Moving on while standing still...

The last couple of months have been pretty crazy. Kevin and I are just managing to stay afloat with school, work, callings, and Evelyn. We have even kept up our new years resolutions so far. We are eating healthier (if this counts I make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that use all whole wheat flour and applesauce instead of oil) lots less processed foods, and we haven't missed a day reading a chapter from our favorite book. The Book of Mormon.

With this being my last semester in classes, the end of the scheduling chaos is nearly at an end...I think....maybe...OK so probably not. There will still be all the evenings this summer that Kevin will have to take Evelyn after working all day so I can go live at the library and work on my thesis. I would like to get most of it written this summer because...drum roll please... Kevin was accepted into the grad program for computer science here at BYU starting this fall!!! We are very excited. His emphasis is graphic user interface and he really enjoys it. More good news, he gets to keep his current job through grad school. He will continue to do research for the professor he works for now. So for now we are moving on while staying in the same place.



I have been experimenting with some projects (when I should have been doing homework) and some of them have turned out really well!

I made these blocks for my friend Lindsay's wedding. They take a decent amount of space, but I love them. I've made similar blocks with baby paper on all sides and birth statistics.

They were super easy. Sand and stain the wood-Print and cut the letters/photo- Modgepodge paper to wood.

This February marked my third Valentines Day with Kevin. What a great time it has been. I wrote him a list of 100 things I love about him and filled a basket with little gifts that signify important things about our relationship and he spoiled me with a homemade candle lit dinner (the same one he proposed with) and CANDY!

Kevin is always so kind to me. I don't know that I have ever heard him say anything mean about anyone, and I know he has never said anything harsh to me. I don't think I have ever met a more mild person and I am truly blessed.


Speaking of blessings! Evelyn is growing up WAY too fast. While she hasn't started crawling yet, at 8 months she is the fastest army crawler I have ever seen. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks, but slithers onto her belly when she actually goes to move forward. She can army crawl right over the top of me if I am between her and her favorite toy (right now a slotted wooden spoon from the kitchen :) ). Evelyn babbles up a storm these days. Right now I am pretty sure "mamamama" means "I want something" or "I need help". "Dada" is her pass-time word. The only word she says that I think she actually comprehends the real meaning of is "baby". She opened a magazine to a picture of a baby and said it over and over while smacking the magazine. She loves exploring the house, blowing raspberries, babbling, and sitting in her highchair to eat cut up berries.

She is getting SO tall!

Evelyn loves books. Especially the one with pictures of toddlers telling the story of Nephi.

She decided at 6 months that my bed was the ONLY acceptable place to nap.  She also decided that 4 1-hour naps would be a better idea than 2 2-hour naps. So she is only awake for a couple of hours at a time and is still down for around 10.5-11 hours at night. You know, she can do what she wants as long as she naps. When she is happy we all win!

 I think Evelyn's room will always be a work in progress. I still have fabric from her quilt and wall hanging to cover pillows with. We will see when that happens!

I DID use some of the fabric to cover formula cans for holding her hair bows

I have been learning so much lately about what it means to value those I love. What would I do if I didn't have them? There have been days as a parent that I think "What in the world did I get myself into?" but I would rather have Evelyn on her very worst day than not have her at all. Same with Kevin (although he really doesn't have bad behavior days). I count myself very lucky to be surrounded by such a happy family. My little sweetheart is always full of smiles, squeals, and giggles when I get home from class to relieve Kevin. Heck, if Kevin were the squealing or giggling type he might be too! As it is I know my family loves me and enjoys having me around. I am really excited for the day when I will be done with school and work so I can focus wholly on the tasks of being a wife and mother. Till then I suppose I will always be a little tired from staying up late to do homework after Evelyn goes to bed! 

Here is a little video to finish up. Our home teacher was making Evelyn giggle so hard she had tears running down her cheeks. We missed the hardest giggles while grabbing the camera, but it still makes me happy.