Bryce's Birthday

We celebrated Bryce's birthday on his actual birthday.  Novel idea, I know.  His birthday happened to be on a Saturday.  We just hung out and had fun with all of our extended family.  Bryce had a blast and enjoyed everything he received from his awesome aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents, and of course, his parents and sister.  Unfortunately, the cake pictures accidentally got deleted and the camera was being stupid and most of the rest are blurry.

School starts

School started for both kids.  YAY!  Isabella is in first grade and Bryce is in preschool.  Bryce goes every morning for 2 1/2 hours.  Its been nice to go grocery shopping with no kids.  (Sorry about the pictures, I'd forgotten to charge the camera, so they were taken on my phone.)

Isabella's birthday

We let Isabella have a birthday party and invite friends this year.  This is the first time she's been allowed to invite friends.  I think a lot of fun was had by all.  Ken was in charge of games.  Of course, I think all you really need is a large space to run around in and a bunch of balloons and inflatable furniture for them to play with.  And of course, it all ended swimming in the pool.  It was a little cool outside, but luckily no one froze.  We had that party in the afternoon and then we had family over for dinner and more celebrating.  It was a long but fun filled day.  Now we're just waiting on school and preschool to start and then Bryce's birthday.

A year...

Today marks the birthday of my sweet angel baby, Jeremiah.  Its very hard to believe that it has been a year.  This past year has brought so much growth to our faith in our Heavenly Father and in His plan for us.  We know that our Jeremiah must have been meant for a greater mission in heaven.  I truly feel honored that we were entrusted with a spirit that was too pure to withstand the evils in the world today.  That trial brought our family so much closer together.  Its so sweet to hear Bryce and Isabella talk about Jeremiah.  I think they love that we have some pictures of him around since they were never able to see him.  We marked the day with church and we had some cupcakes with the kids to remember Jeremiah's birthday.  Ken and I also ordered the grave marker this past week, so you could say that was another way that we marked his birthday.

We've had a few other trials to help bring us closer together as well.  In May, we had a miscarriage, which was heartbreaking, especially that soon after losing Jeremiah.  But we knew that Heavenly Father would help us through the trial.

At the end of May, my husband was laid off from his job.  Its been a hard couple months on that front, but one major thing we learned is that we need to budget our money better.  Luckily for us, he was offered a new job and starts tomorrow.

A trial that was not to us directly, but did affect us was that my sister lost one of her twins.  They were born 10 days after she found out that Baby A (Alyssa) had passed.  Baby B (Brooke) is a fighter and is doing wonderful.  She was born at 33 1/2 weeks but is doing awesome.  She is tiny but long and scrawny.  Its been fun to hold her when I get a chance.  My babies were never that tiny.

So, while its been a hard and trying year, I am so thankful for my foundation in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  If it weren't for that and the support I had from my family and friends, I would not have made it through this last year.

A little bike riding

The kids have been wanting to ride their bike like crazy lately.  So one day last week, Ken took the bike and the big wheels out so the kids (including their cousin, Paige).  They all had a blast despite the fact it was quite hot out that day.