Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Don't Quit

It feels like I've had my share of tough times in the past few years, but I've also experienced blessing after blessing.  After my Grandmother passed away last month my mom and I were at the house cleaning out some of the drawers.  I found this poem on a card in a drawer that belonged to my Grandpa.  I wondered how many times he had read it himself, and what kinds of struggles he had been going through at the time.  I'm sure it was probably much more than I will ever have to experience, nor would I want to.  That's the thing about trials, they say that if we were to put all of our problems and trials into one big pile, most of us would be content to just take our own and be on our way.  I am sure when I look back on my life, I wouldn't want things changed any other way.  This poem helps me to feel hopeful when I just can't see the big picture.

Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
 


Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.



Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.



Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

-Author unknown

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Baby Doll

We've added another member to our family!  Every little girl needs her own baby doll, and I thought a year old was the perfect age to bring one home for Norah.  She was in love the moment she laid eyes on "Baby Doll".  It was amazing to see the natural instincts come out when she held it for the first time.  She tucked it right under her arms and smothered the head with kisses.  She also likes to chew on the baby's hand while she is carrying her around, or drag her through the house by one arm, and sometimes she throws the baby to the floor and yells in delight...ok so we are working on the mothering.  Ben and I laugh when she brings the baby over to us to hold.  He teases her that he's not ready to be a Grandpa and that she can't just drop the baby off with Grandma and Grandpa anytime she'd like.  (Have I mentioned lately that I love my husband?  Constantly making me laugh, especially when he is with Norah; he was made to be a daddy :)

I tried to get her to turn the baby so I could get a pic of the face but she had a death grip on it.

This was as close to the face as she'd let me get.
Where Norah goes, baby goes.
Norah is so into books lately that she can't even pause to look at the camera, and there's Baby Doll right beside her.










Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Summer Fun


Norah and her Cousin Madeline
Breanne(Madeline) and Norah and I


Grandpa and Norah
I don't usually like the summer much, I'd prefer it was Fall or Spring all year long, but this is shaping up to be a pretty fun summer.  Yes we are still unemployed and "homeless", but we are enjoying spending so much time with family.  My brother Cason and his family came into town for a few weeks and we had a great time.  These pictures are from our trip up to the canyon on the 24th of July.

My sister Kelly and her baby McCord were also in town for a few days this summer.  We went to a petting Zoo; Norah is a big fan of animals.  My sister and two of my sisters in law all had babies last year within a few months of each other.  I have loved watching Norah get to know her cousins.











So despite some difficult circumstances, we are also counting the many blessings and know that Heavenly Father is mindful of our needs.  Guess he thought we just needed a summer vacation :)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Norah's Birthday! aka "The 4th of July"

In the morning, when Norah awoke, I had filled the living room with tons of balloons, she was a little confused by it all, but so excited!  She played with the balloons constantly for several weeks after her birthday.  She insisted on picking up two at a time, and by the tail end of them, it was funny to watch.

Between my mom and I we must have taken over 100 pictures of Norah on her Special Day.  There were just too many first's that I didn't want to miss.  So crazy how fast time really does fly by!  I have little one year old on my hands, and we couldn't be more grateful for her.

 After opening some books from Grandma, Norah walked around and handed the book to each person in the room until everyone had read her the book.  She likes books!



New Shoes!
Birthday Party Dress, she doesn't look too thrilled ;)
Ben and I bought this play tent/tunnel for Norah several months ago and I was dying to give it to her. It took her a few minutes to get use to the idea of going inside, but once she got in she went through it over and over again; she loves it!





I had planned on making her a big chocolate cupcake for her Birthday, but we had some mini cupcakes leftover from her Birthday Party with Ben's family the night before, so I thought I'd save myself some trouble.  She probably didn't need that much sugar anyway.  She was DELIGHTED to experience her first cupcake.  Gonna have to hide my treats from her now, she knows what she's missing out on :
 We ended Norah's 1st Birthday with a bang!  Ben and I plan on teaching Norah that the Fireworks on the 4th of July are just for her Birthday!  She had fallen asleep on the way to the show but I woke her up so she could get in a few ohhh's and ahhhs, and then she zonked out again on the ride home.  All in all in was a pretty magical day.  Happy Birthday Norah!