The Blessings of The Temple…

The blessings of the Temple bring so much more meaning to me now that I am a Mother.  I had the opportunity to do some temple work on Saturday in the Louisville Temple, while Josh so patiently stayed with the kids outside of the temple, even though Avenly cried most of the time.

Anyway, while I was listening to the blessings in the Temple during my temple work, I thought a lot about how these blessings apply to being a mother and raising my children.  I am blessed to have the body I have to be able to have and raise these children.  I have hands and arms to lift them and comfort them in their time of need.  I have lips to speak to them and teach them right and wrong, and to tell them I love them.  I have eyes to see them grow.  I have feet and legs to take them on walks, and other properly functioning body parts that benefit my children. 

I am not only physically blessed, but because Josh and I were married and sealed in the Temple, our children are also sealed to us.  That means they get to be with us forever.  This above anything else is the greatest blessing of all, and that is why I strive to be my best as a person, and as a mother.  I want to raise my children so they understand the blessings that the Lord has in store for us as his children.  I want them to gain their own testimonies and develop their own desire to want to be married and sealed in the Temple, so they can also have the same blessings that their parents do.  I want to teach them right and wrong, so hopefully they will choose to do right.

God has blessed us with the opportunity to be together forever and to take part in his great blessings.  It is our choice to accept the Gospel and the blessings as we try to live righteously. 

It is not always easy being a mom, and I am certainly NOT perfect, but I do like to think I have my priorities straight by choosing to stay home to raise my children in stead of letting someone else raise them. I let Payson watch tv more than I should, and sometimes I am not as patient as I should be, and sometimes I just make mistakes, BUT I am trying, and the most important thing is that my kids know I LOVE THEM.

Lately, I have been thinking how much I love being a mom!  It really is the best calling in the world, and I’m so thankful for Heavenly Father blessing me with Payson and Avenly.

Sometimes I feel guilty for putting Avenly down to clean the dishes because everyone else claims their house is always a mess, and that is okay because they are being a good mom! (Okay- they don’t brag, but you get the jist of what I’m saying).  I fully decided that I do much more with Payson, and I am much more fun to be around when my house is clean, so I do make cleaning my house each week a priority.  I decided that Avenly will be just fine to take a nap on her own, and Payson actually helps me clean.  Plus, he is learning how to work and do chores when he helps me!  

Sometimes I feel guilty when I let Payson eat too much junk food because I didn’t buy enough fruits or vegetables for him to snack on.  Sometimes I feel guilty because I didn’t read enough books to Payson, or sometimes I feel guilty because I was on the phone instead of playing with Payson.

 

The truth is- life is what it is, and even though I am not the perfect mom, and feel guilty sometimes- there is a lot of things I have done right like, teaching Payson to pray, or taking time to change Avenly’s diaper every time she poops, or getting up with both of them in the middle of the night, or taking them for walks, or teaching Payson the difference between making good and bad choices, or working on numbers and counting with Payson, or taking them to the park or library. Did you know Payson knows who Jesus is and what the Temple is?  He knows some letters in the alphabet, and he knows most of his numbers from 1-10, as well as, his colors and shapes. It helps that he picks up on things really quickly, and he is smart, but I like to think I had at least something to do with what he has learned. 

Sometimes we have those moments when my little ones just want to be loved, cuddled, and held.  I take pride in never making my kids “cry it out.”  (Not that it is bad, but something I can’t handle)!

Sometimes they both want to be loved, cuddled, and held at the same time! 

 

I hope my kids realize how much I care for them, and hope that someday they will be even better parents than Josh and I.  Being a mom is so fun, and I wouldn’t change it for the world!  (Not even to travel the world- and you know how much I like to travel)!!

I’m so glad I can go to the Temple and be reminded of the blessings that we have if we are faithful. I’m happy that I realized how much those blessings apply to Motherhood.  I’m thankful for my husband and partner for his support and desire that I stay home with our children, and for his help in raising them in the Gospel.

Avenly’s Blessing Weekend

Avenly was blessed today, September 7, 2014 in Fairborn, OH by her daddy. We were fortunate enough to have Steve and Deana come visit for the weekend and take part in the blessing.  Josh did a wonderful job blessing her by the Power of the Priesthood.  The Spirit was strong, and Payson understood that something special was happening to Avenly.  I am so blessed to have this little family, and thankful I get to be with them forever.

I made Avenly’s blessing dress.  She looked pure and beautiful all dressed in white.

I know many family members and friends would have loved to come to Avenly’s blessing, and it would have been nice to have them (you) here, but you have to do what you have to do and right now we need to be here in Ohio, and didn’t expect everyone to come out here! We know you still love and support us and we love you, too!

Since Steve and Deana were able to come out we did some fun things on Saturday with them. We went to Young’s Dairy Farm, and Payson had fun feeding the goats, riding the tractor train, and learning how to mini put. In fact, when Payson tried to hit the ball with the putter for the first time, he missed, so he picked up the ball and ran to the hole.  Then he dropped the ball in the hole! It was too cute.

On the way to the dairy farm we saw a sunflower field! It was so cool and pretty!

After the dairy farm we went to the Beavercreek Popcorn Festival where Payson got to sit in a real fire truck! Did I mention he LOVES fire trucks?

For dinner Steve and Deana took us out for my birthday! (I am turning 30 I  a few weeks- Crazy)!  We had yummy sushi, and our waitress actually put a silly hat on me, and they sang happy birthday! The best part was the fried cheesecake! Thanks for the birthday fun, Steve and Deana!!

 

Some other cute pictures from the weekend…

Awesome August 2014

Avenly is five in a half weeks old already! Where did the time go?  August literally flew by with special visitors, a growing newborn, and a trip to end the month!

1 Week Old

Avenly turned a week old on her due date, August 2.

At her 2 week appointment she already weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz., and I know she is over 8 lbs. now! Here are a few  (or more than a few) pictures from the past month of Avenly.

First Bath

Payson loved helping with Avenly’s first bath. He was so cute, and she loved it!

Special Visitors

Our moms were so wonderful to come to Ohio and help us out.  They brought Payson’s two favorite uncles, Aaron and Tosh (Spencer,) with them!  They were wonderful in making dinner, loving the kiddies, and helping with the house cleaning.  Plus, we got to do some fun things with them. 

When my mom came I was still pretty sore, and recovering from my postpartum cold. (I had a pretty annoying cough that lasted forever).  After having a baby, you don’t feel very cute, so I was able to get some new clothes that fit and my mom dyed my hair and made my toenails cute for me!

When Molly, Josh’s mom, came- I was feeling a lot better, so we actually went on a hike.  It wore me out, but it was good to do something active.

Avi’s First Trip

You know we are travel monkeys! Our 2.5 year old has been to about 40 states, so naturally our newborn would go on her first trip at 5 weeks old! (Pay was also 5 weeks old when he went on his first trip).

We went to The Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia over Labor Day weekend.  The locals actually pronounce Appalachian different than those of us from the west.  I found that out at church during Relief Society when someone was talking about a hike on the Appalachian Trail.  Anyway, the weather was perfect for our trip.  Saturday we went to Summersville Lake.  Pay and Josh went swimming, and then we all took the big raft out in the lake.  I got some people on Facebook asking why we didn’t wear life jackets!  Well, the water was shallow (if needed Josh could jump in and pull us ashore), and we don’t have life jackets.  I shouldn’t have to explain, but in the future when we take our raft in more daring situations- we will invest in some life jackets! Too be honest, I was more concerned with shade for Avi while on the lake, so I ended up making shade for her with her thin blanket.

Pay was so cute singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

We saw some great views, and did some fun walking/hiking around Grand View National Park.

Little Sister did pretty good for her first trip! It was nice to have a little getaway.  Now to start potty training!!! Wish me luck!