Joshua is 18 Months Old

This Little Man is 18 Months Old today.  This month is a right of passage month as it is the age that babies can start going to the nursery at church.  I've never truly been thrilled to let my babies go. It's not that they aren't safe. And I take them. But to me, this feels like the "kindergarten" of church and I always feel a bit sad when the time comes. Grateful for the help it brings me as he is never still for a moment and I have responsibilities to fulfill at church. But still sad that my baby is stepping into Toddlerhood and I hate it!

Leif and I marvel every day about the beauty of this little boy. The decision to have another baby was so scary and hard. But we are grateful Every Day that he is here!!!  Joshua is a Light.

He is finally healthy after a hard winter. He is eating food. He loves most things except vegetables. That's a first for our babies, actually. But hopefully he'll come around and find a balance. He still drinks a bottle before every nap (1 or 2 naps) and throughout the night (still wakes a few times each night. But is getting better about sleeping as he is growing). His bottles are where he gets most of his calories. We mix our own mixture of powder milks and formula to give him as much nutrients and calories as possible in each bottle. His tummy still seems sensitive to dairy but is happy with the mixture we have.

Joshua LOVES to climb and run!! He absolutely LOVES to be outside! And playing in front of the bay window is his favorite place in the house. He babbles and sings constantly. Loves to "read" books. And LOVES animals, cars, and dinosaurs.

Joshua is definitely "the baby" and the "last" child. To prove this point he has managed to create a bedtime habit of insisting on watching a show with Mama and Papa as he falls asleep at night. Honestly, we don't mind much. We love the snuggles with him and he falls asleep quickly.

Joshua needs a haircut. But "Man Buns" are in style and I intend to follow the trend as long as I can with his strawberry golden locks.

As you can tell, Joshua is the light of our busy growing up lifestyle right now. I LOVE watching my big boys interact with the baby. They all Love him as much as Leif and I. Each one of them having a unique relationship and way of interacting with him.

Weight Loss - Shopping - Trips - Oh My!

Things are looking up and Spring is around the corner.  I'm not taking many pics or selfies these days. My face is still bruised from the mouth surgery I had last weekend. Had a couple molars pulled. But it's getting better. And day by day I'm feeling stronger. As we suspected my body was thrown for a loop as a result from the surgery. But gratefully my boys and Leif helped keep the house together and the baby cared for. They really amaze me. Their ability and willingness to help is such a blessing!

I've still been following the HCG Diet. Unfortunately, since I've gotten down to a weight that I haven't been for a long... long time, and because of all of the health events the past few weeks. My body is NOT letting go of any more weight at the moment. So I've decided to stop using up the valuable/Expensive HCG for the time being and focus on strengthening my muscles. 

overall, I lost 15 pounds.  I have enough HCG left to help me lose about 5+ more. I will be thrilled if I can maintain where I'm at and then lose the last bit next month.

At the end of April I get to go on a trip to Missouri to my brother's wedding. I'm excited to see my family and to spend time on The Ranch and with the new horses and calves in The Arena. I'm also looking forward to cleaning myself up a bit and enjoying the time. I'm going to buy a new dress and shoes/boots for the wedding and a few outfits maybe. I'm going to FINALLY go get a decent cut/style and highlights for my hair. And, hopefully I'll catch a bit of a tan at the beach before then too. 😉

The big decision before then though, is to decide whether to take the baby with me on the trip. Only my parents and Jared have met/seen him before. I'd really Love to take him to meet everyone. Also, I think I'd be lonely and stressed if I left him home. I haven't left him more then a few hours before. BUT, it will be A LOT of work to bring him along. He's a baby and that means gear, naps, bedtime, snacks, fussing, etc... Do I have it in me to go it alone??? That is the question...

So, like I said, lots of good things happening and to look forward to. I'm So Grateful that Leif is willing to work So Dang Hard so I can spend his money. I sure do Love the man!! ❤  And I'm grateful Father helped me along the way to lose the weight that I needed to to lighten the load on my bones, heart, and soul. A true Blessing!!!

The Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon Timeline

Our friend Haley who was baptized last month is coming over tonight for a "lesson." That's what she likes to call our visits about the gospel. :)  I asked her what she wants to talk about and she said she wants to talk about how the Book of Mormon and the Holy Bible are written during some of the same time periods and how that correlates. This will be a fun visual for my kids as well as Haley.

I found some great resources to help us visualize and put things into perspective. I'm always so grateful when I don't have to "reinvent the will."  Other people have already done all of the hard work. 

Here is a website that has compiled a timeline of the two books together. How awesome is this!!??

LDS SCRIPTURE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

I will use a basic world map to show the different parts of the world where the events of the books are happening (The Holy Land and The Americas). I'm looking forward to our discussion and visit.