Baking and biking with my boy

We had fun with Finley today. He was so tired (as you can see by the spaced out expression in the first picture). He had gotten up at 4:30 this morning and was just dragging. I tried to get  him to nap but that just turned out to be 30 minutes of torture with that little wiggling body next to me in bed!
We finally gave up and baked some Easter cookies. When he was decorating the bunny he said that it needed earrings and feet. I asked him if the feet were so the bunny could jump and he said, no "the bunny needs feet so it can do head, shoulders, knees, and toes!"  Makes perfect sense to me! :)

I've been looking and finally found a small tricycle for him. I was afraid his short legs wouldn't reach the pedals on a big wheel riding toy. He's been cursed with his daddy's (and great-grandpa's) short legs. When he saw it he said "I'm SO excited!" That alone was worth it. Now the actual riding will take a while to master. He finally made it a few feet today but then was done. (remember how tired he was....)

Tending Zofie

Every time I see this little girl I start singing "blue eyes, smiling at me, nothing but blue eyes do I see." (with apologies to Ella and Frankie)  Every picture I've taken of her has changed the color of her eyes and shown them as brown. Finally with some natural light and the right filter I captured those gorgeous baby blues. Unfortunately she was engrossed in her favorite pastime of fist chewing, but it's still a cute picture!

I went down to Murray to tend her for about 5.5 hours while Derek and Shelby volunteered at the Jordan River Temple open house. She was so good and I loved taking care of her. However, by the time I got home I was physically and mentally exhausted. Really? I know the drive down and back tired me but still.  How did I ever tend Finley for three and four days a week, all day long, when he was little? As I pondered on that I finally decided it was one of those tender mercies from our Heavenly Father. Chad and Anney needed help and the Lord fit me for the task. There's really no other explanation. I know I'm three years older now but that doesn't account for everything.  I love my family and I'm happy that I can help when I can. These grandchildren are definitely a blessing from heaven and I love them both with all my heart and pray daily for their parents as they raise them.

St. Patrick's celebration

It's always fun to get together with the family to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. We were only a day late this year. There's still no positive connection but we think Myler is an Irish name so, of course, we have to celebrate our heritage as well. We always have a traditional meal of corned beef, colcannon, Irish breads and of course leprechaun cake. This year I added an Irish farmhouse stew to the menu and everyone really liked it.

Of course, the best part of the day was spending time with family. Chad was sick so didn't come and we missed him. Finley had so much fun looking for the "leprechaun money" that was hidden through the house. He's going to be lots of fun at Easter in a few weeks. I wish we could get together more often but everyone is so busy. Derek is practically working around the clock to get his thesis done in the next few weeks. I'm so happy that Matt and Sherlyn are coming in May to Derek's convocation when he receives his master's degree. I love being together as a family and I love that everyone supports everyone else. When all is said and done family is what matters.

Zofia's day

What a wonderful day we had on Wednesday the 7th. Doug and I were able to go to the temple and do some family sealings.  The spirit was so strong as we knelt at the altar with a cute little Japanese lady acting as proxy for Zofia Lokietek and she was sealed to her parents. Doug and I both wept as we felt the spirit and the peace that accompanied that ordinance.

As an extra special bonus on this already special day, our little Zofia Rose got to go to the Jordan River Temple open house with her parents. They were invited on a special tour of the temple as Shelby's grandfather had donated the land to the church that the temple is built on. The temple has been closed for renovation and repairs for a few years and is just opening back up for an open house prior to being rededicated. I thought that it was so special that little Zofia was able to be in a temple with her parents on the same day that her fifth great-grandmother, for whom she is named, was sealed to her parents and became part of an eternal family.

Later in the week on Friday we went to the Garden Restaurant in the Joseph Smith building and had dinner with Greg and Kathy. It's always fun to get together with them and talk. As I looked out the window I had a view of the Salt Lake Temple and had to snap a quick picture of it. It was a reminder again to me of what a special week it had been and how blessed we are to have temples nearby.