As Good As Gold - First Birthday

This chick is almost two. AHHHHHHH! I have begun planning her 2nd birthday party, so really I need to finish this post from her 1st birthday party. (It is embarrassing - only to me I am sure - that is has taken me this long.) Oh well, I am getting it done. 

Her theme was "As Good as Gold!" And can't you just tell from this first picture that she was just a delight?

I am totally kidding. She really was such a sweet and loving baby (unless she was teething). She just did not want her picture taken that day. Which is crazy, because look at that adorable dress. I guess this chick already has issues with getting a little older. (Just wait until you are my age, my little love!)

***It really was her first "upset/tantrum" kind of picture that I took religiously (Ha!) each Sunday on this same scary Mother's lounge couch at church.

There is my sweet baby. Sitting so nice for a picture!

So here is her party. I went crazy with GOLD everything. I hit up dollar stores and thrift stores to find anything I could that shimmered gold. I even spray painted a few things to highlight from her first year. I bought tacky cheap gold frames to go with the AMAZING photos that my good friend took for me for Jocelyn's 1st birthday shoot, that were all over the party as decor. The frame couldn't show up my baby, not like that is ever even possible. I even went so far as to have a gigantic picture made of my sweet girl. In retrospect, this was a bit ridiculous. But, I DON'T CARE. I loved it. The food was all golden, as well. Golden fried Chicken, Golden sweet corn, Golden rolls, Golden Mac & Cheese, and a Nothing Bundt Cake that was covered in edible golden sparkles. The party favors were Golden chocolate coins and Hershey's Nuggets. You can't go wrong with chocolate, or anything gold for that matter either.

And would you doubt anything less than me requiring our family to coordinate with our sweet baby girl's gold dress? Come on? You know me better than that.

Soon, my baby girl will be as old as my big girl. 

This is exactly how I feel about that. 

Stay little, my sweet golden haired baby girl.

No matter what though, you will always be as good as gold.

We love you Jocelyn Claire.

"I just didn't want to waste another Saturday."

I think it's hitting my Sugar. Soon Las Vegas will no longer be our home. We still have no idea where that new home will be, but we're looking forward to the adventure. 

Nevertheless, we still have a lot to do in Vegas before we head out.

Last Saturday he said, "I just don't want to waste another Saturday." 

We went and explored Red Rock National Park. The two trails we played on were Lost Creek, that led to a tiny waterfall and Children's Discovery Trail. Our babies loved hiking, climbing, collecting, and talking. Seriously, they talked the whole time. I'm not complaining, because I know soon enough they will be grumpy, refusing to speak, irritated teenagers that are forced to participate in our family fun. (Ugh. Not looking forward to that.) 

I did have a favorite thing that was said though. Jack said, "Thanks for bringing us here. This is the best day ever. I love you." He's been saying these sweet things a lot lately, and they melt me everytime. 

Basically, this Saturday was not wasted. 

HOPE Floats

This word, hope, has been used frequently in our house lately.

Afton
I hope that I get to be big helper in class.
I hope the other girl comes to swim class so I'm not stuck with all those boys.
I hope that Jack will figure out that making that sound is super annoying. 

I hope Bobi gets better soon.
I hope that Baby John John is okay.
I hope we can move to be by them soon.
I hope Betsy Lou still remembers me.
I hope I don't have to go to bed early again tonight.

Jack
I hope I get to have a motorcycle when I am 82.
I hope I get on pink or purple today.  (Class behavior chart)
I hope I score like a million goals today.
I hope Daddy can tuck me in to bed tonight.
I hope Baby John John and Betsy still want me to feed them when I get older.
I hope I have nice dreams.
I hope Grandma and Grandpa come down and stay with us again soon.

I hope I will always have a healthy body.

Jocelyn

Not much being said, but it is MY HOPE THAT THAT CHANGES PRETTY SOON!!!!!!!!! (Stressing out about it!)

My Sugar

I hope I pass boards.

I hope I get all my requirements done in time.

I hope I pass boards.

Me

I hope Afton and Jack can learn to be kind to one another, soon, one day, any day.

I hope Jocelyn will start talking, even a little.

I hope Jocelyn's teeth will stop hurting her soon so she can be a happy, well-rested baby again.

I hope my Sugar passes boards.

I hope I am not adding any more stress to his life.

I hope I am being a good example for my babies.

I hope I am being a supportive and loving wife.

I hope my kids will be strong in the gospel.

I hope we figure out if we should sell or rent our house.

I hope my Mom can stay busy and happy now that she is retired.

I hope that Bobi gets better soon.

I hope that Baby John John does well with his surgery.

I hope for a lot of things. 

I thought it would be good to talk about what hope means for Family Home Evening. 

Once we read the 13th Article of Faith we discussed what HOPE really means. Afterwards, my kids were all given a cup full of hearts. They had to write down some of their personal hopes and then we added them to our family cup (The AoF one).

For our FHE treat, we used our now empty HOPE cups to have HOPE FLOATS. (It is my personal goal to start this as a family tradition - calling them Hope Floats instead of Root Beer Floats. If I say it enough, it is bound to stick!)

We had this FHE back in October 2015 - I am just a slacker and haven't finished the blog post, until now.

To recap some of the progress of our hopes - Baby John John's surgery went perfect. Afton is no longer in swim, for now, so she doesn't have to worry about all those boys. Jack is consistently on purple and pink. His Daddy is home most nights now and can tuck him in tight. Betsy will always want Jack to help her, I am sure of it. My Sugar passed his boards. Jocelyn is talking so much now and getting better each day. My mom is enjoying retirement. 

Only some of our hopes have come to light, and we recognize those as blessings in our lives.

Many things, important things, are still on our "Lists of Hopes" mentioned earlier. 

And that is okay. 

We will continue to have hope.