Handmade Treasures

I have been so appreciative of all of the gifts and well wishes I received when Violet was born. I was especially pleased with some of the handmade treasures we received. I know how hard and time consuming it can to be to make something yourself. I wanted to photograph these wonderful creations and say thanks! This beautiful, stunning quilt was made by Wes' grandmother who is in her eighties. I love each handmade girl and all of the detail that has gone into each square.

This quilt came to me from the young women and young women leaders. It is super soft and warm and a great size if I want to bundle my little one in my arms while rocking her.

This little blanket and burp cloth we got from the hospital thanks to a generous volunteer. I love all of the cute animals. I thank the nurses chose this one for us because it is violet :)

The two green burp clothes on the right were made by Rebecca, the Relief Society President. The one on the left was made by my step-mother's friend.

This beautiful quilt was a gift from a friend, Miranda. She gave it to me at a work shower and it is absolutely plush and lovely!

Wes' Mom made this wonderful crocheted dress. Isn't it amazing! I wish it still fit her. I know endless hours went into it.

These were gifts from my step-mother, Julie! She asked her very good friend to make them for me. We have gotten oodles of compliments from complete strangers sometimes. The black polka dot one especially gets a lot! They are so soft and silky and are great for keeping Violet warm on the go or just hanging around the house.

I am so grateful for loving friends and family who have shared their talents with us!! We love you!

Creating Places for Remembrance

I received beautiful growing plants when my father passed away. Somehow the plants have survived to this point. I am really hoping they will stay that way. Both of these pictures were given to my parents as gifts from me and in the end I ended up getting both of them back. I have now placed them in a place where I can see them every day. It is special to me. I also have placed a small urn next to my mother's picture. It once housed a small amount of her ashes, but they were spread over the cliffs of Moab not longer after she passed. Now it just houses a lock of her long, beautiful, blond hair. Sarah and I both took a lock of hair before we closed the casket. It isn't much, but it is something to remember both of my parents by. It helps me remember that they are watching over me.

Reconnecting with Old Toys

Violet is needing more entertaining nowadays. I pulled out Adelle's old blocks from storage to introduce them to Violet. They are pretty neat! They are seethrough and are filled with anything from zebras, rattling popcorn, bells, etc. Violet was mildly amused. Adelle on the other hand had a blast!

Precious Moments

Wes snapped this picture of Adelle, Violet and I reading on Sunday. I love being a mom!

Ice Princesses

The girls began ice skating lessons last week. Overall they seem to be enjoying it.

Adelle started out with a snazzy walker. She got a little frustrated without the walker last night and sat on the ice for half the time. I reminded her of the saying "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again". She had used the phrase one me earlier in the day while I was trying to practice for the math entrance exam.

Lydia was pretty wobbly her first lesson, but she is just getting better and more confident with each lesson. I am so proud of both my girls! I am also excited that they are trying new things. Go girls!

Jumping In

A week or so ago I was job searching online for Wes. We are always keeping our eyes open because running your own business is VERY STRESSFUL and isn't always profitable. Anyway, I thought I would check out my work to see if they had anything. I suddenly had a thought for me. Years ago I actually sought employment with my work because they offer free nursing school, but I didn't end up pursuing it because we sent Wes to school first. I wanted to see if they still offered it and sure enough they do. I called SLCC (who the program is through) to set up an appointment with an advisor for the following week.

The week that followed was pretty hectic and stressful mainly because of things that need to be resolved for extended family members. I thought there was just no way I would be able to go back to school. I still went to the appointment yesterday with the advisor. Violet came with me and was content at first in her baby sling. Right before the appointment began she began to fuss. The advisor was very kind and didn't seem to mind me standing in front of his desk while I tried to bounce my little baby to help her calm down, which didn't work. I was able to get the information that I needed though to know how to move forward.

Now, you would think that I wouldn't want to pursue school right now with a newborn, family responsibilities (immediate and extended) and working full time. It has been very interesting though. I have felt very inspired that I should go back to school. Things have come to my mind which have helped me find ways to go back to school easier. I had forgotten all about the partial tuition reimbursement that my work offers, which I would need for my prerequisites courses. I suddenly remembered it while driving home after my appointment yesterday. Also, I think I will be able to reduce some of my hours at work. I have felt the spirit strongly as I have pursued school and as I have prayed I have had a strong, comforting feeling that it is the right thing for me and my family.

I have gone ahead a registered with Salt Lake Community College and I am hoping to register for my first class in the next couple of months. I have also requested official transcripts to be sent to SLCC. I want to hopefully take 1 to 2 classes per semester. I want my first class to be online if possible since Violet is still so young. I am super excited to start and am glad that half of my prerequisites are already done since I did some college when I was younger. Hopefully it won't take too long to get the prerequisites done and apply to the program. From there I will have a heavy load of schooling and they do require you to still be employed and work 24 hours a week for my company, but I have a feeling that everything will work out.

I have wanted to do this for such a long time and can't believe that I am starting on the road to become a nurse!

Our Adventure to The Olympic Park

This past Saturday I really needed a break from the stress in my life. I absolutely LOVE the Olympics and have really enjoyed watching them on TV. I thought it might be fun to get out and see some local Olympic sites. I looked up the Olympic Park in Park City and found out it is FREE so off we went. We all enjoyed the ski museum and the Olympic museum.

We made sure Violet was warm in a snow suit and hat. I carried her around in the baby sling.

One of the most amazing sites was the bobsled and luge track. There were athletes training on the track and we loved seeing the bobsleds and skeleton riders zoom by. It is much faster in person. We loved it!! We were also going to watch ski jumping but they delayed it because the athletes were busy watching their friends compete in Vancouver. We did get to see some kids ski jumping on the smaller jumps.

The girls thought that it was so cool to be able to sit in a real bobsled.

We all enjoyed holding a real Olympic torch and viewing medals from the Salt Lake City games. With all of the Olympic events and activities the girls have really wanted to take some sort of lessons. We decided to sign them up for a basic skating course. It is a 6 class course with the first one starting tonight. Hopefully it will go well. We will have to decide from there if we want to continue to involve them in the sport of figure skating.

I felt our outing on Saturday was wonderful and honestly it was one of the best days that I've had in a few months!