Last Weekend

Ava and I were lucky enough to spend last weekend in Arizona visiting my Mom, Rod, Becca and Nick.  It was so much fun to be there!  I miss my Mom so much.  I moved to Utah so I could live closer to her and then she up and moved to Arizona!  The weather was fabulous and Ava had so much fun playing at the park and drawing with sidewalk chalk!  She loves to be outside so it was a great treat for her to get to play outside after a long and snowy winter.  Her are few pics from our trip, I wish that I would have taken a few more :(

What does your name mean

What Julie Means

You are fair, honest, and logical. You are a natural leader, and people respect you. You never give up, and you will succeed... even if it takes you a hundred tries. You are rational enough to see every part of a problem. You are great at giving other people advice. You are a very lucky person. Things just always seem to go your way. And because you're so lucky, you don't really have a lot of worries. You just hope for the best in life. You're sometimes a little guilty of being greedy. Spread your luck around a little to people who need it. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

AVA

My first post on family(see prior post) is of course about my Ava.  What a special child of God she is!  She has made my life so full of love and happiness.  I am lucky and proud to be her Mother.  It is my prayer everyday that I will do the best I can to help her be the best she can be.  It is the hardest job I have ever had.  I had no idea how broad the scope of Motherhood, but I am thankful for the opportunity to experience it, as well as learn and grow through it.  I just want to share some things that I love about Ava:  she loves to cuddle, she is very social and talks to everyone (I hope that she doesn't outgrow this), her dance moves make me laugh, and her smell.  She has the cutest vocabulary.  Here are a few of the cute things she says:

fridge =  fridger

donkey = honkey

toilet paper = paper paper

cup cakes = pup cakes

shadow = eye shadow

Emily = Elomy

Marshmellow = Farfellow

Cooper = Coop (in her earlier day it was pooper)

Everybody = all a body

Pre School = pe school

And her most used word is Why?

There is a little girl in Ava's class named Tuesday.  Gail told me that for the first two weeks of class Ava called her Sunday! When learning the song the Farmer in the Dale, Ava would sing the Farmer in the Desk!  She is such a crack up.

She loves all the people in her family and when asked who is in her family and who loves her she will give you this list: Katie, Ryan, Cooper, Savannah, Luka, you (as in me, the mom), Becca, Grammy, Rod, Nick, Gail (her babysitter), Grandpa Scott and Grandma Nan, Sharon, Brad, Tyler, Elomy, Nathan, her Dad and Clarissa, her sister Alexa, her uncles Sergio, Alex, and Arthur, Kika and Big Butch (her step grandparents), Carly, Jenna, Mike, Cole, Noah, Heidi, Josh, Lilli, Mary, Bubba, Big Josh, Ronnie, and seriously she will go on and on with the list of names.  It is quite the list!  But hey, at least she now she is loved.  She loves being in her Sunbeam class at church and every time we drive by the church she says "is today church day?"  She love pre school and looks forward to seeing all her friends everyday.  She is such a cute little girl.  It is such a privilege to be her mother and her friend.  Lately, at bedtime she will tell me "Mom I love you so much" and " you are so cute mom".  It is the best part of my day.

On Family

Family is defined as: a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head : household: a group of persons of common ancestry : clan : a people or group of peoples regarded as deriving from a common stock : race: a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation : fellowship: the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children; also : any of various social units differing from but regarded as equivalent to the traditional family family>  spouse and childrenfamily>the staff of a high official (as the President).  I though all of these were quite accurate. Now, you might be thinking okay this is random, but last week in one of my social work classes we discussed families.  My teacher asked many questions like:  Who is in your family? Describe your family?  What do you do with your families?  My family is great because? Sometimes my family is?  The biggest problem facing American families today?  These questions have really been on my mind all week. Family.  It is such a wonderful blessing and sometimes our greatest challenge.  I have been thinking about all the people who make up my family.  I am so truly blessed to have such wonderful people in my life who I consider "family".  Here are a few interesting fact about family from on of my social work books.  The family is recognized as humanity's basic institutions.  Sociologists, social workers, psychiatrists, anthropologists, lay leaders, and average citizens agree that the family is fundamental to society.  No other established patten has been found more effective in molding the personality of children and adults.  Social, personal, and emotional ties inhere more intimately in this relationship than in any other social dimension.  I thought these were pretty powerful facts!  I agree with them completely.  My new goal is to do an entry about all the people in my "family" and what they mean to me and how they contribute to my life.  I think that it will be fun and interesting.  Who is in your family and what do they mean to you?

Somebody SHOOT ME!!!!

I just looked out the window and saw that it was snowing yet again!  Seriously people I can't take it any more.  NO MORE SNOW!!!! Especially Mon-Thurs when I have to walk to class.  It is the worst to be walking up hill on snow.  It is slippery and I know that very soon I will actually fall and look like a total idiot.  I slipped so bad last Wednesday that the guy walking behinde me asked if I was okay.  I was okay, but my ego was not.  Somebody please, make the snow stop!  I need a Hawaiian vacation.  Anyone want to run away with me?

Sleeping Beauty

This is my cute little sleeping beauty.  I think that most parents will agree with me that there is just something special about seeing your kids sleeping soundly.  This picture gives you a pretty good idea about how close Ava sleeps to me all night.  Right on the edge of my pillow and keeps her hand on me pretty much all night.  When we go to bed she insists on cuddling and that I squeeze her really tight.  Last night she was getting mad because I wasn't squeezing tight enough! She is such a joy to have around.  The down side to having her sleep with me is that I can't get a good nights sleep when she is in California!  I know I need to start working on getting her to sleep in her own bed, but I have to admit I just like having her with me.  Last night she was up crying with an ear ache so we will be heading to Kids Care right after I go to my math class.  I have a mid term on Thursday so there is no way I am missing class today.  Wish me luck, cause if you know much about my math skills I really need a miracle on this one :)

Food for Thought

I have been thinking about how President Hinckley has had an affect on my life through out the past week and the biggest thing that I could think of to share is the book Stand a Little Taller. Three years ago I made the choice to become an active Latter Day Saint and it was a HUGE change for me.   Not only was I changing the way I lived my life on a day to day basis but I had changed my surroundings as well and add to that a 2 month old baby.  WOW, talk about identity crisis!  I found this book in my Grandpa's office and was really drawn to it.  It became a part of my daily life.  I was spiritually hungry and this fed my hunger and gave me something to ponder the teachings of the gospel.  We are so blessed to live in time where we have the teachings of a latter day prophet and the many wonderful prophets who where here on the earth before us right at our finger tips.  This book has truly made a difference in my life and my testimony.  If you don't have your own copy I recommend you put it on your list of must haves. I want to share the thought from yesterday, cause it is one of my favorites.

Life in Christ

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luke 9:23

The Lord declared: "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 10:39).  These words have something more than a cold theological meaning.  They are a statement of a law of life - that as we lose ourselves in a great cause we find ourselves - and there is no greater cause than that of the Master. 

Wow!  Isn't that an amazing and true concept.  I want to thank the many people who have taken the opportunity to give service to me and Ava.  Our lives have truly been enriched by your service and I could not make it without the many act of love and kindness that have been offered on our behalf.