MONDAY my prince will come :)

Yep, the induction is set for Monday, Feb 21, unless he decides to come before then.
YIPPEEEEE!

Today is my Grandpa Ellis' birthday and I thought how neat that would have been for Darren to share that with such a great man. Stephen Briggs Ellis. The only boy in a family of 10 children. His father died when he was nine, leaving his mother alone to raise their family. They moved from a farm in Idaho down to Logan where she could take in college students as boarders. To make more room for extra income, Grandpa slept in the tiny "attic" above their detached garage. No insulation made for many extremely cold winter nights. He said he would pile on so many blankets that he literally could not even turn over. His mother was amazing. She did raise all of those children, stayed faithful, and served in the Logan temple for 40 years.

Grandpa went to college, met my grandmother while working for the border patrol in Texas, joined the Army Air Corps as a fighter pilot in the Pacific during WWII, was shot down once, came home after the war and started ranching in Idaho with his brother-in-law, raised 6 sons and a daughter on a strict diet of hard work and home cooking, loved his wife so completely that it made me cry, served and lifted all who knew him, never took himself too seriously, showed his love through his actions, lived the gospel in such a practical way that missionary work was second nature to him, silently and consistently gave generously to those in need, and inspired me to try and be better in every way. How I love that man. I'm so thankful for the time I had to spend with him and Grandma while I was at BYU. I'm thankful for the great heritage of faith, humility, love, obedience and hard work that they have left me.

Someday my prince will come....

I was hoping he'd come today and be my little Valentine, but no go. I guess he wants to be closer to his dad in every way (Kev's bday is the 24th), but I REALLY hope he doesn't wait that long.

Patience and faith

Patience and faith

Patience and faith :)

I just can't wait to have one more little person to love!!!!

Goodly parents

Thinking about my parents today and how much they do, and have always done, for me... I remembered Elder Holland's wonderful talk in conference about the great sacrifices his parents had made during and after his mission so he could serve without worrying and then get started on his dreams when he got home.

"To you, Mom and Dad, and to all the moms and dads and families and faithful people everywhere, I thank you for sacrificing for your children (and for other people's children!), for wanting so much to give them advantages you never had, for wanting so much to give them the happiest life you could provide...."

Saying 'thank you' seems so insignificant, so insufficient. But I'll say it anyway. Thank you. I'm so thankful I get to be a parent so I can hopefully do and give my all to these children in the same way. I hope my entire life will show my gratitude to you and to Heavenly Father for giving me the chance to be your daughter.

Mom and Dad, "...seeing your example, I pledge anew my determination to be better, to be more faithful--more kind and devoted, more charitable and true as our Heavenly Father is and as...you already are."

I love you.

Two?!

Can she really be 2? As we walked out of our house this morning on our way to church, I thought of how much today was just like the day Eden was born. Chilly, but beautiful. Blue skies to match her eyes--our first blue-eyed baby. Snow dusted mountains....perfect--just like she was. She was another "alien baby", as Joy refers to our kids when they're newborns--happy, content to sit and watch everything around them, good sleepers, etc. Now she is as fiesty as they come :). Still happy, still enjoying the world around her--especially every move her sisters make, not as great of a sleeper, but such a JOY. She literally lights up the world.

This is her "I'm a princess" look...

"I'm 2!" (still trying to figure out how to hold up just the 2 fingers)...

Telling Ryn and Elle they need to be looking at Dad and smiling, "Guys! Guys!..."

All 3 doing "the Smolder" from Tangled...Elle's is pretty close!

Doing Pascal's punch, also from Tangled....

Giving kisses to baby Darren....

And kisses to cousin Teairsa--just 2 weeks apart so we had a fun joint bday dinner at Mark and Aup's to celebrate...

...complete with 2 bday cakes' candles to blow out...

And she was so lucky that she had 3, yes THREE sets of candles to blow out. These with Teairsa, then some more on her actual day.

Sweet, spunky, spirited Eden...how did life have any spark before you came to us? We love you more every day.

January funnies

Jan 7--Ryn was teaching Elle and Eden how to fly in outer space. "You've got to 'hand fly' so you won't get lost. This is hand flying--when you hold somebody's hand." Sweet Ryn, keeping everyone safe and together, even in outer space.

Jan 14--Eden (let's remember she's not even 2 yet) asked me, "Mommy, I Daddy's pack-pack?" She wanted to play a game on Kev's Ipad!!

Jan 16--We have a family cheer where we all put our hands in the middle of the circle and raise them together with a loud "ENSEMBLE!", which means 'together' in French. (Think Saturday's Warrior "pulling together we can work it out...." :) ) Lately Ryn has started to really stress it with Elle and Eden. Whenever they're all around the table, she'll lean in, put her hand out and ask, "Who's with me?" Elle and Eden will put their little hands on top of hers, responding enthusiastically, "I am!" "I am!" and then they all chime in, "ENSEMBLE!" It's great to see them so united. If they can only stay that way, all will be well. Even if Kev and I aren't around, they will have each other, and that is a huge blessing. After taking so long to finally get Ryn, we prayed so hard that we could at least have one more child so that she wouldn't be alone. Hearing their little voices 'ensemble' is our dream come true.

Jan 23--Elle was crying some angry tears at mealtime. (quelle surprise :) ) I asked her why she was crying and she said it was because she felt the Holy Ghost (whenever they see me crying that's usually the happy reason for my tears). As she said the words I could see in her twinkly eyes that she knew that what she was saying wasn't true. Just to make sure, I told her that feeling the Holy Ghost never makes us angry. She thought for a minute and then said, "Shh! I hear something talking in my heart! It's the Holy Ghost!" Then she leaned over to whisper in my ear, "He's telling me to repent." She sat back up, tapped her little chin for a second while deliberating, and then resolved with a smile, "OK, I'll repent." It's moments like that when I know Elle is going to be OK. She is definitely our free spirit, but she's getting it. Is there anything better than being a parent?!

Jan 27--Elle was having some digestion problems and a painful day in the bathroom. I asked her if she thought she could be brave. She said, "Remember we read about Joseph Smith's leg last night?" "Yes, are you going to be brave like he was?" (I'm thinking--how great! scripture study's paying off!) "No! I'm not a prophet! I'm just a little princess!" :) Well, at least she's remembering the stories even if she's not ready to apply them to herself yet.

Jan 31--I had to take Ryn to the ENT so she could be checked out to get tubes. The exam chair was huge. She climbed up, rested her arms on the arm rests and flashed an excited smile at me, "I'm like the queen!"