Week of April 6 - 12

Nothing too out of the ordinary happened this week, but it was a good one. I've been wanting to get to know Dana Moss a little better, so I invited her and her two littles, Khalil and Khalise, over for a pizza lunch on Tuesday. We had a nice chat. She has so much common sense; I always learn something valuable from her when we talk. She is a devoted mom and is so motivated to progress. I'm really inspired by her.

Friday evening, Parker had a basketball game, and Gage and I went to watch him play. It wasn't his best game offensively, but he killed it on defense, and his team won in overtime. It was a nail biter of a game. Cegan and her kids were there too, which made it all the more enjoyable. Heath was so funny. He was always very concerned with the scoreboard and was overjoyed every time we pulled ahead.

Parker has discovered a disc golf course just five minutes away from our house at Wilmore Park. If you know Parker, you know that he's made his way over there as many times as humanly possible since that discovery. I love how passionate he is about things. When he loves something, he really LOVES it. It's awesome. Anyway, he went to Wilmore a couple times this week, and on Saturday, Gage and I tagged along and walked/jogged the trail while Parker played. Every once in awhile our paths crossed, and he'd let me throw a hole. It was a gorgeous day. There were a few colorful characters at the park, though, so I was ready to take Gage home pretty quickly. That afternoon we went to a little send-off party at Park Forest Apartments for the Chamberlains, Newmans, and Gublers, who will all be leaving the ward within the next couple of months. It's sad to see them go.

Saturday evening, we had the long-awaited Nacho Party as a belated celebration of Matt Hansen's completion of boards just before Spring Break. Cegan made her delicious nachos (definitely the highlight of the evening), then we ate banana splits and watched Nacho Libre. I will admit, I laugh during that movie, but when it's over, I wonder why I spent the last two hours watching it. More entertaining than the movie itself were Parker and Matt while they watched it. It's a boy humor kind of movie.

I forgot to mention . . . Parker stayed home with Gage Saturday morning and let me go do initiatories at the temple. It was a wonderful experience to be in the temple again. I was impressed by how many blessings the Lord is eager to give His children. The temple feels like home and reminds me that I am here on Earth with the goal of returning Home again. I want my daily life to be a reflection of that goal.

Gage is cuter than ever. You can usually find him with one sock on and one sock off (and many times without socks at all) because he is constantly kicking his little legs. He'll almost always give Mom and Dad smiles and coos, and pretty readily too, but he's still a little more reserved around other people. He's doing a good job of putting weight on his legs when we stand him up, and he holds his head up like a champ (most of the time). His latest thing is gnawing on his right hand, just below his thumb. He's trying hard to find something to suck on in that vicinity, and we're pretty sure we'll have a thumb sucker on our hands soon. We just moved him to his real bedroom and to his real crib this week, and he's doing pretty well. So far, there are no really noticeable differences in how he sleeps. Let's be honest: the change was harder for me than it was for him. Sigh. I am learning to be a progressively less paranoid mother though. So yay for that.

Here are some pictures from the week:

I have had this idea to do some kind of salad for dinner once a week in an effort to eat healthier, but it usually doesn't happen. It did this week though! We had Cobb salad, inspired by Stephanie, who introduced it to us when she and Weston visited Mesa last year. Delicious.

On the way to Parker's basketball game Friday evening. I couldn't resist snapping a picture of him in this little jacket and hood. He's too adorable for words.

It was National Siblings Day this week! I love all five of mine and am grateful for their friendship and for each of their unique personalities. They make my life richer and more blessed because they're apart of it.