Temple Square

 Wednesday I didn't watch Anna & so we headed off to SLC to walk around Temple Square.  One of the nice things about it getting darker earlier is that we saw the lights & were home by 7 :)

Lily all bundled up it was FREEZING!!  Maybe that's why we got home so quickly!

Awww family photo!  We ran into the Bunkers from Farmington & they gladly took our picture.

It was nice seeing them can't believe it's been a year since we moved!!

Santa

Our ward had their Christmas party on the 10th & lucky for us Santa came to visit!!

Killing time as we waited for Santa to arrive.  We met a new friend Taya she was a few days older than Lily so fun!!

Lily was ready to run into Santa's lap, until we had to wait our turn :)

Lily telling Santa that she'd been a good little girl.

Wii Bowling

GG Knowles came down for Dr. appts & so we went a couple of nights to visit.

GG Knowles watching all the mad skills :)

Yes I bowl left handed... You can thank a left handed father for that! :)  Thanks dad!

Brett's turn

Uncle Logan's mad skills

Even Grandma got in on the action & she took 2nd place by 1 point.

I of course took last :)

Poor Lily, it was way past her bedtime, but lucky Grandma got lots of snuggles!

Victory

So I had a thought & well it's easier to type it (editing wise, I can read it, & I'm faster) then writing it in a journal.  So why not type it & share with those who maybe could benefit as I have?

I've been toying with the idea of quitting & becoming rebellious in regards to my religion.  I get really discouraged when I motivate myself to do everything I'm supposed to be doing & then I fail & have to start the process all over again.  Why pick up?  Why keep trying?  Why not just give into failure?  I decided to read The Miracle of Forgiveness by Pres Kimball to see if that wouldn't give me some hope/reasons to keep going.  Here's what I've discovered in the first 4 pages.

"Throughout the entire journey there is opportunity for learning and growth and development toward the final goal.  We see some people who merely travel, having no aim, direction, destination or purpose.  Without road maps to guide them, they just travel along the way and in varying degrees pick up such things as will please the eye, tickle the vanities, satisfy hungers, quench thirsts, satisfy passions.  And when the end of life draws nigh they have traveled but are little if any closer to their proper destination than when they started.  Regrettably, some have totally lost their way."

We pick ourselves back up & keep trying so that we are closer to our goal of eternal life than when we started!  We are not perfect & will never be in this life.  We shouldn't expect perfection the first 490 times we try, we just need to be closer to perfection than when we started out.  Pres Kimball also said "to do evil is usually easier than to do right."  See I was right all along it is EASIER to give into my weaknesses & quit!

Pres. Kimball then talks about how life has "three segments or estates: pre-mortal, mortal, and immortal."  We all kept our first estate because we came to earth & received a body.  We PROGRESSED onto the second segment mortality.  In the pre-mortal world there was a decision to be made either come to earth & get a body, or follow Satan & not receive a body.  Thinking about it in that way makes it seem like a no brainer!  However, Satan convinced a third of the hosts of Heaven A THIRD!!  That's a lot of people who were deceived and choose to do evil because it was easier.  If Satan could convince a third of the hosts of Heaven to follow him do you think it was more than a no brainer?  Was it kind of like this life praying & pondering & being confused as to what we wanted/should do?

"Our spirit bodies went through a LONG period of growth and development and training and, having PASSED THE TEST SUCCESSFULLY, were finally admitted to this earth and to mortality."  We ALL PASSED the first test!!  Now we're in the middle of the second test are we going to quit & give into Satan like the third of the hosts of Heaven or are we going to continue to pick ourselves up & progress through this life so that at the end we can look back & be satisfied that we continued to choose the right even though it was harder?! 

We have been victorious over Satan once we can be victorious over him again!  Doesn't that give you HOPE knowing that you defeated him once so that when this life gets difficult you know you CAN pick up and try again because progress is better than no progress?!

Makes you wonder if eternal life is going to be more difficult than this one...  Or will we finally be perfect & not be deceived by Satan's cunning power?

Word from the Wise...

The wise being my sister Amy.  Hope first that you don't mind me doing this Amy & second that it is legal. :) So my sister is pretty much a genius when it comes to a lot of things, but especially when it comes to blogging, so I am reposting this for those of you who didn't know. (like me...)

"I had a friend ask me a question about blogger and so I am sharing with you all to hopefully save you a bit of a panic attack later on. Did you know that blogger only allows you 1 GB of space for images on your blog? Well it is true. Have you ever noticed that my pictures (well most of them-there might be a few I have forgotten to resize) even when you click on them still aren't very big? Well that too is true and there has always been a reason I did that. As part of my job I am always afraid someone might try to steal my images (it happens a lot more than you probably think!) so I keep them small and my more professional ones always has my name across it, but that is beside the point tonight. The other reason I do this is because blogger only allows you 1 GB of space for pictures. So I have started clicking on everyone's pictures just to see who resizes them before posting them and not very many people do. So when blogger stops letting you post to your blog because you have "reached your limit" the reason is because your pictures are too big. So what do you do when this happens? Well, you can pay $5 and get 20GB more (that is a LOT-especially if you start resizing) or you can start going back through your blog and resizing your images. Most computers will come with a basic editing program or there is picasa or gimp you can download for free that make it very easy to resize your images. I have 1183 posts on this blog-not all of them have pictures, but I will bet I have about 2000 pictures on here and I still haven't met my 1 GB, but then again most of my pictures are 800x533 pixels rather than 3200x2132 that a lot of you are putting up."

Thanks Amy for your info :) hope you don't mind that I reposted it.  And now to spend naptime resizing all my photos... 

Layton Lights

 For family night last night we went & walked around the lights at Layton Park.  Lily LOVED them she didn't want to leave.

All bundled up with matching hats...  What nuts :)

It started to rain so we finished our tour in the car.

Lily is so much fun this year, mostly because she can share her excitement!

18 Months

I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!!  Where did my little peanut go?  Oh wait she still is little...  We went to the doctor yesterday & Lily is now 18.8 lbs and 29.5 inches.  She's gained about a pound & grew half an inch still waiting for the day when we can put her forward facing! :)

Here's the grip that Dad is so proud off :)

Sure do love this Lily Belle wouldn't trade her for anything!!

Update

JEREMY:  Has 7 days left of the fall semester WAHOO!!! This semester was focused on pediatrics & well his daughter has made him proud on more than a few occasions :)  Who knew that a pencil grip could cause such excitement! :)  He did fieldwork with Davis School District for a couple of weeks & Service Learning at a private school.  He's learned lots & has had a blast thus far.  I'm so grateful that he found his field of profession without any jumping around!  One good thing about being "held back" a year is he is no longer the class of 2011 which has been given the title SLACKERS apparently they only do enough to get by, instead he'll gradate with the class of 2012 who are way ahead of the 2011 class according to many professors who vent their frustrations to the 2012 class.
   Still working at Benchmark, but come 2011 will NO longer have to work Sundays YAHOO!!  He'll do a double Friday & Saturday & have Sunday to just be home with me! :)  Here's hoping that school doesn't become too busy on Fridays!  Heavenly Father truly does answer prayers I'm soooo grateful for my MANY blessings!!

KIRSTEN:  Loving life, missing Jeremy, and trying to keep busy :)  I still watch Anna 3 - 4 times a week it is so nice having a little variety from just the everyday Lily & I.  Has more of a belly than I did with Lily & totally excited about that!!  However I've also gained as much as I did with Lily & I still have 3 months left not very thrilled about that part...  Not much has changed for me, but I am quite content with that!

Sorry the picture isn't the best I took it with my phone...

LILY:  went to nursery for the first time today!!  She did so great!  I dropped her off & she immediately went to the kitchen they have.  I stayed for the first hour, because there was about 19 kids & 3 Nursery leaders so I played with some of the kids that were having a tough time staying in nursery (not my daughter she couldn't have cared less whether I was there or not!).  It was so much fun & I made so many new friends :)  It was kind of weird though because I was the only one on the floor all the other adults were sitting on chairs or just walking around, maybe there's a rule I wasn't aware off...  Anyway back to Lily she did not take cow or binky to nursery & did great I'm so proud of her!!  She has a great vocabulary some of my favorites though are Uncle Daniel taught her that a horse says neigh & now it's a neighsies & it says bbbbbbb (insert lip sound here).  Thank you is zoot I have NO idea how that one happened, but it sure is cute.  It's so fun listening to her practice & try to talk it also is SOOO nice knowing what she wants. 
  Lily got 12 little Sesame books for her baby shower & she LOVES to read them, well the other day she would pull out a book and say fish & then go find the page that had a fish on it, the next book she'd say messes & then find the messes page it was AMAZING what a smart little peanut.  So basically Lily is the joy of our lives, keeps us laughing, and we couldn't be prouder of her!!  We are so blessed to have as part of our lives!

PD SWEETIE #4:  Name is probably going to be Malachi Clyde Knowles for a few reasons #1) it starts with an M so we can continue in the alphabet J, K, L, M... #2) because of the scripture in Malachi talking about paying tithing & being blessed so much that there is not room to receive it.  I have such a strong testimony of that!  I have seen so many blessings come from paying tithing, that I want to always remember this time in our lives, struggling through school, but still making ends meet.  #3) Clyde is Jeremy's Grandpa Butterfield's name. My last doctor appointment he was 2 lbs 12 oz approx and my due date keeps changing from the 16th of February to the 13th, but the midwife says we'll induce a week early which I don't want unless there is a medical reason!!  That was the WHOLE point of changing doctors bless his heart!!

Bountiful Baskets

Ever heard of Bountiful Baskets?  Jeremy's friends have done it for a while & well I just am lazy & never looked into it, until a gal from the ward informed me that there was a pick up area in Uintah!  What so close?! Had to give it a try.

For those of you who have never heard of it you pay $15 (an additional $3 for your first time) and you get a basket half fruit, half veggies.  FRESH & all from the USA!  You can also do additional baskets like breads (whole grains!!) but you ALWAYS have to get the fruit & veggie basket you can't just get the bread basket.

Here's the fun part you have NO idea what you will be getting.  So those of you who don't like surprises this isn't for you.  I LOVE surprises & it helps me step out of my "box".  Being on a student budget we eat A LOT of boxed foods.  Now we'll have variety & eat healthier. 

Here's what we got

6 bananas

1 packet of grape tomatoes (DO NOT like, ,but I'm sure I can find someone who will eat them :)

1 lb of purple grapes

7 FUYU ??? see below

7 Fuji Apples

6 pears

5 lb bag of ID russet potatoes

collard greens

7 Brussel Sprouts (these are HUGE compared to the frozen ones)

Green Beans

head of Cauliflower

and 4 mysterious somethings that didn't have a label.



This is the mysterious something. If ANYONE can tell me what it is I would be most appreciative!!

PS it's not a pear (I don't think) Chad maybe you could come take a picture & google it for me :) I'm a little scared to try it before I know how to eat it!

This is Fuyu.  The only reason I know what it is, is because of a sticker

Fuyu are grown in the South & California it needs to be soft to be eaten (mine are quite hard & the Internet said it takes them a couple weeks to ripen) But they are known as food for the Gods.  It is an acceptable gift to Buddha so its GOT to be TASTY right?!

So excited to eat the healthy foods!!  Apparently there are Bountiful Baskets in ID, AZ, CO, etc I don't remember all the states, but the website is www.bountifulbaskets.org  GO check it out to find a drop zone near you :)

Pumpkins

Lily & Daddy cutting the hat

Gutting him out!  The pumpkin was SOOO thick!

Lily drawing the face.  Dad ended up helping.

I got the fun part....  Carving the face.  What a wonderful Hubby I have!

The masterpiece

Lily thought it was the coolest thing lit up :)

Trick or Treat!

Grandma's work does a little Trick or Treating but mostly it is to show off your grand kids! :) 

Either way it sure is fun!

Grandma with her little Indian (including horse) and Bumble Bee.  So much fun!

Lily's costume came with a hat that had antennas, but of course she wouldn't keep them on so we left them home.  One of the ladies we trick or treated to gave Lily the cute head band!  I personally LOVE it, but of course Lily wouldn't have anything to do with it . :)

What fun!  Our ward does a Trunk or Treat, but I think we'll visit Great Grandparents & skip out on all the candy.  #1) because Lily can't eat half of the stuff & I don't want her to eat the rest #2) we'll do it when she can say Trick or Treat & actually cares! :)

Peru

Wednesday Octover 27th Landon got his mission call!!  How exciting!

Everyone had either a camera or a phone in use either for pictures or the teleconference!

It was definitely well documented :)

He is headed to the Peru, Lima West mission.  So exciting!!

Chad went to the Peru, Arequipa mission & Jeremy's brother went to the Lima North Mission.

Personally I just hope he doesn't come home with too many girls calling him!!  Bless their hearts!

Birthday

I never did tell you what we did for Jeremy's birthday.  He went to his internship in the morning after eating a good breakfast :)  Then I had Anna until 5:30 so we opened gifts & got ready for dinner.  We dropped Lily off at my parents & Jeremy & I headed for RUBY RIVER yep us poor college students got to eat steak & fried baked potatoes thanks to my dad!  Good thing Jeremy is a good sport :)  Dinner was a presentation about how you can save on your utility bills it was FREE & everyone else there was retired, but we fit right in ;)  (poor Jer)

For his bday he got lots of cards & $$, a grill from my parents, & Spiderwick Chronicles both of which are a joint gift with me :)  Good thing we know how to share!!

After dinner we picked up Lily had cake & ice cream with my parents & Buckners & played a game.  I had a blast & hopefully Jer did too!!

Happy Birthday!!

So today the love of my life turned 27!!  Holy smokes he is nearly 30!!  Where does the time go?!  I decided to come up with 27 reasons why I love Jeremy James SOOOO much!  And well isn't a blog kind of the rites(is that the right rite?!) to bragging?!  Which is why I am posting this for ALL of you to see.  So that you know how truly lucky I am to be married to this AMAZING man!!

1.  He has rotates sides of the bed FREQUENTLY. (no idea why, but I love him for it)
2.  He's a nut and makes me & others laugh!
3.  Extremely GOOD LOOKING!!  Muy Guapo Hombre (especially his squinty eyes :))
4.  He remembers how old he was when he got his clothes AND how much he paid for them!
5.  He is very much a people person (which is why he will be/is so good at his job!!)
6.  Cooks me dinner on a regular basis (if not doing all the work, then helping a ton!!)
7.  Takes out the garbage WITHOUT being asked!!
8.  Very considerate & aware of my needs!
9.  Enjoys going on walks with me
10.  LOVE his hugs, cuddles, and kisses!  (I always get a hug & a kiss when he leaves & when he comes home)
11.  Helps take care of Lily.  Feeding, (since she started solid foods he just took over & has had many a cold meal!!) bathing, diaper changing, etc!!
12.  He worries about everyone & everything.
13.  Great Husband & Father
14.  Self motivated and a hard worker!
15.  Lets me give him a hard time.
16.  Supports me as a wife, mother, and in my church callings!!
17.  He is BRILLIANT & I love talking to him.
18.  He enjoys reading with me.
19.  Frugal!!
20.  Wants to be debt free.
21.  Lets me be a stay-at-home mom!
22.  Holds the priesthood & is willing to give blessings on demand.
23.  Forgives & forgets
24.  Patient!  Especially with my many mood swings :)
25.  Has a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
26.  Has NEVER yelled at me or anyone for that matter.  Really controls his temper.
27.  He LOVES ME unconditionally!

I love you Jeremy James Knowles & I hope you have  FABULOUS birthday, because YOU deserve it!!

PD Sweetie #4

Boy I guess that poll was unanimous!!  Especially since my vote was the ONLY one to keep it a secret! :)

Well I was in such a mood about my surprise being spoiled that I didn't even tell you all about the ultrasound!  It was awesome!!  I recommend everyone get a BIG ultrasound not just the generic ones (some of us get) every time we're at the doctors.  The tech pointed out the baby swallowing, and found the 2 hands & arms, then looked at the heart & yes all four chambers are there & it looks great!  Then on to the stomach, the kidneys were working fine because the bladder was full.  (At this point Jeremy is looking for you know what) I'm in my own little world not thinking & then the tech says and there's the little boy part...  I laughed and said WHAT?  She then cussed & apologized, but what is done is done.  Then he pushed his foot up and we got a picture of that.  After she checked the legs, she did a 4D ultrasound (I think, maybe it was only 3D) So AMAZING!!!  My little pd looked like a BABY!  So neat & worth the spoiled surprise! :)

Let's be honest it was a GOOD thing to find out NOW & not at the hospital!!  We have a few boy outfits we got when Lily was born, but after playing with Rheddik I remembered how quickly you go through the outfits!!

So there you all have it grand baby #17 is a BOY :)  Jer & I are super excited!!  Amy PLEASE don't DI Colt's baby clothes we will put them to good use!! :)

The Testaments (rambling)

So I am currently reading 3 Nephi & decided tonight to put in the movie "The Testaments" while waiting for Jeremy, and well the time line is a bit off.

It starts with the new star in the heaven and then jumps ahead 33 years. 

When in all actuality the story they depict occurred in 30 AD...
Prophets were being condemned to death by judges secretly without the governor's signature (which was required by law 3 Nephi 6:22 - 24) "the believers" make a complaint to the governor of Zarahemla (verse 25).  The judges are condemned of the murders.  The judges had many friends and kindred & they unite in a brotherhood or secret combination to save the judges.  ((verse 27-28) the movie makes it seem like the "brotherhood" was already going on).  In order to do that they kill the Chief Judge. (3 Nephi chapter 7:1). 

When the Chief Judge is murdered (the movie has Christ's death & the destruction of the cities) the people divide into tribes according to their family, kindred, and friends.(Ch 7: 2-4)  The "brotherhood" flee from the land because even though the people are in different tribes & have different laws they still want to be rid of the "brotherhood".  (Ch 7:11)

What is kind of interesting is the main character in the movie's name is JACOB.  Well JACOB was the KING over the wicked band.  (3 Nephi 7: 9-10)

So the movie has all of this happening 3 years before it actually did.  Which doesn't really matter, a lot of books that become movies shorten the story in order to make it all fit, but I just thought I'd let ya all know that there are differences. More for my benefit than for yours. :)

Surprises

There are two different types of surprise kinds of people.  One of which is like my sister Crystal.  Come Christmas time she not only HAD to know who everyone had drawn for their Secret Santa, but she would at every chance try to sneak to see what she was getting for Christmas.  Then when she saw what I'd be getting try to tell me.  Which leads me to the 2nd kind of person.  Me I did not like my surprises spoiled, because then Christmas was spoiled.  I was perfectly content letting the anticipation build until Christmas morning!

So it is with the sex of my children.  NOTHING can take away the sound of Jeremy exclaiming "OH PD it's a GIRL!"  Still brings tears to my eyes!  I do NOT want to know until the baby comes, just because I LOVE the anticipation & excitement.  And hearing my HUSBAND tell me what it is.

So we had our "BIG" ultrasound appointment on Tuesday, and well the sweet technician forgot that we didn't want to know & now my surprise is spoiled!  Can you say HEART BROKEN?!  If I hadn't been so shocked I think I would have cried!

Over to the right is a poll.  I will let you choose whether to savor the surprise, or to have it ruined 17 weeks early your choice.  The poll will close Sunday Oct 24th at which point Jer & I will keep it a secret (or try) or announce to the world the sex of our Sweetie PD #4!

Angels

Since the first of July Jeremy & my mom have been having a little war over my mom's angels.  We painted my mom's house that first week in July and when we put the house back together Jeremy thought it would be funny/appropriate to have the angels in a line with the bee chasing behind the angel with the sunflower.  My mom would rearrange, and then Jer would kindly put back.  Then it got to the point of hiding & all sorts of fun. 

Well I went over to my mom's the other day & just had to laugh.  She'd sent a text previously to Jeremy saying the angels had won and won they had!

Too funny!! (If you can't tell the bee is trapped in a cup)

What a nutty family I belong to, but they sure do make ya laugh!!

Family pictures

So last Wednesday Jeremy & I went & took our family pictures. So much fun & I think we got a few winners!

Getting ready.  The hardest part is coming up with outfits for everyone!!

 This is one of the firsts we took, unfortunately the sun was behind us hence the black & white to help it look a little better!

See what I MEAN?

This one is okay except for the squints :) now we're facing the sun...

 Love this one, because Jer & I look so happy, but Lily is sidetracked by something :)

And we might have a winner!

Really like these two, but this one Lily's eyes are closed & they're kind of blurry...

This one is MY favorite!!

Poor Lily was DONE!!

YAY we're ALL smiling, not so sure about the sun in the background though.  Jer likes our shadows

So fun!!  LOVE that you can't TELL I'm 21 WEEKS pregnant!!! 

So sad PD Sweetie # 4 won't even know he was in the picture!

Monkey

This is what my daughter has been up to lately!!  What a little MONKEY!!

The other day I caught her up on the table.  Which is the reasoning for all the goose eggs AGAIN.

Such a big girl!!  Where'd my little Lily Belle go?!

Chugga Chugga CHOO CHOO

For those of you who are familiar with South Weber there's a new park by the freeway entrance & it has train tracks around it!!  Today they were giving out FREE rides & so Lily & I of course jumped at the opportunity!

So I'm a terrible Mom & left the camera home, so you're just gonna have to deal with my phone pictures!



This is Lily sitting in one of the train cars & yes that is my knee I got to ride with her!




This is our conductor Scott the train wasn't quite what I imagined it'd look like, but it was fun none the less!!



So here is my shout out for them.  It's a half of a mile right now (which I thought was long enough) however with the donations they plan to eventually get it to be 2.5 miles with a tunnel, bridge, & hills!  Quite the project & quite the ride!!  They are planning on doing the rides every 3rd Saturday of the month weather permitting.  This includes through the winter they will have snowplows!! :)  They will be charging $1 per ride definitely doesn't hurt the pocket book and Lily & I will probably be supporting them some more!

So next time you're in town & it happens to be the 3rd Saturday swing by for a fun in expensive ride!!  Plus the park toys are way cool!! :)

Hair Cut

So one way we try to save money in our house is by getting FREE haircuts!!

Before...

After

Doesn't he clean up so nicely :)

I don't use scissors just clippers so he either is butched or long on top... We alternate each time :)

For my haircuts I have a WONDERFUL little sister who cuts it for me!!  And who might be hired to cut Lily's hair.

Speaking of Lily's hair she got her first haircut today!!!  $12 ouch (my excuse it's her first & she has money left over from her baby shower!)

No pictures yet, but she looks SOOOO grown UP!!