So Stinkin' True!

"Life is hard;

it's harder if you're stupid."
-John Wayne

(THANKS CHARLYCE FOR A GOOD LAUGH ON THAT ONE!)

Funny Girl

No one has the ability to get a good chuckle out of me quite like Brynna. Even when she is being serious, she is completely hilarious to me! I came across a couple of old videos going through my camera that just made me laugh again at my funny, little monkey!

I love how she is using her Pez dispenser to season her dish. She does love to watch Food Network! Now she is even more specific about what she will be when she grows up. Instead of a chef she is going to be a cooking teacher! Don't confuse the two or she'll set you straight!

I just love some of the facial expressions this child comes up with. She was learning about this scripture at school, but was completely annoyed that I was asking about it!

SUPER SCORE!!

I could do a jig of joy right now! Justin went into the T-Mobile store this afternoon to adjust our plan. While he was there the customer service guy said that they were running a deal that only 5% of their customers were eligible for. Because we've been good customers for so long he said that we were eligible to get it! So we are getting unlimited, nationwide minutes for $35 a month LESS than what we were paying before! Now is that a super score or what?! So since our home phone is now pointless, I cancelled that as well and will save another $35 there. So basically we get $70 more in our pocket each month and get to gab MORE! I love it when things like this happen!

Brynn n' Quinn

Best buddies Brynn and Quinn! They were hugging and loving on each other and wouldn't hold still for a good picture, but were still so stinkin' cute! The last time we were with the Adamson's, Brynna and Quinn (who are only 3 months apart) were still a little too young to be concerned with each other. But this time, dang they were best buddies! It was so stinkin' cute! Quinn cried when we had to say goodbye! She said "I just want to go with my fwend!" I hope these two are like their mommas and stay 'fwends' for a very long time!

Teethers

I just liked this picture because it shows off Lauryn's cute, little teethers! Man, I just want to squeeze that kid!

Sunday Series: Baptism

I am catching this Sunday's post a little late in the day. It's 9:00 pm and we just got home a short while ago. We decided to make an impromptu trip up to North Carolina to be with our friends, the Adamson's, for their son Jake's baptism. My religion differs from others in the fact that in my faith, you are not baptized as a baby. Rather you wait until you are eight years old or older. Why? It's because we believe that babies and young children are born into this world without sin. Therefore, they have no need to be cleansed of any sins, since they are unable to intentionally commit any. We believe it was revealed by our Father in Heaven, that the age of eight is when a person is old enough to be accountable for their actions and decisions. Jake recently turned eight and made the choice to be baptized by immersion after Jesus Christ's example.

The Adamson's were the first friends we made when Justin and I moved back to Georgia together. Amber was pregnant with Jake at that time. We have grown to love them like family. (In fact, Maryn insists that they are her cousins!) It is so wild to me to think how quickly these past eight years have flown by. Jake has gone from a tiny baby to being the full grown boy he is now. I am so proud of him and the good kid that he is. We gave him a little journal as a baptism gift. On the front page I told him about how I remember the day I was baptized twenty years ago. And how that choice I made as a young, eight year old girl to follow Christ's example and be baptized a member of His true church, has been one that has blessed my life every day since then. I know that as Jake continues to try to pattern his life after our Savior's, he to will find his life richly blessed.

Another Home Remedy!

I don't know if you recall my excitement about the effectiveness of the homemade cleaner I discovered on the internet awhile back. It worked great and saved money. In fact, I'm never going back to store-bought! Well I discovered another easy-peasy, at-home wonder on the internet. Lauryn has had some pretty unsightly cradle cap lately and it's been showing even more now that she's sporting a cute, little pig-tail on top of her head. Maryn had it too as a baby and I remember using a stinky, ineffective and expensive 'natural' store-bought remedy. So I figured I'd poke around a bit before I went and wasted $10 on special, stinky, baby shampoo. The resolution... simple olive oil! Who doesn't have a bottle of that hanging around?! I just massaged a bit into her scalp and worked her head over with a toothbrush in little circular motions. Shampooed it with regular baby shampoo and worked it over with the toothbrush again. Then just threw the toothbrush away. It worked great! No more scaly head and no wasted money.

I find myself being thankful for this opportunity in my life to take being resourceful to a new level. Even if it's as silly as a few dollars saved. I told Justin that I was grateful, now going on four and a half months into his lay-off, for the push it's given me to make being a good steward of our family finances fun. I am certainly not perfect with it, but being prepared and being resourceful has taken a undesirable situation and made it okay. We are continually finding ways we have been blessed to make it work. Our focus has shifted from things that don't matter to being constantly reminded of what really does. I would sign up for this particular speed bump in the road of life all over again, if in the long run, I can count that as a lesson learned.