Mr & Mrs Smith

I almost forget love day isn't just for sugar cookies & heart shaped breakfastes. But that's what makes this little girl glow. A craft party with friends that lets her get out the glitter glue makes her go woohoo! I tried something different with the cookies this year & it's my new tradition - baking the cookie bars first and then cutting them out. These were delicious thanks to the foodnanny! I believe our actual valentine's day will be a little low key. Lexi is just looking forward to Gammi's package. It's so hard for her to make enough good choices to earn it. I praised her for listening so well yesterday morning & she admitted it was so she could get Gammi's package, haha! For Dallin's treat, he is back to telling me when he has to go pee since he went on a 2-day hiatus that made me really stress out.  And they've also been staying in their bedroom through the night. I'm h...

He loves photos, don't let him lie to you. New things:  clapping-ish. Yesterday I would have told you he didn't. But he did it today randomly. Maybe I'm confusing him with the sign for "more" food. / / Waves-ish. Same thing. / / He can drink from a straw, but he really isn't great with a sippy cup still. He just lets it all fall back out his mouth unless it's root beer. Unfortunately, root beer and twizzlers he is somehow expert at. We never see him get excited about anything more than a can of root beer. It slays me. / / He gave up his pacifier which sucks for me. Ever since last week he has been more irritable and harder to console without nursing him. I believe it started due to his stuffiness but even when he could breathe he wanted nothing to do with it. So random. I wish he would fall in love with a blanket. / / he discovered the toilet paper roll / / he started screaming more for attention / / he shakes his head we think as a way of danci...

It's one of those stories that doesn't have to be drawn out, but I did it any way. Besides Mr Smith buying up his emergency prep wish list end of year, we, and I mean I, decided we should do $20 "surprise" Christmas gifts for each other. $20 spent how we want since we normally might question the dollar spent, this would be just a "fun" way to think about each other. I suggested another measuring cup and then the shelves came up again and when a friend told me you could get some affordable IKEA ones, I jumped with excitement (2, 45in ones for $20 exact!). I told him his Christmas present would be just getting and installing them - instead of having to build them too. He said he had thought about that (obviously building them since IKEA isn't his go-to); I thought it was a win. You like that "surprise" suggestion? That's basically how it goes since Mr Smith doesn't appreciate the responsibility of finding a gift for someone. I get i...

I'd be okay with not documenting anniversary #4 with a photo or at least we should have kept Lexi to herself. Oh well, we aren't always beautiful, but it was a good evening as a family of three at the Brick Oven. We were finally able to sit through a restaurant meal without having to worry about making sure she stayed there. Mr Smith found all you can eat pizza he enjoyed, so ya know, that was a success. This year was definitely better than our position last year, so I'll give us that. In many ways four years doesn't seem like enough time for how far we have come, but that's what moving several times does to you I guess. It's weird to think about all the places we've lived and friends we've made along the way in four short years. Maybe I will call chapter 4: "change of plans" or "adjustment" as I felt uprooted and we began again somewhere completely different, but I think we've begun to settle and find our place.  I sti...

I asked for a love letter and then love note (less intensity) for my birthday (trying to think of all the things I'd love that don't cost any money), but it's hard for him to express feelings in words. He hates feelings almost as much as I love them. Back in our dating days it wasn't so tough, but that's why it's important to write things down and save little things like that - later on - they become big things. And just like all the back massages, you have to make the last one last… So touché Mr Smith.  Any way, this is exactly opposite of what he would like for his birthday, but I'm going to do it any way in memory of mine. He loves it when I make those decisions. These aren't the pictures that I wanted to go along with it; you know, that picture in my head that met failed hopes, but they're still cute and remind me of what matters most. Dear Mr Smith You matter most to me. Well, you combined with Lexi make up my little world he...

I've written the story about how we met before. He has shared part of the story as well. But I'm worried I'm forgetting the little details; I'm not sure how good at journal writing I was back then. I just blogged a lot ( remember ), but because my blog isn't private, I don't share everything. You know how you watch movies and when someone passes away, they show clips of memories with that person as if they were right there. I'm not sure my memory is that great, but sometimes I try and go back and play the videos in my mind. It is always hard to see faces, but I smile at thinking about those moments. I'm scared I will lose those images. Some people might think that is silly; enjoy the present.  But I think I enjoy the present more when I think about how far I've come, we've come. Those moments seem like ages ago already. The night of the Halloween party. "twins" was about as good as we got. I remember seeing him at that Ha...

Yes, three years still sounds like nothing, but at the same time it definitely feels like I remember every day of those three years - sort of like when I remembered every day of Lexi's first year (not because it's bad, just because a whole lot has happened and I feel like a new women because of it, although most likely I haven't changed much). I'm a nostalgic person when it comes to photos - the memories - places, people, things that were said and done (I'm not super sentimental when it comes to physical things). Our one year anniversary  was spent newly pregnant. I was crawling out of a nauseous, coma inducing black hole. Well, it wasn't that bad, but it was the anniversary before the minion. We recently moved to Winston-Salem, NC where Mr Smith started his fellowship. I recently started a new job, the job that would allow us to have 2 incomes for 9 months. It was such a blessing. We were ready for a family if it was part of God's plan, but I wasn...

Before I forget this amazing quote (that if Gordon B Hinkley did say it, makes it even better) here it is: "What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are that you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy."- President Gordon B. Hinckley You know what I thought when I first read that? I married that. I married Mr Smith because he did that and does that for me. I mean we may bicker about how we show love and respect, and sometimes we get a little slack when it comes to thoughtful and putting each other first, but at the end of the day, I know he loves me, respects me and thinks of me.  I also liked this article ...

I didn't know that the Sunday lessons this month would be on marriage and family when I wrote that post earlier this week. It was obviously on my mind as I went down to the temple and saw another couple, just like Eric and I were 3 years ago, sealed in the Orlando temple for time and all eternity.   "There is nothing that has come or will come into your family as important as the sealing blessings. There is nothing more important than honoring the marriage and family covenants you have made or will make in the temples of God." - Henry B Eyring No offense to my parents, but I knew at a young age that I wanted a different story for myself.  I wanted a temple marriage first. Maybe I had a mental checklist of the qualities my future husband would have, but after many loves and love nots, I narrowed it down quite a bit. I heard so much advice on who to date that I feel I got to a point several times where I wanted to throw in the towel and give up on understanding any...

 I put off packing until the last minute because it's so daunting these days. I just didn't want to accept reality, but nonetheless we did it, traveled the distance and came back safety. Thank goodness.    I drove down listening to "The Wedding" which surprisingly made the trip go by pretty quick. Lexi fell asleep 5 minutes into the car (around 6) but we stopped around 730 when she woke and was cranky enough to get gas and let her stretch her legs. She slept off and on until around 10 when she finally crashed. We arrived around 1AM. Happily uneventful. I'll write some thoughts from the ride (it was a long ride): My marriage and family class at BYU taught me that there are three main things that couples fight over and, therefore, divorce over. And the divorce rate is at least 50%!  Finance. Sex. In-laws.  For some, maybe it is all or none, but as much as I thought our first year of marriage was a piece of cake (when they tell you it wo...

So on my FL road trip, I ran into a few mix CDs. And shamefully, but really there is no shame, I rekindled a little bit of my youthfulness. You see, dancing and daydreams were two favorite things of mine. Not coordinated dancing, just dance parties, roommate dance offs and awesome road trip performances. And my mix CDs tell a story. Mostly embarrassing stories full of regrets, but at the same time, it's a past I cherish. Either way, I ended up here and I can't complain about that. However, a lot of the dance songs are censored and not added here, but many others still tell a tale of well, drama. And now I'm old and the drama consists of forgotten clothes in the washing machine. But let's go back a little. It starts with a little bit of this: Hansen "MMMbop" that happened Chris Brown "Say Goodbye" A few years of loving and being loved but never at the same time Justin Bieber "Baby" and just enjoying the d...

1. He likes western movies. 2. He has a bottomless stomach for sugar. Like vanilla ice cream and wintergreen mints. 3. He is a musical athlete. 4. He is more likely to tell you to get over it and move on. 5. He always wants a full body massage Oh and he turns 31 today . And I made him this secret video because he didn't want anything for his birthday. He said birthdays are just commercialism at its best. But I just wanted him to feel special. He didn't even want a key lime pie. Mr Smith, we would slobber you with kisses, but this home music video will have to do for now . .  . What Matters Most     Per annoying copyright you can only view this video on a computer and not your phone. The video has flaws and a little cheesy at times but it's not bad for an original birthday card. I would have done more if I had time.