Happy Birthday Joie Low!

Well it is official...my baby is 1! Her birthday was on thursday the 10th but we celebrated it on saturday the 12th with a party for her at our house with some friends and family. It was so much fun! I also would like to take a moment to boast and tell everyone that I didnt shed a single tear! I definately ADORE my little girl but I love her so much as she is right now that I dont miss the baby stage!

Well I know that every parent on this earth feels this way but I just feel so incredibly blessed. I am humbled and honored that the Lord intrusted us with such a sweet and amazing little spirit. She teaches me so much daily. She teaches me how to be patient when she cant move quickly because she is barely learning to walk, or when she wants something but doesnt know how to ask for it. She teaches me how to enjoy simple things like a cute puppy walking by in the park, or just sitting in the grass eating a chicken nugget. Most importaintly she has taught me how to love unconditionally.

I remember when I was little I would always ask my mom which one of us she loved the most and she always said she loved us all the same, of course. But I would ask her about that all the time because it didnt make sense to me. One day she told me that when she married my dad she thought her love capacity was full. Then when she had my brother Jared she realized she felt double the way she had felt before. When she was pregnant with me she found herself wondering, "can I possibly love this baby as much as I love my first". Of course I came out and she realized it was possible to love all of us the same. She expressed this to me in a way that I have always loved and it is exactly how I feel right now. She told me that since her heart was full of love for my dad that every time she had a baby she grew a new heart that was filled to the top with love for that child. That is how I feel right now with my joie, and interesting enough my love for Andrew grows as my love for Joie grows because I see so much of him in her every day and I see how much he adores us both! I just want the Lord to know how grateful I am for the AMAZING family that he has intrusted me with.

swiss days...take two

So I found this picture today and thought it was fun to see how different our lives are now than they were last year! I was literally ready to give birth last year at swiss days when we went and now our little girl is about to turn 1!.....you may also notice Andrews gradual clothing improvement....ive been working on it for years now and finally we have polos instead of just t-shirts!!

swiss days

Yesterday Andy's dad's band was playing at swiss days so we went up for a few hours to hang out. We look forward to swiss days all year long and we had a blast (mostly because of the navajo tacos). We also had a fun morning today and discovered that Joie takes after her mommy is her love for....pickles!!

Beauty Tips

Beauty Tips

"For attractive lips,
Speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes,
Seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure,
Share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair,
let a child run his fingers through it once a day.

For poise,
Walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed. Never throw out anybody.

Remember: if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, and one for helping others."

-Audrey Hepburn

my baby girl

So oh my goodness, my baby girl is about to turn 1! Where has the time gone? I swear I felt like I was pregnant just yesterday...

Worlds best daddy/hubby

As I sit here at midnight, fighting sleep as best I can, I can't help but feel so bad for Andrew. He is literally going to school from 8 AM until 12 or 12:30 and he comes home and changes for work and than works from 1 until about 4:45 when he comes home right as I am running out the door to go to school. He puts Joie to bed at 8:30 or 9 and stays up until 11 or later doing calculus homework. He must really love us or something to put up with so much crap. I stay up almost every night with him for moral support but I just wish there was more I could do to help. I just don't think there are enough words to tell him how much I love him and how grateful I am for all that he does.

Old cell phone pics

These are some old pictures that I have had on my phone for so long. I keep meaning to put them up but I always forget! The first one makes me laugh every time I look at it. I one day asked Andrew to give Joie a bath (she was probably about 5 months at the time) and I walked in and found her like this and Andrew's explanation was that he was trying to wash her back. It was so funny! I know these pictures are really random but they just make me smile so much. I love when she falls asleep sitting up in the stroller. I think it is absolutely adorable! The last picture we just took a couple of days ago. My uncle just moved to Spanish Fork with his family and Andrew and I went over to help them with some stuff. We had been there for a few hours and Joie was getting really fussy so I gave her a bottle and rocked her for like half and hour until she finally fell asleep. This was such a treat because it has probably been 4 months at least since she has fallen asleep in my arms. I enjoyed it so much that I fell asleep with her. Andy came in and snapped a quick little picture of us.