Happy Fathers Day!

I am blessed by many wonderful men in my life, two of which are my dad and the father of my children. My father always did what he could to provide for our family, even when it meant that he was unable to be at some of our functions. He has been an example of prayer, home teaching, service, and scripture study in my life. There have been times, where I may have felt less affection from him but I know and knew he loved me. I feel that I have a pretty good relationship with my dad and am proud to call him "my dad".
The second man, the greatest blessing in my life, is my husband. He is an excellent father and husband. He works our for our family to provide for us and lead our family in righteousness. Jake is very patient with both me and our children. As a child, when I thought of marriage and family, I never envisioned marrying a man that is such a good father. Jake exceeds all expectations (society and personal) of being a good father. I can take the examples of both those men and learn a little about parenting myself. I am confident that many of Jake's attributes as a father came from his parents and the example of his father.
Thirdly, I am blessed with a wonderful Papaw.....I had the best grandparents ever....my kids are blessed with good ones too but mine rocked. He never forgets us kids and visited often growing up and makes it a point when we are in Jackson to come see us. His actions show that he cares for us.
Fourth, I have awesome brothers and the same amount of great brother in laws. Both of my brothers teach me a little something....and both have very distinct, different personalities. They each hold a special place in my heart for different reasons. Both my brother in laws are still relatively new to the family but I am enjoying getting to know them and their attributes better.
Fifth, I am blessed with two precious boys of my own. It is my hope that they take the best attributes from each of the above mentioned and their other uncles and develop those attributes into their lives as they grow. I hope when Will and Christopher are older, they are as gospel oriented as their Papa, as smart and fun, as their uncles, as family oriented as my Papaw, and as gentle, patient, non-judgmental, and as well balanced as their father. I hope Christopher and Will are learning now as young as they are to show love through their actions and not just word. My boys have several tremendous examples to look up to.
Lastly, I am blessed with the knowledge that I have a loving Father in Heaven and brother, Jesus Christ. They have my best interest in mind and silently cheer me on everyday. I am blessed to have a relationship with them and a sure knowledge that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live for me today. It is through obeying the principles and covenants of the gospel that I know that I can be eternally with my family and have ever-lasting happiness.

Happy 1st Birthday Christopher

Today was a special day in our home. We celebrated our last first birthday...yes, that is correct, our baby turned one. Christopher is a source of joy in our home. He is not mobile yet and we are 100% okay with that. He has discovered table food and has a distaste for his baby food. He loves cocoa puffs cereal, cheetos, goldfish, and crackers. He smiles much more often these days and laughs. Yesterday, his daddy and brother were playing cars and Christopher had a car, he started making car noises too. It was way cute. Christopher enjoys swimming pools but is not a fan of baths and he loves to be outside. We are blessed that Heavenly Father blessed our home with him.

I LOVE Holidays

It does not make a difference what holiday it is...I love holidays. I enjoy dressing my family for the festivities and the family gatherings that usually occur. This past weekend we went to my parents for a small family gathering because some of dad's family was in from out of town. We had planned to go and only stay a couple hours but stayed for almost five hours. Jake even enjoyed it. I loved reminiscing with our cousins about growing up and sharing different memories. I enjoyed watching my kids play with distant cousins and some they had never before me...it was wonderful. This past weekend was exactly how I remember patriotic holidays (Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day) growing up. It was great. The only thing that would have made it better was if all my siblings could have been there.
Earlier before the cook out, we met Papaw at the cemetery to put patriotic torches on a few of the graves. Aubree has been asking to put flowers on them, so she enjoyed it. However, she was very concerned that my Mamaw (Virginia Pauline Litton (Jones)) did not have any, so we went to a nearby store and purchased some flowers and a balloon and went back to the cemetery and put them on the grave. Overall, the day or even the entire holiday weekend has been a good one.

Vacation week from work

Originally, my vacation from work was suppose to be the 1st week of May, however, I volunteered to change it to this week (May 16-20). I guess it was a good thing because last Thursday (May 12), Jake threw his back out and has been very immobile. He has been unable to drive, so I get to play taxi for everyone. He took Friday off work but I have driven him every day since and to the orthopedic doctor and now he is beginning physical therapy. To me, it has been a subtle witness of the generosity of the Lord. I am not saying it is a good thing that he hurt himself but I am saying is the Lord was mindful when vacation week changed. Jake can not even lift Christopher, so I would have had to figure something out. He is even unable to put on his socks and shoes right now. Other than that, life is good. Actually, I had a pretty sucky day Tuesday. Let's see: my iPhone was dropped in the toilet (not even clean water...), spent 3 hours at doctors with the boys, dropped Jake off at temple, and had a flat on the way home. The flat was not even on my van but on the Xterra and getting to the spare tire was a challenge. But, I did it, with the help of Charity. Changing the tire gave a sense of accomplishment but overall the day just kept adding up. My phone is fried and has to be replaced and I am taking the tire in today...life just comes as you sometimes but things could be major. These are all minor things.

Spring photos by Kara

I am blessed that my brothers chose wonderful women to marry. They are good women and have added bonuses too. My brother James, is married to Kara, the more I am around her the more I love her. She has lots of neat things about her and as an added bonus takes great pictures. She has asked to take a few pictures of the 3 cousins together and I also asked her to snap a few of the kids. We did this in her garage and it took literally a few minutes but the pictures are great! Here are several of them.

The Mighty Mississippi

The talk of the nation these days is the death of Osama Bin Laden and the rising Mississippi, including the current flooding it has caused. Yesterday, we decided for family home evening to drive down town to witness the near record height. It was impressive the width and to see parks that use to be, covered in water. People were taking tons of photos, my Ginny included. Then we went to Gus's fried chicken for dinner....yummy. I very much enjoy evenings with my family.So, today Ginny had a field trip and wanted one of us to come but did not want her brothers to come. Jake took off work to go, which made Ginny thrilled and then he plans to go read to Aubree's class. The cutest thing about the whole thing to me is not only did he take off work but he spent hours preparing a scavenger hunt for the kids with prizes and certificates of completion included too. He is such a good dad and each of the kids knows that he loves them individually.

Happy Mothers Day

Yesterday, was a day set aside in our nation to celebrate mothers. I am blessed with not only a remarkable mother but many great women in my life that have influence in me. I am also thankful to my mother in law to raising the man I married and preparing him for me. My mom is a women that has taught me the importance of reaching out to others, maintaining a clean home, and being willing to serve when needed, without hesitation, or being asked. She is a woman who values motherhood and is teaching me how to be a GREAT grandmother when the time comes. She is a comforter, therapist, friend, example, and teacher to me. I am blessed to have the mother I have. Also, there are many other women in my life at different circumstances in their lives that touch my life. These women are of different ages, marital statuses, health conditions, trials, some are mothers, some are not but they each touch me in a profound way and teach me a little more about life and handling those curve balls or home runs. So, on Mothers Day, I choose not only celebrate my mother but all women or daughters whom touch my life. Some nights when I come home from work, I have small moments that make me love my family a little more and here is on. I came home to discover all the babies snuggled up in bed with my hubby. So, I changed, moved Christopher (did not want him getting rolled on), and went to sleep in one of the kids beds. Within minutes, Jake had joined me....it made me smile!