Mid Morning Musings...

It's been awhile since I updated this here blog. I apologize! Especially since the last post was on, none other than, feet.

Awesome.

I'll do better from here on out!

Claire turns 8 months next Thursday. Holy sha-moley. She's getting so big too! She isn't crawling yet, but she rolls everywhere and anywhere. She has 3 teeth now, and two are totally snaggle teeth. Poor kid. She LOVES graham crackers, cheerios, bananas, pears, apple sauce, carrots and sweet potatoes. She also loves it when I feed her any kind of potato product- french fries, mashed potatoes, hash browns, potato chips (gotcha! don't worry, not feeding her those yet) and she loves ice cream. But then again, who wouldn't love ice cream? I mean really, who are we kidding? She has started to eat rice cereal and oatmeal again (yay!) after a 2 month hiatus. We keep experimenting and she keeps eating, so we're happy. She also loves to make noises with her mouth. Namely "farty" noises. I'm blaming Dallin for that particular trait. Apparently he got frequent notes and or phone calls from teachers at school telling Jeff and Valerie that he was disrupting the class with all of the noises he made with his mouth. Funny thing is, he still makes silly noises now. Some things will never change. :)

Memorial Day was wonderful. We were able to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Mathews grave in Pasco and then we went to Othello where we saw Grandpa Calaway and Shiloh's grave as well as Grandma and Grandpa Courtney's grave (Grandma Jane Calaway's parents), and great Grandma and Grandpa Kent's grave. Then we spent the rest of the day with Valerie's family at her parents house. Grandpa Kent gave us a ride in his buggy (sooo cool!!) and we ate too much deliciousness. Of course, I didn't take ANY pictures the entire time we were there, so all you get to see are the gravesites. Sorry.

Flowers at my Grandma and Grandpa Mathews grave. That peony was so beautiful.

Can you believe my grandparents were married in 1929?? So crazy. Another crazy thing- my grandpa was born in 1906! My dad's grandma was born in 1902. So, my great grandma Burton was only 4 years older than my Grandpa Mathews. Pretty insane!

A HUGE thank you to the service men and women in our Country. I am so grateful for all those who have sacrificed their time, their families, and for some, their lives, so we can enjoy the freedoms here in America. We are truly blessed.

I've been touched, inspired, awed, moved, and somewhat melancholy as I have been reading Natasha's blog. Can we say, wow? She's amazing. Her positive attitude about her 2 year old daughter fighting cancer is just incredible. What an example of faith and trust in the Lord. I think an auction to raise money for their family might be in the near future, so stay tuned. I will give you all the details once we figure everything out. It will be here in Pasco and I know there will be amazing things donated, so get excited. Plus, there is no better cause than to help a family in such a time of need as this.

Dallin got accepted to Willamette University for the Fall 2011 MBA program! Yay! He also got a scholarship, which we are super stoked about. Dallin is such a stud, wouldn't you agree? :) I am so proud of him. He works so hard and provides so well. Claire and I are the luckiest girls in the world! We just sent in our deposit check to tell Willamette we will be attending this fall, so it looks like we have two more years in Salem. We're so excited to start (and, might I add, finish) :) this next phase of life. Grad school, here we come!

I feel so blessed to live this life that I do. I often have these words run through my mind each day, "Because I have been given much, I too must give. Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live. I shall divide my gifts from Thee with every brother that I see, who has the need of help from me." I try to provide an act of service each day to show my Heavenly Father how truly thankful I am for all he has done for me.

So, that's pretty much all the wonderfulness going on in our lives. Oh, and here are some great pictures, because really? What would a post be without pictures of my sweet babe??