During my parents visit this message was left on my desktop from my mother along with several songs that I had asked her to write down for me. I had not read it until today and it just happened to be what I was needing, a little pick me up and smile. The first paragraph especially hit me as I try to make good choices as a mother. Perhaps it will bring a little bit of cheer to the lives of others who read it too. There are great little tidbits of wisdom to ponder in it from the author Douglas Pagels and the feeling of a mothers love written in between the lines.


A Wish, A Hope, A Prayer

Imagine yourself to be serving the holiest of beings when you serve your family. Keep nothing back when you feel enlightened by love. Remember that there is an enduring worth to every positive step you take, that the good decisions you make will come back to bless you.
I wish that every one of your days will dawn with a sense of hope streaming in with the sunlight, a sense of strength woven into the winds, and as many things to be thankful for as there are stars in the evening sky.
I hope that the distance between where you are and where you want to be grows shorter every day. I’ll never stop wishing that your journey through this world will be touched by kindness, inspired by wisdom, graced with understanding, and kept safe from all harm. I hope you have a charmed existence, and that your heart will always be an open window to a joy so lasting and deep. Mandy I pray that you will always have an angel watching over you, there to trace on your wonderful face a smile that you can keep.
May you have a day whose moments unfold with peace, with promise, with doors that open on new beginnings, and with windows that look out on a world filled with dreams waiting to come true.
May today not only be a day of duty done and life’s little battles won; may it be a time of joy, of laughter, of memories made and faith renewed. May it be a time when feelings of closeness are sweetly conveyed, when truths are spoken, when smiles appear.
May today be a sweet success. Not in the form of furnishings and wealth, but in the much more dear and valuable ways; good family relations, good times, good health. May you and the loved ones in the circle of your life always know the treasure of togetherness.
May a gentle gladness remind you that there is never too little time to strive or too little strength to climb. May your joys be everlasting, and your beliefs stay steady and deep and true. -DouglasPagels-

. . .for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up. D&C 84:88

All My Love,
Mom
Sept. 3, 2010

We took the morning a few Saturdays ago and went to Grant Park, one of our favorite parks in the Milwaukee area. It's right on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, but has great deciduous tree lined trails, awesome cliff and beach views and a great playground for Addie. Here are a few pictures of our adventures. It was pretty cold that morning and it was the first time this season that it was jaw numbing cold out, at least for me. Mitch didn't think it was too bad. Fall has definitely come to Milwaukee, hopefully it stays for awhile before winter comes!

Welcome to new baby Wesley. He arrived on Friday, August 20th at 6:03 pm and was 6 lbs 11 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He had kind of a rough start with a temperature of 102.9, but that quickly went away and there was no infection associated with it so all is well. He's home with Momma, Papa and big sister Addie now and is acclimating along with the rest of us!

I went in to have another ultrasound last Monday so that they could measure little Wesley and estimate his weight. He weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces which is a little small, but still a good birth weight.Although I have a few more weeks so hopefully he puts on some more. The doctor has been doing non-stress tests on him every week I've gone in and his heart is really strong and he's an active fellow so she's not worried about him being under any stress. I'm hoping he comes soon because Mitch is off of school for the next two weeks and his help would be great! But if he doesn't come by then that's ok too, as long as he's healthy, I'll be happy. These are some cute pictures that the ultrasound tech got of Wesley's little face. A little creepy but you have to remember they are in 2-D not 3-D so your missing some levels there that would make it look a little less odd. We can't wait to you get here baby Wesley.

Addie recently taught herself how to do somersaults and it's been awesome to watch her progress from going sideways to going all the way over. She's gotten it down pretty good, I even considered a recreational tumbling class for her, but Mitch said that the class would be mostly for me and not Addie, and he's right of course. Maybe in a few years!CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND IT WILL OPEN ANOTHER WINDOW WITH A FULL VIEW.

We got to have Sarah come play with us for about an hour or so the other day and there was lots of fun and play that happened in the house. They played with dinosaurs, read books, marched around the house, played hide and seek and jumped on the bed. Here are the two cute little monkeys.

Addie got her first haircut last week. The sides of her hair are straight and whispy but the back is curly so it always kind of looks, well cute but it was starting to bug her momma a little bit. So after having a great Relief Society meeting on how to cut hair I went for it and it no longer looks lopsided but still maintained it's whispy cuteness.



We got to go to the Fair with Papa too. We only go to see the animals, the horticulture and crafts and of course to get some roasted corn on the cob. Slathered in butter, yes please!Addie loved the animals and kept asking to go back to see the cows.



This is Addie strutting her stuff in the small animal barn.


Addie has been helping Papa reap the harvest the last couple of weeks. We have tomatoes coming out of our ears. Here they are showing off their prize winners!