Love in Bloom

I've decided to keep track of all the beautiful flowers JT gives to me! Since I just posted flowers recently, consider this entry #2 of the "Love in Bloom" series!

Hot Hubby Contest

Have you heard about The Dating Divas yet??? If not, then be sure to head over there right now! It's a site run by a group of women who work hard on their marriages by coming up with creative dates.  I've gotten a lot of good ideas from them before, like the sleepover camp-out date I had with JT!

Right now they're hosting a Hot Hubby Contest on their Facebook page. The prize is a family/couples photo shoot along with a professional stylist to do our hair!!!! Best prize ever!!!!

I've entered JT into the running as entry number #88. It's a picture of him sleeping in bed with the twins. I love it because it shows his love for me and them.  Their entire first year of life, JT chose to get up with them EVERY time they woke up EVERY night.  He honestly enjoyed spending time with them! He also loved knowing that even though he couldn't be there during the day to help me, he could show his support each night by letting me catch a few extra winks. I never once asked him to do it! This tough handsome man went from pulling all-nighters defending our country in Iraq to all-nighters with babies' spit-up on his shirt. My hubby is HOT!

The only way we can win is if enough people "Like" JT's photo.  Please head over the The Dating Divas Facebook page, "Like" it, and then "Like" the photo in their contest album.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

THANK YOU for all your support. I'm giddy to even have a chance at winning this amazing prize!

How will they know?

The title for this post comes from one of my all-time favorite Primary songs, "How Will They Know?"
The lyrics are as follow:

How will they know 

the ones for whom we care 

that God is love and with us everywhere, 

That life is good, with blessings all can share? 

How will they know 

unless we teach them so?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I will teach my children the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I'm still new at this and not exactly sure how to start...but I have come up with some sort of a routine.

The best part? The impact is almost instantaneous.

So I'll go ahead and show you what I've got, and PLEASE feel free to interject with any advice you have!

8am: I pull the twins out of their cribs and we have a family prayer that also blesses breakfast. Then I change diapers, get them dressed, and feed them cheerios as they wait for their oatmeal to finish cooking.

11am: I sit down with them to read 3 children's books that are specifically religious. Then we read one scripture from the Book of Mormon and sing a primary song.  As soon as the song is over, the twins get put into their cribs for their late morning nap. 

1 pm: The twins wake up and are pulled out of their cribs. We play, read books, sing songs, etc. I make lunch and we bless it.

4:30pm: I read 3 stories out of our children's Bible and then read one verse out of the KJV Bible. We sing another primary song and then the twins get put in their cribs for their late afternoon nap.

6:30pm: The twins wake up in time to greet Daddy as he walks through the door. I have dinner done by that time and we bless it before eating. 

8:00pm: The twins are changed into their pajamas and we gather in the living room for a family devotional. My parents gave us a packet of pictures depicting stories from the scriptures. We use one picture a night to briefly explain the story to the twins. Then they each get a turn holding the picture. We say a family prayer and then they twins are put to bed.

Obviously I'm going to have to change the schedule once the twins start growing out of their nap schedule. I want to make it fun for them. They seem to be enjoying it right now, but I'd love for it to be more engaging and less formal. Any ideas?

Okay, so for the fun parts of my story!!!

This morning when I said the prayer, Porter sat on the floor, crossed his legs, and bowed his head! Delilah stood in place, folded her arms, and bowed her head!  I could barely contain my excitement!!!! They did such a good job being reverent.  I am so proud of them!

I do think that Delilah's a little confused though. When we were singing "I Am a Child of God" she folded her arms. It wasn't until Porter started waving his arm to conduct the music that she realized it was music time instead! Then she joined right in. 

I've definitely got my work cut out for me with these two. Oh, and did I mention I'm considering early potty training? Heaven help me!

Flowers

Look at the pretty flowers JT brought me home last night!!!

He also brought me my favorite cookies (snickerdoodles). But they disappeared...

Where have we been for all of May?

The answer is California! Cool huh?
The Monday after Easter, the twins and I hopped into the car with JT's dad and headed straight for Cali.  I was equal parts excited and nervous. We were supposed to stay for 2 weeks and have JT join us for week 3. I was nervous about how much the twins and I would end up missing him. The answer: A LOT.

We had tons of fun though while we were down! I spent 3 weeks at my parents and got together with JT's family as often as the twins let me.
*Sidenote 1: I was really shocked that the twins never acclimated to the time change the entire MONTH we were there. It made it really hard to try and do anything in the evening. They also got sick. No fair. :(
*Sidenote 2: Yes, you read that right. Month. JT had something important come up at work and had to           postpone coming out to meet us another week.

Some fun things that went on:

*The twins and I watched our first NASCAR race!
*The twins fell in LOVE with both sets of grandmas. Delilah in particular.
*Porter likes to go down slides by himself
*The twins enjoy playing in the kiddie pool and sand box
*The twins are not afraid to eat sand
*I got to go to the temple every week with my parents!
*I went out to eat with my friends Lyndsey and Kylie
*Kylie and I found amazing hats
*Porter and I got to go on a lunch and shopping adventure with my cousin Stefani!
*The twins said "Thank you"...a lot (but stopped as soon as we left CA)
*I watched my sister get down with her bad self at a youth conference talent show
*My siblings and I become thoroughly obsessed with The Voice (secret handshake and everything)
*I got to sing "I Stand All Amazed" in Sacrament
*We got to go with the Trouts to my new favorite Riverside restaurant: Mi Tortilla!
*We had another spectacular time with JT's family playing catch phrase. It gets pretty crazy.
*And last but certainly not least, JT and I went away for a one night stay in Laguna Beach! More on that to come!

There's probably a million things I've missed putting down. A whole month is a lot to remember though. We were all really grateful for the time we got to spend with family. It really makes it hard sometimes to come back up to Utah until we remember that we have Christina's family and all our friends up here! How about all our Trout and Meza family just moves on up with us? Doesn't that sound PERFECT?! *Sigh* A girl can dream.

P.S. I came home to two presents. I'll give you a hint as to what the first one was...

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!