Christmas!

Can't believe Christmas has come and gone! Chloe was spoiled by everyone, and she spoiled me. Here are some pictures.


We had a Sleepover the weekend before Christmas

The girls are just too cute!

Making Cookies

Making chocolate dipped pretzels and candies

Christmas Eve, opening a present from her Grandma Anne

Being cute Jammies from Grandpa

After Santa stopped by

Chloe's first look at the loot! She is in the shadows in the left, which is good because she had an accident in the night and was in her birthday suit.

Opening the Giant Present! (She came in at 6:30 am and said "Mom Santa was here and he left a Giant Present!")

"My house, My house, it was just the one I wanted!"

Almost open....

It's taller than she is but she loves it!

Hugging a little doll from Grandpa that was actually names "Little Chloe"

"A daddy Barbie!"

"Dress up!, how did Grandpa know this was the one I wanted?!"

The loot after all the unwrapping. Thank you to my Branch for the beautiful dresses for me and Chloe.

Using her new paint pens on her new pad of paper.

Bed Tent

Chloe got a bed tent for her birthday. Here she is inside hugging the cute Pucci Pup she got from Grandma Sherri.

4th Birthday Party

Here are some pics from Chloe's party. After being stressed all day and only a couple friends showing up, Chloe still had a good time. Her real birthday is the 9th, so she and I are going to dinner that day. Can't believe how fast she is growing!

Birthday/Christmas Wish List

Okay so here are a few ideas for Chloe's birthday and/or Christmas which are rapidly coming up.

For her birthday I have decided to get her a Leapfrog hand held gaming system. This my compromise to the Nintendo DS that she really wants. That is her big birthday present from me.

So:
Leapfrog Games (age appropriate) PreK-K
Books
Dress up

For Christmas she is getting a dollhouse for her Barbies. This is a joint gift from her Grandma Ann and myself.

So:
Dollhouse accessories. She is getting the Imaginarium Cozy Cottage Dollhouse from Toys R Us
Barbies (she really likes the dolls that come with babies or little kids)
Books
Movies
Leapfrog Games.
Lite Brite

For myself for Christmas for those interested.
Giftcards are great.
Bookstores
Kohls
JC Penny
Target


Can't believe it's upon us! Hope all is well with everyone.

Here is a cute picture of Chloe dancing in the mirror in her new PJs (Thanks Dad!)

Halloween!

So Chloe is not actually with me today. :( However yesterday was her preschool party and I got to be a part of that, I in fact stayed for the whole thing. Which wasn't much. It was several Halloween stories, coloring and then of course junk food. Chloe of course dressed up. Here are some cute photos.



Posing in her Witch Costume, I kept it pretty simple. Nearly everything is something she can wear on a normal day.

No she is not flipping the camera off that is not her middle finger, look closer! She just wanted to show off the nails.

Going to get me with those nails

Tried to get a cute shot of her makeup...

My favorite part of her costume!

Listening to stories at Preschool

Actually got a half smile from her

Waiting for treats

Very intense coloring of a pumpkin

Beautiful Fall Photo!

This is from this past weekend in Utah. We had gone down for Anna's Birthday and this was what we did in the morning.

The Spirit of God Like A Fire is Burning

We had the most amazing Fast and Testimony meeting today. The Spirit was incredibly strong. Right from the beginning. So strong I think anyone looking in could have seen it. Our Sacrament Hymn was Hymn 185. These are the last few phrases:

At the throne I intercede;
For thee ever do I plead.
I have loved thee as thy friend,
With a love that cannot end.
Be obedient, I implore,
Prayerful, watchful evermore,
And be constant unto me,
That thy Savior I may be.

What an amazing thing. This is a hymn in first person from our Savior. He is pleading to us to let Him be our Savior. He has already done the work and is now waiting for us. What an amazing thing.

Our Chapel today was decorated with the most beautiful pink and purple flower arrangements. Unfortunately they were from the funeral the night before. A funeral for a beautiful 2 year old girl. While visiting her great-grandparents in NV, the little girl drowned in the family pool. Such a tragic loss of life, that I can't imagine going through. Yet as I was sitting in Sacrament I had a wonderful knowledge come to me. First let me tell you the story of my friends little boy Cole that she shared with me.
This is from her blog:

I am amazed at the wisdom and insight even the youngest of children tend to demonstrate.
As we were reading bedtime stories, Cole went over to the bookshelf and pulled out a Book of Mormon. "Read story about Mormon?" he asked.
So we opened its first pages to where the pictures were. We pointed out Joseph Smith and Nephi, then when we pointed at Lehi on the ship to the Promised Land. "Who's that?" we asked. "Santa!" he exclaimed. LOL
We went through some pictures until the last, Christ Visiting the Americas. "Who's that?" we asked. "It's Jesus," he said. "He's coming." Then he wrapped his arms around himself and smiled, "He's going to give me hugs!"

What a beautiful thing. I was thinking about this as I was remembering this sweet little girl. i then realized that because of her innocence, she is already receiving His hugs. She is in His arms right now. She is happy. This came to very strongly and I knew that if it were my little one called home, that as difficult as that would be, she would be in the arms of the one person who loves her more than me. Then the same thought occurred to me that if I want those hugs, I have to work hard for them. I did not die in my innocence and I am truly grateful for the chance to prove my love to my Savior. I have a long way to go, and I have faltered along the way. I do however know that my Savior loves me, and is just waiting for to accept His gift of the Atonement in my life.

I am glad that i got up and went to Church today.

Conference

So I didn't wake up until 10:40 today, missing the beginning of conference. So i decided to record it and will watch it later. Maybe the saturday sessions while the sunday sessions record. I find that when i watch at home i fall asleep a lot. I actually prefer reading it now. I am hoping that I will receive the guidance that i need. Chloe is with her dad until 6 pm Sunday, so I can watch it without interruption which will be good

I also went to our semi-annual ice cream social the branch hold after every priesthood session. It was fun just be around friends for a while. I don't really have much to say, but I am just trying to keep this thing updated.

Hope all is well!

Lonely

Chloe is gone this entire week. It's pretty lonely without her. She talked to me for about 2 minutes on the phone yesterday and that is about it. :( I am sure that she is having a great time with her dad and his family. Boo! lol

When she is gone i guess the emptiness really gets to me. No hugs or 'I love you'. Makes it difficult to not get down. I have found myself back in my silly wishing that the Lord would just hurry up already and bless me with a super great guy. I know that I can't hurry the Lord but it sure would be nice already! lol. Even one date with a super great guy would be nice, it doesn't even have to go anywhere ! :P

The nice thing about having Chloe gone is being able to get things done and have them stay done (like the cleaning) and also the few extra minutes of sleep each morning. (very few) I also should be able to go to the Temple tomorrow. I need to see if I have enough money to go and buy a new temple dress though. At the last temple trip i was one of the supervisors in the girls locker room and my zipper ripped while getting dressed. Not fun. I know I won't have time to have anything hemmed or taken in, but I can at least get it and do the hemming later maybe. We'll see. Otherwise I just need to remember to take a few dollars and rent one.

Not much is really going on. I have a job, it pays, and that is about it. haha. I am also already getting a start on birthday and Christmas for Chloe. i haven't actually purchased anything yet, but this year ideas seem to be hard to come by. So don't ask me yet! lol. I will start putting up ideas when I have them.

Hope all is well for everyone!

Weekend in Provo

Here are some pictures of the girls playing on our trip this weekend to Provo. They had a lot of fun playing together and I am selfishly grateful that they are back in Provo for now.