Abundant Recompense Copy

Just taking a moment to brag on the hubby and refer you to a great article in the most recent issue of BYU Magazine. It takes a look into the lives of German members of the Church during WWII. Check it out!

Well our sweet little girly's half-birthday is today. I can't believe how the time has flown. Here are a few fun facts about our Bryn. She's a rolly-polly baby. Put her on the floor and there's no telling where she'll be a minute later. She loves to roll over to toys and does a great job of grabbing them and getting them to her mouth. I love this sucking-in-the-lower-lip face She naps like a champ twice a day, but is still getting up twice to eat most nights. Will it ever end? At naptime she likes to have a pacifier, but doesn't suck on it for long. She wrestles her right arm free of the swaddle and pulls it out first chance she gets. Then she tries to put it back in, but ends up slinging it somewhere and falling asleep. She's always very happy to see whoever comes to rescue her from her crib. She shows it by smiling really big and tightening every muscle in her body like she's trying to turn inside out. More often than not she sleeps with her tongue pok...

Let's face it, they're cute. And they like each other, which is a big bonus. Addison loves to make Bryn laugh. Usually we have a laughing session every day during lunch. All Addison has to do is look her in the eye and fake laugh and she's a goner. And nobody brings out Add's sweet and snuggly side better than Bryn (or his blankie, which is a close second). He loves to hold her hand and lay a little too close (for the comfort of the parents) to her. Sweet little guys! straightening Daddy's tie

As of Saturday afternoon, our family is officially old and established. That's right - we have two cars! The combination of Nate's school and work schedule and my Young Women calling (plus the drudgery of being stranded at home with the kids on 17-hour winter days) convinced us that it was time. After a long and exceedingly grumpifying day of car shopping, we found the one and brought it home. So here it is - our '02 Buick Rendezvous. We went with a crossover because of the good gas mileage and because we're way too young to be driving a minivan around. It's got 7 seats total with the option to fold the two in back down for extra trunk space. It's also a lot roomier than our little Civic. Combine that with the fact that the previous owners forgot to take out their "Christmas Classics" cd, and it was a pretty easy sell.

After Christmas, Nate told me to get excited, because he had one more surprise for me. To say I love surprises is an understatement. You could give me a new toothbrush and call it a surprise and I would be thrilled. He would only give me two clues about it - it'd keep us busy all weekend and there was no way I could possibly get too excited. I racked my brain and the only two possible things I could think of that fit the bill were: a) my parents coming b) a new bookshelf. New Year's Eve came and we spent the morning cleaning the house so we could "enjoy the surprise," which knocked on the door just as we finished. I was flabbergasted to find Shauna, Doug, and this little cutie there to spend the weekend! We haven't seen them since they moved to Oregon a few days after Bryn was born. I was definitely not expecting them because they have a 7 month old and would've had to drive a lot of hours (in the teens I think). But the stars aligned and Doug's Granny w...

Nate here. Bear with me as I go way back in time and document our Christmas festivities. Call it family history. This was our first year not going to either Georgia or St. George, and I was worried that it would be a bit sad to not be around a huge family. But it turned out awesome, and it was exciting to start our own family traditions. It would have been helpful to have extra mouths to eat Michelle's gigantic birthday cake on Christmas Eve (or to help her blow out all those candles . . . ) but we ended up just pawning half the cake off on some friends in the ward. That night, we hung the stockings on the staircase and acted out the Nativity. Not the most reverent re-creation that ever was ("Joseph, get back here! It's not time to go play in the loft!"), but what can you do?Then we put the kids down for a long winter's nap, and Santa Claus came - aka Grandma W., who either has a little too much discretionary spending or really knows how to shop a sale (hint: it...

A few nights ago at dinner, Addison started asking for "alligator juice." We were pretty much dumbfounded, wondering what in the heck he was talking about. Had he picked it up from t.v. or something? Then it dawned on me. At the start of the meal, I had offered Addison three drink choices: milk, juice, or Gatorade .