What are we doing, you ask?

Posing...

...as first-time homeowners!!

Yup, this beauty is ours!

Life is better than we deserve

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

 - Did I tell you about my Hallmark experiences? We've had several special occasions the last month, so I've made a couple of trips to Hallmark to get some cards. The first time I went in, I put Mattie in the stroller, and hooked CJ to it too. I thought it was a brilliant idea to hook one of the clasps on the stroller, that had about a two foot strap, to one of CJ's belt loops. So the three of us headed into the Hallmark and made our way to the farthest row of cards. If you've ever been to Hallmark you'll know that it's like a library and a museum all in one, what with the hushed whispers as people read cards, and tiny breakable objects within inches of you everywhere you turn. The perfect place for a 1 and a 2 year old, right? First, CJ was trying to pull all the cards off the shelves, and then reaching for the tiny porcelain piano, then trying to walk away, and tipping over the stroller that Mattie was in. So we switched, and CJ got strapped into the stroller, and Mattie got to walk. But it took less than 10 seconds for me to realize that Mattie, who was now the one pulling cards off the shelves, was just as dangerous. So I picked her up...and then had to hold her the entire time (which is getting increasingly more difficult with her weight and her wiggliness). So here I am, holding Mattie, trying to push CJ in the stroller, and trying to get around the way-too-many stands they have crammed into this store (but the stroller wouldn't cooperate because I was only pushing it with one hand so it kept veering one way or the other), and just get to the register. And then the clerk kept trying to sell me multiple things on top of my cards! Couldn't she see I was struggling? Anyway, by the time I left the store, I was sweating and vowing to never take my kids to Hallmark by myself again. 

Oh, but it doesn't stop there. The next week, I needed to get some more cards, and I was kind of in a rush. I had to get the cards that day, and mail them right away so that it would get to their destinations on time. I was already out running errands, and so I stopped by Hallmark again. This time, I parked right in front of the doors, which by the way, the entire front of the store is windows. Anyway, I debated for a minute, but rememberd my last trip to Hallmark and decided that since the kids were totally happy in their car seats at the moment, safe and sound since they can't get out of their car seats yet, and since the weather was nice  and I only needed to go in for a minute, that I would leave the kids in the car. It was overcast with a slight breeze, so I cracked the windows a bit, locked the doors and headed into the store. I could see my car from where I was looking at cards, and I quickly chose what I needed, bought the cards, and headed back out to my car, probably taking about 10 minutes. Yes, you may think I'm totally a bad mom for doing this, and honestly, I'm not comfortable doing it either, but on this day, I HAD to get these cards at this time, and I just couldn't do it again with the kids. Anyway, as I came walking out of Hallmark, an older woman, probably in her 60s or 70s, was pacing in front of my car. As I unlocked the door and began to get into my car, she started in on me: "How could you leave your kids in the car?" she contemptuously asked me. My first thought was, "Ok, how can I handle this in a good way?" So I smiled sheepishly and asked her calmly, "Are you a mom?" She said yes, and so I then asked her to put herself in my shoes. I was about to tell her about my experience the week before, but my comment apparently set her off and she began telling me how irresponsible  I was, and a bunch of other things that I didn't hear and don't remember, because I just got in my car and started to drive away. As I was backing out, she told me she had my license number and was going to report me! 

As I drove home, I didn't know how to react. I didn't know how I felt and whether or not I should cry or shout or apologize. And honestly, I didn't really think I could be mad at her because she was just doing what she thought was right. But the first thing I did when I got home was look up the WA state law. And just so you know, it is illegal to leave kids under the age of 16 unattended in a car IF the motor is running, which mine most definitely was not! So I guess the law was on my side this time. But I do want to put it out there, I would never leave my kids in the car with the motor running, or if the car was unlocked, or if they weren't in their car seats (or could get out of their car seats), or if it was a hot/cold day, or if there was any other thing that might be unsafe. And I also want to put it out there that this is not a regular habit of mine, to leave the kids in the car. I have a feeling though, that even though this was the first time I've been yelled at by a total stranger for my parenting skills, it probably won't be the last. From what I've heard from other parents, it's kinda par for the course.   

- Last Sunday in RS we had a lesson on prayer. One of the things mentioned was that the things that are important to us, are important to the Lord, even if we don't think they are. I liked that. I also liked how they said that anything worthwhile takes work, even prayer. That really resonated with me. So I thought I would prove the Lord a little bit, and pray for my running. I know, may seem silly, but I've felt like I've really been stuggling, both physically, and even more so mentally. So I prayed that I would have a good run, mainly so that my confidence could improve again. And you know, I had such good runs last week! I felt so great as I ran and had a good pace and finish time. And all I could think about as I ran was how the Lord was answering my prayers (which is funny because usually when I'm running I'm just praying to be finished :)!

- Last week Mattie started doing the funniest thing: whenever we're getting her dressed and she's sitting up, she looks down at her belly and starts to pinch and pull at her chub! I do that too, but in the privacy of my own room :). We've got to watch her though, because she's started to make her cute little belly-button red and sore.

- (5/11/10) Mattie started blowing her nose last week! We'd hand her a wipe and tell her to blow her nose and she would take the tissue, hold it to her nose, scrunch up her little nose and blow out. So cute!

- (5/11/10) CJ FINALLY jumped for real last week! For the first time, he was able to get both feet off the ground at the same time. I know it sounds funny, but CJ has always just kinda skipped when he's tried to jump, so we're making progress!

- (5/11/10) And CJ started catching balls last week too. I mean, he caught them before, but his balls-caught to balls-not-caught ratio changed dramatically! Before he was missing most of them and only catching a few, but now he's catching most and only missing a few. Bryce is so happy!

- So Bryce graduated. It's crazy. It hasn't really sunk in yet. The fact that our friends are all gone - you should have seen me weeping like a leaky faucet as we said our goodbyes after graduation - that started to sink in almost immediately. Like when we went to the park later that day and CJ asked if his friend, Brody, was going to be there. Or like when we went to dinner and remembered going there with all our friends. Or when we pulled up to our house and the Adams' cars weren't there anymore. Anyway, that part has already made its sinking way into my heart, but the fact that Bryce is done with law school...nope, hasn't hit me yet. Maybe because he begins his bar review classes in a couple of weeks and it will be just like he's in school again, but worse.

- Mattie is quite the little cleaner. We went to Hu Hot, one of our favorites here in Spokane, with my mom for dinner on Saturday. After Mattie was finished eating her noodles, she decided it was time to clean up. She then spent the next 7 or 8 minutes wiping the area in front of her with a napkin (basically spreading the mess to all the surrounding areas, including on the floor and in her lap).

- CJ kept calling Bryce's graduation cap, "Daddy's funny hat"

- We went to Nordstrom today to look at some shoes for Bryce. While we were looking at their selection, Mattie was looking at herself in the mirror...and she kept pulling up her shirt and seeing her belly-button in the mirror. Then she would find her belly-button with her finger and look down and try to actually see it. She kept doing this over and over and we were just laughing....as we stood in the men's shoe department at Nordstrom!

- Bryce suddenly has an interest in home decor. I'll tell you more about why that is later...

- As we were driving around running errands today, we drove past a Jack in the Box on Division. Bryce pointed to it and told me that was where he got a free lunch, like I was supposed to know what he was talking about. I asked him when he got a free lunch, and he went on to tell me about how one time he went there for lunch and it was super busy. He went through the drive-through, made his order, and when he got to the window, he realized that he didn't have his wallet. He was super embarassed, but the girl working the drive-through seemed to think this was her way of getting in with my hot hubby, because she told him his lunch was on her, as long as he promised to come back when she was working! Can you believe that?! Wow, I guess his good looks can get him more than a wife, but a free lunch too!

Happy Monday!

PARK PLAY

Manito Park is our favorite park here in Spokane. It's close to our house, it's beautiful, and it's upper park is perfect for toddlers and little-little kids. After a day of sitting through Daddy's graduation, we thought it would be fun to take Grandma Forsgren to our favorite place to play.

You will be missed, Manito!

BRYCE'S GRADUATION

Bryce graduated from law school!!

Saturday May 15th was the big day, and it started off bright and early, with Bryce having to be at school by 8:00 AM for class pictures.

Paige's mom came into town on Thursday, and Bryce's parents and sister came over from Seattle and made it to our house at about 8:45 AM on Saturday. When they got there, we packed in the car and headed down to the McArthey Center. The processional was to start at 9:15 AM (but they actually started a little early, so we missed that) and the graduates walked in while a bagpipe band played.

After the national anthems - yes, they sang both the American and Canadian anthems - the invocation, some introductory remarks and achievement awards, the commencement speaker was the Honorable Richard A. Jones, of the United States District Court in Seattle. He was an excellent speaker who really invigorated the ceremony.

After Justice Jones, we heard from one of the graduates and one of the faculty, and then finally got to see what we came for: the presentation of the graduates!

Bryce, up next to get hooded

On a side note, even after Bryce spelled his name phonetically, they still mispronounced his name as "McKee." Oh well. We're used to it.

Shaking the hand of the President of Gonzaga after being hooded

Another side note: the picture quality is horrible because I was trying to take these pictures in my right hand while recording with our camcorder in my left. Thank goodness that guy in the brown jacket - yes, the one taking up the entire shot - took a professional picture that we can buy

After the graduates were all hooded, the dean gave some closing remarks, we had a benediction, and the graduates had their recessional to the bagpipes again, which was really cool.

Outside the McArthey Center, we found Bryce, with his buddies, making their way over to us.

Then came all the pictures. 

First with family. 

 

Then with friends.

(there may be lots of smiles, but once the cameras were put away, there were lots of tears)

Then at the school.

After the ceremony, we enjoyed a nice lunch at Twigs with Bryce's family, an afternoon nap, some fun at the park, and then dinner at Hu Hot with Paige's mom.

Happy Graduation, Bryce!

You did it (like we ever doubted) !!

You're amazing and we love you!!!

PARTY-HARDY

Thanks to the likes of Polly Anderson, the law wives have been planning a great graduation party for months. After lots of preparation (mainly by Polly, and Mauressa and Becca too), we got to have one last hoorah together before graduation and going our separate ways. We waited until the night before graduation so that everyone could be there, and so that we'd have family in town to babysit - yes, we wanted one night together without having to worry about the kids. After Nate shared a few memories that the guys had of law school, the guys all gave each other awards - Bryce received the "Derek Zoolander Best Male Sweatpant Model of the Class of 2010" award - and then we watched a great slide show that Polly put together with pictures of everyone from the last 3 years. After the slide show we took some group pictures, and the wives gave the guys a copy of the slideshow, a book with all the guys' memories in it, and a framed picture of the guys for them each to keep. We spent the rest of the night eating yummy desserts and chatting away. It was a great send off, and the beginning of many more get-togethers to come!

The Wives

Back row (L-R): Megan Arnold, Chelsey North, Becca Adams, Heather Dobbs, Misty Wells

Front row (L-R): Erin Mayfield, Mauressa Juassi, Polly Anderson, Paige

The Guys

Back row (L-R): Caleb Mayfield, Shay Wells, Nick Lemon, Levi Adams, Tyson Dobbs, Taylor North

Front row (L-R): Gage Arnold, Beau Juassi, Nate Anderson, Bryce

MATTIE GIRL

That was a brand new roll too

LAST LAW SCHOOL FINAL

Bryce took his very last final for law school on Wednesday! We wanted to do a little something to show him how proud of him we are, so we made him a candy-gram. And now we've all been sharing in the bounty, so I guess it was a pretty good idea :)

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- I love how CJ says "I luf you" back to us when we tell him we love him! It's the best!

- Why does my son insist on eating the wrapper along with the contents of that wrapper, together? Gum, fruit snacks, even the small paper wrapper on a McDonalds ice cream cone. And lately, if he has eaten something he is not supposed to, like a big wad of gum with the wrapper, and we ask him to spit it out, he swallows it as quickly as he can. I think it's his new form of rebellion. Thank goodness we've been able to get coins and whatnot out of his mouth BEFORE he gets them down. Little stinker.

- CJ loves to make ramps out of things - like our baby gate for the stairs, or the Wii fit stand - and roll things down them, balls, cars, anything that will slide down. He'll play on these ramps with his toys for hours. Maybe he'll be an engineer someday...

- Last week Mattie started walking on her knees. She doesn't do it all the time, but when she does, it's hilarious watching her scoot all around sitting straight up on her knees!

- We found out who CJ looks like last week. Apparently, CJ looks just like his Uncle Cameron (Bryce's little brother), minus the big head. At least, that's what the Gilbert side of the family thinks.

- CJ's at the really awkward in-between stage with his feet. His size 7 shoes are too small, but his size 8 shoes are too big. He has to wear extra thick socks with his 8s or they fall right off. Case in point: last weekend when we were in Redmond, Bryce's parents took CJ to the dog run to walk their dog, JJ. CJ ran off in some field, and when Papa chased him and picked him up, he was mnius one shoe. They searched the field, retracing CJ's steps, but they could not find his shoe. It's probably some lucky dog's chew toy now...

- Grandma's are such spoilers! Because CJ lost his shoe when he was with his grandparents, Bryce's mom, Sheila, wanted to buy him another pair of church shoes to replace the one that was lost. She took CJ to Target while Bryce and Mattie and I stayed behind to finish packing up our stuff to head back to Spokane. When they got back from Target, not only did CJ have a new pair of church shoes, but he also had an adorable pair of red Converse too! Oh, but it didn't stop there...he also had a toy truck, and the movie Cars, along with lots of snacks he picked out. And Gramma Sheila didn't forget about Mattie, even though she wans't even there. Mattie received a little dolly, and a new pair of pink Converse! And then on top of all that, Sheila bought us a movie too, Princess Bride! And my mom is the same way. I go with her to pick out A, as in ONE, birthday gift for Mattie, and we come home with a 3 pairs of shoes, and two toys! Gotta love those grandmas!

- (5/5/10)  I swear Mattie said "baby"! I was changing her diaper and she was restless, so I asked CJ to hand me her small dolly. He did, and then he proceeded to get her bigger dolly and hand it to her. She took both dollies, and I'm pretty positive she said, "baby." I was so excited, that I was repeating it and I got her to say it one more time! But I haven't gotten her to say it since...

- Mattie's known how to wave for a few months now, but she's finally started doing it more regularly this last week. It's great!

- Lately CJ has had a thing for magnets. He likes to push one of the chairs over to the fridge, take down all the pictures, and then radomly disperse the magnets on all sides of the fridge, or pile them on top of one another.

- Sometimes CJ talks to himself - all kids do - but his conversations are conversations he's heard from us. For example, the other day he went to the front door, and as he opened the door, he exclaimed that he was going running and would be back :)

- Mattie has started begging with her hands. When she wants something, she holds both her hands out to you. It's so hard to resist when she looks so cute doing that.

- Started packing a few days ago. Books - check. Decor - check. 90% of my house left to pack still - check.

- For the last few weeks CJ has been doing the funniest thing. When Bryce gets home from school, he tells him to take off his shoes and his coat. And when we go to see Bryce at school and we're in the car, CJ tells him to sit in the front seat, or he'll tell him to drive. It's his precious attempt to make sure that Daddy is staying.

- Mattie is a walking machine now! She finally got the confidence that she needed and she can cross any terrain now: carpet, tile, pavement, grass - you name it, she's got it!

- I learned a new trick yesterday - alcohol gets ink out, even lots of pen scribbles on a couch! I didn't know! So as long as I have a "creative" toddler, I will have loads of waterless hand sanitizer around.

- Bryce had to preform a little surgery yesterday that involved my tweezers, an Icebreakers mint, and CJ's NOSE! Lovely. CJ's fascination with his nose has now gone from picking, to sticking things up there. Good times.

- Bryce and I participated in our first yard sale on Saturday. We only walked away with $22, but since it was our friends, the Adams', yard sale and we just included a few things, 22 bucks wasn't too bad - worth the effort, I guess. All I know is that Bryce and I would be lousy at it if we were trying to actually make some money - we practically gave away our stuff for free! Bryce just keeps reminding me that if we hadn't sold it, that's exactly what we would have done anyway...I'm not so sure (I probably would have kept it :).

- Oh, and would you like to know what happened this morning? I bathed the kids and got them all lotioned up. CJ had his undies on and Mattie had a diaper and they were playing. CJ had just gone potty and they were doing well, so I thought I would jump in the shower. I didn't wash my hair, or my face (already had), so it was seriously only like a couple of minutes I was in the shower. I hurried and lotioned up and got dressed, and then I went in to check on the kids and do my hair in their room. When I walked in they were both splashing in some sort of puddle on top one of the storage bin lids. I thought it might be water, but then I looked over at the sink, and I could tell CJ had not been there. Then I had a sinking feeling of what it was they were splashing in. I felt CJ's undies, and sure enough, they were playing in a huge puddle of his pee! It was splashing on the carpet, on some nearby books, and Mattie was even sticking her hands in her mouth after I moved her away. Oh yuck! I stripped them down again and stuck them under the shower and did a quick rinse with some soap. CJ actually liked the shower, but Mattie hated it! Anyway, as you can tell, it was a lovely morning...

- Get this - this afternoon Mattie was walking around kicking the little Jazz basketball like it was a soccer ball! Maybe we have a future Mia Hamm on our hands.

- I gave Mattie a small box of raisins today, thinking she'd like some because CJ was eating some too. She then proceeded to dump them all out, and then meticulously put them all back in the box, never eating one! She's our little clean freak!

- I've slowly started packing, taking things off the walls, books off the shelves, etc. and CJ has totally noticed, everything! Whenever he goes into a room that has something that's no longer there, he points and asks, "Where'd that go?" or "Where's the books go?" or "Where's the clock go?" or "Where's the ABC's go?" (CJ's monogram that was on the wall above his crib). We just tell him that we've packed it in the boxes to move to our new house, or to CJ's new house, and he says, "New house?" and silently says ok. Who knew CJ was so observant!

Happy Monday!

MY MOTHER'S DAY

Sleeping in

+

A yummy breakfast of french toast, extra crispy bacon, and orange juice IN BED

+

These sweet cards that my kids made

+

Not having to lift a finger all day (including at church :)

+

These beautiful flowers and sweet gift

+

This wonderful note

+

A great lesson on prayer in Relief Society

+

A delicious dinner of grilled chicken, strawberry almond salad, roasted garlic potatoes, and cinnamon rolls THAT BYCE MADE

+

A relaxing evening

=

A WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!

Thank you so much, Bryce (and CJ and Mattie), for taking such good care of me and really making me feel so special! I love you!!

OUR MOMS

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in our lives -

teachers who've guided us, friends who've listened to us, sisters who've cared for us, grandmas who've nutured us, neighbors who've played with us, aunts who've cheered for us, cousins who've influenced us...

but most especially, our moms, who've so selflessly, endlessly, and unconditionally loved us!

We love you and can't express enough how grateful we are for you!!

MESSY MISSY

Mattie sure loves her some ice cream

LAST GIRLS' NIGHT OUT

For our last girls' night, we decided to splurge a little at the Melting Pot. We shared a couple of their desserts and it was super yummy! It was fun to be together, but it was hard not to feel bummed that this was the last time we'd all be together for quite a while. But don't worry, we've already planned our reunion trip - St. George  June 2011, here we come!

Heather, Becca, and Paige

Polly, Mauressa, and Misty

Our cozy table with our yummy desserts

The end of an era

IF CJ TRIED TO PUT ON MASCARA...

...this is what it would look like

And then he'd probably wonder what it tasted like...

THE GREAT MEN IN MY LIFE

With lots of changes ahead in my life, and the lives of those around me, I just want to recognize some of the great men in my life. Unfortunately, I can't recognize them all, because I have 3 wonderful brothers, and 3 great brothers-in-law, and amazing extended family members and friends, as well as home teachers, bishops, teachers, and countless others who have impacted my life. But today, I want to recognize just a handful who are experiencing great changes:

My Dad

My dad just reached a milestone in his life: he turned 75 on May 1st!

Though his life has not been easy, he has always been a great example of perseverance and patience.

I am so grateful for his endless sacrifices for his family and will always honor and respect him. 

I love him very much and feel blessed to call him "Dad"

My Oldest Brother

My oldest brother, Brent, is about to embark on a journey that I can't even imagine: he is about to be deployed to Afghanistan.

In the process he will leave behind 3 children, whom are his entire world, and a profession that he loves.

The loyalty and patriotism that my brother feels for this country is indescribable.

I am so grateful for his sacrifice, and the sacrifices of the men and women he serves with.

I admire him more than words can say.

My Husband

My sweet husband, Bryce, is about to accomplish one of many great things in his life: he is about to graduate from law school.

I am continually impressed by his dedication to his family, friends, church, work, and schooling.

His hard work has paid off, and a new and exciting job awaits him in a new city and a new home.

Thank goodness he'll be taking his work ethic, his integrity, his sense of humor, and his loving family with him.

I am so proud of him and so grateful to call him mine forever. 

My Father-in-Law

My father-in-law just experienced a life-altering event: he was called to be the Stake President of the Bellevue Stake.

When I got married I feared the unknown: my in-laws.

But they have done nothing but love and accept me.

Their continual generosity and sacrifice for not just their family, but their friends, co-workers, neighbors, and even strangers never cease to impress me.

As I listened to their sincere and humble testimonies over the pulpit to the entire stake, I felt such a sense of gratitude for these wonderful people whom I love so much.

I am grateful that I am blessed to be a part of their family.  

MONDAY NIGHT MUSINGS

- A couple of weeks ago we had our first bug experience, solidifying that CJ really is all boy (as if the obsession with puddles, dirt, balls, and outside wasn't a big enough clue). He was sitting in his booster watching tv and I was in the bathroom doing my make-up. I heard him saying, "Ooo! Bug!" so I stepped out of the bathroom and saw him staring up at the light. Right then a bug dropped from the ceiling to the floor. I walked over and saw that it was a little ladybug (so I didn't kill it :). I picked it up and brought it up to CJ's level. He was fascinated with it. I tried to get the bug to go on CJ's finger, but it fluttered back down to the ground. So we got CJ out of his chair, got the bug on his finger, and CJ carefully walked it over to the door. We opened the door and CJ blew the ladybug off his finger and back outside. A couple of hours later when we went to the park, another ladybug landed on the handles of the swing that CJ was swinging on. Of course, he noticed it, but then it quickly flew away. Needless to say, CJ couldn't stop talking about ladybugs for at least two days :)

- When it comes to eating, Mattie is our bottomless pit. She can eat an adult portion of oatmeal, a tube of Go-gurt, a container of baby food (stage 2), and still be hungry after breakfast! And then as a complete contrast, CJ eats like a little bird. We're lucky if we get anything solid in him in the morning. What's worse: an almost insatiable appetite, or no appetite at all?  

- Mattie is getting much more refined in her eating habits. She's not a fan of baby food veggies, but really likes the steamed veggies we eat. And she's gotten to the point where she eats anything we do, from pizza to ramen noodles to even peanut M&Ms. 

- Speaking of eating, did you take advantage of the $.31 scoop icecream at Baskin Robbins last Wednesday? We went with our friends, the Dobbs', and there was a line out the door. CJ ate an entire icecream cone, cone and all, all by himself. And we probably should have gotten Mattie her own because she practically ate all of mine!

- I must say, I'm pretty proud of CJ and his manners. When we ask him if he wants something, he says, "Yes, please." He says, "Excuse me" when he wants to get by us or wants us to move, and last week, we were in the car and Mattie sneezed, so CJ said, "Bless you, Mattie." That's the first time I've heard that one! We're still working on always saying thank you, though.

- Bryce had his last law school class on Thursday. His last classes EVER! I surprised him with a celebratory apple crisp (one of his favorites) and a movie. It was a good night.

- The weather has been horrible this last week, again,  and so my running has really weigned. I'm starting to feel like all the progress I've made is being lost. I've got to get back out there and back into a routine! So I've got to man up and run in the cold rain, or even worse, the wind, if necessary. Ugh. I'll start next week...

- Mattie is finally getting braver with her walking. For the last two weeks, she's only been walking between Bryce and me. But in the last few days she's finally started to take steps here and there, down the hall, between the couches, etc.

- Have I told you that Mattie clasps her hands together whenever we say we're going to pray? It is so freakin' cute!

- I'm obsessed with Starburst jelly beans lately. I've been craving them all week, so I finally went and got some...and then promptly ate half the bag in a matter of a day :(

- CJ remembered this week that he could whistle - his hidden talent that we haven't heard in months! We were so amazed at his ability to whistle as an infant, I'm glad to see that he's rediscovering it.  

- The other night Bryce was getting the kids ready for bed. As he was putting CJ's jammies on, CJ's shirt was off and Mattie kept touching his belly-button and then laughing histarically. CJ didn't think it was funny and kept trying to get her to stop. Bryce and I thought their whole interaction was pretty hilarious.

- CJ has been so loving lately. Mattie gets hugs and kisses on the head all the time, and mom and dad have gotten long kisses. He'll grab our shirts, pull us in for a kiss, and say "mmmmmmmah" for at least 3-5 seconds! And it's so funny to watch him kiss his friends, some of which are not kissers themselves. Maybe some people would tell us to teach him social boundaries, but I feel like it is such a pure, innocent way that CJ shows love, that I want it to last forever. So kiss away, CJ (we'll rethink this proclamation in a few years)!

- Mattie crinkles her nose when she laughs. It's super cute!

- We discovered today that Mattie knows what a dog says! We were at Papa and Gramma's house in Redmond. They have a dog named JJ, and everytime JJ would bark, Mattie would say, "ooh (woof)!" So Daddy asked her, "What does the doggy say, Mattie?" and every time she would respond, "ooh!"

- CJ was outside in Gramma Sheila's backyard with Bryce today. In the corner of the yard, by the deck, CJ noticed a lot of pinecones on the ground. They were the softer, thinner, longer pinecones. When CJ saw them scattered everywhere, he pointed to the pinecones and exclaimed to Bryce, "Poops!!" 

Happy Monday!

TIME OUT FOR WOMEN

My mother-in-law, Sheila, comes from a family of 10 kids, 8 of which are girls! She and her sisters have a great tradition: they get together once a year for a Sisters' Retreat. This year they decided to congregate in Spokane during the weekend of Time Out for Women, and Sheila invited me to join them. It was my first Time Out and it was my first Sisters' Retreat too! I had SO much fun getting to know the Gilbert side of the family more, and being spiritually uplifted by exemplary righteous women! Thank you again, Sheila, for a great weekend!

L-R: Becky, Paige, Sheila, Kelsey, Lori, Jeanie, Michelle

The first session of Time Out for Women was Friday night. Half of the ladies were exhausted from traveling and shopping all day, so they headed back to the hotel. The few of us who went to the session were starving afterwards, so we headed over to Olive Garden. The place was pretty empty...probably because

 it was like 10:30 PM! We had fun making a ruckus!

L-R: Sheila, Paige, and Kelsey Mackay

After a late night at the Olive Garden, the Saturday morning session of Time Out for Women came too soon, but it was worth it, especially to hear the accounts of Mariama Kallon, an African convert from the war-torn Sierra Leone. Her faith and dedication were amazing! Every speaker had something that I needed to hear. I left the sessions recognizing that I need to stop comparing myself to others, I shouldn't be afraid to try new things because it will give me a chance to rely on the Lord, I need to make prayer more of a priority in my life, I would like to develop some unique family traditions, I need to look backward when faced with challenges because the Lord has given me small challenges in the past to prepare me for the big challenges in my future, I need to be more obedient and will be more happy, going to bed earlier will help me solve several things I struggle with, and I can become a great woman by serving simply.

It was a great session and I can't wait to go again next year in Seattle!

Can you tell what Mattie is doing here?

That's right, she's doing double-time with her binkie and sippy cup!

She's gonna be a tough one to break that binkie habit!

We're not ready yet...