Cheeks

Don't you just want to eat them?

Sometimes I will feed the little kikster her baby food, which now has small chunks in it, and as I put the spoon up to her mouth after having given her several bites she will spit out a load of tiny chunks she has been hiding in her cheeks.

What a little chipmunk.

Missionary's Day

For most it is considered Mother's Day, but ever since little Elder Nimer left on his mission it has seemed like Missionary's Day to me. The whole day seems to revolve around when we get to call him, how can we set it up so we can all hear him, who is coming over to talk to him, how long does he get to talk, what should we remember to ask him, etc. etc. etc. Not to take away from celebrating the wonderfulness of my own Mom and my second Mom(because really they are some of the greatest women you will ever meet), but seriously these last two Mother's days have been the best ever! And no it is not because I am now a mom myself, but because we get to talk to our fabulous Elder Nimer, this being one of only two chances per year we get to do that. There is something so amazing about hearing from one of our Heavenly Father's spiritual soldiers reporting straight from the front lines. His obedience and dedication is inspiring to me (The sweet kid made sure we didn't go one second over the time he was allotted to talk to us). After hearing from him I always want to make sure I am trying to live each day a little better, a little more directed by the spirit.

We were not able to go to St. George so we had to work out a plan in order for Wes and I to get in on the conversation. After a rocky start, we finally ended up calling Jan's cell phone which she placed by the speaker phone at my parents house and we were able to hear him. We got to talk for a bit, but it was hard for him to hear us and rightly so we were using four phones in all to make the connection.

I am happy to report he is doing so great!! He is now in Nottingham, England which is very fitting considering the boy loved all things Robin Hood when he was growing up. He is now the zone leader and very busy. I would say he is picking up on the culture as he has developed a slight accent and has worn skinnier Europeanesque ties. He has given talks in church and people have asked what part of England he is from (now that is fitting in!). The only thing that sticks out are his well cared for teeth. I'm told things are pretty nasty in the oral department over there.

So for the last time, for a long time, (I assume, unless someone pulls a fast one on me) I have enjoyed my Mother's day/Missionary's day phone call and have resolved to be a little better each time I have heard from a young man so close to the spirit, giving his time and talents to share the gospel and build the kingdom (in the United Kingdom ha!). We are now on the countdown downhill. We have about ten months until Ryan comes home. I just can't wait for him to meet Halle. She did not cooperate during the phone call. All she did was whine and then fell asleep. I was really hoping she would babble for him, but the kiddies never seem to perform when the video camera is out and when you want them to the most.

We love you Elder Nimer!

JB

Last weekend our family took a short trip down to St. George to attend the blessing of our adorable nephew Jake Bodine. He is such a sweet little newborn. He will just lay in your arms and look at you and slowly fall asleep. I didn't have this experience very often with Halle because she has been on the go from the day she was born and always had to be facing out and moving. I say she was born with spunk! It was so fun to hold a tiny warm baby, little JB is just adorable. Halle loved spending time with her grandma, but she did have a little jealousy problem. Every time she saw grandma holding Jake she would crawl over to her and start to whine until grandma picked her up. She loved JB and we had to hold her back from clawing his face off. The blessing was so beautiful and sweet. I am so glad we were able to be there for it. Jake looked like a little stud in his white suit. It was such a great weekend and a nice break before Wes headed back to school this week.