March Madness!

I gave this post the title of March Madness for my husband, and no other reason. lol Since that is the signinficance March has for him, the NCAA Basketball tournament! I get involved cause it's fun to compete with one another, oh, and I've beat him two out of three yrs so far. Looks like I'll be taking this year as well, which is pretty hilarious since my knowledge of college basketball teams is zero. :)

March has been great so far, and we are loving the warm weather! We have been able to go on several walks and it's fun to see Boston's excitement as he discovers the world, and has so many "firsts." I would love to know his thoughts!! His eyes were so wide when he first saw the big blue sky! ha ha such a cute boy! He also hit ONE MONTH old! I posted about that below!

can I just say baby jeans, and baby shoes are hilrious!

We had some fun taking dinner to Dan and Sierra earlier this month. Boston was super excited to meet his new cousin Daphne, and boy were they cute together! It's been fun going through all of these new changes with my sister-in law Sierra close behind. We encourage each other and share any tips that we can! And I have to say Andrew and Dan are some pretty proud Dads. :) I know we'll have lots of fun times with our kids ahead!

My birthday came and went pretty quick, and I have to say it was the first year of my life that I didn't even remember it was coming up. I guess that's my new world as a Mom. Forgetting myself more and more. It's all about the kids. But he's more fun anyway, and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present (or a more adorable one I might add) :)

My Mom got me a very nice Primary Children's song book, and bore her testimony on how much she felt singing always brought the spirit into our home growing up, and strengthened our testimonies. I can attest to that to every degree! My Mom would just start singing a primary song when we would fight at times, and especially during the summer we would have morning devotionals and spend an hour learning a new song. One summer we learned all 13 articles of faith, and sing them together to this day! I sure love my Mom and all that she has taught me. I will definitely use this with my children!

I LOVE Willow Tree figures! And this year for my birthday, I can't believe it but I got 3 of them! I must have put out some serious "creating" thoughts.

Andrew got me the beautiful one of the pregnant woman. At first I questioned why he wouldn't have gotten the one with the Mother holding the baby, but then he explained that it was such a special time for he and I in our marriage, and he felt we grew closer that we ever had during that special time, and it was the beginning of a whole new life together. I completely agree, and absolutely love the meaning it holds for me.
The little girl holding the Sunflowers has the title " You are my Sunshine" and will always have a special place in my heart. My Grandma Hawkins gave it to me, after telling me I am her Rae of sunshine, and my parents always say that as well. She is soo sweet and thoughtful!! The little girl is also an angel, and my Grandma is one of my angels! She is so strong and has always made me feel so loved throughout my life. AND anyone who knows me knows my love of Sunflowers. :) If you don't know why, let me know and I will tell you!! :)
The third of the girl holding the purple flowers was designed after Pres. Uchtdorf's wonderful "Forget me Not" talk that he gave at the General Relief Society meeting last year. (2011) and on my birthday was the relief society Birthday dinner that was themed around his talk. It was such a well thought out dinner. My ward did an amazing job and it was just what I needed to hear.

3 major things I took out of it: 1. Be patient with myself. Don't have too high of expectations, and things will always come around. 2. Heavenly Father loves us, knows us each individually, and is aware of each of our specific needs and circumstances, no matter who we are or where we are, he will NEVER forget us. And 3. Be better with how I spend my time! Don't waste it on things that don't make me feel good about myself. "You don't want to get to Heaven and look back on your time spent with regret or embarrassment." Protect certain pieces of time, like time with children and your spouse, time studying the scriptures and praying.. time serving others.. etc.

So this was perfect for me to hear these things with all the new things going on in my life! And I am going to make sure that I spend my time carefully, so that I will hopefully one day look back at a life with time well spent. I have decided that this blog is one of the things I personally feel like is time well spent! But I am only going to update it when I choose, and when I can, and not feel guilty when I don't!  So YAY for March, and yay for good weather! (except that it snowed this morning... Oh Utah, make up your mind, and get the seasons right!)  Love, Me!