The Most Wonderful Thing about Tigger!

Zoie has a best friend. It's weird to think that she can have one, cause she loves kids in general and will play anyone. Altough when it comes to Ivy, she gets super excited to play with her. I will mention "Do you want to play with Ivy" and she gets a smile on her face and starts stomping her feet up and down with excitement. Its so cute.  A couple weeks ago we were over at Ivy's playing. She has this tigger toy that bounces up and down and Zoie loves it and wants to bounce with tigger all the time. So the most wonderful thing about tigger is he keeps Zoie happy and in a good mood! Here is a video I took of her "bouncing." Enjoy.

Awww... Moment for Ryan

A few weeks ago, Zoie was sick with a stuffy nose and so she couldn't breath well when she went to bed. She has been sleeping through the night for some time now, but not since she got sick (she does now again, thank goodness!). But when she wasn't I would go get her and cuddle with her in her room in the rocking chair until she fell asleep again. Once she was asleep I would put her down in her bed and she would wake up crying, so I decided that the only way for me to get to sleep was to bring her into bed with us (I usually don't do this, but under the circumstance, I did).When I did that she was out and I was able to get some sleep. Ryan got up early the next morning to get ready for work and while he was getting ready he saw us and thought that it was sweet how we were asleep together in bed. So, he took a picture with his phone, not the best quality picture but you can see us and get the idea. It was one of the many "Awww... moments for Ryan!"

Staying STRONG in the STORMS of Life

We live in a world and time that makes us question whether we matter or not and whether we belong or not. This feeling makes living life difficult. This feeling also makes the challenges and hardships we face unbearable. Then we come to wonder and question if the Lord knows us, loves us, and wants us to be happy. Having thought, pondered, and questioned all of these things at some point in my life, I am here to tell you, "YOU MATTER TO HIM!" I have developed a stronger testimony and belief of that saying, thanks to President Dieter F. Uchtdorf. President Uchtdorf is a member of the First Presdiency and spoke on this topic this past October General Conference. I am going to share my thoughts and feelings that I had while listening to his talk. I challenge you to read, listen, or watch  his talk and write the impressions you feel and come to know and understand that the Lord loves you and that YOU MATTER TO HIM!!!

• The more I learn about the universe the more I learn about God.
• King Benjamin tells me to, “always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and [my] own nothingness.” (Mosiah 4:11, with emphasis added)
• I am the reason God created the universe. He created the universe so there was a way I could be saved and exalted.
• Everything created in the world is for my benefit and to help me reach my full potential.
• I am EVERYTHING to God.
• God's greatest desire is to help me reach my full potential. I must allow Him to help me when I need it.
• My true value and purpose has little to do with the what the world is thinking of me. I matter to God.
• I need to learn to become as a child and in-turn will feel the Lords love for me, personally.
• When I serve others, I am serving God and showing my love for Him.
• What matters to God is when I do the best I can, my heart is towards Him, and I am willing to serve Him.
• My actions are a living witness of my strong faith in God.
• I must ALWAYS remember I matter to Him.
• If I ever doubt that I matter, I need to consider these 4 divine principles:
• God loves the humble and meek.
• The Lord entrusts the fullness of his gospel to be proclaimed by the weak and simple to the ends of the earth.
• No matter the situation or circumstance, I am not invisible to Heavenly Father. He loves and knows me.
• What I see and experience now is not what forever will be.
• I must have hope and faith in Him.
• I need to learn to LOVE.
• I need to come to understand my true eternal worth and potential.

Those are all my thoughts I felt throughout President Uchtdorf's talk. I know that when I am struggling with so many difficult STORMS in my life, and that if I stay STRONG the Lord will help me get through them. When I let Him help me out, I come to know, feel, and understand that I really do MATTER TO HIM and He loves me. I know if you will come to do the same you will know you matter to Him. I know that God is real and is always ready with a stretched out arm to lift me up when I am down. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Halloween Costume

Zoie was a ladybug for Halloween. She absolutely loved this costume. She would get upset when I would take it off of her. That is how much she loves this costume. We now use it for her pajamas, one because its soft and warm, two because she won't let us take it off. hehehe.... :) Funny girl. Zoie loved trick or treating and being able to have a few pieces of candy. I think mostly loved seeing other kids run around with her.

Carving Pumpkins

Its been a while and I am so sorry. Time to catch you all up on our family life. Sunday, October 30th we carved our pumpkins. It was a lot fun. Zoie enjoyed it a lot. Took a while to stick her hand in the pumpkin, but after she did, she couldn't stop. Here are our pumpkins. Happy Halloween! :)

Sneak Peak

Sunday we had our family pictures taken for the fall. I love to take family pictures and look back and see the changes over the months. Zoie was a grump pretty much the entire time, but inspite all that we had lots of fun and got some good shots. Here is one of our favorites. More to come as soon as we get them.

Dance...Dance...Dance

When Zoie hears music, people singing and such she gets a big smile on her face. Following that smile is a bunch of dancing. She dances so cute and its so much fun. Enjoy this video of Zoie showing off her mad dancing skills! {sorry I don't know how to rotate the video right side up.}