Reminders

I am not one that enjoys leaving the house for broadcasts, be it Women's Conference or General Conference, and maybe it's bad to admit that! Take for instance General Conference - after battling traffic to get into SLC and finding a parking spot, hustling to the conference building, wearing uncomfortable sunday clothes and freezing to death while listening to coughing and sneezing...let's just say I get highly distracted.  I can be more focused and at peace listening to conference while holding a warm cinnamon roll in my hand all cozied up in my pj's with a notebook, pencil and messy hair.  So, needless to say, I was not thrilled about leaving my home to watch it.  Luckily a nearby friend was hosting a mini broadcast at her home, but I still was thinking about those feelings of inconvenience and taking up precious time, when on my drive over I saw a sweet girl dressed in her sunday best, being pushed in a wheelchair on the sidewalk by an older man.  She couldn't control her arms and as far as I could see, couldn't really control much else.  I don't know where she was going, but I envisioned her being pushed to a nearby chapel in order to at least be able to listen to the words and feel peace and comfort.  

I felt many emotions after seeing her.  I felt gratitude for my body and mind.  I felt regret for being so selfish to think of "my time" as more important than messages from the Lord.  I felt a renewed desire to listen intently to the messages that were going to be shared with women around the world, from women who were inspired to share them.  That broadcast was one of the most impactful I had ever listened to - especially the talks shared by Sister Burton and Sister Stevens.  I loved the simplicity of our covenants we made at baptism and what we can do to prepare ourselves spiritually, and the focus on the temple and why it is such a blessing in our lives.

I hope it doesn't take stark reminders like this to help me be more focused on the important things in life.

Blessing Day and Family Photos

What a special day.  All of the men on the Thompson side, and all but one from the Folsom side, were able to be in the circle to bless Caleb.  Sometimes being from the same hometown is hard and stressful, when trying to spend quality time with both families, but on special occasions like this I feel so lucky to have the majority of our family within minutes of each other.  Ryan gave a sweet blessing, Caleb made it through without being sad, and it was surreal listening to my own baby's blessing.  This day came so fast!  

Since all of the Thompson fam was in town, we decided to take advantage and get some pictures taken - they turned out amazing thanks to Coral :)

Missing Him

A couple weeks ago, we realized we had a few issues with our house in San Antonio.  A couple days after that, we found out there were potential hazards if we stayed in the home (especially during repairs) so Cal and I were basically on the next flight out of town.  My parents are still out of the country, so my sweet sister Anna offered her house as a place of refuge.

Colorado has been incredibly refreshing - both physically and mentally.  It was nice to leave behind the mess of a situation in Texas and to come and detox (while still carrying on calls and plans from afar).  It also brought me an immense amount of joy to leave behind the unbearable heat and cool off in the low 90 degree Colorado weather ;)

I have been able to spend time with family, surprise a dear friend who lives in Boulder, hike, run, explore...but after almost a week of being apart from Ryan, I realize how empty life would be without that man - and wanted to jot down my feelings.

Ryan never complains.  Ever.  And when last night I asked how his day was, and he responded "well...it wasn't a good day...but it wasn't a bad day either?"  I knew something was off.  Come to find out, our house had flooded on top of a myriad of other things.  

Ryan is the dearest husband and father.  It truly makes you love your husband more, when you see how much they love their kiddos.  I already miss our nighttime ritual, where he comes home and jumps in the shower, plays with the babe while I finish up dinner, take turns eating while passing him back and forth, snuggling Cal up while I get him ready for bed, Ryan getting his last hour or so of study in for the day, then announcing that the little one has finally fallen asleep...walking to bed together at the end of a long day...I miss that.  I miss spending the last moments of the day talking and laughing, being squeezed and kissed on the cheek...I'm convinced there's no better way to fall asleep.

Ryan works hard.  Too hard sometimes.  He studies harder than anyone I know, and tries to give his all to school, family, church...and it has paid off and will continue to pay off.  That's why I know he will be an incredible doctor - whatever field he ends up choosing.

Ryan has a kind heart and tender soul.  He is always willing to serve and go above and beyond, and tries to include everyone.  Personally, it has been hard moving here from Provo where we were friends with mostly Ryan's mission companions, who loved and appreciated Ryan and he them - and coming to Texas where no one knows Ryan well enough to understand what an incredible man he is.  I'm sure they will soon enough :)

But, all of this to say, I miss him. Can't ya tell?

3 Month Schedule

It took way too long for me to figure out a good schedule for the babe, so I wanted to make sure it was recorded somewhere permanently - to reference later on:)

3 Months: Schedule

7:00am – First Feed

7:30-8:30 – Diaper change, walk/play

8:30-10:00 – Nap

10:00 am – Second Feed

10:30-12:00 – Diaper change, play

12:00-1:00 – Nap

1:00pm – Third Feed

1:30-2:30 – play until tired (between 2:30 and 3)

2:30-4:00 – Nap

4:00pm – Fourth Feed

4:30-7:00 – Try and keep awake by playing, let him have a little nap if he needs one

7:00pm - Last feed

3:00am - usually wakes up for a feed (try and slowly feed less time at this one until he sleeps through the night)

Wakes up around 6:30am, and then the day begins again!