Boomer and Jocelyn

Even after all the abuse this cat receives from a certain little girl, he still loves her! He must have brain damage. haha!!!

Preschool Pics

Last week, we went on a field trip with Ms. Paula's preschool. We went to the aquarium and then to the botanical gardens. It was a lot of fun! Ms. Paula printed out cards for the kids to check off animals they found in the aquarium, which the kids loved! Then we had lunch at the botanical gardens and Jocelyn and I rushed home to curl her hair for the recital pics. She already misses going to preschool! She had a blast this year and learned a lot.

Looking for the little train.


"Look Mom! Almost done!"
Tater Tots Preschool group.
Taking a break with her friends.


Last Day of Little Paws Preschool!
The diplomas and my gifts to the kids.
Water balloons!
Ready! Fire!


Gillian and Jocelyn during singing time. They really want to be sisters!! hahaha.

Kendra is just too cute!
The boys!
Snack time outside.

Ballet recital pics

This year for Jocelyn's recital, they are "rain flowers". They are dancing to a really cute version of Singing in the Rain. My Mom and I took Jocelyn to get her pictures taken yesterday and I LOVE THEM! (That's obvious with the amount of pictures we ordered! Thank you Mom!)

The frame I made for our Service Auction at church this year.



Cute dress and cute girl!
Strawberry Whipped Sensation. SO YUMMY! Made it for a get together and it was really easy and tasty! Here's the recipe...
4 C fresh strawberries, divided
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 c lemon juice
4 C cool whip, divided
approx. 16 Oreo cookies
2 Tbs butter, melted

Line 8x4 in loaf pan with foil. Mash 2 cups of strawberries in large bowl. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, juice and 2 C of cool whip, beat for about 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Crush the oreos (I usually put them in a large zip loc bag and use the bottom of a cup to smash it to smitherenes. But if you had a food processor that would work great, but it might not be as fun :), combine with melted butter then press on top of the mixture in the pan. Cover with tin foil and freeze at least 6 hours. to serve, invert onto plate, remove foil and frost with remaining Cool Whip. Slice remaining strawberries and garnish on top.

My sweet girl with the flowers she made me for Mother's Day. I love them and I'll be able to keep them forever! :)

I Love to See the Temple!

We had a primary Temple trip last weekend. The kids learned a lot and especially loved the cookie at the end. haha. We're so grateful for the Temple in Albuquerque and glad that Jocelyn is already gaining a testimony that is the House of the Lord.

We're still here!

We have been so busy lately, so I haven't been posting anything! Maybe I'll find some time later, but for now, here's a pic of Jocelyn and friends at a bday party. Yes, I let her jump in the bouncy house even with my anxiety about another broken elbow. Of course, towards the end of the party, a boy landed on her and she twisted her ankle.....oh goodness.

Can you find her? She in the front, third from the right.

Making Grandpa laugh!

Grandpa: "Jocelyn Davis, I love you!!"

Jocelyn: "DON'T call me Jocelyn Davis. You can call me Jocelyn OR you can call me FRED!"

Easter weekend

We had a wonderful Easter! We spent Saturday morning having an Easter egg hunt and getting ready for our Easter dinner with Graham's parents. Graham made an awesome brisket and we had a nice evening visiting with family. Thanks for coming over Grammie and Pops!

Today, Jocelyn sang with the primary in sacrament meeting and she gave a talk in primary! We have been practicing the song a lot and had a funny conversation last night. There's a line in the song that says "conquering evil and death through His glorious name". After we sung it a few times, Jocelyn said, "Mom, stop. I have a question. What does conquering evil and death mean?" I tried to explain that in a way a four year could understand. We continued to practice and once again, she said, "Okay, one more question. Is conquering evil like a witch or something?" hahaha. I don't know where she got that, but I tried to explain it again. Then a third time, she stopped me around the same part and said, "So is it like black or red or green? Hmmm." So funny. That is such a hard sentence to understand at four! I love that she was trying to understand it though! Here is a video of Jocelyn singing most of the song. The third verse is the hardest and I didn't feel like singing along on the video, so we stopped. (She's holding part of a flower in her hand)

The words to the song are...
I lived in Heaven a long time ago, it is true.
Lived there and loved there with people I know, so did you.
Then Heavenly Father presented a beautiful plan
All about earth and eternal salvation for man.

Father said He needed someone who had enough love
To give their life so we all could return there above.
There was another who sought for the honor divine
Jesus said, "Father, send me and the glory be Thine"

Jesus was chosen and as the Messiah He came
Conquering evil and death through His glorious name
Giving us hope of a wonderful life yet to be
Home in that heaven where Father is waiting for me.

Of course, here are some pics from Easter Sunday and of Jocelyn's very curly hair! We experimented with some sponge rollers and it turned out so much curlier than I thought it would, but I think it's so cute. Another thing that made me laugh so hard. A sweet friend of mine at church was complementing Jocelyn on her dress, her hair, her purse, etc. She was saying "Oh Jocelyn! You look like a princess!" After talking to her, we walked down the hall to find Graham. Jocelyn stopped right in the middle of the hall saying, "Mom, wait!" Then she decided to pull up her panty hose right in the middle of the hall. The waist was still in the right spot, but stretched out all the way down to her knees. If you are a girl, you know what I'm talking about...very annoying. It was hilarious. Someone had just said she looked like a princess and ten steps later, she is hiking her panty hose up in the middle of the hall. Made me laugh!!!!! Cute girl.

General Conference

We had a wonderful weekend watching General Conference. I feel so uplifted after listening to so many wonderful talks and I feel a renewed desire to focus my energy on the things that truly matter. Conference always gives me the desire to be better and to do the things that I know are important to my spiritual growth and to better my family.

One of the things I always look forward to is the music! I feel the Spirit so strongly when I listen to the beautiful music, especially from the Tabernacle choir. I feel a difference in my mood and in our home when I have music playing. One of my favorite things is when my house is clean, the windows are open on a nice day and I have uplifting music on.

As we approach Easter and I reflect on the last week of Christ's life, I was so humbled by the things Elder Holland spoke of. The love I have for my Savior has grown as I more fully understand the sacrifices He made for each one of us, especially during His last moments on earth. I have never thought about His sacrifice in this way before and I have a new understanding of the comfort He is able to provide for us.
Here is the link. Go to Sunday AM session and scroll over to Jeffrey R. Holland. It really is a wonderful talk.

I am so grateful for General Conference and the chance we have to listen to our Prophet and the Apostles. I feel blessed to know that we have a living Prophet on the earth and that our Heavenly Father loves us and wants to guide us, just as He loved and guided His children long ago.

The price girls pay...

for beauty!!! At first, Jocelyn thought it would be SO fun to have rollers in her hair. After five minutes, she was pretty much done with them! I didn't take a picture after, but it turned out cute. It added lots of body to her hair, but now I want to go get smaller ones and see how it turns out. Hopefully she'll let me!

Temples

Albuquerque skies, hockey girl and a new friend...

I haven't posted in awhile, so I thought I'd share a few recent pictures! Albuquerque is definitely not green like Virginia, but the sunsets and the rainbows are beautiful! We've had gorgeous weather, so we've seen a lot of hot air balloons out our backyard lately!




Graham and I became Washington Capitals fans while we lived in Virginia. Graham ordered a new jersey and Jocelyn had to try it on! :) Isn't she so cute?!?!
Jocelyn couldn't talk us into getting her a puppy, but one morning she said, "I have a GREAT IDEA! I know what pet doesn't need GRASS...A FISH!" So, for some crazy reason, Graham and I gave in and now we have added "Apollo" to our family. I'm afraid to see what else she can talk us into!!!! :)