something cool...

Tonight we were able to go do Baptisms at the Oquirrh Mountain temple. It is opening day for the temple, and it happens to be Tommy and Tori's 12th Birthday. They were so excited. I was able to help Tori in the dressing room, it was special for me as a big sister. We have always been so close. I loved having the opportunity to be there for her first time. Because it was the first day, and because we aren't in the Temple District, they asked us to bring our own names. We had a hard time finding some, then we thought of Mike. He is really into genealogy and we needed to round up around 40 names within two days. We called him up Sunday night to ask him if he had any family names. He said he had a few, but had just given a whole bunch to the youth of their ward. He told us he would work on it though and let us know. Monday afternoon he called us and told us that he had 54 names from Linda's side of the family. There was such a special spirit in the Temple. Not only was it the first day, and Tom and Tori's first time, but we were able to do the work for so many of Corey's ancestors. Mike is allowing us to keep the names and finish all of the ordinances for these people. I love doing the work for strangers, but their is something so special when it is your family. Thank you Mike for getting the names for us and allowing us to keep them! When we were done, and as we were waiting for the names to be recorded upstairs, one of the Temple workers told us a really neat story. He said, "Last night at our last planning meeting, the last question that was asked was, "When do we need to here in the morning?" He then explained that every morning the temple workers have a devotional. He continued the story, "I told them to arrive at 5:30, that will give us a half an hour before the baptistery opens." Another gentleman raised his hand and said, "what if no one is here at 6:00." "I told him, well we will just have to change our clothes and baptisms ourselves." He then said. " I arrived at the temple at a quarter to five, and to my utter disbelief, there were 75 young people lined up at the gate. I rushed in and began rounding up some people. Our first baptism in this temple was a 12 year old young woman at 5:30." He then said that they didn't even have a second to breath the rest of the morning. He said, " We had folding chairs taking up all of the extra space in the chapel, and that still wasn't enough room. We had young people sitting all the way up and down the hallway. It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen." At 2:00 that afternoon. A man came down from upstairs and said "What have you been doing down here?" There reply was, "Doing baptisms!" Then the man said, " I just wanted to let you know that as of right now, this temple has done more baptisms on the first day than any other Temple in the world." We were one of the last groups of the day and there was such an awesome spirit there! I am so grateful I was able to be a part of it!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Dedication

Corey and I had the privilege of attending the Temple Dedication at the Temple. My Dad was able to get us 3 tickets. We went to the 12:00 noon dedication. We were sat in one of the instruction rooms, right by the Celestial room. I felt the spirit so strong, not only were we in the Temple but we were so close to the Prophet. The talks were all so uplifting. I cried the whole time. It was President Monson's Birthday, so every one was wishing him a Happy Birthday. When the dedication was over, we were able to wave at He and President Uchtdorf as they were waiting for the elevator. I love Temple dedications, but this one was most special to me. I feel so proud of my Dad for all of time and hard work he did. I also feel so lucky that I got to be part of the construction process. I am so grateful my Dad let us be a part of something so wonderful with him. It has been so neat to see the process, and humbling to know how much goes into building a temple. It truly is the house of the Lord. I left feeling so uplifted. I need those extra spiritual boosts now and then.

Happy 50th Birthday Dad!

You are the greatest and deserve all the happiness in the world!

We love you so much!

We love Babies...

Meet...

Annie, Suzie, Cindy Lauper, Bob and Weaver

She loves being a mommy and taking care of her babies! She came up with the names Weaver and Annie all on her own, but she had a little help from her daddy with the other names! As you can tell! Anyone who knows Corey well, knows his great taste in names!! As long as we have been married, he has said that it would be so funny if we named our first son The. Obviously he is isn't serious (I hope!), but I do have to give him credit for his creativity! Here is a list of the Top 10 baby names he gave me one Sunday in sacrament meeting: The, Weaver, Billy Bob, Yellow, Pedro, Costco, Parkinsons, Xaiver, Chuck, Mustang. Lets just say, I think I am going to be picking out this baby's name! Back to my original topic. I hope Sophie is as cute with our real baby, as she is with her dolls. I love watching her nurture them. I am also forced to look closely at my parenting, when I see her mimic me when she puts her babies in time out! It is pretty funny but also makes me cautious! I realize now the impact my example has on her life. It is a little bit overwhelming at times. I have had my share of slips, with words I don't want to be a part of her vocabulary, but have often found there way into mine, i.e. freak and crap. I must say though, there are times when I don't feel like a total failure! The other day Corey was looking through a church book with her. As they turned the pages she smartly pointed out all the pictures of Jesus Christ. Towards the end of the book she saw a picture of Joseph Smith, she pointed her finger, said "that's Joseph Smith" and continued on with the rest of the book. Corey was astonished that she knew his name. One thing I am sure of is, Being a Mom is an incredible experience that tests me in every way possible. I am trying so hard to live better every day, so when she grows up she will be a strong women that can raise her children in an even more difficult time. I am so grateful I have such strong women in my life!

Grammy took us to the Zoo...

We went to the zoo with my mom and the kids. It was a beautiful day, the last time we went it was close to 100 degrees. Today the weather was cool and nice. Most of the animals were active. There were a lot of new arrivals. The giraffe had a baby July 30th, it was out on display! It was so cute and tiny (relatively speaking!) Did you know Giraffe mommies are pregnant for 15 months, they give birth standing up and the babies are already 6 feet tall! We also learned the elephant had just had her baby. That was one long pregnancy! 22 months to be exact. I am glad I am not a giraffe or an elephant! We also saw baby meerkats and a snow leopard cub. Sophie finally got to ride the Merry go round. She has been dying to ride it, so we finally let her. She loved it of course and didn't want to get off. It's all she talked about the rest of the day. We love spending time at the zoo!

Good-bye First Trimester...

I am so excited I have finally reached this stage in my pregnancy. I am glad that the worry of miscarriage is farther away in my thoughts. I had a little scare at 9 weeks, but everything turned out to be fine. I am glad the nausea has passed. Now I am just trying to cope with raising a toddler and feeling exhausted all day long. I am sure I will get used to it, and that it is just preparing me for a future with two kids. I am so grateful for Corey, he has been a lifesaver. He is so willing to help me out. He's a stud! I have an appointment on Tuesday and I'm anxious to see how things are going. I don't fit in any of my pants any more, thank heavens for the belly band! I have definitely grown faster with this one. I have had a lot of cramping and growing pains, and have spent a lot of time on the couch. I have also been really emotional. Sometimes I laugh at how many things different things can make me cry. I am so excited for this baby! I can't wait to find out what it is. I am also a little nervous about having two kids but it's going to be a fun adventure!

14 weeks
Sophie is always willing to get her picture taken. I think she is excited about the baby. She keeps looking in my belly button trying to see it. She also says that we are going to take her to Disneyland after the baby comes. She can't wait for it to come so she can go see Mickey! I think she is going to do pretty good, at least that is what I pray for! I love her so much! I am so excited to see how she does as a big sister.

Gateway Fountains...

I went with some friends to the gateway fountains. It was a little bit too chilly for my liking, but we had a really fun time. Sophie was only interested in the fountains for a minute. Upon being sprayed in the face she was pretty much done with that idea. We ate lunch at the food court and shopped for a while. It was a lot of fun, and nice to have a girls day!