Musical Meeting Extraordinaire

We had an interesting sacrament meeting today. I guess there weren't any talks lined up, but instead of just calling on random people like Bishops sometimes do, we had something similar to a Testimony Meeting, where members got up, said what their favorite hymn was and why, and everyone sang that song. I've heard of wards doing this before, but this was my first experience with it. I thought it was so cool! There were so many people who wanted to share, we started by singing all four verses of the chosen hymns, then we went down to the first and the last, then ended with just singing the first. And the cool thing was that it wasn't just s participating. We had youth and primary children get up there too. One little boy said "I Need Thee Every Hour" was his favorite hymn because his mom sang it to him every night. It was a cool meeting. I think music is a very powerful tool in the gospel, and that was reaffirmed to me today. It was great to hear people's experiences with the hymns and sing them together as a ward. I think it brought the ward closer in a new way.

But, I did feel sorry for the music people-having so many songs to play/conduct on the spur of the moment. As a ward organist, that would have been my worst nightmare! (Go Mom! :))

Help.

I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm afraid my child is going to develop horrible allergies because I feed him the wrong things at the wrong times. I'm afraid I'm doing everything wrong and my poor baby's going to be crippled physically, emotionally, socially, etc. because of my ignorance. Aaaah! What do I do?!

Help.

There goes a whole pack of candles

Here are some pictures from Jeff's birthday. He had a great time!

My Hunky Husband

Yesterday was Jeff's 24th birthday. Yay for Jeff! I love him with all my heart and am so grateful that he chose me as his companion. I think he is the best man I have ever met.

We had a fun day. I made his favorite dinner and we had cake and ice cream with my family. We have lots of birthday traditions and it was fun to do it with Jeff. One thing we do is tell the story of the birthday person's birth before they blow out their candles, so I got a great story from his mom. We also have a special song before the traditional "Happy Birthday." One of my favorite traditions is the gift giving. Everyone sits in a circle and the birthday kid spins a bottle to see who gives their present. As each person gives the present, they say one reason why they like that person. It's always fun to hear what the little kids have to say! I think Jeff enjoyed it. My parents got him gift certificates for dinner and a movie for the two of us and Jeff is super excited about that. He had a great birthday. I should post some pictures.

I'm going to make a list of things I love/appreciate about him and add to it whenever I think of another one. Here goes:

*He loves Jeffy
*He wants lots of kids
*He gets along with my family
*He tries hard to become even better
*He's the perfect height for me
*He's intelligent
*He forgives me . . . a lot
*He tells me I'm beautiful
*He's handsome!
*He makes me want to be a better person
*He writes me notes
*He wants to go on missions with me
*Anything he does, he does well
*He can fix just about anything I can break
*He loves his parents and siblings
*He thinks our baby is the cutest in the world
*He enjoys intelligent conversation
*He knows enough about politics for the two of us
*My younger brothers just adore him
*He can dance
*He takes his responsibilities as a husband and father very seriously
*He likes being outside
*He can make be laugh
*My parents like him a lot
*He can answer just about any question I ask him
*He used to help me with my homework
*He likes to read and discuss stories with me
*He's kind
*He thinks of others' feelings
*He isn't afraid of hard work
*He gives me a reality check when I need it . . .
*But he'll dream with me too
*He likes surprising me with flowers
*He's a very involved daddy
*I know he loves me
*He understands things
*He'll talk with me
*He does laundry and dishes!
*He likes to make me yummy dinners

My Boys

My two Jeffs are basically clones of each other. When Jeffy was first born, everyone thought he looked a lot like me, mostly because of his full head of black hair. But as he's been getting older, he's becoming more and more like his daddy, both in looks and personality. For one, his black hair is gone. From his birth it started growing in lighter. There was actually a distinct line between the two colors. And it hasn't stopped. It keeps getting lighter and lighter, and towards his scalp, it's glaringly blond! He made have started out , but when he gets his next haircut, I'm going to have a baby! Jeffy also had distinct physical characteristics of his daddy too. He's fuzzy with little blond hairs all over his whole body just like daddy did, he has daddy's cheeks, daddy's toes, daddy's build and more. The only thing we can really see as definitely being from me are his eyebrows. He definitely is a Jeffy! :)

Jeffy just loves his daddy. Anytime he comes into a room, Jeffy follows his every movement. He loves playing with daddy's face and playing with him. Jeff is especially good at making Jeffy smile. It's like he's saying "That's my daddy. He's just like me and I'm going to be just like him when I'm big! I sure love him!" It's so sweet. I think the above picture says it all. I just love my boys! Jeffy is the sweetest, cutest, baby in the whole world. I simply love it when he reaches to me for comfort or protection. He knows I'm his mommy and that I love him. And Jefffy has the best daddy in the whole world too. Jeff is always eager to help with Jeffy, mostly to play with him. It's obvious he loves his son very much. What a lucky gal I am!

July 4th in Washington DC

Jeff and I got to go into Washington DC for the 4th of July! How fun! I was so excited to be in the Nation's Capitol on the day we celebrate our freedom! We did lots of fun things. We watched a parade, went to some museums, got soaked in the rain, ate some ice cream, walked a million miles all over the mall, and got so pooped we came home before the fireworks even started. Weak, I know. My feet were me and we were getting tired of being wet. I don't know if they even did the fireworks or if they were postponed. Oh well! It was a great day and I loved being in DC. I've never seen so many patriotic people in one place. It was awesome! Some people were just there, but most people were decked out in brilliant red, white, and blue. It was awesome! I love this country and the ideas it's founded on. I'm grateful for the many people who have fought for it--the ones who have physically fought to keep it free, and the ones who fight to keep it moral. I'm excited to join the forces that protect the USA, and will try my best to be worthy of that protection!

Yep, it's begun all right!

My mother-in-law told me that in the Military, the name of the game is "hurry up and wait." We're not even technically in the Navy yet, and this has proven to be true. Jeff was supposed to go to Richmond once to get tests done, fill out paperwork and basically join. Not so. He went down there last Friday, came back Saturday, went again on Monday, came back Tuesday, and is now waiting for more test results to come back next week so he can go down there again. Fun times, eh? Oh well. I guess it gets us used to Military life now. Hooray! But Jeffy is as cute as ever, and life is still great!