Enjoying some tummy time
Steven and Lillie got these towels from Grandma Cropper for Christmas. They LOVE them and want to wear them all the time. They even watched a movie in them.
Spending some time with family
What happens when mom leaves flour unattended…
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Jonathan and his second cousin, Isaac, who is 1 month older than him.
And Six-Weeks Old!
1. I am the youngest child of 7 kids. Despite all the teasing that happened to me when I was younger, I always wanted 7 kids as well because I love being with my family and the different personalities we have. I’m not sure I could 7 kids now, but I do have a lot more respect and love for my mom and mother-in-law
2. I love all things medical and really want to work in a hospital or doctors office. This is so crazy to me because 6 years ago I had no desire to study medicine. I’m currently studying human anatomy and physiology on my own to quench a thirst to go to nursing school. I’m not in a position to go to school now, but I’m going to ready when that time comes!
3. I love to travel. I’ve done quite a bit of traveling around the U.S.A. and hope to include international travel one day. I’m intrigued by other cultures, other people, and I love historical and beautiful places.
4. I love all things music. It really is the best way for me to relate to anything. Gospel, life, childhood, etc. I remember my biology teacher my freshman year of high school telling us that music could help us remember things. My friend and I made up a song that week to study for a test. Thanks to that song I can still tell you the 5 steps of evolution – Mutation, migration, natural selection, non-random mating, and genetic drift. I should have made up more songs through high school and college.
5. I have a huge passion for Church History. I respect, honor, and cherish all that the early saints and pioneers went through for what they knew to be right, and knew that the Lord would always be watchful of them. I am so excited for the day when I can meet the Prophet Joseph and just give him a huge hug of gratitude.
6. I love hugs. I would love to hug a lot more people, but I don’t ever want to invade personal space. To me that’s one of the most comforting things in which I feel security. One of the things I loved the most about being in the Institute Show Choir at Snow College was our daily hug line outside of practice. They were fun for all, and I think helped build friendships faster.
7. I love friends. I find joy in being around them and love learning from them. I can’t wait to find the Diana Berry wherever I live to be someone that I feel I can call, visit, talk to about anything and everything.
8. I love education. My dad was a teacher as I was growing up and he instilled a desire and love of learning in my heart. I’m grateful to have a bachelor’s degree and am so glad my dad has been able to attend all of my graduations; high school, junior college, and USU. Hopefully he’ll still be around whenever I make it back to nursing school
9. I love to run. It really helps me feel good about myself, relieve stress, and is a challenge that I love being able to conquer. I’m SO excited to get running again now that I’m 6 weeks post-partum. Now to get rid of this ridiculous inversion crap….
10. I have a testimony of my Savior, Jesus Christ. The Atonement is real and such an integral part of my life. I’m grateful for the Lord’s hand in everything to make the hard times easier, and make the wonderful things even more wonderful. I marvel at the miracle of life and the love He has for each one of us.
My friend has this on her blog, and I have loved reading her posts. I’ve known her about 2 years, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know her a lot more through these. So I thought it would be fun to do one myself. Here’s the list. We’ll see if I can remember to do them
1.A picture of yourself with 10 facts
2.A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
3.A picture of your favorite tv show character
4.A picture of your children as newborns...
5.A picture of your favorite memory
6.A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
7.A picture of your most treasured item
8.A picture that makes you laugh
9.A picture of you and your SO
10.A picture of your children
11.A picture of something you hate
12.A picture of something you love
13.A picture of your favorite band or artist
14.A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
15.A picture of something you want to do before you die
16.A picture of someone who inspires you
17.A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
18.A picture of your favorite movie
19.A picture of yourself during pregnancy
20.A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
21.A picture of you & friends from highscool
22.A picture of something you wish you were better at
23.A picture of your family
24.A picture from your wedding day
25.A picture of your favorite day
26.A picture of something that means a lot to you
27.A picture of you & your bestfriend (not including spouse/kids/family)
28.A picture of something you're afraid of
29.A picture that can always make you smile
30.A picture of someone you miss
The reason I have any emotional stability these days is thanks to my amazing husband, Darrell. I realized I haven’t given him enough of a shout out lately, but truly, he’s done so so very much for me and our family. I can’t even count how many blessings he gave me before, during, and after my pregnancy to help me feel the love of my Heavenly Father and feel comfort and strength. It was through a blessing early on before I got pregnant that I knew everything would be alright during my pregnancy, and despite a lot of fears and doubts that I had, I just needed to have faith instead of fears.
Darrell is also the reason I was able to handle my labor like I did. He did everything he could to comfort me, and his soft, simple hand and foot massages helped me find my “happy spot” of concentration and find strength.
And of course, I’ve mentioned many times this has been a hard emotional recovery for me. And those times I just need to cry to feel better, he lets me cry and hugs me while I do it. I can’t help but love this man of mine. I’m very very blessed.
JANUARY
Lillie turned 2!
FEBRUARY
I ran two 5K’s, one of which was my fastest to date
Celebrated my mom’s 65th Birthday
Attended my first BYU Men’s Volleyball Game
MARCH
Miss Saratoga Springs Pageant (I’m on the committee)
Beauty and the Beast at the Capital Theatre
Found out we were expecting Baby #3!
APRIL
Morning Sickness Begins
Easter in Richfield
Many trips to Farm Country 
MAY
Steven played soccer
Ran my 3rd 5K for 2012
Celebrated my dad’s retirement after 43 Years of Teaching
JUNE
Went to Tacoma and Seattle
Played a lot in the water
Found out Baby #3 is a boy! 
JULY
Celebrated the 4th of July and ran my last 5K of the Year
Went to California
Went to my Best Friend’s Wedding
AUGUST
Lillie officially became potty trained!
Lillie also found a red ink pad and destroyed our carpet and got the walls good. This resulted in new carpet downstairs and new paint!
Celebrated 6 Years of Marriage!! 
SEPTEMBER
Steven Started Preschool
Steven turned 5
Darrell turned 30!
Janell turned 26
OCTOBER
Got my first real Massage
Time Out for Women
Halloween!
NOVEMBER
Primary Program
Thanksgiving
Became a family of 5!
DECEMBER
Flew by too fast
Celebrated Christmas
Discovered what it’s like to be completely and utterly exhausted
Was reminded by my Heavenly Father how truly blessed I am
We’ll be ringing in 2013 by sleeping, I’m sure. May it be a good one for all!!
While we were at my brother-in-law and sister-in-laws house, I saw this book on the bookshelf:
It’s one I thought looked like a good one, so I cracked it open while I feeding Jonathan. Tell you what – way to make an already emotional woman even more emotional. And I’m pretty sure it was something the Lord wanted me to read this week. I want to go find Hilary Weeks and let her know that her hope in writing that book came to pass for me. Especially her second hope:
“The hope that you will feel
…the power of your influence as a mother
…the love and support of our Heavenly Father
…that you can do all you have been asked to do
…inspired to continue giving your best
…a desire to fill another sippy cup, make another meal, find another missing shoe, and wipe another food-covered, chubby-cheeked face.”
All sort of quotes, thoughts, and insights just made me cry and cry. In fact, within 2 hours of reading this book up in that room I drove straight over to Deseret Book and bought myself a copy. Pretty sure it’s already been looked over a few times, quite a few tears have been cried, and I’m feeling better already.
A last few words from a song by Hilary:
“When it’s hard to believe in yourself
When you feel like you’re beginning to doubt
Remember
That He believes in what you’re doing
He believes in who you are
Don’t lose sight of the truth that you’re a Daughter of God
And He believes in Who You Are”
It was fun to conclude our holiday preparations with Darrell’s family. Food, family, fun and games. Doesn’t get much better!
Um….where did the last month go? I honestly feel like I just came home from the hospital with this little man maybe 3 or 4 days ago. Let alone 4 weeks! Things are starting to fall into place around here, and besides me only being a half-emotional wreck now, things are going well.
I tried weighing this little guy on the wii today. It says he is 10 pounds now, which is probably about right. He seems to be growing longer, and despite his cry and attitude every 3ish hours that I starve him, his cheeks don’t fool anybody
He’s really a very very good baby, and night times aren’t too bad. He wakes up every 3-4 hours to eat, but then goes right back to sleep. I do feel absolutely exhausted, but life is good.
