Lunch Ideas

It's always hard coming up with packed lunch ideas. At least I think so. We have been through multiple phases of sandwiches, wraps, bagels, soups, left overs...etc, and after many years, it's exhausting thinking of ideas that are easy to put together and cost effective. That's when I came up with this idea:

Pork Burritos (or whatever meat you want)

Cook pork in crock-pot for 8-10 hours. Heat up 3 cans of beans. In a large bowl, mix the shredded pork, sauteed onions, sauteed bell peppers, salsa (for taste) and any other seasonings you want. Add some pork mix, a spoonful of beans, a palm full of cheese in the center of a medium tortilla. Fold closed like a burrito, wrap in plastic wrap. Then put them all in a large freezer Ziploc back, and place in freezer. In the morning all you have to do is grab and go. Place in microwave for 90 sec and ready to eat.
You can also mix it up by doing meat and cheese, meat and beans, beans and cheese... the possibilities are endless (actually they're not endless, there's only 4 ways).
Super inexpensive, and can make up to 27 burritos if you plan it right. That's 5 weeks of lunches!! (Assuming you don't work or go to school on the weekends)

Cradle

Daniel's mom made us this beautiful cradle for Lyla when she was born. We are so grateful to have it, and Lyla loves it. Daniel's mom is really talented and I wanted to show off her work. 

3 Months

Lyla turned 3 months this month. It surprises me every month how fast time flies, and how big my little girl is getting. 

Aug 24th: 4lbs 15oz

Sept 10th: 6lbs 1oz

Sept 24th: 7lbs 4oz

Nov 1st: 9lbs 3oz

Nov 21st: 9lbs 12oz

~She loves being outside. Unfortunatly it's getting so cold that we can't spend too much time outside, but when she gets fussy, I'll bundle her up and go take out the garbage just to get out. The moment we walk out the door she calms down. Weird!

~She smiles so much now, and has laughed only a couple times. I'm looking forward to hearing her laugh all the time. 

~She loves to sleep in. She normally sleeps from 10:30-5:30. Eats, and then sleeps again until about 8:30. Eats, then spends the next hour struggling to wake up. It would be nice if I could sleep in with her, but I always struggle to do that. Once I wake up, I'm awake. And since she sleeps so well in the mornings, it's when I can get my home in order.  

~We are excited about celebrating all her first holidays together. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm really looking forward to Christmas with our new little family. 

Out for a walk

 Her first Thanksgiving. 

 Hanging out with mom

 3 month growth shot

 In her blessing dress. 

 Morning snoozes on the couch

Love from Daniel

Baby Blessing

BEFORE

AFTER

Yip, I made Lyla's blessing dress out of my wedding dress. It is something that I have always wanted to do, even before I got married. I felt like the dress would mean a little more this way. The fabric is from my dress and the beads are from my vale. Although it was a simple pattern, it was very time consuming, and I wasn't sire if I would finish on time. I worked on it right up until the day before. And I love it. (Pattern: McCall 4865)

 The men that helped give Lyla her blessing. L-R: Daniel's dad Stephen, Daniel, brother McKay, Uncle Mike, Brother-In-Law Michael.

 We were so grateful to everyone that were able to join us in this special day. Yay for family!

Lyla with all of her Creviston cousins. 

This was a very special day for us, and Daniel did an amazing job. I started crying before the men even stood up. Baby blessings were always the hardest thing to listen to when we couldn't have children ourselves. It was just another reminder that we couldn't experience that ourselves. I would either leave during the baby blessings, or avoid sacrament meeting all together when I knew a blessing was going to happen. It was something that tore at my heart and made my stomach sick with pain.
But yesterday, all that pain went away. We were able to bless our own daughter, and it filled my heart with so much joy. I am forever grateful to our Heavenly Father for bringing her to us and making her apart of our family.

Thanksgiving

Daniel and I were excited to be with family this Thanksgiving. The past 3 years living in Memphis has made it difficult to travel to Washington for the holidays, so being home was wonderful. 

Going for a walk Thanksgiving morning with some of Lyla's cousins. 

Lyla with Grandma

 Lyla and the huge turkey. 

 Lyla with Grandpa

 The only two nieces in the family. There are seven nephews, so the girls are a little out numbered.

This being Lyla's first Thanksgiving made it so much more special. I am just so thankful everyday to have her apart of our family. She is such a blessing, and brings us so much joy and happiness.

Mother's Room

Today I was able to do something amazing. Nurse Lyla in the Mother's Room. Until today, Lyla's feedings have always fallen before or after church. But today I was able to nurse her during sacrament meeting in the Mother's Room.

I know this sounds silly, but it is something I have always wanted to do. Going through so many years of wanting to be a mother, it's a little hard knowing that there was a room that I couldn't go in, because I wasn't a mother myself. When I was pregnant with Lyla, I got so excited to finally have a reason to go into that room. And today it happened.
When we arrived at church and I realized that I was going to need to nurse Lyla, that I was going to be able to go into the Mother's Room, I got so excited. As I sat there in the room with Lyla, my heart was so full. I just feel so blessed everyday to have her in my life.

Elections

What's changed from yesterday to today?
I still say my prayers, cuddle with my daughter, snuggle with my husband, and am grateful for everything I have. I still have to do laundry, dishes, cleaning, pay bills and change diapers. I guess not much has changed!

Sad Day

Yesterday was a terribly sad day. Lyla had her 2 month Dr's appointment and had her first round of shots. She had three shots in her legs and a dose she had to drink. After meeting with the Dr first, we went to the immunization section. Daniel took her in, while I waited outside. I didn't think I could handle seeing her get shots. And I was right. I heard her start to scream, and I just lost it. As soon as they were done I fed her to try and comfort her. It seemed to help. I told her it was chocolate ice-cream for being so brave. And that's how we spent the rest of the day. She would wake up screaming in pain, I gave her a little 'ice-cream' to comfort her, she'd fall asleep and I would cry because I felt so bad. Then she'd wake up and we'd do it all again. I think I cried more then she did over the day. It just broke my heart to see my little girl in pain. 

But she is now 9 lbs 3 oz. My little one is growing so big, but still as cute as ever!

Aug 24th: 4lbs 15oz

Sept 10th: 6lbs 1oz

Sept 24th: 7lbs 4oz

Nov 1st: 9lbs 3oz

Halloween

Every year, Halloween comes around, we buy lots of candy and no kids show up. It's so weird. We've always lived in apartment complexes, so you would think they would be perfect for trick-or-treaters....but no. I could probably count the number of kids who have knocked on our door over the past 6 Halloweens on one hand. It's kinda sad.

So this year, we decided to not buy any candy. We had some candy that we had bought for our 14 year old Sunday School class that we teach, and decided that if kids show up, we'll just use that. 

And what do ya know? A ton of kids came knocking. It was actually so fun. Lyla was all dressed in her Lady bug outfit, and it was exciting to see all the little kids get so excited about their costumes. They finished all our candy, so our Sunday School class will be without for a while, but I'm glad we had that stash on hand. 

Daniel and I didn't really do much for Halloween this year. It's just different now that Lyla is here. Once she is a little older we'll make it fun, but this year just seemed a little pointless to me. I don't see the point in spending money on a costume that she'll only wear once. She's not going to go trick-or-treating or to any other Halloween parties, so whats the point in the costume. So this Ladybug outfit worked out perfect because not only was it half the price of a real costume, it's something she can wear several more times as PJ's.

I love my little bug!

Mornings

Lyla and I have been sick, so after a rough start to the night, I brought Lyla downstairs so that Daniel could get some sleep. We spent the rest of the night on the couch trying to sleep. This morning, this is what I to wake up to.

I just LOVE this girl!!

2 Months

Our little girl has turned 2 months old. I cried yesterday thinking about it. She is just growing so fast, and she has brought us so much joy. 

- Daniel and I have learned how to make time for ourselves. We forgot how to communicate in the beginning because we were so focused on Lyla, but now we are back on track.

- I still haven't gotten used to people wanting to hold her. My heart just aches when other people hold her, so I tend to not share. 

- She has gotten so good at night time sleeping. Not sleeping through the night of course, but she sleeps for 3 hours at a time which I'm happy with. I enjoy our 'middle of the night' time together, so I'm not bothered that she doesn't sleep through the night yet. 

- She loves bath time. She just kicks and kicks and has fun. Thankfully we have a heater in the bathroom because if it's not on, she screams when she is taken out of the bath. She hates being cold. 

- She has started to smile. It melts my heart. I love seeing her smile in the morning when she wakes up. She gets really excited before her feeding, and then smacks her lips together when she is done. 

 After her bath.

 Ready to go outside. It's been cold lately.

 She fell asleep on Daniel's chest, and when he put her down, she stayed in her position.

 Nap time.

 All smiles!

 Getting sooo big!

 Ready for church with Dad. (During sacrament meeting she had a blow-out and ruined her cute outfit)

In her 'Coming Home' outfit. Finally starting to fit. 

From the beginning

I often think about the struggles Daniel and I went through before Lyla came. The hope, fear, sadness, confusion, anger and anxiousness we felt for so many years has been replaced with joy and happiness. 

It was Jan 2nd, 2012. I went to the hospital really early before work for some tests. Tests to determine if I was pregnant. I had called my Dr and asked that they contact Daniel with the blood results. I knew if the results were bad, I was going to fall apart, and I didn't want to do that at work. This was our 4th attempt at IVF, and it's hard to get excited when you are used to failed results. I went through the day with a knot in my stomach. I knew better then to get excited. The more hopeful you feel, the harder it is when it fails. 

When the day was over, I got in my car and broke down into tears. I cried (actually it was more like balling) and prayed all the way home. I prayed not for a positive result, but for the strength to go on if it was a negative. The last failed attempt, I had completely lost myself, and I didn't want to feel that again. I needed the Lords to help me through this this time. I pulled into our parking lot and sat in the car for 20 mins, too afraid to go inside. I just sat there crying and praying. When I finally went inside, Daniel was sitting on the couch  and without hesitation he broke into a huge smile and said "You're pregnant!" I dropped everything in my hands and ran over to him and jumped into his lap. I kept saying "Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh..." over and over as we hugged, laughed and cried together. 

In the back of my mind, I was afraid to get too excited. It seemed too good to be true, and I was sure something was going to go wrong. I took pregnancy tests weekly just to make sure that it was real. I think I ended up taking close to a dozen tests. I was so sure something was going to go wrong. I was 14 weeks pregnant before we told family, and 17 weeks before we started to tell friends. When you are used to hearing 'No', it's hard to believe when it's finally a big fat YES!! 

Before I was pregnant, I was always bothered by people who would complain about their pregnancy on Facebook or church. Complaining about being tired or nauseous, heartburn etc... I would always say to myself, 'If you don't like being pregnant, I'll gladly trade places with you.' I'm pretty sure the Lord heard every time I said that. I could hear Him laughing and saying, "You asked for it", because when I was pregnant I got every single possible symptom times 10, including being hospitalized 4 times for kidney stones. But I never complained, because my throwing up was just a reminder that I was pregnant. And even though I was sick, I loved being pregnant and feeling my little girl move around. I would never trade those months. 

My brother Chris and his family (Alyssa and Hudson) came to visit.

Even though it took 7 years for Lyla to join our family, it feels like she has always been with us. The joy of having her in our lives takes away all the pain that we felt before. As hard as it was, I wouldn't take away those years. I feel like I am stronger for it, and Daniel and I have been able to grow and strengthen our marriage and work out all the kinks before starting a family. I am so grateful for our little girl and the strength she had to make it, when other attempts didn't.