What??!

Ok, so we have been living here in this little town of Paradise for 2 years now. We are pretty much used to how different it is from LA. However, every once in a while, I still experience things that trip me out. Let me illustrate. A couple of days ago, I was driving down to Chico and there are a lot of fields on the way. All of a sudden, I saw a cow running down the side of the highway with another cow behind the fence, where they are supposed to be, chasing after her--probably trying to help her come back to the herd. It kind of caught me off guard to see that, so I said a little prayer to help the cow get back to the herd safely. Then, on my way back out of Chico is when I saw what I have never seen before. There was a police car blocking the highway with some traffic backed up behind it. Yes, I have seen a million and one traffic jams in my lifetime, but never have I seen a traffic jam with a loose cow running around and a cowboy on a horse trying to lasso it! Crazy! It felt surreal. Anyway, I never thought that I would have a prayer answered by a cowboy on a horse. :)

Worms

So today it was pouring rain and I was getting the girls ready to go grocery shopping. On our way out, Melia noticed 3 worms floating in a puddle by our door. They were still alive and trying to wiggle their way out. Melia immediately wanted to help them. Melia: "We need to get the worms out of the water because they don't like water." Against my more practical instincts that would tell me that it was more important to just get out of the rain and get to the car, I let her go ahead. I admit it--I am a sucker for all animals in need--great and small. So she tried and tried to get them out of the water unsuccessfully as it continued to rain on us. I tried to speed the process along by grabbing a pen and trying to fish them out myself, but to no avail. I finally told her that we just needed to go. Melia: "But what about the worms, mommy? They need help." Mommy: "I know sweetie, but we just don't have time to help them right now. We need to go." Melia: "Can we help them when we come back?" Well, I know and you know that they would probably not make it that long, but how could I say no to this sweet little girl wanting to help the worms? So I told her we could try if we had time. Up to the garage we went to finally get loaded in the car when what should we happen upon? Another worm in need. So as I got Naiya buckled up in the car, Melia actually got this one out of the puddle and put him on the floor of the garage. Melia (to the worm): "There you go little guy. It's nice and dry in here and this can be your new home forever and ever." As we drove to the store, Melia was so happy that she was able to help the worm and couldn't stop talking about how we needed to hurry and go back home so we could help the worm's mommy, daddy and sister, who were still in the other puddle by our door. She told the check out lady at the store all about how she saved the worm too. I asked her if she wanted to see a picture of her new baby cousin, Jacob, when we got home and she said, "Well, maybe after we help the worms." So when we came home, I let her go to work on helping the worms while I put away the groceries. There were only 2 left in there when we got back. I guess the sister managed to escape or floated down the stream. Anyway, Melia managed to get both worms out and on to dry land. One of them was still alive (barely) and the other had clearly gone to meet his maker. However, she watched over both of them and kept checking on them throughout the afternoon. The one worm managed to crawl away and the other is still lying in the exact same spot. Melia has accepted the fact that he died, but is comforted by the assurance that, if it's not raining tomorrow, we can dig a little hole and bury him. In her prayer before she went to bed, she let God know about her burial plans for the worm. :) Having kids makes me understand more and more why the scriptures tell us to be like little children.

Happy Easter!

We had a low key, but fun Easter this year. We spent the entire day on Sunday in our jammies at home. We watched conference, had a little Family Home Evening about Jesus and the resurrection, painted Easter eggs, had a hunt, made Easter bunny smores, and just hung out and enjoyed our little family. :)


Melia "reading" a book to Naiya from their Easter baskets.


Melia met the Easter bunny at the park and was totally enchanted by him.


You can't really see in this picture, but Bo has a green bean in his mouth and is feeding Naiya "birdie style". It was totally cute!


Naiya and Daddy ready for the egg hunt!


The spoils from her conquest.

A Moment

Yesterday at church I had this little lightbulb moment. It was testimony Sunday and one of our little 5 year old girls got up and wanted to give her testimony. She was a little shy, so her mom whispered what to say in her ear. As I listened to her say things like "I know God loves me." "I love my family." and "I am grateful to come to church.", it struck me that this mother whispering in her daughter's ear was like a physical picture of a mother passing on her faith and knowledge of God and life and what's important and what it's all about to her daughter. That moment was pretty cool and I'm grateful I get to be a mom and that I have so much light given to me in my life that I can pass on to my girls. :)

Chocolate Anyone?

So I stopped eating sugar at night, which was my biggest downfall, and I'm on my way back down to my pre-pregnancy clothes. Yay! Miracles do happen. :) I give myself the weekends to eat whatever I want, but weekdays, I stay away from the sugar after dinner. Let's just say that this has been a challenge to say the least. Some days are better than others...and some days I feel like I would kill to get a sugar fix (Literally. Not really. Well, maybe.) Anyway, it was especially hard when I first started and that is when the chocolate incident happened. One day Melia, Naiya and I were out grocery shopping and Melia left a treat bag full of chocolate eggs that she had acquired somewhere in the car while we shopped. When we came out, we got all buckled up and on the road again and that is when I heard cries of distress from the back seat. Apparently, the chocolate eggs had melted and Melia squeezed one. Chocolate all over. I made her give me the bag and tried to clean her off without getting into an accident and before the chocolate spread all over Grandma Adeline's car. In the process, I inadvertently got chocolate on my finger. Then, my nose started itching so I swiped my finger across the bottom of my nose and got chocolate all over not only the outside of my nostrils but the inside as well. I tried my best to clean it off, but lets just say the aroma of sweet chocolate was with me for the rest of the day. Oh the irony of it all. But, thanks to Heavenly help, I did not falter. Life IS like a box of chocolates...and sometimes it gets smeared all over you, but it's what you do in those moments that makes all the difference. :)

Letter to Melia

Dear Melia,

You are 4 years old now and you are growing into a beautiful girl inside and out. I wanted to let you know that you are a huge joy in my life! I look forward to spending my day with you every day. You are so sweet and smart and fun to be around. You are such a good example to me of loving everyone and helping people to feel good around you. You love saying hi and talking to everybody that we encounter in the day and you put smiles on the faces of people everywhere you go. Never underestimate the difference that can make in someone's life. You never know what kind of day they may be having.



I love to watch you be you every day. I love to see you dance and sing and stop to pet every animal you see. I love to see you adore all things pink, purple and sparkly. I love to hear you talk to your Heavenly Father every night and tell me you want Jesus to come soon so you can give him a hug. I love to see how your face lights up when daddy comes home. I love to see you dance with him and hear you call him your prince. I want you to know that he loves you sooooo much! I love how much you love Naiya. I love to see you play with her and make her laugh. I love to see you give her hugs and kisses before every nap and before bedtime. I love to try to answer all of your questions and act silly with you. I love to snuggle with you and read you stories.



I want you to know that I'm so grateful to be your mom and I've never tried harder at anything in my whole life. My wish for you is that you will live your life joyfully, feel your worth, and feel the love that your Heavenly Father has for you. You are wonderful. Just be you.

I love you forever!
Mom :)

The Evolution of Bo's Face

So, as many of you have seen, in the past few months I have lost my husband under a massive amount of hairiness on his face. What made him want to grow a beard? I don't know. What made him want to let it grow so long that he looks like a lumberjack, a member of the Arian Nation, or a terrorist? I don't know. What made him brush it upwards and go to our church Christmas party like that? I don't know. All I know is that I missed his face and after months of waiting, the moment arrived where he finally decided to shave it.


But...he couldn't simply give me what I wanted all at once. He had to drag it out for as long as possible. So he decided to shave it off in stages.


First, he shaved it into the Fu Man Chu look.


Bo's hidden talent--accesorizing.


The next day, he tried the mustache with the flavor saver.
The next day, he went for the cop look--just the mustache. Unfortunately, we have no pictures of that one.


Finally, he shaved it all off! There was much celebrating and dancing in the streets. (Side note: This is what happens when a large man tries to crawl through a little girl's play tunnel.)

About a week later, he grew back his good old goatee. That's the way I like him best. All is well in the world again. :)