God So Loved the World

With Easter fast approaching, I have been taking more time to contemplate on what our Savior's sacrifice means for us. Volunteering to sing in the stake choir for the Easter fireside has helped give me more time for contemplation as I sing hymn after hymn about our Savior.
One in particular has captured my heart at the moment. It is Carl J. Nygard, Jr.'s "God So Loved the World". The lyrics are as follows:

God so loved the world

that He gave His only Son.

God so loved the world

that everyone who would believe in His only Son

shall have everlasting life.

For God sent not His Son in to the world,

to condemn the world,

but God so loved the world that through His Son

the world might be saved

God so loved the world

that He gave His only Son,

That all who would believe in Him

would have everlasting life.

The Atonement and the Resurrection bring me to thoughts of life and death.

Last week my friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. She was two weeks early and was healthy, despite having the cord wrapped around her neck. The doctor said that had she waited the 2 weeks and been born bigger, there would have been dangerous complications to the delivery. The Lord knew that and blessed their family. She would have liked the extra two weeks, but God in His mercy saw fit to bless them with their baby girl in complete health. Our ways are definitely not His ways.

On the other side of the spectrum is death. Last night at choir practice our director asked for forgiveness in a whisper before telling us a story. He told us that a sister was missing from our soprano section. She had gone in for surgery and had died unexpectedly on Tuesday. He told us that her dear husband was even then singing in the choir with us. We heard a choked sob come from the men's section, but I dared not look and invade his privacy. The director told us that after she had passed, her husband had gone in to see her one last time. Her husband is a sealer in the temple and has a firm testimony in the power of the temple. He looked at his sweet wife and said, "well, I'll see you later." The director then went on to ask us to remember this man's testimony and dear wife when we sang "God So Loved the World".  The power is in the words of that song.

I also found out that a wonderful and dear woman named Cindy Simpson passed away last night as well. I grew up with her as a leader and looked up to her. I knew she had moved away and was fighting cancer. Her son let us all know that she passed in her home surrounded by her family.

This life is many things. It is birth, death, joy, sadness, sickness, and health. But what remains the same is the sacrifice of our Savior. Constant throughout eternity is the mercy that Jesus Christ has bestowed upon us. We need not fear meeting our God because Christ's Atonement washes us clean. My friend's new daughter will be able to meet her Savior as pure as she is now, because Christ will take her sins upon Him.  And that dear man and the Simpson family will see their loved ones again because of the Resurrection. Death holds no power anymore. Because of the Son, God will be with you until we all meet again. 

As you fill your eggs and decorate your homes with flowers and bunnies this Easter, take the time to remember the man who has changed history.

Remember the man who was born without riches and was rejected by his own people. 

Remember the man who bled from every poor under the weight of our sins in the Garden of Gethsemane--a Garden filled will olives that when pressed, ooze a blood red juice.

Remember the man who because of his divine nature, had to willingly offer himself up on the cross.

Always remember the man who did this all that you and I might live with him again. Because of him, we will all live again.

"There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection." (Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Ensign, Dec. 2000, 2).

El Pollito

You may or may not be aware of this, but my maiden name is Meza. My family is from Costa Rica and that makes me one proud Tica! I'm working on teaching my children Spanish but it's coming slowly. I know for sure that they understand "besito" (kiss).

Funny. That was the first word their father learned too. ;)

Here's a video of the twins enjoying one of their favorite nursery rhymes! Enjoy!

Cake Pops

Anyone out there ever heard of cake pops? Haha, I know. Those are OLD news!

...unless you're Bakerella. Then they're always in vogue.

Today was my first EVER attempt at the infamous pops, and I've gotta say I LOVE them! They were so easy and it was all done in 20 minutes. So in case any of you are arriving to the party fashionably late, like myself, I've posted the steps for you!

*Cheering*  Thank you, thank you. I love you all too.

1. First, burn a few cupcakes you were working on for the baby shower tomorrow.
Ok, not really...but that was my first step. I baked 50 cupcakes and burnt 6 of them. Not wanting to put them to waste, I figured it was the perfect time to try cake pops!

2. I crumbled up the cake into the smallest pieces I could get.  Then I mixed cream cheese frosting into the crumbs.

3. I rolled the crumb and frosting mixture into little balls. Kind of like when you're working with cookie dough...

4. I stuck those little suckers into the freezer for a minute or so to make them easier to work with.

5. While the balls were in the fridge, I grabbed my white baking chips and melted them in the microwave.

6. Since I wanted my chocolate to be tinted pink, I mixed in one drop of red food coloring.

 7. When the chocolate was ready I grabbed my lollipop sticks and dipped one end into the chocolate. Then I pulled the cake balls out of the fridge and stuck the chocolate covered stick ends into the balls.

8. I put the cake pops back in the freezer for a little while to make sure the sticks were nice and secure.

I then took the opportunity to feed my kids. Demanding, aren't they? Haha. I was so happy to see them eagerly gobble up the bean and beef chili I gave them! That's unheard of! As soon as I saw they would eat it, I rushed back into the kitchen and cut up a bunch of peppers and mushrooms to sneak in. They never noticed! SUCCESS!

9. I pulled out the cake pops and rolled them in the chocolate. Once they were all covered, I put them back in the freezer, but this time I made sure I lined the plate with parchment paper.



10. Now the fun part! I got to pull out my tray and line it with parchment. Then I sprinkled it with powdered sugar for decoration. Lastly, I put the cake pops on and patted myself on the back! Yay!

I think they'll be super cute at the baby shower...if it ends up happening! I have yet to hear back from them so who knows...



Guess we should've seen that coming...

my friend Lizzy is in labor. I cannot stop laughing over it all! That's what we get for planning a baby shower at 38 weeks! Haha!

I'm SO excited for her! She's such a great mom to her toddler and she will be fantastic with two.

I think our Diaper Shower is going to turn into a Sip & See! Hee hee. I can't stop smiling. :)

My Babies

Time sure has flown by around here. The twins are now 15 months old! I begged them to stop growing, but they refuse to stay my little babies. They're loving life and having way too much fun enjoying the freedom of walking to listen to me.
Porter has 12 teeth, including 4 molars. He's a sweetheart and our biggest cuddle bug.  Porter would spend all day in my lap giving me kisses if I let him. He walks and runs without any fear. If I need to grab something from my bedroom really quick, I have to take off at a dead sprint. He still manages to make it to the door before I've had the chance to shut it again! He's SO fast.

Porter is also VERY strong. If he thinks to do it, there's probably a way for him to accomplish it. He's as mischievous as can be. He's just 100% little boy and I LOVE it. He will run around the house asking "huh?" all day long. His new favorite word besides "huh" is "Momma". It melts my heart. So his grand word count total comes to 3 regular words (including "dada") and the occasional "thank you".

Porter's sleeping schedule has stayed pretty regular. He sleeps in until 7:30-8 am and goes down for naps between 10 & 11 and then later between 3 & 4.  Each nap lasts 2 hours, but the first one has been known to stretch to 3.  He will usually wake up once during the night if his diaper is dirty. After a quick change and a sippy cup of water, he's out like a light for the rest of the night.  It's not really anything to complain about.

His eating habits are healthy...but picky. It takes quite a bit of work to get him to eat anything new or anything he's recently decided isn't as yummy as it used to be. Like strawberries. Crazy child.

Delilah is turning into a beautiful little girl. Seeing her sweetness makes me so happy. She's a petite little thing and can still fit into 6 month old clothes. Our doctor is certain she will be petite her whole life. It's funny that a 6'3" man can have a petite daughter!

Delilah's personality is far from small though! She's always running around and laughing at the top of her lungs. I'm a little worried about the terrible two's considering how strong-willed she already is. But I'm determined to do my part to help her keep her big personality without turning into a wild child. She is SO worth the effort.
She loves to walk over and just rest her head on my shoulder while I run my fingers through her hair. Her eyes sparkle everytime she gets one on one time with JT or myself.

She is not as steady on her feet as Porter is, but she can get around without much of a problem.  Running is probably in the not-too-far future. Delilah has 8 teeth and is working on getting 2 molars. She's never once complained about teething but I feel bad about all the drooling. I'm sure that must annoy her!

Her favorite word is "ya?".  It's so cute! She'll say it at the perfect moments too. I was telling a neighbor boy that I was really bad at math and Delilah looked up and said "ya" with this disappointed tone...I cracked up!!
Her every day word total comes to 2, including "dada".  The occasional miracle words include "thank you", "momma", and "diaper".  The latter was the most amazing thing in the world. I really hoped that she would continue to tell me when she had a dirty diaper...but that was just a pie in the sky.

Her sleep and eating habits are exactly the same as Porter's, except she sleeps through the night. Go Delilah girl! Her nicknames are Delilah Baila, Lidah, and Chiquita Delilah (newly christened so by Grandpa Meza).


So there we have it. My babies are now beautiful toddlers. I couldn't be happier. I find so much joy being their mother and look forward to the onset of Spring. There are so many new things for them to discover and I can't wait!

Candles

One of the quickest ways to add ambience to any even is with candles. Knowing this, I took a trip up to IKEA to gather my supplies.  Thankfully they sell a package of 20 candles for around $3. That's perfect since I'd love to have some leftover for personal use!

I sat in the living room this morning waiting to pounce on my first nap time opportunity.  When 11am finally hit, the twins were happily down with their sippy cups in hand. I gleefully ran off and gathered my supplies! Simple, right? Those are always the perfect projects.



It was very relaxing to be able to sit there curling ribbon while watching the Colbert Report. In a matter of minutes I was done! I'll have 10 total for the shower on Saturday!

I'm really excited because my BFF Kina will be coming down on Friday to save my butt with a cake! She's gonna teach me her professional ways and hopefully I'll pick up a thing or two. Kina, I love your face!

Diaper Shower Invitations

I am hosting a diaper shower this Saturday for a friend of mine. It's the first one I've ever hosted and I'm pretty nervous! It's Lizzy's second little girl and I want everything to be pink and frilly. I had my sister-in-law Lacie take the invite I drew up in my paint program and turn it pretty. She's very talented! Then I used paper doilies from the Dollar Store to add the finishing touch.

Didn't they turn out CUTE?! I'm absolutely in love with them. I can't wait to give Lizzy her copy today. I really think she'll like it!
We're meeting at her mother-in-law's house today to go over details and make a game plan. After that I'll have some definite crafts and plans to post! Eek! I'm way excited!

Linked up at Tatertots and Jello and Today's Creative Blog

A Change of Plans

Hello all! I know you probably expect the next post to be about another amazing date and I am so sorry to disappoint.  However, due to circumstances I did not foresee, we are going to have to cancel the last two dates. 
Boo!
Hiss!
I know.  I was even working on my first ever painting! Hopefully I'll be able to get back to it all sometime in the future.  In the meantime, I hope you all have WONDERFUL anniversaries!

Anniversary Week: Day 5

Last night was our Beach Date! For our honeymoon, JT and I went on a Carnival Cruise Ship named the Elation.  It docked in Cabo and Ensenada, Mexico.  I thought it might be fun to recreate it a little bit!  Well, as much as could be done when it's 40 degrees outside at night. ;)

I set the mood with another sign on the door.

Since I was going to be picking JT up from work that day, I put in an order ahead of time for Cafe Rio. YUMMY!!! If you haven't had their sweet pork then you are seriously missing out. I felt it was appropriate for a Mexican cruise theme.

After we got fat and happy, it was time to change into our "beach" gear. As you can tell, that does not include swimsuits. It was 40 degrees out! No way it was gonna happen.

We started out by playing our own version of beach volleyball. I set up laundry baskets at either end of our yard. The rule was to only touch the ball with your fingertips and absolutely NO holding the ball. The game lasted all of 2 minutes before the ball popped! That's what I get for buying it at the Dollar Store. Our awesome neighbor let us use her masking tape to fix it though.  We went right back at it and lasted another 5 minutes before it popped again! We just called it a game at that point. I was losing 2-4 so I wasn't shedding any tears over having to end early anyways. ;)
Our next activity included a giant bubble wand.  No, I didn't get pictures.  Be sad because you missed out.  I spun in a circle blowing the bubbles while JT zoomed around popping them as fast as he could! It was pretty hilarious!
The last "beach" activity was a hula hoop contest!
It took me all of 1 minute to break it! We had to use some more masking tape to fix it and pulled off all the sparkly stuff on the outside. Then I took a shot at hula hooping first.  Apparently I'm more talented at breaking it. I did SO bad that I tripped all over myself and went down laughing! Unfortunately, JT caught that moment in a picture.  In the interest of full disclosure, I'll let you see my laughing hyena moment. But no judging. You know you look like a hyena when you trip over a hula hoop too.

JT once again demostrated his superior skills and actually managed to do well!

Since the hula hoop was our last game, we headed indoors. At this point JT was excited to find out that ice cream cones were next on the menu. His favorite thing about our cruise was the 24 hour soft serve ice cream. He had it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. In fact, he remembers me accusing him of cheating on me with ice cream on our honeymoon.  Meh.  I got over it.  Plus, I was excited for ice cream too!

After the frozen treat we were supposed to put on our swimsuits and SQUEEZE into the tub together (remember, JT is 6'3"). I even got squirt guns and a little toy boat to play with....
......ok ok. So I stole it from Porter and Delilah!

But in the end, we were too tired to go through with it. But I know it would've been super fun! There's always next time. :)

Linked up at Tatertots and Jello and Today's Creative Blog

Anniversary Week: Day 4

Last night was our Country date! Sadly enough, I didn't snap a picture of us. But rest assured, there were jeans, plaid shirt, and pigtails galore. 

I set the mood by decorating our front door with a sign and a ticket to our country concert.

It created quite the fuss with the neighborhood kids.  Neighbors kept asking, "Didn't you do your date LAST night?"  Hee hee hee.

I also found the CUTEST rock concert admission ticket on the Dating Divas site. To download it for yourself, visit their link here.

Even though we weren't going to a rock concert, I figured it counted since we would be "rocking" out to country.  See? It totally works. :)

After dinner we decided to begin by dancing.  Back before we got married, I would spend hours upon hours country swing dancing it up all over Utah County.  I have since COMPLETELY forgotten everything I ever knew, which puts JT and I at the perfect spot to learn together. :) Now if only I could stop getting frustrated with myself then it would be just perfect...



After we fiddled around with that for a good while, we sat down on the couch to enjoy our concert! Back when JT and I were dating, I snagged awesome floor seats to a Keith Urban concert! We had an amazing time together and really enjoyed the music.  So I made sure to pick up a Keith Urban in Concert DVD and a 2 liter of rootbeer for us! Trust me...those country folk like their beer. I made the mistake of wearing sandals to the concert and was up to my ankles in the stuff! Gross!

Oh Keith Urban, you're voice is wonderful. I did after all fall in love with JT while listening to his music.

Romantic and musical date was a total success! Go try it now! You won't believe how fun it is!