The Latest of Ty

Here are a few of the lastest...

Ty is a Dragon'o'sauras (I think he is a Dragon Matt says he is a Ty o Sauras...) for Halloween, either way i think he is ADORABLE. If you cant guess I am the lovely CINDERELLA. Ty is working on sitting up all by himself AND he is getting used to the camera in his face.

Cute little guy, well I shouldn't say little. Everyone we talk to says WOW my 6 month old is that big or whatever. He's got a big noggin... we know... that why we sing PUMPKIN HEAD Tyyyyyy to him him :)

Happy Halloween To all!

Special Edition Matt Post: What a Ride!

I get something out of the vending machine about once every two weeks. Every 150Th person gets an additional item of their choice free. The last three times I got something out of the vending machine, I have won the free prize. Lucky, right?

How about going to a free BYU scrimmage game and winning a mountain bike? Mickie and I decided, last minute, to go to the BYU "Cougar Tip Off," for the Men's Basketball season. We were there pretty early in hopes to be apart of the half time activity. If you get to the game early (30 minutes or more) you have a chance of having one of the promo guys come and ask you to be apart of the half time show. Typically, it's running up and down the court and making some shots in a given time period for an i-pod. I would call it fate, but we have gone early to most of the games in hopes of being elected to participate, for the last two years. I've had the guy next to me win in a previous game, and Will won the "in-famous" (three amigos) three point contest, for $1,000.

Well, it was about time for my chance. The promo guy came down the line and asked the guys in WWF Shirts and sweatpants next to us if they wanted to play. I couldn't contain myself, I wore my tennis shoes and shorts even though it was snowing outside in preparation for my chance, (my basketball shoes would have been too obvious). Before I knew it, I was yelling out, "I'll do it!" He was a little set back, as was I, with my abrupt interruption in their conversation, but he kindly replied, "I'll come to you next." Again, I couldn't resist, "No, I'll do it!" A short pause later and he says "Ok, come on down here." I guess telling people what you want, usually results in them helping you get it. It's true.

(In the next picture Jimmer is saying "I GET to play with MATT SPENCE!! My Knees are shaking this is awesome!", Okay it was really the other way around.)

This particular time, they chose 4 fans and had 4 players paired up with the fans. The players who were playing were Jimmer Fredette, Jackson Emery, Johnathan Taveranri and Lamont Morgan Jr. I was paired with Jimmer Fredette, my favorite player for the past couple years. Mick kept telling me that I would be put with someone else, but I told her it was DESTINY. Jimmer hales from New York, and brings a stunning display of athletic talent, which may be his ticket to the NBA.

Here is a brief explanation of the competition, as you could just watch the video. There was four spots on the court representing different point values. We had 35 seconds to earn as many points as possible, but we had to shoot every other shot. Sadly, as you can see, I was not at the top of my game. With no warm up shots, playing with the best player in the conference (not debatable), and having my knees shaking so bad that it's an achievement just to be standing, results in poor shots on my part. Fortunately, Jimmer and I have a very similar competitive spirit. When he approached me, he said, "You Matt?" I said "How are ya Jimmer" (trying to keep it cool) he said "Let's win this thing, I hate losing." He was very nice and we joked a bit before competing.

Well, it turns out, we won, and I got to take the extremely expensive bike home! Not much thanks to me, but I was thrilled to have the opportunity to play on the same court as Jimmer, even if it was for 70 seconds. The bike is a TREK Mountian Hardtail 6500, for you mountain bike lovers. It is truly a blessing, because my Schwinn bike, was tweaked a little last weekend and I can't shift into a certain gear any more. I even had Jimmer sign the bike just for fun. This is going to be a great season for Men's Basketball!

(Side Note from Mickie: As Matt got back to his seat after he won I was teasing and said "MAN I am SO jealous that you an Jimmer are pretty much best friends now..." Matt said, teasing me back, "Uhh yeah he invited me over for family dinner this weekend!" Then the gal sitting in the reserved seats in front of us who was or is a cheerleader AND who I think is engaged or married?? to Bryan Kehl, looked at us and said "Ohh how cute is your little boy how old is he? I said "4 months" She said "Did you see my nephew I was just holding?" We both said yeah, she said "He is Jimmer's nephew too, my brother married his sister. So he is my brother-in-law, in-law ha ha :) I just think it is funny to hear that you like him so much" Embarrassed I said "Yep he's our favorite player :)" She said "Yeah he is a good guy isn't he" Whoops now she is going to go to Sunday dinner with the fam and ask where that guy that won the bike is! Ha ha

Last Night Matt was so excited about it all that he couldn't sleep so we had to watch a really boring movie for him to calm down, I've never SEEN Matt so excited to have met someone before. But like Matt said Jimmer has been our favorite for years and is pretty much AMAZING! There is nothing better when the Football Season Basketball Season and the Holidays all over lap... it's pretty much like heaven. Are y'all ready???)

Camera PLEASE

Do you ever wish you had a dashboard camera? So you could document those crazy things you see while driving?

Whether its the kid with his hand cuffed over his nose and picking it against the window so no one inside the car knew what he was doing. The windows weren't tinted everyone else knew what was going on... (you know who you are)

Or even catching the old guy with nostrils so large silver dollars could fit in them going for the gold...

The guy whose got the entire gas handle and hose hanging out of the side of their truck because they drove away before finishing to pump their gas (again you know who you are and it was HILARIOUS)

Then there is the guy who mistakes the big DO NOT TURN sign and orange cones for his own private lane and ends up with the whole front end of his little civic in about 2 ft deep of wet cement.

Or maybe even the lady who decided to cut through the orange cones and the ENTIRE car ended up in a HUGE 6 foot deep trench... I drove by as she was getting out with a bewildered look on her face (Did you think you were going to jump the 5 foot gap?)

Then there's mister closet rocker who thinks he is the best DRUMMER EVER and is pounding on his steering wheel while singing on the top of his lungs. (That guy is a personal favorite always brings a smile to my face)

If only I had a camera, so I could document these funny times I have had while in my car....
I wish I knew the stories behind these signs...

Anyone else seen something crazy while driving? Tell me, leave a comment! Suzanne please don't share your story I know you saw it and that is just disgusting...

Tender Mercies Tuesday: Talk Talk Talk

So as you know the last little while has been a bit of a downer. For some reason like I said last week the glass has been half empty. Both Matt and I are feeling it and we are both working hard at being positive and optimistic about everything rather then choose to be negative and pessimistic. Yesterday was starting off as a particularly blah day, then I noticed something...

Ty started talking to me... Not whining not crying but just looking at me and TALKING... mostly vowels of ehhh ehhh ooohhhh aa ehhh ehhhe eehhhh.

It's weird being a mom, you think that your kid isn't changing or learning at all, or hasn't done anything new for quite a while. Then all of the sudden it smacks you in the face how much your child has learned and changed in the last few weeks or months or years. I am sure all parents out there relate.

So why is this a tender mercy? Because (again you Mom's particularly will enjoy this) all day I feel like I am talking to a wall, a little alien that has NO IDEA what is going on or what I am saying. I think out loud a lot just for Ty to hear me talking. (Hind sight says that's not a good idea because then he may just start saying everything he is thinking...) So for him to want to even TRY and communicate back with me was pretty cool. He's been doing all day at the office today too, trying to talk to everyone that comes by. My little man is growing up into a little babbling baby and it's so cute. (If he is anything like his mom he'll be chatting away at QUITE an early age.)

It's great how he furrows his eyebrows and makes eye contact with you to get your undivided attention. Funny thing is by the look on his face, what he is telling you is a very serious matter! So my kid is learning and changing and I need to recognize that more. All too often the as a mom you feel under appreciated and that you haven't taught your child anything. Low and behold he is learning! :) I'll try and get a video soon for you grandparents. ( I tried to get one last night with Matt but Ty saw the camera and decided he would rather cry then talk)

Changes

This weekend I have come to be a little depressed.

Because of three things that happened this weekend, one I am sure you can just guess... the second I'll discuss in this post and the third well, it's normal grown up stuff that comes around all too often. When I think about these things I am sad.

Yesterday some big changes happened in our ward boundaries. This will be the 4Th ward we have been in since we moved here. Usually all that happens is a new ward is formed so half the ward goes one way and the other half remains with the current ward. I can handle that quite easily. It's not like you don't know anybody, there are just less people to meet with but it's still your same good friends and you still meet in the same church building.

Our little neighborhood was split into 3 different wards, different buildings and different times. 2 streets go one place, 1 goes another way and 4 streets go to another location. Those 2 streets will remain with the old ward.

The reason I am depressed is because we are part of the 4 streets that meet in a different building now. I wont be seeing my friends, really any time conveniently. All the people we have come to know and love the last 3 years wont be seen on a weekly basis.

It feels like we've moved but we still live in the same house! I know this new meeting house and ward will be great and along with it all we'll receive new callings. (I liked my old ones...sniff sniff) Our new ward has been around for a long time (what's a long time for where we live 6 years or so?) They are established and we are the only new 4 streets coming in. That means the spotlight is on us. Matt and I aren't fans of that at all. We'll get to know you when we get to know you. We don't want to have to meet everyone in the first week. I know everyone will be friendly and obliging though...

So I guess the way we look at it is, now it's time to stretch and grow. But for now, for this week, I'll be a little sad and gripe about these growing pains while I start missing my friends that wont be changing wards with us. :(

Ty and Matt's DOUBLE PRIZE

So most of you who have spent ANY TIME around Ty know that this is how he likes to sleep. In fact when Holly watched Ty last time she teased him and would pull the blanket OFF his face, then Ty would pull it right back up there while asleep. WHY does my baby like to sleep with a blanket over his face? It's so weird! I would say it's just coincidence but every night it's the same thing. It makes me nervous, that's why I always make sure he has a receiving blanket or burp cloth to put over his face, not a thicker fleece or flannel. I worry he'll suffocate himself. Maybe he just wants the sun out of his face? While he sleeps I check his breathing before I go to bed, just for my sake. Also at Matt's work they have the vending machines set up so (i think) every 100Th item purchased another one will fall too, so you get DOUBLE what you bought. Matt experienced this about 8 months ago, he went to the front desk and said 2 items fell and the Security guard explained to him how lucky he was. So last Wednesday Matt was the LUCKY winner of TWO bags of Garden Salsa Sun Chips (Let me first say that he doesn't buy from vending machines often, he was particularly hungry that day) When the second bag hit it made a weird thud noise. He reached his arm in and grabbed it out thinking "Are all the chips clumped together in this package?" He munched on his first bag while opening the second bag and found this inside. It was a t-shirt and a 1 dollar bill. It was packaged by Sun chips, an organic cotton t-shirt. Funny huh! Matt called me all sorts of excited that he made 15 cents on the deal and got a new t-shirt.
I would go as far as to call that TRIPLE prizes! :)

And the winner of the...

100, 000 dollars is.... (who are we kidding I am just quoting Americas Funniest Home Videos...why do the stupid animal ones win every time anyways... lame)

JACQUE!

"Jacque said...
everyone else took my ideas...(HA IN ALL YOUR RAMBLING YOU CAME UP WITH ONE OF YOUR OWN!) This is where you eat..where conversation happens a kind of gathering area. I think you should find your family motto, or a saying that speaks to you. Put that up in vinyl lettering and have some black frames with some black and white photos of you guys. Maybe a close up of Ty's feet or a day at a park..whatever...You could even use black wall shelves to hold your pictures instead of hanging them. It will help give dimension to a big empty space. Then you can decorate seasonally as well...few fall leaves on the shelves...pine branches in the winter with a few glass ornaments...apothecary jars filled with colorful treasures etc. Good luck!"

Shelves will be put up with pictures of family and friends, festive holiday decor and a vinyl wall saying.

Everyone had AWESOME ideas and we will be incorporating almost all of them into our wall :)

Thanks for playing,

until next time....

WOW

The beautiful fall leaves in the Wu's backyard. Talk about a slacker! Promise Matt and I are deciding very soon who is the winner of our Interior Decor contest, at which point the prize will be selected and as Matt pointed out it wont be too terribly exciting. None the less the winner will be decided.

The last few days have been crazy, but here are some recent pictures.

Whenever Matt Ty and I go to the Wu's, Jason and Sierra get so excited. This is about how it is the whole time we are there. The kids play with Ty.As you can tell it makes both myself and Ty an LITTLE nervous sometimes but for the most part Jason and Sierra are kind and gentle. When Matt got there he started feeding Ty, under his legs have always been a GREAT tunnel. One time Matt decided to squeeze them together, Jason after a few seconds looked up at Matt and squeaked "UNCLE!" hahaThen I sat down and we turned into Jungle Gyms, it doesn't look like it here but it's true. Before bed Matt read the kids a story. It's so cute when Sierra is going to bed, on her own she'll say, "NITE NITE TY TY" as Will or Kristin carry her up to her bed. After the munchkins were in bed Kristin and I made Carmel Apples (Don't worry Prezanne we are making more tomorrow night) We used what we had around the house to coat them and they turned out yuuuuummmmmy. Matt LOVED them. In fact he even requested we make more. He ate TONS of it. Matt went and bought his own cinnamon bread from Kneaders and Sunday morning he made himself Kneaders French Toast. It would have been complete with the sweet cinnamon syrup and strawberries. I didn't make any... next time we'll have that on hand. As you can tell he was pretty pleased with himself about it all.

This weekend is jam packed too, with my parents coming, Matt's friend Ryan coming with his GF for a visit, Halloween Parties, the BYU vs. TCU football game (can I get a woot woot for ESPN's College game day coming to Levell Edwards Stadium?) and voting on our family trip!

Again the Winner will be announced shortly!

Tender Mercies Tuesday: hmmmm

So this week I have been so pessimistic. For some reason my glass has been half empty. I am glad though, that I have committed myself to see the tender mercies every week and to document them. So short and sweet today... in an effort to remember what God has blessed me with.

Matt has a great job that has awesome benefits (including paying for tuition next semester), very grateful.

I have a job that fits my personality perfectly, with and opportunity to work as much or as little as I need to.

Both of us are secure in our jobs and don't foresee any layoffs any time soon.

We have a wonderful home that fits our needs and we can do with it what we want, interior wise.

We have two vehicles that get us from A to B that were bought and paid for long ago.

All three of us are healthy... in THIS season we are all healthy, that is a blessing for sure.

So for now these are my tender mercies and hopefully next week I can say that I am back to looking at the bright side of things.

Extension

There has been an extension to the contest, so if your still thinking about it OR just plain forgot about it you have one more day to think and enter....
(It's really cause Matt and I have to get together and choose)

So for now, watch this as you wait for the contest winner to be decided
Ty ate rice cereal for the first time on Thursday. :)

Special Edition Matt Post: Contest Disclaimer

I am sure many, if not all of you, are as concerned with the outcome of this contest as I. I was not informed of the contest and therefore was surprised to find that a gift was involved. Seeing the potential for a disastrous conflict, I've decided to write a short disclaimer, in order to protect those running the contest.

Disclaimer:
Any and all ideas, submitted for review, are subject to this disclaimer, regardless of time of entry. Seeing that we have none, prize money will not be awarded. Small, unwanted gifts from our wedding three and a half years ago and faulty, experimental desserts, will most likely be the awarded prize. So please, don't get your hopes too high, we like to think that self satisfaction is the main reward for your entries. There is no limit to the amount of ideas you may submit, although, after 3-4 bad ideas, we have the right to ignore any and all other entries. As husband, I have the right to veto even the most popular idea, as I will most likely be the one hanging, smelling, installing your idea. Offensive language, nasty e-mails, and threatening phone messages will not be tolerated. Our decision is not deciding your future in home décor, but you may take it as a hint if you'd like. Feel free to send any type of text message you'd like, we don't know how to check those. Thanks for your suggestions. Have fun!

It's a No Go I Need your IDEAS!

Matt put a BIG OLE stop to the "family wall" I was thinking of, he said NO WAY is it going to look like that. I liked it, he HATED it, more then I liked it. SOOOO NOW I have attached a picture of my blank 10' kitchen wall. It needs some serious love as you can see.

Here is where you come in, tell me, what would you do with it? I am up for anything. I would still like to hang some pictures there... Get those juices working, leave me a comment OR if you aren't the commenting type then write me an e-mail. If we choose your winning idea, then you will win a prize~! The winner will be decided on monday morning. (Depending on where you live determines the prize)

Example

Here is an example of what I want to do, Matt was a bit foggy on my vision so I had a friend of mine send me a picture of her sisters wall. :) Thanks Laura!

Family Picture Wall

So I have an open wall in my home now because we moved some furniture around. This space is in my kitchen dining room area. I want to do a family picture wall, where I take a WHOLE BUNCH of different sized picture frames and cover the wall in family pictures, formal pictures, snap shots, old pictures and new pictures. I am excited about it now I just need to find a ton of picture frames all the same color. If anyone comes across a sale of a bazillion all different sized but same type of picture frames let me know, I'm on the hunt.

Tender Mercies Tuesday : Belated

My Tender Mercy this week is Carpet...

Now why do you suppose I would be thankful and blessed to have carpet? Could It be that I have been to 3 world countries where all people have is dirt for a floor, or just cement? This is a reason to be thankful but its not my particular reason...

Mondays are busy days, I have to get a WHOLE BUNCH of reports done and I have to talk on the phone to a lot of people about different things. As I was speaking with one of the sales agents about his prior weeks sales I was holding Ty and he was whining a little. I put him down on the couch.

(Let me preface this by saying Monday Ty had his Dr. appointment and Dr. Duffy told me that the bed is no longer a safe place for Ty and before I knew it he would be rolling and moving everywhere)

Ty has never rolled back to front before and decided to do just that while I was walking across the room. I turned around just in time to see him fall in a crumpled mess on the floor. It took a second then the earsplitting "Mom I am hurt" scream followed. I quickly hung up with my co-worker and picked up Ty. I felt like the worst mother in the world! I turn around for 10 seconds and he falls off the couch. Now do you see why I am thankful for carpet? If it was cement I may have had an injury to worry about. We are BLESSED he was not hurt, more just shocked.

Note to self: Don't put Ty on the couch and walk away, be sitting next to him the whole time while he is on the couch.

Bonus Video: Here's the proof of the belly to back roll... check it out! (Oh and no need to watch the whole video, the roll is at the beginning and I talk to him the rest of the time, he really isn't amused and I heard myself and I decided I sound stupid...haha)

4 Months

Ty is now 4 months old :) He had his appointment today and had 3 shots and a drink for his immunizations. Doc says he can start on rice cereal and yellow and orange foods now (like bananas, apple sauce, carrots and squash) We'll have to go to the store tonight and get some and we'll try it out tomorrow. Our doc said he was a perfect little man and it was funny when I said he is drinking 7 oz. every 4 hours and sleeps through the night he said whew your son is a tank! I mean that noggin is awesome! He has a big brain :) Anyways here are the stats :

2 mo. Appt 11.13 lbs 37%
4 mo. Appt 14.77 lbs 47%
An increase of 3.6 lbs and 10%

2 mo. Appt 23.62 inches 76%
4 mo. Appt 25.39 inches 67%
He grew 2 inches and is still long for his age.

2 mo. head circumference 15.7 in 50%
4 mo. head circumference 17.1 in 79%!
and increase of a an inch and a half and a jump of 29%
(like my dad says he has a linebackers head... haha it's SOLID)

I thought he would weigh a ton more considering he looks so chubby to me! But he is right on track. I am happy and blessed that we have a healthy baby. Oh and we started doing 50/50 Sensitive Soy/Sensitive R.S. Milk based formula and things are working great. He still spits up a little bit but not half as much as he did while on 100% milk based. Have you ever heard of such a PICKY baby!

This weekend was our Nephew Calin's baby blessing so all the Spence's (except Braden, he was missed) were up in Rexburg this weekend. It was great company, good food and good fun!

Here is Tanner and Ty.

Ty always holds a blanket and if he can't find a blanket he'll hold my shirt, especially my neck line. He pulls it up to his mouth and sucks on it... I can tell he is smiling under the blanket by his expressive eyes. Here is sweet little Calin. He seems so tiny compared to Ty. I bet in a few years you wont ever be able to tell Ty is 2 1/2 months older. I think he is a spitting image of his dad.
BONUS VIDEOS:
I tried to get Ty to roll over for y'all on video... didn't work out so well, he just slobbered instead.
Here is Matt and Ty a few minutes earlier Ty was laughing WAY harder. Matt can easily get him going and it's the most contagious laugh ever... you can't help but laugh yourself when you hear him laughing. He got the hiccups right after I started taping.
For those non-believers out there... yes Ty does have his unhappy times. :( I think he is so stinkin' cute when he cries though.

Make it stop

I have long hair and I love it. Although I heard a rumor that about 3-4 months after you have a baby your hair starts shedding...

It's true ladies. My hair is shedding like crazy tickling my arms, getting all over my clothes AND Ty, clogging the shower drain and covering our bathroom floor. I would take a picture but I didn't want to gross everyone out. You would think I was bald by the way its going, but I haven't noticed a change in the thickness of my hair at all. It's craziness and would prefer for it to stop.

Rant over, thank you for listening.

Okay Enough Serious Stuff!

Here are some fun pictures! This weekend we went to the BYU vs. USU game, it was great BYU won. Matt decided to be a goober in this picture. Anyways as far as the team goes I still see a BUNCH of improvement needed but heck we won... one week at a time right? :) We forgot our tickets at home so Suzanne and Preston were so kind to go get them for us. While we were waiting we found lovely seats outside the stadium... We figured we wouldn't get tickets next year and just sit here all season! Totally kidding.

Saturday and Sunday we watched conference and hung out with Nate and Kelly. Kelly busted out her camera and got some cute pictures of my little munchkin and some of her little man too! Dallin and Ty look like cousins to me!Uncle Nate was SO nice to pick Ty up!Ty loves his dad. Yeah he always has a hand in his mouth. He has had a cold the last few days... a really bad one so he has been REALLY grouchy. I think that's why his cheeks are pink in this picture. I know every parent thinks this but boy do I have one cute little baby!

Thanks to Suzanne and Preston for watching him tonight for us, even while he was in a BAD mood. :) OH and I almost forgot to mention, Ty has started rolling over Belly to back. He just gets his big ole head a rockin and away he goes. It's so cute!

Tender Mericies Tuesday: Twofer

Yep you read it right it's a twofer this week and a lengthy one at that... abandon ship if you want I wont blame you :)

1. On Wednesday night, my mom and I made stew for dinner, well we THOUGHT that's what were were making until we discovered about 2 hours in that I forgot to plug IN the crock pot. That put us so far behind that we decided to go out to eat. A new Olive Garden opened up the beginning of September near our home so we decided to go there.
We went just before 7 so I loaded up the diaper bag knowing I would need to feed Ty when we got there. We were standing in the lobby and I realized that I hadn't warmed up his bottle before we left so I pulled it out of the diaper bad and put it in my pocket while holding it in an effort to warm it up with my body warmth. We were seated, Matt ended up feeding him and we all enjoyed our delicious meals. When it came time to pay Matt asked me where the diaper bag was because his wallet was inside. We looked and did not see a diaper bag anywhere. I immediately walked out to the lobby area and asked the hostesses if they had seen our bag. They said that they hadn't... I walked back to where we were sitting and started freaking out a bit. I KNEW I had it in the lobby because I took the bottle out. I must have accidentally left it in the lobby and someone must have taken it. It was then that my mom and I realized my cell was in the bag. So we started calling with my mom's phone while Matt said a mini prayer, spoke with the Manager, walked through the restaurant looking to see if someone may have picked it up mistakenly, and walked the outside of the restaurant to see if someone did in fact take it and dumped it somewhere. Matt came back to us still calling over and over and over. My mom had her purse so she ended up paying (thanks again for dinner mom) when all of the sudden someone answered after about the 6th time of calling.

It was a lady who said she found it in the parking lot, but was late for work so she grabbed it and decided to look through it after work to try and find a number to call. My cell phone was on the outside pocket (along with Matt's wallet) so she decided to answer it and see whose bag it was. She proceeded to tell us where she worked so we got in our car and drove all the way to her work communicating with her on my phone. She handed it to me through the car window and as I thanked her profusely she said with a sincere tone "I hope everything is in there I really do". Everything WAS in the bag, Matt's wallet with all cash and cards, my phone (of course) and all of it's other contents.

Now after we were driving away I was starting to have a bad attitude thinking, why didn't she just run it back into the restaurant, how did it end up in the parking lot anyways, I bet someone stole it then realized it was a diaper bag and junked it not knowing a wallet was inside... then I had a small reminder by way of my husband saying, "why don't we just decide that it is a blessing we got it back and be thankful that this women picked it up." Matt was right, I needed to be thankful and more positive about the situation. None of that other stuff mattered, what did matter was that first Matt's first thought was to say a prayer (why didn't I think of that) and that right after we recovered it that a prayer of thanks was said and no malice was left toward the situation.

2. My SECOND tender mercy of course is the wonderful General Conference that I was able to watch over the weekend. Nate Kelly Tanner and Dallin came down to visit and it was wonderful to see them. As I listened to General Conference I was inspired and reminded of many things that I need to improve upon.

2 talks in particular struck a chord with me, the first being the talk that Elder David A. Bednar gave on Saturday he shared 3 suggestions on how we can become more diligent and concerned in out homes. The first was telling your family members (Spouses and Children) that you love them and give them a hug or a kiss. It needs to be both expressed and demonstrated by all parties, not just assumed. It should be done often and consistently. There should never be question that loved isn't shared in the home. The second was to bare testimony of the gospel and live it. He said we need to bare testimony to those we love within the walls of our own home, of the divinity and reality of the Father and the Son. He emphasised how important it is to bare witness to your spouse and to your children to what we know to be true. There should be no hesitancy or embarrassment about the sharing of our testimonies to our family members. The third and final suggestion was to be consistent. He shared how his wife and himself tried to be consistent in family prayer, scripture and family home evening but when his boys were young it was done with outbursts of "He's touching me" or "Tell him to stop looking at me" or "He is breathing my air". He shared how he thought that they were trying to teach specific things to their children. But if you ask his children now what they remember about it all is that they were consistent in doing it and that all of those individual lessons worked together to create significant spiritual results. Being consistent in our own homes is very important for more then just these reasons. He warned us not to be hypocrites in being one way publicly and not inside our own home. He said that we should not bare false witness and that we need to be and become more consistent and to be an example of the believers. If we are having a hard time he told us to petition the Lord and that with his help we will be able to become more consistent.

Matt and I have discussed this so much about being consistent, in everything we do as parents it is SO important whether it be with one another, with rules with our children, with everything. This talk emphasized to me how important it is to always be consistent and that it is a worthy cause.

The second talk that touched me was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk on the divinity of the Book of Mormon. It was AMAZING how strongly he bore his own testimony on the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He spoke of the martyrdom of Hyrum and Joseph Smith. He said that these men declared to the four corners of the earth that this book is true and that it is very word of God. With this in mind they were willing to die for it, knowing that their wives would be widows, their children would have to grow up with out fathers, and that they would be very shortly have to meet their maker. There is no way a man would do that unless this book were true. He spoke of how for 179 years this book has been targeted and torn apart probably more then any other book in religious history. He told how his grandfather said "No wicked man could write such a book as this, and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so." His powerful testimony strengthened mine and I add my testimony to his that I KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true, I have read it and prayed myself, receiving my own confirmation from the Holy Ghost of it being true. This confirmation was so strong that there is no way I would ever deny it.

I wrote these down in an effort to remember these individual talks and teach my children as the brethren have taught me.

I apologize for the length of this post, but I had so much to be thankful for and remember.

Thank You

As I get ready for General Conference this weekend, I like to occasionally watch a few "Mormon Messages" on Youtube. They are 3 minute snippets of talks that are heard in General Conference. This must have been given during the priesthood session, because I never heard it.



Ty has an excellent example in his father on what it means to be a Man. He is amazing and I wouldn't mind at all if Ty ended up just like him. This message also brought a few tears to my eyes because it reminds me of something I was telling my younger brother Colton, he is currently serving a mission for our LDS church preaching the gospel. I told him that even though Ty doesn't know him right now, he is setting the best example possible by living right and serving the Lord. I KNOW Ty will look up to him and I am so glad of his decision to serve and how he is worthy to serve. This also had me thinking how much Ty will look up to both my Brothers, B.I.L's and Father and also all of Matt's Brothers and Father. I am so glad all are good men who love the Lord, love the Gospel and would do ANYTHING for their families. Thanks guys, because of your example my son will be a better man. Hopefully, Matt and I can rear Ty to emulate all of you and the ultimate perfect example, our older brother and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Have fun watching conference, I know I am ready to learn.

So Sweet

Matt and Preston played flag football against one another on Saturday morning. I think both felt the effects of it later that day. They were pretty well matched.

Matt and Ty getting ready to go in their BYU blue, YES Ty likes his shirt he wasn't happy to be going in the car seat :) But he WAS happy to go see his great Grandma Coombs and Favorite Aunt Holly and Uncle Eric, not to mention his other cousin T and Con. (Thanks again for watching him)Here is a picture from the game, we are going to the game tonight. I think the high is supposed to be around 50... the game starts at 7 pm. We'll have to dress WARM because it will be COLD. As you can tell on Saturday it was nice and warm :) Here is our cute boy during Tummy Time. He still doesn't like it much after about 5 minutes he gets pretty upset.

Here is a video, yes my three month old enjoys movies. The other night he got upset with us for pulling him away from Pirates of the Caribbean (we just bought the Trilogy on Blu-Ray) We don't watch THAT much TV (see earlier post) so it's funny that he gets so mesmerized by it.

Sorry for the lack of posts, i've been busy busy. :)