"On a mission!"

We dropped off our first missionary package to Elder Allred tonight. I have a feeling he's gonna get pretty spoiled, being the first missionary in the family. 

Especially with 4 sisters that adore him & a mom that misses him like crazy. 

Annabelle and I had so much fun baking him heart-shaped brownies with powdered sugar on top. 

(Happy Valentine's Day, Elder!) 

And I just know he's gonna appreciate all the girliness we smothered into that package. Like the glitzy fairy stickers all over the card Annabelle made him. At least she gave it a masculine touch and scribbled with the black crayon. :)

I'm making it a goal to write him every Sunday. He may not get weekly brownies, but he will get a letter from us (finger's crossed!!) And with coloring being Annabelle's all-time favorite pass time, he'll have a nice collection of 2 year old artwork too!

If you ask Annabelle where Uncle Christian is she responds: "On a mission!" 

And it amazes me every time.

I guess all the pre-MTC festivities really sunk in.

He is on a mission, and we are so proud of him!!

Something About Mama's Bed

The other day my mom mentioned to me that she got a new bed and my first thoughts were: 

Why?! Your old bed was so comfy!

As a kid I always loved to crawl into my parents bed and pass out on the spot. It cured every nightmare and made an empty house suddenly feel safe. To her it was just an old bed, but to me it was like sleeping on a cloud. There was just something so comforting about it.

And I get the feeling that's how my kids feel about my bed too. Especially this Henry boy.

Every morning at around 10am I swaddle him, and lay him on my bed. Within seconds his binki pops out and he starts to purr like a baby lion. 

Today I couldn't help but snap 50 billion photos of him while taking his morning nap. He seemed to be having such peaceful dreams. And that face is everything perfect to me.

After a couple clicks his eyes popped open and he was instantly wide awake. 

It's almost like he was faking it...

Those dark blue eyes make my heart swell.

And I hope he'll always love crawling into mama's bed.

Two Months

He's almost as big as Annabelle.

He has his Grandpa Tracy's hands.

He smiles a lot!

His coos make my heart stop.

He likes to kick.

He loves his big sister.

He likes to follow me around the room with his dreamy Van Wagoner eyes.

(And I love it!)

His cheeks are the most kissable things ever.

I adore his pointy chin.

He startles easily and his "scared cry" is just so cute.

I kiss those lips between every other word I say to him. I just can't help myself.

He raises his eyebrows when he smiles, and I die every time.

And he still sneezes. A lot.

:) 

Grandma Lisa

It's crazy how quickly 8 days can fly by. I feel like I just picked her up yesterday, and I already have to give her back tomorrow.

Every day I try to be a little bit more like her, and every day I'm calmed by the fact that regardless of my efforts, she's my babies' grandma. So they will at least have one perfect example in their lives. 

We did so much in those 8 days, like bless my sweet Henry boy and drop Elder Allred off at the MTC. We didn't let 24 hours go by between each Target visit, and we ate lots of yummy food. She made us the best banana bread and gourmet pancakes. But what I love most of all is the time she got to spend with my babies.

From singing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes to reading Annabelle the same books she used to read to me, this past week has been so wonderful.

We love our Grandma Lisa.

And can't wait for our next visit.

Happy Heart

One of my goals this year is to master my camera better. I'm not very interested in the business side of photography, but I would like to be able to take my kids' pictures. Especially to beautify my home.

While I know I have so much to learn, these shots of my baby make me so happy. I love those subtle dimples when she bites her lip. And her long straight Asian eye lashes that remind me so much of my moms.

And I just can't imagine what I'd do without that pretty little face. 

This Annabelle girl makes my heart pretty happy :)

We love you, Elder Allred!

My heart was overcome with so much emotion as we waited our turn to enter MTC grounds. The place was swarming with sharp-looking young men and women, and a sudden feeling of love and appreciation started to fill me up. My little brother was about to dedicate two whole years of his life to the Lord, and that sacrifice suddenly started to make so much more sense as we drove in. I can't even begin to describe how proud I am of him.

We dropped him off at 12:30.

He was so excited.
Everywhere I looked there was a smile and I felt like we were in heaven. You could just feel everyone's love for the gospel.

And having that feeling made it a little easier to let him go.

Elder Allred, you are going to do great things. We love you so much!