Daddy's Day!

 Norah LOVES her da-da!  It was fun celebrating him today and we are so happy to have Norah in our lives, the little girl who made him a daddy!  Most people enjoy a good bouquet of flowers, but for Ben, a bouquet of candy is the way to go.  

 I tried to let Norah present it to her daddy, but she was more interested in keeping it for herself :)

 We love you Ben, thanks for being such an amazing Daddy to my baby Norah.  We are lucky girls!

 And to my own Father who helped raise 8 kids and is now the grandpa to many grand kids, Happy Daddy's day to you too!  I love you Dad :)

 

Amazing!

This is where I get to run everyday!(ok not every single day ;)  Sometimes Norah gets to come along in the jogger, but today I got to go by myself.  The perks of having a husband in school, he's home at various hours.  Every now and then I get a little time just for myself, outside of our prison of an apartment.  I can't just go outside and start running, I just don't feel safe in our neighborhood, but we do have some great running trails downtown, just 5 minutes away.  I feel much safer being in the midst of dozens of other runners, bikers, etc.  And the river is SO high right now so it's nearly flooding, which makes for some amazing waterfalls.  Aside from the great friends we have made here, these running trails are what I will miss the most!

Swimming!

I have been so looking forward to enjoying the summer with my new little babe.  She is not so little anymore though!  We got her first swimsuit a few weeks ago, ask Ben, I had been dying to purchase a swimsuit for her since she was born.  Today it was warm enough to get out and use it.  None of the community pools are open for another few weeks, but there are several "splash pads" at the Parks around the city.

 

 

Norah was so excited to get outside.  When we go out jogging I usually let her out of the stroller to play in the grass after we're done.  So she loves being outside already.  However, the water was quite a surprise to her.  The water was so cold but that didn't stop her from wanting to be near the action, especially with all the other kids running all around her.  She never voluntarily walked through the water, but she did get caught off guard a few times and ended up right in the middle of the spray, upon which she would panic and whimper to be rescued.  The cuddling into me only lasted a few seconds though and she was off for more play.  Looking forward to actually getting to the pool soon; she is gonna love it!

"Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence"

A friend brought this talk given by Elder Holland to my attention last week and I wanted to keep it somewhere I could refer back to it again and again.  This was my favorite excerpt from the talk...

"With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. “Cast not away therefore your confidence.” Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

I am sure that upon reading this talk you would find insights you can apply to your own life.  But as I read it I remembered the feelings I had when I made the decision to marry Ben,to go to school, to start my career, to be a mother, etc.  I remember having such strong feelings of the spirit that led me to know that what I was doing was right.  Through the rough and tumble of each day it's sometimes hard to remember the reasons why we chose to be where we are, and to do what we are doing, but it is so important that we always remember and that we cast not away our confidence.