Nat';s visit

Nat's visit started out Rocky. She was suppose to land at 9:00 Thursday night but her flight from Cleveland kept getting delayed. Finally at 10:00 they cancelled her flight. So instead of waiting for the next flight (Friday morning) she got in a car with 2 strangers and drove to Lexington! Of course I did not sleep well and ended up meeting her out on new town pike at 4am to pick up my precious cargo:) it was great having her. We stayed inside for the most part cause of all the snow but had a great time and as always 3 days just wasn't enough! I met with mac's teacher and she said " Mac talks a lot about his aunt Nat. He really loves her" yes he does and so do we!

8 years

On the 12th Drew and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. Life is busy, kids, work and church rule our schedules. The times we take ourselves away from the big 3, life slows down and it's just like how things were at the beginning, but better. I'm thankful that when we do fight and don't want to be around each other, that neither of us stop working to get ourselves back to where we should be. Back to the place where it all began. Here's to 8 years to 2 people who have fallen in love too many times to count. What's 365 x 8? Love you Drew!

Families

 

I've been working on a photo book for my grandpa Heaps. Sorting through pictures has made me feel all nostalgic. As I thought about what to write to my grandpa a flood of happy memories came back. Not just about my grandpa Heaps but about my grandma and my McAllister Grandparents as well. I'm thankful to have had the relationship with my grandparents that I did. They were and still are a huge part of my life. When I was in High school my parents took our family and both grandparents to Hawaii and we also did a trip back east with them and let me tell you, I have 2 very different set of grandparents!

 My grandpa and grandma McAllister are very musical, they constantly sang to us. They both have beautiful voices. If we were bored grandma would teach us a new song or grandpa would read us books. Most my memories of them are of playing card games or other bored games. They were very scheduled and organized, discipline people.They are and were very active. Up until my grandpa got really sick he was biking and walking miles a day. My grandma to this day walks 3 miles every morning. I loved going on hikes with grandpa, he knew so much about the trees, plants and had a love for birds. Many discussions were about politics and education. They valued education- my grandpa was an accounting professor at BYU and served as Orem's senator.

My Grandpa and grandma Heaps were and are relaxed. It took a lot for grandpa or grandma to get mad. It took being really bad for grandma to get grandpa mad. He loved and supportive my grandma in everything. He adored her, she was the best cook, house keeper, decorator and he let everyone know. They made a big deal of everything- birthdays, holidays, sporting events.  When we went over to their house I would hide away in my grandma's closet and bathroom, playing in her make up and scarves. Every time I left her house she would send me home with some makeup sample or nail polish.  They both made you feel comfortable and loved all the time. In fact most my friends called them grandma and grandpa too.

 Me and my Great Grandma Heaps- I inherited her beloved dimpled  chin.

 Me and Ry visiting grandma and grandpa Heaps in California

I feel blessed to grow up in the family I did. Things weren't perfect all the time- or any of the time but the things that mattered were taught and felt. While my grandparents were very different their values shaped who I am today. They were constantly bearing their testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel by word and deed. They served in church and in community and changed people lives for the better and I from a young age was able to witness this.  I'm grateful to be sealed to them and that some day we will all be reunited. I'm grateful I still have my Grandpa Heaps and Gradma McAllister to influence me and my children. 

Instagram update

Top to bottom... My parents came to visit for 5 days. Mac got to watch all the movies he wanted. The kids talked my dad into getting them a pet, mice! It's always great having them and this time was extra hard to say goodbye cause its going to be a long time before we see them again:(

G has been having constipation issues and one night he fell asleep on the toilet.

Some pictures from Annie's big day.

Mac started his first season of basketball and he's loving it and is getting better every day.

We bought a VAN! I thought I would never be saying that. I was a former van hater but now I'm a van lover! Still not a fan of the look but loving the space.

Over the weekend we went up to cincy to the aquarium. Lots of oohs and ahhs were coming from Annie.

I started potty training Annie last week. She got off to a great start and after 4 days I thought she had it but oh man was I wrong. She has had a rough go. I have stay on top of it or there's a mess to clean up. Still not regretting potty training because she gave me no choice- she refused diapers.

Mac drew a picture of him and Ike. He really is missing Ike since he moved to Louisville- this deserves a post of its own.

Our little 2 year old!

Has it really been 2 years?!!! Annie has brought a lot of excitement into our lives, especially this year. Her personality is one of a kind and while we are exhausted most of the time we love it! Annie is so independent, wants to do everything herself yet she rarely leaves my side. She is constantly saying "I help!" She loves to cook and clean with me or eat whatever I'm eating. I'm grateful she takes a nice long nap everyday:) This girl loves chocolate! When I sneak a piece of chocolate without her seeing, she smells it and grabs my face "I want chocolate!!"  She loves all things girl. She always has her "baby" and a purse on and is usually wearing someone elses shoes. Her favorite phrase lately is "Stop it!" It's hard not to laugh when she's yelling this. Speaking of yelling, she does it a lot! While Annie has been difficult at times she has a sweet side to her. She's a cuddle bug and if she's not yelling she's whispering in our ears. When she snuggles up to Drew she rubs his beard and just babbles. She is a little flirt. At tithing settlement she climbed up on the bishops lap and kept kissing him on the cheek. I could go on and on. We are so grateful she is in our family!

Annie's 2 year stats: Height 38inches- 95%, Weight 32 lbs- 90%