MOVING... Ahhh

Well, on this night when I should be in bed I find myself not able to sleep, so I decide to blog instead... hmm. Well I am going to get better at this whole blogging thing so I can better keep up with life's events and keep everyone better informed about us :)

So we are moving to Star Valley! We are pretty excited about it, I have a job opportunity that makes pretty good money and I will only be away from Tamina for 2 hours a day. I really can't beat that because Tamina is my first priority. We are pretty excited about the thought of getting ourselves out of our debts and moving on with life in a better financially stable way. It will take time of course, but we will be able to start seeing results faster then where we are at right now, so that makes us pretty happy. We really feel like this is the right move to where we need to be next as a family. It took some time and convincing, but I guess when you feel that peace of mind (even when there is a lot of controversy and craziness going on around you) you can't deny it and you better follow, cause the Lord knows better then we do.

Tamina has been doing awesome with everything going on, and her world pretty much getting changed drastically. She is a bit more loving and a bit more clingy to me, but she is still the sweetest little angel. I don't know what I would do without her and Brandon they are my strength and my rock when I feel I am going to go crazy or completely fall apart. I am also thankful for wonderful friends and family.

I apologize for the many pictures to come and the catching up, that is why I need to do better, and I will do better. But here are a few highlights of our summer up until now.

 This picture I just happened to capture and I love it. She has such a cute personality. Oh and Yay for summer hats :)

Now this is what happens when you give this girl a graham cracker with icing, hahaha, she licks all the icing off the best she can then leaves the graham cracker.

 Now these two pictures are what happens when she learns how to say the word dance and then hears some music. A most precious sight indeed.

 She loves the park and she loved it when I finally gave in and just let her go down the slide by herself.

 She got a fish :) She loves her 'fishy' (that is what his name is) In the picture above she is blowing him kisses goodnight. Then in the picture below she was wanting to pet him and wave night night. Lol, this little girl is so full of love for anyone and anything.

Yay for the Carousal being open. She wasn't sure what to think about it at first, but then after the first time she LOVED it. She would yell yah yah as we went around. 

This is us going on the stake Temple Walk. It was a beautiful morning and my camera ran out of battery so I wasn't able to take any other pictures, but it was such a neat experience. I was able to make it 5.5 miles pushing a stroller and up and down hills. It was awesome to be able to point out the temple and explain to Tamina how important it is (although I know she doesn't understand all I say just yet) She was a trooper and I am so thankful the that opportunity to do that with her. 

So I won't post until I get all settled again up at my moms house cause everything here is pretty much all crazy anyway. I am thankful for so much and though I feel so overwhelmed and unsure of things at times, I will just say this. I know the Lord knows our sorrows, our heart aches, our joy, our pain, our insecurities and so much more, but please never loose hope. He does hear and answer our prayers and although it may take more trials to get us to where we are wanting to be and where the Lord knows we are supposed to be, it will be worth it in the end when he says "welcome home my dear one" I will miss so much about Rexburg, believe it or not I will even miss my teaching calling on Sunday because I have learned so much, but we are onward to where the Lord needs us next. It's kind of crazy how life works, but I know he is listening to me, I just pray I am doing the best I can with what he has given me.

Star Valley Fun

It is always fun to go to Star Valley and enjoy some quality time with my family. Growing up on a farm I though I would never want to come back, because it is hard work, but I really enjoy it and am so glad Tamina gets the chance to share in the open air, freedom, fun and even some of the work that goes along with it. She really enjoys the animals and the HUGE lawn that she gets to run around in and play. When we got here we were able to make and decorate the cupcakes for Vannece's birthday, 16 years already I can't believe it! My siblings are growing up way to fast.

 We went to the park and enjoyed it for a bit. Tamina would live outside 24/7 if she could, but it was getting rather warm and we had my nieces and nephews coming so we went home. Tamina loves her cousins Saige. They are only 4 months difference and they are the same height and they love to play together :)

 Who knew two pieces of ice in an ice cube tray could be so entertaining. They loved touching their fingers to the ice and then putting their finger on the other one or on one of us lol.

 We gave her a water balloon and I tried to get a picture of her with a water balloon like 5 times, but each time she managed to drop it right before I snapped the picture. She couldn't figure out why it kept disappearing every time it hit the ground.

 Enjoying the great outdoors, she loves Popsicle and even got to play in the sprinkler a little bit. She also enjoyed watching Grandpa work on the swather and trying to figure out why he was under there lol.

Look what the dust pan caught ;) She likes helping with the chores, both inside and out, and she is always smiling and so happy. She has loved being outside so much and although mommy got burnt to a crisp yesterday, she was lucky and we kept enough sunscreen on her that she didn't get affected by the sun. She even managed to not get a single mosquito bite while I have been getting eaten a live!

Also some exciting news for this week, I have gotten a transcription job! YAY! I will get 0.20 for every recorded minute. I know that doesn't sound like a lot but the better I get at typing and the faster I can get at editing and using correct grammar then the more that will bring in, in less an amount of time. So I am very excited, a little nervous, but am so glad for this opportunity. I know it is a blessing and that it will help us out. So I hope it goes well and that I can get really good at it and I sure hope I can keep improving my grammar. Commas are the death of me!

Brandon is doing great. He really enjoys working for Killpack Trucking. In fact he was able to actually have a vacation and he spent a whole week off at home. It wasn't at a time we planned, but it was wonderful to have him for all that time. He has had some medical problems, but they think they finally have it figured out and have a medication that will work for him but with his job at the same time. They have had him on others, but you just cannot be drowsy and be a truck driver. We really appreciate him and all he does for our family.  Oh we even took Tamina to the Zoo while he was home! I will have to post pictures from the Zoo another time because they are on my actual camera.

Here are some other fun pictures from this summer so far:
Mowing the lawn with Daddy.

 Nice Sunday walk at Nature Park to feed the ducks with Mommy.

 Enjoying Grandma and Grandpa's Ipad while waiting for Home Teachers to come one nice Sunday evening.

 Relaxing and enjoying the car ride with Christopher while we helped to take him to the dentist.

 Me trying to get a good shot of my new glasses. I really like them and it is crazy how such a small difference in sight can feel so good :)

EASTER and Conference Weekends

Oh what a fun time it is to have a young one in the house for each holiday. It helps us to have fun with the holidays, but also reminds us even more of the true meaning of each holiday as we are teaching our little one the true meaning of each holiday. Easter this year was fun as we got everything ready, we decided that we would use our plastic eggs again this year because we didn't really want to deal with trying to remind Tamina that the dye-water was not for drinking. So we went with the less messy method this year, and I think it was a success we had a lot of fun anyway.

We were also so excited it was warm enough we could hide some outside and let her enjoy the sidewalk chalk we had gotten for her.

She wasn't really sure what to think about the eggs at first, but she has played with them before so she enjoyed it when she woke up just enough to realize they were already around the house and she got to pick them up and shake them and there was something inside!

Easter Sunday is always fun to get dressed up, but also to be able to enjoy the sacrament and the special meaning it has, and it's importance every Sunday. But it just seems so much more special on Easter Sunday as we remember the Lord and his sacrifice and the amazing power he has in our lives to help us in every aspect.

We also had a fun time watching conference the weekend before. She loved just sitting on the floor enjoying her snacks and me trying to point out each speaker and telling her their name.

She is also getting so helpful at helping herself. I can't believe how much she grows and how fast she picks up on things. I know I say that a lot, but she knows where things are and she helps herself to them. She likes chips and decided she wanted some so in the time I walk down the hall to put some laundry away and walk back into the living room this is what I see...

She gave me the sweetest smile as if to say, yes mom I have helped myself and I am so proud of myself. lol, oh it was so cute. Although our lives are full of lots of different things going on, I know that my Heavenly Father is always near and watching over us. I'm thankful for him, my Husband and my Daughter and my heavenly son also. Life is full of trials, it is our choice to live them and do so with a smile. :)

Mothers Day and Our Fun Crazy life

Well this year was a great Mothers Day, besides being spoiled beyond belief from my husband and the cutest and most precious 'picture' drawn by my daughter, I have really enjoyed being a mother. There is nothing to compare to the joy and thrills that a little one brings into our lives and helps us to remember the small things in life. Such as this adorable picture of my sleeping princess after a good afternoon of playing hard.

Well i don't think that I have mentioned this yet, but I am the second Sunday teacher in the Relief Society. It is fun, and I have gained so much from it, but it is definitely not easy for me. I think I received the call more for my own growth and learning than for the learning and growth of others. It has been a blessing in disguise and at times I truly feel it is being disguised because I have a hard time with many of the topics I am asked to teach because they touch so closely to my heart. My family is the most precious thing I have, and I would never give that up for anything. I'm so thankful for a spouse who allows me to be a stay at home mom to our children. 

She was wearing my shoes around the house one day and then another day she wanted to be all bundled up just like her dad.

She is always surprising us with how much she picks up and how fast she learns. She likes to be just like us, and while at times it is a call to attention to watch our actions and words, it is such a proud moment as a parent also. :)

Life is Good

What a blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives, we get to listen to General Conference starting tomorrow. I can't wait, it is always a learning experience for me to listen to the leaders of the church, and have the opportunity to learn how I can even better my life by their counsel.

Well Tamina is now almost 15 months old! My how time goes by, she has learned so much and is growing so fast. This is a picture from her first birthday, she had fun smashing the cake between her fingers and all over her face.  :)

She now loves to walk and run, laugh, play and try and see the things she can reach on the table or counter and pull them to the floor lol, she is such a joy. She loves to play peek-a-boo and give lots of hugs and kisses. She already enjoys the outdoors, which I am so exited about.

For valentines day she enjoyed helping me decorate Brandon's chair so that he could be surprised when he got home. She got to start playing with crayons and she enjoys scribbling on paper now. 

Brandon is really enjoying working for Killpack and enjoys the environment there. They treat him with respect which is so important in a job, so he works very hard for them. In February I went with him for a week and we had a lot of fun. We got to go to Ohio and back. I enjoy going with him once a year to have that week alone with him and just have a good time. He is a wonderful husband and I know Tamina and I both appreciate him so very much for all he does for our family. He also works with a really good friend of his, they have a good time being able to talk and work together. 

I enjoy being able to be at home with Tamina and being her mother, and also the duties I have as a wife. Already I have a hard time keeping up with how fast Tamina can get her toys out of her toy box. She is getting to be pretty quick. The other day I was doing dishes and she was playing with my tupperware lids in the drawer next to me and the next thing I know she had walked over to the counter, grabbed the back of chips and walked off, reaching in to grab a chip and went to enjoy her victory. hahaha. She has such an amazing personality, she laughs so much and she will even laugh just at random. She also enjoys playing on the bed while I make it, this is her after about half an hour of playing and we finally got the bed finished :)

Life can be hard at times, but I am so thankful that Brandon and I have the gospel and each other to get through the tough times. We have learned a lot about communication and true unconditional love. We couldn't have asked for a better daughter, and we definitely love our lives. We feel we are making progress in many ways and that we are getting better so that one day we can return and live with our Heavenly Father, and our baby boy. Life teaches us many lessons and it is very busy, but never too busy to have a good time and enjoy the ride while we are here.