Notice anything different?

(Besides the fact that I have an amazingly handsome boy?)

I Wish I Could Say I Made These...

Olivia's baptism dress was a great bargain find from Burlington Coat Factory...

...and this is the cutest skirt I've ever seen... it was lovingly made for Olivia by her auntie Laura for her birthday (someday I'd love to create something so beautiful!)...

...along with this lovely journal and matching bookmark. You are amazing Laura!

I almost feel inspired to pull out my sewing machine and create something (as long as it only requires sewing straight lines).

Photos by Ryan

Ryan took Olivia and Coleman for a little photo shoot a few weeks ago--here are some of my favorites:

The photo below is the one we used for Olivia's baptism invitation.)









I loved these shots--thanks Ry!

It's Great to Be Eight!

Olivia has been so excited to turn eight... she's been looking forward to her baptism and has been excited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We had a wonderful day with family and friends being with Olivia for such an important occasion.

She looked so happy all day long--it was so neat to see her preparing for such an important event.

Our little family just before the baptism...

Liv with Grandma Stover... she said a wonderful opening prayer and played her violin during the closing song while the kids sang "I Love To See The Temple."

Grandma Harper flew in from Connecticut to be with Olivia and celebrate some of our family birthdays in June. She gave a really nice closing prayer, but she said that next time she wants to give the opening prayer, because after seeing all those cute kids sing she got too emotional... I don't blame her, I was pretty teary too.)

Ryan and Liv... what a blessing to have him be able to baptize her!

This is Olivia's cute friend J.D. They have been friends since they were babies!

Grandpa and Grandma Cole were there too. We love having them live close by.

We were excited to have Liv's cousins there too... this is Abi who will be baptized next year.
We were so glad Megan and John could come. Meg's been pretty sick for a long time, so it was nice that she was able to get out and be with us.

Olivia and her uncle Tim... he played the piano for us and did a great job, especially for having never played one of the songs before.

We didn't get pictures with all of the special people that came... we were especially thankful for Kristen who led the music, Scott who gave a great talk on baptism (and mentioned something that has been on all of our minds--that our loved ones who have passed on were surely in attendance today), and David who gave a wonderful talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We are so appreciative of all of our family members and friends who supported Olivia in this decision, even if they couldn't be with us.

After the baptism we had some lunch at our house and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the desserts... I especially love the square plate of "8" cookies that were made by my ever-talented and generous friend Jessica. They were a hit!

Olivia's great-grandpa Denver and great-grandma Jan visited us earlier to give her their gift--a new set of scriptures, complete with tabs and her name engraved on them. Olivia is so excited to have her own full set of scriptures.

It was a great day, filled with the Spirit, family, friends, and good food... what more could we ask for?


(Ryan took some beautiful pictures of Liv a couple of weeks ago that I need to figure out how to get my hands on so I can post them... he got some great ones of Coleman too... stay tuned!)

Eight years ago...

...we were welcoming Olivia to our family. I didn't think it was possible to love her any more than I did the first time I held her...

...and nursed her (check out that rooting reflex)... but after eight years of being delighted with her, learning with her and from her, and feeling so proud to be her mama, it's safe to say that my love for her has grown immensely.

Liv chose "Breakfast for Dinner" for her birthday meal... we had German pancakes, bacon, strawberries, and a super-duper-tropical-berry birthday smoothie.

She got a new dress for her baptism day, a journal, and some other fun surprises!

Our birthday girl still loves to get tickled by Daddy-O.

Eight crazy candles for the birthday girl! She blew them all out and promptly told us she'd tell us what her wish was because she knew it would come true anyway... we told her to wait until it came true to tell us... but she let it slip that it has something to do with her baptism. We can't wait for that special event.

We had a great day celebrating Olivia... and we can't wait for many more birthdays and celebrations to come!

Flattery or Insult?

So today one of my co-workers said that she and another co-worker had been wondering something and she was nominated to ask me... and then she said, "So, do you sew your own clothes?"

(I had on a particularly cute skirt today which several people had complimented me on.)

I wasn't sure whether to be flattered that she and another co-worker thought I was capable of sewing such masterpieces...

...or offended that all my clothes look so shoddy that they must be homemade.

Bearing One Another's Burdens

The last several Mondays we have been talking about baptism in preparation for Olivia's baptism in a few days during Family Home Evening. Last night, it was our pleasure to study some of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon--Mosiah 18:8-10. I love the phrases "bear one another's burdens that they may be light" and "mourn with those that mourn" and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort" and "stand as a witness of God at all times." I love the question that Alma poses to the people, "If this be the desire of your heart, what have ye against being baptized?" and when the people heard this, they "clapped their hands for joy."

Olivia earnestly wants to be baptized and is prepared to make that special covenant with Heavenly Father. During our discussion Olivia and Coleman asked what it means to bear one another's burdens. It was so easy to explain since we have been the recipient of so many kind acts recently.

Just yesterday I was on my way home from work, going over and over in my mind what meal possibilities we had and how I was going to manage putting dinner on the table in a timely fashion (more on the back-to-work transition later). I was at a loss.

I pulled up to my friend Hannah's house, where my kids are well taken care of for at least one day during the week. Coleman and Olivia love being there (and they love being at their other "sitter's" house, my other friend Char). We feel so blessed to have friends help us out in this way.

Hannah was handing off their bags and as the kids were (reluctantly) getting ready to go, she nonchalantly said, "so, we made you some dinner..." and proceeded to hand over and carry to the car several dishes that made up a fully prepared, hot meal complete with rolls and fruit. I was dumbfounded to the point that I don't think I was able to express my gratitude and I'm sure I sounded like a stammering idiot while trying to give thanks.

Tonight as we were folding and ironing clothes (ironing is something that rarely happens at our house, so it's worth mentioning, right?) we had another doorbell ditcher... this time leaving beautiful and tasty sugar cookies, with lots of frosting, and an envelope with money in it.

We don't know who it is from, but the fact that I can think of at least 20 people capable of such a generous and anonymous act makes it all the sweeter.

I have a sneaky suspicion that it comes in part from my last Relief Society lesson, based on Elder Hales' talk from April Conference "Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually." It needs to be said that just before church the day I gave that lesson, I was released from being a Relief Society teacher. I have loved the calling and so enjoy learning from the sisters in our Relief Society. I knew the release was coming sooner or later (because I have a couple of other callings) but that didn't make me any less wary of the timing.

Just before General Conference I felt strongly that I was prepared to hear the messages that would be shared. The minute I realized what Elder Hales was speaking about that Saturday morning, I knew that I would be teaching a lesson based on his talk. It came as no surprise that it was the first Conference talk assigned to me from this session. The fact that we had just been smacked in the face with our LACK of provident living and preparation for the future and that much uncertainty lay ahead made me feel humbled and humiliated and aware of the many ways I needed to change. It also made me feel like a bit of a hypocrite at the thought of standing in front of a room full of women who were much better at provident living than I am.

It seemed like pure poetic justice that my last lesson, my swan song, was on a topic that I was highly unqualified to teach. (I brought my Eiffel Tower and a beautiful photo that Ryan took as proof of my lack of provident living--you can see Ry's great photo here--you know I couldn't teach my last lesson without a lovely table decoration.)

In Relief Society I shared some of the events leading up to hearing the talk and discussed with the sisters ways we could all be better at living providently. I was comforted to know that I am not alone and that many other people are facing similar circumstances. I feel like (and hope) that we all went away feeling empowered and capable of doing better.

Things are looking up for us--Ryan is working at a new job that he really enjoys. I started my job about a month ago, and we are adjusting to the change of having me be gone a few days a week. We are paying our bills and within a couple of months we should have our fabulous trip to Paris paid for. I will breathe a lot easier when that day comes and when our emergency fund is a reality and not just a nagging feeling that we really should start to set some money aside for a rainy day.

Until then, we are so grateful for the big and small ways that people have shown us love and generosity. I shouldn't be surprised that people so willingly give, and fundamentally I am not surprised. I guess I am still getting used to being on the receiving end of so much selfless service.

I am grateful for the real-life examples that we have to show to our children what it means to bear one another's burdens and comfort those that stand in need of comfort... that the lesson came with sugar cookies is icing on the cake.