Picnic!

Tonight we had a little picnic out by the Botany Pond Park. Christian played with the soccer ball, Patrick and I threw the football, and then we took Christian to the pond to see the ducks!



Ducks!


He loves his daddy!


He really knows how to relax- :) Check out that sprawled foot.

8th Monthary! (Buptism!)

I finally got around to taking Christian's 8 month pictures. He no longer sits peacefully on the chair peacefully and let mama take pictures.



He tried to climb up the chair and lunged over to the keyboard...

What a handful!:D



These are simply going to have to suffice has Christian's 8 Month pictures- He's found a new toy! Thankfully, Patrick just cleaned the bathroom!




He's so stinking cute!! That smile gets him out of too much trouble!

Cousins!

We had Josh, Lisa, and Mallory over a few days ago. Christian let Mallory play in his exersaucer. He stood next to her and helped her get the flower to chew on. It was so cute!!

He is such a nice boy! What a terrific big brother he'll make some day.

He's a boy!

Oh man. So our 'baby' is starting to act like a little kid more and more each day.

Somehow this little tyke got ahold of a pen...and of course, drew on himself. Yes, after seeing my nephews, I know that this is NOTHING compared to what is yet to come..but still..I thought 7 1/2 months was a little early to get started! :)

I tried to get a closer picture, but Christian was having too much fun playing Grab-the -Camera. It's a bit hard to see but there's marks on his tummy and his face. It was much more apparent in real life. :)

Blessings overflow

As we are trying to catch up on our blog, there was an incident recently of which we must give thanks. About a week ago, I went to head out the door early in the morning. Out on our door step were several bags of groceries. Many canned items, cereal, boxes, and a large (huge) zuchinni. We are SO grateful to whomever the perpetrator(s) is/are! If you happen to read this, please know that we are so appreciative to your thoughtfulness and generosity.

Patrick and I are often caught in awe of the Lord's mindfulness of us. We're just a simple little family and yet he knows us- he knows our needs, he knows our wants. Small as we may be I have gained a newfound testimony that we are important to him.

Thank you, Thank you.

Flower Power

I inherited some artificial flowers from my aunt and Christian LOVES them. They used to be in a big bag by our bed and whenever he was on our bed, he'd crawl right over to the edge and play with the pretty flowers. We moved the bag and to behind our bedroom door. I would often go to find Christian and there he is, just happily playing with his flowers. He's a manly man, but he sure enjoys beauty when he sees it. One day soon he'll be picking flowers for his mama. :D Im excited. :)

He's so happy!


Melt your heart!!

Splish, Splash He was Takin' a Bath...

Late Nights

So, occasionally we don't get around to eating dinner till quite late. Last Thursday was one of those nights. It seems we were just so crammed and busy....Oh right. I took my final that evening...blegh. Anyways, after I got home about 9, we bathed Christian, put him to bed, and realized we were hungry. So! Patrick, once again proving himself to be the greatest EVER, cooked us up a delicious pasta bake. What a champ. He called mom (as we often find ourselves doing) to get her cooking expertise. Hehe- i think we probably call her at least once a week, often more, with some cooking question. I guess its really her fault for being such a gormet chef! :) Thanks, mom! :)



Here is the fabulous dinner that we ate about 10:30. :) Along with the lovely sunflower that Patrick gave me. What a Man! (Sorry, ladies- he's TAKEN. FOR EVER. :) )

Nathan's Birthday Party

We celebrated our nephew Nathan Staiger's 2nd birthday party last saturday at Nate and Molly's neighborhood clubhouse. We were going to go swimming, but the pool water was freezing beyond the artics, so the swim didn't last long.
Robbie got us all started on arm wrestling- he is a super BUFF dude!! He beat one of his aunts and put up a terrific fight against the rest of us women.

The ultimate match was between Vard and Becky- Becky is extreme Wonder Woman- seriously. She's amazing.

The brother's have a go.


Christian's new tongue trick.


Grandma and Christian taking a nap.


Hahaha- this is so my dad. He and mom were sleeping, but he awoke enough to know I was about to take a picture- Notice his smile? :)

So, my nephew Timothy takes top prize for chunkiness- Check out these legs!! He weighs several pounds more than Christian and he is almost 2 months younger. Wow. I think his milk is really cream. :)


Here's the cutie.

Castle Valley

About 2 weeks ago...
We had such a fun time going down to the Castle Valley Pageant with Nate and Molly. To start off the evening, we enjoyed the traditional Lamb Fry fundraiser. Patrick was greatly pleased with the lamb. :) The Pageant tells the story of the early pioneers who settled in San Pete and were called by Brigham Young to setlle Castle Valley. Although I found it quite cheesy as I find most pageants to be, I nevertheless found myself brought to tears several times. Yes, I am a sap. :)


Us as a pioneer family- I love how Christian's hands are poking through. :)

The most incredible part of the whole thing for me were the stars. Wow. I have been camping several times, been to yellowstone, been out in the boonies, but I don't think I have ever seen such incredible stars. They were so bright and seemed so close. For me, stars are earthly proof that there is a God and that He truly is in control.

Mountains!

We went over to Josh and Lisa's last night to watch a soccer game. Really, so that Patrick and Josh could watch the game. :) They have a giant love sac in their living room that Christian thought was the greatest toy ever invented. I'd put him up at the top and then he would either slide or roll down. He was laughing and laughing. He'd stand and the bottom and try so hard to climb up the sac- Not a very easy feat. He also managed to climb up and into their little baby bouncer swing. AHHH! Monkey on our hands! It was pretty surprising- Though it was SUPER late: we didn't leave till about 11, (which is super late for your kid to be up) Christian didn't fuss at all- It wasn't until we made him calm down with a bottle that he showed signs of sleepiness- He was just having so much fun!

The whole thing only furthered my belief that we should remove all furniture and buy a love sac. ;)

Friday

Today I watched our friend's little girl while she went for an ultrasound. It was crazy! (and so fun!) These two kids are so intrigued but tile/linoleum that even though there were all sorts of exciting toys, they kept gravitating towards the kitchen floor. I finally moved the couch over to block off the room. This made me desire to get rid of both couch and cocoa table, though it wouldn't be very practical for entertaining. I vote we get rid of everything and go for a love sac. They are much more child friendly. Alas. Someday we will have a bit more space.

Exciting things of the day:

Our ward had an activity down in Payson, and Christian went out on the lake for the first time! He was not a fan of the jacket as it was a bit big and was a bit like a neck brace, but a suffocating neck brace. Once we were out a bit, he started to enjoy himself. :) The paddle boats were awesome. Funny thing: as we were trying to head back to shore, our rudder gave out. We would go forward about 2 feet, then suddenly turn in a full circle. There was a couple waiting for the boat and I'm sure we looked like jerks, continuously circling and never coming in--but there was nothing we could do! Finally, after repeating this about 10 times, our friends in kayaks saved us. I was laughing pretty hard. :)

Christian had his first teeth-brushing tonight for his FOUR teeth. ahh! crazy!
We're trying to get some pictures of the actual teeth, but it's harder than one might think!

And most excitingly.....*drumroll*......CHRISTIAN HAS LEARNED HOW TO WAVE!!!!!! We're so excited!!! ahhh....what a genius. :D

Oh. And Patrick traversed the most perilous waters and risked his life to bring me my favorite flower tonight. How romantical. :)

President Faust

President James E. Faust passed away early this morning. I am completely inadequate to pay a proper tribute to him. I felt quite somber this morning after learning the news.
I have been struggling with a situation for quite some time now and after harboring pain for far too long, just yesterday sought the peace of forgiveness, both desired and given. I found it quite humbling to recall President Faust's final conference talk was on forgiveness. It really reminded me that life here on earth is too short to hold grudges or take offense. I need to work on that.

President Faust's concluding words: Let us remember that we need to forgive to be forgiven. In the words of one of my favorite hymns, "Oh, forgive as thou wouldst be e'en forgiven now by me."20 With all my heart and soul, I believe in the healing power that can come to us as we follow the counsel of the Savior "to forgive all men."21 In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I am so grateful to have been old enough to have heard and grown to love this great man. I am confident he is moving mountains more than ever before.

There's gunna be Trouble! Right here in Provo City!

The last 4 days have been crazy! Christian is developing so rapidly! He's been crawling/army crawling for about a month and a half now, but within the last week has made "real' crawling is main form of transportation. When we were up at the cabin two weekends ago, he woke up at about 4:30am screaming. I rubbed my finger along his gums, and where there was nothing the day before, now there were tooth nubs! Our little guy is getting 4 teeth. Four! crazy.

Yesterday I went to get Christian from his crib- he was kneeling up, biting the crib rail.


Evidence of four teeth.

Now we've got to lower the mattress and get a plastic teething rail.

Two days ago he started pulling himself up using furniture. Yesterday I witnessed him get into sitting position by himself. This kid is everywhere!! I've tried setting up barriers to block off the room, but he manages to crawl through, under, over, and around them. Life is definitely getting exciting around here!

There's Gonna be Trouble! Trouble! Trouble!



We knew this would happen someday, but I just didn't think it would all happen in 4 days!

Luckily, he's still he's easy-going, super happy self. Just a very curious easy-going, super happy self. And a very mobile self. :) He's the best!

The Power of One

Tonight we watched The Power of One at Nate and Molly's house. It was based on the WWII/ afrikaan period in South Africa. It made me think about several things. 1) We are all children of God. Each of us- no one is better than another. What a silly and foolish thought- to think we are above another because of our skin, our education, our job, our wealth, our heritage. Each of us, individually, is a beloved child of God. To Him, none of those things matter, just like before we came to earth none of it mattered and just like once we leave this earth none of it will matter. How silly of us to get caught up in such pride during our short stay here!

I often (and too easily) get caught up in wants. Wanting to have nice things, wanting more. In the movie we watched, the African people who lived in the ghettos, who had practically nothing, they were the happiest. They were the most willing to look past skin, most willing to give another a chance, most willing to help a brother. Those who seemed to have everything in comparison, had nothing. They let pride and the desire to gain more and be 'on top' take away what was truly important, family, and thus lost it all.

I want to help change the world! I want to make it a better place! As I start to feel frustrated about my seemingly inability to do something, I remember that I am a mother. I will have children and will do my best to raise them to love their fellow man, to do whats right, and to help make this world a better place. In this, my duty, I can help to change the world.

To those who are unaware, there is an amazing website out there: www.thehungersite.com . Through sponsors, they are able to donate a cup of food for each click received daily. What a simple, simple thing! It couldn't get any easier! And yet, I sometimes forget- too caught up in emails, too caught up in 'surfing', too caught up in myself. Please, add this site to your daily 'web repretoire'. How simple it is to help, how true: the Power of One.

Vietnam

Sunday night we had an awesome experience. The Moving Wall was here in Provo at the Memorial Park this past week and we decided to take a walk to visit it. Im so glad we did! I wish I had pictures, but our camera battery died. The Moving Wall is an exact replica (though smaller) of the Wall in D.C. There were loads of people there and a big tent were they would help you locate whomever you wanted on the Wall. There was an elderly gentleman there who shared his story of the war with a group of us. There's a group of 40 names on the wall who were in his 'group'(I don't know the correct terms). He calls them "My Guys".

He told stories of fighting with them, being under intense attack from the enemy, trying to save others, recovering bodies, rescuing the wounded, and other great acts of heroism. He commented that these men and women are heroes. We use the word hero too lightly today- Michael Jordon, Tiger Woods, and others are great athletes,and some even may be good role models, but they aren't heroes. They are paid millions for what they do. He said if we're going to use the word hero for these people, we need a better word for these soldiers- those who gave everything, sacrificed everything, for what they believe in.

He also mentioned the war in Iraq. I don't pretend to know at all what's going on over there and I'm certainly not well-read on the issue, but I do think we need to support our troops. The gentleman commented that today the soldiers have volunteered- they have personally chosen to go fight for us, for our country. The draft was instated for Vietnam, so many of those soldiers didn't want to be there, didn't want to fight. Whether we believe in the war or not, the troops deserve our support. I want to seek out ways to show my support and to be more involved in my country and those protecting our freedoms.

It was such an incredible experience. After this man finished speaking we all applauded. He very humbly said, "For them, for the guys on the Wall. I'm not a hero, They are."

Sir, for fighting for our country, for making your story known, for teaching pride of our country to your posterity, to me, you are a hero.

Grandma Summerhays

What a beautiful Grandma!

We love Grandma Summerhays!! She is such a funny lady! :) We went to visit her last Tuesday night and brought along a strawberry pie to share. I made the pie as a surprise for Patrick since I found a great deal on the berries and was pretty excited about it. Anyway, we took it over to share with Grandma, but it hadn't set up right- It was super liquidy and we had to eat it in bowls. I was pretty disappointed but Grandma just raved about it. "Oh, I love strawberry pie! Wow! Fresh strawberries! What a crust!" etc. It wasn't actually that terrific (or even terrific at all),but Grandma sure made me feel great about it. :)


She and Christian share a pretty special bond. She was so excited about him my whole pregnancy and we brought him to see her when he was 6 days old.

She was so happy about that. Then, at about 3 weeks, he put on a big show for her full of smiles, laughs, and coos, something he'd never done before. She still talks about that special night every time we visit. Tuesday he kept going after her ring and watch, pulling her hand and fingers to which she exclaimed "whoa, boy! They can put you to work milking cows!" It was funny.




She is so special to me. I have no living grandparents now, so I am so grateful for every moment spent with Patrick's. Grandma Summerhays is an amazing woman. We love hearing her stories, her excitement for BYU football, her great positive attitude, and everything else about her. I love how she speaks so highly of others, especially Mom Summerhays. She raves about mom every visit (and the raving is well-deserved).


(her hair isn't done in these pictures, but I still think she looks great- She still has that friendly look and I think she radiates.)

She sure loves Patrick! Maybe it's because he's going to be a band director and they share a love of music or maybe its the BYU connection, or maybe it's just because he's so dang awesome. :)


WE LOVE YOU, GRANDMA!

Blessings

We had a pretty neat experience of the Lord's hand in our lives Wednesday night. Patrick and I were watching a movie together when there was a loud pounding on the door. Not the friendly 'knock knock knock' when a friend is announcing their presence, but a hard pounding. Because the movie we were watching was a little intense, it scared me. Patrick called out "who's there?" and with me hiding in the bedroom answered the door. The "culprit" had left us 3 bags of groceries! We were super happy about it and are extremely grateful to whomever felt to help us that night. The Relief Society theme for the year is "being instruments in God's hands"- Thank you to whomever was a greatly appreciated instrument in His hands. Just another little testimony that Heavenly Father does know us and our needs and is watching over us. :)

Thank you, mystery friend.

Swimming!

Monday night for our FHE activity we let Christian swim and Patrick and I played games outside. He's patiently helping me hone my football skills- we are greatly anticipating the start of football season. I am a totally different person in this regard compared to my pre-Patrick life. Though I've been to loads of football games in my life due to marching band, I have never cared about the sport. Patrick has changed this completely. I am so excited! I'm totally geared up and ready to go. I think I'll even make football cookies for the games. :) (hey, I'm still a girl!)
Christian was quite eager to help with the pool.



Here's his super sweet hair post-drying. Awesome!