law taught me. I know they look totally professional! Let me tell you it has saved us so much money in frequent hair cuts. And besides, I think I do a pretty darn good job if I do say so myself!

17)I can change a tire. It is a skill I have had to use many times and every time I am so glad I know. If you don't know how you should learn. I'll teach ya if you like!

18)I can read DR. Seuss books without getting tongue tied. It is a skill I have honed ever since I started teaching. Bella loves Dr. Seuss books and I really like reading them fast because it makes her giggle!

19)I like reading the opinion section of the newspaper. even though I don't ever talk about politics I like to read about others opinions. I especially like the letters to the editor. Maybe someday I'll be brave enough to write a letter myself.

20)And last but not least I can sing opera, It is not my favorite style of music but I can do it. I took lessons when I was in High School.

And there you have it, 20 thing you never knew about me. I hope you can all make your own lists. I love getting to know people better and I hope you all know me a little better now too!

Bella's Birthday Party

I just realized I forgot to blog about Bella's birthday party. Bella's party was comparatively smaller then in years past. The theme was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" The story starts out "by the light of the moon, a little egg lay on a leaf" So that is what we based the cake on.










For the activity we had the kids paint wooden butterflies to hang on their bedroom door knobs.

The decorations were simple and we had a great time in the sunshine

Bella got some really fun presents. She is having a lot of fun playing with all of her new toys. It was a great day for all. Happy birthday Bella!

More Big Iyla News!!

If crawling was not enough, This weekend Iyla's long awaited first tooth came up. She has had the hardest time getting it to come up. It would go up and down repeatedly. I was begining if Bella would be losing her baby teeth before Iyla got any! I love all of these milestones. Babies are awesome!!!

Iyla Crawls-Caught on Tape

I finally caught Iyla crawling and thought I would post the videos for you all to see. Or camara is always so dark when we make videos so Jacob is holding a lamp so was can see her ok. Enjoy!

4 Years Down... Forever to Go!!

Well, today is our 4th Anniversary. I can't believe it has been 4 years. I have to say I am the most blessed person to have such an amazing husband. He takes such good care of me and our children. We have had our share of ups and down like all married couples do but through it all we have gone through all of it hand in had together as a team. I love being married! just a few of the tings we have experienced during these 4 years are

• a miscarriage,





• the death of a Jacob's grandpa,





• death of a good friend of mine from High School,





• losing his job when I was 5 months prego with Bella,





• giving birth to Isabella the Iyla,





• vacations to Utah,





• My sister moving away then coming back and moving away again then coming back and moving away again!!





• My mother's failing health.





• Jacob's moving up so quickly in his company!!!

I could go on but that is life for us, the good, the bad, and the amazing! I can't wait to be with Jacob forever!!

Happy anniversary Honey!!!

Happy Birthday Isabella!!

Today my sweet Isabella turns three. It has been such a fast three years. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter. The journey we have taken thus far has been an exciting to say the last. Bella is so funny and charming and just a bit crazy. I wouldn't have it any other way!!

This is a picture of me prego with Bella.

When Isabella entered this she was a very sick baby. her first few days of life were spent in an incubator. Labor was really tough and I ended up having an emergency c-section after pushing for 6 hours. We both had an infection and had to stay for an extended amount of time. It was worth it and we were able to bring home a healthy, happy baby.

We blessed Isabella when she was 4 weeks old. She wore the same blessing gown I wore when I was a baby. My amazing mother saved it all these years.

Isabella's 1 year was full of the usual milestones but she thought she would do as many as possible before she turned 1. Ever the over achiever she was not only walking but running had 8 teeth, could talk in small 2 to 3 word sentences, was completely off the bottle by 10 months and could already hold a crayon and draw a picture! This picture is of Bella at her 1st birthday party.

She is in the process of devouring her birthday cake.

The next year went by at lighting speed. She continued to grow and develop and bring joy to our family. By her 2nd birthday I was prego with Iyla but we still made sure Bella's party was really fun!

This past year we have watch her become her own little person. We have done preschool and loved it and Isabella became a big sister! Iyla just adores her big sister and Bella can make her laugh louder then the rest of us!

Bella is in Gymnastics and loving it. She is a veteran of Nursery and loves play dates with her friends. She is a great little kid and I am so glad she's mine!

Happy 3rd Birthday Isabella!!! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much!!!

And She's Off!!!

I received the greatest Mother's day present today. Iyla crawled today for the first time!! By the time we got the camera she was tired of doing it. But I will catch her soon. After we all cheered and clapped and cried (just a little) Jacob lamented "Oh no, now we have to pick up EVERYTHING!!" I had to laugh. So fun watching our girls grow!!

My thought on "Spare the Rod Spoil the Child"

I was reading in the Bible and came across this scripture, Proverbs 13:24

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him
betimes.

Most people think it means if you don't hit your kid, you are a bad parent. Well, I happen to feel differently. I am so glad that I have additional knowledge and understanding. Most people think of an actual rod to beat your child with. But like so many things in the bible the rod in my opinion is referring to a special rod. this rod just happens to be made of Iron! It the Book Of Mormon we read about Nephi. He was a very righteous son of Lehi. Lehi told his son Nephi about a dream he had about the tree of life. Nephi, wanting to know more about the dream went to the Lord in prayer. Nephi had a vision in 1 Nephi 11:25 it states

And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

As we learn in this scripture, the Iron rod is the word of God. So if we replace the word "rod" with it's meaning "the word of God" the bible verse would read "He that spareth the word of God hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.



Now when we look at the the word chasten we learn the meaning of that word is, according to the Cambridge dictionary

verb [T usually passive] FORMAL to make someone aware that they have failed
or done something wrong and make them want to improve:

When deciding how we would handle discipline in out home Jacob and I decided even before we were married we would never physically harm our children (as we both were as children, me more then him) but try to find a way to use positive discipline and teach out children with love and respect, not fear. If I were to strike my child when she does something wrong, she might not do it again. But the result of her obedience is more of my concern then her actual obedience. When she thinks about re offending will she not because last time she was hurt by her mommy and she is afraid of being hurt again; or will she not because she learned not to because I told her not to and wants to obey me because she love me and respects me.



My most important goal as a mother is to raise my girls to love the Lord and follow his teachings. I can only do what I feel is best for them and leave to rest to the Lord. I can not force them to do what I want but I can teach them there is consequences for their actions, good or bad. If you disobey mommy or daddy you will go in timeout and miss out on whatever fun thing you are doing. If you help mommy and daddy or clean up you mess you will get hugs and kisses and praise for a job well done.

I feel so blessed this mother's day that I am a mother and have the joy of raising these 2 amazing spirits. I only wish I could endeavour to continue to be worthy of the blessings the give me daily.



My goal in blogging about this in to share my opinion, not to judge anyone for there parenting style. This is just what we have found that works well for our family. I have respect for all parents. Raising up the next generation is not easy. Happy mother's day to all!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB!!

My Darling, Amazing, Wonderful Husband is having a birthday!! Happy Birthday Sweetie!!!