Gymnastics birthday picture

It was your birthday a couple weeks ago and your teacher Miss Brittany hadn't been there in a while and she wanted to finally celebrate your birthday! I love the knight uniform dress-up you chose to take your picture in. You made that birthday wall at gymnastics!! Happy Birthday again!

Hair Cut

Jon and I have been cutting Brody's hair since he was born and detests getting it done. He hates having the prickly cut hair fall on his bare skin. To remedy the issue Jon put Brody in a plastic bag and for the most part it worked.
The finished product without a smile.

Family Home Evening

Tonight Jon lead FHE and did an amazing job. He had found these wooden model airplanes at the store and wanted to relate them to the gospel somehow. I love it when the activity dictates the lesson. He made it work and that's "what matters most". He read the conference article by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf entitled "What matters most". Phenomenal read if you have a few minutes. I love our FHE silliness.

Bonding

At Brody's birthday party Grammy gave him some model airplanes to put together and paint. He wanted to share with all of us so we painted together outside in the nice weather. It was really nice just being together. It seems like these days are far and few between lately. Here is what they looked like. The kids did such a great job.

JonMeRyleeBrody

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Jon decided to make breakfast for everyone and this is how it turned out!The man is cute and creative, what can I say. Jon, Rylee, Brody and Taylee I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE you all so very much and am so grateful for the things I have learned from being around you! I wouldn't change a thing!

Melchizedek Priesthood

Today Jon was ordained to the office of an Elder in the Melchizedek Priesthood and received the Melchizedek Priesthood from Dave Hollingshaus. It was nice to have family there and have the men stand in the circle during this special ordination. This is most important to our family. To have a worthy priesthood holder in our home means a lot to me. Jon I am so proud of you for making this decision. I love you so very much and look forward to our future together.

Here is some information about the priesthood.

Through the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, Church leaders guide the Church and direct the preaching of the gospel throughout the world. In the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood, “the power of godliness is manifest” (D&C 84:20). This greater priesthood was given to Adam and has been on the earth whenever the Lord has revealed His gospel. It was taken from the earth during the Great Apostasy, but it was restored in 1829, when the Apostles Peter, James, and John conferred it upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.

“There are, in the church, two priesthoods, namely, the Melchizedek and Aaronic” (D&C 107:1). The Melchizedek Priesthood, which is “after the Order of the Son of God” (D&C 107:3), is the greater of these. It “holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church” (D&C 107:8). It also holds “the keys of all the spiritual blessings of the church” (D&C 107:18). It is named after a great high priest who lived during the time of the prophet Abraham (see D&C 107:2-4; see also Alma 13:14-19).
The offices of the Melchizedek Priesthood are Apostle, Seventy, patriarch, high priest, and elder. The President of the High Priesthood is the President of the Church (see D&C 107:64-66).

Men in the Church must be worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holders in order to receive the temple endowment and be sealed to their families for eternity. They have the authority to administer to the sick and give special blessings to family members and others. With the authorization of presiding priesthood leaders, they can bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost and ordain other worthy men to offices in the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods.

When a man receives the Melchizedek Priesthood, he enters into the oath and covenant of the priesthood. He covenants to be faithful, magnify his calling, “give diligent heed to the words of eternal life,” and “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.” Those who keep this covenant will be sanctified by the Spirit and receive “all that [the] Father hath.” (See D&C 84:33-44.)

http://lds.org/study/topics/melchizedek-priesthood?lang=eng

Brody's Disney Cars Birthday Party

We decided to celebrate Brody's birthday on the weekend when Jon was off work. This was Brody's first party with friends invited. Usually it has been just us the little family celebrating. He was so excited! Brody had such a great time. He is very into Disney Cars right now so he wanted everything cars.It was such a hot and sunny day, just perfect for our outdoor park party.Taylee baby enjoyed herself on my back as usual. What a workout, she's getting so grown up!This is the fort that we got him for his birthday. The little kids loved climbing in and out.Here are a few kids that came to his party! Thanks everyone for making it special!Brody specifically wanted a "Cars" cake. Thanks to Becky Cherry his little dream came true.It not only looked good, but it tasted so GOOD as well. Usually cute cakes don't taste very good and this one was so yummy with strawberry cream cheese filling and whip cream frosting.The grandparents.Here is the little party favors I made. Candy race cars. I was really happy with how they turned out.Presents time. Thanks to all who came! It really made his day special.

Happy Birthday to BRODY!

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Brody,
Happy Birthday to you!
Cha Cha Cha, Hi-ya!Today you are 3 years old. You can:
- dress yourself
- buckle out of your own car seat
- hold up 3 fingers with one hand
- ride a two wheel bike without training wheels
- finally take gymnastics lessons and LOVE IT
- play twinkle twinkle little star on the piano with your right hand ("peanut butter sandwich" style)
- read #1 and #2 reader books
- write the letters B, r, o very well
- and love to sing "Slippery Fish" and "5 Little Monkeys swinging in the tree"
- be so nice to Rylee and Taylee when you want to
- give lots of hugs and kisses without being asked
- go to the bathroom by yourself
- turn a mad situation into a happy one by being sillyBrody is such a good reader and here is his birthday letter from Great Baba. He was so excited to get mail that was special just for him and one that he could read:
It's amazing how your little boy decides on his own that he is going to be a big boy and that all of the sudden in just one day he can master things because his mindset did. It's amazing what children can do when they decide they are grown up. There is more effort and determination for independence and I love seeing that growth in them. Not to mention that it makes my life easier the more independent they are.Today you helped me make cupcakes with orange frosting (your favorite color). Later that evening we bounced around at Bouncetown, then ate a slice of pizza (because that is what you wanted for your birthday dinner) and drove to Jon's fire station so he could spend a little time with you on your special day. When we got there we sang happy birthday to you, ate the cupcakes and opened your presents. The most special present that Jon gave you was his old Legos from when he was a kid. He hopes you will enjoy them as much as he did. We LOVE LOVE LOVE you so much and couldn't be more proud of you! Happy Birthday Big Man!

Taylee Baby!

Boy, is she growing up fast. It's funny how with Rylee all the milestones seemed to take so long to achieve. We would hang on every movement and coo. All three of you have managed to achieve milestones around the same age but my perspective of time now is getting away from me. Life is flying by. I need to stop and enjoy the little things that I sometimes seem to push aside to get my "tasks" done. Taylee you are now 9 months and we couldn't be more proud of how HAPPY and smiley you are.Adding another child always adds a little more chaos to life, oh but how I love the chaos. Of course there are ups and downs but our overall life together as a family has been definitely up. I love this little one so much and I am so grateful to have her in our family.