Blessings

1. Ethan's Baby Blessing
In the LDS church we do not baptize children until they are eight, but we do give them blessings as infants in our main church meeting. Yesterday was Ethan's blessing. I was so grateful to all of the family members who came! All of my Arizona family came: Mom, Gary, Grammy, Art, Great Uncle Martin, and Great Aunt Helen. Mike's parents also came down all the way from Utah! Here are some pictures of the big day:

All the Men
Three Generations

Our Little Family

The Women

Dad and Son

Mom and Baby (candid apparently)

The Star of the Show (actually keeping his hands out of his mouth!)

2. Employment

We are so blessed that Mike and I still have jobs right now. This economy has really taken a toll on Mike's company and they have been reducing hours and laying off employees since April.We are so blessed that he has had this job for so long.

I've also been thinking what a blessing it was to leave school early last year because of fifths disease. I felt terrible leaving my students, but I was put on leave the very day that someone no-showed for the job I got this summer. It is very comforting to know that if/when Mike has to start looking for a new job, I can help support our family right away.

3. Nursery

Last Night as I was rocking Ethan to sleep in his room I started thinking about how much I love that room. This is partially due to it turning out like I had in my mind, but what really makes it special is all of the love that went into that room. Mike spent hours on end helping me pick paint colors and tape and paint stripes. Mike and Gary spent a lot of time planning, purchasing, and installing chair rail and shelving just the way I wanted. Mike, with the help of a great hometeacher, installed a ceiling fan (which Grammy and Art donated). My mom was my "right-hand man" in making it all come together with her donations of my favorite crib, an adorable lamp and picture to fit the theme, and awesome curtains and bedding. My sister Lisa made the most amazing cross-stitch I've ever seen! You may think cross-stitches are silly, but we have one for each kid in the family with his/her birth information, and Lisa started working on Ethan's before I was even pregnant! It is incredible! I will post pictures once my quest for the perfect frame has ended. Ethan's closet is filled with toys, clothes, and books from so many wonderful friends and family members: Dad and Dianne, Joe and Lauren, all my friends from the ward and teaching, Mike's parents and siblings, Candace, Lisa, and my mom who planned baby showers. There isn't a thing in that room that doesn't remind me of someone's love for our family, and I feel SO blessed!

4. Primary

The last three weeks I have gotten to substitute in Primary. I have actually never worked in the Primary before, but I am loving it! I don't necessarily miss being a school teacher, but I miss getting to teach kids, so this has been really fun!

5. Sleep

Lately, Ethan has been sleeping 8-10 hours a night! He actually out-sleeps me because I have not gone one of those nights without getting up to check on him. :) Mike has been really great in helping with Ethan too so that I can start catching up on all that missed sleep. Now we just need to adjust Ethan's schedule away from the Holidays because he has been waking up from his nap at 7 or 8pm and going to bed at about 1am-shame on us.