Wrist key holder

Now that I am involved in a weekly craft night with some of my new friends from our new ward, it is so nice getting projects done and hanging out with the girls. Usually I get James to bed first and than head over around 7:30 or 8:00 and stay pretty late. I have had some blonde moments, just because when it's 1:30 in the morning and I woke that morning at 6:30, my body may be there, but not my mind. These wrist key holders are so nice to have. Usually when I am going places I have my hands full and it is nice just to have them on your wrist, unlock the door and than drop them and still have them with you. Plus, they are cute. Josh doesn't seem to love holding the keys and supporting the zebra print too much, he is fast to place them in his pockets. Oh well. I will tell you, I think this may help me with the problem that Josh and I have quite often- loosing our keys. It's bigger,convenient and quite noticable.

Stroller Cover

Since I loved the baby seat cover so much, I thought of a way to make one for my stroller. Whenever I go walking or running during the day the weather is so hot and sunny. Thus, James is effected and seems to get to much sun. So I made a fun, summer print cover for the stroller. It is awesome. I can place it down, when it's hot, or I can raise a side or roll it up if I don't need it. And to make it even more convenient I made it out of outside upholstery, so it's waterproof.

Tag blanky

Ever since James was born he has loved textures. He loves soft things. His favorite thing to sleep with is his silky blanket. Well since summer days are really hot and it is sometimes rough taking his blanket everywhere I made this super cute little hand tag blanky. It is perfect size for him and when he was a bit younger the stimulation of the ribbons kept his busy for hours. Even now when he is drinking his bottle he will just play with the little tags . This was so easy and fun to make, any baby would love one.

It hurt......

My little sweetie was in the most pain I have ever seen him experience last night.

It hurt...... It hurt when I received a phone call at work and Allyse told me he had been struggling all day. It hurt that I could not be there holding him at that very second. It hurt as I drove home as fast as I could, wondering if he was alright. It hurt holding him in my arms knowing he wasn't acting his normal self.

It hurt having to look at his red little face, and his sad little facial expressions as he whimpered in pain.

It hurt reading his temperature at 101.6 degrees.

It hurt not knowing what to do to make him feel better.

It hurt taking him to Insta-care for the first time, not knowing what to expect.

It hurt him to let go of me and be weighed. (As I layed him on the weigh scale, he screamed with all his might and held onto my hair as hard as he could.)

It hurt him when they took his temperature by ear.

It hurt having to see my poor little innocent angel tested and prodded to find out that he had his first earache.

It hurt him when I gave him his antibiotic. He threw up 3 times all over himself in his car seat and had to sit in the gunk for ten minutes, until we got home.

It hurt him to not be in the arms of his momma or Nana. (Surprisingly the only time he ever wants to cuddle is when he is sick- so I savored these snuggles).

It hurt when his temperature kept going up, up , up ...... all the way to 103.6 degrees.

It hurt placing him in the tub, to cool him down, and seeing him ball his little eyes out.

It hurt him when we placed cool cloths all over his body in hopes to lower his temperature.

It hurt knowing that once a child reaches 104 degrees it is beyond dangerous.

It hurt James, Daddy, Nana and I just seeing seeing him sick.

Finally after many hours into the morning of taking his temperature every 10 minutes, placing cool clothes all over him, placing him in the cool bath a number of times, trying to get liquids down him, giving him Motrin and Tylenol as his fever and pain reducer , laying down and having him on my chest (and me in a damp t-shirt) and a cool cloth on his back, his temperature thankfully lowered to 96.8 degrees at 4 am.

All is well.

He slept until 7:30, went and layed with daddy, while mom slept for an hour after the exhausting, long night. Than he was back to his normal, happy, smiley, giggly, spazzy self.

I am so thankful for the power of the priesthood and that Josh was worthy to give James his first blessing (besides his baby blessing), I know that it is through the power of the priesthood that James received strength to fight his pain and sickness.

Now...... it hurts not to have him in my arms, snuggling close and wanting his momma.

Yet, I would take him HEALTHY like he is today over any sickness when he is in pain and HURTS.

We love you James and would do anything for you to keep you safe.

A fabulous day

Last Wednesday was a fabulous day. We all woke up early, went to work with my little fam, I got my classroom set up and ready for teacher meet and greet (with parents). We had a staff party with all my co-workers and ended off the night with my girlfriends, and drove the 45 minutes home to Pleasant Grove, cuddled with my 2 men and dreamed sweet dreams. These are my amazing friends from my old Spanish Vista ward. It was really hard to leave some of them, because I got close to them. A few of them used to be my walking buddies and it was just the best going with the kiddos and just having girl talk. I really needed it and loved it. This was a goodbye party that we went to for my dear friend Erin. Erin is so amazing and just a total go getter in life. She has taught me allot about being strong and being a fabulous mother. She is solid in the gospel and I just love her. She will truly be missed.

Earlier that day Josh and I got to participate in the funnest laser tag games. The school I work at was having a staff party and they brought laser tag to us. We got decked out, taught and then we were out playing. It was throughout the whole school. We were all running through the hallways, (lights out) classrooms and bathrooms. We were trying to steal the other teams life savers. It was intense and a blast, we all broke out into a great sweat. Then we had Goodwood catered to us. Yum, yum. I love the people I work with and for. It is seriously like home to me and I just love how comfortable and loved my whole family and I feel there. Liberty Academy is the place!!

What's for dinner?

Three delicious cuties....

Ingredients: 3 fresh, white skinned turkeys 3 cups of bright smiles plenty of laughs and giggles 3 handfulls of love Hug often and kiss everyday.

Serving Size: A whole life time worth

Debilition Derby

Wow, James had the time of his life at the Nephi Debilition Derby. During almost the whole time he remained on my lap and daddy's, completely stimulated and interested. I guess the loud noises and the cars crashing into one another really was enough excitement for him to be completely engaged in what was in front of him. We went with Josh's best friend, Launey and his family. We are making it a tradition to go each year now with them. He calls it the "Red Neck Olympics", and that totally suites the crowd that goes to these crazy events.

James at 9 months

James is taking off and on the go constantly. He is a total mover and a shaker. Ever since he learned the mechanics of crawling, he has progressed everyday and now he is super speedy. A week after he turned eight months, he also pulled himself up onto his crib, then the couch and now anything that is stable. James is very curious how things and people work. He loves to be in on the excitement. He especially loves being around kids of his same size. His whole body starts shaking and he has a smile from ear to ear. For instance whenever he is around his cousins he wants to play with them, and seems to crawl all around following them. James only wishes he could walk like McKay. James has learned allot about playing with others in the last few weeks. Now that he is around his cousins allot more, he has had to toughen up and realize that momma is not always going to be there to protect him. He has been hit at and has had toys grabbed from him on numerous occasions. At first he had no idea what to do, so he would frantically look around and just start crying. It was really tough for him at first, but he is a lot better now and he can pretty much hold his own. He actually really loves to play with Elisa and McKay the most. He will sometimes just follow them around. It's so cute to watch because he has to crawl while the other 2 are walking or running. I know he wishes he could do that too, because sometimes he gets so discouraged and holds his head down and kind of pouts. Molly is so cute with baby James, she loves to hold him and give him loves. Our sweet baby is totally wanting to be just like daddy. He loves to find out how things work and always wants to do what ever daddy or I am doing. Even though he may not know exactly what is going on, he still loves to be active and touching anything he can get his little cute paws on. He loves music, and has a great ear for a good beat as he sometimes will rock to the music. He is so dang fun to watch and just dance around with. I always grab him and just swing him around and he laughs his little head off. Man, I just love being super crazy with him. He also loves it when I run or skip with him and I can tell by the way he grips my shirt and opens his mouth because he can't hold his little laughs and smiles in anymore. James is so much fun and I will tell you this much- he definitely knows how to have fun and he is not mellow on bit, he is always doing something. Our little champ is growing in height so much. When comparing him with other kids his size, he overpowers in height by a long shot, so I'm pretty sure he is still pretty high in percentile for height. I think he's going to be a lucky guy and get great height, maybe even taller than daddy. (Cross our fingers). Since he is moving so much as he is crawling everywhere, he is actually thinning out. Currently he is weighing in at 18 lbs 6 oz . James also has 2 bottom teeth. He is such a drooler and sometimes his whole collar of his shirt is just drenched. He loves chomping on anything with rubbery or that has cold textures. I will admit that he is getting really heavy to carry in his car seat, his long legs hang out of it too. I really wish we could switch to a face forward one. Since James gets to see his cousins everyday, he also gets to have a "rub a dub dub 3 men in a tub", with them. They all get along so well and James just loves to be with little people his size too. Just this month James has really showed a great love for the tub. Almost everyday he will crawl to the tub, pull himself up, stand and start hitting the tub, indicating that he wants to get in, than he will try to pull himself up (he's not that good yet though) and he'll spend so long just waiting until one of us come and put him in (water or not, it doesn't matter to him). He could spend all day in the tub if we let him. I would have to say that the tub is his favorite place to be, besides the swimming pool. He loves water and is our little fish. Water can be poured over his head and hit his eyes and he's just fine with it. He's super awesome! Our little man is learning how to sit on our laps in church. It is so hard for a little guy who has so much energy to not be crawling and released to explore. During sacrament is the only time we really are trying to have him sit with us. People say teach them young. Isn't daddy and our little champ so good looking in their Sunday clothes with the scriptures, ready to go to church. I will admit that I am very lucky to have the hottest boys as mine. James is still drinking his mommas milk and eating well (not as much as before, but I think he was going through a growth spurt last month). He loves big person food the best, especially yogurt, Nana's rice, apple sauce and anything that is BIG person food (or in the hands of someone). He is still a blanky boy. Whenever I put him down to nap or night time, he grabs it, rubs his eyes and searches for his ba ba (aka bottle). His eyes will get sleepy and he will usually be out in a few minutes or he'll have to be put into his crib and than he whimpers a bit and is out(if he is tired). We still just stare at him when he's sleeping and it is so fun because daddy and I think that our little guy is the cutest little cutie in the whole world. We are definitely in love with him, I can't even imagine life without him. He is our angel baby, he melts my heart.

Baby Bibs

I love these bibs. I have made a few for James and as gifts and I think they are just cute and stylish. I mean what more do you need but a stylish little bib to cover your cutie pie. I will admit that I am always laughing at James, because eating is such a messy process for him. But when we are all through, I just think, thank goodness for these bibs that cover his whole front area down to his waste. Perfect!

Cozy Blanket

This is just a cute little blanky that I made when I was in my crazy create mode. Oh course it's not for James, but it is so soft, I just love baby blankets. I have always wondered why they don't make big people blankets that are made out of the same comfy cozy material. Maybe one day I will make Josh and I a king sized (as soft as a baby) blanket....... someday......

Matching Beanies aka Toques

This was one of the easiest things to make, and how fun is it that they both match. All I did was take an old sweater, that I don't use any more, and cut it out into a half oval. I used the bottom of the sweater as the rim of the beanie. I just estimated how big our heads were and adjusted it accordingly. Now that I know how easy they are to make , I really want to find a really cute old sweater and make some more. Note: I never knew what Americans called these beanies until I went to a store asking them were their toques (Canadian term) were. I felt kind of silly, using the best description that I could, while learning a new American term.

Stitching

I love the B attitudes by President Gordon B. Hinckley, thus I stitched this for my little sister who has always been so giving and willing to take amazing pictures for us.

For my mom's birthday, I stitched the following. Mom has always made us feel loved and have always been a great example to us. The love of God has always been and will always be at home, thanks to my mother. Love you mom and Happy Belated Birthday!

My friend, Stacey has been so great. She has recently introduced me to a new craft that I really enjoy- Stitching. She is my inspiration, because her plethora of finished projects are amazing. Her house is so cutely decorated according to each holiday and season. I can't wait to do more. I will admit that it does require plenty of hours and patience. The first two that I did, I pretty much started on my way to Canada and completed them before I left. Thanks Stacey for teaching me and I can't wait until we get together to do more.

Mixed Emotions

Last week was full of a variety of emotions. Emotions of sadness

Sadness for leaving my good friends behind, for leaving a house that we loved and had so many good memories in, for leaving Spanish Vista ward were we felt so loved and taken care of, moving further away from were Josh and I work, not being able to say goodbye the way I would have wanted to to everyone who has been in our lives the last 2 1/2 years(because of the rush to get out in 3 days).

All the sadness came from leaving the place we called "HOME."

Emotions of relief

We felt relieved 2 days before we had to move out. That was the day we signed the papers and the new owners bought our home. We have had our home up for sale since January and kept on hoping and praying it would sale. Finally, it happened and we are out of our large financial burden.

Emotions of gratitude

We know without a doubt that it was God who took care of this situation. We feel so grateful for so much as of right now.We feel grateful for family and their hospitality and kindness to share and help us out during these hard times. Gratitude for the health of Baby James is huge as he has been such a happy, on the move little budz, who creates our recreational enjoyment and moments of great laughter and smiles. We feel blessed to have a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes on our back, friends who we love and they love us, the ability to work, the opportunities to grow spiritually and mentally and for the love that we feel from one another as a small little family. Moreover, we feel so grateful to know what we know- and that is that our Father in Heaven has a plan for us and even through the thick and the thin he is there for us. There are many times where I feel weak and know that I would not be able to be where I am today without his love and support that I feel when I get on my knees and talk to him. I feel blessed to know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will always make us feel at peace. They are the ones who keep me going. I am so glad I have the opportunity to go to the temple and renew the promises we make. I love going and forgetting the world and being in a place so pure and out of the world. I always leave wanting to be a better person.

Emotions of being humbled

This situation in our life has defiantly welcomed humility. I have found it so easy to give and help others, yet I have found it hard to allow others to help me. I think the Savior works in mysterious ways as he allows us to go through experiences that we never would imagine. All in all I have really become humbled and have been given the ability to really see with different eyes trials that others must face as well. I think humility is something that is hard, yet a blessing at the same time. It has really made me think in greater depth of how the Savior places others in our lives to help us and be there for us, when he can not visually be there for us. I have been humbled now that we have had to downsize and are very appreciative with those who have helped us out during these tough times.

Time of learning

I have learned a great lesson through this big change of life ( leaving friends, a ward and a place we called home) and that is that God will never leave your side. I had one of those days where you feel alone, worthless and like you just want to give up. I burst into tears and let everything out. As I was driving, I stopped on the side of the road and at that moment all I wanted to do was to sit on Gods lap, be hugged and told that everything was okay and that he loved me. As I sat there sobbing, I prayed to feel that and to have him wrap his arms around me. Seconds later I felt at peace and knew he heard me. It is these moments in our lives, where we don't know what to do or where to turn that God will always give us what we desire if our hearts are in the right place. I have learned a meaningful lesson of what is really important in life- and that is my sweet baby James and my husband, who mean the world to me. It is not the material things that bring great joy and memories, but it is the people I love and am surrounded by. I can deal with the moving and leaving temporary things behind, yet I really do not think I could deal with sickness or death of my 2 babes. Thus, I say thank you for letting me realize what is really important and to treasure health everyday.

So here begins a new chapter in our lives....................

Leavitt Family Adventures in British Columbia

Every single year my family goes on a family summer trip together. This year everyone, except Stacy and here family, were able go to British Columbia, Canada. We estimated that Josh, James and I traveled 4,000 miles in all this trip. Lets just say, we are not very fond of driving in the car anymore. Our first stop was in Penticton. We were able to stay at Brad's (my brother in laws)parents cabin right off the lake.

We were able to go to the beach. James probably downed a few tablespoons of sand. It was almost impossible stopping that boy, while still letting him enjoy himself. Yum.....Yum We were able to work on our tan, swim a bit, walk around, talk and just relax with the ones we love. My poor little fare skinned son, I had to plaster him with sunscreen. Since we weren't all together for my my birthday or my dad's we all went out to eat to celebrate. We ate at one of the well known restaurants- Salty's (seafood). This is me and my fabulous family, that I love so much.

Josh, James(sleeping) and Me( AKA Birthday Girl)

Lindsey and Mom

Me, Brad and Amber

Dad (AKA birthday boy) and Mike

This is all of us stuffed and full, just chilling in the cabin. This is the place for the best cherries ever. We went to Brad's brothers house and were able to pick as many cherries as we wanted to. They had like 5 different kinds and they were deliciously tasty. Dad bought 10 for later and they were gone in less than 2 days. That just shows you how much we love eating them. They are like candy, you just can't stop.

We also got to take this baby for a drive. Dad drove and he had a ton of fun racing. I have never seen dad drive so fast and crazy in my life. It was a super fast car and it was dang good looking too.

James even got his turn. Doesn't he look like a total stud behind the wheel?

A special shout out to my Mother and Father: THANKS SO MUCH FOR MAKING IT A PRIORITY TO GET OUR FAMILY TOGETHER TO GO ON BIG TRIPS EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

THANKS FOR SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY ON US, LOVING US, BEING THE GREATEST GRANDPARENTS TO BABY JAMES, FOR FEEDING US, DRIVING US, LISTENING TO US, LAUGHING WITH US, FINDING INTEREST IN US, SUPPORTING US and just for always making us feel like we are your biggest PRIORITY in life.

WE LOVE YOU AND ARE FOREVER IN YOUR DEBT.

THANKS, these memories are always with us and so are you!

XOXOXOOX