Count your Many Blessings!

I just wanted to tell everyone how blessed I feel we are. Aside from having wonderful family and friends. We have been able to go out to Maine, get our computer fixed and in general I think we're spoiled.
My car started acting funny on our way home from Christmas with my parents and we decided to go back. My family put up with us for an extra day and then Dad arranged to have our car looked at. Once it was fixed Joe went to pick it up and pay when they told him it had all been taken care of... by an anonymous individual. (Thank you Dad) I truly have the best parents in the world!
The gospel means so much to me. I cannot imagine not knowing that my family has the opportunity to live with eachother in the eternities, if we live righteously. I know my Savior Lives! He is the light of the world! He gives meaning and hope where there seems to be none. May you all be as blessed as we have been, this holiday season and all next year!

Four Generations

How cool is this?! We got to take a picture with four generations in it on Joe's side. I Love the family history this entails. We'll be able to tell Alaina: "See this? This is when we went to Maine and you got to meet your Great-Grandpa." I kinda wish I had a four generation picture of my great grandparents... but if I do I don't know where it is.

Alaina Leads the way!

We went to church on Sunday (in Maine) I guess Alaina had a case of the jitters because as soon as we let her down after Sacrament meeting she was all over the place!! At one point she was headed out the door and Grandpa Bailey grabbed her hand. She looked up at him and decided it was okay if he did that as long as she could lead him somewhere. So.. Away they went!

Christmas 2010 -A trip to Maine

So for Christmas this year we decided to go see my husbands family in Maine.
So we got our tickets and drove down to Las Vegas where we'd fly out from. My friend Cindy was kind enough to let us park our car at her house so we wouldn't have to pay the exhorbitant fees to park at the airport.
After a nine hour flight we were finally in Portland. Joe's Mom came to pick us up along with her husband John. We were able to visit with his family that night, and i was impressed with how many family members we were able to see during the following week.
We spent Monday at Grandpa Baileys. He is such a sweet old man!! He did everything he could to be a generous host although i think we wore him out. He fell asleep almost as soon as he sat back down. He played with Alaina and kept trying to show us his family album which he couldn't remember where it was. His wife passed away a few months ago and so we wanted to make it back before he was gone too. I'm so glad we did!!!
Tuesday we were able to take Alaina sledding for the very first time! I think she liked it best when joe just took the sleigh and dragged her.
Saturday we went to the Beeckel family reunion where we were able to see most everyone we'd missed during the week.
Joe has been truly blessed with his family relations and his Mom is an absolute saint!! I think this has been the best Christmas present he's ever had. He got to see family he hasn't in over two years... After all isn't that what Christmas is all about?

Alaina is walking!

Alaina has always wanted to go everywhere and do everything she could to be involved with the 'big people'. She was crawling at six months and she would takea couple steps when she was nine months but its only been the last week or so that she has decided that she can walk everywhere she goes.
Last Sunday she chased the neighbors' dogs all around our front yard. It was so cute they were maybe half her size and she was convinced she could catch them. Unfortunetly every time she got close they'd scamper off and she never did but I think it encouaraged her to really take off.

Moving

So i know this is long overdue however, we moved to Cedar on the first of August.It's pretty nice. My house is double the size of my last apartment which makes it feel like a castle! We live a block away from a park that Alaina absolutely loves! I like it for the bike trail it offers. Hopefully i'll be able to get into better shape. Moving is difficult because i miss my friends and family back in Sanpete however that's a little misguided because a lot of my friends have moved although not all of them.

Teething

Well, Alaina now has a total of four teeth!!! Can you believe it? I can't. She has the sweetest smile. I just want to scoop her up and hug her all day.

SUCKER!!

Alaina has always been active but when she was just six months old Joe and I got a kick out of her mobility.
I had gone to make homemade suckers when i got home Joe was eating one in the rocking chair. It didn't take Alaina long to notice he had a big red thing in his hand. (I'd allowed her to hold my hands and so she could balance on her feet. She'd been standing in place content to just look at her dad.)
RED!!
She saw that sucker and charged over to him i'd never seen her go anywhere so fast!! well, we had to at least give her a taste. Which is where we got the picture "SUCKER"!

Alaina is going to protect her mom at all costs.

So, last week I was trying to get ready for the day. I was blow drying my hair when in comes my daughter Alaina (just barely 8 months.) Just as upset as she could be..
"what's the matter?" I couldn't see anything that would suggest she had hurt herself. but there she was a pout on her face. She started to cry so I turned my blow dryer off and bent down to see what was the matter? Apparently satisfied she goes to crawl away. okay then.. I got back up and again began drying my hair. Again Alaina whips around with concern written all over her face. In about five seconds I'd watched her go from just fine... to UPSET. What is going on? I turned off the blow dryer. she goes to crawl away.
Back on.
She whips back.
"Are you afraid the big mean blow dryer is going to eat mommy up?" I asked.
I had to finish drying my hair on the floor where Alaina could hold onto me while every few seconds slapping the blow dryer away. That monster was NOT going to get her mom while she was on watch!