Friday, January 30

Taggie Blankie



I am in California right now visiting my sister Talia, and although there has been a crazy circle of sickness that we have been dealing with, we did manage to make these quick little taggie blankies somehow! They are actually pretty fast to make and the babies love to chew on all the little tags!



I did a couple loops with double ribbon too, but it's basically just loops of ribbon stitched around some fleece! So cute and so quick! :)







Tia did a retro, colorful one for Lauren with buttons on the back that turned out so fun! You can see it at her blog:
http://www.haughtonfam.blogspot.com/

Hopefully we can end this vicious cycle of sickness soon and post some fun pics of all the crazy cousins! :)

Thursday, January 22

Family Matters



I want to start out by saying that I wish to approach this topic very carefuly and respectfully. It is not my intention to offend or insult anyone, but instead to clarify my own personal opinion and belief. So, in way of discussion and clarification:

Whenever there are difficult trials or hardships in life, it has always been my nature and my belief that it is important to involve family. Many people may disagree with this, and of course I understand that in many trivial and/or private circumstances, the general rule is that you need to keep things confidential, especially concerning marital disagreements or struggles. However, I strongly feel that when couples or families face major crisis or hardships, regardless of whether it is a direct result of any human mistake or not, that involving immediate family members can be a huge source of support, advice, counsel, and encouragement. Family helps lighten the seemingly unbearable load and give faith and hope to the otherwise desperately low reservoirs of these attributes by those individuals involved. Without family, I know there have been many painful and trying times that I would not have been able to get through without their help.

I will continue further to state that this being said, I do understand the need to strengthen ourselves and to learn to rely on our strength as couples and families also. By dealing with hardships or trials as a family unit, we can realize the growth that can be achieved by building our trust and faith in one another with difficult decisions and experiences. However, this can only be accomplished when all parties involved are willing to work together and support one another in those unique circumstances. This does take patience, humility, love, faith and trust, and I do admit and acknowledge that I myself can be weak and lacking in any and all of these areas at certain times. Again, I do not wish to offend anyone with these statements, but my sincere intent is to clarify my understanding of this issue. I will strive to be more sensitive to the family matters that should and should not be discussed, and I hope that my own family members will respectfully refrain from discussing certain matters with me. Please, if you don't wish to be involved, please inform me that you do not think it is your place or that you do not wish to discuss those matters with me. Thank you for your understanding. Simply stated, I believe that in regard to important family matters, family matters.

Monday, January 19

Birthday Pics

My little princess is officially a 2 year old!



Jocelyn had so much fun at her Birthday Party! A few good friends came over with their kiddos, and Jocie was so excited to be the center of attention! She made sure to tell all the kids that it was "her take (cake)" and was very protective of it.



         

Of course she absolutely loved all her princess gowns! Grandma Hinckley got her two satin nightgowns and our friend Katie gave her some adorable dress up princess dresses and jewelery which Jocelyn loved!

 

Getting her "pitty shoes" & Tinkerbell dress from Mom & Dad put on!

   
 

She had to try on EVERY SINGLE ONE of her gowns one at a time, all in a row. I got a pic of most of them - Daddy was a good sport!

         

Jocelyn could hardly wait for Daddy to open her baby doll. "That's my baby, Mama! You buy it!"

 

At the end of the night ~ our pooped Princess! :)

Friday, January 16

2 Today!!!

 

I can't believe my baby girl is turning 2 today! She is growing up so fast! I can't believe how quickly time flies by ... Our Princess is such a big girl already and lives up to her nickname very well! :) She loves anything princessy, and loves to wear as many dresses as she can, usually mutiple dresses at a time. She will even wear a shirt around her waist as a skirt! She repeatedly told me that she wants a princess dress and pretty shoes for her birthday. "And pitty shoes, Mama. And pitty shoes." :) Already a little diva!




It really doesn't feel that long ago that we brought her home from the hospital! She was the sweetest little thing from Day One!




      

A few (or maybe more) of my fav. pics of our little princess Jocelyn!

                   

I was going to do a collage or photo card arrangement, but just didn't get to it, so I hope u enjoy these random pics instead! :)