Birthday Cake

I just finished making this cake for my cousin's daughter's birthday. The only non-edible thing on there is the umbrella.

I know that I took two pictures of the same cake at pretty close to the same angle, but hey, I'm proud of my work!

Enjoy the pictures! Oh, and Briana, take a break from your diet for one day, and enjoy the cake!

Family Pictures

Last Monday, James and I tried to get some pictures taken of our small family. Logan made it virtually impossible to get a good picture. We couldn't even get a good picture of just him. He absolutely won't stand or sit in one place for more than a second, let alone SMILE for a picture!

We found a "Liz"ard in the grass.

This is the best picture we came up with. Not too bad, but now it's outdated since I just chopped off all of my hair!

Notice the firm grip I have on Logan to prevent him from dashing away? Unfortunately, for him, he is in our family, so I insisted he be in the family picture.

A Mini Lizzy Photo Shoot

Thankfully, James' teeth don't usually look this disgusting. He was just trying to gross me out. (The blackness is chocolate chips.)
I was taking a bunch of pictures, trying to get a good one, when this picture turned up on the camera! Logan snuck in to give Lizzy a quick kiss!

I think she makes this face a lot because she is making it in the next two pictures.

Some pictures speak for themselves. I think this is one of them. We LOVE our little girl!

Mean Mom Day

Yep, today I was a mean mom. I took Lizzy to get her ears pierced. Judge me all you want, but I have my reasons, OK? You all get to screw up your own kids; this is how I choose to mess up mine. Anyway...this is the before picture. Grandma had her fooled that nothing bad was about to happen. She is skilled like that...I'm sure she fooled me a time or two growing up. :) And because I know you read this...I LOVE YOU MOM! Also, thanks for getting my ears pierced for me before I could have a clear memory of that day!

This is Lizzy during the horrific event. One ear down and one to go!

This is the after shot. I'm not sure if you can make the picture bigger on your computers, but see if you can, because the water in her eyes is adorable.

She did calm down fairly quickly. She's a good baby like that. :) I think she looks adorable now, and thankfully, James does too.

Oh, the Peace the Gospel Brings

So, I'm about to go visiting teaching, and needed to prepare a lesson! I was reading through President Eyring's talk, Adversity, when my brain began to really churn. This is what I read:

Even when you feel the truth of that capacity and kindness of the Lord to deliver you in your trials, it may still test your courage and strength to endure. The Prophet Joseph Smith cried out in agony in a dungeon:
“O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
“How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?”2
The Lord’s reply has helped me and can encourage us all in times of darkness. Here it is:
“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
“Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.
“Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job.”3
I have seen faith and courage come from a testimony that it is true that we are being prepared for eternal life. The Lord will rescue His faithful disciples. And the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle.

Now bear with me while I try to filter through my thoughts. My immediate thoughts were of when we reach certain points in our life when we think, "I can't do this any more" or "why would God, who loves me so much, let this thing happen to me?" I know we have all had those thoughts, maybe some of us have them to a stronger extent than others. I mainly focused on those whom I've heard say, "Why did God let this happen to me"? When I read this quote it made me realize that it isn't fair to Christ for us to think these things because Christ descended below us all! He suffered more during his life on this earth than we can possibly imagine! And you know what? Heavenly Father loves Christ, and he still let it all happen to Him! As well as Joseph Smith! I can only imagine the love that Heavenly Father has for Joseph Smith, and yet, he still allowed Joseph to suffer all that he did. There are countless examples in the scriptures of people who suffered more than we can imagine. So where do we have room to complain? We have been told numerous times that these trials we face (especially the very difficult ones) are for our good, to better prepare us for our return to our Heavenly Father.

Anyway, these are just thoughts, and certainly not eloquently put. Thank goodness for conference!

Munchkins

Notice the cute underwear? Yup, we are in the throws of potty training! Very few accidents, but we are still battling a fear of pooping in the potty. I'm open to suggestions!
Nobody better argue with me--This is the CUTEST little girl in the world! So, now you know that you don't have to tell me, because I already know! (Ok, you can tell me anyway...if you have to.) :)

Flying Baby

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with "the lift" in the movie Dirty Dancing. I always wanted to do it. My sister and I would try doing "the lift" in the pool; it never worked. Now I can live vicariously through Lizzy who can do "the lift"!

You may think this is just a small moment caught on film, but her body will stay bone straight like that the whole time! Sure, our kid refuses to stand, but this she can do. I work my abs out, and I'm certain they're not strong enough to do this for more than one second!