better

If today is difficult, tomorrow will be better.

So is the case with my days. Yesterday was hard; trials were weighing heavily in my head and upon my heart. Today, however, was good. We ran some errands in Logan- we got a few things to help improve our yard which we are trying to repair (the sewer system had some issues that they fixed right before we moved in), and I found some snacks & treats to help keep my girls happy on our trip.

Oh yes, our trip is coming up. Chad is going hunting next week, so we (Berkley, Chloe & I) are heading back to Illinois. We are so excited, well, the girls are excited, and I'm a bit nervous. Chloe will be a peach, as always, but Berkley is not too keen on just sitting in my lap. Fingers crossed and prayers said that we will make it there before I pull my hair out! But treats and a few new toys/activities should keep them entertained and, at the very least, content.

Times can be hard, but things get better. I think the best advice I could give myself (or anyone else, for that matter) is that "this too shall pass." Berkley slept terribly the last few nights, but last night was a little better. She is still not doing well (even with the slight improvement last night), so we are going to have a consultation with Dr. McKenna on Monday. I hope that we can find something to help her, which in turn will help us all.

We've got a lot of fun things coming up, so here is to good times, less stress, smiles, and (hopefully... fingers crossed) more sleep :-)

I LOVE being a mom & wife. I LOVE my family (which, for the most part, is all of you). I LOVE the gospel and this chance I have to live this life. Thanks for tuning in... pictures & stories of sweet little ones will follow in the next week or so!

Trials and blessings...

I'm usually not the type to blog about my life, though we all know that I always blog pictures and stories about my little girls (who aren't so little anymore). But, life has been, well, life and I feel the urge to talk about trials and blessings.

Life is full of trials for all of us; each persons tribulations are personal to them, difficult and frustrating, upsetting and stressful.

Berkley has been sleeping VERY sporadically, all night long one night, waking a couple of times the next, and up nearly every hour on the hour the next night. It's hard not having the opportunity to spend as much one-on-one time with my girls as I'd like. I miss spending time with my amazing husband because my nights are consumed by getting & keeping Berkley asleep and, new to the mix, Chloe waking up nightly. And, as always, finances. Money sucks...period. Almost more stressful than all the others is not knowing what is next for me in life. We all have a path, one that undoubtedly leads back to Heaven, but one that Heavenly Father has for us. After prayers, fasts, and hours of thought have left me still wondering what else there is for me in this life. I'm sure many of you are thinking that there are many wonderful things to come, and I'm certain you are right, but what decisions do I need to make to get there? Most people aren't as analytical about these things as I am, but I cannot help who I am after 26 years of life. When I think about, pray about, talk about decisions, my head and my heart don't match, which makes it even more difficult. I desire to choose the right decisions to take the path that is set for me, and yes, we do have the agency to pick and choose what we do in this life, but I cannot help but know that there are things we are supposed to do, and it is those things that I yearn for...

My trials might not seem as serious as others, but they are personal to me. I know that trials are a test in this life- they test our faith. My faith throughout the last year has not been without fail, I have definitely had periods of doubt after hours and hours of prayer and personal suffering. However, I know that these trials are for my growth, which is the only thing that keeps me hanging on. I'm not sure that I can say that I am grateful for my tribulations, but I acknowledge and understand that without them I would not appreciate all the blessings that I have. Blessings cannot be without trials, for we would not know them. The same goes for good and evil, right and wrong. So, now onto my blessings...

First and foremost, my family. I would be nothing without Chloe & Berkley, they are my world. Chad is so amazing, so much so that words cannot describe my love, adoration, and appreciation. My parents (yep, that's you mom and dad) for the foundation of the person I have become and for your undying love and support through all of my decisions, ups and downs. And for a "big" brother whom I shared some of the best years of my life (love you, Mike, that is if you are even reading this). I would be unappreciative if I didn't include probably the most involved grandparents anyone could have ever asked for as a child (and an adult). Family is everything, it is eternal, and it is where you find more love than anywhere on this earth. I love all of you so much; you all are my greatest blessings!!
I'm grateful for being a mother. Being a mom is definitely not the easiest job (not to mention, it's not the cleanest), but it is eternally rewarding. Even though I am up almost all night with Berkley most days (and sometimes I wonder why I even go to bed) and there are days when I swear Chloe doesn't hear a word that comes out of my mouth, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to bring these spirits to earth and have this experience. I am grateful to care, love, and nurture these sweet girls, to help and watch them grow. They make me smile every day (though some days less than others), and I wouldn't trade them for anything...
My faith is an ultimate blessing; without it, I would not have the strength to even attempt to get through these hard times. I know that I am a child of God, that He loves me and will lead me if I choose to follow. I know that Christ gave his life for me, for us so that we didn't have to suffer as he did. My suffering pales in comparison... And with Him all things are possible, so I try daily to remember that through Him I can overcome the trials I have been given.

I love each and every one of you who read this; you all have a special place in my heart as you all have touched my life in small and miraculous ways. I hope that my venting all of the feelings I've had in my heart will not make you take pity on me, but that it will give you hope that you too can get through difficult times. I know I can with faith, even if it sometimes seems out of reach. It all comes back to our Heavenly Father and our goal of returning to live with him. Thanks for listening....
Love, Jen

It's been awhile...

Yes, it certainly has been! I never blogged about moving, but we absolutely LOVE our new home. It's new, has so much more room, and it is a nice location (minus the obnoxious dogs on both sides, but that isn't totally different from where we lived before)! The girls love the house; in fact, the day we moved in Chloe took off her shoes and her feet hit the soft, plush carpet (which is TOTALLY unlike our old house) and she said, "Mommy, I can feel the carpet!" Hilarious! We still need to take pictures, which we will, but when we remember we don't have time and when we do have time we forget! Soon, I promise!!

Chad and I also celebrated our 6th anniversary- WOW! I can't believe we've been married for that long, but what a wonderful six years has it been. Some of the THOUSANDS of highlights include being sealed for time and all eternity in the Logan temple, our graduation (I say "our" because I couldn't have done it without Chad) from USU, our beautiful Chloe, Chad getting hired on at Utah State, sweet little Berkley, and years of laughter and fun! We have been so blessed and are eternally grateful for all the blessings we have received throughout these six years! I absolutely cannot wait to see what the next six years have in store...

It has been a crazy last couple of months, and I'm hoping that September will allow for a bit of a slow down (though we are already going back to Illinois two weeks from now- holy cow!) so that I can keep up on my blogging! Thanks for being patient and checking back a million times with nothing new to see! I love all of you and appreciate you following our little family story. May more fun and exciting stories head your way :-)

Some Chloeisms and a word about Berkley's words

Chloe had a period where she really didn't say anything that was really funny. There were a few funnies sprinkled in here and there, though I never wrote them down, so they are now lost forever! Darn it!!

But, once again, she started saying some silly things that I thought I'd share before I forget!

*Chloe was walking around with a long pole that holds a flag and attaches to our bike trailer

Me: What are you doing?

Chloe: Walking. (Duh!)

Me: Why do you need that stick to walk?

Chloe: I'm walking with it like old grandmas do!

*While at West Side's football game, she said this to Chad's Mom out of nowhere

Chloe: Grandma, Berkley likes boobs.

Christine, who thought she said "books": What?

Chloe: Berkley just really likes boobs.

*While in Idaho Falls, we browsed a few stores. Chloe and I both needed to use the bathroom when she said this one

Me: I'm going to go into this stall. Which one are you going to choose?

Chloe: I'm picking this one. Let's have a race to see if my pee can beat your pee!

Me, laughing: Alright.

(I couldn't wait for her to SLOWLY get ready in the stall, so I went ahead to the bathroom)

Chloe: Hey! Your pee is winning!

Me: Sorry honey, I couldn't wait any longer!

Berkley has really started saying quite a lot. At this point it's mostly referential (she names things that she sees), but she knows names, animals, things inside and outside, body parts, and so on. She calls Chloe "Co co," and it is SO cute! When she says "daddy" she leaves the double d's out, which makes it sound like "da-ee." Her favorite animal to say is probably duck, and as far as people go, she LOVES to say "mom." The slide and swing are "wee"s, which is a total flashback to Chloe who also called them "wees!" It's so fun to see her language develop (as well as all the other areas of development)!

A trip to the zoo & some playing, too!

This weekend we wanted to do something fun with the kids, so we went to the Idaho Falls Zoo with Chad's parents. We had a picnic lunch and went into the zoo to check out all the fun animals! My pathetic (sigh) attempt at taking a picture of the girls. If one cooperates it is inevitable that the other will!
Berkley with her disgusting face (please disregard that because she is ALWAYS dirty) doing the actions to "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" She is finally catching onto the moves, though she doesn't really say anything while I sing it. It is by far her favorite song :-)

Loving her "ride" on the chicken!!

"Look Mom, I hatched!" Hahaha!

We are trying to get some grass to grow where they had to dig up water pipes before we moved in. Chad was watering one of the areas that was near the sidewalk. A puddle formed, and as we expected, the girls instantly found it and started playing! Water is so much fun, but they had a bath afterwards because it is dirty irrigation water (not to mention the fact that they were both muddy after playing in the dirt)!!

Dance

Chloe finally started dance last Wednesday, and she literally could not be more excited about it! She wanted to pose for some pictures before her first lesson began, and as you can see, she was really happy! This was the leotard and skirt she wanted to wear; she kept saying, "Mommy, I want to wear my colorful skirt to dance!" So cute!

I asked her to do a dance move so that I could take a picture, and this was it!

We are carpooling to dance with Halle; I take the girls down, and Wendi picks the girls up. Halle and Chloe were so excited to go to dance! It was cute on the way down because they kept talking about dancing and listening to what Angela would tell them. Chloe got to ride in the front of the Jeep (since 3 carseats barely fit in the back, and the front airbag can be turned off), and she thought that was awesome! Next week is Halle's turn, and I'm sure she'll be just as excited. It was so fun seeing their excitement as we pulled up!!

I thought I'd get a picture of them in the studio.

Berkley felt a little left out, so she quickly came over to have me sit her on the bench next to Chloe & Hal!
Once Harley got there, I took a picture of the three dancing cousins! They should all have so much fun this year :-)

Chloe said that she learned some dance moves and some of the "Minnie Mouse dance," which we still have yet to know any more about! Haha! She cannot wait until Wednesday to wear a new tutu and go to dance again. I can't believe my once little baby is taking dance; how exciting, yet bittersweet all at once.

Berkley and I weren't sure what to do with ourselves without Chloe around. It was definitely quiet; it was a complete flashback from when it was just Chloe and me. So, what did we do? Well, Berk and I put a shape puzzle together, she emptied out our chalk container and picked up several times, we had a small snack, and then she "cooked" me some food. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with Berkley (she defintely deserves it), but it was great to have Chloe home again (and noisy, too)!

Chloe's dance class lasts through December. It would typically go through May, but her instructor (Angela) is expecting at the end of January and won't be able to go much longer than December, which is to be expected! So, she will have a recital on December 3, and she is stoked! She keeps talking about wanting to dance on stage, and before we know it she will have her chance!

family reunion time

The Taylor family has their annual "reunion" (a.k.a camping get-together) every year over July 24th. This year we stayed near Bear Lake & played at the campground and at the lake, obviously! It was so much fun; the girls loved every minute of it and so did we! Berkley loved floating in the water on this tube.
Yes, Berkley is chewing on a stick and playing with Wyatt!

It wouldn't be camping without the dirt! Chloe is showing off her stellar dirt goatee. Haha :-)

And, it is OH SO CLEAR that Berkley enjoyed the dirt! She can literally get dirty in the cleanest of places, so this was no surprise to us!

Ryker and Berkley had fun playing in the bike trailer. They sure looked tired, probably because they'd been playing all afternoon!

This picture is the epitome of Chloe at the beach- covered with sand, but not in the water. She love, love, loves the sand, but she has never really had much of a desire to be playing in the water. Chloe did, to our surprise, enjoy two boat rides. I think that one day she'll warm up to the actual lake.