Today

Today was a fun day! I was able to go visiting teaching this morning and meet a new sister in my ward and get to know another sister in my ward. I had a lot of fun getting to know them. Before I moved to Copperas Cove, I didn't really go visiting teaching like I should have and I always thought it was kind of cheesy or something? But since living here and having 4 sisters to visit, I have started to really enjoy it. I also don't think I ever appreciated them until I moved here. I remember the first time that my visiting teachers came over. It was when Garrett was still deployed and I just remember being so grateful that they had taken the time to stop by and introduce themselves to me and bring me a little plate of goodies and welcome me into the ward. It made me feel so good! I think it wasn't until then that I really realized how important visiting teaching is. So, I am happy that I have a good route and that each month I get the opportunity to hopefully help brighten someone's day and be there for someone to talk to :) It feels great! 

I was also able to go to lunch with a good friend of mine, Jenna and her little boy, Cohen. It's always fun to hang out with her and watch Cohen and Sawyer play together. :) I'm so thankful for good friends and a good ward here in Texas. I feel so blessed today! Life is so good! :)

What Happily Married Couples Do

In the January 2012 Ensign I came across a really great article called "What Happily Married Couples Do." It really stuck out to me because I'm always trying to think of ways that I can improve myself in our marriage. Anyone who is married knows that marriage can be really hard at times but at other times, it can be the greatest thing in the world! Since Garrett was away for a year and a half of our marriage, I felt like I didn't really need to improve our relationship because we were apart from each other and our only way of communicating and seeing each other was through Skype and Facebook. It was easy for us to get along because there were no second opinions and there was no one to get in your way or do something the right or wrong way. But don't get me wrong...there were times where it was still really hard and we found little things to argue about. 


Since Garrett recently returned home after being gone for so long I knew that there were going to be some things that we would need to work on. People would always tell me that it would take a while for us to adjust living together again and being around each other again. I always thought those people were crazy and I thought that they must not have a very good relationship in their marriage if they felt that way. Well, to my surprise, they were right. I was so happy to be with Garrett again and have our family back together but I will be the first to tell you that it IS really hard having them come home after being away for some long. Now there was someone else to have an opinion and someone else to make a mess, etc. I found myself becoming irritated and thinking "This was so much easier when I was alone." I did things MY way and did things when I wanted to and didn't have anyone saying anything about it. I would often have to stop myself and take a step back and realize that this is my life now and it's the way it is supposed to be. I should be grateful that Garrett is back home with us. And, I am. So when I came across this article, it was exactly what I needed to hear. The ten things that they suggest to become happier as a couple were the perfect things that I needed to hear so that I can become a better wife to my husband and so we can continue to strengthen our relationship and become happier :) 


Here are the ten things they suggest:


1. Have positive conversations. This is a good one for me because I find myself complaining a lot or always pointing out the negative. 
2. Show affection. Garrett and I are good about this one. There is nothing I love more than holding hands in public and always hugging and kissing :)
3. Remember that you are each other's therapists. I feel that I am really good about talking to Garrett about everything that is going on in my life. He is the first person I'll go to when I need someone to talk to/listen. This is a really good one!
4. Be humble and cultivate Christlike attributes. This one is a hard one for me. A lot of times I find myself thinking that I'm always right in an argument and it takes a lot for me to humble myself and say sorry and decide to resolve an issue together. 
5. Date frequently. I think this one is SO important, especially if you have kids. Since moving away from family, Garrett and I haven't been able to go on a date alone. I think it's so important to take a break from the kiddos and have time for just yourselves away from the house. 
6. Enrich your intimacy. I liked in this article where he says "Intimacy should not be used as a punishment or a weapon to hurt the other spouse or reward "good behavior." I've heard a lot of times when one of the spouses does something that they feel should be rewarded and they use sex as that reward. I feel that that is wrong. I think that both husband and wife should be on the same page with it. If one doesn't want to do it, the other should respect that.
7. Spend time with children and grandchildren. I like this one. In here it says that a wife will have a hard time feeling affection toward her husband if he mistreats or is unkind to their children. The reverse is also true. I agree 100% with that. 
8. Seek feedback and help each other. Ask each other what you can both do to better yourselves in your relationship. Be honest with each other in your answers or things will never get resolved.
9. Eliminate anger. This is definitely one I need to be better about. I am the queen at letting little things upset me. It says in here that "Anger is a destroyer or marriage and families." Since reading this I have definitely been better at thinking twice before letting something upset me.
10. Be sensitive to each other's stress levels. I really like this one because lately I have been so stressed with Sawyer and his crazy temper tantrums that he loves to throw and at the end of the day I am just beat. It's nice when Garrett comes home and can help take the stress off of my shoulders and pitch in a little bit. It also helps a lot if he doesn't get stressed when Sawyer is being naughty. It helps me cool off a little and start again. 


Another thing that really helps me when I'm feeling angry towards Garrett or if I'm upset about something is to think back to why you married your spouse in the first place and go back to the way you felt and remember the promises you made to each other at marriage. It helps me a lot :) Hopefully these little tips will come in as handy for you as they did for me :) Happy marriage!! :) 

Do It Anyway

A while back while surfing around on Pinterest, I came across a quote from Mother Teresa that I fell in love with. I had seen it and heard it before but had kind of forgotten about it so when I found it again, I was very excited :) Lately I have been trying to find ways to improve myself and improve the way I treat others and the way I'm living my life right now. So after reading the quote, I realized just exactly what I needed to do. This quote says it all so perfectly and I hope to someday be the best person I can be. The quote is below. Enjoy :)

"People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere, people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give them your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

Nursery Make-Over!

When I first moved into the house we are renting, I was SO excited to do Sawyer's room. I thought it'd be really fun to decorate a nursery. Well, once I got his room put together, I wasn't in love with the way it looked. All of his furniture is dark and there was no color in his room and I didn't like that. So one day while browsing on Pinterest, I came across a picture of a nursery that I just fell in LOVE with. So I asked Garrett if I could re-do Sawyer's room and he agreed :) I have only been able to do the one wall for now cause I am still searching for the perfect letters to do his name above his crib and the perfect bedding for his crib. But, I am VERY happy with the way the alphabet wall turned out! His room is a lot more light and cheery and inviting :) Which was exactly what I was going for! Mission accomplished. 


                                                  Before.

                                                   After. :)

Hopefully the rest of the room will be done soon! I can't wait!

Sawyer Turns One!

Just to refresh everyone's memory a little I will do a quick recap about my sweet little baby. Sawyer was born on January 24, 2011. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was very healthy! As most of you know, Garrett was unable to be there for Sawyer's birth and didn't get to see him until he was a week old. Garrett then got deployed to Afghanistan for 9 months and missed out on the first 10 months of Sawyer's life. He is now home and we are enjoying having him around. Sawyer sure does love his daddy! :) 


Sawyer had a doctors appointment on his birthday(mean of me, I know) and they weighed him in a 22 lbs 10 oz and he's 31 inches long! He is such a big boy! He has learned all sorts of new things and new words and he is SO much fun to play with! Here is a list of all the things Sawyer can do and say and things he loves to eat and do :)

-He started walking at 11 months over Christmas :)
-He now has 8 teeth :)
-Sawyer knows how to clap and knows that when you say "Yay", that means to clap.
-He LOVES to dance. Every time a song comes on, he always stops to get a little dance in.
-He knows how to say "mama", "dada", "hi", "bite", "baba"(bottle), "ut-oh" and "bah"(Bentley).
-He loves Sesame Street.
-He absolutely loves to read! He would chose a book over a toy any day. 
-He HATES juice. If you give him juice in his sippy cup, he will literally throw it across the kitchen. Garrett and I are mean and do it on purpose sometimes just to get a good laugh in. :)
-Sawyer's favorite foods include applesauce, bananas, mac n' cheese, peaches, pears, Teddy Grahmas, Vanilla Wafers, eggs and pizza. He LOVES cheese...just like his mama and dada :)
-Sawyer loves Bentley. He will chase Bentley around the house laughing hysterically until he gets tired and falls down.
-He loves anything electronic. For example, the T.V remote, the laptop, the XBOX controller, etc. 
-Sawyer loves to take baths! But who doesnt?!
-He loves to go for walks outside and play outside. Grandma Jenn bought him a wagon for his birthday(which he LOVES so much, he cries when you take him out!) so we will be taking walks very frequently. :)


I'm sure I could go on and on about him but you'd be here all day! He is such a sweet little boy and I am SO thankful that I get the privilege to be his mom. I fall more in love with him everyday! :) 


We had a little party on Tuesday with two of Sawyer's little friends, Cohen and Rylee. He LOVES other kids so it was really fun to have them there to celebrate with us. We had pizza for dinner and then indulged in some cupcakes! We weren't sure what Sawyer was going to do with his cupcake but shortly after we gave it to him, he planted his face in it! It was too cute. He ate almost the whole thing! He got lots of fun presents including a wagon, a talking Elmo, a tractor with some legos, a set of 'Cars' dishes and some fun bath toys :) He had such a fun time playing with his friends on his birthday! 


Here are some recent pictures of him from his little party and some from the past couple months :) Enjoy! 

I love you, Sawyer! :)