To Nursery She Will Go

I can hardly believe my little Rosie is 18 months old!  Wow, time is absolutely flying by, and it gets so much faster with each kid.  Little Rosalie is 18 months old, and today was her first, official day in nursery at church.  Kris has been taking her in each Sunday for an hour (he has her the 2nd hour, I take her for the 3rd hour), just to acclimate her to the faces and routine.  It hasn't gone well if he's ever left her, so I was *real* worried about today.  It's been getting increasingly difficult to have her Primary with me, because she only has a two foot radius to walk around in and she gets to frustrated.  Not to mention if Kris and I both have to teach Elders Quorum and Sharing Time for the third hour (which has happened).  SO....today was the big day.  I had a friend tip me off that I should have one of my kids walk her into nursery so she doesn't have to deal with parental detachment...and it worked like a charm.  I hung back and watched from the sidelines as Marin waked her in; Rosie hesitated for a minute, but Marin encouraged her to play with a toy and all was well.  We only needed a diaper change about halfway through, but no crying, no screaming, it was bliss!

I tried to get a picture on the couch after church....riiiight.

Nope, mama, I'm getting down.

I'm hungry, and I want a bottle, and my bed, so let's get things rolling, k?

We have these four flowering trees on our property that I look forward to seeing every spring.  Each one is different and so perfect.  This white one is in the chicken run.  It blooms first and I had to snap pictures today, because I know the blooms will be done soon.

 This light pink one is in our back yard, and has the most beautiful, light pink blooms, best visible from underneath.

Right next to the light pink blooms are the small, purple flowers.  They are tiny, but so perfect!

And lastly, my favorite, this tree in our side yard, right outside our dining room window.  It has bright pink blooms which smell absolutely divine!  The honeybees LOVE these flowers, and so do I!  We had about and inch of snow the other day, and I think it bruised these blooms that were just starting to open up, so they're not as robust as they usually are, but still stunning.

 I am so happy that spring is finally here!  It's been such a long winter, as it is each winter, I suppose.  I just love the growth and new life that spring brings with it, my absolute favorite!

Windy Spring Day at The Temple

I was absolutely itching to get out o the house yesterday, especially after this ridiculous rainy, cold, snowy weather we've had this past week.  Although I do wish it had been a little warmer, it was bright and sunny and so great!  We started out at City Creek Center and walked through the Disney Store first...since it was at the top of the escalators; the kids honed in on that one right away and begged to walk through.  I responded with, "Ok, but NO begging for stuff!".  They did a great job.

Lunch was on the menu next.  Johnny Rocket's was right there, and hey, I love a good hamburger, so Johnny Rocket's it was.

This cute girl had the best time putting the white straw inside the black straw, she though it was pretty cool.

 The servers there make little faces out of ketchup in a small bowl, the kids thought that was awesome-sauce.

 My Marin.  We've been struggling with her lately.  A lot.  So when the good moments are there, we soak them up and pray that will float us through the next bad moment.

 Temple Square.  Sigh!  I know people love Temple Square at Christmastime, and it is pretty, though not as lit up as I have heard it used to be....but I LOVE Temple Square in the spring.  Absolutely love it.  Flowers are near and dear to my heart, they speak to my soul; they speak bright, colorful, tender, fragrant stories of bloom, growth and rest.  They are the quintessence of beauty and life, in my mind.  Flowers are the worlds way of apologizing for a long and dreary winter.  Every winter (around February, in particular) I question the necessity of winter and agonize under gray skies and dead trees, cursing Mother Nature (just a little) for such a terrible season, and cursing Father Time for making it SO long.  And then spring rolls around, and the breeze turns earthy and sweet, and the flowers pop up and the sun bursts through the clouds.....and all is forgiven.  

Tulips.  Tulips must be one of my favorite flowers, so colorful and beautiful! 

 A reflection of the temple.

 Why the kids *really* love coming to Temple Square.  The fountains!!

 Tulips and Trees and Temples....always a perfect combination.

 These three.  They make my life full of *everything*, and I love it.

 Temple Square is no stranger to kisses.

 This girl is 18 months, what!!!  She is at such a fun age, toddling everywhere, giggling, babbling and learning words, it is just so cute to watch her.

We, of course, had to see the Christus at the visitors center.  One thing really stood out to me this time, though I've been many times.  I stood there looking at the statue of Christ, and noticing the beauty of the eternities that surround Him, the stars, the earth, the galaxies, the vast wonderment of things I know nothing about.  And I noticed that out of all the things Christ could be paying attention to, He chooses to look down and notice....us.   His attention is clearly turned to us, his brothers and sisters.  He could be turned and looking at the stars He created, or the galaxy over yonder, or anything else....and He chooses us.  What an inspired statue and room.  I'm sure that my own perspective yesterday wasn't necessarily considered while they designed the room, perhaps it was, but it was most certainly inspired as they decided that Christ's full attention should be faced...not upward to His creations, but down with outspread arms, to us.

 Last stop was the Church History Museum.  They have a cute kids play are in the back, and we've enjoyed playing there before, but it has been completely renovated!  It was cute, but I kind of miss the old activities they used to have.  Here the kids are working on origami birds.

I'm glad it was our last stop, the kids were getting tired and mom and dad were getting tired of dealing with cranky attitudes.  Overall, it was such a fun day out of the house.  It's days like this that I am so grateful for my husband and my kids.