Happy Father's Day!

This cartoon reminds me so much of T.J. and Whitney. She is so exited for him to get home from work each day and hold and snuggle her. She has been cooing Dada at him too. So sweet.

Happy Father's Day to all of the Dad's in my life, especially to the daddy of my two little darlings.

You are the Daddy I always dreamed that my babies would have. I love you T.J.

P.S. - Congratulations Charla and Ricky! Happy First Father's Day!

Tagged!

I was tagged by Christina, sorry it took me so long! I have been thinking about my answers for weeks! No more procrastinating.....

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on your blog.
Answer these 15 questions about yourself on your blog.
List:
3 joys
3 fears
3 goals
3 current obsessions/collections
3 random/surprising facts
-Tag five people at the end of your post by leaving their names .
-Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

My Joys
1. My little family, my two blond blue eyed girls and my T.J.
2. Pedicures and Massages and reading good books
3. Cleaning and decorating my house. It gives me a sense of order and makes me say Ahhh. (See obsessions #1. )

My Fears
1. Not being able to provide for my family.
2. That I won't do a good job raising my kids. I want them to always know that I love them. I want them to be good people with integrity, have strong testimonies, are kind, choose good friends, are responsible, good with their money, develop their talents, marry well, be happy, etc....
3. Not being prepared for Christ to come. When I was seventeen, I was asked to be in a church program that was centered on the parable of the ten virgins. I was the lead girl that wasn't ready. The spotlight was on me when the bridegroom passed by and I couldn't go with him...I never want to feel that way again. I bet that my young women leaders have no idea how much I learned from that Evening of Excellence. I think that I learned more having been asked to be one of the foolish virgins rather than one of those that went with the bridegroom.

Goals
1. Finish decorating my house, and get my office and food storage in order
2. Stick to my daily routines and schedule better
3. Be better about updating my blog and keeping in touch with family and friends

Obsessions
1. There must be a place for everything. When I go shopping, I don't buy anything unless I know exactly where it will go when I get it home. If I can't think of exactly why/where I will need it, I don't buy it no matter how much I like it. When my cousin Candice blogged about OCD, it got me thinking that it has to be genetic. I love buying new things to decorate my house, but I have to know where it will go. That is probably why it has taken me so long to finish decorating this house. I won't buy something unless it fits in perfectly. When we moved from our townhouse almost three years ago, I was happy to have a much nicer, bigger house. At the same time, I felt defeated because I had to start the decorating and organizing process over again. I had just gotten the townhouse the way that I had wanted it to be. Stupid, I know.
I think that I am passing this on to Trista. She always has a clean room, and I love it.
Also, in the OCD realm, I like to wash dishes and do laundry by myself. (Even if I just had a baby. If I get a call first, I will answer the door with a shiny house.) I am also a perfectionist, I am trying to get better. If I don't have the time to devote to a task, I won't do it at all until I do have the time....bad habit.
And....I love Flylady.
2. I am in love with my DVR. I am also in love with my big screen television's headphones. I am also in love with my husband for buying said DVR and headphones. They have gotten me through many a night nursing Whitney. And the headphones make it so that we can watch movies together after I put the kids to bed without having to risk waking them up, or turning the volume up and down a hundred times.
3. I read everything I can get my hands on about babies and childcare. T.J. pokes fun at me sometimes because I reread some of the things that I read when Trista was a baby. I have no less than five books on my nightstand right now on different subjects all helping me figure out how to be the best mother I can be.

Random/Surprising Facts
1. I love Michael Bolton.....I'm not kidding. I enjoy many different styles of music, and my favorite band on the planet is Live, but I really do enjoy listening to some Michael Bolton. You have to admit that every time you hear him sing "How am I Supposed to Live Without You" memories of Kelly breaking up with Zach on Saved by the Bell come to mind. (As well as Jessi and Slater singing in Cleopatra and Marc Antony costumes.) I stood in a Bed Bath and Beyond for waaay to long a few months ago, debating whether or not to buy his greatest hits CD. Again, not a joke. Alas, I did not buy it...see obsessions #1. But, my birthday is coming up next month....so if anyone is reading this....you know what I'm saying.
2. I play the viola, piano and I can sing pretty well. But, I would really really like to learn how to play the guitar. I would love to play and sing for my babies.
3. I have been, and loved, para sailing, hot air ballooning, rappelling, and skydiving. However, I am a chicken about bungee jumping. I get motion sick very easy, and the boing boing boinging at the end totally freaks me out.
Okay, two more....
5. I am really shy and nervous. I think that I talk a lot to cover it up. When I am in a new place where I know no one, I hardly talk at all. When I was in school, I would be in a class where I would talk a lot (covering up nervousness with people I know), and then walk down the hall to my next class and then not talk at all (didn't know anyone). It takes me a while to make friends sometimes, but if you talk back to me and let me in, it will happen in an instant. After I am friends with someone, it is forever.
6. Okay, one last thing. When I grow up I want to be a hybrid of Jenny Flake (a beautiful mother, Pilate's instructor, and nationally known home cook), Shanel Gambell (in all of her fabulousness, stylish, friendly, best vt companion ever, decorator, scrapbooker, best gift wrapper, cooks amazing things, remembers all special occasions, outgoing, and the most incredible Primary President I have ever seen), and Sara Maier (a stay at home mom that always works out, has three energetic little boys, has fun with her children, always looks beautiful, is an interior designer, and plays the guitar).

Now....I tag.....
Glenda
Ranee
Shannon
Britney
Lucy

Have fun! Thanks Christina!
I will try updating this week about our latest happenings!

Sweet Happy Winnie

Whitney is so happy, we all love her so much. She has been such a wonderful addition to our family. She is so sweet and cheerful, and has the cutest smile. I have loved hearing all of the new sounds she has been making lately. She squeaks and squeals with delight and has such an adorable little girl laugh. She has beautiful dark blue eyes, and long sweeping eyelashes that curl. She loves Trista, and is just fascinated by her. One of her favorite places to be is in Trista's room on her princess bed. She loves playing with her sister, especially in her room. Whitney will laugh at anything Trista does, and in turn, Trista loves to make her laugh.

There is a time towards the end of each day when Trista can make Whitney laugh endlessly. Trista will stick out her tongue, jump up and down, raise her arms, dance a jig, spin in circles, and Whitney just can't laugh hard enough. It is so precious to see my two girls loving each other so much.

Whitney is at the stage where she can lift her head up off my shoulder when I am holding her, but she chooses to lay her head down and snuggle into me. Oh, this is the best time. I wish that she could be six months old just a little longer.

I love being the mommy to these sweet precious girls. I am so blessed.

Mother's Day Video

Someone sent me this a few years ago, and every time I watch it I still laugh. I hope that everyone had a happy Mother's Day!

Trista's First Talk & One Busy Weekend

Trista gave her first talk in church on Sunday! It went really well. I am so proud of her!
Here is a picture of my little Sunbeam in her new butterfly dress.


We were so busy that weekend. T.J. was asked to go to our ward's Fathers and Sons outing on Friday night. He went as part of the Elders Quorum Presidency to help make the breakfast in the morning. So, Trista, Whitney and I ordered pizza and had a picnic on my bed that night. In the morning, we went with my mom and sister Christi to Baisch and Skinner and got stuff to make a few new floral arrangements for my house and new office at RSC. Trista found a little bird she fell in love with and named him Conco. Then we went shopping to find a new dress for Trista to wear for her talk. We stopped by Mervyn's Super Sale, and found cute summer baby clothes for Whitney, but no dress for Trista. We raced over to Crismon's Baby Boutique and found the perfect one. It is cream with pink butterflies and a pink sash and bow. We also found cute new pink, white, and cream hair bows too. T.J. came home early and didn't go spelunking with everyone else, so that I could go to the temple for my friend Megan's endowment session later that afternoon. So sweet of him. After I got back from the temple, T.J. and I went to dinner at Macaroni grill (thank you Cami). I didn't think that the smoked buffalo mozzarella cheese in my pasta tasted quite right, but didn't want to say anything and spoil our date. I mean, surely the cheese couldn't be bad...they use it in almost every dish, how could it go bad? Sure enough, I was barfing come early morning. Not pregnant! LOL (At the end of the day on Sunday T.J. said I looked tired, I reminded him that I had been throwing up earlier that day, and he had completely forgotten. My pregnancy with Trista made me good at working in spite of a sour stomach.)

Trista and I started preparing for her Primary talk on Friday morning with a prayer and read the scripture that she was supposed to speak on. I pulled out the flannel board and laminated pictures from my new Family Home Evening kit that my mom gave me for Christmas to use as visual aids on Sunday. My mom spent hours and hours making those kits, and I am so glad to have one. Trista practiced the talk (and I practiced my picture placement) on Saturday and Sunday. T.J. teased me for how much I prepared for this. :) She talked about the prophet Noah, and that if we listen to the prophet we will be blessed.

Our Primary has opening exercises in the chapel, so I sat with her in the chairs behind the podium. As she looked out, she saw Grandma sitting in the back of the room. She and I went to give her a quick hug before Primary began and then back to our seats. It made her feel extra special to have my mom there to watch, I am so happy that she came.

The Sunbeams were in charge of opening exercises, so a little boy from her class gave the prayer, and another bore his testimony. The little boy giving his testimony didn't talk, so his dad did it for him. I thought, "Oh no. Now she knows that if she is nervous she doesn't have to do this." She did so great! She talked right in the microphone and spoke clearly. I was blown away at how calm she was and what a big girl she is turning in to.

Her primary teacher said that she started tearing up during her talk. I am so grateful for how sweet she is to my little girl and what a wonderful job she does with the Sunbeams.

I had just started my new calling teaching the 12 year old Sunday School class the Sunday before, so T.J. took Whitney to my class and did one of the enrichment activities for my lesson with the kids until I got back from Trista's talk to teach. We still had time for a good lesson. I love my new Sunday School class. I was the Activity Days leader for our ward (the only one for 16 girls) all last year when I was super pregnant. It wasn't easy for me to do that calling (especially in the summer), and have a job, and have Trista with me (potty training), while I was calling all the girls, getting the church house keys, setting up the chairs and table, giving a lesson, doing an activity, and buying and handing out treats for that many girls. After Whitney was born there was no way that I could still do it, but I didn't feel like I was done with those girls. (There are now four people that do my old job.) When I got word from the bishop that I was getting a new calling, I felt like I would be working with the young women, but still felt guilty about not being able to do Activity Days anymore. When he said Sunday School, I knew it was right. I would be working with the young women, the ones that were the older girls from my Achievement Day group from the year before. I have two boys in the class, so they are a bonus. This calling is perfect for me right now, and I love those kids.

I am so grateful for my two sweet daughters and my wonderful husband that loves and supports me. I am grateful to have family so close by that loves us and helps us. Trista is such a good girl, and I am so proud of her for always saying her prayers, and reading the scriptures, and being such a good helper. Whitney is so precious, and am so grateful that she is such a sweet happy little side kick. T.J. is my rock, I can't say enough good things about him, and I love him dearly.

The Best Day Ever

Trista and I played with makeup the other day. She felt like such a big girl. It was so fun.

I have always wanted to put mascara on her!

She said, "I feel special. Mama, this is the most amazing, best day ever!"

All Smiles

Whitney wore little overalls today after church and looked so cute.

I had to take pictures.

Trista was wearing an adorable little pleated jean skirt. Do you ever coordinate your kids clothing and not realize it at the time?

On Thursday, when Trista and I walked outside to say goodbye to Daddy, there were ducks walking down the middle of our street. We live down the street from the lake. Every once in a while we will get birds and ducks that come our way.......not to mention the crane (that was taller than me) that came to our backyard hunting last spring, and ate all four of our large ornamental koi from our pond. That was a crazy afternoon.

The ducks were just waddling down the street like this was nothing out of the ordinary....

Trista tried to give the ducks directions.

It was a really fun way to start the day!