Scripture Power

Katelee sings this song a million times a day. I'm not exaggerating. Therefore I had to record it at least once; here it is for your Sunday listening pleasure.

FSA Playdate

FSA: Families Supporting Adoption is a national organization that joins families and people involved in adoption together. We have enjoyed being a part of FSA here in Denver. Once a month, FSA has a play group that we enjoy attending. Last week we went to a GREAT park here in Denver. We played on the playground for a few minutes, visited the petting zoo, took a train ride, ate a picnic lunch, and played in the stream that flowed through the park. Katelee could have stayed there all day; it was so much fun. Most of all, I enjoyed getting to make friends with others who have adopted or are also trying to adopt. It's wonderful to hear everyone's story.

Wading in the stream

Riding the train

Isn't she gorgeous?

At the petting zoo

So fun!

A Tribute to my Dad

I know this is a day late, but I really wanted to mention my dad this Father's Day. My dad is an amazing dad, and though I've always thought my dad was the best dad in the world, I appreciate him even more and more as I get older. Here are a few things about my dad that I love:

• He is slow to anger, and I've never heard him raise his voice to me or my siblings.
• Spending time with his kids and family has always been a top priority to my dad. We did a lot of fun things together when I was growing up, including long vacations. My dad came to all our events or performances. I remember feeling a little sad for other friends whose dads weren't around as much as mine, because I always knew I could count on my dad to be there.
• He likes to have fun, and we did a lot of camping and traveling and seeing new places while I was growing up.
• He doesn't complain. If you know anything about this past year of my dad's life, you know that it has been a tough year. The kidney disease, the surgery, the illness . . . my dad doesn't complain. He accepts things as they are and deals with them and doesn't waste time asking 'why.'
• He's a hard worker, and taught us to work hard also.
• He loves his grandchildren, and does so much to make them happy. When my parents were here in Denver, they spoiled Katelee like crazy. While walking through the mall one day, my dad saw a SuperMario t-shirt. He knew my nephew would love it, and so he bought it and sent it to him. My dad is very thoughtful that way, always doing little things to show his kids and grandkids how much he loves them and that he is thinking of them. And did I mention that he is taking Katelee and us to Disneyland this summer?!?
• He has a testimony of the gospel and lives a Christ-like life.

I love you, Dad. There is so much more I could say, but I want you to know that you really are the best dad a girl could ever ask for.

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

Happy Father's Day!

Gerald is a great dad. Katelee has had fun today trying to make his day special. She made him a special card and present, and helped me make french toast, eggs and bacon for breakfast. She also sang to daddy in sacrament meeting today and made him cry. She colored a special picture for daddy today during church, and had me write this note on the picture:

Dear Daddy, I love you so much. You are my best pal. You are the bestest daddy ever and I love you so much because you are great. Love, Katelee

I have one quick story to add that sums up what kind of dad Gerald is. The other day he promised to play with Katelee until bedtime. Gerald is good at doing whatever Katelee wants to do. Well, instead of their usual rowdy playtime, Katelee really wanted Gerald to paint her fingernails. At first he tried to talk her out of it, and said to me, "I don't know how to paint girl fingernails!" But I reminded him that if he could build and paint small models, he could paint fingernails. And without another word of argument, he sweetly painted Katelee's nails. She ordered alternating pink and purple. I couldn't resist taking pictures. Katelee beamed the whole time. She knows without a doubt that her dad loves her, and that he would do anything to keep her safe and happy.

And that is why Gerald is an amazing dad.

Oh, What Do You Do in the Summertime?

Fun, fun, fun!

Cereal for Lunch?

I love cereal. I really do. It's probably one of my top 5 favorite things to eat. But having all those carbs first thing in the morning is not suggested by my doctor.

And I hate lunchtime. I really do. I'm not really sandwich person. I will eat a sandwich, but I will not enjoy it. I struggle most days with what to make for lunch. Lunch is not a meal that I generally enjoy.

Until I had the brilliant idea that I would make a breakfast everyday and we would eat cereal for lunch! I think this is the perfect solution! I now look forward to lunch. It's almost zero work and zero clean up. Katelee and I both love cereal. But we're not eating it first thing in the morning. So, for a couple of weeks now, we have cereal for lunch as long as we didn't have it for breakfast. I think it's great!

What about you? What do you eat for lunch? (I need ideas, people!) Do you love cereal like we do? Do you eat cereal other times of day, or is it a breakfast-only food for you?

Getting Ready for Church

Katelee was concentrating so hard on putting on her shoes by herself before church the other day, I couldn't resist snapping a picture. This girl is so independent and so cute! Her everyday activities always make my heart melt.

Sleeping Beauty

Katelee is so beautiful. I especially love to watch her sleep. This picture captures her so perfectly: the freckles on her nose, the lips I can't help kissing, the hair in sponge curlers for church the next morning, the rosy cheek, those amazing eyelashes . . . I fall more in love with her everytime I watch her sleep. She's simply exquisite.

Sister Reynolds

Last Saturday our ward had a primary activity. It was the first one Katelee was old enough to attend. It was all about missionary work, and I was asked to help out with the activity so I got to see all the cute things they did.

Katelee and her missionary name tag.

It said:

Sister Reynolds

Korea Seoul Mission

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

At the activity they had a variety of stations with different activities: sewing on a button, learning to say the name of the church in Spanish, learning about testimonies, learning to tie a necktie, decorating cookies, and a race to pack a suitcase.

I was asked to help by running a station where the children decorated CTR sugar cookies. Here is Katelee with her finished cookie.

Katelee had a great time. Hooray for Primary!

At the Temple

The other night Gerald was needed to help the youth do baptisms for the dead at the temple. Since Katelee and I hadn't seen him all day, and because it was a beautiful evening, we decided to go along and wait on the temple grounds for Gerald.

We had a very peaceful and bonding time.

Katelee wanted to smell every flower her little nose could reach:

And we lay on the grass and stared at the sky and the Angle Moroni. We talked about the temple and the spirit we could feel.

We walked around the fountain and ran our hands through the water.

We laughed.

Katelee and I had a sweet conversation about who she wanted to marry someday.

I told her to marry someone who loves Heavenly Father very much.

She responded, "Oh! I'll marry Joseph Smith!"

Which made me laugh. Then I explained further. She agreed that she will marry someone who loves Heavenly Father as long as she can still be a fix-it-man when she grows up.

I told her she can be anything she wants to be.

Dear Katelee, You are so dedicated to what you want, so intelligent, so beautiful inside and out, that I know you can truly become whatever you want to be and the amazing woman Heavenly Father has in mind for you. I'm so blessed to be your mother.

I love you!

Signs of Summer

Summer has arrived here in Denver! Here are a few signs that we are enjoying our summer weather:

Flip-flops and Shorts

Katelee seemed to go straight from wearing her snow boots everywhere to wearing her flip flops everywhere! She can't be bothered to put on real shoes; she loves the easiness of her flip-flops, and has not worn any other shoes in weeks.

Skinned Knees

Yup, 'tis the season of perpetually skinned knees. Katelee probably won't have ouchie-free knees for months to come. This particular day she was calling daddy at work to tell him about her latest fall.

Late Night Fun

One thing I love about summertime is going to bed later and staying outside late. The other night we were hanging out late with friends, and Katelee and the neighbor kids built a 'camp' in the middle of the parking lot. We had them move it to the side of the road, but it was still pretty funny.

Swimming Galore!

We are really enjoying having a free swimming pool about a minute from our front door. We have been swimming practically everyday the past 2 weeks. It's been great! Katelee loves it and it's nice to have something easy to fill an extra hour or more in our day. But I always forget my camera, so I'll have to post swimming pictures in the future.

Puzzled

Katelee loves puzzles! She put all her puzzles together the other day, and then enjoyed looking at them.