"A Familiar Spirit"

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said this in General Conference last Sunday...
"The Book of Mormon contains the fulness of the Savior’s gospel and is the only book the Lord Himself has testified to be true. Indeed, the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion.
The convincing and converting powers of the Book of Mormon come from both a central focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the inspired plainness and clarity of its teachings.
The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth because it centers upon the Truth, even Jesus Christ, and restores the plain and precious things that have been taken away from the true gospel. The unique combination of these two factors—a focus on the Savior and the plainness of the teachings—powerfully invites the confirming witness of the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost. Consequently, the Book of Mormon speaks to the spirit and to the heart of the reader like no other volume of scripture.
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that abiding by the precepts found in the Book of Mormon would help us “get nearer to God” than any other book. Regular reading of and talking about the Book of Mormon invite the power to resist temptation and to produce feelings of love within our families. And discussions about the doctrines and principles in the Book of Mormon provide opportunities for parents to observe their children, to listen to them, to learn from them, and to teach them.
Youth of all ages, even infants, can and do respond to the distinctive spirit of the Book of Mormon. Children may not understand all of the words and stories, but they certainly can feel the “familiar spirit” described by Isaiah."

I've been reading the Book of Mormon to Leilani every day now and this is our what has happened:).....

Well, sorry, that was a little anti-climactic, but I've been trying to upload this video for a week and can't get it to load. But, she just loves it when I read the Book of Mormon to her. She gets so happy and giggles and talks right along with me. It is so fun to see her reaction to that familiar spirit.

Are you crafty? Cuz I'm crafty:)

Being a stay at home mom has been a whole new adventure for me. My entire life I have been going to school or working or just...out! I love being a Mom but staying inside all day long by yourself can be pretty tough (and snow in April doesn't help). I asked my amazing mother how she raised seven girls and she responded, "I had hobbies." So it is now my quest to find my hobbies (without cutting into our budget:)

I enjoy making things so I walked around quilt shops and craft stores only to be sorely disappointed by the price tags. While looking through a darling baby quilt book I had an idea. I would make Leilani a quilt that she could look at, touch, and play with. I asked my mom if I could raid her fabric scraps and went to work. I designed the whole thing and am utterly tickled at the finished project.

Each block has a different purpose at different stages in her life. The black and white one and the striped one are her favorite right now. The upper right corner is a mirror. She absolutely loves mirrors. She smiles and flirts at herself and just thinks she's the cutest thing on the block. The top middle and bottom left have different feeling fabrics and beads to play with and the bottom middle has a zipper and buttons when she starts using her fine motor skills. Pretty cool huh! Well, I thought so anyway:)

Bows for little girls are quite the fad right now, but I was also disappointed that most of the bows in the store are ridiculously priced. So, I also have a friend who is an incredible mother of three girls and quite crafty. She showed me how to make bows. All you need is ribbon and a hair clip. Here are a couple I've made, but I'm sure there will be more to come.

So, if you have any more ideas of fun things I can do to expand my hobby repertoire. Please let me know:)

Family Fun

My sister Callie and her four kids just visited from California for their spring break. I was very grateful for their trip because it gave me something to do almost every day:) And it helped me start taking Leilani out a little at a time. Because of the RSV season and other illnesses going around, I've kept Leilani fairly isolated for the past 10 weeks. I know it sounds like I am an over protective first mom, but I’m also an over anxious first mom and have not been too eager to take my fussy baby into public. The first place I took her was my nephew’s baptism and I had to take her in the hall the entire time because she wouldn’t stop fussing. I’ve never been bothered by finicky infant’s myself so I don’t know why I think others are, but that has also been a reason to keep me away from large groups of people. But this week Leilani has proved she is growing up:) I took her bowling…she slept the whole time :) I took her out to eat… she slept the whole time :) I took her to the train museum… she slept the whole time :) Basically she likes her stroller! But, even the times she was awake she was very pleasant and had lots of fun with her cousins. And of course free entertainment (those kids crack me up!) for me almost on a daily basis!
Abby and Leilani

Carter the rocking chair

The Union Pacific Train Station is actually pretty cool. We spent a good 3 hours there.

Yes those are my nephews up there

My sister Callie, my Mom, Me, my sister Tiffany. This is how we explored the trains:)

Aunt Callie giving Leilani a work out.

And my personal favorite. Grampa had the magic shoulder.

And in case you were still wondering...March Mustache Month is not over yet...

March Mustache Month

The madness of March brings more than just college basketball tournaments, apparently it also brings mustache folly. Over the years Targhee has had quite an array of goatees, mustaches, straps, you name it, but I think this time he's really outdone himself. I call this one the Red Neck Handle Bar.

I'd also like you to take notice of the Simpson's Old School hat. I think it just adds to the class of the look.

Way to go Targhee!!! I love you!!

The Blessing Day

We had Leilani blessed Sunday March 7, 2010. We have been anticipating this day for two months now:) It was Targhee's first blessing, so he was slightly nervous. He had been looking up talks and scriptures all week on baby blessings. He even gave our family home evening lesson on baby blessings:) He has given me many blessings and they have always been exactly what I needed to hear, so I knew he would be fine. The biggest thing I had to worry about was when to feed her so she would be happy, but not so soon that she would spit up all over the dress and how to get her to go to sleep so she wouldn't cry through the whole thing. Well, it turned out just perfect. She looked beautiful and slept through most of the blessing. I was surprised when Targhee held her up that her eyes were open, but she wasn't crying. She must have felt the importance of the day because she didn't cry the rest of sacrament meeting. It was amazing. It was a beautiful blessing that I knew came from our Heavenly Father. It always amazes me how well He knows each one of us, especially the little spirits that we are just getting to know ourselves. It definitely left a very peaceful spirit throughout the rest of the day.

Getting ready...


I kept her up longer so she would be tired during the meeting...but she was too tired for pictures too:) oops!




Leilani's Fan club

So I pretty much have avoided blogs, but since I've had my baby I can see the value in writing down simple events from day to day to help me remember. She is changing so fast and I want to have a place I can return to and read the good and bad days of my parenting experiences. In just two months she has gone from this...

to this...

I've honestly been suprized by how fast it has gone. Everyone always tells you that, but who ever believes what people tell them?

Parenting has been a whole new level for me. I am the youngest of seven girls and have always been around neices and nephews (I currently have 22 ranging from ages 17 to 7 months) so I thought, "How hard can it be?" I couldn't have been more wrong:) When you have a job, you go to work and then you come home from work...parenting is definitely not like that, it's nonstop work 24/7 with it's own challenges and joys that can only be understood by those who have experienced them on their own.

When I was a missionary I could feel myself learning and growing constantly. I missed that when I came home. I knew I was still learning and growing it just didn't feel it as rapid. I am finally feeling that rapid growth again. I can't believe how much I have learned. I didn't even know, I didn't know:) There is wisdom in the great plan of our Supreme Creator and great happiness when we know we are following that plan.