Forget Not

This talk by President Uchtdorf made a huge impression on me, I feel very blessed to have latter day prophets and apostles to guide and direct me in my life. His talk can be watched here.

By Gordon B. Hinkley

Get on your knees and pray. 
Then get on your feet and work.


(My friend Antoinette posted this quote on her blog and it has stuck with me all day, thought I would pass it on.)

My four blessings...

Love these kids.

Weekend movie night in my bed.

Back in Albuquerque for 7 more months...

Coming back to Albuquerque after my brother-in-laws funeral has been tuff. I think about my sister and her kids all the time and wish I could be there to help out in some way.  It's been hard to see how quickly my life can go back to normal here, it makes me feel guilty when her life is hard right now. I kinda feel like I'm going through the motions of life and we are just trying to get through the last part of school so we can move to Idaho. At the same time I'm trying to enjoy the time we have left here, we've made some wonderful friends here.  Rich's next two rotations are out of town, so he'll be gone until the middle of November.  We spent are last afternoon together at our favorite park.

Soccer

We just started soccer for the first time and we are LOVING it. I never thought I would get so into these games, it's exciting to watch them play. Brooklyn has surprised me a lot, she's pretty aggressive out there on the field. She's all over the ball! She's not the shy little girl that I used to know. 

Weston also just lost his first two teeth.

All muddy after the game,.

Little video of Weston warming up...

Blake gets his tonsils out

Blake got his tonsils out yesterday, he has been looking forward to this day because he knew he would get as many popsickles and pudding as he wanted.  He hasn't cried or complained about pain at all, he's pretty tuff. I do feel like I am came home with a different kid, his voice is totally different! It doesn't sound like my Blake at all.

First Day of School

Weston's first day of Kindergarten 

Brooklyn's first day of Second Grade

To Holly,

I want you to know how much I look up to you(even though your my little sister). You have been such a example to me these past weeks of the kind of person I hope to be someday. I have been amazed at the strength you have shown during this incredibly hard trial that you've been given. You have strengthened my own testimony of the plan of salvation. I've always believed in it, but you seem to have such a clear understanding of God's plan. I know that Nate may not be here physically with you but he is always watching over you and your sweet kids. He was a amazing husband to you and a good dad to your kids. What a great reunion you will have with him again someday. These past weeks my love for this gospel has grown, I know that our Father in Heaven if very mindful of each of us, especially you at this time. You've also taught me how sweet and precious are time here is on earth, and nothing really matters but the relationships we have with our families. Each day really is a gift and I hope I can be better at looking at it that way. I know that you have some difficult days ahead of you, but like you said..."I will survive this". I am confident you will survive and you'll be a example to everyone around you.  I want you to know how much I love you, and I pray for you constantly. Can't wait to see you in December. Love, Teri

Bath Time with Samantha

Samantha LOVES her baths. She's been growing up so fast lately. We love her to pieces. 

Big Day for Brooklyn

 Today was an exciting day for Brooklyn and me. The past couple of months we have been training on a insulin pump with our diabetes educator. We completed the training last week and today was her insulin pump start day. I still have a lot to learn, but I learn something new everyday. This little machine is going to make our lives so much easier!  Brooklyn is so excited that she doesn't have to get a shot with each meal, snacks and at bedtime. We only have to change her infusion site every three days, and that is practically painless. Just a quick little poke and a small tube is inserted under her skin.  I've been battling with our insurance to help cover the pump, they weren't contracted with the company that sells this pump so it's been quite the process to get all of this to work. This little machine cost $6,700,  so we are grateful that our insurance finally decided to cover the pump 100% with the monthly supplies. I was hoping they would atleast cover 80%, so we were thrilled when they said they would cover everything. We feel very lucky. She's been waiting for this day for months now, we are both glad it's finally here.

This is what her infusion site looks like.  We just have change the spot every 3 days. She also got to pick out some cute skins for her pump. 

Happy 4th of July

This year our friends the Burk's hosted a 4th of July party at their house. We had a great time. There was a lot of good food, the kids had fun swimming and then we did some fireworks in their yard. This holiday has always been one of my favorites, here are some pictures....

Heading to the flag ceremony and pancake breakfast at the church.

Dinner later that day at the Burk's

I have been on a mission to find the perfect New York Style cheesecake recipe.  My friend AnnaMarie posted her recipe on facebook that she uses, so I gave her recipe a try and loved it. It did take a few times of making this before I ended up with a pretty cheesecake with no cracks. When I met with Brooklyn'd diabetes educator back in April she said that cheesecake has half the carbs that regular cake w/frosting has. So I have been wanting to find a good basic recipe that I can top with different things.  I've also learned that cheesecake freezes very well, I have a ton of it in my freezer from all the practice cheesecakes I made. I'll post the recipe soon for those who want to try it. 

Rich and Katie, two of the coolest people we know.

Playing at the pool

She has quite the hour glass figure:) I love her rolls.

My friend Antoinette's cute little boy Noah. They live next door to us. They are the best neighbors. 

Lisa playing with Blake. 

Fireworks...

Too much fun for one day, Samantha is out:)

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Rich was able to come home for fathers day weekend. We were all so excited to see him.  I have to admit having him gone can be hard, I have good days and bad days. We talk on the phone every night when he's away, it feels like we are dating again. I do love that.  I think missing Rich has made me realize how important he is to our family, we function so much better when he is home.  Our kids are lucky to have him as their dad and I feel lucky to have him as my husband. Here are some pictures from our weekend together. 

 Rich's Father's Day  Breakfast.... Buttermilk biscuits, eggs, bacon, fruit and O.J.
I couldn't get him to smile for this picture, this is as good as it gets.

My friend Lisa offered many times to watch all our kids so we could go out on date. I finally took her up on her offer, we went out to dinner and a movie on Friday night. We had a lot of fun:)

Father's Day Dinner...
 Shish kabobs,  sweet baked potatoes, grilled pineapple and homemade potato rolls.  For dessert we had Rich's favorite chocolate cake.

My friend Lisa invited us to go swimming at her community pool on Friday.

 Sami is finally walking! She's 15 months and she just barely took her first steps.

Rich pulling the "Kenny Chesney" attire with his swim shorts and cowboy hat.