And A Little Child Shall Lead Them

I finally had the opportunity to listen to the Saturday morning session of General Conference today. One of the talks that really touched my heart was the one titled "And A Little Child Shall Lead Them" by Boyd K. Packer. In this talk he talked about the importance of children. This is something that I have been pondering a lot frequently. I saw an idea on Pinterest to write a letter to your children as often as you can, telling them specific things that you love about them and things that they are doing in specific stages that you do not want to forget. You then put the letter in either a notebook or in their scrapbook. I have started doing this and I know that this is something that we will all cherish for years to come.

Writing these letters has helped me take the time to realize the things that my boys are doing and how much they are changing every day. They have started folding their arms and bowing their heads when we kneel down for family prayer. When you ask them, "What do we do when we talk to Heavenly Father?" they immediately fold their arms and bow their head. These are the moments that I cherish the most. I know I have said before that there is something truly magical about being a mother. Nothing in this world compares to that quiet half hour before nap time or before bed when the three of us get to cuddle in the rocking chair.

In the talk President Packer said, "One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents. We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah’s prophecy that “a little child shall lead them.” I have learned more about what matters most in this life from Stedson and Treydon then I have learned from anyone/anything else. Ever. Every single day they remind me how precious this life is and just how lucky I am to have the the privlidge to raise these two little angels.

"Fathers and mothers, next time you cradle a newborn child in your arms, you can have an inner vision of the mysteries and purpose of life. You will better understand why the Church is as it is and why the family is the basic organization in time and in eternity."-Boyd K. Packer

Easter

We had a great Easter. The boys were so cute this year with their baskets...plus, I loved playing the Easter Bunny! We went to an Easter Egg hunt that they had at the Rec Center here in town on Saturday the morning. Some may call me obsessive, but the boys and I practiced all day Friday for the Easter Egg Hunt! I would hold the egg up and say, "Go find these!" and we would run and look for them all over the house. It took a few times for them to figure out what in the heck their crazy mama was talking about, but once they did they were hooked. AND I am proud to say that my hard work and dedication in preparation for the egg hunt payed off. :) They had a blast when at the REAL egg hunt and would pick an egg up and hold it up for us to see and put it in their cute little baskets. It was adorable!!

Sunday morning the Easter Bunny stopped by (actually Saturday night :) and the boys were so excited to dig into their baskets. They have a serious obsession with dogs right now, actually all animals, but especially dogs. So they got a few dog board books and movies. Holidays are so much funner with kids!

Phoenix Trip--Post 2

We also went to the Phoenix Zoo while we were visiting my dad. It was a lot of fun! There was a petting zoo with VERY patient goats that didn't mind getting whacked in the head numerous times. The boys are so in love with animals right now so they loved the zoo.









My dad and Cara received a gift card to an Italian Restaurant for Christmas and were kind enough to save it for Jase and I so we could go out on a date while we were visiting them. I must say, it was something I was really looking forward to. We had so much fun! Eating out without the kids was heavenly...we love the kids of course but eating out with the two of them is not always relaxing. After dinner we walked around IKEA, my new favorite store. It was so fun to just have a little time to ourselves, we rarely get that! Thanks again Dad & Cara for the gift card and for watching the boys. :)

We flew out on Sunday. Boy oh boy was it ever a circus. We got to the airport at 8:30, our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:00. When we got there we found out it was delayed until 2:00. We were not happy! That was 6 hours in the airport with two toddlers. Our flight ended up not leaving until 3:00 and our time in the airport was as miserable as one might think. I really don't know how we would have survived without Lindsay and my grandma. Linds could read me really well and could see when I was close to a break down so she would trade me off. The boys ended up screaming most of the flight. I think by the time we got to Billings at 6:00, all 6 of us could have had a mental break down. :) Once we got to the airport we realized that our luggage had been left out in the rain for the 6+ hours that we had been waiting in the airport and the car seats had at least 2 inches of water on them. It was the cherry on top of the crap! We had to lay towels down on the car seats for the boys to sit on because we had a four hour drive home. It was a very exhausting day.

We had a great time in Phoenix though and it was so nice to be around family. Hopefully next time we go we will have better luck on the trip home. :)

Phoenix Trip---Post 1

A few weeks ago we flew to Phoenix to visit my dad for the weekend. We drove to Billings, MT where my Grandma Black lives and picked up my sister Lindsay on the way. Our flight left Thursday afternoon from Billings and we arrived in Mesa, Az Thursday evening. I had so much anxiety about flying with the boys! I knew that it was either going to be a great trip or we were going to wish that we had just stayed home. :) Between the four of us (Lindsay, Jase, Grandma and I) we had three suitcases, a giant diaper bag, two carseats,three purses, and the two boys in their umbrella strollers!! We made it to the check-in counter and ditched the car seats and suitcases and made our way to security. I had literally been lying in bed for days making myself sick about going through security with the boys. I envisioned them screaming their heads off and all of us feeling flustered to keep the line moving and avoid having to be re-scanned. It actually went really well! We made it through security without a problem and only had a short time to wait to get on the plane. Once we got on the plane, Lindsay, Grandma and Jase with Stedson on his lap sat in one row and Treydon and I sat across from them. The boys fell right to sleep as soon as we took off which was an answer to my prayers! :)



Friday morning we woke up and did family pictures. It's a rare occasion that we are all together. I think they turned out really cute. The boys were not too happy about having to be held when there was so much wide open desert for them to explore. Here are a few of our favorites.





I have more pictures of the Phoenix Zoo but those will have to be in another post. My time is running short. :)