Ava's Baptism

Miss Ava was baptized this past Saturday. November 21, 2015 to be exact. :) It was such a beautiful and simple day... I had had a couple of rough weeks leading up to her baptism, and nothing turned out the way I wanted it to, and I was a complete basket case, but it all turned out just beautiful.

I had desperately wanted to get some pictures of her... I even made a gorgeous floral crown for her pictures, but I didn't have time to get them taken. I snapped a couple of pictures on that day and we'll have to call it good.

Leading up to all of our family arriving, we had a major leak in our roof and had to tear down part of our wall and fireplace. While I know my family isn't judging me on how my house looks, I wanted a comfortable and inviting place for everyone to be... We were literally painting our wall and hanging our fireplace mantle the day Nate's parents came into town.

The week before Ava's baptism, I found out I was miscarrying again and had a nasty cold, so I didn't feel like doing anything. :( I finally miscarried the Wednesday before her baptism. I felt like crap the next couple of days, but was grateful to be feeling better by the time Saturday rolled around. 

But Saturday was a beautiful day. Ava was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by her dad. We had so many friends and family come to support us. My dad, Nate's dad, my Uncle Russell, Branden, Austin, and Steve all stood in the circle to confirm Ava.                                   

                           

        

In summary: house was a disaster, I was miscarrying, I was trying to prepare for Ava's baptism AND Coco's birthday (Ava got baptized on Colbie's birthday), no pictures or invitations happened. No fancy cake. No fancy food. But all that mattered was that she was making sacred covenants with her Heavenly Father and that we had family there to support us. 

While things don't always go the way we plan them, they turn out the way they're supposed to. Ava's baptism was simply perfect in every way. She looked so beautiful and radiant in white! She's such a blessing from heaven, and I'm so glad she chose to get baptized!

Laundry, Park Hopping, and Riddles

I have mounds of laundry to do. Like all the time. I would really love to toot my own horn and say I'm the absolute best at getting laundry done and put away immediately, but that would be a lie. And my mama taught me never to lie. :) However, I'm not completely terrible at doing laundry... some weeks I am superwoman and get it done in 5.47 seconds flat, and some weeks I can't stay on top of it.

Last week was the latter. It may have something to do with the fact I have 12 people coming to stay at my house in 10 days and I'm still getting things put away in my house. Or the fact that I work. Or the fact that I had a cold and didn't feel like doing diddly squat. Or the fact that I have a gaping hole in my wall because we have a leak and are trying to work with the lovely insurance people... and they're taking their dear sweet time. Or I got caught up on Scandal.

You choose the reason. 

But this week, I decided I would conquer that dang laundry beast! So I got all excited and did load after load after load after load... and now it's all waiting for me to fold. For the record, I didn't plan on folding it today. That's a job for tomorrow.

But let's take a hot second and just look at how sexy my washer and dryer are. Yowzaa.

Nate and I had to buy some when we bought our home, and I wanted one that I could fit king size bedding in, so we saved our pennies and bought this set. And it has not disappointed. Especially because in the 2 months we've had it, I've washed bedding about 6 times already. 

Thank you potty training.

Thank you random puke.

Did I mention these sing to you? THEY DO! When the cycle ends, it plays a little jingle and brings a smile on my face. Hey, anything that puts a smile on your face while you're doing laundry is a winner in my book!

I had various errands to run today, so I was gone most of the day.

When I picked the girls up, we decided to discover a couple of new parks near us.

Secretly I'm trying to scout out some awesome locations to take Ava's baptism pictures...

But the girls loved this little adventure!

The first park we went to had this massive open field behind it. Muy bonita. Muy bonita, I say.

The second park was near a house we had actually looked at. It's in an older, more established neighborhood that's nestled on a hill... very picturesque. 

Swings are always a favorite. And I laughed when I saw Halle literally run and jump on Ava's shoulders with such grace it scared me.

But their little squeals of laughter are ones I never want to forget. Thank heavens for camera phones. They capture all these little moments I want to remember for eternity. 

And cue the last part of my day... Moments I want to remember forever include tonight's #halleshenanigans.

This girl!! She first asked me. "Mom, what is bigger than a house?" After 5 minutes of guessing, she finally told me it was two words and that the first started with a G and the second started with a P. I soon figured out the first word... 

Giant.... Pickle?

Giant.... Porcupine?

Giant... Piano?

Giant... Plane! Giant plane!

No. None of these were correct. And she wasn't about to tell me what it was, either.

FINALLY she told me!

GIANT PETALS! Yes, in case you didn't know, giant flower petals are bigger than a house.

And then she proceeded to tell me something about a baby, and crawled up in a ball on the floor and sucked her thumb.

I honestly can't even remember what she was saying because this image was just too darn funny.

Moments like these make my life joyous. While we are in the midst of a few trials *cough* gaping-hole-in-the-wall *cough* and some other trials I don't want to mention just yet (the time will come... be patient), my life is filled with joy.

I love the quote "Attitude is the difference between and ordeal and an adventure" and I believe that whole-heartedly. 

My life is an adventure. One grand, joyous adventure. I have a beautiful family, faithful friends, loving parents, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, which brings me so much peace and understanding to life's craziness, I can't stand it sometimes.

Life is good. Don't forget that.