The many sleeps of Paul

My poor husband works at 3:00 AM and sometimes earlier and then goes straight to school right after work, and usually doesn't return until late in the afternoon. All of this, plus having a new baby puts a damper on his sleeping schedule. I am always finding Paul sleeping in random places and in wierd positions! Poor guy!! He is such a trooper!!

Staying Close

My Mom has this hanging on her fridge and I love it!! It is from the New Era and it uplifts me everytime I read it and so I wanted to share..such wonderful advice!! ENJOY!! :-)

STAYING CLOSE

*Embrace each day, no matter how it looks, with an enthusiastic welcome

*Steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in love and gratitude, toward your Savior and your Heavenly Father. This will help you overcome fatigue, despair and physical sickness.

*Choose to accept the challenges that must be part of life. They can draw you closer to Heavenly Father and make you stronger.

*Feed your own spirit. It needs constant nourishment.

*Sacrifice your selfishness.

*Meekness prepares you to receive the Spirit. Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope.

*Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in Gethsemane.

*Realize that Heavenly Father knows you are not perfect. He will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve. Understand that your Father in Heaven knows better than anyone what you need.

*Listen and follow the suggestions He makes- even the uncomfortable ones. Over time, everything will fall into place.

*Fear the consequences of sin. Flee the very appearance of evil.

*Look into the eyes of those who are hard to love long enough to see them as children of God.

*Forgive and you will be free again.

*Avoid pessimistic, negative or criticizing thoughts.

*On the road toward salvation, let questions arise but never doubts.

*Avoid rush and haste and uncontrolled words.

*Divine light develops in places of peace and quiet.

*Serve with all of your heart, might, mind and strength.

*Be grateful for every opportunity to serve.

*Realize when you are asked to sacrifice that Heavenly Father wants to give you something better.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL OF THOSE FATHERS OUT THERE!! What a special day Fathers Day is. I am so thankful for this special day and the chance that we have to honor our fathers and the many other special fathers in our lives. I am so incredibly thankful for my own father and the many sacrifices he has made and the many things that he has taught me. Porter is so glad that you are his grandpa. He loves you so much and I love you Daddy!! Also, this being my husbands first Fathers Day I want to especially thank him for being such a wonderful Dad to little Porter. Paul, It is so much fun watching you in action because you are such an awesome Dad!! I wish that every girl and boy were so blessed to have a father like you. You are the most wonderful man and I am so lucky to have you as my husband. Thanks so much for working so hard at work and in school. You are a wonderful father and our son loves you more than anything. Your hard work is so much appreciated and there is nothing I could ever do, buy or say that could begin to explain how much gratitude and love I have for you. Happy Father's Day sweetheart!!

My baby is 4 months

Ok... how is Porter already 4 months?? I swear that it was just yesterday that I was sitting here writing all about his 3 month mark. He is growing up way too fast! But I have to say that I have the absolute cutest, smartest, most wonderfully adorable little baby ever!! I just love him so much!!! Every time I look at him, I can't believe that he is my son. He is just so perfect in every way and he radiates so much love and happiness from him. He has such a HUGE spirit trapped in that little body of his. I could never even begin to imagine all of the joy that he has brought into my life.. it is incredible. I love everything about him. I love his giggles and smiles, and how he has long "conversations" with you that are so expressive. I love how he makes the cutest sounds and "sings" on the top of his lungs in the grocery store. I love his little coughy sounds that he makes when he tries to get your attention. I love how when you help him stand up he looks all around so pleased with himself. I love his cute little birthmarks. I love his gorgeous big beautiful eyes and amazing smile! I love his cute little mullet. I love how he stretches with all of his might first thing when you lay him on his back. I love his cute little pouty lip. I love how he smiles and giggles so much when I come and get him from his crib in the mornings. There are just so many more things that I love about my little man. I can't express enough how thankful I am that Heavenly Father sent him to our family. Being a Mom is the BEST!!!!

Well our 4 month appointment isn't until Tuesday but we finally weighed and measured his length here at home. I am sure it will be more accurate at the doctors office so I will update this then, but he weighs about 14lbs and is about 24 1/2 inches long. That means that he has gained 10 lbs already and 8 1/2 inches since he was born. I can't believe what a tiny little guy he was when he was born.. but he is growing so well and looking so healthy. I have even had some people tell me that he is getting chubby.. YEAH!! :-) He is definitely teething but we haven't seen any teeth poking out yet. His hands are constantly in his mouth and he is drooling so much that we now put a bib on him 24/7.. poor little guy. We gave him rice cereal for the first time yesterday and that was so much fun. We made a video and took some cute pictures so I will make sure to add those to the blog soon. I am not sure how much actually got inside him.. but he knew how to open his mouth every time the spoon came. He is starting to be a lot more aware of things like his toys and the sounds that different things make. He loves to watch our dog Maggie.. he just stares at her. I am sure that he will love animals. He doesn't like loud sounds and still hates driving in cars. Hopefully this will change soon so we can take a road trip! :-) I love you so much Porter!!!! Congratulations on 4 months!!!

My sweet little boy!!

SCOTTISH DAYS!

Paul, Porter, my Mom, brother Shane and I all went to the 35th annual Scottish Days at Thanksgiving Point last Friday and had an absolute blast!! There were tons of booths set up full of all kinds of awesome Scottish things and it was so much fun to look at everything. They had bag pipes and Scottish athletic competitions and those were a lot of fun to watch... and I can not emphasize how much I LOVE bag pipes. I honestly could sit and listen to them all day long. The whole three hours that we were there, bag pipes were being played and it was amazing. It was also so much fun to see everyone dressed up in their traditional Scottish outfits. I really think that we need to get Paul a Scottish Kilt.. he would look so hot!! :-) There were also Scotland’s clans & families with their colorful tents and displays everywhere. One of my Scottish family names, Donald, had a tent..so that was fun to look at. We entered to win a free trip to Scotland so hopefully we win!! :) I tried to get Paul to try Haggis, but he wouldn't. When I was in Scotland a couple of years ago, my Dad somehow got me to try it and it was AWFUL.. so I don't blame him too much for not wanting to try it. Porter did so well the whole time we were there and didn't fuss even once. On the way home we stopped and had dinner at Golden Corral.. one of our favorite places to eat.. Yummy yummy!! What a wonderful evening!

Beautiful Rain

"Anyone who says sunshine is the only thing that brings happiness, has never danced in the rain"

I LOVE RAIN!! The harder it pours, the happier I am. I love the sound of rain. I love laying all nice and warm in my bed and listening to the beautiful sounds of the rain against my window and the pitter patter of it on my roof. I love watching the beautiful raindrops falling down. I love the sounds that rain makes as the water splashes and drips on the ground! I love feeling the rain on my face. I love the refreshing smell of rain! I love standing in the rain when it seems like everyone else is hiding from it. It honestly makes me sad to see people running to their cars trying to escape the rain. They are missing out on so much! To me, rain is calming and so peaceful. When it starts raining, that is when I feel like I become alive! I have so many beautiful memories of rain throughout my life! I remember running around our block, barefoot in the gutter laughing with my sisters during rainstorms. I remember taking long walks in the rain through the beautiful forests of Norway with my Mom and siblings. While in London I took a walking tour class as one of the requirements for the study abroad program. I remember walking for 3 hours during one of the tours while it just downpoured!! It was AWESOME! I remember many fun soccer practices during the rain. The best part of those where doing headers and diving right into the mud. I have taken many beautiful runs during rainstorms. My most favorite memories of rainstorms are from when I was younger. Whenever it rained, my Mom would tell us to grab our blankets and pillows and we would make big "beds" on our front porch and lay for hours and hours just watching the rain. I LOVED THAT! I remember feeling so happy and so relaxed and always couldn't wait until the next storm. I recently found out that my Great Grandpa (My Mom's Grandpa.. her Mom's Dad) actually took my Mom out on his porch to watch the rain. So today when it rained, I bundled Porter up in blankets and we went outside and watched the rain. I thought it was kind of fun to think that he is the 5th generation to do that. What a fun tradition I think. I really hope that I can instill a love for rain in his life. There is nothing like the rain!!!!!