- Build forts
- Cookie sheet drawing (draw in rice on a cookie sheet)
- Pony beads and pipe cleaners (put pipe cleaners in a spice jar with shaker lid, slide beads down)
- Button snake craft (ribbon, button, felt shapes)
- Playdough
- Pushing puff balls (cut holes in top of margarine container, push puff balls inside)
- Water colors, painting
- Bowling with pop bottles
- Pillow mountains
- Get a big box from a store, make a play house
- Stickers
- Balloons
- Ride bikes
- Play with pieces of tape
- Library - story time
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Winter Indoor Activities - Lila
Dinner at Alicia's
After Lila's nap, we went to Alicia's house to play with Brig. She had also invited us to stay for dinner with the missionaries. Brig and Lila play really well together; it's cute. They play in the little cardboard box house. There's some drama among members in our ward--Jessica Wesel and Alicia--because Jessica wants to throw Holly a baby shower, but Alicia didn't want to combine the showers because invites had already gone out, and a few other reasons. Alicia also doesn't want to be known as the girl who throws everyone a shower, and Holly is having another girl, and the other pregnant women in the ward (there are quite a few) are having "repeat" genders. Alicia thinks that Jessica is mostly making a big deal out of it because she (Jessica) wants a baby shower for herself, even though she's having her third boy.
Anyway. I don't like drama and I'm going to try to stay out of it as much as possible. :)
Dinner was nice. Jake came straight from work. We had a nice visit. Came home. Jake was really tired. But he stayed up till 10:30. And Lila didn't get to bed till 11:30. Yikes. I was tired.
I made sure she got up not too late this morning, 8:30. We had a Primary meeting at church at 10:00. Lila got to happily run around with her little friends Tessa and Ella. And then we met Jake at Culver's for lunch. And now Lila's napping, and Emily and I are watching Obsessed on Netflix in the basement.
Anyway. I don't like drama and I'm going to try to stay out of it as much as possible. :)
Dinner was nice. Jake came straight from work. We had a nice visit. Came home. Jake was really tired. But he stayed up till 10:30. And Lila didn't get to bed till 11:30. Yikes. I was tired.
I made sure she got up not too late this morning, 8:30. We had a Primary meeting at church at 10:00. Lila got to happily run around with her little friends Tessa and Ella. And then we met Jake at Culver's for lunch. And now Lila's napping, and Emily and I are watching Obsessed on Netflix in the basement.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
FHE and Date Night
Jake's Family Home Evenings growing up were never very formal... like sit down for a lesson, etc. But they did always spend time doing something together in the name of Family Home Evening, and they had Family Council every Sunday night. Usually our Family Home Evening consists of going for walks, and we're really good at having nightly scripture study with Lila and prayers. When we read with her, we read several verses and then explain the principles in them and bear our testimonies. FHE is more about fun, right now anyway. I do want to make sure we're teaching our children gospel principles regularly, not just once a week. I just think it's important that when we do fun things together on Monday night, we call it Family Home Evening and make it something to look forward to. So we'll see.
Anyway, so FHE we went for a family walk. It was sunny and pretty nice out. We let Lila scoot on her little tricycle and she had her cute helmet on. She didn't get very far on the trike, but we did take the stroller too, so that helped. :) We stopped at Frank and Kate's to drop off a Sweet Tango apple from Terie. And then walked back home.
Yesterday we were supposed to watch Brig and Ella so their parents could go on dates. But Alicia called in the morning to say that Derek had to work late and then had a church meeting, so she'd like to watch the kids instead. (They only have one car, so she wouldn't have been able to go out on her own anyway.) So, Jake and I got a date! Lila did just fine... except for she fell off her chair at dinner and then cried until we got back. lol. Poor girl. I forgot to tell Alicia that her blankie and snacks were in her diaper bag--I think if she would've gotten a favorite snack or her blankie she would've calmed down.
Anyway, Jake and I drove around for a while deciding what to eat. We ended up at Applebee's and it the food could've been better, but we had a nice time talking and just sitting there. And then we went to the mall. I had a $10 off coupon for JC Penney and I wanted to buy some maternity jeans (the ones I bought when I was pregnant with Lila shrunk (way too short). So I tried a bunch on and in the end decided on a pair that was priced at $36, but with the coupon would've been $26. We get to the register, and the cashier's like, "Wow! These are on clearance and are $7!" So we went back to find another pair, and did (probably the last two pairs) and got them both for $4! Muahahaha. We were really excited about that. Jake and I like saving money. But it was a true blessing because they weren't even on a clearance rack or marked on sale or anything. Jake said, "Jared is like a miracle baby." And I said, "Yeah, maybe he'll be born on Christmas."
So when we picked Lila up, she was crying, but we gave her and her friends some snacks and she calmed down very quickly. And then we stayed till past 10:00pm visiting with the Thompsons and Tensmeyers. That was fun. Jake and I are going to have a Halloween party--Alicia told us we should. (She would totally host it but doesn't have a house.) It'll be the first party ever that we've thrown, and our friends here from church are way into parties. So it should be fun. Hopefully not too much work. :)
Lila didn't get to bed till 11 so she slept till 10 this morning. Jake and I went to bed late again. We're both tired. She's napping now.
Anyway, so FHE we went for a family walk. It was sunny and pretty nice out. We let Lila scoot on her little tricycle and she had her cute helmet on. She didn't get very far on the trike, but we did take the stroller too, so that helped. :) We stopped at Frank and Kate's to drop off a Sweet Tango apple from Terie. And then walked back home.
Yesterday we were supposed to watch Brig and Ella so their parents could go on dates. But Alicia called in the morning to say that Derek had to work late and then had a church meeting, so she'd like to watch the kids instead. (They only have one car, so she wouldn't have been able to go out on her own anyway.) So, Jake and I got a date! Lila did just fine... except for she fell off her chair at dinner and then cried until we got back. lol. Poor girl. I forgot to tell Alicia that her blankie and snacks were in her diaper bag--I think if she would've gotten a favorite snack or her blankie she would've calmed down.
Anyway, Jake and I drove around for a while deciding what to eat. We ended up at Applebee's and it the food could've been better, but we had a nice time talking and just sitting there. And then we went to the mall. I had a $10 off coupon for JC Penney and I wanted to buy some maternity jeans (the ones I bought when I was pregnant with Lila shrunk (way too short). So I tried a bunch on and in the end decided on a pair that was priced at $36, but with the coupon would've been $26. We get to the register, and the cashier's like, "Wow! These are on clearance and are $7!" So we went back to find another pair, and did (probably the last two pairs) and got them both for $4! Muahahaha. We were really excited about that. Jake and I like saving money. But it was a true blessing because they weren't even on a clearance rack or marked on sale or anything. Jake said, "Jared is like a miracle baby." And I said, "Yeah, maybe he'll be born on Christmas."
So when we picked Lila up, she was crying, but we gave her and her friends some snacks and she calmed down very quickly. And then we stayed till past 10:00pm visiting with the Thompsons and Tensmeyers. That was fun. Jake and I are going to have a Halloween party--Alicia told us we should. (She would totally host it but doesn't have a house.) It'll be the first party ever that we've thrown, and our friends here from church are way into parties. So it should be fun. Hopefully not too much work. :)
Lila didn't get to bed till 11 so she slept till 10 this morning. Jake and I went to bed late again. We're both tired. She's napping now.
Jake's Birthday continued...
To continue where I left off... I was going to toot my own horn and say that when Jake spilled paint on our carpet, I didn't even flinch either, didn't say anything about it, just shrugged it off and hoped that it would come out (it did). We're getting better. Not perfect, but better.
The Primary Program went well. Kids were cute. We sat all the way in the back, and Lila did great the whole time. She usually sits very well in our laps until after the sacrament. She likes to eat the sacrament bread, and this time she said "Water" after she took the bread, because she knew the water was coming next. But she just hasn't figured out how to drink the water out of that little cup yet. :) We sat next to a family with some girls who had flowers in their hair and Lila said, "A flower!" and the mom was so impressed with how smart she was. :) Lila colored and ate snacks the rest of the hour.
Then, we tried Nursery. The first hour or so didn't go so well. She was clingy and didn't want me to leave. When I did leave, she didn't last 5 minutes before they brought her out, crying. So we took a little break and then tried again. Jake brought her in this time, and oh my goodness was she excited about snack time. I don't think she's ever been in there for snack time. He left, and she was just fine. But 5 minutes later, they brought her to me because she had a poopy diaper, she wasn't crying or anything. And the whole time I changed her diaper, all she could say was "Snack! Nursery!" So I brought her back, and she was a little nervous for me to leave, and had finished her snack, so she just hopped around the little carpet squares they use for singing time and I snuck out. And she lasted the rest of the hour just fine :) I'm so proud! I asked Annette how she did during singing time, and Annette said she did great, that you couldn't even tell it she was a newbie. I'm so proud. I should've known--snacks and singing are two of her favorite things, so I'll have to remind her of that next time.
Primary was nice because we let the kids watch a movie and have a special snack to "celebrate" their good job in the Program. So the leaders/teachers got to sit, snack, and visit too, which was a nice break.
After church, Lila took a (short) nap while Jake and I had some lunch. After Lila woke up and had lunch, she started to act tired again, so I laid down with her hoping that she'd fall asleep again, but she didn't. But I did. Couldn't keep my eyes open and couldn't move my body, so I slept. Emily was over, so I told Jake that he could lay down too if he was tired and Em could watch Lila, but he didn't want a nap. So while I was sleeping, he and Emily made a chocolate cake from scratch. So the joke is that I took a nap on Jake's birthday while he made his own cake. :) He's a good guy.
Jim, Angela, and Emily came over to celebrate, which was really nice of them. They hadn't seen our house since we didn't any painting. Lila loves playing with cousin Emily too. The cake was really good. Terie, Brody, and Toby came over for that.
After they left, we sat around the table talking about Sarah (ex-wife) and Emily and how frustrating it is for Jim sometimes. Sarah... is just not meeting Emily's needs. And last night, Jake and I were talking about how a lot of Emily's needs are not being met by either parent. Angela and Jim are good at meeting her physical needs--they provide a much more stable home environment than she's ever had before. Angela said that one day recently, Emily was playing house, and Emily introduced her to her "two sons from her first marriage and her one child from her second marriage." And Angela asked her about that and Emily said, "Well, my first husband wasn't the right one and didn't listen to me and we didn't communicate, but my second husband is the right one." And later asked, "Aren't you supposed to get married twice?" And Angela and Jim kind of laughed about it, but if my child was asking that, it would be sending up all kinds of red flags and I would be so vigilant in trying to teach them correct principles about marriage and families.
I feel really grateful that Jake and I are on the same page and are both committed to teaching our children the gospel. I feel like we have the same mind and heart about it--unity. We talked on Monday night about it. I told him that I want our children to really feel and see the love that we have for the gospel, for the scriptures, for prayer. I asked him if he could feel and see that in his own parents, specifically for his dad... and he said that it wasn't quite like that. His dad and I guess his mom too were very much about duty--they taught their children and especially their sons about duty. They were both converts to the gospel, and they decided together that they were going to fully commit to the gospel: they were going to church every Sunday, they would pay tithing, they would serve in whatever capacity asked of them, etc. And we're so grateful for their sacrifices and examples. And we know that every generation has the potential to be better... so we will do better than our parents, and hope that our children will be better than we are.
Anyway. Just really grateful for Jake and to have him as a partner. Happy birthday to Jake.
The Primary Program went well. Kids were cute. We sat all the way in the back, and Lila did great the whole time. She usually sits very well in our laps until after the sacrament. She likes to eat the sacrament bread, and this time she said "Water" after she took the bread, because she knew the water was coming next. But she just hasn't figured out how to drink the water out of that little cup yet. :) We sat next to a family with some girls who had flowers in their hair and Lila said, "A flower!" and the mom was so impressed with how smart she was. :) Lila colored and ate snacks the rest of the hour.
Then, we tried Nursery. The first hour or so didn't go so well. She was clingy and didn't want me to leave. When I did leave, she didn't last 5 minutes before they brought her out, crying. So we took a little break and then tried again. Jake brought her in this time, and oh my goodness was she excited about snack time. I don't think she's ever been in there for snack time. He left, and she was just fine. But 5 minutes later, they brought her to me because she had a poopy diaper, she wasn't crying or anything. And the whole time I changed her diaper, all she could say was "Snack! Nursery!" So I brought her back, and she was a little nervous for me to leave, and had finished her snack, so she just hopped around the little carpet squares they use for singing time and I snuck out. And she lasted the rest of the hour just fine :) I'm so proud! I asked Annette how she did during singing time, and Annette said she did great, that you couldn't even tell it she was a newbie. I'm so proud. I should've known--snacks and singing are two of her favorite things, so I'll have to remind her of that next time.
Primary was nice because we let the kids watch a movie and have a special snack to "celebrate" their good job in the Program. So the leaders/teachers got to sit, snack, and visit too, which was a nice break.
After church, Lila took a (short) nap while Jake and I had some lunch. After Lila woke up and had lunch, she started to act tired again, so I laid down with her hoping that she'd fall asleep again, but she didn't. But I did. Couldn't keep my eyes open and couldn't move my body, so I slept. Emily was over, so I told Jake that he could lay down too if he was tired and Em could watch Lila, but he didn't want a nap. So while I was sleeping, he and Emily made a chocolate cake from scratch. So the joke is that I took a nap on Jake's birthday while he made his own cake. :) He's a good guy.
Jim, Angela, and Emily came over to celebrate, which was really nice of them. They hadn't seen our house since we didn't any painting. Lila loves playing with cousin Emily too. The cake was really good. Terie, Brody, and Toby came over for that.
After they left, we sat around the table talking about Sarah (ex-wife) and Emily and how frustrating it is for Jim sometimes. Sarah... is just not meeting Emily's needs. And last night, Jake and I were talking about how a lot of Emily's needs are not being met by either parent. Angela and Jim are good at meeting her physical needs--they provide a much more stable home environment than she's ever had before. Angela said that one day recently, Emily was playing house, and Emily introduced her to her "two sons from her first marriage and her one child from her second marriage." And Angela asked her about that and Emily said, "Well, my first husband wasn't the right one and didn't listen to me and we didn't communicate, but my second husband is the right one." And later asked, "Aren't you supposed to get married twice?" And Angela and Jim kind of laughed about it, but if my child was asking that, it would be sending up all kinds of red flags and I would be so vigilant in trying to teach them correct principles about marriage and families.
I feel really grateful that Jake and I are on the same page and are both committed to teaching our children the gospel. I feel like we have the same mind and heart about it--unity. We talked on Monday night about it. I told him that I want our children to really feel and see the love that we have for the gospel, for the scriptures, for prayer. I asked him if he could feel and see that in his own parents, specifically for his dad... and he said that it wasn't quite like that. His dad and I guess his mom too were very much about duty--they taught their children and especially their sons about duty. They were both converts to the gospel, and they decided together that they were going to fully commit to the gospel: they were going to church every Sunday, they would pay tithing, they would serve in whatever capacity asked of them, etc. And we're so grateful for their sacrifices and examples. And we know that every generation has the potential to be better... so we will do better than our parents, and hope that our children will be better than we are.
Anyway. Just really grateful for Jake and to have him as a partner. Happy birthday to Jake.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Our Weekend (Jake's Birthday)
Fridays always seem kind of long to me, because I'm just so excited for Jake to get home and the weekend to start. During the day, I taught Lila how to say "Friday!" and "Weekend!" And we cheer those things together throughout the day. She says, "Weekend Daddy!" because I tell her that we get to spend the weekend with Daddy. We sure love that Daddy.
Friday morning at 10:00 we had Kari, Amber, Ann and their kids (all boys) over. That was fun. Except for I had an awful stiff neck, so was in quite a bit of pain, but the kids all had fun. That was a nice way to pass the morning. After Lila's nap, I laid in bed with her for a while and let her watch some cartoons on Netflix... because I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell asleep. By the time I woke up, we started getting dinner ready. That evening, Jake cleaned up the kitchen and took Lila for a bike ride so that I could rest, and by the time they got back, my stiff neck was almost all better, so I was grateful for that. After Lila went to bed, Jake and I watched some TV shows on Hulu and then went to bed ourselves. But not till midnight. Too late, as usual.
Saturday morning we went to the Farmer's Market, as usual, and also to Payless for some church shoes for Lila and to Kohl's to make some returns and spend our Kohl's cash. Then it was a nap for Lila at home, and then we all went to Babies R Us and Target to register! Alicia Thompson, Jen Randall, and Kasey Hunt are throwing me a baby shower on October 15th--really sweet of them. And they sent out the Evite on Friday, where they posted that I was registered at those places, so that needed to get done ASAP. It was fun. Not as exciting or time consuming, as it was the first time around, but we haven't really done a lot of baby-related things yet, so it was fun to get back in that mode and be excited for the arrival of our little boy. We also stopped at Meijer. When we got home, I quickly got ready for the RS dinner preceding the General RS broadcast. Emily and I went together, and it was nice to have a break and just talk and eat. Visited with Annette Shumway. She cracks me up. She said that everytime Preston interacts with Jake or I, he tells her how awesome we are and that we really need to hang out more because time is running out (he's done with his residency in June, I think). So they're coming over on Friday. Sonja Staples was there--she got the Evite to my shower and she hadn't even known that I was pregnant! lol. She's coming over this week too with her two youngest to see the house.
Emily and I left to watch the broadcast at home. Lila had a blast playing with Daddy, taking a bath, going to Harding's to get some more groceries. Even though Daddy forgot to feed her dinner :) Bedtime didn't go very smoothly... she woke up not too long after she fell asleep, crying and wanting Mommy, so she slept with us. She's still not feeling 100% better. And I had Primary things to finish up (I procrastinated, of course). So we all went to bed after 11:00 and got up at 7:30.
It's Jake's 28th birthday today! Hooray, Jake! To begin our celebration, I spilled some of my breakfast cereal on his iPad. And he didn't even flinch, just cleaned it up and didn't say another word. We do things like that now. I... have to go help clean up the kitchen now. More tomorrow.
Friday morning at 10:00 we had Kari, Amber, Ann and their kids (all boys) over. That was fun. Except for I had an awful stiff neck, so was in quite a bit of pain, but the kids all had fun. That was a nice way to pass the morning. After Lila's nap, I laid in bed with her for a while and let her watch some cartoons on Netflix... because I couldn't keep my eyes open and fell asleep. By the time I woke up, we started getting dinner ready. That evening, Jake cleaned up the kitchen and took Lila for a bike ride so that I could rest, and by the time they got back, my stiff neck was almost all better, so I was grateful for that. After Lila went to bed, Jake and I watched some TV shows on Hulu and then went to bed ourselves. But not till midnight. Too late, as usual.
Emily and I left to watch the broadcast at home. Lila had a blast playing with Daddy, taking a bath, going to Harding's to get some more groceries. Even though Daddy forgot to feed her dinner :) Bedtime didn't go very smoothly... she woke up not too long after she fell asleep, crying and wanting Mommy, so she slept with us. She's still not feeling 100% better. And I had Primary things to finish up (I procrastinated, of course). So we all went to bed after 11:00 and got up at 7:30.
It's Jake's 28th birthday today! Hooray, Jake! To begin our celebration, I spilled some of my breakfast cereal on his iPad. And he didn't even flinch, just cleaned it up and didn't say another word. We do things like that now. I... have to go help clean up the kitchen now. More tomorrow.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
26 weeks today - Lila's 18 month birthday
Lila is 18 months old today! Time is flying. Can't believe it's already been 6 months since her birthday, and a whole year since she was 6 months old. Before you know it she'll be 2. Her present to herself, and also to me, was to go down for a second nap. :) Her normal nap at noon didn't last too long, a little over an hour, so I'm really glad she went down again. Especially because she didn't get to bed till 11pm last night.
I am 26 weeks today. Time is flying. We still have 3 months to go, but I think it'll happen so quickly. The baby has started moving a lot more the past few days. Out of the corner of my eye, sometimes I see my belly popping up where he's kicking. He's kicking more often too.
Found out today that Emily has December 15-January 16 off of school! That's AMAZING. I was thinking she'd probably have to go back shortly after New Years, but YAY. She'll definitely be available to watch Lila when we're at the hospital with Jared... if my parents are also here during that time, it's not that big of a deal, but this baby could technically come before or after the holidays. I feel really relieved about that--I'd been pretty worried about how that would all work. She might go home for a week or so during that time, but if Jake is home from work, that shouldn't be too bad. It would be great to have her help those first few weeks.
I've just spent the past half hour reading through posts on this blog. About a family who lost their first (and only) daughter to cancer when she was 11 months old. I've been sitting here crying, feeling heartbroken for them, and feeling so grateful for my sweet Lila. I'm going to smother her with kisses when she wakes up. I am so blessed to have her.
I am 26 weeks today. Time is flying. We still have 3 months to go, but I think it'll happen so quickly. The baby has started moving a lot more the past few days. Out of the corner of my eye, sometimes I see my belly popping up where he's kicking. He's kicking more often too.
Found out today that Emily has December 15-January 16 off of school! That's AMAZING. I was thinking she'd probably have to go back shortly after New Years, but YAY. She'll definitely be available to watch Lila when we're at the hospital with Jared... if my parents are also here during that time, it's not that big of a deal, but this baby could technically come before or after the holidays. I feel really relieved about that--I'd been pretty worried about how that would all work. She might go home for a week or so during that time, but if Jake is home from work, that shouldn't be too bad. It would be great to have her help those first few weeks.
I've just spent the past half hour reading through posts on this blog. About a family who lost their first (and only) daughter to cancer when she was 11 months old. I've been sitting here crying, feeling heartbroken for them, and feeling so grateful for my sweet Lila. I'm going to smother her with kisses when she wakes up. I am so blessed to have her.
Unmotivated
When Jake went to bed early on Monday night, she and I did our nightly routine without him. When it came time to read the Book of Mormon, I gave her a blue missionary copy to "read" and started reading out loud. She walked out of the living room, into our bedroom, and came back eventually. When I walked into our room later, I noticed that she had put her copy of the Book of Mormon next to Jake while he was sleeping. How cute is that? She wanted Daddy to read with us. Also, when I gave her her toothbrush, she brought it to sleeping Jake, because he usually brushes teeth with her. Cute.
This has been a pretty lame week. Lame because I'm just feeling really blah and unmotivated. Lila's been under the weather, but it hasn't been too bad. She's actually just been sleeping more, which is fine by me. But we haven't been going out and doing a lot like usual, so I'm just not used to sitting at home all the time. But I need to get used to it... we'll be doing a lot of that this winter!
Yesterday at around 4 we stopped at Kate Whitaker's to visit. That was nice. Jake and I were supposed to drop Lila off at Holly's for our date night, but since she has a cold, we didn't. We did go pick up a bed rail for Lila from Craigslist and then went out to get custard at Culver's, so it was still a fun night as a family. Lila is so darn cute. We love her.
Lately she's been loving the green smoothies that Jake makes and regularly requests "moonies" (smoothies). She also likes string cheese. We went for a walk as a family last night and then had smoothies. But I can't drink the ones Jake usually makes because I've developed an allergy to peaches. Bummer.
We spent time talking to Mike on the phone. Things are still shakey with Cassandra, and I suspect they will continue to be for a while, but Mike is still willing and wanting to work on it, which is good. I actually wrote Cassandra an email, because I felt prompted to. In response, she said she and Mike were having a lot of ups and downs and asked if Jake and I experienced that. I wrote this --
Hey Cassandra,
Life here is good. Trying to enjoy the last of the warm weather and life with just one child. I have a feeling that the transition to two kids is going to be pretty hard, but even so, we're so excited to meet him and for Lila to have a little brother. Kids are a lot of fun. Mike's been sharing some of his side of the story, so I kind of know what's going on, but his perception of it is probably different than yours. :) I do think that I understand where you're coming from, at least from the things that Mike has said. I had a lot of big decisions to make after I met Jake. It all seemed to happen very quickly, and Jake was very intense too :) There were definitely some ups and downs in our relationship in the beginning, but those ended as soon as I decided once and for all that I was going to marry Jake. After we decided to merge our lives together, things were still very difficult--because my parents and other family members weren't supportive of our decision to marry at such young ages and in the temple... and because it takes a lot of work to see eye-to-eye and figure out how to make a relationship work--but we faced those problems together, and I think that built a strong foundation for our whole marriage. Actually, the period of our engagement was the most difficult time of my whole life. I was heartbroken that my parents weren't supportive and wouldn't be able to be at the sealing (my dad, though endowed, decided to sit with my mom during the ceremony), and it was really hard to be living 3 hours away from Jake (he was at college). I was under a lot of stress, especially not being able to see how it would all work out in the end. But, I felt so strongly that Heavenly Father would bless me, our marriage, and our future children, for the righteous decisions I was making: to be sealed for eternity to a righteous man that I loved. And Heavenly Father has surely blessed us. My relationship with my parents has never been better. Especially with my mom. She adores Jake and especially adores her grandchildren. And even though I was told before I got married that happiness in marriage is so wonderful, I had no idea that Jake and I could be so happy together. We are so happy together, every day.
Thinking back to the time when I was trying to make a decision about what I should do (I needed to first of all decide if I was going to go to BYU as planned or if I was going to stay in the UP, and I knew that if I stayed in the UP I would marry Jake), I received advice from my parents at times when I was very distraught and confused that helped me make the decision. Even though we didn't see eye-to-eye about me marrying Jake, they knew that Jake and I were very much in love and very happy together. I remember talking with my dad once, and he told me that as long as I was being obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments and living righteously, I could do what I wanted to do (in regards to marrying Jake or not), and I would be happy. I just needed to do what felt right. And then talking to my mom, she said something along the lines of, "I don't think you could find a better man than Jake. He loves you so much. He is a good man." I knew that was true. I understood that if I didn't want to marry Jake--I knew it was about what I wanted to do--that I would eventually find another man who would be good and kind and righteous. He wouldn't be better than Jake, he would just be different. And I knew that I would be just as happy with one righteous man as I would with another, because usually marriage is what you make of it. But, I realized that no, I couldn't hope to find another man better than Jake. He was good, kind, loving, wonderful... even though in many ways he was not the kind of person I expected I'd marry (I never ever imagined that I'd marry such a practical engineer type guy). Most importantly, he loved me fiercely and was so loyal and committed to having a happy marriage. And I couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and of him moving on and of him marrying/loving another woman. So I made my decision. And I have never, ever regretted it.
Oh, and here's a quote from Elder Holland I read recently that I loved. I shared it with Mike too.
Looking back, I'm so grateful for those opportunities I was given to grow. It tested my faith a lot, but because Jake and I moved forward, we've been blessed. Marriage is wonderful, Cassandra. It is so worth every sacrifice and difficult decision, and all the late nights talking and figuring things out together. I hope you and Mike can come to a decision together that you'll be happy with. How are you feeling about everything? Remember to relax and have fun together too. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the intense and important things that we forget to just have fun and laugh together.
Rudi
Anyway. They both still have a lot to learn about relationships. :)
Bedtime was rough. Lila wasn't feeling well and I was exhausted, so she didn't get to bed till 11. Jake was awesome though and cleaned the kitchen and living room for me. Good man. Oh, one of the reasons I was worn out was because Lila threw her first full-fledged tantrum yesterday morning. It wasn't horrible, but it was annoying. :) She was mad because I took her owl jammies off to change her diaper and put clothes on her. And she lost it. I picked out a shirt that she wanted to wear, and even though she wanted me to put it on her, every time I tried she would freak out. So that lasted 20 minutes or so, but ended just as quickly and easily as it began. Weird. Guess I'll have to get used to that. Just lots of crying and screeching and gagging, nothing major. I remember crying like that when I was little... I remember laying on the ground and crying and feeling the tears fall into my ears and my hair and while I was laying there, thinking very clearly, "I don't know why I'm crying, but it feels good." lol. So, at least I kind of know what she's going through.
This has been a pretty lame week. Lame because I'm just feeling really blah and unmotivated. Lila's been under the weather, but it hasn't been too bad. She's actually just been sleeping more, which is fine by me. But we haven't been going out and doing a lot like usual, so I'm just not used to sitting at home all the time. But I need to get used to it... we'll be doing a lot of that this winter!
Yesterday at around 4 we stopped at Kate Whitaker's to visit. That was nice. Jake and I were supposed to drop Lila off at Holly's for our date night, but since she has a cold, we didn't. We did go pick up a bed rail for Lila from Craigslist and then went out to get custard at Culver's, so it was still a fun night as a family. Lila is so darn cute. We love her.
Lately she's been loving the green smoothies that Jake makes and regularly requests "moonies" (smoothies). She also likes string cheese. We went for a walk as a family last night and then had smoothies. But I can't drink the ones Jake usually makes because I've developed an allergy to peaches. Bummer.
We spent time talking to Mike on the phone. Things are still shakey with Cassandra, and I suspect they will continue to be for a while, but Mike is still willing and wanting to work on it, which is good. I actually wrote Cassandra an email, because I felt prompted to. In response, she said she and Mike were having a lot of ups and downs and asked if Jake and I experienced that. I wrote this --
Hey Cassandra,
Life here is good. Trying to enjoy the last of the warm weather and life with just one child. I have a feeling that the transition to two kids is going to be pretty hard, but even so, we're so excited to meet him and for Lila to have a little brother. Kids are a lot of fun. Mike's been sharing some of his side of the story, so I kind of know what's going on, but his perception of it is probably different than yours. :) I do think that I understand where you're coming from, at least from the things that Mike has said. I had a lot of big decisions to make after I met Jake. It all seemed to happen very quickly, and Jake was very intense too :) There were definitely some ups and downs in our relationship in the beginning, but those ended as soon as I decided once and for all that I was going to marry Jake. After we decided to merge our lives together, things were still very difficult--because my parents and other family members weren't supportive of our decision to marry at such young ages and in the temple... and because it takes a lot of work to see eye-to-eye and figure out how to make a relationship work--but we faced those problems together, and I think that built a strong foundation for our whole marriage. Actually, the period of our engagement was the most difficult time of my whole life. I was heartbroken that my parents weren't supportive and wouldn't be able to be at the sealing (my dad, though endowed, decided to sit with my mom during the ceremony), and it was really hard to be living 3 hours away from Jake (he was at college). I was under a lot of stress, especially not being able to see how it would all work out in the end. But, I felt so strongly that Heavenly Father would bless me, our marriage, and our future children, for the righteous decisions I was making: to be sealed for eternity to a righteous man that I loved. And Heavenly Father has surely blessed us. My relationship with my parents has never been better. Especially with my mom. She adores Jake and especially adores her grandchildren. And even though I was told before I got married that happiness in marriage is so wonderful, I had no idea that Jake and I could be so happy together. We are so happy together, every day.
Thinking back to the time when I was trying to make a decision about what I should do (I needed to first of all decide if I was going to go to BYU as planned or if I was going to stay in the UP, and I knew that if I stayed in the UP I would marry Jake), I received advice from my parents at times when I was very distraught and confused that helped me make the decision. Even though we didn't see eye-to-eye about me marrying Jake, they knew that Jake and I were very much in love and very happy together. I remember talking with my dad once, and he told me that as long as I was being obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments and living righteously, I could do what I wanted to do (in regards to marrying Jake or not), and I would be happy. I just needed to do what felt right. And then talking to my mom, she said something along the lines of, "I don't think you could find a better man than Jake. He loves you so much. He is a good man." I knew that was true. I understood that if I didn't want to marry Jake--I knew it was about what I wanted to do--that I would eventually find another man who would be good and kind and righteous. He wouldn't be better than Jake, he would just be different. And I knew that I would be just as happy with one righteous man as I would with another, because usually marriage is what you make of it. But, I realized that no, I couldn't hope to find another man better than Jake. He was good, kind, loving, wonderful... even though in many ways he was not the kind of person I expected I'd marry (I never ever imagined that I'd marry such a practical engineer type guy). Most importantly, he loved me fiercely and was so loyal and committed to having a happy marriage. And I couldn't bear the thought of losing him, and of him moving on and of him marrying/loving another woman. So I made my decision. And I have never, ever regretted it.
Oh, and here's a quote from Elder Holland I read recently that I loved. I shared it with Mike too.
"To give ourselves totally to another person, as we do in marriage, is the most trusting step we take in any human relationship. It is a real act of faith--faith all of us must be willing to exercise. If we do it right, we end up sharing everything--all our hopes, all our fears, all our dreams, all our weaknesses, and all our joys--with another person. No serious courtship or engagement is worth the name if we do not fully invest all that we have in it and in so doing trust ourselves totally to the one we love. You cannot succeed in love if you keep one foot out on the bank for safety's sake. The very nature of the endeavor requires that you hold on to each other as tightly as you can and jump in the pool together.
Looking back, I'm so grateful for those opportunities I was given to grow. It tested my faith a lot, but because Jake and I moved forward, we've been blessed. Marriage is wonderful, Cassandra. It is so worth every sacrifice and difficult decision, and all the late nights talking and figuring things out together. I hope you and Mike can come to a decision together that you'll be happy with. How are you feeling about everything? Remember to relax and have fun together too. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the intense and important things that we forget to just have fun and laugh together.
Rudi
Anyway. They both still have a lot to learn about relationships. :)
Bedtime was rough. Lila wasn't feeling well and I was exhausted, so she didn't get to bed till 11. Jake was awesome though and cleaned the kitchen and living room for me. Good man. Oh, one of the reasons I was worn out was because Lila threw her first full-fledged tantrum yesterday morning. It wasn't horrible, but it was annoying. :) She was mad because I took her owl jammies off to change her diaper and put clothes on her. And she lost it. I picked out a shirt that she wanted to wear, and even though she wanted me to put it on her, every time I tried she would freak out. So that lasted 20 minutes or so, but ended just as quickly and easily as it began. Weird. Guess I'll have to get used to that. Just lots of crying and screeching and gagging, nothing major. I remember crying like that when I was little... I remember laying on the ground and crying and feeling the tears fall into my ears and my hair and while I was laying there, thinking very clearly, "I don't know why I'm crying, but it feels good." lol. So, at least I kind of know what she's going through.
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