Caeleb is kind!

Have you ever read the book or watched the movie "The Help." I couldn't put the book down it was that good. There is a part in there where the maid teaches the little girl the importance of being kind. She says (in her southern accent), "You is kind, you is smart, you is important." I love that book and I love that saying! My Mother says that to her grandson Caeleb sometimes. I think Caeleb hears and understands her. Tonight, I got a compliment about Caeleb that showed me just how kind Caeleb is. I was driving a lady in my ward home from doing a service project. She has a calling in the nursery and so interacts with Caeleb. She is from a different nationality and she told me that the little children in the nursery have tended to shy away from her, maybe a little unsure of her. But not Caeleb. He went up to her from day one and played with her and talked to her. There were no differences in his eyes. Caeleb, I hope you always treat people kindly. Do not discriminate. Do not make fun. I love who you are and feel so happy to raise such a special son of our  Heavenly Father.

Zumba night at Home.

A funny-cute moment tonight. So the home teachers came over at 8:00 pm and I was not able to make it to my 8:30 Zumba class because of it. I decided that Chris and I would have our own Zumba class after we put the kids to bed. I put on the soccer song "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," and we started to do the dance for it. (Youtube the song if you like - we sometimes dance to it in Tuesday night Zumba class). We soon hear mumbling coming from Caeleb's room down the hall and so Chris goes to check it out.

"Waka Waka, eh eh?" Caeleb questioned in his very sleepy toddler voice, "Waka Waka, eh eh?" He loves to dance to that song with me and we had been dancing to it earlier on in the day. He was about to get out of bed to come join us but Chris laid him back down and he was soon back to sleep being so tired. Chris came out of the room laughing and I just had to share the moment. Te he he. What a funny little boy. (He also likes to dance to Gangnam style. Oh, and Caeleb and I have our song that we waltz too - I See the Light...from the movie Tangled).

Life

Well, I have not written for a while because a lot of little special moments happen that are worth remembering but quickly pass by and by the time I get time to write them down, I forget about them. Sad, I know. But I am going to try harder to get more memories recorded.

This morning I was listening to a conference talk by Elder Bednar and he stated it was never too early to teach our children about the Gospel. Knowing I need to do better in that, I spoke to Caeleb right away,  "Did you know Caeleb, that Heavenly Father loves you!"

He thought for a few seconds and stated, "Santa Clause too... Ho Ho Ho." Te He He. That is our Caeleb. Always keeping us laughing. He continues to love going to nursery on Sundays and he never wants to leave church. (I hope that this attitude continues as he gets older). After church, he goes to the Bishops office to get his Sunday candy (it is tradition in this ward), and then he proceeds to the chapel to go explore the pulpit and choir stand. I have to chase him around to get his coat on.

Elva is a sweetheart. She has smiles and little giggles that would melt anyone's heart. She loves to cuddle at times but also loves to look outwards at everyone and thing around her. She will spend about an hour on her back on the floor just wiggling herself around in circles and talking to herself. She still doesn't seem to want to roll but that will come soon enough. She continues at about 11-12 lbs and looks just like a little person (not baby proportioned - looks like Caeleb looked at her age except she has blue eyes).

We had a busy few days this last weekend. Chris brother Jared came to visit and we love to have him around. He makes us all laugh so much and Caeleb loved playing tag and train with his uncle. Camellia and Sterling came for a visit too and we all went to Kyndal Gainor's baptism on Saturday. She looked beautiful with braids in her hair and her baptismal dress bordered with material from India. I also did a 7:00 am Temple session on Saturday morning with our Relief Society. Then Chris and I went to clean the church and then the family went to a BBQ put on by one of Chris' co-workers. A busy busy day but every once in a while I like a day like that where you come home so tired at night because you accomplished so much during the day.

Life is Good. I woke up this morning to the sunshine and started singing outloud, "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today." I hope that spring is finally here to stay.

 

 

The Watters Family Breakfast

Remember when I wrote about getting back into the grove of exercise. Well, I am slowly getting there. Caeleb, however, does like to interrupt my exercise video at times (well, today it was a lot of times). But, I am getting there. Oh, and remember when I was talking about eating healthy too. Like the breakfast smoothies that I make the boys in the morning. Well, today I felt so happy. I perfected my breakfast smoothie! Yesterday the kids and I walked to the nearby grocery store. I noticed that the bottled healthy smoothies that you can buy at the store have very basic ingredients. Chris used to bring me them when I was in the hospital because I loved them so much. Today, I didn't add yogurt to my smoothie like I have usually done in the past and it turned out really good. This is what I did:

1 banana

Approximately 3/4 cup of frozen berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries all mixed together from a bag).

1/2 an apple cut up into small pieces (My blender is not the greatest and it handles small things a lot better). The apple is the new trick for me. It really sweetens the smoothie.

Approximately 1 cup of cold water (maybe a bit less).

a handful of spinach (it is tasteless in the smoothies and so healthy for you).

Anyways, this smoothie made my day today. (small and simple things). It was really yummy! Try it. (Actually, I think some of you do this already - I learned about homemade smoothies from some of my family). On another note, my cornbread that I made too didn't turn out so good. Blah! Oh, well.

 

 

 

Our 2013 Easter Bunny (named Camellia)

This Easter Weekend we went down to Mountain View to visit my sister Camellia and her family. They live in a beautiful little 100 year old house close to the mountains and far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. We love to go down there every chance we get. We go for walks outside and cozy up by the fireplace at night time in their cute little place. Camellia and Doug always feed us so well with their large supply of Deer and Elk meat in soups, stews and other delicious meals. They always have a nice warm bed for us to sleep in and are always more than willing to help with the kids. Their little Sterling loves to play with our Caeleb. This year, Chris and I went to the Mountain View cemetery (which is a short walk from Camellia and Doug's place) to watch the sun rise. The morning air was crisp and the sun rise was beautiful! I prefer watching sunrises to sunsets. I love to greet the sun in the morning (even though it is hard to get up with it lately).

Camellia was our Easter Bunny this year. She is such a creative, kind, diligent, caring Aunt and Sister and she made our weekend such fun! I remember when we were in High School, Camellia volunteered to dress up as the Easter Bunny for Children in the Vulcan community and did an Easter egg hunt with them. I didn't get to see her that day, but she told me about how she had so much fun, even if some of the kids were scared of her costume.

This year, Camellia set up a Easter egg hunt for her Nieces and Nephews. She is the best aunt to her 18 Nieces and Nephews! She spent a lot of time filling the eggs with candy and counting them to make sure there were enough for each person. She even boiled eggs and painted them with the little boys. Caeleb liked that! He also loved to look for the candy filled eggs outside and found his share fast. I so look up to my sister - always have and always will.

Most of my Nieces and Nephews live out on Vancouver Island, but even still, I need to do better to get to know and cherish each one like my sister does. I can feel the love she has for all of her family.