Photos only happen when Oma visits

 Amy is growing up so fast, it sometimes scares me. I don't feel like I've been negligent in noticing her or spending time with her, but in the last two months, she has really become so much more of a little girl and less of a toddler. She carries long conversations with me, and has become so polite -- every morning after I give her breakfast, she says: "Thank you, Mommy, for giving me breakfast"... it stuns me to be thanked for such common place things, but I have to say, it always makes feel loved.

 And if Amy is growing up fast, Esther is doing so at lightening speed -- she has learned so many words in the last two months, there's no point listing them. She's lost the chub off her cheeks and her thighs, making me realize that it's only really her blond, fairly bald head that makes her a baby still in my eyes -- she is now entered the realm of toddler-dom, and I have to get all the snuggles I can out of her before she grows even more. She does still like to be the baby first thing in the morning and be snuggled while she drinks milk from her bottle... but other than that, she wants to do everything Amy does.

 Lena is a precious as ever and a really good-natured baby. She likes to be snuggled, a lot, but has been quite good being schlepped around on walks, in the car and is getting better at napping even though her bedroom is right next to our entry-way to the outside and there are inevitable noises when the girls come in and out. For all who've wondered, we are calling her "Lee-nah", not "Lay-nah". My great-great grandmother who came over from Switzerland actually was a 'Lina' over there, but it got changed once she came here, and that's who she's named for. Lena's starting to smile a lot and coo, which is just as cute as cute can be.

Here's a picture of us when Ryan got back from a business trip to Boston. I am grateful for my Mom and her help -- she's been such a big help over the years, and especially recently. I'm glad she takes photos, because then I can snag them off her blog. I don't always get to the camera myself.

Stand fast in liberty... Happy 4th!

We had Lena Jan's baby blessing this Sunday, and it was very nice to have family and friends there with us. It was a beautiful blessing, and I am so grateful Ryan is worthy to exercise his priesthood and do that. She is such a joy in our lives, and Amy and Esther dote on her so much. We know it's a great blessing to be able to have children in this life, and hope that they can be patient with us with all our foibles as parents. Amy wanted to bear her testimony too, about prayer and how Heavenly Father helps her find things when she loses them (she's very good about praying for help), but when she got up there, she got a bit shell shocked and didn't know what to say.

I love the 4th of July. It's one of my favorite holidays, and I like thinking about what our founding fathers did for us, about the bravery displayed and the ideals expressed. I love the line in the declaration of Independence that men are "endowed with certain unalienable rights, namely life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

In the scriptures, there is a phrase that pops up occasionally -- the admonition that people should 'stand fast in that liberty wherewith God hath made them free' (Galatians 5:1, Alma 58:40; 61:21, Mosiah 23:13). I love that phrase. Ultimate liberty is only possible with God -- liberty from bad habits, sins, sorrows, frustrations, sickness... death. Too often we look elsewhere for help -- self-help books, blogs, etc... yet, all the while, God waits for us with open arms yearning to help us with our problems... to liberate us and have us find eternal life, liberty and true happiness.

I hope that I can remember to get on my knees and ask Him for help more often, and search the scriptures to learn more about Jesus, and find more strength to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith God hath made us free."