On being a mother.

 

I'm grateful to be a mom.

Our Olivia is more precious to us than anything else in this world.

Her cute little smiles and giggles, mischievous expressions, screams, and her cute little voice are without a doubt a few of the best things I see and hear all day.

I love waking up to a little voice coming from the other room calling, "mum, mum?" And then going in there and seeing a cute little face peeping over the side of her crib wanting to get out and cuddle.

As a young child I always went back and forth as to what I wanted to be when I grew up.

One thing I did know is that I wanted to be a mom.

However, sometimes I wondered if being a mom was enough.  Or if there were other things I wanted to do on the side, like finish my schooling.

But the second I saw my baby girl I knew right then that all I needed and wanted was to be her mom.

So  I dropped everything and dove straight into this wonderful thing called motherhood.

And it's been the best thing ever.

Last night, as I sat on the couch thinking about getting ready to go to sleep.
My thoughts were flooded with memories of the past 14 months.
The day she was born, the relaxing days after when all I did all day was hold my baby, her first smile and giggle, her silly sounds, her first step, her first word, her favorite things, ect.
 I couldn't help but start to wipe the flowing tears from my cheeks.
The tears of pure love for my baby and the tears of gratitude for the blessing it is to be her mother.
So I got up and went into her room and peeked over the crib at my sleeping, beautiful baby.
And then I picked her up and held her close.
And whispered in her little ear that I love her and always will.
As I put her back down in her crib and quietly walked out of the room, I thought to myself,
Being a mother has to be without a doubt the most wonderful thing I will ever do.

So very blessed.

Most of my blog posts are dedicated to what us Mickelsons are up to.

Especially our little Olivia.

And that is important to me.

But  I think sometimes I forget to post about just how blessed we are.

Because we really are.

Today as I sit and reflect upon what I am most grateful for, the thing that first comes to my mind is, A loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ who really are watching out for us.

Every second of every day.

And I believe this with all my heart.

Just this last Friday night my brother in law was in a serious car accident.

He was on his way up to Grace, Idaho to visit his grandma and dad who was also visiting.

He was driving just past Ogden and hit a patch of black ice and rolled his car twice.

He was life flighted to the hospital.

The phone call we received regarding the accident was probably one of the worst phone calls we'd ever received.

At that time we didn't know if he was going to make it.

We waited for what seemed hours and hours until we got that phone call that he was going to be okay.

He was conscious, and had some serious glass cuts and then about 60 stitches in his head.

But that internally everything looked good.

His car was completely smashed.

Especially the side he was sitting on.

So much so that they had to rip the door off to get him out.

What a miracle.

And what a testimony to me that our Heavenly Father was watching out for Stephen.

I love knowing that.

And I am so grateful to Him for preserving his life.

Because we love him and know he has such wonderful things ahead of him.

A couple months ago my other brother in law Matthew was also involved in a serious accident.

And was also very lucky.

But I hate to call it lucky, because it really wasn't luck.

Because I believe with everything that I am that we aren't alone.

That we are watched over constantly.

And what a comfort it is to know that.

And I know that things don't always go the way we want them to.

But today, I am so very grateful that my two brother in laws are here with us today.

(Our most recent Mickelson family picture)

The beginning of our love.

I'm sure I've posted about this before.

Probably multiple times.

And I'm not going to lie, I probably will continue to post about it.

Anyway,

 It all started 3 years ago.

It was a snowy cold night.

But yet more beautiful than I can even describe.

Because that very night was the night I realized I was falling in love with my boy.

Here are 2 pictures of that night.

The snowball fight flirting was by far a highlight of the night:)

A wonderful Thanksgiving.

It really was.

Mostly because we got to spend it up in Washington with the Mickelsons.

The 11 hour drive went wonderfully even with our wiggly 1 year old.

It required a lot of constant entertaining.

Books, games, treats, snacks, talking, and watching the beginning of Finding Nemo at least 5 times.

But we made it.  

And of course were welcomed with a lot of excitment.

Olivia was spoiled the entire time.

She really has the best aunts and uncles.

And grandparents.

They loved her and she loved them.

They figured out the trick to get her to leave mommy was to tell her they would take her to see the kitty.

She loved the kitty even though she didn't really want to touch it.

We went to lunch, shopping, watched movies, played card games and monopoly (my first ever finished game),baked lots of treats, fed the ducks, took family pictures, and were able to attend Matthew's court of honor which was definitely a highlight.

Before going up, I thought I would miss my family and wish I was back home for Thanksgiving.

But oh my gosh, I was completely wrong.  

Although I did miss my family, I enjoyed every second spent with my other family and would not have traded my Thanksgiving in Washington for any other Thanksgiving.

It was just what I needed.

So thank you Antone, Kelly, Stephen, Matthew, Rachel and Sarah for the perfect week.

We love you and miss you!

Yay for pictures!

(I could have done better but you'll get an idea of the fun.)

 

Playing marbles with Grandpa and Sarah.

Lunch at Miners. (A really good hamburger place)

Olivia with her uncle Stephen and Dad.

The Mickelson boys playing video games.

Obviously a favorite.

Cute Rachel decorating the table all Thanksgivingish.

The cutting of the turkey.

My boy is a funny one.  

He has made it very clear to me and his mom that for Thanksgiving he wants to try a different type of bird every year rather than just having turkey.

So to humor him, his mom bought and cooked him his very own cornish game hen while the rest of us enjoyed the typical turkey!

One tradition I love that the Mickelsons do is...During Thanksgiving dinner they take turns telling each other what they are thankful for.

This year Kelly decided to take it to a whole new level and actually trace our hands on a piece of paper, turn it into a cute turkey and then write on each feather something we are thankful for.

I loved this!

For someone like me who has absolutely no artistic ability,

(I'm not even kidding. The extent of my drawings are occasional hearts and flowers.)

My turkey actually turned out quite cute.

So did our Olivia's.

Look how cute her little hand is.

I just love it!

The family's artwork.

Olivia was asleep during the actual Thanksgiving dinner haha.

So there she is having her very own little Thanksgiving dinner.

Matthew and Michael wrestling.

Actually I think Michael was getting tickled!

Olivia loves her grandpa.

(He knows that the way to her heart is definitely through chocolate, hence the chocolate pie.)

So happy and silly.

One of my favorite things is playing card games with these people.

My boy is not a fan of card games so I don't really get to play them unless I am with the Mickelsons.

So we played tons! One of our favorites is Skip Bo. 

We took Olivia to feed the ducks at the park one morning.

She loved it!

Michael being the funny man he is suggested we tie pieces of bread to the bottom of her feet.

Oh my gosh.

She would most definitely be attacked.

So we of course didn't. 

And the ducks kept their distance thankfully.

Cuddling up with Sarah and Grandma.

It was cold.

I love this picture of these two.

Going to walk the dog with Aunt Rachel.

Talking to Grandpa.

Playing with Uncle Matthew.

 

Seriously the cutest picture ever.

Two of my favorite family pictures we took.

 

 

He's 25!

Yep my boy is the big 2-5.

Halfway to 50.

So we celebrated big.

A romantic date, a special breakfast, a homemade chocolate cake, a family party, and lets not forget the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn.

Yep it was amazing.

Just like him.

Enjoy the photos.

Eating at Tucanos. 

I snapped this picture of him while they were singing to him.

(I wanted a picture of both of us but he didn't so I said that we didn't have to if I got to buy a cute pair of leg warmers. He agreed.)

Our little one.

(She went to bed before the celebrations. She wasn't in the best of moods.)

Opening presents.

The Breaking Dawn tickets thanks to my mom!

The back scratcher from me.

(That night instead of giving him a back scratch with it, I made him give me one. Kind of mean now that I think about it, but that little thing feels amazing.)

Gotta love the itunes card.

His new golf bag!

The gifts.

I had to take a picture of the cake.

Because it tasted amazing even though it was a bit caved in.

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and toffee chips on top.

Blowing out his candles.

 But he really really struggled haha.

I was like are you kidding with me.

I am pretty sure I could have blown them out in one breath and I can hardly even blow up a balloon.

Needless to say, I hope he didn't wish for something important.

The midnight movie.

Super fun.

Happy birthday to my 25 year old boy.

I sure am glad he is here.

Grateful for marriage.

I'm thankful for marriage.

Especially my marriage.

In my heart as a young child, I  always believed there was one person and one person only whom I could be the happiest with.

Only one person that I would want to be with forever and ever.

To this day, I still believe that.

My Michael is everything to me, everything I always wanted and needed and more.

I can share things with him that I've never shared with anyone else.

And know that he cares and will always listen no matter how stupid they might seem.

When something wonderful or something not so wonderful happens, he's the first person I want to tell.

His daily phone calls inbetween classes or on his way home are my absolute favorite.

Nothing makes me more giddy than to hear his ring tone and see his picture pop up on my phone.

His face is the first thing I want to see when I wake up and last thing I want to see before I go to sleep.

The little things like the way he kisses me, his gentle touch, and the way he looks into my eyes and says I love you are the things that I will cherish in my heart always.

He knows me, all of me. And loves me and always will.

Knowing this allows me to be myself and gives me the strength to move through life with a purpose because I have someone that will be by my side hand in hand forever.

And to me that is beautiful.
And I'm grateful for this beautiful love we've developed through our laughter, smiles, tears and anger.
Because being in love definitely isn't always easy.

And we are not perfect.
 But I'm happy.
Happier than I ever  imagined I could be.
Happy to be in love with the best boy I know.
And happy he's mine.
Always and forever.
And that's all that matters.

Family photos.

A good friend of mine from college Jono Ashby, took these amazing pictures of us.

I love them and couldn't be happier.

I posted a lot of them because I am still in the process of deciding favorites.

Especially for Christmas cards.

So if you have an opinion please tell me your favorites.

(Especially you aunti Hilary!)