Temple Open House

Several weeks ago, we took our children to a Temple Open House.

Michael and I loved showing them the beauty of the temple.

And telling them what a special and sacred place it is.

We told Kathryn many times what a wonderful opportunity it was to go inside the temple.

When we reached the sealing room, we told her that we were married in a sealing room just like that one.  And then, Michael lifted her up, so she could see her reflection in the mirror.

Which symbolizes eternal marriage.  And eternity.

 Yesterday, I watched the dedication of that same temple.

The spirit was strong, and I was reminded of the great blessings that come from attending the temple.

These were some of my favorite messages from that beautiful meeting:

-Remember the covenants we've made and the blessings that are awaiting us.

-Attend the temple more frequently and find answers to questions regarding families

-Focus on the temple and we can weather any storm

-Never be too busy to be the Lord's servant

-Stand in holy places in order to withstand the trials of these latter-days

-We have been given much, therefore much is required of us

-Is the fire of the covenants we've made burning within us?

-Love, patience, tenderness, and spiritually are found in the temple      

-Make room for Christ and time for the Savior of the world

We love...

Sometimes...

When our children (or child) are being crazy

And waking up two to three times a night for the last fifteen months

Usually screaming and crying in pain

And wanting to be held every minute of the day

And basically crying every minute of the day if not being held

And we're all extremely tired and stressed from all the crying and lack of sleep

Michael and I talk about running away together...

But we would never really run away

Because we love our family

And we love our kids 

 And we want to be together forever:)

October was good

There's just too much!  Oh my goodness, October was good to us.

But it's already gone, and there is still so much to share.  Here were some of my favorites:

(P.S.  We did not go crazy during October this year.  It was awesome.)

Row 1:  Michael's birthday surprise, afternoon nap with the boys, preschool Halloween party, family breakfast at our favorite diner with some of our favorite people, fireman Max at the library

Row 2:  Temple open house trip, pumpkin cuties, face painting at the high school football game, Halloween carnival with cousins, mummy bowling at preschool party

Row 3:  Turkey shoot, waiting for Kathryn to get her nails done, preschool at our house the entire month of October, unloading the dishes together, pumpkin patch

Row 4:  My darling boy playing in the tub, Kathryn's big girl Cinderlla bike, at the temple open house, serious Max at breakfast

Row 5:  Kathryn's birthday party, Max the frog for Halloween, fall leaves, new puppy toy for birthday, preschool field trip to the pumpkin patch

CTR Hero

Every Sunday, our primary presidency awards a child with the CTR Hero Award.

They are selected for something special they did that week or that Sunday.

They get to wear this awesome cape during primary, and they are recognized during closing exercises.

I was getting some things done on Sunday, when I poked my head into the primary room.

Kathryn was standing at the front of the room, reverently folding her arms.

She was wearing the CTR Hero cape and beaming.  I couldn't have been more proud of her.  

She has been asking me for months when she would be the CTR Hero.  Love that girl!

Birthday Pictures

My darling Kathryn is growing up.  In fact, she really is growing UP.  

Over the past few months, she has gotten taller, growing out of many of her clothes.

She is sweet and loving and kind.

She is caring and sensitive.

She is always concerned about everyone- her family, her friends and our neighbors.

She makes friends easily and loves to be around people.

  She loves all the colors in the rainbow and all the colors in the world.

She loves to paint, draw, color, dance, decorate, sing and cook.

She loves candy, cookies, ice-cream, carrots, cherries, apples, peas and rice.

She is such a big helper and she loves to serve. 

She loves her brother and is a wonderful big sister.  She is always willing to help me make him happy.

She is funny and smart and she doesn't miss a beat

She has the most incredible memory, and it amazes me the things she remembers.

She loves to play with the girls, but she can keep up with the boys.

The other day, she asked me if she was going to marry one of her (boy) friends when she grows up.

I told her she didn't need to worry about that right now- that he was just her friend.

To which she replied, but aren't we supposed to marry our friends mommy?

She loves to read anything and everything.

She loves to cuddle up and read lots of books.  I love when she can "read" some of her favorites.

She loves to learn.  She is part of a preschool group and she is learning so many new things.

She loves primary.  She loves to learn about Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

She is obedient and wants to choose the right.  She cannot wait to be baptized when she is eight.

She wants to live in heaven some day as an eternal family.

    I love you little Miss Kathryn
You are my sweetheart and my darling girl.

Celebrating Four

Kathryn was so excited to turn four.

She asked me every single day for weeks when it would be her birthday.

When the special day arrived, Michael took her to Arctic Circle for a lunch date.

And then I told her I had a secret surprise.

I took her to get a manicure.
All summer, she asked me to paint her nails, but I sadly never got around to it.
So she was more than thrilled when I told her where we were going that afternoon.
She was such a good girl too.  She sat very, very still and was so polite.

On the way home, we stopped at the toy store.
She begs to go there on a regular basis, so I thought it would be a nice treat.
We played for a while and looked for a new toy to pick out from Grandma Woodland.

After dinner, we had cake and ice cream.

And then she opened presents.

She got some new books and a giant coloring pad.

But the favorite gift of all was her big girl Cinderella bike.

Michael took the garbage outside and came back inside with her new bike:)

She was ecstatic (and so was Max)!

Kathryn's Birthday Party

Kathryn had a super wild, crazy and fun birthday party.

Party Agenda:

Rainbow salt coloring activity

Face (and hand) painting 

Rainbow coloring page

Rainbow Says (Simon Says)

Presents

Rainbow cake and ice cream

Party favor scavenger hunt

Thank you to the sweet twin sisters who I hired to paint faces and plan the scavenger hunt.

And thank you to my wonderful mother in-law who helped corral rowdy children (and boys).

It was so much fun and I think Kathryn was pleased at the end of the day!

Nonstop

I feel like we've been going nonstop for basically the entire month of October.

I'm hoping to catch up on some posts here very soon. It makes me sad when I don't document our lives.

In the meantime, here is a picture of my children at the pumpkin patch.  Aren't they just darling?