Thursday, April 26, 2012

WWWW

Wise Words from a Wonderful Woman

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

The wife of our former prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley

“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” 
“I know it is hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around the children will be gone and you will be alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be kind. It is a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. Be cheerful. Don't be a whiner.” 
“Mothers are endowed with a love that is unlike any other love on the face of the earth.” 
“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” 
“Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for an relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling.” 
“The trouble with the world and the trouble with you and me is that we don't love each other enough. And if we do, we don't bother to show it, or we don't bother to say it. If the world is to know love, it has to be in your heart and in mine.” 
“...the beautiful thing--perhaps the thing I love most about the gospel-- is that everything we learn we can use and take with us and use it again. No bit of knowledge goes wasted. Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something else. Did you know that? What a concept!” 

“As you create a home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family.  Have joy in your home. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Be grateful for the journey.” 
“True spirituality makes you loving and grateful, and forgiving, and patient, and gentle, and long-suffering. True spirituality breathes reverence into every act and deed.” 
"The family is eternal. Love must be nurtured. It must be spoken. We must put away our pride, our haughtiness, our shyness, our misunderstandings, and with humility say, 'I love you. Is there something I can do to help you?' You can never be completely happy under any other circumstances."
“We are His children, and if we ever got that through our heads thoroughly, understood that completely, we would never do a small thing, we would never say a cross word, we would not use bad language, we would not criticize anybody, we would love everyone the way the Savior loves us.” 
“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.” 

“For it is not requisite that a woman should hobble faster than she has strength!” 

Love her. I hope I get to meet her one day. And be her friend:)

Monday, April 23, 2012

Ella Grace is 7 Months Old!

In the words of my favorite character from any movie, ever...






























































"HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSEEBLE?!"- King Julian, Madagascar








Wait...how old?!
Wes'side. 
 HAHA! My mom is hilarious.
I took the photo below while rocking Ella Grace to sleep after I got home from the General Young Women's Broadcast.  I was feeling especially sentimental this night.  In this moment of rocking my sweet girl, especially right after partaking of the sweet Spirit at the broadcast, heaven felt close enough to touch. In fact, I was touching it...holding it. I also felt a tinge of sadness. At the broadcast, I saw a woman in another ward that I've encountered on several occasions. She is ALWAYS so sweet, so genuinely kind and loving.  To me, I've always thought this lady must just be the best mom!  So nurturing. This woman arrived late to the broadcast, and sat behind/ to the right of her daughter, who was surrounded by friends. She gently rubbed her shoulder, and the daughter, obviously annoyed, brushed it off quickly...as if it to say "don't touch me." This crushed me. Her mom was trying to show her love and affection, but her daughter wanted no part of it. It made me so sad:*( Even now, I think about it and it hurts my heart. I know there could be more to the story, I know, I know...but the way the scene made me feel upon witnessing it was just so sad. Please, please, Ella Grace...always be my friend.  I love you so much.  You are my sweet baby girl and I am so honored to be your mother.  I know teenage girls can be rough (after all, I was one not too long ago...) and many would tell me there's no way around us butting heads nearly every day throughout her adolescent years, but I also know many would tell me that they have/ had a great relationship with their moms as teenagers.  I pray my sweet Ella Grace and I can always share a special bond & be happy to see each other.
 
A couple days later I put Ella Grace in her fishy bubble outfit Grandmommy got her for her baby shower.  I absolutely love this little number.  Love, love, love it! 

The next weekend was General Conference.  The Saturday morning of Conference, we went to the park to release some wiggles before listening to the prophet. This was the first time Ella Grace ever rode forward facing in a stroller.  She thought it was AMAZING!!! haha! It was hilarious.  Unfortunately, we got rained on while at the park. I'm sure Mommy looked hilarious pushing these two youngins as I ran through the rain back to our house! 
 
She's not what one would call chubby...but she's not skinny!  This shower picture confirms that statement. She sure loves taking showers with Mommy! 


This month brought with it Ella Grace's first experience of dipping her feet in the pool!  (She has yet to go all the way in.) She thought it was also quite amazing!  I just love watching babies' reactions to new sensations and experiences!  The look is one of pure joy and thrill.  And the smile seems to say "why ya been holding out on me, Mom?!"









That sweet little face seems to be encouraging me "don't worry mom"...as I was a nervous wreck taking the kids to the pool without Stace...Julian is a TERRIFYING at the pool. He has absolutely NO FEAR. My sweet friend Rachel held onto Baby Girl as I had several near heart attacks watching Julian, and as I swam as fast as I could to save TJ when Julian pushed him in (he was trying to help TJ get a ball)...yeah. Awesome. Thankfully there was another adult closer to them so she jumped in and got TJ right out.  Good.ness.
Little Miss Bright Eyes:


Every day is truly a fashion show with this little girl! I absolutely love dressing her up!
My mom calls her a "living doll"...and that is what she is!


The Friday of Easter weekend, we drove up to GA to spend some extra time with Great Grandma Dacy & Great Uncle John before heading to the annual Sirmans Easter party and egg hunt. Saturday morning Julian & Ella Grace had their very own egg hunt with Grandma Dacy. Here Little Gracie is finding her first ever Easter egg!






Upon arrival at the East party, we promptly lined up five pretty Sirmans ladies all in a row! Ella Grace's Grandmommy, cousin Emme, cousin Natalie, and cousin Whitney.




  Here is my happy girl with her Great Uncle CF!
 And her Great Uncle Stevie!  I love how Uncle Stevie always says about both my babies (and I'm sure all babies on the planet) "that's a fine baby!" His accent is the BEST Southern accent of all time.

With Daddy on Easter Sunday! I had washed her Easter dress when we got home from GA Saturday night so she could wear it to church, and I laid both babies' clothes out as I always do on days I have ward council before church.  All he had to do was iron it when he ironed his own shirt (he's very particular about the way his shirts are ironed).  But Daddy saw this nice, already ironed pink dress and decided that would be her Easter dress. Oh well, she was still a doll!
Shopping at the outlets in Destin tuckered baby girl out! We went to Destin because Daddy had a conference.  It was so fun to play with cousins, my brother, sister and their spouses!
Watching her brother and boy cousins play in the kiddie pool! 

 Ella Grace and I went with Daddy to the conference reception at the hotel Friday night, but we peaced out lickety splittily and went and played with the awesome Laurianna and her Baby G Georgia!  It was so good to catch up with my gurl that night!
 Ella Grace and Daddy as we were walking back to our car after the reception. The only thing that would make this photo more perfect is if it had been taken with my actual camera (and not my phone) & if her little bow hadn't fallen out of her hair.  No outfit is complete without a bow, you know?!
Ella Grace decided this month that she really didn't care much for solid foods whatsoever.  She never whines about it, but her head/eyes is every which way except pointed at you when you're trying to feed her!  Here is my sister, her Aunt Sasa, whom I will dub the Miracle Worker.  Marissa got her to eat more food (green peas) than she has had her whole life, combined! ha!  To be totally honest, I think it may have had a lot to do with the fact that she was in a highchair, as opposed to the bumbo, and of course...my sister really does have the magic touch when it comes to babies/ little kids.  Being with her & my kids really made me wish we lived closer!
 Here she is, looking as if to say "you really think you're gonna get me to eat any of that mushy stuff?! ha! Little do you know..."

Of course, we went to the beach while in Destin!
 
It was her first trip to the beach ever with Daddy, and 2nd trip ever.  (We'd gone a week or so earlier with friends from church.) I love this picture of her and her Daddy. He sure loves his little girl!   

This girl's smile is just out-of-control presh...
  Her eyes...are also out-of-control blue. When the sunlight hits them just right...they're out of this world!  None of these pics have any editing done on the eyes.
Taken with my camera phone...this is another picture, where to me, she looks just like her cousin Georgia:
 LOVE THIS:

After the beach, we headed over to Destin Commons where Julian ran through the ground fountains.  He insisted I run through the fountains with him, and since Daddy was working, I was holding Ella Grace and  she went right along with me as I followed Julian through the maze of fountains! She had SO much fun! I could hear her sweet little giggle in my ear as she watched her brother run ahead. She sure adores him.
Playing with brother on the way to the pool!  It is my favorite thing ever to watch them make each other laugh!
Towards the end of this month she started sticking out her tongue all the time!  It's been hilarious!  She just randomly sticks it out and seems to get some fun out of it. 
 
Silly baby!  We love you!

Pretty (blurry) profile:
Until next month!

Monday, April 9, 2012

My Special Girl

I can't believe I have an-almost-7-month-old. :*( I really don't want that to be true. She'll have her monthly post in a little over a week when she turns 7 months, but I just couldn't stop myself from writing a little about her now as I reflect on how amazing she is. She is just the sweetest thing. I can't put it into words. Last month I had my visiting teachees and companion over for breakfast, and my companion said "Kim, I just don't believe she cries. Does she ever cry?!" This is not the first time I've heard this. Of course she fusses sometimes like all bebes, but she is just so happy and chill. A few weeks ago we were with our friends the Carrs, and Mary Ann was just smiling at her & talking to her, and Ella Grace gave her normal response to that (crazy excitement and bouncing up and down and huge smiles), and Mary Ann said "she's just so happy! Is she always so happy?!" Stace and I both shrugged, smiled and said "yes, pretty much!" Today my friend Amelia commented on how she loves seeing Ella Grace at our gym's Kids Club because she is always smiling when she walks in. :)

We are so lucky to have her in our family. She's so gentle. She's so patient. She's in love with anyone who gives her the time of day. All the time I get people stopping to look at her and say how pretty is. Ella Grace is special. I think often how glad I am that we ended up giving her the name that we did, because it seems to fit her perfectly. To me, her name says "beauty and gentility. feminine. kindness." But that's just what comes to my mind when I think of those 2 words put together. But I just did a Google search of what her names mean:
Ella: "torch or bright light"; "goddess"; "beautiful woman"; "pretty"
Grace: "virtue; "good will"; "blessing"; "grace"; "eloquence or beauty, kindness, mercy"
Those work well, too:)

Over the weekend, her Grandmommy told her "you're just the pleasantest little thing!" It's true. We love you, baby girl. I just want to soak you in, hold you, kiss those cheeks and make you laugh and giggle all day long. Your smile is just over-the-top contagious. Those two little teefers poking out are so endearing. Your big ol' dimple is too much cuteness. Your eyes just sparkle. You are my sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetie Gracie girl. I don't know what I'd do without you. I pray I can be the kind of mommy you need and deserve.

She said her first word yesterday: "Dada!" (everyone heard it except for me yesterday...6 other people) and today "Mama!" (when Daddy was trying to feed her a bottle and she was looking at me pleadingly! ha!) It was pretty much definitely probably babbling, because according to Parenting.com, the first word generally happens around the 11th to 14th months...Julian's was at almost 8 months, so of course it can happen sooner...but 6.5 months is a little too early to say it was a word!

Anyway...oh, Gracie girl...you are amazing. I hope you always know how much I love you.