Our Jaden Platt

Jaden had new nursery teachers at church today. When Daniel went to pick him up, the teacher asked what Jaden's name was. Daniel said, "Well, did you ask him? He'll tell you." The teacher replied, "He kept telling me his name was John Black, and then when I would repeat it, he'd shake his head and say, "Noooooooooo!"

Sunday Thoughts...

I had forgotten how much I loved this hymn until I heard it again recently. Through Christ there is always hope to reach for, there is always light to look to...
"I believe in Christ, so come what may"...this is something I am striving to live by...and hope to continue to get better at it each day...

"I believe in Christ; he is my King!
With all my heart to him I’ll sing;
I’ll raise my voice in praise and joy,
In grand Amens my tongue employ.

I believe in Christ; he is God’s Son!
On earth to dwell his soul did come.
He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
Good works were his, his name be praised.

I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
As Mary’s Son he came to reign.
‘Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
To save them from the woes of sin.

I believe in Christ; who marked the path!
Who did gain all the Father hath.
Who said to men, Come, Follow Me,
That ye, my friends, with God may be.”

I believe in Christ – my Lord, my God!
My feet he plants on gospel sod.
I’ll worship him with all my might;
He is the source of truth and light.

I believe in Christ; he ransoms me!
From Satan’s grasp he sets me free.
And I shall live with joy and love
In his eternal courts above.

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I’ll gain my fondest dream.
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard;“Ye shall obtain.”

I believe in Christ; so come what may!
With him I’ll stand in that great day,
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men."

-Bruce R. McConkie

Here is a link to a beautiful video. It plays the music to this hymn and has some of the hymn author's own words.

A Perfect Match!

We decided that after 4 years of marriage, we would look into getting a decent bedroom set. After visiting a furniture store and looking at some prices, we realized that we would not be getting a bedroom set for a long time!
Therefore, we were thrilled with our garage sale bed frame find last week.
We had another exciting find this week - some Craig's List bedroom furniture that perfectly matches our bed! It's only 2-years-old, quality wood furniture from Ashley, and in great shape! (Somebody had just gotten bored with it...crazy Arizonans...I love it!) We didn't realize how perfectly it matched until we got it home. We couldn't have done better if we would have bought the furniture together.
And for everything together, we spent less than 1/6th of what it would have cost new! What a blessing! :)

It's HOT Here

We have officially entered the "stay indoors at all costs" season. It has proven to be quite torturous for the kids...and their mother. We have been reading lots of books, playing store, riding stick horses up and down the hallway, and trying to figure out how to keep from going crazy! We did get outside for a little dip this week. Zoee got to strut her stuff in a swimming suit for the first time - she was lookin' pretty cute! :) We had to stay in the shade of the patio, though, as it was way too hot in the sun! Any ideas for indoor fun for two little ones ? Please share some wisdom with me!:)

We rarely go out without the kids. But today we hired a babysitter for a late afternoon happy anniversary dinner. Then we hired her for a backyard anniversary picture. The babysitter did great with the kids & the date was nice. Too bad Daniel was sleeping for the picture :) Oh, well, he's still hot!

Four Years and Looking Forward to Forever!

Have I Ever Mentioned That I LOVE Arizona Garage Sales??

This Saturday was a good one!!
$4 for this toy organizer

$20 for the set of 3 solid wood storage shelves

And I was most excited for this beauty! $50 for this cherrywood sleigh bed frame!

First Tooth

This little lady had her first tooth cut through this last week! So we've got to enjoy these adorable gum smiles while they last!

Grandma came to town and we got to do lots of fun things:
cookout
walks on the green belt
movie night
play dough
sugar cookies
trip to the Phoenix zoo

Grandma did lots of kid tending and dishwashing! Thanks, Grandma! :)

Bits and Pieces

We tried to get a new family picture on Mothers' Day, with the self-timer on our camera. Not such a good idea...this is the BEST of all of the tries...

Our Mothers' Day card project. It was fun at first, but Jaden got tired of coloring and cooperating, so 4 hours later, we finally finished our 4 cards!

I told Jaden to get ready to go get the mail with me the other night. This is what we ended up with: cowboy hat, mismatched pajamas, Zoee's Easter bucket with a glass of ice water inside, one slipper and one shoe, on the wrong feet! :)

Knot Fun - Jaden has learned how to tie knots. This is my phone charger around the axle of his firetruck. The other day I was buying a shirt with a little ribbon belt. When I went to take it out of the cart, the ribbon was woven in and out of the side of the cart and tied with a dozen knots. Luckily, there was no one behind me in line, as I took 5 minutes to get it off the cart. When I go to vacuum, there are toys and buckets tied in the vacuum cord now. And the latest...when I was feeding Zoee in her high chair, Jaden climbed up behind me, dropped the phone charger down my back, and fastened the two ends of the cords to the chair. I didn't even notice until I tried to get up and was stuck. He's going to make a great boy scout someday. Until then, he's sure going to keep his mother on her toes.

Eating is just so exhausting...she fell asleep between bites!

In a pickle now...

Isn't this the cutest little thing you've ever seen? :)



We enjoyed the first spoils from our garden today. Fresh garden peas! There were only a few little pods, but in the words of a two-year-old, "Oh, I love it!"

We made banana bread...mom got distracted...it didn't get any baking soda in it...banana brick anyone?