Elegant beauties of everyday life

I was reminded recently of  a beautiful and poignant piece of encouragement from President Uchtdorf: 

"Never stop striving for the best that is within you. Never stop hoping for all of the righteous desires of your heart. But don’t close your eyes and hearts to the simple and elegant beauties of each day’s ordinary moments that make up a rich, well-lived life."


As a stay at home mom, my days are pretty much all alike, and they certainly don't seem elegant. We have the same routine most days of the week and after awhile, one day sort of blends into the next. I often tell Jared that on the weekends, I want to do something different. I don't care what it is or how long it takes or when I do it, but I just need something to break up the routine of everyday life, so that it actually feels like a weekend. 


But, monotonous as the days and weeks may be, I am so glad to be able to spend all day with Libby. It is a miracle to witness her learn new skills, speak new words, and just be her adorable self. I do find myself vainly wishing for more hours in the day, so I could tackle one more project or read one more book or try one more recipe or swim one more mile. But I feel renewed and motivated now to open my eyes to the joy of every day. 

kissing dad goodnight

President Uchtdorf's words came to my mind the other night as I was curled up in the dark rocking Libby to sleep. She was totally out, but I just kept rocking her, thinking to myself, "if this isn't a 'simple and elegant beauty,' I don't know what is.

14 months

I love this sequence because it exemplifies so well Libby's current nature - fickle as can be. She is on a steep learning curve right now and gets frustrated and/or bored really easily. She'll go from smiles to tears in a matter of seconds...and repeat a hundred times a day. But she is so much fun to play with! She will copy nearly anything Jared or I do (within her capabilities, of course). She loves dancing, running laps around the house, clapping her hands, and stomping her feet. She makes great faces, cheesy smiles, and laughs easily. She says mama, da (dad), dah (dog), uh-oh, and hi. She can wave hello and goodbye. 

Looking under the cupboard for a lost fridge magnet

My little praying mantis

Cleaning up her mess of oats

Enjoys climbing/sitting on Mom and Dad

Cowgirl Halloween costume

Typical results when I try to take a pic of me and Libby together

Finally looking at the camera...I love this little stinker

Toddler antics

I've said it before and I'll say it again: my child reminds me of a dog sometimes.

In an attempt to distract Libby long enough to do the dishes this morning, I gave her a pastry brush and a small bowl of water and let her "paint" the fridge. This was all well and good for about 2 seconds, and then she just wanted to slurp the water out of the bowl.

Graduation Day

In my mind, the day a baby girl starts wearing a ponytail is the day she graduates to toddlerhood.

 Like most graduation days, it's filled with happiness and excitement for the future, with a healthy dose of nostalgia for the days you'll never get back. 

So true

"In these preparatory years, you young women spend much of your time in schools or jobs where you receive accolades, honors, awards, ribbons, or trophies. When you move from that stage to young motherhood, there is a dramatic drop-off in outside commendation. Yet in no other capacity is there more opportunity to serve selflessly as Christ would do by taking care of hundreds of daily physical, emotional, and spiritual needs."
-Susan W. Tanner, from here 


Does anyone else sometimes want a trophy just for making dinner?

Photo Tribute to Nae Nae Horsey

Today is my friend Renae's birthday. We met a little over 8 years ago when we were assigned as roommates in Heritage Halls at BYU. I didn't know any of my roommates when I headed off to BYU, but I seriously lucked out. Renae and I became fast friends and were roommates for 4 years until she got married.

Looking back, I'm afraid that I was probably a little obnoxious at times (like the time I got the urge to make split pea soup even though I hate peas, but was so disgusted by it that I left my dirty pot on the stove for...a week...or longer? Renae finally cleaned it for me.), but Renae was always patient and forgiving and FUN. She let me borrow her car (even calling it "our car"), she made me dinner, she invited me to spend holidays with her family, and she didn't get mad when I accidentally melted her snow pants on the campfire.

I'm certain I have more pictures of me and Renae than I do of me and my husband, so choosing just a handful was an impossible task. Instead, here are more pictures than you ever wanted to see of the two of us! I was hysterical going through all those years of photos. I left out some of the more embarrassing pictures (let's just say Thanksgiving weekend "makeover")...it is her birthday, after all. :) Hope you get a laugh out of these, Renae!

We shared everything

Microwave s'mores in our dorm freshman year

Strong bad face

Freshman roommies! LOVE these girls!

The Format concerts!

"Raiders of the Night" practical joke task force

Talking to our downstairs neighbors through the vent under our bed... "AAAADAM WAAAATSON!"

Renaeighties dance party

Eating with a giant spoon because all our dishes were dirty

Renae's birthday, 2004 - I guess she didn't like the cake I made for her! ;)

Playing Halo with the guys 

At the Joseph Smith Memorial Building over Thanksgiving weekend

Sumo!

Painting our house

Snow tubing at Soldier Hollow - so much fun!

I don't remember the significance of the hula hoop, but I have several pictures like this, so it must have been really fun at the time!

Renae taped me into our room one day

Picnics at Rock Canyon

Picnics at Rock Canyon - the best Sunday afternoon activity

Longboarding at the Colony (hey! that's Jared's car in the background!)

Roommate cuddle time

Hahaha...forcibly cutting a lock of Renae's hair...so we could tape it to someone's head. I don't remember why.

Graduation with the freshman roommates of 189 Fugal Hall

Renae's wedding, 2007

My wedding, 2009

Happy birthday, Renae! Thanks for being such a great friend all these years!

13 months

At 13 months, little miss Libby
likes to eat: clementines, raisins, fig newtons, yogurt, peaches, apples, berries, beans, rice, tomatoes, ice cream, eggs, cheese, animal crackers, and anything mom and dad are eating

says: mama, dada, dog (although dog is the only one that is actually directed at someone/something)

enjoys: climbing stairs, playing on slides at playgrounds, reading books, playing the keyboard, drawing, getting into baskets, boxes, etc.

 has learned how to: get dressed (helps puts her arms in sleeves, legs in pants, and feet in socks and shoes), eat with a fork occasionally, clap her hands, spin in circles until she's so dizzy she runs into the wall, and pick up things and hand them to mom/dad (this comes in handy when it's time to pick up her toys!)

She loves playing with my high heels!

We had a rough couple of weeks with sleeping (those 12 month shots are killer...she wound up with a fever and measles rash and was cranky to the max), but she's finally back to sleeping through the night. Poor little thing still cries every.single.time I put her down for a nap, though. 

Sleeping beauty