October Happenings

Another month has slipped away again.  So many precious moments in October, so little time to capture them all!  Here are a few of the highlights.

1) Ray Pittman is one of the nursery teachers in our ward who asked us our first week at church if he could have permission to take a picture of Daphne and paint a portrait of her.  He does this for all the new children in the nursery and I said that was fine, not realizing it would be THIS good!  I was so impressed. 

2) Daphne and Millie enjoying an ice cream together while Cassie and I were at the Relief Society Broadcast and the papas watched the kids. 

3) While Burke was in Spokane at a business training for 4 days, Daphne and I were delighted to spend some time in Logan with my parents and in Idaho for 2 days doing interviews for Volume 2 of GG's history.  I hadn't been home since my Mom placed a hidden Gnome dwelling in the back garden.  Such a fun addition to the garden for the grandchildren.

4) Daphne also ate her first Aggie Ice Cream while in Logan.  Best. Ice Cream. Ever.  Mmmmmm.

5) That night after we put Daphne to bed, Burke and I met up with Whitney, Dan, Josie, Rick and baby Forrest.  Let's just talk about that angel baby for a second.  Little F.J. has been through more medical ordeals in his 6 months of life than most people will go through in their entire life.  And this is just the beginning for him.  However, despite the heavy prospects for his future, there is absolutely no doubt that Forrest is a very special child.  I could feel it the instant I saw him and it nearly brought me to tears.  He is a strong soul with two powerhouse parents.  Together, the three of them will move mountains.  I feel lucky to have them in my life.  (To learn more about Forest's blood condition and to track his progress/how we can help in the future see HERE) 

Per usual, this night with a couple of my besties was so refreshing.  I always feel 100% myself around these girls.  They have seen me at my absolute best and worst and have loved me regardless.  When we're together, it's like no time has passed at all, although we're lucky if we see each other once a year.  We talked and laughed nonstop for 3 hours until we realized the restaurant was closing and our poor waiter was trying to clean up his section. Whoops.  As you can see from the candid photos on the right, I absolutely delight in being around these hilarious girls and their wonderful husbands.  It has been such a pleasant surprise (relief?) that not only did we all marry amazing men, but that they all get along just as well as we girls do.  I have found that to be SO rare among couples.  Usually 2 or 3 of you get along great and there is one spouse/significant other that is just not quite on the same wave length.  Hallelujah that all 6 of us get along so well!  I only wish we all lived closer so we could do it more often.

6) I so very rarely like pictures of myself.  I am very critical of my appearance and often feel very plain Jane.  I like these pictures because Burke sneakily took them while we were having family scripture study at my parent's house.  I was listening intently to the scriptures and thinking about how they applied to my life.  I like the way I am concentrating and being edified by our discussion. I like that you can tell I am at ease in my parents house.  I like the way my hair is falling, making it appear shorter than it is.  But most of all I like that Burke was trying to capture me in a natural pose so that he could later show these images to me to remind me that he loves me and that he is attracted to me.  I don't know why I need to hear that affirmation so often.

7) While Dan was at Scout Camp, Cassie and the kids came and spent the night at our house.  We painted toilet paper rolls, attached tissue paper wings and poked holes for pipe cleaner antennas.  We also watched "Epic", played at the park and traumatized Emmett by trying to get him comfortable with our dog Roxy.  No go! :)

8) Inspired by my sister Chelsea, I have begun to pick "themes" most weeks, so Daphne and I have a focused topic to learn about and base crafts, drawings, activities and discussions around.  A couple of weeks ago our theme was "Ballet" and Daphne has been obsessed with it ever since.  These are all items of clothing she already owned, but now several times a week she asks for her ballet music and ballet clothes so she can prance around the room pretending to be a ballerina.  I love it!