March Wrap-Up

Builder Man Carter

Carter has an older buddy Linus who he really admires. Carter thinks that Linus's house is the coolest because Linus has all the coolest toys ever. It has been really nice for me in deciding what to buy Carter for birthdays and Christmas because I can just think of the toys that Linus has and buy whatever he has that we haven't already copied. Linus is into all things builder and manly. It is rare that you see Linus without his builder boots, jeans, and his construction hat.

So when I saw Carter in this outfit playing with his crane that Aunt Nicole gave him I thought it had Linus written all over it.

Growing Up

The other day we had playgroup and I was so amazed watching Carter play with the other kids. First, because he wasn't hitting or pushing, he was overall being a pretty nice kid. Second, he was right there keeping up with all the imaginative play that the big kids were doing. The playground was at times a castle with princesses, dragons and bad guys. And then it became a Pirate Ship and they were all pirates. But no matter what the playground was Carter was right there with the rest of them playing his part. I was so happy and proud of him. I just never imagined such things would bring me such happiness and joy.

His new phrase after this playgroup was, "I had it first." It is essentially a glorified way of saying, "That's Mine!" It's just so funny to hear his developed speech.

Also, last night Carter peed in the potty for the first time. We aren't ready to go full blown into the potty training thing, but we thought we would start introducing him to it and get him thinking about it. He was VERY proud of himself.

My Two Boys

Siddharth, my nanny boy, is on Spring break right now so I had him all last week and most of this week. We have been playing pretty hard and having so much fun. I have now nannied Siddharth and his older sister for a little over 1 1/2 years. I have grown to love them so much. They are as close to my own kids as they could get. So I wanted to include a few pictures of us playing on the playground at the zoo.



Random Videos

Carter is at the point where I feel like to truly capture so many of the things that he is doing or that makes him who he is I have to take videos. I take these videos with my not totally awesome, but gets me by digital camera. It is convenient and super easy to download, but the videos are far from high quality. Really all that matters to me is being able to see my boy and hear his voice.

This kid is always cracking us up by the clever stuff that he is doing (Can ya tell I'm a proud Momma?) Also, this video shows one of his very favorite games. He loves to Roar and have us Scream. He could do this on and on:



Notice in this video his "ums" it cracks his mommy and daddy up!



This is C's new favorite board game:



Last Friday evening we went out to get Matt's favorite food - Thai. C had to give the chop sticks a try:



Daddy is just the funniest guy around, wouldn't you agree? He certainly knows how to get some good laughs out of his boy.

Grandpa Clarence's Funeral

Carter and I were planning on making a trip out to Utah for the first two weeks of February. Matt was going to join us for most of the second week. About a week before we were planning on leaving I got a call from my mother informing me that my dear Grandpa Clarence (my dad's father) was not doing very well at all. I asked my mom to tell him that he needed to hold on for one more week for me to get out there. When my mom started to cry and said that if I saw him I would not ask her to ask him that I knew it was serious and I needed to get out there. I was okay with my Grandpa passing on because of my faith in God's Eternal Plan and forever families. But I needed to be able to talk to him one last time and to tell him face to face how much I loved him. So minutes later I was on the phone with Southwest. It was going to cost us at least $300 (and that may have been per ticket) to change our flight plans so that Carter and I could get out there early. I explained my situation to the lady on the phone and she sweetly looked into every possibility she could for me. Even though she wasn't supposed to do this, she got Carter and I on the next flight that she could (the next morning) at no extra cost. I knew this was Heavenly Father showing us His tender mercies.

There were several other miracles that happened in preparation for and during this trip, but I want to share just one more with you. My Grandpa and Grandma have two kids, my dad and his sister Karma. My cousins and I grew up very close. Once we were all grown several us because of jobs and schooling had to move out of state and across the country. It had been years since all of us had been together at one place. And before we even knew that something was going on with my grandpa all of my cousins and myself (unbeknownst to us) had all planned to come home to Utah at the same time. What a beautiful statement of love that our Heavenly Father had made to us that he let this be the time for my Grandfather to pass on, when we could all be home to say our good-byes and to comfort one another. I got into Utah late on a Thursday afternoon and was the last of the family to arrive. Thursday night we all gathered at my grandparents house for family prayer and to give my Grandpa a blessing. I am so grateful that i was able to be there for that and to have these last few memories with my grandfather whom I love so much.

All of Grandpa Clarence's and Grandma Ione's great-grandkids except my sister's twins.

All of my family except Matt, Carter, and my sister's twins.

The funeral and burial was beautiful. The spirit was strong and testified that Grandpa went on to a much better place.

Also, a special thanks to Whitney for watching Carter the day of the funeral. It was so nice to be able to call on family and ask for help. It was also so comforting to know that Carter was in such good hands and that those hands were just as excited to be on Carter.

Most of all at this time, I am so grateful for my knowledge that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for Temples that allow us to be forever families. I am grateful for the Priesthood that can seal these many blessings upon us. If any of you who read this blog would like to know more about what I am writing about please let me know, I would love to share this joy and knowledge with you!

"Christ can Change Human Nature"

Living here in Pittsburgh has been a real eye-opener for me. There are poor and slums here like I have never seen before and is still not even the tip of the iceburg of what can be found in other places. In our ward alone we have so much need and being part of our Relief Society Presidency here I have worked closely with this. Sometimes the need can be daunting and overwhelming. I wonder how can little me make any difference, how can I change these people's circumstances? But then I read this quote and the Spirit told me that I have it all wrong: It is always and forever in and through Christ...

“The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature” (Ezra Taft Benson, in Conference Report, Oct. 1985, 5; or Ensign, Nov. 1985, 6).

"OH NO" and Pizza

I am gone for a few hours doing church stuff and I come home to hear: "Oh No!!"

I feel so blessed that I know I have nothing to worry about when I leave Carter home with Matt. These two boys love each other so much and are always horsing around together. Matt is so great at encouraging me to get out and let him and Carter play. In the words of my Grandma Ione: "Oh Amber, how did you ever get so lucky to marry a boy like that?"


Pizza Anyone?

A couple weeks ago, our Relief Society was in charge of feeding 80 missionaries during their Zone Conference. So what's a girl to do with a number like that? Go to Costco of course!




We were quite popular with the workers and customers and everyone was shocked watching these people walk out with that many pizzas. Everyone wanted to know where the party was at. That car has certainly hauled a lot of odd things in it's time.