Before I Forget...

Pictures from Thanksgiving

Sealed

A little over seven years ago Derek was baptised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Almost five years later his parents began listening to the missionaries and decided to be baptized as well. At the time Derek and I were dating. Having been a member of the church all my life I felt very blessed to have the opportunity to sit with Derek and his parents as they listened to the discussions, asked questions, and began to develop their own testimonies of the truthfulness of the doctrines and principles being taught. A few short months after Derek and I were married, we had the amazing opportunity to again listen to the missionaries with his brother, Chad, and attend his baptism.
On Saturday, I was again blessed to witness the sealing of Jim and Teresa as eternal companions and to also see Derek sealed to his parents. I do not say say I because I was the only one touched and blessed by this experience. I know all who were in attendance were uplifted and edified. But I feel especially blessed and grateful to have been able to be a part of this wonderful experience and journey. As I sat in the temple and pondered the significance of what was taking place I was overcome with gratitude. Not everyone gets the chance to see their in-laws sealed together and their spouse sealed to his parents. Several members of the church are "born in the covenant," meaning we are already sealed to our parents because they made those covenants before we were born. However, I was blessed enough to have met and fell in love with a wonderful man who joined the church as a teenager. I was blessed enough to come into his life at a time when his family opened their hearts to the Gospel. And I was blessed enough to have been welcomed into their family. As I stood in the temple with Derek, Jim, Teresa, her brother, and his wife, I was filled with love. Love for my family. Love for God. Love for the Gospel. Because of this experience my understand of eternity has been deepened. My understanding and testimony of gospel ordinances and covenants (especially sealings) has increased. My relationship with my husband has been enriched. And my relationship with my mother and father-in-law has also been enriched. I will forever cherish the opportunity I had to witness this glorious event. I am so grateful for my in-laws. They have welcomed me into their family and loved me like their own daughter. I am so grateful for this time I've had to live so close to them and build such wonderful relationships with them. I am also grateful to my Heavenly Father for placing me in their lives and allowing me to have these opportunities to learn and grow. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn to love another family as much as I love my own. I am grateful for the Gospel. For repentance and baptism. For sealing ordinances. And most especially for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made it all possible. I look forward to the day when we can all enter the temple again as a family and have Chad sealed to us as well.

Rachel, Chad, Jim, Brody, Teresa, Derek, Ariane

The story of the century

I recently did a project for my English methods class. We were required to write a personal narrative and then create a photostory using that narrative. I decided to recapture the story of Brody's birth. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it. -Derek

Just Your Average Comic Book Heroes

For Halloween we thought it would be fun to dress Brody up as Calvin and have Derek dress as Hobbes from the infamous comic book. Brody looked great, and while Derek did too, he looked more like Tigger than Hobbes. Regardless, we all had a good time.

Getting ready to go!

Brody wanted to carry his own bag until it got too heavy


Tired after a long night

Uh oh! What are Calvin and Hobbes up to now?

One Step, Two Steps, Three or Four More!

Brody is walking! He's been taking a few independent steps from one object to another for about a week now. But last night he decided he could do this walking thing.

What this means for mom: Keeping all doors shut at all times, more locks and supervision, and start running so I can catch up.

Fall Flashbacks

It's finally Fall in Las Vegas, and this cooler weather and autumn feel has brought floods of memories to mind. I found myself craving a turkey pastrami sandwich with chocolate milk today. I know it sounds odd, but at about this time last year I was getting up every morning, getting ready, packing a lunch, and running out the door. I would then drive across town to Sunrise Children's Hospital, take the elevator to the second floor, go check on my baby, and then go pump and eat my lunch (which sometimes consisted of a turkey pastrami sandwich and a chocolate milk). I can hardly believe it was just a year ago. I look at my son now and think of how much he has grown. He is getting so big (to us). He is crawling and walking with help. He signs please. He definately knows what he wants and how to get his way. And he still makes me laugh and makes my heart melt.
While cleaning out some files on my computer I came across this post I was working on last year. I thought I would share it.

Lessons from the NICU
What having a son in the NICU has taught me about parenthood…

- As Derek puts it, “Our son is not Superman.” He’s not going to get bigger, stronger, and healthier overnight. And sometimes he might regress. As he continues to grow and get older, this will not change. He will stumble and fall. My job, as the mother, is to encourage him to get back up and try again, to love him and comfort him, and to stand by him no matter how long it takes.

- SACRIFICE. Pumping in the middle of the night for a baby across town. Need I say more?

- Brody will do it on his own time in his own way. He is stubborn. The nurses but him on his back and he rolls over to his stomach. The nurses put in a tube to feed him through the nose, he pulls it out. He eats only as much as he wants. No amount of coaxing by his pleading parents gets him to finish a bottle if he is satisfied. Brody is STUBBORN, but he is a fighter! He will eat. He will grow. He will eventually come home. But it will be on his own time. When he decides to.

Primarily for Grownups, Not just for Grownups anymore!

Brody loves to be outside, so I take him for walks before his naps. (He loves it, and it helps wear him out!) Today he discovered the fire hydrant. He walked up to it, stared at it, then walked away. He only went a few feet before he turned around and walked back. Then he finally got up the nerve to touch it. He continued to turn, walk a few feet away, and go back and touch it for about ten minutes. I tried to get him to walk around with me and check out the neighborhood, but if we got too far away he would just try to sit down and crawl away from me. I gave in. We spent our walk time hanging out by the fire hydrant.

Par-tay!

Brody's first birthday party was a blast. We ate, played, enjoyed talking to friends and family, and had a great time. Here are some pictures from the big day.

Brody meets Elmo.

Brody keeping his eye on Elmo.

Limbo!

The Bounce house

Brody and his fire engine

Then and Now, Part 2

Can you believe this little boy...

...is 1 year old today?

Then and Now

Last Labor Day weekend I went shopping with a good friend, got sick, and ended up in the ER late at night with stomach cramps (which I found out later were actually contractions). I was put on bedrest and a week later Brody was born. So far this Labor Day weekend has been more relaxing.

Hope you are enjoying the long weekend as much as we are!!

Sunday Dinner

Grandpa Riddle made his special family recipe spagetti for dinner.

Brody loved it.

Even with sauce on his face he can pull off a GQ look.

Vacation

It was so nice to get out of the city, slow down, and cool off. Idaho was great. The weather was beautiful. And we really enjoyed spending time with family. Brody loved having a yard to play in. He wanted to be outside all the time. He also enjoyed his cousins this time too. He didn't cry when Gregory touched him!! Yay! In fact, he actually would smile and interact with him. Here are the few pictures I took of our trip.