Yesterday

Yesterday was little Lucy's funeral. It was a beautiful memorial service and a great tribute to sweet little Lucy. I pray that Vic and Molly were comforted by the words and music. The musical numbers were so touching, and there was a very sweet spirit throughout the service. I'm grateful to have been touched by Lucy's life. And my perspective on life and my priorities have been forever altered by the events of the last 10 days. I have been so amazed at the grace and wisdom of Molly and Vic.

Anything else going on in my life seems so hollow to "blog" about. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow...

Little Lucy

My heart is broken. My dear friend Molly is saying goodbye to her sweet little Lucy today. I am unable to articulate my feelings adequately, but I am overwhelmed with grief for Molly and Vic. I am so grateful that they have the gospel and have the knowledge that they will be with her again. I know that Heavenly Father has a special love for Vic and Molly for taking such good care of Lucy while she was on this Earth. I also know He has a special love for them for requiring them to go through the most difficult thing imaginable...letting go of their only child. My prayers today are that Molly & Vic will be blessed with angels to accompany them today and that saying goodbye will be a sweet and sacred experience for them. I pray that they will feel the love and comfort of our Savior and know that He is very aware of and understands their grief completely. It is amazing how many lives little Lucy has touched on her short time on Earth. I, for one, will never be the same. My testimony of the reality of angels and of eternal families has grown infinitely. The time I have been able to spend with Molly, Vic, & Lucy over the last few days has forever changed my perspective on life here on Earth and on Heavenly Father's eternal plan. I am so touched and amazed at the strength and the sweetness that Molly & Vic have had. They are so close to the spirit, and the veil has been very thin. I know they have been sustained by our Father in Heaven and I pray that they will continue to be comforted and blessed.

Mother's Day

I'm so tired, but want to briefly describe my feelings as a mom, and for my mom. My Ellie and my Jack...I can't begin to articulate how incredibly grateful I am for the sacred opportunity I have to be their mommy. I love them more than I ever thought it was possible to love! They have changed my life so profoundly...my life has never been so worthwhile. And I'm grateful that I enjoy them so much! I laugh at them every single day.

I have to give John credit too. He makes my life as a mom really sweet. Not only does he provide a way for me to be a stay-at-home mom, but he makes our life with kids so fun. He's a fun daddy, who is SO in love and involved with our kids. So often I hear of couples complaining that their kids hold them back from doing fun things...but our kids just add to the fun things we do! We genuinely enjoy being with our kids.

And my mom. She is the most amazing woman and mom I know. I am so lucky to have such a close relationship and friendship with her. She is so wise, and generous, and funny, and smart, and Christlike. She's the type of woman EVERYONE loves to be around and wants to be like. And I get to be her daughter! I can only hope that one day my children have the same love and respect for me as I have for my mom.

Wild One...and other fun stuff

SOOOO...yesterday afternoon I was upstairs feeding Jack, and John was downstairs watching the end of the Jazz game. He fell asleep on the floor, and Ellie got busy doing her 'art' with a PERMANENT marker! She came upstairs to show me her body art and was so proud that she even drew on her back and the bottoms of her feet. At first I thought it was just a dry-erase marker from her play room but thought I better investigate. Well...I was horrified when I walked downstairs and realized she had drawn all over the walls, hardwood floors, John's brand new desk, the piano, our leather chair, and the wood trim on the staircase!! She was so proud...and bless her heart, it took her a long time to realize how much trouble she was in. John rarely (and I mean very rarely) gets mad at her, and it wasn't until he picked her up and took her to her room for time out that she realized that what she'd done wasn't something to be proud of. Here's a picture of her (check out how sad she was when she realized how naughty she'd been). What a treat!

We have had a few other things going on too...First, my sister Liz had her baby last week!! She had a baby girl (surprise!) with TONS of black hair! She is so beautiful. She was born almost 5 weeks early, so she is still in the hospital in the nicu with a feeding tube. My poor sister has also had some complications and has felt terrible! The good thing is, I think they're both going to be okay.

Out of 4 babies born on the Woodward side in the last 9 months, Jack is the only boy...how fun for him to have three girl cousins his same age!

We had a great time in St. George a couple of weeks ago. We always end up staying longer than we plan because we love it so much! Now we even have an awesome babysitter down there who Ellie LOVES, so we feel like we can enjoy it even more :). While there, I took Ellie & Jack to the Wildlife museum...it was great! My Grandpa has been telling me to take Ellie to it for so long, and I was very pleasantly surprised. So, anyone going to St. George ought to check it out :). We also had fun golfing, swimming, walking, and cycling.

Home Sweet Home

I love my new house!!! We've been here one week now, and I absolutely love it! Thank you Johnny for all of your hard work in finding our home, moving, and paying for it :)! We have lots of space, and killer views of downtown SLC, Little Cottonwood Canyon, AND the Oquirs (sp?). We have had beautiful sunsets several nights this week. That is one thing I missed when I lived in PC...no sunsets! Now we have the perfect house for watching them and a great balcony to watch them on. Okay, enough. I'm just so happy...it was so nice to go shopping one night to Target, BabiesRUs, and TJMaxx...and it was less than a 10 minute drive! And since we've been married, I have always had to fill up my gas tank at least once a week (sometimes more)...but I've been here a week and still have almost a half a tank!!! Plus, we have flowers blooming in our yard and we've been on walks almost every day. I've met several of the neighbors and so far, so good. In fact, I couldn't believe how many people were outside on Sunday! I took Ellie and Montana out for a walk and met several nice families. And Ellie is loving being so close to her cousins! The only problem is she has temper tantrums every time they go home...hopefully she'll get used to the idea that they're so close and she can play with them all the time.

Moose!

Sunday night we had four, YES 4, moose in our yard! It was a little family...a bull, a cow, and two calves just walking around! By the time we got the camera and followed them we couldn't find the bull, but here is a picture of the other three. It was fun to see some wildlife on our last week here. It's definitely a reminder that we're leaving the mountains. I wonder if we'll miss the wildlife. We see moose every few months right in our yard, and last year John chased a bear down the street from our house (some of you may remember seeing him and his pictures on the news :)). I don't think we'll see that kind of wildlife in our new neighborhood! Sad. At least I won't be freaked out about taking my kids on walks. Last year I got so spooked by a giant moose while on a walk, I wouldn't go near that trail again.

Okay, just one more :)

Okay, I had to add this picture of Ellie because it shows her dimples and her big teeth. She is so funny and loves to tease her daddy. I think she was laughing at him when this shot was taken. She LOVES her daddy! And John is such a sucker...he spoils her rotten. I don't think he can ever take her to the store - any store - without buying her something. Last night it was the Jungle Book DVD; earlier this week it was a new princess ball. They have so much fun together! I love to watch them play. Before we had kids, I knew John would be a good dad, but I didn't realize how much he would enjoy his kids and how hands-on he'd be.