Tender Moment...

This morning was a typical Sabbath morning...doing "Sunday" activities before it was time to get ready for church: I was getting dinner into the crock pot, Emily was downstairs coloring with Scott, and we had some beautiful church music playing.

When, all of sudden, Emily comes sprinting up the stairs and gives me a hug saying something about "Thank you" and "Temple" was all I could make out with her face muffled in my skirt. I picked her up and asked her to repeat what she had just said...

"Thank you for temple, Mommy!" followed by a HUGE hug that lasted WAY longer than her usual half of a second hug.

Scott came up stairs right behind her to explain. While they were coloring downstairs, out of the blue without even said anything about the temple, Emily does this exact thing to Scott--gives her a huge hug with the words, "Thank you temple!" This is when he sent her upstairs to tell me too.

Scott and I did attend the temple in St. George yesterday. It had been a while since we had been, so it was very lovely and a wonderful reminder of the eternal aspect of our lives. We left her with my Grandma Nelson in Hurricane, told her Mommy and Daddy were going to the temple, and told her we would be back soon. (She had a BLAST at "Grandma Mouse's" house!) After we picked her up, nothing was said about us going to the temple, so the fact that the next day she would bring this up out of nowhere seemed so significant.

The only thing I can say to explain it is, perhaps, the music we were listening to was a very powerful orchestral arrangement of a hymn. Even upstairs in the kitchen, at that moment, I was thinking to myself how much I love this gospel and the Spirit that I feel especially with music. And at that moment, she came running up the stairs.

I'm not sure if she meant, "Thank you for going to the temple yesterday," or "Thank you for being married in the temple," or simply that she was grateful for the temple. But, whatever the explanation, it was very sweet.

It was a tender moment for all of us. We did a group hug and big kisses. I cried knowing that my sweet daughter was so in tune with the Spirit that she could tell us of her feeling of the temple.

"Yea, even babes did open their mouths and utter marvelous things..." 3 Nephi 26:16

Snow Day..

Today snowed ALLLLL day, and no I'm not exaggerating.



I would rather stay indoors, with the fire going, with some fuzzy warm jammies and hot cocoa, but I do feel pretty guilty that I have never taken my TWO YEAR OLD out to play in the snow. So, today, after a little prodding from my big sister (Thanks, Kara) I took Emily out in the snow...and wouldn't you know it...

SHE LOVED IT!

Not just the snow, but mostly EATING the snow. Seriously, it's what she did the ENTIRE time we were outside. Since it was still snowing, it really wasn't that cold outside, but we finally went in because her lips, cheeks, and nose started turning PURPLE!

Here is the proof:










So after taking her inside and her face thawing out a bit, it turned BRIGHT red... I felt really bad. So I held her for a second (about as long as she would let me) and kissed her cheeks. It was a tender moment.



We followed up the snow playing with some dinner on a blanket downstairs while watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" (it was on TV) and then bath, THREE books (she normally gets one) and prayers, songs, and bed.

Emily is a perfect angel in going to bed. We have followed the same routine since she was 2 days old. Bath, jammies, stories, prayers, and she goes right to bed. We are very grateful for this, as we have heard some HORROR stories about other 2 year olds...but she has slept through the night since she was 3 weeks old. (Thankfully!!)

She is growing up so quickly. I am trying to take the time to cherish the moments with her because before I know it she will be off to school... She is a very smart little 2 year old--knows her colors, shapes (even a TRAPEZOID!), all of her letters except 3 or 4 (G, Q, and X are still confusing I guess...), can count to ten, knows that my name is Kristin and Scott's name is Scott, and that HER name is Emily Mabb. (I taught her that just in case she ever gets lost!) She is a jabber-box, loves Nursery, loves to sing, sometimes tells me "Mommy, No singing!" The other day she woke up from her nap and I wasn't quite done with Piano Lessons downstairs and she said "Mommy!!! NO MORE PIANO!!" We had a good chuckle over that one.. She makes me laugh every day. I am often reminded of the country song "You're Gonna Miss This" by Trace Adkins and it makes me sad that I have wasted so many times when I could have been doing something with Emily and instead I let her play by herself and did something on the computer instead. I am working on this. (She's asleep right now...so I feel justified in blogging.)

Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into an emotional post (yes I'm crying) but I really do love my little Emily so very much and am very grateful for her patience with the Mommy she got.

Here's to more Snow Days!!!!

45 lbs of produce for $15!!

Hello! This post is for everyone living in Cedar City (and anyone else who might be interested!!)

Bountiful Baskets finally has enough people to start a "stop" here in Cedar City. Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op where they buy produce in bulk so it is cheaper for the rest of us!

Every other week, they come to Cedar City to the drop-off location and you get a box/laundry basket FULL of produce for $15.

This is what I got this week!


And here's the breakdown:

8 Granny Smith Apples
8 Red Plums (So delicious!)
4 Artichokes
2 heads of Romaine Lettuce
3 heads of broccoli
4 tomatoes
1 bag of Seedless Red Grapes (the best I've ever had!)
2 cantaloupes
10 lbs. of potatoes
2 bunches of bananas
4 pears
(and a partridge in a pear tree! j/k)

Overall, this was 45 LBS OF PRODUCE!!

Also, each week they do this you can "opt in" for different things too. For example, this week there was an option for a 40 lbs case of pears for $12 extra. (Not a bad deal!!)

They also have options for breads (5 loaves for $10!) and some "Asian packs" with different kinds of "Asian" vegetables to make stir-fry, etc.

I am SOOOO excited about this (if you can't already tell!)

Also, the MORE people they get to do this in Cedar City, the MORE stuff you get in your basket. For example, this week had there been more than 14 people in Cedar that signed up they would have added cucumbers and raspberries!!

So, here is my shameless plug for Bountiful Baskets! To sign up, go to their website: www.bountifulbaskets.org . Each week they do this there is a deadline. If you go get on their mailing list, they will email you each week ( I think...this is the first week I've done it...) and let you know what the "offerings" are for that week.

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW IN CEDAR!!

For those not in Cedar, there are other location in Arizona (tons in AZ) and a lot in N. Utah as well as a brand new stop in Malad City, Idaho (Brittney?). Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them. (or find out from the coordinator here in Cedar!)

I think I will go eat a plum now...

Our little model!

Emily got a box from her Grammy in Japan the other day with a pretty new church dress in it. As promised, I took pictures. But while doing so, Scott was showing her how to "pose" for a picture. Here is the outcome of our "little model's" pictures:

Work it, Emmy!! (We were laughing so hard!)

Sky Fest 2009

I have lived in Cedar City for 6 years and never attended Sky Fest! It is really a neat experience to see these HUGE hot-air balloons take off right in front of your eyes. Here's a few pictures:




We also got to hang out with family! Bret, Ashlee, and Jace were there and Grandma Nelson came up from Hurricane. Here's Emily huggin' her cousin!


And "Grandma Mouse" as Emily and Jace call her!


They had some fun inflatables that Jace, Emily (and I) quite enjoyed!

Pure joy!


Pure fright!



Here's Jace and Emily! Emily only did it the first time because Jace did. Positive peer pressure!



Emily was too scared to go a second time, so I went up with her. It was pretty fun!



It was really nice to spend some time with Bret, Ash, Jace, and Grandma. Maybe next year we can do it again!

Labor Day at the Cabin!

We spent Labor Day at Mabb's Ranch near Snowflake, AZ. It was really nice weather all of the Mabb's were there except one...missed you Jamie! We did lots of fun things and enjoyed being there to celebrate Scott's dad's birthday! Here are the highlights:

We went FISHING! Brent took us out on a boat and we trolled around a gorgeous lake catching Rainbow trout. Here's mine! (Don't mine the hair or lack of makeup...we got up at six to go!)

Here's my handsome fisherman hubby...probably untangling a fishing line. tee hee.


We did alot of relaxing to, enjoying the nice cool air and beautiful scenery and lots of family!

Here's Emily enjoying the hammock with Aunt Annie and cousin Nate.


Scott relaxing with the newest Mabb, Jason and Crystal's son Korbin.


Scott's dad had a yummy carrot cake from Costco for his birthday. Here's the birthday boy!


We did some eating (okay maybe we did a LOT of eating.) Emily and her cousin Dustin.

And with Daddy.


But, most of all, we did alot of PLAYING!
Emily wanted to be just like her cousin Lizzy and wear a bandana. She looks really cute in it!


And the tent that Lizzy, Chase, Kaeli, Dustin, and Tori have built with wood and old tablecloths. Emily and I went up the hill to see how cool it is!


And of course, we did some four-wheelin'....Emily's a good passenger!


And a cute passenger, to boot!


Here's Emily discovering her love of dirt. She's mid-throw here. She did this right before we got in the car to go, too!


What a cute and dirty little face!


Once we finally got in the car to go home, Emily only lasted (not kidding) about 5 minutes. We had her all set up to color, but she was just too pooped.


We had a fun time. Emily is getting pretty good at the 8 hour drive and has a LOT of fun hanging out with her cousins. Can't wait to see you all again at Christmastime!

Iron County Fair

The first weekend of September was the Iron County Fair! Scott went to work a T-Mobile booth and Emily and I walked around the fair. When Scott was done for the night, some of the rides were still open. I got to help Emily on her first experience on the "horsey" as she called it. She liked it for the first 2 minutes. I was actually getting pretty sick going around so many times!



She also really like the little boats--once she finally figured out how to ring the bell, she was having a blast!



Here's Scott buckling her into her hot rod!


Now that's one happy little girl! She actually asks me if she can drive sometimes when we get in the car (our REAL car)...so this satisfied her for a while. She hasn't asked since this. But, that just tells me I'm in trouble when she starts getting close to the age when she really CAN drive!


Giving Daddy kisses right before we get in the car to go home....thanks Dad.


We had a fun night at the Fair! :)

And here's the spiritual insight I got from walking around the fair:

As Emily and I were walking around there were all sorts of fun and exciting looking games with huge teddy bears and a even a booth with a real live goldfish for a prize. If that wasn't enough to try and lure you in, the men and women working these game booths shout things at you as you walk by, "Guaranteed prize!" "Win a bear for your baby!" "Your little sister is so cute!" (rolls eyes) "Buy Three darts, I'll throw 2 more in FREE!" I tried really hard to not make eye contact with these vendors 1) because I was all alone with Emily, 2) I didn't have any money with me, and 3) honestly they kinda creep me out a little bit. BUT, what I did glean from this experience (no, I did NOT get a goldfish) is that carnivals and fairs are like life. *sigh* Here i go:

There are many things all around us that may look very enticing. There are bright lights, shiny objects, big prizes that look so grand at the time. There are even people there trying to lure you in to these seemingly "need to have it" opportunities and "prizes." But, in reality, you go home with a huge teddy bear that you spent $30 trying to win and end up throwing it away 3 months later. What seems like a great idea at the time, could really just bring you heartache down the road.

The people trying to lure you away from your determined goal of, for instance, trying to live a clean and righteous life, have no regard for anything but trying to get you to give up what is most precious to you eternally for something so insignificant. This can be friends, co-workers, acquaintances, or anyone, really. But, what worked the best (the 2nd time I walked around the fair) was just to steer clear of these people all together. Walk on the OTHER side of the sidewalk. And--as in life--sometimes we can't avoid these things, but alot of times, we can--and should.

Because there are a lot more important things in life that are hard work and sometimes very trying, but are definitely worth working for...like this:

Alright. Enough soap box for the evening.

When you give a toddler a camera...

....she'll probably take some really odd pictures.

These pictures are the backside of her toy kitchen that is in her bedroom. It makes sense though. It's what she sees, and at her eye level. So just in case she ever gets really good at photography, here are her very first pictures!

What a beautiful flower....


And stove...


And another view of the flower.


We have a budding photographer on our hands. :)

Calf Creek Falls and Camping!

Our first adventure of camping with Emily commenced in July. (Okay, so I'm a little behind on blogging.) We ventured to Calf Creek with our friends the Chris and Heather Hall, Mary and Terral Fox, Adam and Laura Hailstone, and Whitney and Noah Hopkins. It was "hotter than crap" outside, according to Whitney, but a very fun time. We camped overnight and the next day did the hike up to the falls.

Here's proof of camping!

Emily's our "little duck." Those in my family will know where she got this.

Not convinced she's a "happy camper?"

Here she is saying "cheese"... getting carried around by mom makes camping so much fun!



The hike was not too bad. I did get a couple blisters, but Scott had some duct tape and fixed those right up for me. (Duct tape really IS good for everything!)

And here's the proof of hiking:

CHEESE!


Under a rock!



The canyon walls are stripe-y due to water and mineral deposits.


Very Green!


The Calf Creek Falls. The water was fuh-reeeezing, but very refreshing after a long hike!


Emily enjoyed the hike back as well. Daddy makes a good pillow. (No, honey, that's not a fat joke!) Hehe.


Adam and Laura put together this trip and named our group "Haloxkinsmabstone".... (Everyone's last names put together!) And here we are!

Emily is not looking at the picture because the dog was barking for some reason and she turned to look at the "puppy" and said "Are you okay, Puppy??" to which we all smiled very genuinely for the picture.