Pay It Forward

I actually really like this movie and so I've joined in on the movement as well.

Pay It Forward Exchange is based on the concept of the movie "Pay it Forward". I will send a home-made gift to the first three people who leave a comment to this post on my blog requesting to join the PIF exchange. All the gifts will be made and sent out 'sometime within the next year'. How exciting to not know when your surprise package will arrive! What you need to do in return, is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. This Exchange is only open to those with active websites or blogs. I'd love for you to join me! Will you be one of first three? Other comments are welcome, but only the first three will be my Pay It Forward recipients. Send me your current mailing address to Ligia81@aol.com. I look forward to making some fun gifts.

A Tribute to Second Babies

So, my sister Gio, is a second child. She always claims to have gotten less love and attention from her parents than the first child, which happens to be me. I don't think that's necessarily true though I can understand why she might have felt that way. Sometimes a mother of two surely feels like she doesn't have enough time to spend equally with both her children. I would know, I'm one of those mothers.

When we arrived to Minneapolis we were greeted by some old friends we first met out in Denver, CO while experiencing our first year with sales. At that time, we all had only one child. We are now all in the same office again and each family now has two babies. So here's a tribute to all those second babies out there who may or may not feel as though they get less attention from their parents as their older sibling. I know each one of these babies is surely loved just as much as their older brother or sister, even if they never get quite as much one-on-one time as the first. Viewed above from Left to Right: Hudson Wade Dannels, McKinley Rae Porter, and Chrysalis Rae Huntington. How could these sweet little children of God be loved any less?

Our Easter Weekend

One of my favorite paintings by Liz Lemon Swindle depicting what Christ must have felt in his sacrifice for us all.

My sharp-looking little boy. How can anyone refuse this sweet little face?!

Equally as sweet in her own unique way.

Our cute kids in their Easter Sunday outfits.

Family photo time.

A shot with Grandpa Huntington who spent the weekend with us.

Orion playing on the slide.

WEEEEeeeeee!!!!!

Orion and his little friends collecting eggs.

He sure loves his chocolate. Not too much mind you.

Our friend's little girl McKinlee in a matching flower bow that we made one day.

Orion with his little friend Crew.

Madasin - This cute little girl said she had chocolate whiskers.

The eggs we died with old silk neckties. We got this idea from Mary's blog. It was sure fun and creative and not nearly as messy as using other forms of dye. Thanx Mary.

Cereal Nests that I made.

Cookie nests made by Brittney Porter.

Chocolate covered cake eggs made by Jenny Dannels.

We had lots of fun treats to share and enjoyed a great time with Grandpa this weekend. We were finally able to attend our new ward but it was stake conference and so we didn't get much opportunity to meet new people yet. The broadcast was quite inspiring though and our prophet spoke to us about reaching out and doing more. At a time when our thoughts are turned to the Savior and his atoning sacrifice, I am quickly reminded of how little I do in comparison to what the Lord himself sent his son to do for all of us. Let me not forget how much I have to be grateful for. I have a great brother who gave up his life in the most cruel manner to save mine.

We have great families and even though we may not always agree upon the simplest of matters, we are grateful for their love and support throughout the years. I am especially grateful for the opportunity that the Lord has blessed me with to be an example in the lives of my own children that I may guide them and do wholesome activities with them; that I may raise them up to become leaders in our future. Leaders by example is what this nation desperately needs. We are grateful for friends who care; who share the simplest of moments with us, delighting in these wholesome tasks that help us to grow and become better teachers and better examples to those who may not be of our same faith. So I leave a big THANX to all those who spent this Easter holiday with us and the same to those who we couldn't be with this year. HAPPY EASTER!

Experimenting with the Cricut

So the day of Chrys' blessling, we later spent at Aunt Rhonda's and we ended up playing with her New Cricut machine. I want one of these so bad. Here is the first card I made with it. Whoever's got a birthday next in my family will probably get it. I actually saw a Cricut at Walmart for almost half the price I saw it on television. If Alex does well this summer, I'm definitely getting one of these for Christmas. It's the greatest "Crapbook" tool I've ever seen. :OP

Chrysalis' Blessing Day

So our sweet little girl was blessed on March 29, 2009 in Watertown, SD. Alex gave her a beautiful blessing in the same little dress that my father blessed me in when I was a baby. We later spent the day at Rhonda's house taking pictures with family and just sharing in each others' company. There are some fun photos of the four generations. Alex's 99 year old ( he turns 100 this August) Grandpa Joe, Cheryl, Alex and Chrysalis. It's so fun to see them all together. Cheryl was able to capture every word with her gift of shorthand. How wonderful and thoughtful of her to do such a thing. I wish she'd been present for Orion's blessing as well. All I have for him are some notes about his blessing that my sister and April were able to jot down. Not that I'm not grateful for that. I will forever have those notes in his scrapbook and hand that over to his future wife someday. Thanx Gio and April. But it was so nice to have Cheryl be able to capture such words on paper. I have it posted here for any family who might have wanted to be present and couldn't be. I know my lovely family would have been there if they could. I'm so glad that I can at least share it with you this way:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Watertown Branch, Watertown, SD
Sunday, March 29, 2009

VOICE: Alex Taylor Huntington, Father, (Thornberry Branch, UTAH WARD)

IN THE CIRCLE:

(WATERTOWN SD BRANCH:)
Stephen Eugene Huntington, Grandfather;
Dick Lewis, Russell Johnson, Greg Taylor, and Andrew White
(HURON SD BRANCH:) Donald Salter and Sterling Salter

Our Dear Father in Heaven:

We bring this sweet little child before Thee to give her a name and a blessing this day. And the name we give her is Chrysalis Rae Huntington.

At this time, Chrysalis, we want to give you a blessing.

We bless you that, throughout your life, you might be able to have the guidance you need to make the right decisions. We bless you in all things to be able to discern right from wrong and to know that by the actions you choose, will lead to freedom or captivity. We bless you with the power to choose the right in all things and lead you to freedom and back to Heavenly Father.

We bless you that you might always remember that this life is a temporary time and a time to prepare to meet Heavenly Father. As your name suggests, this is “a time of chrysalis.” We bless you to remember that your true and full glory will shine after this life is over and to prepare for that time.

We bless you to be strong in your faith and to have a strong and firm testimony of The Savior and His Atonement and grace and love and mercy, for this will strengthen you and help you make the decisions you need to make it through your life.

Follow the example of your big brother. Learn and be observant. Never lose your courage.

We bless you that when the time is right, you might be able to marry in the temple and that you might be able to continue on the family.

We leave this blessing with you. And we do all these things by the authority of the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Family Togetherness Time

Spending time with cousins is always so much fun. Here's some fun shots of Josie and Jhaimann playing together right before bedtime. They really wore each other out.

Some Great Expressions

Our little angel has learned how to make some great expressions. Some are quite dramatic if you ask me. Already a drama queen. But I love these. The last one is my favorite. I was able to capture one of her first smiles. It's quite the smile too. Hope you enjoy these photos of our growing princess.

A Short but Sweet Visit from the Gardners

Nathaniel Gardner and Chrysalis Huntington - Two of the cutest little babies.

Orion wanted in on the photo action so we stuck him in the middle.

Our good friend Jennilyn Gardner and her little boy Nathaniel.

So for those who haven't heard, we aren't in Chicago this summer. We are actually in Minneapolis, MN instead. Which is nice for all on the Huntington side of the family. We are about 3 and half hours away from most of Alex's family. We look forward to visiting a lot with Grandma and Grandpa Huntington.

So anyways, as we were packing and saying goodbye to our Pleasant Grove apartment and ward, we got a fun visit from some old friends we made last summer out in Philadelphia. Jennilyn Gardner and her husband Jason came out to show off their new little boy Nathaniel. He is just precious as most of God's children seem to be. A beautiful little boy. Another home birth baby. We were thrilled to have some time to spend with such a sweet little growing family. So here are some memories of the day.

Whatever Floats your Boat

Here's the latest in Orion's swimming lessons. Today was his first day jumping into the water fully dressed. His teacher had him do this just to feel what it would be like to be weighed down by all his heavy clothes. This is done just in case he were to fall into a pool one day in normal attire. We didn't think he would do this well. He was a little scared but overall, maintained great floating technique. Dad treated him to a Wendy's sandwich afterwards. We are so proud of our silly little boy. He's improved so much so quickly. If anyone wants info about his teacher, I'd be glad to give it. Her name is Pam and she does private lessons at an indoor pool in Orem. She's completely worth it.

Family Photo Shoot

Here is our first family photo with our newest member Chrysalis. Outside the womb that is.

Look at the baby.

Look at the birdie.

This is what true love looks like.

Lookin' at the baby again.

A vain shot of myself. I had to get a good shot of my hair before it starts falling out. It's my best feature. After Orion was born I had a receding hairline. It was so attractive. :oP

Smiles for mama.

Auntie Gio with the babies.

Besitos.

She loves being an aunt.

I think this shot is endearing.

This one is pretty too.

So I want to take a moment to write a little something about how I'm feeling. I don't ever want to forget how happy I am because surely there are hard and difficult times ahead of us and if I don't write down the happy moments, I know that I easily forget to count my blessings.

I am grateful that the Lord has once again granted me the opportunity to be a mother for the second time. Sometimes I feel so unworthy of such a demanding call. I am grateful to have this little piece of heaven in our home; this little soul that so recently was in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Her aura of innocense and purity reminds me of the kind of person I want to be when I return to our Father above. She has been nothing but an angel. Her calmness astounds me. At her age my little boy was never quite as calm as she is now. I wonder how long it will last. I hear so much about how little girls are always more dramatic, but so far she has been far from it. She literally only cries when she's hungry. I wonder how long it will last. For now, I will take joy in the drama-free queen that she is.

As a newborn, I remember Orion was always so colicky and had excema along with jaundice. It was always so sad feeling there was little we could do to help him feel better. Now that he doesn't have illnesses much anymore, he still is a "boy." Quite active and always keeping me on my toes. I am reminded of a time when I attended a BYU devotional where our dear prophet Thomas S. Monson was the speaker. This was before he became a prophet. But he said something I really enjoyed. He said not to stress so much about the sound of those little ones that cry and make so much noise throughout our church meetings. He said to always remember that it's only because they have such great souls and that their little bodies are just too small to contain such great souls. This is why they fidget so much and cry out with such gusto. These are the souls that will one day bring about many charitable works and good deeds if we will but nurture them with all the tender loving care that we possess.

I know I have a huge responsibility with the upbringing of my children and sometimes it's overwhelmingly scary to think that these little innocent souls are looking up to me, watching my example and learning from it; waiting for me to lead and to guide them. They mimic and they don't judge but one day they will. I only hope that when that day comes, that they will find themselves pleased with my attempts to follow in the Lord's footsteps.

I am grateful for my sweet husband, who worthily holds on to his priesthood and strives to hearken unto our Father. His support and faith in me leaves little room for doubt in my ability to do my job as a mother and to do it well. I used to think that having a good job and holding positions of power are what made women strong. While I respect women who work outside the home, I now know what empowering effects a woman who devotes her time to her family at home can have. I've held some decent jobs in my life. I can now say I've earned a college degree. But all these wonderful things I've accomplished in my short lifespan are miniscule when compared to what I've done most recently; being pregnant, giving birth, feeding my two year old with one hand and nursing my newborn with the other. No accomplishment in my life has been as fulfilling as bringing these sweet spirits into this world and watching them grow. They have important missions in this life to fulfill themselves, and I am just grateful that I (along with my good husband) can be a part of that too.