"Thank You for Trash"

Those four words came out of Kallie's mouth last night as she was saying our family prayer. Kids say some silly things but I don't think I had ever heard that one before. Kallie is a sweet girl but I can't say trash is something I am particularly grateful for. (It stinks and is sometimes the not funnest chore to take care of.) It took everything and more not to laugh, yet Kori and I both still did. I am pretty sure she was just looking around the room when that popped out because she said "Thank you for cups" too... like three times. Either way I started thinking about it probably more than what you would say is reasonable. Now I guess you could say that I am thankful for trash too, and I have said it, just not in those words. I would like to share two types of trash I am thankful for.

1. The trash that we have in our garbage cans.

When we have trash in our garbage cans that means we have been blessed temporally. For instance the empty bread bag and an empty shampoo bottle means that we have had food to eat and a nice warm shower. How can we not be grateful for that? I really like being able to shower and eat, as I am sure all of us do. I know I have shared my gratitude for those things. (Especially for a shower after camping).

2. The trash or trials we have to overcome in our lives.

One of the first things I think of when I hear the word trash is something that stinks. Sometimes life is trashy and stinks. Sometimes we have trials and things that are not very fun to take care of but that's kind of the only way we grow. And just like the trash in our garbage cans shows that we have been blessed, trials can do the same thing for us.

Trials and trash sometimes come and we don't expect it, well probably most of them come when we don't expect it. I have had my share of trials and I am sure I will have many more but I honestly can't imagine my life without those hard things. Because of some of those trials I found my husband who is the biggest blessing I have been given in my life. If I wouldn't have gone through hard things I wouldn't know the good things. If I didn't feel sad or burdened, I wouldn't know happiness, peace, and freedom.

There are so many different trials people can go through and I am grateful for the ones I have had. I have seen some pretty sad, difficult, and heart breaking things that many of my friends and acquaintances have had to go through and it amazes me how much stronger they become and happier they are once they have overcome and made it to the other side of their struggle. I can't imagine having to go through some of those things and I am even more grateful that I have been given the trials I have had because it is what was best for me. Each of us are given different trials because the Lord knows each of us so intimately that he knows what we need, what will make us stronger, better and happier. The thing is, we have to let him help us. We can get through anything as long as we let the Lord help us. Of course it isn't always easy. It's not meant to be. Sometimes letting him help us is the hardest thing to do during a trial. Maybe letting him help us is the trial, but he will always help us if we allow him to. Trials are there to build us up, not bring us down.

Lets be thankful for all the different kinds of trash in our life.

Here is a little video of Kallie! I am grateful for the trash we had after we made our treats! ;)

Some Thoughts on being a Mom of Two

I haven't posted for a little while. Well actually it has been over a year and a half, oops. I decided that I need to keep a journal better and this is one way to do it. I am at a time in my life where there is so much happening and I don't want to forget about all of it. Plus blogging is something that I can do for myself. Which is probably what this post is going to be about, well and about my beautiful family too.

So I recently became a mother of two. It's kind of surreal.

Two kids is a lot fun and a lot of work. They are about 21 months apart so you can imagine the diapers. (Well, I am in the process of potty training but that is for later). It is amazing to see how much they love each other already. I didn't expect an infant to really pay attention as much as Kaitlyn does. Kaitlyn is so aware of her sister though. She watches her play constantly and I am pretty sure she wishes she could join. She stares at Kallie when she plays her little piano and watches us run around the house playing tag.  She sometimes will cry if she feels too left out.

Kallie is also very fun to watch interact with Kaitlyn. She is always giving her kisses and toys. Most of the time she just sets them next to Kaitlyn on the floor. Kallie also gives her blankets because "Kaitlyn is cold". It's pretty adorable. But I think my favorite thing to witness is when Kaitlyn wakes up in the morning or from a nap. Once Kallie hears her making noises she runs into the room and says "hi" to her like 20 times in her high pitched voice that she learned from Kori and I. (Because you always talk to a baby in a higher voice, of course). Kaitlyn smiles and lights up every time. Needless to say, they love each a lot.

There are also some difficult things about have two kids. The hardest for me; splitting up my attention. I didn't realize how hard it would be to do this. I worry and wonder all the time if I am giving them both the love and attention they need. Kaitlyn especially because she does cry more than Kallie did. (But Kallie hardly ever cried). Kallie is two so I have to make sure she doesn't get into things. Plus disciplining and playing games with her. All the while, Kaitlyn just wants to join us. Sometimes she does join us, because Kallie likes to hold her on her lap.

Two kids is a lot of work. Especially when both are pretty dependent. Kallie is starting to get more independent but I still have to help her with a lot of things. With that being said, I never have needed "me" time more in my life. It gets tiring even exhausting sometimes especially if you don't get a good nights sleep, which is pretty common with infants. I have come to realize just how much it helps to be able to do something for yourself that you enjoy. Don't sell yourself short. Being a mom is a lot of work no matter what stage of life you or your kids are in so if you don't take time to do something you enjoy it might get overwhelming. We all need breaks. I have always enjoyed working out and running but it's still too cold to go running (Growing up in St. George spoils you) so I started going to a free Zumba class. Even though I feel very white (because lets face it, I am very white) it's still fun and helps me to feel like I am doing something for myself. Plus exercise releases endorphins which makes you happier, right? (I think).

Overall, being a mom of these two little girls is the best thing ever and such a blessing. They are smart, strong and beautiful and I get to be their mom!

An update about Kori; he graduates in July! Oh my goodness I literally cannot wait. It can't come soon enough. He is also currently student teaching seminary at Nampa High School. Oh and he is up for hire this Spring! If I think about it too much I get really nervous. But whether or not they decide to hire him full time, at least I know it is what is suppose to happen. Either way, it has been a huge blessing and a wonderful experience to be a part of the seminary and institute program.

P.S. My little sister finishes her mission a week from Wednesday!

Summer, come and gone!

Wow, so much has happened over the summer. I haven't blogged at all unfortunately. I did say the last time I blogged I might become a hermit well it happened. Summer semester for me was pretty busy with trying to do well in school and hanging out with my little girl. I am happy to say that I still did pretty good (two A's and two B's) even though it wasn't what my goal was but that's okay.

Like I said lots of things have happened this summer other than school. First we went down to St. George for a week! That was a blast, my sister graduated from high school! I am so proud of her and all of her accomplishments. She is quite the young and talented young lady! She has recieved many awards and high honors for her beautiful voice. She moved up to Boise and has been living with us for the Summer. It has been so much fun having her. More on that later.

Also on our trip to St. George we took Kallie swimming for the first time! She wasn't sure about it at first but she eventually got use to it and had some fun!

We also took a trip to Oregon to visit Kori's cousins. It was a lot of fun and for one of the days we headed to the coast and went to the aquarium. It was the first beach Kallie went to! Haha the picture cracks me up though because you can't even see her face. It was so windy and cold so our next beach will have to be at a swimmable one.

This is just a funny picture of how Kallie likes to take her naps. She is a pro at relaxing.

 

Kori and I also had an amazing opportunity to help out with BYS (Boise Youth Spectacular) this year. We were in charge of meals. It was a ton of work but so much fun and totally worth it, we got to go to some really amazing speakers and performers including Alex Boye. Did I mention my sister Christy got to be a councelor and got sing a solo with him! Kori also wrote a song and performed it at BYS.

                              

BYS was durning our finals week of school so after that was over we decided to relax by the pool. Kallie is good at this kind of thing.

Once we got some relaxing in we immediately had to pick up and move. I shouldn't say had to because we actually didn't mind moving to the new place. We have been very blessed and honestly don't know how to explain why but the Lord has been watching over our little family.

Kori has an aunt and uncle who live in California but are getting tired of it so they decided that moving to the Boise area is what they wanted. They weren't quite ready to move when they bought the home so decided to let us "house sit" until they sell their home in California and find jobs here in Boise. We are paying the same rent we paid for our previous apartment so we are getting a smoking deal. The builders finished it the week before we moved in and it is beautiful. I have fallen in love with the home and wish it was ours to keep. Here are just a few pictures. The kitchen is my favorite room, there is a lot of counter space!

Kori says the master bathroom is his favorite so I had to post a few picture of it. I have to admit it is pretty sweet.

Anyways, the home has a very big yard, three car garage, three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a bonus room. When we have to leave it next year it will probably be difficult for us to leave especially if we move into an apartment again. The neighborhood is so nice and our neighbors are even better!

I just really wanted to post this picture because it was so cute! Kallie gets so happy and excited every time someone plays songs and sings to her. It is adorable to say the least. Christy has been such a blessing to have around!

This video is for kicks and giggles. Kallie is just too cute to not post this! We love her so much and love that she is such a happy girl! Also Kallie is officially a crawler today! She took her first crawl step! She is better at scooting herself backwards but by next week she will be with the professionals.

I mentioned that my younger sister moved in with me and Kori for the summer. The reason, she needed to get some living away from home experience before leaving on her mission! I am so excited for her! She is leaving next month for the Temple Square mission. Maybe it is only five hours from home but hey, she is going to meet some pretty amazing girls from all over the world and get to hang our with the general authorities! I will be keeping a blog for her while she tells us all about her cool experiences. You can look at it here!

Speaking of general authorities, Kori and I are getting interviewed tomorrow morning by one! As part of the seminary hiring process we will be interviewed as a couple before they pick people to hire! Wish us luck ;)

The summer has come and gone and this is what we have been up to! We are both doing school again this fall, woot woot! Iwill try to be better at blogging more often this time around! Thanks for reading!

TOO much going on!

This week Kori finished the winter semester of his BYUI classes, yay! It was a pretty crazy semester for him. We had Kallie just four days before it started and he started student teaching seminary. So he was working, doing school and trying to adjust to have a new baby. It was pretty rough at first but he finished strong! I am so proud of him and grateful for his hard work. He makes it possible for me to stay home with Kallie and I love it and I love him!

So instead of doing homework when he got home from working, we decided to go on a picnic with Kallie! It was really the first time she was outside besides being in her stroller a couple of times. Here are a few pictures of the "celebration" at the park. She went down the slide for the first time! I think Kori got more from it than she did though haha.

             

Unfortunately a few minutes later the sprinklers came on haha and we almost got sprayed! It was also a little windy so Kallies hands were getting cold. But just look at her; so cute in her jacket with the ears!

 

So we had to finish our picnic inside. But we got some fun pictures!

 

     

 

 This one is our serious face.

It was such a beautiful day, it would be nice to do this all the time, but alas, we are going to become hermits starting on Saturday. Not only will Kori start school (online) again, but I will too! Ahhh! I am taking 12 credits. It's not that much but online classes are super time consuming, not to mention BYUI online classes. I have nothing against school, I love school and love to learn! It's just that I have no idea how this is going to play out with spending time with Kallie, keeping the house clean, doing laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and showering. I say showing because really, it is a hard thing to get in during the day. Lets just say I have no idea how this is going to be possible and I am extremely nervous about it. I already have a hard time getting everything done (I just love spending time with Kallie, she is way more fun than cleaning... don't worry though, our house is clean, I can't stand uncleanliness).

Please wish me luck and pray that I will some how be able to do it. I am ready for the challenge but... it's kinda scary. I really don't want to take away time from Kallie, so I may be losing sleep to get my homework done. Oh, and I really don't want to be a hermit so hopefully we will have a social life in-between everything else.

On a happier note, we let Kallie play Kori's ukulele! He is gonna teach her so we just let her get a feel for it a little early. The younger they start, the better they will be at it, right? ;) Hope you enjoy the video and Kori's "baby" voice hehe!

I just want to add that life is just grand with Kallie in my life. Oh, and a shout out to Sister Hutchinson for the baby blanket, it is soooo cute and we love it!

Oh and one more just because she is so beautiful!