A Man of Admiration...

I couldn't let President Hinckley's passing go by without expressing my love for him and my admiration for all of his dedication to the church and its member's welfare. He was an amazing example of love and integrity. I hope to be like him one day! I smile for him as I think of the awesome reunion he is having right now with his wife. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect. No one is left out, everyone is thought of in the great plan and has their own role. We love you President Hinckley!! Thank you for the Spirit and example you have brought to our lives!

Here's the girl saying "hi" and signing "milk"...

...two frequent occurrences around here. She is not slow to say "hi" to the dog, the crib, us, people at church, anyone really once she feels comfortable. She also signs "milk" whether she wants milk, water, juice, to be picked up or to have some of what we are having. She is realizing what it's like to be a person and that she can communicate to us and get what she wants. I just love it!!

Here's to another great birthday!!

So I really did have an amazing day! Brylie was a fabulous fun girl and we saw Brad a few times throughout the day. Then he came home to take us out to eat and then after Brylie went to bed, a very nice gal in the ward came over to watch over our home and kids (dog and sleeping baby). It was so nice to be able to go out on our own...it's been a while. I love Brylie to bits but I also love my time with Brad. We always have so much fun even if it's nothing much that we do. I hope he enjoys our time together as much as I do! I appreciate all the phone calls, cards, well wishes and gifts received! It truly made my wonderful day even better! Thanks to you all! In other good new, Brad received word that he has been accepted to BYU Law School as well so we have yet one more school to add to the list. We aren't quite sure where he will go for law school but it's nice to have many to choose from! We'll keep you posted when we finally make the decision!

HA! HA!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASSIDY!!!!

Brad here...officially hijacking the blog to do what Cassidy would not do for herself and announce her birthday today---January 14th!!! Huzzah!!! For not making this post herself, we'll just put this picture here:Maybe after this she'll remember next year to make her own birth-a-day post so I'm not forced to do so.

Here's to hoping she enjoys a fantastic day worthy of such a great wife and mom at an age unmentioned.

Another tooth and walking...?

Well, when milestones come, it seems they come right in a row or all together. Or maybe that is just how it is in our family. Considering our kids will be so close together, it might be hard to keep track of everything. Thank goodness for the blog and for milestones! Brylie has her top left tooth coming in and the right one on it's way. She loves to have her teeth brushed. I think its so adorable that she loves to do anything that grown ups do. She is quite the little girl and it shocks me how close she is to being one years old. She has also started just letting go of whatever she's holding herself up on and standing on her own for several seconds if not minutes. I can just stand her up and let go and she'll stand there until she decides she wants to walk or sit. Then she will sit and crawl. We have seen a few steps but she is still quite unsteady and will need more practice but I think the end (or the beginning) is in sight. Hopefully, for her sake, she'll be walking before the new baby is born. Carrying her and him makes me exhausted now but I have to remember I won't be this fat and worn out...I hope. Anyway, we have some fun things to enjoy right now and fun things to look forward to in the near future.

And What a Christmas It Was...

We have never ever been neglected or left out as this Christmas will prove once again. In fact, I think we were down right spoiled!! Thanks to our wonderful families residing in Oregon, we had a magnificent Christmas and so much more! It started going to the Allen's home in Aloha, OR where we met Cass' brother Griffin returning home from his mission. It was a joyous reunion, one that we have all looked forward to with great anticipation. It was so neat for him to finally meet his niece and nephew.

We then went to a beach house where we could get away and just hang out together without interruption. It was awesome!! Thanks Mom and Dad!! After that, we had a mini Christmas there and opened gifts to each other. It was such a good visit with them! We are so grateful to have been able to spend time with them especially Griff as he returns home from Brazil. Then on Christmas Eve in the afternoon, we packed up and drove the short distance to Wilsonville, to the Gunnells where we would spend Christmas and the remainder of our trip. Except for a minor cold that kept Brylie awake in the night more than we would have liked, we had a wonderful visit with the Gunnells including Christmas!!! There was plenty of food and we took advantage as the scales will show. Thanks Mom and Dad G! It was so good to see you all, Lisa, Melissa, Amy and David, Grammie and Pops!! What a fun time we all had!

It's nice to be home...12 days gone is quite a long time...our Dozer missed us despite good care from Brad's cousin Reid! Thanks Reid!!!
We hope you all had as wonderful a holiday as we did!!! Happy New Year!!