Happy Father's Day! 2011

I have heared so many people argue against celebrating holidays like valentines day, or mothers day, or fathers day because choosing a specific day to share the love supposedly cheapens it. Well I strongly disagree. I love having the opportunity to shower some of my favorite people in this life with love and affection for no other reason then the calender suggests it. This opinion aside, fulfilling my own expectations of these days is often very stressful for me. What gift could I possibly make/find that would adequetly convey my feelings for my wonderful husband on Valentines day, or my mother/mother-in-law on Mother's day, or now my father/father-in-law for Father's day?

I don't often succeed in finding the perfect words or gift for these wonderful people, but this year I was determined to find something special for my Dad, Mark Eagar. I chose to write a song for him and my little brother Joshua helped me to put it to music so that we could perform it for him together on Father's Day. It turned out so great. We all cried and enjoyed a wonderful moment together as a family celebrating my Dad.

A Train!

Jadyn absolutely LOVES trains! We went to visit a train museum with the Eagar family and Jadyn had a great 'ol time climbing in and out of old tain cars and sitting in a 'real' train station! She even got a little souvaner train car from Grandma E to remember the trip by. We sure enjoyed the family outing!

Our Epic Summer...2011

This summer the kids and I vacationed in Utah and Idaho for a total of 6 weeks. We went to two weddings (One brother, one cousin), welcomed home one missionary (my little brother Joshua), blessed one baby (McKay!), celebrated one birthday (Yeah Liz!)...and one graduation (Congrats Mom!), and ended it all with an awesome Christensen family reunion and 4th of July celebration. It has seriously been one of the most awesome summers ever, and it's only July!

Joe was able to be with us the first two weeks and the last week of our trip. In between he had to fly home to Alpine to work on his Master's project.

We had such a wonderful time visiting with both mine and Joe's families and seeing old friends from both Utah and Idaho. We also reaffirmed how much we hate being separated. Those three weeks were so difficult for me, I love my husband and have found that I worry about him so much more when we are separated by so many miles. I guess that this is an area where I need to learn to trust a little more. I do know that I'd rather miss him then not miss him though! 

Grow Baby Grow!

My sweet baby Mckay is so anxious to get moving!! This month we got him a Johnny Jumper and a baby walker and he has been thrilled with the new mobility. It has been so fun to watch him cruise around in his walker to explore a room and to spend time bobbing up and down in his Jumper. McKay is now four months old and 17.5 lbs. I think that he is working so hard to grow and get moving so that he can keep up with his big sister Jadyn. We love these kids!!

Baby Blessing

On Sunday, May 29th Joseph blessed our sweet baby boy in my parents house in Perry, Utah. It was a truly unique event for us as all of our siblings and our parents were able to attend! My brother Josh had returned from his mission a couple of days before and Joe's family drove all the way down from Idaho to be with us. It was such a special moment for our families as we were all together for the first time.

Nebraska City Conference/Family Vacation

Joe and I took the kids on a family vacation to Nebraska City in April! It was such a fun trip and miraculously the kids were sooo good! (How did we get so lucky?). Jadyn and McKay slept/played through most of our 4 ten hour travel days. We picked good places to stop and stretch our legs every few hours and it worked out really well. Joe and I are really starting to enjoy road trips together.

We planned our trip so that we could swing through Dallas TX and see our college friends, Carolyn and Mike, before stopping briefly in Tulsa OK to see Joe's cousins Grant and Maren. Then it was on to Nebraska City for four days where we experienced the novelty of rain (haha). Joe attended a conference for his career field there and the kids and I played at the library and watched movies in the hotel. Friday we got up super early and drove down to Oklahoma City to spend the weekend with Joe's Aunt, uncle, and numerous older married cousins. It was so fun getting to know more of Joe's family and being spoiled by Aunt Lucy. Jadyn loved playing with all the little cousins and cheering at their soccer game on Saturday. (she's stinking cute when she stands up and claps yelling "yeaaaa!!") We spent Saturday evening playing a really fun card came called "golf" with the adults and then got up super early Sunday morning to drive home. Deeply contemplating Easter of course. --speaking of, I love Easter! and not just because of all of the amazing candy. I love all of the reminders to think of our Savior, and what he has done for us. He lived, he died, and He lives again. And because of Him we can live too!!

Blessings

We have experienced so many blessings as a married couple! Looking back at the last year I have found it a little overwhelming to count our blessings. God's love for me and my little family is so evident! Especially when I choose to look for it. Today I was counting the blessings that we have received since moving to Alpine TX and wanted to share a few of the highlights:

-Joe received an assistantship that will help pay for his graduate degree in a big way.

-We found an apartment...when family housing (and all other apartment complexes) were already full.

-We found all of the furniture that we needed for an AWESOME deal.

-A Branch of the Church here in Alpine, with members that have been SO welcoming!

-A group of fellow mommy's who were also looking for companionship. I love meeting for story time at the library, play day at the park, and crafts at somebodies home!

-Friends who share our interests, come for games 2-3 nights a week and conveniently live next door to us for when I need to borrow eggs.

-A graduate community that BBQ's once a week and tolerates a 1 1/2 year old getting into all of their stuff.

-Both of our families coming to visit.

-A monster calf that paid for us to go home for Christmas!

-The safe arrival of baby McKay. He is such a sweet baby!

-We were finally accepted into family housing up on campus (yea for a washing machine, dish washer, and a second bedroom!)

-A new part time job babysitting (SO grateful for the extra income! and for a work opportunity that I can do while staying home with my kiddos)

-A tax return that will enable us to pay for the next year of graduate school WITHOUT taking out a student loan.

-The beautiful weather that lets me get out with both of my babies.

-Joe's flexible schedule that lets him be home when I need him (for the most part!).

-Our wonderful families, who love and support us, especially while we are so far away!