Claire Has A New Toy.

And she LOVES it. She'd stay in there all day if she could. Once it stops snowing and actually warms up, I'd love to have the door open and have her jump in the front room while I clean.

Please hurry summer! We're going crazy!!

I Have Been a Grumpy Grumpy Soul.

And I'm not great at blogging lately. Most of you know (and it's probably obvious) I've been going through a bout of postpartum. Poor Ross has been a trooper and he's been fabulous.

General Conference was this last weekend and I spent the week trying to prepare for it. I really needed to be spiritually gorged, not just fed. And Conference did not disappoint. What I remember most was

1) All of the talks on service. Last year Ross decided he was going to volunteer at every opportunity that arose to serve. I spent the last year trying to talk him into sleeping in instead of cleaning the church, or setting up chairs. As the year went on I was more supportive and even helped out whenever Ross went, but I could have volunteered myself, or had a better attitude. I am so blessed to have such an amazing selfless husband to be my example. I often try to convince him that I got the better end of the deal. He still doesn't believe it.

2) I noticed a lot of mentioning the importance of strengthening home and family. A lot of times I feel like what I do all day isn't important and quite frankly doesn't matter, or that it's not enough. My depressed and angry attitude doesn't invite the Spirit into our home and it sure as heck doesn't draw our family together. I was so inspired to be a better wife and mother. Hearing those men talk about their wives made me think of the kind of wife I want to be. As far as my attitude goes, hopefully the PPD will go down soon, but I've been thinking about my dear husband's example again. Time and time again he reminds me that happiness is a choice and I can choose to have a good day. Claire is ALWAYS happy. (Except when it's nap time.) She is the perfect addition and I'm learning a lot from her about just being happy. In the meantime, I did go out and buy myself some flowers today. And home improvement projects always keep me busy.

I noticed that because I've been so angry lately, that I haven't really felt the Spirit like I was before. This week I went to the distribution center and got myself the Book of Mormon seminary manual. Just those few minutes I've spent studying has made a world of difference. I still have my down days, but the peace I get to feel each day makes up for it. I am so incredibly grateful for General Conference and for our inspired leaders.

I love these two wonderful people. They just can't be any more perfect.