In two short years he went from this:

To this:

We had a little party for him.  He was so fun and loved that everyone was there for HIS birthday.  Here are a few pics…

He had been waiting ALL day to eat his birthday cake.  By the time the party came there were plenty of finger marks in it.  I caught him doing this A LOT!…

He was excited to “blow out the fire” for his own birthday.  He wanted to do it over and over on Devin birthday just two days before. 

Clark is very serious about his food.  Especially when it is chocolate…

Cousin Ross liked Clark’s new bike too…

Bye bye balloon…

We love having Clark in our lives.  He is so fun and has such a personality.  Who knew kids would be such a Blessing and Joy.  We can’t wait to start it all over with a new little one in November.

Clark is talking sooo much the last few days.  Even though I am the only one who really knows what he is saying, it is so fun to see how fast he is learning. ( and so sad at the same time… He is growing much too quickly!)  He calls the snow, “nose”.  He has been learning shapes and the other day he kept pointed to the baseboard in the corner of my room and saying “angle, angle”  there was nothing on the floor so I was confused to what he wanted, then I realized… I said “triangle?” and he said with excitement “Yeah!”  What a little smarty he is!  He is getting really good with knowing his colors too.  If he could he would live outside.  Since we keep getting snow, it is really hard to keep him happy, since we have to stay inside.  The only good thing about staying inside, for him is that he loves to be naked.  He pretty much just wears his diaper when we are home.   I say this at every stage, but this stage is so much fun.  He has such a fun little personality, and we love him so much!

I will write more when I think of all the fun things Clark is doing…

Reading to Monkey

I know it has been since Halloween since I posted, so here are some pictures since then:

Devin brought this box home for Clark for a play "house". I am not sure who was more excited, Devin or Clark

He always opens the window and says Hell-ooo.

Clark loves "mon-KEY". He carries him around most of the day.

Sitting on the lawnmower in the shed.

Clark LOVES the snow. Got that from his Dad for sure!

Another place Clark love to be. Sad to say, he probably got that from his Mother.

I finally made the tree skirt I've been wanting to make

 http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/news-releases-stories/elder-russell-m-nelson-addresses-international-conference-on-families

Devin and I have been talking a lot about how fast Clark is growing up, and I feel like I have so little time to teach him what he needs to be taught.  I was praying that I would be more patient and be a better wife and mother, and had an overwhelming peace come over me, and the feeling to enjoy the time that I am in.  I am learning to cherish as many moments I can… (even the frequent night wakings we been having)   Then today, I read something that reaffirmed my feelings.  It is something President Thomas S. Monson said: 

“If you’re still in the process of raising children, be aware that [they]… disappear all too soon and that you will, to your surprise, miss them profoundly. Time never stands still…find joy in the journey -now.” -President Thomas S. Monson

I truly believe the statement by Elder Russell M Nelson, when he said:

“Future happiness and even the future of nations is linked to children. Families with children need to be re-enthroned as the fundamental unit of society. We simply must value children more than we do.”

I am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who is there to listen to our concerns, and for the atonement of Jesus Christ and the opportunity we have to live with our Families eternally. 

Thanks for reading!  Love you all-

I mean, seriously, how can you not cherish moments like these?

Before the advent of refrigeration, home cooks made big batches of jam so their fruit would last longer. That meant “processing,” the time-consuming method of heating food in jars to kill the microorganisms that cause spoilage. Thankfully, times have changed: Our easy cheat relies on a regular skillet and much less sugar — and it comes together in a jiffy. Store in the fridge; it will keep up to 3 weeks. (For fresh fruit jam year-round, pack into freezer-safe containers, leaving 1 inch of headspace, and freeze up to 1 year.)

RASPBERRY JAM:

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups raspberries              1 TBSP lemon juice

5 tsp. fruit pectin                1/2 tsp. butter or margarine

1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1)  In 12-inch skillet, combine raspberries, lemon juice, pectin, and margarine. Heat to boiling on high, blending and mashing with potato masher or back of spoon; boil 1 minute. Stir in sugar; return to boiling. Boil jam 2 minutes longer, until syrupy, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cool at room temperature 15 minutes.

2)  Pour jam into two clean 1/2-pint jars with tight-fitting lids. Cover and refrigerate until jam is set and cold, about 8 hours. (Jam will thicken as it chills.) Keep jam refrigerated and use within 3 weeks. Or freeze and use within a year.

Strawberry jam:

Prepare raspberry jam in step one, but omit raspberries and add 3 cups, hulled and sliced strawberries.  Increase lemon juice to 2 TBSP and increase pectin to 2 tablespoons.  Complete recipe in step 2.