The Ninth Month

Here she is! Hannalyn the 9-month old in all her glory. I cannot express how blessed we are to have this wonderful, sweet, patient, and loving spirit with us in our home. She helps Daniel & I so much - and she helps my parents, too. She reminds us to slow-down, to love, to laugh, to breathe. She truly is a miracle baby. And we are so grateful that she is OURS.

Hannalyn loves to put anything and everything in her mouth. Her hands, feet, blankets, toys, and her carseat buckle. As soon as I do that first buckle, she grabs it and it goes immediately into her mouth. She doesn't have teeth yet, but I'm starting to see some swelling where they will come in. For now, I'm loving her big toothless grin.

Hannalyn spends lots of time with Daniel & I at Cold Stone, so we have gotten creative with our means of entertaining her. We give her her diaper bag (she loves to eat diapers) so she can pull everything out of the bag and recently we've been sticking her in a huge tupperware so she can still scoot around but won't get under someone's feet. She is a great bum-scooter and scoots to places where she gets in trouble. Stinker. :)

Hannalyn loves to read books, look at pictures, and watch Disney princesses sing their songs. We sing lots of songs with her and she sings back. It's so much fun to do my voice lessons and hear her singing across the room with my students. Her favorite song goes "di-di-di-daaaaaa da-da-di-daaaaa". It's a classic, but when I try to join in she just stares at me, laughs, and then goes back to singing on her own when I stop.

Hannalyn is almost 17 pounds, has black stripes in her dark blue eyes (keyholes, we call them), scoots on her bum and rolls around, can swing herself in her swing with ease, and is a major chatterbox. Have I mentioned she loves to eat things? I was trying to get a picture of her singing to her snowman, but instead it turned into a picture of her eating her snowman. Oh well. And diapers. She will do anything to eat her diapers, including grabbing onto the dirty diaper while I change it and then try to swipe it before I get it to wrap it and toss it. Gross.

What more can I say about our treasure? I feel so blessed to be the mother to this darling girl. I am far from perfect - a fact which slaps me in the face daily - but I know that no one can love this baby as perfectly as I do. I hope that I can remember all these beautiful moments in future years. Hannalyn is so sweet and patient. She is positive and social. She is thoughtful and energetic. She will sit and play with her toys very quietly and seriously and loves to bring things together in clapping actions. She also loves to giggle and laugh and shouts "hey!" if you were playing with her and turn to walk away. Hannalyn is our everything.

We love you, Lynners. 

xoxoxo

I Am From

I am from small-town Utah, ringed by mountains and plenty of wide-open space. I am from a comfortable, loving home where everyone is welcome and everyone is laughing. I am from a pink house on the corner and the looooong brick house across the field. I am from horses running, gutters full of water, and bicycle riding in the summer. I am from silent mornings, cozy fire places, and mountains of snow perfect for sledding in the winter.

I am from cookies. Chocolate chip cookies, to be exact. I am from barbeques all summer - dad's specialty being what we lovingly call "burnt offerings". I am from mac & cheese, ramen, and ham & cheese sandwiches for lunch in the summer. I am from rare dinner-outings except on birthdays when it is anyone's guess where we are headed.

I am from remember who you are, have fun, go faster, you can't bite if you are playing meat-eaters, who made this big mess, calling all kids: jump on daddy!, and I love you. 

I am from Pearsons and Browns. I am from pioneer stock. I am from a wonderful line of fantastic men & women who have always striven to do and be their best.

I am from a strong sense of family. I am from a father who was hard-working and fun-loving who never gave up even when sick and tired. I am from a mother who stayed home to raise her children and still managed to share her talents, spirit, and testimony with everyone around her. I am from a musical family - piano & voice & flute throughout my years in school. I am from a bunch of dancing girls - clogging, ballet, jazz, tap, modern, & ballroom. I am from the theatre - on and backstage. I am from an expectation of getting a college education and pride in myself when I finished two degrees. I am from not understanding the will of God but doing it anyway knowing that eventually things will get better. I am from the short, life-changing and life-shaping moments that I think about every day like when I got married, when I decided to stay home and raise my children, and when I gave birth to our first daughter. I am from the first time I realized that I cannot do anything alone, but with the help of God & my family, I can do anything.

This is where I am from.


Want to write your own 'I Am From'? I stole the idea from my friend Laura (hi Laura!). Here is the description of what each paragraph is about:
++ sights, sounds and smells of my home(s) or neighborhood(s)
++ foods, especially those associated with friends, family, and special occasions
++ sayings heard repeatedly as I was growing up
++ people, friends, family, ancestors, people important to my past 
++ experiences and challenges that shaped my identity

new flavor: BABY!

These pictures were taken during our long Saturday of working at Cold Stone a week ago. Brother T did it. Crazy.

First, we picked out the ice cream we wanted. Baby flavor, of course.

Next, we added some mix-ins. A little bit of chubbiness, big blue eyes, and lots of giggles.

Last, we got our baby in a bowl! Yum.

This is Daniel pushing the 'make ice cream' button. Oh yeah!

 This is Hannalyn sleeping in the store while the rest of us cleaned. Too too cute.

Hoorah for ice cream. And happy Monday to you!

When Are You Coming?

Welp. We're open for business now. So... When are you coming? ;)

Seriously though. On our opening day, Friday, we didn't take into account that it was an early day out for the school children. So at 1 pm, we had a line to the door. The line didn't go away until after 10:30 pm. We close at 11. Daniel spent about 14 hours at the store on Friday helping and keeping up. They even called me in to help. So I have the all-powerful knowledge of how to make the best ice cream you'll ever eat. True story. We expected a rush once people knew we were open, but we didn't think anyone knew yet! Oh well. We made lots and lots of money. My parents and thrilled - they need the income to finish paying our contractor and buy more ice cream supplies. We are thrilled - Daniel is going to get a paycheck! And the community is thrilled - Cold Stone is delicious. Everyone is thrilled.

We're ready for you to come visit us now! Stay with us, play games, and have ICE CREAM. Let us know when you're on your way.

sisters, sisters

I can almost never even hear the word "sisters" without thinking of THIS SONG. Does anyone else experience this phenomenon or is it just me? I mean, it's catchy but... every time?

Also. Don't let this picture fool you. Megan (on the far right) is taller than I am. Clearly I didn't get the  knee-bending memo. Or whatever is happening.

And I'm curious - most people think we all look alike, even asking pairs of us if we are twins not just sisters. What do you think? Quadruplets maybe? Ha.

Well. Now that I'm on my fourth paragraph and thus, fourth idea, I suppose it's time I mention how much I love my sisters. We are all very different and we still don't always get along (though I blame teenager-itis for that - you know, that mind-deadening disease that two of my sisters are still in the middle of), but I love them so so so much and would do anything for them. Love you guys girls!

Mid-Week Update

This week has been insane. It's been absolutely ridiculously insane. And I'm loving it.

This is Hannalyn sitting in a box of uniforms. That is what she did while I scanned paperwork. It was great fun.

We have been very busy this week. Daniel began training his crew at Cold Stone and we also had visitors! We love love love having visitors! Daniel's dad and two younger brothers stopped in Vernal on their way to drop off Matthew at BYU for the semester. Granted Vernal is really "on the way", but we are so so grateful that they thought of us and made the drive to see us. Hannalyn loved seeing her Grandpa Jackson and her uncles. Daniel loved relaxing and talking with his family. It was a wonderful visit and I'm so glad that it happened. They even got to have some Cold Stone! Lucky them, right?

In the time not spent with our visitors or sleeping, Daniel has been at the store training the crew. He has been stressed out. It has been a very new experience, but he is doing great. He is being thrown into many new situations and having to take charge in every way. He is coping like a champ and enjoying it a little bit, too. I try to help where I can - making sure paperwork for employees is done and done correctly, scanning i.d.s, organizing folders and forms, making work schedules, and other secretarial work. Plus keeping the baby happy so that when Daniel finally gets home (and is exhausted) we are both happy to see him and we can all relax for a little bit together before bed.

This week has been very different than any other we've had in a long long time. And we're only two days in! There is so much that we still have to do, but things are going good. We are so thrilled and so grateful and feel very blessed. :)

How's YOUR week been?

Why August 18th is Important to Me

Not a great pic, I'll admit. I blame my phone and poor lighting. But you get the general idea. The original picture is gorgeous and one that I've seen often. It hangs on the wall in my parent's room next to others of them in front of the Provo, UT temple where they were married.

27 years ago, my parents made sacred vows and covenants to one another to always be faithful to each other and to God. They covenanted to raise their family in righteousness and teach them the ways of the Lord. They promised to love each other not only in this life, but in the life to come. Over the last 27 years, my parents have stayed true to the promises they made. They have enjoyed many good times and worked their way through many hard times. They have been examples of strength, courage, patience, faith, and love. I admire my parents so much and I am so grateful for all the things they have taught me.

Today is my parent's anniversary. They are people I strive to be like. That is why August 18th is important to me.

VERDICT

After a long and stressful day hoping and praying that everyone worked quickly and got their stuff done... WE PASSED the Health Inspection. Hooray!!! We still have one more inspection at 8:30 on Monday morning for the finishing touches on the store, but today we are starting to make ice cream and get stuff set up to begin training at 9:00 am Monday. Woot!

Thank you so so so so so so so much for all your prayers and faith and good wishes for us. We love you!

TODAY IS THE DAY

See this handsome man? He has worked so so hard over the last year and has been so patient and so strong and so wonderful. Well. Today is the day that it pays off. This morning, our contractor is putting the finishing touches on the store. Daniel is up there helping and over-seeing and trying not to stress out. At 3 pm, the Health Inspector arrives to deliver the verdict on our fate. We are praying that God will pull out another miracle for us. I'll let you know. :)

Suddenly a vision of Ratatouille popped into my head...the part where the Health Inspector walks in and sees all the rats and everyone freezes...

Happy thoughts.

My Mommy

This is my mommy. Today is her birthday. We are celebrating in awesome ways. Meaning that I am making her dinner & a cake & being sure that we are all here at the same time so that we can shower her with gifts. It's all because I love her so so very much. My mom is all I want to be when I grow up - a wonderful mom, a faithful daughter of God, and a great cook. ;) I try every day to make her proud of me in what I do and say and who I am.

Happy birthday, mom! We love you.

taking stock

Making: copies of cake order forms for Cold Stone

Cooking: dinner for "the fam"
Drinking: water. water. water.
Reading: Agatha Christie. I can't get enough of mysteries... until I start jumping at shadows and then I know it is way past my bedtime and time to find new reading material.
Wanting: a hair cut? maybe?
Looking: at bigger baby clothes and trying to decide if it is really time to move up to the next size...
Playing: the piano. such amazing therapy for the soul
Wasting: time looking at those family pictures my sister took us
Sewing: I wish
Wishing: on a star of course ;)
Enjoying: the last few days of having Daniel all to myself
Waiting: for baby H to be tired enough to go to sleep
Liking: sitting with Hubby's arm around me
Wondering: what the upcoming year has in store for us
Loving: Daniel & Hannalyn. with all of my heart.
Hoping: that the important people in my life know how much I love them
Marveling: at how much our sweet girl has grown in just 8 months
Needing: to whip out my guitar something awful
Smelling: the flowers that are still alive that I got for my anniversary
Wearing: a t-shirt & jeans. comfy is as comfy does
Noticing: flowers & sunshine & chubby baby thighs
Knowing: that God loves me
Thinking: about the future
Feeling: happy. such a wonderful feeling.
Opening: mail - one of my favorite past times
Giggling: over Hannalyn's antics. oh a tired baby is a funny baby.
Feeling: grateful for love, life, and family

taking stock march 2014

Family Photos

My little sister L is a great photographer. She did pictures for us last year in April and we loved them, so we thought we would ask her to do them for us again! This time with our baby. We originally thought to do them in June, but decided to wait until after Les Mis was over and hubby wasn't so bearded and long-haired. Then life has been busy and we finally set the date and made it happen! Here are a few of my favorites:

We love them so so so so much! THANKS LARISSA!!!

The Things I Know

I know that Jesus Christ lives and loves me.
I know that I can live with Christ again someday.
I know that when I pray, God hears & will answer me.
I know that the temple is the House of the Lord.
I know that families are eternal.
I know that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet ordained by God.
I know that the Book of Mormon is a true book full of doctrine & revelation.
I know that I can receive revelation from God for my own life.
I know that living the Gospel is the only way to be truly happy.

I am grateful for the things that I know. They give me peace, hope, and joy.