Blessed

Yesterday, Eloise was blessed. My dad performed it (and Eloise cried the entire time). Micah and I both had family show up to witness this beautiful event. There was an amazing spirit there. It was wonderful to be able to have Eloise receive the blessings we would like for her, in a way that she can feel our love.

Pictures I Forgot I Took

Here are some pictures that were on my camera that I forgot about. Thought I'd just post them all together.

We went to a wedding about a week ago, and here are some pictures we took.

And then here are just some random cute ones of Eloise.

The Last Few Days

Okay, so I've taken a few pictures of our activities over the past few days, and here they are.

Micah and I went hiking up the Timp trail, just a little ways. We both want to spend more time outside, and also more time exercising. (We're pretty out of shape.) We brought Eloise in the pack.

(Eloise really likes to suck on the side of her pack)

I also made some little hair accessories for Eloise. They are just those fabric yoyos with buttons on them, but I think they are pretty darling.

She would not hold still for pictures, so they were all pretty blurry.

Here she is with her "stuff."

Today we walked with Amber and Lance to the temple, which is 3-ish miles from our apartments. (Again with the trying to get in shape.) It was a great walk, even though we didn't go super hard.

Eloise was SO excited, but every time I tried to get a picture she would stop smiling.

She kept kicking her legs and making excited sound and pulling on her blanket.

Blurry walking

We rested at the top by the temple before heading back

The sun was REALLY bright, and directly in our faces. We all closed our eyes until the last second, with mixed results.

Last thing, on Tuesday I ordered a little baby ring with a birthstone for a necklace. It's a kind of tradition in my mom's family, and I have been meaning to order mine for a couple months. It was supposed to take about a week, but it came in today, and so I went and picked it up. It will have a thicker chain (to reduce likelihood of being pulled off by baby fingers), but they had to shorten the chain there because they didn't have the length I needed. Here it is with the temporary chain.

Not the best lighting exactly, but I just took a quick picture. (You can also see the dried drool a little on my shirt in the upper right corner of the picture. Lovely.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All right, that's a little bit of catch up on recent goings on. Thanks for reading. :)

So Grateful

I have just been thinking lately about how my life is so full. Both in the stressful way, that sends me into anxiety mode, but also in the way where I have everything I need. It reminds me of that Raffi song. "All I really need is a song in my heart, food in my belly, love in my family." I have those things, and more. It's raining outside, and it's a beautiful sound that reminds me of my days in Kirkland, Washington. Micah is sleeping, and Eloise is lying next to him not sleeping, but making cute noises. I have this amazing little family, where I get to be the mother. And I have an amazing big family where I get to be a daughter, granddaughter, cousin, and niece. I have been struggling with my anxiety again in a way that I haven't in a while. Every little thing feels like an enormous deal. Every thing feels like the end of the world. Everything feels overwhelming. But when I step back and take a look at everything I have, and get to be a part of, I feel peace. My favorite scripture verses for times like these is John 14:27. "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." I have an exceptional husband, who is a great father. I have a great father, who has always been there for me. This Father's Day, I am truly grateful for my life and the people in it.

Thank you for reading my kind of sappy post. I love you all.

The Zoo

So, on Saturday, my parents invited us to come up with the family to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake. It was really fun, and there is an especially cool bird show. I got a few pictures of animals, but mostly lots of Eloise (surprise, surprise.)

In the car, about to leave

Trying on hats at the gift shop

Sleeping during the elephant show

Howler monkey

Lemur

Really dark, but I love this picture with the giraffes