Extra Pictures from Nauvoo
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| Our little Pioneer Boy |
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| Q and Dad look good- This look is not for me |
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| Poor kid fell asleep sitting up! |
4 years ago
While we were in Nauvoo we stayed with the Cluffs. They were in my homeward in Seattle since I was 14 and then Casey took a job in Nauvoo. He is in charge of all of Nauvoo! All of the sites, grounds, artifacts etc. He is kind of a big deal :) While they were in Nauvoo they had their 4th little girl Abby. There is a 10 year (i think) difference between her and the next sister Emily. Abby was a surprise. Q LOVED her! He would watch her and play with her all the time! Emily and Sarah were super cute with him too! Made me wish Q had more friends- hopefully we will live by Neal and Michelle in Seattle so he can hang out with Maddie and Wilson.
He has been looking at me all day today looking at me like "Mom where are my friends? What did you do to them?!" Apparently I am not as fun as they are.
If they didn't live 4 hours away we would visit more often. They are an amazing family!
He has been looking at me all day today looking at me like "Mom where are my friends? What did you do to them?!" Apparently I am not as fun as they are.
If they didn't live 4 hours away we would visit more often. They are an amazing family!
On Saturday Morning we did temple baptisms, the night before we had done a session which was really cool. But after doing baptisms I have to say that was my favorite. It was my first time doing baptisms acting as one of the endowed adults, meaning, I didn't get baptized but I handed the kids that had their towels as they got out. I sat in on the confirmations first and as soon as they started the spirit became so strong. I could feel that the excitement and happiness of these people. I felt like standing and singing out for joy! I have never felt that way before. It was amazing. I had a smile the entire time, the spirit in that temple is so incredible. Everyone should go there!
After that we went to Carthage. It was a good day to do so, because it was raining so we could be inside the whole time. Again, amazing spirit that is there. There is a place in the visitor center that if you look at the jail, you can see Joseph Smith in one of the windows, because of where his picture is in the visitors center.
We had a few places we wanted to go and we went to a show put on by the Young Performing Missionaries. These are missionaries that have already served a mission, and had to AUDITION to come to Nauvoo for a 2nd mission. They served in Nauvoo and performed for 3 months, they had to obey all mission rules. Only 24 out of 250 applicants are chosen to be these missionaries. How crazy is that!? They were the best of the best! They had performed little skits on the Trail of Hope, and put on shows. They were incredible. (Are you catching a theme that Nauvoo is awesome?)
Sunday, church wasnt until 2, so we relaxed and hung out. We had Elder Baxter from the 1st Quorum of the Seventy there. He is from England and had the greatest accent. He was pretty funny and took the entire sacrament time. He talked about how we are Christians. He was pretty blunt on some of the points, like we dont believe that the God Head is one being because that is wrong. He didn't try to sugar coat anything. I love that!
Monday we headed over to the Joseph Smith Historic Site. It is was by the Community of Christ church. There is a totally different spirit there, or should I say lack of spirit. When we went to Joseph Smiths houses and places he had been it just felt like an old house. After we went to Brigham Young's House and the minute we walked in we felt a change, a reverence for this place. Whenever the Community of Christ sells the Joseph Smith sites to the church I want to go back to see the difference in the spirit. I know it will be moving.
Monday was our last day, so after we packed and had lunch we left because we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone but its nice to know that we will be seeing them soon!
After that we went to Carthage. It was a good day to do so, because it was raining so we could be inside the whole time. Again, amazing spirit that is there. There is a place in the visitor center that if you look at the jail, you can see Joseph Smith in one of the windows, because of where his picture is in the visitors center.
Sunday, church wasnt until 2, so we relaxed and hung out. We had Elder Baxter from the 1st Quorum of the Seventy there. He is from England and had the greatest accent. He was pretty funny and took the entire sacrament time. He talked about how we are Christians. He was pretty blunt on some of the points, like we dont believe that the God Head is one being because that is wrong. He didn't try to sugar coat anything. I love that!
Monday we headed over to the Joseph Smith Historic Site. It is was by the Community of Christ church. There is a totally different spirit there, or should I say lack of spirit. When we went to Joseph Smiths houses and places he had been it just felt like an old house. After we went to Brigham Young's House and the minute we walked in we felt a change, a reverence for this place. Whenever the Community of Christ sells the Joseph Smith sites to the church I want to go back to see the difference in the spirit. I know it will be moving.
Monday was our last day, so after we packed and had lunch we left because we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone but its nice to know that we will be seeing them soon!
For Memorial Day weekend, my parents and little brother flew out to Nauvoo to visit since they have never come. It is about 4 hours away from us, so Eric, Q and I drove down. If you have never been to Nauvoo you have to make the trip. It is amazing. This is my 4th trip to Nauvoo, and every time I learn something new.
Here are some thoughts I wanted to get down before I forgot:
The Brick House
One of the sites you can visit is the Brick House where they teach you about how the pioneers used to make bricks, and then how they would build their house. The 6 of us were the only ones on the tour at the time, so we got special treatment :) Our tour guide shared these thoughts with us.
To make a brick house it is 3 bricks thick. So when you buy the bricks once they are made you just get a bunch of bricks, and depending on their color will depend on where they were when they where in the fire. As you can see below, there is the black brick, the light brick and then the prettiest red brick. The pretty red you usually put on the outside layer of your house so it made you house prettier. The other 2 bricks are still great bricks, so they will be on the 2 inside layers, where no one else can see them.
- Do we look at the black and beige brick and think it is useless and would just throw it away, just because it isnt as pretty as the other one? Do we belittle ourselves and some of our talents and hide them because there are people that are better and more talented then us? Each brick is needed to make a house.
Another interesting thing to note about bricks- is when you make a brick you have to get all impurities out. This includes pebbles. Otherwise, when the brick is burning the pebbles cant stand the heat like the other clay and it ruins the entire brick. From the picture below the beige mold of brick looks perfect, you cant see there is anything wrong with it, but once it has been in the fire or underpressure the impurities come out.
-Do we tried to hide our sins, thinking that if i can look good on the outside, no one will know about my secret sin? That will only get us so far before our faith is tested, we are put under the refiners fire, and our sin is revealed.
Rendezous in Old Nauvoo
This is a super cute little play the senior missionaries put on. It is about some pioneers and what their lives were like living in Nauvoo. It is a cute little musical that will keep you laughing. One of my favorites songs is about the exodus west. Some of the men are worried that they are going to be remembered as cowards for fleeing the mobs, and not standing up for their rights. The song says- we will be remembered that we went "willingly- because we have to" by the last verse though, they have changed their tune and now are saying they are going "willingly - because we WANT to".
-Are their times in our lives that we do things, such as callings, service, etc. Willingly because we have to. Meaning, have to to please our parents, because other people will look down on us, because the prophet said, but i dont want to but i have to do it. You know that tone right? Usually it is said with a sigh, or a huff. maybe even rolling of the eyes. An example of this is those shirts that say" I can't - I'm Mormon". Like being LDS is keeping you from really enjoying life. How much better though would we feel if we did it Willingly because we WANT to? You want to fulfill your calling, you want to not double pierce your ear or get a tattoo. You want to go to the church and clean it on Saturday morning at 9 am. Instead of saying I cant I'm Mormon, take a stand and say, I drink, or smoke- or whatever you feel being LDS is keeping you from doing. How many blessings are we keeping from ourselves because we do not have the right attitude?
Can the dialogue of a pioneer that was crossing over the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter because they HAVE to? I imagine there would be a lot of murmuring, mumbling under their breath, and I bet they would just turn around. Every Pioneer story I have heard is they went Willingly because they wanted to. If they were going because they HAD to, I'm sure their faith went out the window after the 1st storm. But there are countless of stories of the pioneers recieving amazing blessings because they had the faith, and because they WANTED to go. They WANTED to listen to the Prophet, and the Lord.
These have just been my thoughts as I have been in Nauvoo on Day 1. If I have any other thoughts I will share those tomorrow.
We also did a session in the Nauvoo Temple. It is beautiful. I love thinking about the pioneers, and that I am walking where they walked. I know they walked in Salt Lake as well, but there is just a different spirit here in Nauvoo.
Tomorrow we are doing Baptisms for the Dead in the Temple, and then heading down to Carthage and more site tours.
Till then!
Here are some thoughts I wanted to get down before I forgot:
The Brick House
One of the sites you can visit is the Brick House where they teach you about how the pioneers used to make bricks, and then how they would build their house. The 6 of us were the only ones on the tour at the time, so we got special treatment :) Our tour guide shared these thoughts with us.
To make a brick house it is 3 bricks thick. So when you buy the bricks once they are made you just get a bunch of bricks, and depending on their color will depend on where they were when they where in the fire. As you can see below, there is the black brick, the light brick and then the prettiest red brick. The pretty red you usually put on the outside layer of your house so it made you house prettier. The other 2 bricks are still great bricks, so they will be on the 2 inside layers, where no one else can see them.
- Do we look at the black and beige brick and think it is useless and would just throw it away, just because it isnt as pretty as the other one? Do we belittle ourselves and some of our talents and hide them because there are people that are better and more talented then us? Each brick is needed to make a house.
Another interesting thing to note about bricks- is when you make a brick you have to get all impurities out. This includes pebbles. Otherwise, when the brick is burning the pebbles cant stand the heat like the other clay and it ruins the entire brick. From the picture below the beige mold of brick looks perfect, you cant see there is anything wrong with it, but once it has been in the fire or underpressure the impurities come out.
-Do we tried to hide our sins, thinking that if i can look good on the outside, no one will know about my secret sin? That will only get us so far before our faith is tested, we are put under the refiners fire, and our sin is revealed.
Rendezous in Old Nauvoo
This is a super cute little play the senior missionaries put on. It is about some pioneers and what their lives were like living in Nauvoo. It is a cute little musical that will keep you laughing. One of my favorites songs is about the exodus west. Some of the men are worried that they are going to be remembered as cowards for fleeing the mobs, and not standing up for their rights. The song says- we will be remembered that we went "willingly- because we have to" by the last verse though, they have changed their tune and now are saying they are going "willingly - because we WANT to".
-Are their times in our lives that we do things, such as callings, service, etc. Willingly because we have to. Meaning, have to to please our parents, because other people will look down on us, because the prophet said, but i dont want to but i have to do it. You know that tone right? Usually it is said with a sigh, or a huff. maybe even rolling of the eyes. An example of this is those shirts that say" I can't - I'm Mormon". Like being LDS is keeping you from really enjoying life. How much better though would we feel if we did it Willingly because we WANT to? You want to fulfill your calling, you want to not double pierce your ear or get a tattoo. You want to go to the church and clean it on Saturday morning at 9 am. Instead of saying I cant I'm Mormon, take a stand and say, I drink, or smoke- or whatever you feel being LDS is keeping you from doing. How many blessings are we keeping from ourselves because we do not have the right attitude?
Can the dialogue of a pioneer that was crossing over the Rocky Mountains in the dead of winter because they HAVE to? I imagine there would be a lot of murmuring, mumbling under their breath, and I bet they would just turn around. Every Pioneer story I have heard is they went Willingly because they wanted to. If they were going because they HAD to, I'm sure their faith went out the window after the 1st storm. But there are countless of stories of the pioneers recieving amazing blessings because they had the faith, and because they WANTED to go. They WANTED to listen to the Prophet, and the Lord.
These have just been my thoughts as I have been in Nauvoo on Day 1. If I have any other thoughts I will share those tomorrow.
Tomorrow we are doing Baptisms for the Dead in the Temple, and then heading down to Carthage and more site tours.
Till then!
Length: ?? inches
Clothing Size: 3-6 Months
Sleep: You now will take all naps in your crib. At night you start in your crib but if you wake up and it takes too long to get you to go back to sleep you end up in bed with me and dad. You still wake up every 3-4 hours at night to sleep. We would really love it if you would start sleeping all the way through the night.
I Love...: Roll over, and play with your toys. You also are a jumping maniac. You have a bouncy chair and a saucer that lets you jump and that is all you do. Even when someone is holding you and you stand up you start jumping. You talk a lot now, no words but you just babble on and on. Also you love baths and water- you love to splash.
I Hate...: Itching. You skin still has some flare ups and they make you itch and you get super frustrated. Also, you have to be swaddled still to go to sleep otherwise you rub your eyes and it keeps you from sleeping.
Trips: We went to St. George for Bergen and Coltons wedding at the beginning of May. We flew out of Madison and straight into St. George. I loved it! Also, we went to Nauvoo to visit the Cluffs, and to see Grandma and Grandpa Corbett and Uncle Andrew.
It was funny when...: Max (Aunt Cyndy's Dog) loved to play and lick you. You would just lay there and let him. Also, you are starting to giggle more often now. So it is super cute when you do. Especially when you are trying to decide if you are going to giggle or cry.
Firsts: You went swimming for the first time in St. George! You had a ton of fun, and loved splashing the water. I cant wait till it gets warmer so we can go swimming more often! Also you are starting to get on your knees acting like you want to crawl. You scoot backwards but I think in the next few weeks you will be moving forward. We also went to Nauvoo for the first time with you. Sadly it will probally be our last time while we are out here in Wisconsin before we move. You had SO much fun with Abby!
Other facts: No major doctor visits! You definetly like to sit back and watch. Before reaching for something you have been watching it and deciding if it is something you want. Once we got the rash under control you turned out to be a pretty mellow baby. You usually just and chilling in the stroller or being carried. You dont care where you take a nap or when. Its been nice.
LOVE YOU!
I just have to brag :) Last Mother's Day I was pregnant, and still got a present (a blanket I had been coveting). So this was my first Mother's Day with an actual kid. I didn't know what to expect, namely because I hadn't been dropping any hits to Eric on things that I want. So on Saturday night when Eric said I didn't have to wake up with Q that night, that he would get up and feed him all night I thought that was present enough! It was wonderful getting an entire night sleep. Namely because he is being difficult now, he likes to wake up, scream and then act like the bottle we are feeding him is poison. Not sure what that is about but it needs to stop.
Anyway, on Sunday when I woke up Eric brought in this beautiful box!
Anyway, on Sunday when I woke up Eric brought in this beautiful box!
Isn't this a GOREGOUS diaper bag! I had beeing eyeing it for awhile. In Fact it was going to be my gift to myself once I got to my Goal Weight! Lucky me I have a wonderful husband! Now the pressure is on for a Father's Day gift that is the same!
This Friday Eric also took the day off and we drove up to Green Bay. We did a tour of the Packers Stadium and had dinner at the Pub inside. It was pretty sweet! While on the tour they take you on the field, and have you yell "Go Pack Go!" The idea is that you get to hear what the players hear, and that the phrase echos back to you, because of how the stadium is built. Eric was holding Q, and when everyone yelled Q got super scared and started crying, big crocodile tears. He is such a baby :) It was pretty funny.
He had a busy weekend :)
Q and I made a little trip to St. George for my cousins wedding. We flew out of Madison and right into St. George. It was wonderful! We had an extra layover but totally worth it! We got in Tuesday night and played all week! Here are some pictures from our little vacation.
Qin the pool for the first time. If you cant tell he had a blast! This summer you can bet that you can find Q and I at the pool.
My mom came down the same day I did so we could spend more then just the weekend together. We had so much fun, wish we had even more time!
Qin the pool for the first time. If you cant tell he had a blast! This summer you can bet that you can find Q and I at the pool.
My mom came down the same day I did so we could spend more then just the weekend together. We had so much fun, wish we had even more time!
We went to the nail salon to get mani's and pedi's - He may now be my new pedicure buddy. He loved the jets and when he wasn't in the water he kept staring at it. Also Max( the dog) LOVED that there was someone his size! He kept licking and playing with Q, and Q didn't mind at all! He would just sit there while Max licked him. It was pretty cute.
I wish St. George was closer so we could spend more time there!! The wedding was awesome and I am so happy for Bergen and Colton! When we move to Seattle it will be nice that the flight to St. George isn't crazy expensive so we can spend more time together!
What has brought you closer in the last year?
I definetly think having Q has brought us closer. We have become better at working with each other and helping the other person. We also value our time alone more then we did, at least I do.
Anything shocked you about your spouse?
Eric likes to pretend a problem doesn't exist. Namely when I am upset, instead of trying to fix it or ask what is wrong, he will actually ignore me and pretend that I'm not there. His thinking is that eventually I will get over whatever I am upset about so until then he will just act as though nothing is wrong. Unfortunatly, that is not how it works ever, it makes me even angrier that he is not addressing the issue so then it makes it worse. You would think after 4 years of this he would just learn to face it head on, but no. He continues this process. Maybe one day he will get it.
What was a Honeymoon Disaster you are ready to laugh about?
Honeymoon 1: I forgot shoes. For my overnight bag Victoria, CAN I didn't pack shoes. Not sure how I forgot to pack them but I did. SO on the boat over I had to wear Eric's flipflops and then we went straight to the mall to get shoes.
Honeymoon 2: I was stung by a jellyfish. We went to Mexico, and the first time in the ocean I was stung by a jelly fish. It was awful. I was in pain and I had to get a shot in my butt. Which made me drowsy.
What has shocked you about being married?
How you go from an independent person, to never wanting to be without them. I had my own room all growing up, and when I went to college I had my own room and at one point my own apartment. I never was worried to go to bed if someone else was home. But when Eric is out of town or I am out of town without him I have a really hard time going to sleep. Also any noise that the apartment makes freaks me out. I laugh at myself all the time thinking that I used to do this all the time! How is it that after only 4 years of being married I hate being alone?!
I love Eric more and more every day. He is my best friend. We laugh together, play together and have great conversations. We are not perfect, but every day we are helping each other get there. I am so excited to see where we will be in 4 more years!
Love you a million red m&ms!
Hill
