Easter 2016

Easter egg coloring! Jordan and Natalie love this each year. I like to see what color combinations they come up with. Plus they sure are cute at how they get so excited about eggs. That's something about childhood I love, simple things bring such joy.

We went over to Nick and Cam's for an Easter egg hunt. Their nieces were there too. It was a lot of fun. And they're off!

Katelyn and Aubrielle doing their best to figure out what the point of this hunt is. They'll figure it out when they open those eggs up. 

Such focus... they are determined. I was excited to capture Natalie's reaction to finding an egg in this picture. Simple joys... so sweet. 

Dad and Natalie worked together to find the coveted golden egg! Way to go team!

Easter picture! I really like dressing my kids up and taking pictures of them. It's only because they are so adorable. 

Love Katelyn's reaction in this picture and Natalie's sweet big sister smile with her arm around her. I hope they'll be good friends as they grow up. P.S. I so adore having my girls wear matching dresses!

St. Patricks Day 2016

Since St. Patrick's Day is the holiday that is in the same month as Katelyn's birthday I like to dress her up for the holiday. Natalie and Jordan liked being festive too. 

Sibling hugs and kisses. 

When Dad got home we attacked him with some green. 

A green dinner is always fun on St. Patrick's Day! We went easy and had green eggs, green pancakes, and a green smoothie. Holidays are such a great excuse to make an ordinary day fun!

Katelyn's 1 year pics

Katelyn Suzanne Murray is 1 years old. She is beautiful, sweet, determined, observant, loving, a go getter, and loved by many.

I always make sure our kids have pictures taken each year because they change so much in only a year. Our minds can't remember perfectly how things were, but pictures remind us. When we look at a picture it takes us back to that moment in time and feelings, emotions, and memories are brought back to mind. 

It's been an exciting year, with ups and downs. Hard times and great times. But now that we can look back, it was all worth it to be this little girls parents. Love is amazing like that.

I look forward to what this little lady's personality continues to develop into. I know she's got things to do and places to go in this life. I'm so happy to be her Mom and to show her the way.

What a sweet smile.

I'm sure she was thinking,"K is for Katelyn." Probably not since later she decided to chew on it. 

 

This little girl loves animals! She always guys and kisses her stuffed animals. She freaks out with excitement when she see's a real animal.

Sweet girl... We are so happy she is a part of our family.

Happy Birthday Katelyn!

Katelyn is one years old! We are so proud of her and all that's she's learned this past year! Katelyn loves to be a big kid like her older siblings. She is strong willed, energetic, and is a talker.

Here is Katelyn's first try at cake. She thought it was interesting. Turns out she's more of an ice cream kind of gal.

Brother and sister are enjoying the goodies too. 

Time for present opening... Aubrielle is helping out her cousin to see what's inside of the bag. 

Katelyn has recently found this spot by the fireplace to be her favorite spot to sit. I think it makes her feel like a big kid. 

Katelyn got some books and other fun toys for her big day. 

We had lots of family come to celebrate our little lady. We love you Katelyn!

February Lots Of Love

Happy Birthday Groundhog! 

Preston was so sweet and got me these flowers. 

Katelyn is very interested in the fire below us. Still doesn't get that she shouldn't touch hot things. 

Natalie and Jordan did a fantastic job of decorating my birthday cake. I absolutely love all of the crocked candles and the mountain of sprinkles. They have no idea how adorable they are!

Here's the big 11 month old. What a beautiful little lady. 

Trying to get some cute shots for the girls who's almost one. 

Katelyn will walk if we hold her hands. What a sweetie. I love watching our kids learn new things and gain new abilities. It's seriously one of the best parts of being a parent. Plus all of the hugs. 

Little miss messy face. 

Ah, another miss messy face. 

Happy Valentines Day! I really enjoy making holidays special. Here's some heart french toast.

The heart sugar cookies are also very popular too. 

One day I caught the kids being super heroes. Can't say they are wrong in their attire. Superman doesn't set a very good example. You can tell by their big smiles that they are enjoying the underwear over their pants a little too much. What a bunch of sillies. 

She's gotten so big since her newborn pictures sleeping in this bed. She so precious. Time is a strange thing. 

Katelyn has a tooth! Congrats little lady!

Provo City Center Temple

We had the blessing of attending the Provo City Center Temple open house! It was wonderful to go and see what revelation, work, and time can do. This is were the Provo Tabernacle once stood, where Preston and I would go to stake conferences, graduations, etc. in our BYU days. We feel very lucky to be able to have experienced both the tabernacle and the temple here. In my mind I will always call it the tabernacle temple.

The fountain is always our kids favorite part of a temples grounds. So funny!

I love to see the Temple.

 

 Jordan and Natalie were so sweet in looking at this statue of Jesus. They looked for the nail marks in His hands and feet. When they saw them they told us they knew why those were there. 

I really liked how the design inside and out reflect the time period the original structure was built. Classically beautiful in my opinion.

Families Are Forever. It is a joyful experience to be able to take our family to the temple. I pray that we will always be able to do so. Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord.

2016 Already Exciting

One morning a few days after Christmas I was helping the kids open up some of their new toys when I hear a scream. It was Katelyn. She had crawled over to the lit gas stove and had put her hand on it. I sprinted over to take her hand off only to see the blisters already forming. 

I ran upstairs to try and figure out what to do, all the while Katelyn is screaming in awful pain. I put burn cream on her hand and try some other things but nothing calms her down. I realize I can't do this on my own (find an urgent care, take her with the other kids, keep her from injuring herself even more, etc.) and so I call Preston. 

Through my crying all I can get out is, "Katelyn burned her hand... I need help." He rushes home and I continue to hold Katelyn so she won't hurt her hand more (it looked so terrible). Preston finds an urgent care and takes Katelyn there. He calls and keeps me posted. 

We have never had a child injured this badly. I felt TERRIBLE... I went through all of the should ofs and could ofs. You keep your kid safe 99 times and the 100th time you slip... and you still feel terrible. Even though that sounds like a pretty good job. 

When she put her hand on the glass she didn't have the reaction most people would to quickly take it off. She held it there and I had to rush to take her hand off of the glass. This resulted a bad 2nd degree burn. We had to keep her hand bandaged for about three weeks, changing bandages twice a day for a while, using some amazing hand cream medicine, and going to the pediatrician each week for guidance. It was quit the ordeal for a few seconds mistake. 

I couldn't bring myself to take a picture of her hand since my guilt was still so strong. As she's healed so have I. I am happy to say that she has now healed perfectly. Her hand has no scares, which I feel is a big blessing. But alas, Katelyn still doesn't understand that she shouldn't touch hot things. Can you believe that?! But I am now paranoid and very quick about keeping  her far far away from hot things. 

Here she is hanging out with Grandma Suzie and sporting her bandage.

Here is Katelyn 10 months old. 

Her teeth are on their way! You can see the puffy gums in this picture.

Cousin time with Aubrielle. I love when these kids get together. 

 

Jordan and Natalie are good buddies. Here they are playing house. I love to see what their imaginations come up with. 

 

Mr. Spikey Hair! 

At the end of the month Katelyn's hand was all better and she learned to clap. Can you tell she is so excited about her new skill. Yay for healing bodies!

Proud brother cheering her on with her new accomplishment. And that's a wrap for January. Onto possibly calmer months.