My funny little girl...

Yesterday in church, the speaker was talking about being a good example. Mckenna heard him say the word "example." She turned to Chris and I and said, "I love samples! Costco has good samples!" =)

Oh my goodness! She always is saying things to make us laugh! But hey, at least she was trying to pay attention in Sacrament Meeting!!

I love my little 2 year old!!

The Blessing of a New Life...

So what a whirlwind our family has been in the past 4 months!! Lets see...just to start naming a few things we have experienced....

• Sydney was born April 7th =D
• Chris' work went crazy and offered him 2 options (April 8th): move to Reno, NV or Turlock, CA or lose his job. We went to Reno to check it out for a week (Chris + me + 2yr old Kenna + 2 week old Sydney = not a good choice!)
• Decided not to relocate and so Chris became jobless...
• Because Chris was jobless we were able to spend the summer camping and swimming and just playing together as a family =D What seemed to be a horrible thing, turned into a blessing for our family. We were able to spend more time together as family! (Chris has worked 6 days a week since we were married 4 years ago, so this was a HUGE and needed change!)
• Chris decided to go back to school. He starts back up at Dixie State this month. =) (another added blessing. He has not talked about going back to school for a long time. His job never allowed the time to even consider it!)
  
• I started looking for a job and was hired at Vista Charter School. (blessing....check :) I will be in a Kindergarten Class half day and then teaching extended homeroom for Math the other half of the day.
• I start officially teaching tomorrow! =) CRAZY, but I'm really excited. I love the people I am working with and feel so great about Chris watching the girls. If it was a sitter everyday or day care I would feel very differently! (another added blessing!)
  
• Chris is now the best "stay-at-home-daddy" around! =) Seriously, he cleans the house, takes the girls on walks, plays with them, and even does their hair!! (I'm still working on getting him to cook...but that will take some time ;D) I couldn't ask for a better husband! It works out perfect because he will take night classes and online classes and watch the girls during the day! (one more blessing...that we were able to work his schedule out to do so!)
  
• Our roles have switched places completely. I am working and he is the student and care-taker of the girls!
  
• Oh, and Sydney is 4 months old....how that happened so fast, I don't know!!! =)
  

It has been a crazy few months! I am excited for the new changes in our lives though. Everything has proved to me even more that we have a Heavenly Father who hears and answers our prayers. He is aware of our struggles and knows of the things we need in our lives. I am so grateful for that knowledge. It may be stressful at times, but I always have that faith that everything will work out. =)

Another tender blessing that recently happened to our family was with Chris' sweet sister Nicole. I feel that it was a blessing for Chris, as well as for everyone, for him to not have a job while she was so sick. We were able to be there for her, for her sweet baby Taylee, for Chris' parents, for her husband, and for everyone else. We didn't have obligations to anything other than our family while it was all happening. I felt that was such a sweet blessing. I saw and felt how important it was for Chris to be able to be with his family and with his little sister. I don't know how much of an impact we really did make, but I do know that my own personal testimony of the power of family was strengthened so much during those few short weeks. My testimony of the power of prayer and faith in our Savior was also strengthened so much.

The power of family, prayer, and faith is immeasurable and can honestly move mountains...or in our case, provide a healing miracle for a new mother! :) We love you Nicole and are so grateful for you in our lives!

Summer Happenings!

Our summer so far has been very eventful! We have loved spending so much time together as a family. We have been able to go camping, go swimming, have BBQs, go to parks, feed the ducks, go fishing, go on walks, and just have FUN together...whenever we want!! I count myself so lucky that we are able to spend this time together!

We went camping at Kolob Reservoir in June for 3 days. It was a blast! A lot of Chris' family members were able to come so that made it all the more fun. We were able to fish and boat too. Mckenna had so much fun with Chris' cousin's little girl, Allison. They became the best of friends while we were up there. They were seriously inseparable. It was so cute to watch them play and have so much fun. Little Sydney was such a good camper too. She stayed in the tent most of the time because of bugs and wind, but she loved it. She slept really well too and was just a great baby! She is so full of smiles! We just love her so much! Here is some of the pictures we took while up there! We can't wait to go back!!

Kolob Camping Trip June 2010

It is really hard to believe it is already July! The summer is already flying by. Today, Sydney is 3 months old! I can't believe that!! How did it happen? She is becoming such a cutie pie! She is so happy...ALL the time! She sleeps all night long and now shares a room with Mckenna. She no longer sleeps in our room in the bassinet, she is already in her own crib! =) She is growing up too fast! She loves to smile and recently started giggling. It is SOOOO cute! I had forgotten all of the simple joys that come from having a baby. I am slowly being reminded of them and I LOVE IT!! Sydney is such a special little girl and she adds so much joy to our home!

Our 4th of July was really fun. We spent the weekend with Chris' family swimming, BBQing, and of course enjoying fireworks! It was a lot of fun....just still hard to believe it is already July!

Tomorrow, July 8th, Chris and I will celebrate our 4 year anniversary! WOW...how did 4 years already go by?! It's hard to believe. We have had our shares of ups and downs over those 4 years too. (more ups than downs though ;D) I feel so blessed and lucky to have found Chris and to have him as mine for eternity! He is truly my best friend and I love him so much!

Happy Anniversary Chris! =)
I LOVE YOU!!

Sydney's Blessing

Sydney Grace Summerhays was blessed by her dad on Sunday, June 6, 2010. It was such a special day for all of us. I was so proud of my husband and for the priesthood he holds. I am grateful that he honors his priesthood and that he was worthy to give Sydney the special blessing he did.

Sydney wore the same dress Mckenna wore for her blessing. This dress was hand made by a sweet, older lady who lived in the first ward Chris and I were in right after we got married. She made it for Mckenna. It is so beautiful and Sydney looked adorable in it!

Her dress was so long that shoes really weren't necessary, but....I had to get these!! I added the cute little flower embellishments. I just think they are so sweet!!


I was so excited to have my whole family down for this special day! I felt so blessed and lucky that they would all travel to be with us for Sydney's blessing. I love my family so much. They mean the world to me and I am grateful for all of them! Thanks again you guys for coming and making it such a special day for all of us!! =)

Here are some "pre-blessing" pictures we took of the girls... I think I may be the luckiest mom around to be blessed with such cute girls!!

Sydney is 2 months old now. I can hardly believe how fast time goes by. She is starting to coo and smile so much more now. I LOVE IT!! She is so sweet and so alert. I love her big, bright eyes. (Mckenna actually took these two pictures of her. She did a good job!)


During the blessing, Chris blessed Sydney that she would be close to her big sister, Mckenna. It touched me so much. I know they are going to become best friends and will share a special bond. I love watching how sweet and gentle Mckenna can be with Sydney. She loves her so much already and I know it will only grow stronger as they grow up together. =)

Graduation

Ok, so I guess I'm finally, officially a college graduate! Friday, May 7th, I dressed up in my cap and gown, complete with honors cords and sash (OH YEAH!!! =D) and walked with my friends through Dixie's famous "D." I was so excited and it turned out to be a great night. I guess now I feel a little bit more "done" with college...I mean I already got my bachelor's degree in the mail in like January, but at least I have a picture of me in my official graduation attire now!! ;)

Oh, and this is our very first family picture since Sydney was born too! Pretty good night for all of us! =)


This past week also celebrated Sydney's 1 month old birthday!! I can't believe she is already 4 weeks old. Time goes by so fast once they are here! Why can't it go by that fast when you're pregnant?? She is such a sweetie! We love her so much. Mckenna is becoming more fond of her everyday...except for when I call Sydney princess. She does not like that. She says..."No, mommy, I'm the princess NOT Sydney" pretty much every time. I have to be very careful and try to remember not to call Sydney princess around Mckenna. But nonetheless, Mckenna loves her little sister. We are very blessed to have such cute and wonderful little girls!

Here are some pictures I took of Sydney....she is so cute!!! I know I'm biased, but honestly, how can you disagree??? Look at her big beautiful eyes!! I LOVE HER!! Enjoy the pictures... =)

3 Weeks Old Already...

Ok, so I don't know where the time goes! Sydney is already 3 weeks old tomorrow! I can hardly believe it! She is absolutely a doll! We love her to death---Mckenna especially!!! She is such a good baby so far. She is a great sleeper (unlike her big sister!!) and sleeps mostly through the night already. I usually have to wake her to feed her. Other than being a spitter-upper (just like her sister and mom, so I've been told), she has been fairly easy to adjust to. We are so blessed to have her in our family!

Last week was the 1st time we ventured back to church. Although we only lasted through Sacrament meeting, it was good to be back at church and see everyone. Mckenna was excited to go back to church and get to wear her pretty dress again!

My mom got Mckenna and Sydney these matching outfits. They looked so adorable in them. Mckenna sure does love her little sister...if you can't tell by her smile!! =)


These last 3 weeks have been full of excitement and pretty much just craziness. Adjusting to having 2 kids to take care of and also trying to figure out what to do with the unexpected news of Chris' job has been somewhat challenging.

Last week, we went out of town for a full week to Reno, NV for Chris' work. They want him to transfer there for work. So, we packed up the kids and went with him there for a week. We were trying to get a feel for the area and the job and to see if moving there is right for our family right now.

It was an adventure, to say the least. I was cooped up in a condo mostly the whole week with a 2 year old and a 2 week old. We didn't have anywhere to go and really even if I would have wanted to go anywhere, I probably wouldn't have with the girls. It was raining and snowing most of the week too. It was kind of a stressful week, but we survived and now we are back home. I am so grateful to be back home.

Chris decided that taking the job in Reno and moving our family so far away isn't the right choice right now in our lives. So now we are just kind of taking time to be together as a family and are awaiting what will be the next stage in our life. We love each other. We love our kids. We love the Lord and we know things will work out the way they should, in due time. Life is definitely unexpected at times, but we are just so grateful for our families and friends and the Gospel. They really are the things that help us get through tough times.

Sydney Grace is here!!

Sydney Grace Summerhays made her debut into this world Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 4:16 pm weighing in at a precious 6 lbs even and measuring at 17 3/4 inches long. She came as a surprise to us all since she was born a week before her due date!! No complaints from this mom though!! =) We are so excited and grateful she is here! She is healthy, cute, and just so sweet. We love our little bundle of joy straight from Heaven!




Mckenna is absolutely in LOVE with her little sister. She is so cute with her. I love watching her hold her and seeing how, even at only a few days old, Sydney looks at her big sister with such loving eyes! Chris and I are truly so blessed to have 2 such beautiful daughters. Our lives are so full of happiness and gratitude right now! =)