gospel essentials

i'm reading a small new book called "faithful fit & fabulous" by connie e. sokol. i'm only in the 2nd chapter but it's extremely motivational. it's an 8 week program to get your life in order. "stressed to fabulous"

1. holy habits

2. a personal life plan

3. being fit

4. your finances

5. joy in womanhood

6. balance in motherhood

7. organization

8. relationships

there have been a lot of things on my mind lately. stress and depression started creeping in and i realized i needed to get things in order. i needed more personal spiritual time and that seemed to place everything else in order. i had more motivation to work out, i did better in school, my house was cleaner, and all 3 of us were happier in our home. 

the more i grow closer to my Heavenly Father, the more blessings he's given me. i've also recognized more inspiration in my life and let him guide it and let go of my stubbornness. 

in this book connie says "as our desires move from what we want to what the Lord wants for us, our lives will be more centered and balanced". this is something i've always found to be true, one of my all time favorite quotes is by ezra taft benson:

“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will find out that he can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour our peace. Whoever will lose his life in God will find he has eternal life.” 

yesterday an old friend posted something i just loved and have gone back to read several times:

"Sunday School was about The Plan of Salvation. It is an intentional, thought out plan that God isn't making up as He goes. He's worked it all out, and it works. If our lives keep sucking, it's probably because we think we know better than God and do the wrong things. Until we decide to make what we want the exact same thing that God wants to give us, our lives will be a big, mostly painful waste of time. Get and stay on the right track. It's safer and it really is happier."

love that. and only a stillson can use the word "sucking" in a spiritual message, thank you audrey for posting that, and thank your beautiful mother for stating it :)

i'll sum up my own personal testimony with this small quote "it's true isn't it? so what else matters?"

(curiousity and questions about my beliefs can be answered here and here)

happy day

grant has his moments, i have no idea how he learned to pinch when he's angry. i have no idea how he learned to throw his face into the ground to throw a fit when he's mad. i have no idea why he fights naps when he is literally falling asleep while walking through the house. joys of motherhood.

but yesterday was beautiful!!! i have no idea what was different but grant was in a fabulous mood, took 2 long naps, and cracked me up like 27 times. he was barking at a dog, he was laying on the floor watching his show and would place puzzle pieces on his face and just lay there for a while. when i say "where is the doggie?" he runs to our bedroom window to find the neighbors dog, which he is scared of by the way... (he was standing in the door way while i got the mail and a golden retriever came right up to him and did this creepy deep growl right at the exact time a huge gust of wind came and knocked him over...since then he freaks out when he sees a dog)

i love how he just "chills"....relaxes, lays back. everyone everyone - strangers, family, friends - says "he looks like a little man" and when he's just chilling on his side i see this the most.

(grant's best friends - harry the bunny, fred and fiona)

my accomplishment for yesterday is that i finally put together our 5th and final bookshelf! oh my goodness i never want to put shelves together again. that won't happen....but at least not for a long time. hopefully today i can create our library so i don't have to pick books out of boxes anymore!

(pride and prejudice up there)

speaking of books i also finished one yesterday! the boleyn inheritance by philippa gregory. a follow up to the other boleyn girl, one of my favorites. i'd say historical novels are my favorite for sure. it was really good, but i had to "black out" a couple parts. that's what i do, if it's too inappropriate, i stop reading and get ride of it. if i can scribble through some minor language, i'll keep it.

for dinner we had betos, i haven't had it since i was sickly pregnant so i've avoided it but oh my goodness those steak tacos were to die for. and never ever had i actually liked and eaten the rice and beans that come with my mexican food anywhere, but betos has succeeded. unfortunately their flan was not as good as el pollo loco's. apparently i prefer more of a creme brulee type of flan.

the whole point of going out yesterday was to get a watermelon. i got the biggest one there! i'm always nervous choosing which to buy but my mother in law taught me how and it's never failed. it needs to have a yellow spot and several "bee stings" covering it. those are the crispiest and sweetest. i swear by it. and i also swear that grant loves strawberries more than me....

the hall

we are very good friends, the hall and i. i don't remember the last time i got to sit through church. they were simpler times. but grant makes friends with the other toddlers that can't handle sitting still too long.

i'm officially experiencing the tired stage, he'd into everything, running everywhere....oh my goodness.

he kept on going up to the large picture of Christ and saying "dada? dada?" which he apparently does all the time...i thought it was precious.

3 things

grant and elizabeth had another play date on friday, it was so nice to get out of the house! it's his first time over there since he's walking like a champ so there was lots of exploring to do. he loved pushing the shopping cart around everywhere.

we got home late but luckily it's staying light out til about 9 so i went out for a run in the rain, which turned out to be speed walking in the mud, but it was gorgeous out!

yesterday matt and i traded "time". in the morning he went to see star trek with his buddies while i had momma grant time. then when he came home amanda and i went to the temple and olive garden while grant had daddy time. it was officially the longest i've ever been away from my baby, 6 hours straight! it was beautiful but the whole way home i was just aching to cuddle that little thing. when i got home it was his bed time but i just kept rocking and rocking even after he fell asleep. i missed him. 

loving books

this is grant's face a gazillion times a day. he brings me a book, holding it up high to me so i'll take it and read to him. he walks back and forth to the book shelf bringing more books over and over....

his favorites are his touch and feel puppy kitten book, a sesame street one that makes noises, and his corduroy lift the flap book. it makes me so happy that he loves reading. even if that's all i get to do alllllllllll day long....

i love his little face when i sit him down next to me and open the book he brought, he smiles so big and laughs at the noises i make. matt is much better at the voices, grant loves it when he reads "another monster at the end of this book" because matt does grover and elmo's voices perfectly.

cuteness

this morning matt got up for work, grant was still sleeping and that never happens. i knew he'd wake up to the shower so i just waited for him to start fussing and i'd go and get him out of bed. instead i could hear him chatting with himself for a little bit, then i heard his little voice call out "dadda?....mama?"

i about died of the adorableness of the situation. then i cuddled him for about an hour. he's the cutest.

he's getting easier to put down for naps, i am so grateful. i just give him his bottle then i go lay him down and he falls asleep on his own. this may be a norm for most parents but it's a big deal up in here.

the last 4 days i've been so out of it. i finally finished my antibiotics and i'm pretty sure that was where the problem lay. i tried everything yesterday. school, working out, building a book shelf...reading a book, cleaning, cooking, everything i started i couldn't finish. my house is a mess. i really really hope it was the meds because i'm done with them! crossing my fingers. i have too much to do today.