Merry Christmas to All!

And to all a good night! :)

A Year of Bliss

Sunday the 27th marked our one year anniversary.

What a year it has been! In just one year we:

-got married

-had our first baby

-graduated from college

-moved to Texas

-started graduate school (Sam)

-experienced 4 collective jobs and an internship

-had 2 new nephews born...

just to name a few things!

It has been a whirlwind so far...

more happy than I could have imagined.

I am still in awe that I get to be married to Sam!

I am so blessed to be able to spend eternity with my best friend.

He is so thoughtful, so caring, so loving in every way.

I love him more than I ever thought possible.

Eternal marriage brings such joy!

Sam is an amazing husband, an incredible father, and the most thoughtful person I have ever met. He works so hard to provide for our family, never thinking of himself. He is always so anxious to satisfy my every desire--sometimes even before I know I desire it! He waits on me hand and foot and treats me better than a princess. Never an unkind word escapes his lips. He is everlastingly patient. He makes me laugh every day. He raises me to much higher heights than I could reach alone. He brings me closer to the Savior through his love and example. I fall more in love each day. Thanks for an incredible year, my love! I'm so excited for the eternity that awaits us.

My Song in the Night

I thought the message of this song was just beautiful. Today I issued my Primary class a challenge-on Christmas, give a gift to Christ through serving someone in need. I hope that as Christmas draws near we will remember our Savior and serve those around us, for truly He said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40).

A Terrific Trio

Remember this?

Well, it has become this.

With all 3 babies in Utah together (Peter=10 weeks, Talmage=8 weeks, Maxton=2 weeks), we knew a photo shoot of the them was a must. But taking pictures of three tiny babies can be quite challenging! Talmage wasn't exactly thrilled to be sandwiched between the other two and kept throwing his arms up and smacking them in the face. Although we managed to get a few good shots, the majority went about like this:

Going...

Going...

Gone.

Progression of open mouths--and Talmage looks like he is winding up to sock Maxton.

This one shows the size difference. Peter=16.5 pounds, Talmage=11 pounds, Maxton=8 pounds.

Even though Talmage was being the "bully" as he hit the others, Peter still wanted to cuddle up to him. How sweet!

Matching hospital binkies!

We didn't instigate this-the two boys are already friends! This was seen when Sam held Talmage up to give Peter a "kiss" on the cheek. Instead, he sneezed all over him! Peter's mom said, "Peter will show you what a real kiss is like!" She held Peter up, and at that precise moment he let out a rather loud burp! It was so funny!

Maxton is the youngest of the three, but has by far the most hair. Look at his adorable little smile!

What fun!

Babies Bring the World Together!

On our trip to Utah, Sam pointed out that "babies bring the world together." He noted this because so many people that would otherwise probably have remained silent started conversations with us which revolved around Talmage. Airport security suddenly became more friendly and talkative as they went through our bags. Fellow passengers on our flight talked with us. The flight attendants gave us extra snacks. On the way home, we were standing in the tunnel that leads onto the plane, and the door was open. It was snowing outside, and very cold. A man parted the crowd for us so we could get Talmage away from the cold and onto the plane. When we got off the plane in Houston, people handed back our carseat prior to getting their own luggage. A couple from Shreveport, Louisiana talked with us all the way to the baggage claim. People commented on what a good traveler he was.

And the comments weren't limited to traveling! People in stores constantly strike up conversation with us regarding Talmage. Yesterday, for example, I was in Wal-Mart. An older woman was shopping, and as I passed her, holding Talmage and pushing our cart, she asked me if I needed her to hold him for a while! Needless to say, I told her I was okay and proceeded on my way. All through the store, people stopped to comment on him. One woman told me she thought for sure I was carrying a doll when she saw him. Many people asked how old he was or made other comments. And the crowning moment came as I was checking out and the cashier said, "Got your hands full, huh?" When I responded in the affirmative, she said, "Do you want me to show you a way to hold him?" I said sure, thinking she would just show me with her empty arms. But she came from behind the counter, took Talmage from me, and held him a different way which she said would make shopping easier! I was relieved when I had him back in my arms. I guess I'm not used to complete strangers taking him from me! :)

As we have taken Talmage's bright little face into more public settings the last little while, it has become apparent that, as Sam said, babies truly do bring the world together!

Friends and Family

Our trip to Utah was fantastic! It was so wonderful to visit with good friends and family and introduce Talmage to them. He was wonderful on the plane, and slept the entire way there!

Aunt Avalon-she is becoming quite the expert on babies.

Uncle Bronson-these two bonded because Bronson had a sick stomach and spit up a lot when he was a baby, too.

Like I said before, I have a thing with hands...

Aunt Jocilyn-even though she has her own new baby, she was nice enough to give Talmage some attention.

Aunt Losaunne-one is great...

but two is just too many! Notice the tilt on Talmage's binky. Although the rubber bulb is perfectly round and is not any different regardless of the angle it is at, for some reason he prefers it this way so it hits the tip of his nose. We are constantly turning his binky to be straight, because he puts it like that and gets a red nose!

Grandma Sue

Talmage was completely fixated on this candle in the middle of the table. He kept trying to run towards it with his legs and lunging at it!

The lunge

Grandpa Brady

Sam and I with Talmage just chillin' on my arm on his blessing day

Natalie was able to come-we've known each other since 3rd grade!

Andrea and Rachel, two of my best friends from college, came too!

Talmage with my Grandpa White-notice the binky-tilt again.

Somehow I flaked and didn't get pictures of Talmage with my parents-Grammy and Grandpa Skeeters-but he loved spending time with them. We had such a wonderful visit and only wish it could have been longer!

Blessing Day

On Sunday, December 7, Talmage was blessed! We were able to go to Utah to bless him, so many of our family members were able to attend. (More details on the trip will come later!) For those who don't know, in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, babies are given a blessing at Church shortly after their birth by someone who holds the priesthood--the power of God given to man. To learn more, go here. In our case, Sam blessed him. Talmage was blessed with many wonderful things. It was such a beautiful day! Here are some pictures of him in his blessing outfit.

I can't believe how old he looks in this one!