LUCKY # 7

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MY LOVE!

Seven years ago today, we were married

in the Mesa, AZ. Temple for Time & All Eternity!

 

What a journey so far! I am so blessed & glad 

to be sharing it with you!

 

It's hard to imagine how the love you feel for someone could 

ever grow deeper, but it does, & it has. So much more.

I love you with all my life, Jace Stapley!!

To: the Main Man in My Life

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!!

It was just days after your birthday, 8 yrs ago, that we met for the 1st time.

I'm so glad that I have gotten to spend every one of those w/ you since that time!

And I plan on being there for every birthday you have in this mortal life (& beyond, if bdays work

that way on the other side;).

And now we're off! To celebrate you! For the next two days!

I am grateful that you are eternally mine!





1st Talk

       A couple of weeks ago, Cole gave his very first Primary talk in church. He did fantastic! We were so impressed! It was one of those moments as a parent that you feel so very proud of your child & so very grateful to Heavenly Father, to know & see that what we are teaching him, is really sinking in.

       We practiced a few times during the week in preparation for the moment & when it came time, he went right up there, spoke loud & clear into the microphone, & looked out at the audience. He was not shy at all. He has an amazing memory, & while I was standing next to him whispering the lines we'd rehearsed just a few times, he was jumping ahead of me & even adding in his own phrasing or wording.

     He had the whole primary presidency very impressed & said he is like his daddy; very comfortable up there speaking. He touched the hearts of many of the adults in the room & we could definitely feel the presence of the Holy Ghost. The primary pianist came up to me after church & said, as she started to cry, "I felt the spirit so strongly during Coles talk that I began to cry & was crying so much I had to duck my head down behind the piano."

     I do not wish to share this to be "braggy" on our kid. Only to remember & share how true it is that at such a very young age, it is incredible that our children our capable of so much, can teach us so much & have such pure hearts to testify of the basic principles of Christ's church. Kids are still kids & will do crazy, silly, sometimes annoying things,  but they are often the ones who most sense the spirit quite easily & those things beyond this world.



Here is what Cole said :

     Every day at my house, I pray for & invite the Holy Ghost into my home w/ my family to help us & protect us.

   Sometimes when I’m scared at night, because I had a scary dream, I say a prayer to Heavenly Father, asking the Holy Ghost to help me feel safe & calm. And when I do that, right away, I feel safe & much better.

This is the picture we took that he shared in his talk.

Joplin, Mo.

    A few weekends ago, I went w/ my family to the city of Joplin where they had the big Tornado.

And I saw:  baby & Kids toys, houses broken, & trees ripped apart.

I said to my mom & dad – “We need to stop the car & have a prayer for these people."  (Cole truly said exactly this when we were in Joplin)

And after we did, "It felt like someone was hugging my heart!" (Previously during the week, while discussing the "Holy Ghost" during dinner, we asked Cole how he felt when he felt the Holy Ghost & the above is what he said) (When he said this during his talk, you could hear all the woman in the room go, "Ahhhhh", it was so sweet. And quite original; Jace & I had never heard it put that way before.)

   That was the Holy Ghost letting me know that Heavenly Father was happy w/ me making a good choice & that I was choosing the right.

     The Holy Ghost is a special friend to you & me. The Holy Ghost can bring feelings of warmth, love, peace, joy, & wanting to do good. When you feel the Holy Ghost with you, thank Heavenly Father for this blessing. The Holy Ghost is one of the greatest gifts Father in Heaven can give you.

Whenever I feel the Holy Ghost - “I feel like someone’s hugging my heart!”

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

Friday thru Sunday

FRIDAY :  Annual free Chick-fil-A day w/ friends. The boys made their cute little "cow" shirts that morning together & the mommies helped out w/ the ears & tails.

  

Our Date Night @ Beaver Lake

 Our 1st visit to the beautiful Lake, just a 1/2 hr. away from our home.

We had fun play'n around.

And, no, we did not intentionally wear the same color shirt.

Jace pointed it out as we were walking into the mexican restaurant for dinner.

I guess great minds think alike! :)

Sunsets can be so romantic.

Yep! Definitely are!

I love my dear hubbie so much. We had fun chatt'n it up.

That one on one time is so important.

SATURDAY: Cole's Day Date w/ mommy & daddy to see Cars 2. After working hard on his chore chart for 2 weeks to earn it.

 Well worth it! He loved it! And was eating it up!

Having Cole there made the whole experience that much more fun.

He was so cute during the movie - getting so excited & making

such cute or funny comments occasionally throughout the movie.

He was making the people around us smile & laugh a little

at his excitement.

Kids are great at that.

Off to Braums afterwards!

SUNDAY: The boys were having a "tough time" in sacrament mtg. today, so we came home very early & created our own. To "practice" our reverence. I've recently started practicing w/ them during the week & setting the timer for 70 mins( the length of the entire mtg.- our longevity of making it til the timer goes off is increasing). I call it "Reverent Hour". Since all 3 boys were "in deep" w/ mommy today, I was pleased that they all made it through pretty dang good! After thinking about things & praying for the spirit for additional insights on how to best carry out our little "meeting", I had Cole come out of time out, help me pick up the family room, get the kitchen chairs into the family room (since the couch is a bit too "comfy" & "bouncy" I've found), & get a "grown up" church film on - no cartoon characters (to get as close to a sacrament talk as possible - I've done Gen. Conf. talks as well). And it worked out great that everyone was already in church clothes & I had the diaper bag packed w/ snacks, drinks, & church activities. So off we went! Still a bit of room for improvement, but you know what, not a bit of whining or crying & no one had to go back to time out.  We are going to continue w/ our "Reverent Hour" as much as possible during the week so that we don't have to "loose the privilege" (is what I told Cole) of getting to go to church, anymore.

So later in the afternoon, they did get to get their

energy out w/ some family time on the new addition

to our backyard "playground" that daddy picked up the day

before & reassembled on good 'ol Craig's List for an amazing price!

He even made an awning for the "club house" roof from spare boards off our new

fence we had put up last month ( that was a very exciting day. It's been so wonderful
to have that fence to help "corral" our boys in.).

He's a great handy man!

Mr. Grant picking up speed.

The "big kid" swings were a hit!

The twins entertaining eachother. Those little cheesers!

They're such hams!

Mostly Merrill(in blue) getting Grant(in green)

to giggle like crazy.

And there was a whole lot more giggling & laughing of course before

I decided to go get the camera.

What a FUN, BUSY, NICE, CRAZY, IRREVERENT TO REVERENT, & ENJOYABLE

weekend we had!

Who Are YOU?

I am A Child of GOD!

And One who knows it!

 

And so are YOU!

Have a wonderful Sabbath Day!



The Switch-a-roo

The twins pulled a "switch-a-roo" on me for the first time tonight.

Since they can climb ever so easily in & out of their beds these days,

I am placing them back into their beds multiple times

lately before they actually stay. Even after stern warnings

with that "I'm serious" voice & some swats to the buns, they

have the "best time" w/ each other.

Thus we will be changing them into toddler beds

here very soon!

I have also found them sleeping on the ground

or the double rocker lately during their nap time, but

I'll save more of that for another post.

First let me state that both Merrill & Grant know

who's bed is who's, who's binky's are who's, & who's little

snugglie blankie is who's. So I go in & see one baby is in Merrill's crib

& one is out, so I assume it must be Grant that is out & proceed to lay him in

his crib until I glance at his face & could swear it was Merrill, but couldn't be

b/c its Grant's little giraffe snugglie as well that he's holding.

So I run my finger along his left eyebrow to feel for his little strawberry

mark & am still not sure who it is, since it's starting to fade.

So then I pick him up, carry him over to the remaining dim light

coming from the window & sure enough, it is MERRILL!

And GRANT was lying down in Merrill's crib w/ Merrill's snugglie!!



Those sneaky little totts!

So, of course I switched them back as their "giggling"

all the while,  & then of course they're back out of bed again

w/ in two minutes & they pull the same trick again

quite easily on me since I can hardly see any detail

in the dark of their room & can't remember which

twin I put in which pajamas. Sometimes I still color coordinate them;

Grant being Green & Merrill being Blue; or at least try to have one

of the twins wearing his color in a set of coordinating outfits.  This was not

one of those nights.

Usually, I'm pretty dang good at always telling them apart,

even from behind or by picking a twin up, or by their voice, but alas,

they are def. twin brothers, & if I'm not paying close enough attention,

I can "switch" them. :)

4 on the 3rd

Four years ago today you joined our family, Cole. You started our parenting career for us! And boy, have you taught us soo much! Especially patience & how to be firm. :)

These days you really like . . .

- Cars
-Jumping on the tramp
-Playing outside
-Riding your trike
-Going on nature walks
-Animals, dogs, cats, horses, cows, birds
-Your stuffed animals, especially Brownie the Bunny
-To read. To be read to & to read to your animals
-Playing board games w/ mommy & puzzles
-Tickles w/ daddy
-Running w/ brothers around the wall between the fam. rm & the kitchen
-Preschool
-Gymnastics
-Playing w/ your friends, older or younger, boy or girl, it doesn't matter.
-Asking "why" A LOT
-Bath time w/ bubbles & toys
-Nutella on wheat bread
-Warmer Honey Milk
-Candy
-Sun chips
-Ranch dressing w/ almost anything
-Popcorn
-Story time
-Talking at the dinner table almost constantly
-Playing w/ little brothers when they don't mess up your toys
-Using your imagination
-Super hero action figures. ie, Batman, Superman, & Spiderman
-Max & Ruby show
-Disney movies
-Earning prizes
-Earning money for your train bank
-Singing
-Listening to Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas song over & over & over again, no matter what time of year it is
-Reading/Repeating scriptures everyday at nap time & bedtime
-Talking to yourself in bed each night
-Made up stories from mom & dad w/ you & your friend stuffed animals in them
-Trying new things all by yourself

We are so grateful that you are in our family! You are one smart boy!!



Why? . . . Why? . . . And Why? . . .

This crazy, fun loving, smart as whip 4 year old

is all about asking "WHY?" these days.

He's always been a curious kid & asked

plenty of why questions before, yet this

last week he's all into asking,

"why?", "why?", & "why?" somemore; followed

by "why?" once the previous question

has been answered.

He's become "irritatingly inquisitive".

But I'm sure we all must have done that

to our parents at one time or another.

At the same time, its prob. better

than being a bump on a log kid.

We'll keep him! :)

Dayton's Legs

Inspiration for your day.

It brought tears to my eyes to see the amazingly hard work

 & dedication this young man had to helping

his friend finish the race strong.

Another inspiring story from my 2nd home town

of Gilbert, Arizona.

It is a beautiful town that Jace & I love

since we spent our first 4 years of marriage there

& where Jace grew up.

Wow Butter!



Have you heard of this stuff?

I discovered this Peanut Butter replacement today while

grocery shopping.

I'm super excited!

Especially since I love PB so much.

 Now we can have "peanut butter" so to speak

in the house & breathe easier for little Grants sake.

It really does taste almost exactly like PB.

It's actually made from toasted soy which I can

taste ever so slightly since I've had actual

toasted soy nuts before.

I am so glad to have found a fantastic compromise

for us that's healthy too!

Check out their website here!

195 Dresses

This was so fun for me to come across this on our church websites
 main page while going there to listen to our latest
 General Conference talks while I fold mounds of laundry
 (extremely exciting, I know! ;)

She's from my hometown, good 'ol Mesa, Arizona! And perhaps

related to one of my good friends who's maiden name is the
 same last name as this cute girl.

What an amazing & great idea! How wonderful to have so many

beautiful & modest options all in one place for hardly anything!
And they also show the prom dates
eating at one of my all time

favorite restaurents in Mesa just about 3 miles up the road

from where I grew up - Tia Rosa's! Their Stuffed Chicken Quesadillas

are my fave!

I certainly remember those days back in high school of searching

for a modest prom dress for hours, that fit right, & for the right price.

Not as easy as it sounds, so what a blessing to so many girls

& their moms, too!

Fun stuff!

Triple - First Date!

Since all 3 of us couples, The Hoffmans, Saumwebers, & Stapleys have known & enjoyed each other; now being over 2yrs.,

we had not ventured out on a couples date night w/out all of our kiddos.

Which would total 8 kids, all under 4 yrs. between us couples.

So, we made it official tonight & had a BLAST!

First we enjoyed wonderful Carrabba's Italian Grill

& LIVELY conversation w/ lots of laughs . . .

And then we acted like teenagers again & went

Indoor Go Cart Racing!

Check! We're ready to go!

Ka-chow baby!

No Bumping! - Yeah Right! - This is serious business!

 The "Race Marshall" jacked up the speed of our cars since it was all adults on this round. Heck yes!



 

Tires were squealing & rubber was burn'n!
 Seriously.
 You could smell it.

"Shake N' Bake"!

Adios Mary!



Defeat! Spin out baby!

Needless to say, we wondered why we hadn't done this sooner!

Oh yeah! Maybe because of all those cute little things we left at home. :)

We look forward to the next time around!



"Why I Believe" - My inspiration today & every day . . .

So beautifully, beautifully said & sung!

I've felt the spirit of this beautiful song

so much that I wanted to share.

I hope this inspires your day

as it has mine!



Guitar Time

We all love it when daddy pulls out the guitar!

All the boys especially love "helping" daddy play.

In this inventive song,

 Jace is singing to Cole

about his "Color Changer" cars that change colors

in hot & cold water - a past time favorite of Coles,

especially during bath time.

Cole joining in on the singing with daddy.

Mr. Merrill jump'n in on the action!

All my boys trying to play at once.

It's so fun to have a house full of boys singing &/or dancing

around the family room to "live" music from my favorite

man in the world.

Especially once all the boys ran off to play together,

he then played & sung for me some Neil Diamond.

Which is such an enjoyable way to end the day!

Ranch for Lunch

So at lunch this afternoon, when Cole is coming to to the table

to eat, he sees what's for lunch & asks,

"Are we having RANCH for lunch!?"

(Which, if I let him, he would thoroughly enjoy such

a lunch since he loves to dip any food that can be dipped into it. :)

And silly mommy says,

"No, its actually New England Clam Chowder".

And Cole immediately says,

"I don't like it."

So I realized my mistake, & quickly corrected it by stating,

"Well, actually there's ranch in it, that's why it looks like ranch!"

And then we're good!

So, lesson learned, at this stage, it's all in how ya sell it!

And it works wonders!

Give & Take . . .

This is a common scene at our house during meal time.

One twin taking the goods from the other or the other

twin giving so generously what he doesn't want anymore. :)

In this case, Merrill saw he was out of marshmallows & realized

Grant has plenty to give, so" I'll just take that one right there", he thought.

 And this little man right here, gave so generously all those

wonderful marshmallows to his brothers, in which they'd never had

before.

I walk out of the kitchen for about two minutes & come back

to find a big pile of marshmallows on each of the twins trays as well

as Cole having a handful in his fist as he's climbing back up to the table.

I couldn't be upset with him, since he was giving so well &

of course the twins loved them so much.

It's more & more fun as these boys get older to watch all 3 of them play

together. And sometimes crazy too, but mostly just fun.

The twins are officially toddlers now!

Hooray for nursery time! It was absolutly WONDERFUL

this last Sunday to be able to soak up both Sunday School

& Relief Society kid free. Of course though, only 5 minutes after

I sit down in Sunday school, Merrill is brought to me for a lovely

diaper change.

Then it was Grant's turn in Relief society, but I'm not complaining!

I'll take it!

At their 18 month well check the other day, it was fun

to find out that this is the closest in height & weight that they've

ever been to eachother since they've been born.

Their heads are the exact same size, their height is the exact

same, 32 1/2 in. tall, & they both weigh 22 lbs, although

Merrill's about a quarter of a pound more.

I was glad to see that Grant is finally catching up to Merrill

in weight since Merrill has almost always been about a pound

more than Grant, whom we've always called our light weight & Merrill

our little bear.

These little boys are into everything! And surprise

us at times with how fast & smart they are at figuring

things out. They are definite climbers!



This sign actually says . . .

WATCH OUT FOR MAD DOGS!

At least, according to Mr. Cole it does. :)

There's a few of these signs on the empty lots going down our street,

so Jace & I get reminded from Cole quite often when we go on our regular walks to

be careful of those mad dogs!

He is ALL Cowboy lately since he earned & helped pay for

his Toy Story pull string Woody doll.

Just like the movie, He & Woody are inseparable.

I was actually holding Woody for Cole in my hands today as I took this picture. :)

We love our little Cowboy Cole!