Chris is Awesome!

First of all, I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS TO MY HUBBY for getting a COMPANY COMMAND!!! As you may or may not know, the pyramid gets quite steep from here on out as far as who gets the desired jobs in Special Forces. So for Chris to get company command and stay with the troops is quite an honor. He'll take command when he joins us in Florida next summer. He will do such a great job - he is a born leader.

Also, I absolutely LOVE this picture of Chris taking a nap with Kylie. It has been awesome having Chris around when I had a baby this go around. For the past two quarters, he has arranged his class schedule so that he could help me get the girls out the door in the morning. What a stud! That has been such a stress reliever for me, I can't even tell you. His help with the kiddos has saved my sanity. He has been so good to help me out on top of everything else he's got going on: writing another thesis, reading a ton for his normal classes, and preparing his Sunday school lesson every week, to name a few. I think he's earned a nap, don't you?
Well, now let's get on to the rest of my awesome family. The long awaited talent show finally arrived. Aly did a fantastic job, had a lot of fun, and made some new friends in the process. What a talented girl! If you'd like to view a video of the performance, you can go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBo-FatDRhg

Analise has really gotten into accessorizing these days. Where does she get her sense of fashion from? Definitely not from me; but she sure does look cute with her glasses and scarf.

Also, for General Conference a couple of weeks ago she wrote this about President Monson. Very cute. And speaking of conference, it was awesome. At least, the parts I was able to listen to were awesome. Due to the lack of sleep I'm currently getting and the girls general noise level, I didn't absorb as much as I would have liked. But I'm not too stressed about it, because I know I'll be getting the CD's to listen to and I can digest it in more bite size pieces later. I do want to say though, that I am so grateful for living prophets today. The guidance and counsel I get from conference helps me immeasurably as I deal with the challenges of today. I know that The Prophet, his counselors, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are truly the watchmen on the tower who can see things from a far off and know what the Lord would have us do in our times.

Now, here's the story of Kate's haircut, parts 2 & 3. I thought I got away without having to chop her hair off after the Diaper Genie incident, but apparently not. I decided to take a nap between sessions of conference on Sunday, my first fatal mistake. When I woke up and took Kate upstairs to take a bath I noticed that the hair on one side of her head was about 4 inches shorter than the other side. (See in the picture below the short hair, covered with a few longer strands.)

So, Monday we took her in for a haircut. (See Below). The guy at the barber shop told me that she'd cut it so short, we'd have to layer it to make it look okay. It actually is a pretty cute pixie cut. It is just a lot more work than I'd be willing to spend on a 3 year old's hair. When it's not curled it looks a lot like Julia Roberts hair as Tinkerbell in the movie "Hook". Now, the question is, did Kate learn a lesson from this experience? I don't really think so, because when her hair was all chopped off and she looked in the mirror, she smiled wide and said, "I look like Aunt Laura!"

And finally . . . here are some cute pictures of Kylie in her blessing dress. I love how she curls her little fists up under her chin. My awesome bro Spencer and his wife, Tiffany, came out to visit us for a week (more on that later), and we blessed Kylie while they were here. Chris did a great job on her blessing in capturing the essence of her mission here on earth and the blessing she will be to those around her. It was a neat experience.

Oh, and one more finally (maybe more like a P.S.?) Kylie has started talking and cooing to us. We love it!