Books..

I've recently been into reading...... I never have been a big reader but for Christmas my mom gave me a book and that got things going for me I guess.... just some thoughts I had about a couple books...
Book #1..

What an amazing prophet we have! He is such an example of dedication, sacrifice,and of service. I always have liked listening to him. I remember as a little girl listening to his stories at conference when he would talk, there is something to be said about his stories they have way of drawing you in and you walking away feeling like you need to go doing something great for someone...or at least that is how I feel.

Book #2...

BOOK OF MORMON

I'm doing a challenge with the young women to read the book of Mormon... I'm trying to help with personal progress.One of the requirement is that you read the Book Of Mormon...I have already got my necklace when I was in Young Women's,but I'm trying to earn my honor bee as well.

Also, at work there is a sweet girl named Margret who use to be Mormon and is very much a Bible girl now. Sometimes, I feel like she know her stuff more than I do and I am the Mormon. She will get very deep into things and question things that are logical questions and I think we all have thought of them but there are just somethings that we don't have answers to and it's by faith that we believe right? Well...The other day, I came home in tears feeling like I was being interrogated with the questions I was very unsure of, feeling very uneasy and feeling kinda numb inside.. I talked with Dale and let him know I had never had this in my life and didn't like the way I was feeling... not that I was questioning what I believed but I felt like I didn't really know my stuff.. Dale was cute and said he would pull out the missionary discussions and help me work through it.... it has been a blessing to read the scriptures with him every night and have a good discussion.. A couple weeks later, Dale was released from Executive Secretary and put in as work mission leader.... what a blessing it has been to go back to the basic of the gospel and help me feel more comfortable talking about the church with this girl and helping me gain a greater testimony.

Book #3....

My dad got this book a while back and he refers to it every once and awhile and I've been very impressed from what he has talked about in it so I started reading that too... Man, this guys had a rough life, But he was always was trying his best and never giving up, he worked so hard... The book couldn't have a better and more fitting title.

Random Pictures....

Some fun random pictures:

Stella loves the Gerber cookies...we think different they are soo messy. Sometimes we will put Stella in the highchair while doing things in the kitchen. The other day Dale gave her a bag of chocolate cookies to play while he was getting him a snack, the next thing Dale knew she had the bag open and eating the chocolate. oops!

She loves this dog! Marissa her cousin gave it to her for Christmas.

Kinda makes me sad my baby is growing up!

having some fun with the nerf glasses!

She is our little book girl! At night we try and read a book before we put her down for bed. She has so much expression and gets so excited when we read to her.

FaMiLy FuN!....

For President's Day, we did a mini vacation to Salt Lake. We had a great time, it was so fun to go do something and spend some quality family time.

We visited Temple Square...

We went and watched a movie and walked around.

This was Awesome! The sister missionaries were telling us that they have a lot of people that come to temple Square and ask questions about the temple... why is everything a secret...etc... and so they made this replica of what the temple looks like and they have little video's around that tell about each section of the temple.

We visited Clarks Planetarium and saw a U2 laser show....

Dale and I are still trying to decided if it was a good idea that we took Stella to this... she did great but we hope we didn't make her deaf (from all the loud music), and make her a little motion sick from all the lasers and the different ways they were going... (We did get back to the hotel and she did throw up so I'm thinking it may have.) Sorry baby girl!

We visited the Aquarium...

You could pet the stingray

Dale and I loved the penguins! I've only ever saw them in pictures...AMAZIng!

Stella would do this cute little face and start shaking her little body every time she saw something move in the water.

She loves to be on Dad's shoulders. Up were she can see everything!

The aquarium was GREAT! Who knew there were so many variety of fish & seahorses. They also had snakes, spiders...dale's favorite :) sea turtles, octopus and a crocodile!

For brunch we went to Village Inn....

It wouldn't be a trip with out a little shopping :).... we all found a few things. We went to Gateway and a couple other stores but my my favorite was Target..I bought Stella the cutest swim suit and we got her some shoes. (It is a good thing Dale was with me.. other wise I think I could have bought everything in Target for her.) On the way home we stopped and visited Dana and the boys' and their new home. It's always fun to visit with family and a good end to our little trip!

IMaginAtion....

I love my family... today my sisters showed up to make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, Bryce didn't have school today & came along... Us girls started making cookies and Bryce was the little care taker of Stella. She loves her uncles so much! They really look out for her and I love watching them with her. Bryce has quite the imagination. He loves to play little games with Stella, whether it be dressing her up, making her giggle or doing little things like this with Stella.....

I couldn't resist getting a snap shot of this. We got quite the giggle out of this. The imaginary mind of a kid! She honestly would sit in this thing for hours and would just love to be pulled around....who knew a jump rope, laundry basket could be so much fun...Oh to be a kid again.

7 months..

I am honestly loving this little one more and more every day! This 6 months and older stage is awesome! Stella is very smiley and giggle right now... we love night time... she gets so silly when it's time for bed, she will just start laughing at really random things. Dale and I get such a kick out of it. She is becoming very independent. She is wanting to try and feed herself, my friend said it best.. The phase of "growing curiosities". I feel like she is having to check out everything and test it out! She has started clicking her tongue, she is attempting to crawl (she is sooo close she will get on all 4 and then she will face plant), when she gets excited her arms go start out and she will shake her little face, She has such expression with her face. She is in this little phase of screaming when she wants something...I guess that is her way of communicating. I'm trying to teach her a few words in sign language instead of screaming we will see how it goes. She loves to be sang to, when I start to sing to her she will do a little singing herself. She loves her nursery rhyme book & is learning to shake her pointer finger when we sing no more monkeys jumping on the bed.

Happy Valentines Day!

For Valentine's this year we spent it with some friends... had a yummy Valentine's dinner, we played some really fun games and had some good laughs... Thanks everyone for a really good time! We played the newly wed game, the ladies put on lipstick and had to see how many kisses they could give their honey in 15 seconds and our favorite you had to open a candy with your partner only using your mouth..

Look at all these handsome fella's with all their kisses!

So, this year I was trying to think of all the cute and cleaver ways to say Happy Valentine's and that I love you to Dale. This is what I came up with...

very cheesy... but it came from the heart!

HomEmaDe Valentine...

This year, I decided that I would make our Valentines cards for the grandparents... I wish I could say that I came up with this idea on my own but a neighbor gave the idea. I think it turned out so cute! (Thanks Stephanie for the idea.)

Steal of a Deal....

Look what I found on Screaming Deals...... we've been looking to get Stella a high chair for a while but I couldn't believe how much they were and didn't really want to spend that much on one. I just happen to be looking at my e-mail the other day and found this one for 49.oo..... regular 140.00, I was so excited...it was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up!

Stella really enjoys the highchair... she loves being up high and being able to see what is going on, I have to say we enjoy it a little more as well... the bumbo was getting a little to dangerous for her she would arch her back and we were afraid she would fall off the counter.

A Big Thank YOu!

Today is my day off..... and I just wanted to take a minute to put a big thanks out there to EVERYONE! It seems like lately my heart is so full of thanks for everything! I love my neighborhood, I love the girls in my ward and for the friendships I have made and continue to make, I love being a part of the Young Women's Program..I love my beehives and see the struggles they have to make and wish the best for them, and to always stay strong in this crazy world! I'm grateful for the church, where would we be without it! A prophet who is amazing.. I'm reading his book To The Rescue right now..... what a inspiring man! I'm grateful for my testimony and for Christ and his sacrifice for us. I'm grateful for families... grateful for my mom and Dale's mom they are a great help with Stella right now while I'm working and always have a great listening ear. I'm grateful for DAD's, who work so hard to provide for families they are awesome, for brothers who truly are the greatest blessing and it what made our ElliS family complete, I'm grateful for younger and older sisters (my SIL) and the friendships I have made with ALL of them. I'm grateful for a wonderful, hardworking and caring husband who truly is amazing, I love his happy go lucky personality and wish to be more like him everyday. I'm grateful for beautiful Stella she makes me so happy! We love to hear her getting up in the morning and race to who is going to get her up out of bed... I just love to hold her and hear her giggles and to see her smile... I'm gald that we can be a forever family!
Thanks everyone you guys are amazing and I'm truly blessed to have ALL of you in my life!

Deja vu.....

Church ball......Didn't we go through something like this last year, around this time with church ball??...It was getting close to the end of the game when I noticed that the game had stopped I didn't think anything of it... kept entertaining Stella and then I look back up to see Dale and the Sport person coming toward me...Dale having his hands up toward his face and notice blood all over!! I think oh no big deal just a bloody nose, I go to check on him. At first, I just see a whole lot of blood and think I hope he didn't break his nose as I get closer to check things out I see that it's right above his eye lid. We take him into the bathroom & wash him up and try to get the bleeding to stop..Dale isn't feeling the best at this point and starts to get very qweezy around his own blood. We finally get him to where his was not feeling yucky and I look at it one more time & told Dale we would be visiting the doctor. The guys are like he will be fine just do super glue..(typical guy!) Maybe if it would have been anywhere else but his was around his eye.We have insurance and we mine as well use it was my thought.

We had an awesome Doctor stitching Dale up & great nurses... I don't know if it was because it was getting late but we all couldn't stop laughing I think we all had the sleepy silly's. Overall experience at Instacare was great!

5 stitches... a very big headache & a little black and blue...I'll take these battle wounds over last years any day! Dale says that he is highly thinking twice about church ball and doesn't know if he should play anymore...he thinks he is may retire...We will see if that really happens!

6 month pictures...

We had AshleyMae take some pictures of Stella at 6months. Stella wasn't really in the mood to have pictures taken, but she was a great sport and Ashley did amazing with what she had to work with. Thanks! Here are a few of our favorites:

I'm so grateful that I have an opportunity to be a mom to this sweet little girl! I heard this quote once and I think it to be very fitting.... I've carried a child with in my body, I have comforted a baby on my chest. I've kisses booboos, been puked on, peed on, woke up in the middle of the night to a feverish child & more. But I wouldn't have it any other way. My body isn't magazine perfect but when I look in the mirror... I see a mom and there is no greater honor or blessing. I LOVE BEING MOMMY SO MUCH!!

Thanks Buzz..

My little brother Bryce said something the other day and I thought it was so cute. I went to pick up Stella and he said, Well it looks like Stella is doing better... What did you do? I said nothing she just snapped out of things. Bryce says.. " Or you just stopped confusing her, I was like what does that mean.... He said " Well, no offense but I wouldn't want to eat if I was her either, now wonder why she was confused you would give her a bottle one time, then a sippy and then a cup..poor girl she didn't know which one to take." I told him I was doing that because I didn't want her to end up in the hospital with dehydration because she wouldn't drink... He said to be "Whatever, im just saying." Kids had a way of lightening the mood and making you laugh. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have brothers to set me straight...


Stella is doing a lot better this week...She is taking a bottle GREAT, I am only nursing her morning (sometimes) and night time. She has become very independent when taking the bottle she doesn't like to be held and wants to just sit up in the boppy. It's cute but makes me very sad...she growing up way to fast!