Good Morning to You!

Don't you wish you were this happy to get up in the morning?

This was the most amazing bed head day yet!

Guess what came to my house today?

Twilight! I am quite excited, even though one of our discs doesn't worked, and I'm a little bugged, but we'll go exchange it or something. What made me even more excited was to come home from running errands today, to find Eric, sitting on the couch watching it by himself! And that totally made my day! :)

Tampa it is.

Yes, Eric served his mission in Tampa, Florida, and we'd love to go back to visit, but that isn't what we're talking about. Our new crib has arrived! (It's part of the Tampa line) Thankfully it didn't take the two to four weeks that they expected. It only took a week. It isn't the one I really loved, but I like it a lot more than I thought I did, and it looks really nice, and is very sturdy. But most importantly, Hallie sleeps great in it, like she does just about anywhere. :) We are definitely happy with it.

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

...and 7 months old!
Though, few people can actually say this, the Patterson family actually is Irish. We even have a little red headed leprechaun to prove it. :) Eric's family came from Ireland four or five generations ago, and he is very proud of it. Though I, myself, haven't found any Irish decent, I guess I can claim it too right? (The closest I've found is Welsh, but I know it is very different.)

Anyway, today Hallie is seven months old! Good timing eh? I swear, months keep getting faster!

This is how Hallie has been over the last few days. She has had a huge head cold, and just hasn't felt well. Luckily today she hasn't had a fever and is wanting to play and eat, but she still has a really bad runny nose. Poor girl.

Other excitement in the last month

Hallie...

-is rolling all over the place
-LOVES sweet potatoes, but squash still isn't her thing (she'll eat it though, so we give it to her)
-is such a good eater
-When Eric took her to the doctor on Saturday she was 16 lbs. 10 oz.
-is still sleeping in the pack n play, we're waiting on her crib to come in
-I think is finally not wearing any of her 0-3 months clothes...there may still be a couple
-is becoming quite the Mommy's girl
-LOVES to be outside, and look out the window
-hates having her fingernails clipped
-still loves bath time
-loves to play with Grandma and Grandpa while I go to school
-will sit up if SHE wants too (which isn't too often), but she gets distracted by her toes
-likes to suck on her toes
-is still our little finger sucker, except since she has had this stuffy nose and can't
-doesn't want to miss anything, she will get mad if we leave her on the floor in the living room and we're in the kitchen (yes, she gets that from me)
-loves to be sung too
-loves books, and even turns the pages
-covers her head with a blanket when she sleeps
-is such a good baby

Thar's all I can think of for now, I'm sure there i s a lot more. But we sure do love our red headed seven month old!

Little things, mean a lot

A cute little story I don't want to forget.

On Thursday I sat down in Humanities like any other day. There is a cute little 74 year old man, with a soft, raspy voice who sits in front of me, he and his wife bring their trailer up here during the school year so that he can finish his bachelors degree. I take notes for him, because he can't read his own handwriting. He turned around to talk to me for a minute, I apologized I hadn't sent him my notes yet, thinking that's what he was going to ask about. But he just smiled and told me about his daughter, and how much he loves her, and that she makes pizza every other Friday night, and he would really like us to come over for dinner the next night. Of course, my first thought was, I don't know if that would be awkward, or if he had asked his daughter if we could come, but I just said "Oh, we'd love to, let me double check our schedule and see what we have going tomorrow and I'll let ya know for sure." Kind of with the intention that we would not go, but I still wanted to be nice and not hurt his feelings. But the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized how much he wanted us to come, how much it would mean to him if we would come, and I really began to feel like we needed to go. So Friday night, we get in the car to head up to his daughters house, we get out of the car, feeling a little awkward, and walk up to the house. We knock on the door, and his young granddaughter's answer, we asked for John, and he promptly came around the corner, with a HUGE grin on his face, so excited to see us, and introduce us to his family. I don't think I will ever forget the look on his face, it truly did make his day. We spent the next hour, meeting his family and wife, and eating, possibly, the best homemade pizza ever. At one point, his daughter pulled me aside and thanked me for helpping her dad at school, and that she really worries about him at school, and that people aren't nice to him, and that he was so excited for us to come. She told us we were welcome to come over for pizza night anytime, because she didn't know how else she could re-pay us. It really hit me then, that these little things can really bless not only those we serve, but the people they love too. To me taking 15 minutes to type up my notes and e-mail them to him is not a problem at all, and actually really benefits me hugely, because it gives me a good excuse to review my notes before a test comes up. I am constantly amazed that as we serve those around us, our needs are met. This is such a great lesson to me, and a good reminder that those little acts of service can make a huge impact, even if we do not think we are benefiting anyone. I can definitely be better at doing this, but it really was such an eye openning experience to me, that you REALLY can make a difference.

Our New Friend

Here is our new penguin friend, isn't he cute? :) Hallie has had a monster stuffy nose, and a little bit of a cough, so last night we treked out to Target, and bought her a humidifier. I am actually quite impressed with it. They had all sorts of different animals, but Eric and Hallie decided on the penguin, he was the most normal looking one. I wish I could say it solved all of our issues, but Hallie hardly even slept last night, let alone in her bed. So not only were we moving Hallie around, we were moving her new penguin friend too. We're going to try keeping on during the day today too, and see if that helps while she is playing and napping.

Any Brilliant Ideas?

So, as you now know, we are in the process of buying a new crib. The one hold up...we have to buy it at Babies R Us, because that is the only place the recall voucher can be used at. We found one that we both loved, only to find out it was discontinued. Then we found another one at Babies R Us that we like, but I just don't love it. But, being the girl that I am, I just HAD to go and look elsewhere, and of course I found the perfect crib. Babies R Us just doesn't have anything I LOVE, there is one we will probably end up getting, I like it, but I just don't love it. You know what I mean? I called Babies R Us today, and they said even though they carry the other brand of crib, they do not carry that style, and could not even special order it in. I know we can't just ignore that the manufacturer of our old crib is sending us a coupon for more than half the price of a crib, but I still want it to be a crib I love. Anybody have a brilliant idea? I'm sure we'll just end up getting the one that I don't love as much, but whatever. I figured it was worth a shot.

The discontinued one

The 2nd place one (the one we'll probably end up with)
VERY similar to the one I LOVE

(the one I love doesn't have quite the ornate details, and it has wider slats)

Loungy Lizard

Daddy's Girl

Bye Bye Crib

Saturday was a sad day at our house, Hallie woke up from her last night in her crib. (It will forever be HER crib :)) After we got her up, I took all the bedding off, and then Eric took the crib apart and shipped the pieces back to the manufacturer. Our crib got recalled, and we've been putting off taking our crib apart, knowing that Hallie would have to sleep in the pack-n-play for a long while, until we can get a new crib. But more so, I think Eric and I both, were sad to see it go, and we tried many ways to get around having to get rid of it. We both LOVE our crib, and are quite attached to it sentimentally. I know this sound silly, but no other crib will be the same. It's the crib we brought our baby home too, the crib Eric was so excited to put together, what we planned her nursery around, the crib I spent hours making bedding for, and the thing that made it real that we really were having a baby. I mean I understand it is just a piece of furniture, easily replaced, but it just won't be the same. It is just a frustrating situation, but it must be done. So here is the last picture of Hallie in her crib...ever.

The 129th Temple of the Lord

"And it shall come to pass in their last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."
-Isaiah 2:2-3

A new temple was built in Draper and before the dedication, which is next week, it is open to members and non-members alike to tour. So on Thursday we went with my parents, Kelsie, Rob, Lizzie, and Emi, to do a tour. What a neat experience, and a beautiful building. It is amazing the peace and spirit that is felt there, even before it is dedicated. It truly is the house of the Lord.

I, like my sister, loved Elder Holland's part in the video you see before you tour the temple. In it he talks about heaven, and what a great place it will be. But then he stopped briefly, got a little teary-eyed, then said "but it would not be heaven if my family was not there with me." This truly is one of the most amazing blessings of the temple, we truly can be together forever, an eternal family. I know this is true and this knowledge is irreplacable to me, and brings me so much peace in this life. We will see those we love again after they pass on, and can be with them for eternity.

This is a neat interview with Elder Ballard & Elder Cook on ABC, about the temple, it's purposes, there is some neat pictures of the inside of the Draper Temple too. It is titled Mormon Temple Revealed
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=6616644

If you are curious about the temples, please visit:
http://www.lds.org/temples/faq/0,11264,1904-1,00.html

Or about our beliefs as members of the LDS church, please visit:
http://www.mormon.org/

Tag! You're it!

Here are the Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know they're tagged by leaving them a comment.

8 Favorite TV shows
1. The Biggest Loser
2. Jon & Kate Plus 8
3. Reba
4. The Cosby Show
5. Home Improvement
6. Little People, Big World
7. The Food Network in general
8. Studio 5

8 Things I did yesterday
1. Went to the Draper Temple open house
2. had lunch with my parents at One Man Band
3. took a family nap :)
4. went to class
5. took a humanities test
6. made Pasta-Roni for dinner (real fancy I know)
7. read some profiles for the Miss Springville pageant (it's true I'm going to be judging it)
8. did the dishes

Things I look forward to
1. SPRING
2. Summer
3. having a house
4. graduating
5. getting our tax return
6. a trip to Italy...someday
7. Twilight coming out on DVD :)
8. getting a puppy

8 Favorite Resturants
1. Archibald's at Gardner Village
2. Gloria's Little Italy
3. Brick Oven
4. Macaroni Grill
5. Cafe Rio
6. Olive Garden
7. Cold Stone...does that count? :)
8. Joe Vera's

8 Things on My Wish List
1. a new car
2. to be done with school so I can stay home with Hallie
3. a sewing machine
4. to be able to get the new crib I want, since ours was recalled
5. being financially secure
6. to become a great cook
7. to be a good runner...maybe
8. for my house to take care of itself :)

Now I tag YOU!
Angela, Amy, Trina, Kaitlin, Ela, Diana, Callie, Kara

This is what Hallie thought about squash...

...at least the first time. She eats is just fine now. But I seriously thought she was going to throw it all back up. Then she wouldn't eat her rice, I think she was afraid I was going to sneak some squash in. What a funny little girl.

Hallie's Hideouts

Our little monkey is rolling all over the house now! She can get pretty much anywhere she wants. Her current favorite is to roll under the coffee table and grab the wood. But she also has managed to roll herself under the armchair, and create a little fort there too. What a crazy little girl!