365 gratitude day 171

Today I'm grateful to see that I'm not the only mom who struggles with their kids. One of my friends who I look up to a lot came out of the middle of sacrament meeting with a gritted teeth smile. I had one on too. We bonded in that moment.

365 gratitude day 168-170

168: I'm so grateful for the fun that I had at a relief society meeting today. I needed to get out and really be able to talk to other women.

169: I'm grateful that we were able to go out on a date. We went to a Brazilian restaurant and it was so fun to see how much Jonathan was enjoying his food (that doesn't happen often) ;)

170: I'm grateful that we had another fun Saturday. We helped out with the stake service project, and then went to mall of America.

365 gratitude day 167

I'm so grateful that I have moments of pure love for my kids. They come easy for Corbin because he is in a super fun stage right now. But they don't come as easily or frequently with Cambria because she is in a hard phase. I have started praying to have more moments with Cambria, and I've had strong impressions to look at her at a certain time, or slow down and enjoy the cute thing that she is doing. Those moments get me through the hard ones.

365 gratitude day 166

I'm grateful for the inspiration that diverted/defused one of Cambria's mega fits.
She is really in the middle of the terrible threes... everyone said she three is worse than two and I can't agree more. Holy cow it's tough. Yesterday Cambria threw up because she was so worked up. What caused the tantrum? Daddy pushed the button in the elevator when she wanted to. I feel like I'm walking on egg shells, especially around other people. I don't want to set her off. We are seeking diligently for inspiration about her mega fits. We feel like we are getting glimmers...

365 gratitude day 165

Today I'm grateful that the missionaries came over for a lesson. At the end of the lesson they asked me a spiritual question that has been on my mind. I hadn't, up to that point, really sat down and pondered it. But through answering their question,  I got a really good answer to my own question.

365 gratitude day 164

I'm so grateful for Jonathan, and his role as a father. He is the best daddy I could ask for. He is so wonderful with the kids and I love him so much.

365 gratitude day 163

I'm grateful that we got some work done as a family. It feels good to all work together, even if the kids only are engaged for a minute

365 gratitude day 162

I'm grateful that I had a few moments to feel pure love and joy in Cambria today. She is in a really hard phase, and I've been feeling like I have needed to find things that I just absolutely love about her. And I saw some of those things today.

365 gratitude day 161

Today I'm so grateful for a friend who saved me today. By 10:00 am Cambria had already had 3 mega tantrums... like mega... I was literally wondering how I was going to make it to 6:00 when daddy planned on getting home. That's when she texted and offered to take her for a little while. It was just what I needed.

365 gratitude day 160

I'm grateful for moments that being me to the end of my rope, because they humble me enough to remember how fully I need to rely on God.

365 gratitude day 159

I'm so grateful that I had two and a half good days in a row! I haven't been keeping track, but I feel like that hasn't happened in a while.

I'm also grateful that I had some genuine good moments with each kid (where I was really enjoying them, and enjoying spending time with them). That really fills my mommy bucket.

365 gratitude day 158

Today I'm grateful that getting out of the house is a reset button for the kids. Cambria woke up on THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED this morning. She was on one! But after the park, she was her happy self again.

I'm also grateful for my friend Kate. She is sweet and kind and I feel a strong friendship forming.

365 gratitude day 157

I'm grateful that I got to get to know one of Jonathan's mission buddies (and his family) better today.

I'm also grateful that I'm starting to find a few people who are becoming friends. I sat next to two different people today and had a good chat after church! I haven't done that for over a year! It felt so great!

My Sweet Corbin

Corbin is such a sweet guy. He has a tender soul. There have been a few things that have happened in the past few weeks that confirm this:

The night we got here Cambria realized that we forgot her blanket. Much crying ensued. (which is kind of funny,  because she has never been attached, but since Corbin likes his, she has started liking hers) Anyway... she was crying because she needed her blanket. We had an extra fleece blanket that we had brought up from the car and I tried to give her that one. She wouldn't have it. Well all the while Corbin was sitting next to her cuddling with his blanket. Without a second thought he handed Cambria his blanket (which was softer than the one we were trying to give Cambria) and grabbed the one fleece one. I was so shocked. He is so sweet, amiright?

There have been a few other times that Cambria has thrown a fit for one reason or another (Corbin sitting on the chair that she always sits on, Corbin being handed the cup that she wanted) and after noticing how upset she is he just gives her what she wants.

It just blows me away that a one and a half year old can be so in tune with others emotions and do something to make them feel better!

He is just so sweet! I'm grateful that he is part of our family.

I don't think clothes get much cuter than this. Oh, and the boy is adorable too!

holding his little cousin, Lochlan

Playing with Merek, his cousin who is closest in age to him.

365 Gratitude Day 156

Today I'm grateful for the Spirit that I felt in the temple. I'm grateful for the way that I receive revelation. It's so perfect for me.

365 gratitude day 155

Yay for fantastic days!!! I'm so grateful for all the good things that happened today!! When Jonathan came home he was greeted by a wife with a genuine smile and who was dancing in the kitchen. It felt so good to have a good day today!

365 Gratitude day 154

Today I'm so grateful for the Priesthood. I have been having a few weeks of consecutive bad days. Jonathan offered on Sunday to give me a blessing of peace. I told him that I just got a blessing, and I felt like I didn't need one. Well today was particularly bad, and during our couple's prayer I had the feeling to ask for a blessing. I did and I was so filled! I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father, and that He knows me so well.

365 Gratitude day 151, 152, 153

151: holy cow! Being a mom is hard! I'm grateful for good moments, moments when the kids play nicely together, or when they freely give. I'm grateful for moments of laughter. It gets me through.

152: I'm grateful for how many resources there are in big cities. We went to the free singing class again today I hope this turns into a place where I can meet mom friends. But if not, it's fun for the kids to get out and sing.

153:  today I'm grateful for singing! I went to my first voice lesson. I think I'm going to like having something to focus on while I'm here.

What I've learned in Minnesota

I have been looking at living here for the summer as a time to try new things out.

The first thing I wanted to try here had to do with toys. I have never really loved the idea of toys that make noise. I thought I was pretty careful about the noisy toys we acquired, but by the time we were ready to move, I feel like all the kids did all day was push buttons and watch the lights blink. So I decided I wasn't going to bring any toys that made noise. Oh what a relief! I love watching them use their imaginations! I think this is going to be something we take home with us.

I also didn't bring too many toys, the reason I didn't was two fold: one, because we didn't have a ton of room in the van. And two, because if we didn't have a lot to play with inside, we would have to go somewhere to find entertainment.

Which leads me to my next thing I wanted to try out. Getting out every day. We have been really good at it! I think we have gotten out every day, and it makes all the difference! Our days seem a lot shorter (in a good way) and we are getting to know the area so much more quickly.

I have also made it a point to do something fun with the whole family every weekend. This has been so fun, I'm a little worried about what is going to happen when we go back home and dive into crazy-dissertation-writing-time. I guess we will still do fun stuff, just without daddy, since he will be busy.

Here are some fun pictures from our adventures the past few weeks.

first of all, can we just talk about this girl's hair for a sec.... 

 Minnehaha falls. It was such a fun park!

 Corbin found these cool bikes... too bad he wasn't big enough to ride them...

 Daddy is such a good sport! It was only about 65 degrees, but he took off his shoes and played in the water with the kids because they wanted to. What a guy!!

 we took a little walk down to the bottom of the falls. It's so beautiful!!

 We ended the day with ice cream. It's always a good day if you end it with ice cream!

 Memorial day: we went to a splash pad! We left early because the kids were ready and we wanted to go in the morning (since we never know how much time we will have in the afternoon... with naps, sometimes the kids wake up too late to do anything)

It was only about 75 degrees (it warmed up later in the day) so I didn't get too wet, but Jonathan didn't mind the cold water, so he and Cambria had a good time. Jonathan got the most wet... for sure! 

This was Corbin's happy place. In the shade, dry, and eating snacks. 

I caught Cambria reading library books to Corbin. So sweet! 

This last weekend we went to a free zoo! It was pretty amazing considering it was free. 

Cambria and Corbin were trying to decide where to start 

Cambria: admiring the pink birds. She does love pink :) 

Corbin loved the spider monkeys!

Another thing I'm trying out here is to do one dinner a week that is mainly veggies. I figure a diet with more veggies doesn't hurt anyone, and if I can feel better, and have more energy by doing so, then there's nothing to loose!

 we ran out of spinach, so we decided to make a carrot smoothy! It actually was really good.

This is our baked veggie burgers. They were delicious. I think I might tweak the recipe a bit next time, but they were a hit (between me and Jonathan... the kids don't eat dinner... 

The experts say that you shouldn't make a separate meal for your kids, so we don't. They also say that they will learn to eat what we eat... well our kids just choose to go hungry more nights than not. *sigh* maybes someday they will learn)

365 gratitude day 150

I'm grateful for people who get out of their comfort zone to talk to me. A nice lady talked to me during relief society and it made me feel so much more like I belonged.

365 gratitude day 145, 146, 147, 148, 149

145: I'm grateful that I got to go to my first voice lesson. My voice teacher is very knowledgeable, I'm nit sure if we are an awesome fit, but I'm so grateful that I get to do this this summer!

146: I'm grateful that I got to know some other moms in my ward today. They had playgroup and I had a really good time.

147: I'm grateful that the girl who got my number (Kate) invited me to the park today. I've gotten out every day this week and I'm sure it has helped my mood and the kids mood. I've still had several bad days in a row, but it would have been much worse if I didn't get out.

148: I'm so grateful for Jonathan. He is my pillar, I need a pillar in my life... I'm so up and down and over and around... I need someone to keep me on the ground when my head is either in the clouds or 10 feet under.

149: today was fun! We cleaned the church, and then we went to the zoo after naps. It was good to spend some time together.