Let's get away.

Good afternoon my reader darlings,
A little Monday post for all of you.

Our little family recently journeyed down to Sunny St. George, Utah.
It was a much needed vacation with Jaces side of the family.
We went down and stayed at his Aunt and Uncles place in Leeds.
Have I mentioned how beautifully spectacular their house is?
Just see the pictures below if you don't believe me.

See. I told you it was beautifully spectacular.
(Not even one third of the house is pictured above)

We went swimming, played some golf, went on a beautiful hike through some water, went four-wheeling, ate some yummy food,
spent time around the fire, swam some more, and enjoyed each others company.

This is his newest thing.
and it's adorable!
He loves to bite that little bottom lip of his.

This little guy was a champ. And a BIG one too!
He doesn't seem to like car rides anymore.
Fortunately though he slept the majority both ways.
Lucky us!

Such a gorgeous view. One of my favorite hikes I have EVER been on.
I loved loved loved crossing the little rivers..even though,
it was definitely some cold water.
Wanna know a secret? Jace had ran to Walmart earlier that day.
He had bought one of those little baby carriers.
We forgot it. Therefore, we carried this little trooper.
He fell asleep twice.
It started raining so the three of us turned around before we made it.
We enjoyed as far as we got though, and enjoyed
the outdoors without cell phones, ipads, and escaping from our everyday lives.

Hahaha this little cutie calls Uncle Jace "Jace-eee"

Because no view is greater than when he is in sight!
Love every single piece of him.
...But he is super Heavenly when he's sleeping.

St. Geezy was a success once again!
It's now back to reality;
work, dishes, no sleep, laundry, grocery shopping,
going to bed early, waking up early, and
making it through one day at a time.

I love to see the Temple.

I love to see the Temple.
I'm going there someday
to feel the Holy Spirit
to listen and to pray.
For the Temple is a house of God.
A place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young.
This is a sacred duty.

I love to see the Temple.
I'll go inside someday.
I'll covenant with my Father;
I'll promise to obey.
For the Temple is a holy place.
Where we are sealed together.
As a Child of God,
I've learned this truth;
A Family is forever.

Lucky for us
we had the beautiful privilege of entering
the Ogden Temple before it reopened.
Not only once, but twice.

I'm not sure there are words for it's beauty.
It's stunning, dazzling, pretty, and exquisite.

The first time we went with Jace's fam-bam.
The line was so so long.
and when I say long..I mean it!
But was it worth it?
Absolutely.

These two people pictured on the left.
Oh for the love.
You guys, my heart almost bursts out of my chest
because of the love I have for these two.

I cannot imagine a life without them both.
I am thankful for a man
who loves both Kyren and I.
Who puts us before himself,
and is always a strength in our lives.

I cannot imagine a life without our son;
our perfect, handsome, wiggly son.
He gives our lives meaning
and brightens every day!

I cannot imagine a life without the Gospel.
A gospel of
love, peace, comfort, wisdom,
and happiness...oh the happiness.

I cannot imagine a life without Temples.
a life without blessings beyond compare.
A life without beauty, and peacefulness.
A life without Eternal Families
is a life without these two.

Because a life without
these special humans
wouldn't be so special.
I am grateful for each and every one of these family members.
I have always loved them.
But as I've grown older,
I have come to realize just how much I not only love them
but need them.
<3

Unfortunately, we made the mistake of leaving the camera in the car.
So this is the only picture we got of all of us.
We'll have to settle with a phone pic.
<3

Thankful everyday that these two raised me in the Gospel.

The beautiful Lemmons :)

Chris, Tatti and Nash. Isn't he so big?

My Eternal Family!

Thankful everyday for a sister who is also my BFF.
Love you!

My two very favorite men.

I am thankful I can be forgiven for my shortcomings
impatience, and silly temper tantrums.
and for a loving Heavenly Father who knows when I need him.

Grandparents and Grand kids.

I think it's more than safe to say this Grandma loves her Kyren babe.

Okay guys, I seriously am so obsessed with him and his cute-ness!
<3 <3 <3

I couldn't agree more with Jeffery R. Holland
Heaven truly would not be Heaven
without my husband and Kyren.
I find great comfort in knowing
I can get cozy with, enjoy their company,
and have them with me not only in this life
but the next!
<3

Kyren's Baby Blessing

Oh it was a beautiful day.
A beautiful day for a beautifully handsome baby!
A day that I as a Mommy
will never EVER forget.
It was just that special.

It had been a very stressful week;
Trying to find the perfect
little outfit for our little man.
Trying to figure out what to serve, how to serve it, where to get it, and the usual worries.

You guys, he's SO small.
We had the most difficult time finding something that would fit him.
It got to the point that we didn't care anymore.
Honestly, I was tempted to throw him in a onesie and add a tie.
We didn't give up though and
he looked rather dapper at the end of the day.
Thank you to both of Kyren's Grandma's
for buying him the cutest get up!
My Mom took it in, and it was still too big.
Thanks mama! :)

Sacrament Meeting was at 9.
We barely made it to church on time as it was.
Okay, let's be real.
We didn't make it on time. ever.
That morning was stressful.
and I just know I was super bossy.
Thankful for a very patient husband.
Nonetheless we made it, and early too.

Jace gave him the most beautiful blessing.
I wish so much that I could remember every word.
It was sweet, sincere, uplifting, and touching.

I can honestly say there are
far and few things better than
listening to your hubby give your son a blessing.
It is the BEST thing in the world.
It warms your heart and pulls every string within.

I am thankful for the Gospel.
I am grateful for Jace.
That he has the Priesthood not only in our home
but everywhere we go.
That he was able to give our son a name and a blessing.

Even though his clothes were two sizes too big.
and a very stressful, tiring week.
We made it through.
and at the end of the day everything was perfect!

Picture overload coming at ya.

Oh I feel so extremely blessed.
Blessed to be a wife.
Blessed to be a mommy.

Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a
Mommy.I
But I didn't know why.
And then I became your mommy
and I now know why.

Oh I love every single inch of him!

So many wonderful people
came and shared this special day with us.
We're blessed to call them family!
Kyren is blessed to have each of you surrounding him.

Grandma and Grandpa Ropelato

Grandma and Grandpa Gray

Love love love these two women.

A HUGE part of my entire world in one picture.

My beautiful baby sister and best friend.
(so sad that we didn't get a pic with Jackson)

Kaylee and Josh's little sweet family.

Gorgeous Aunt Shelby.

Aunt Shelby and Uncle Kyle :)

The cutest little family; Blake and Mary's family.

Great Grandma and Grandpa Miles.

Love these Miles'

What a sweet and incredible group of girls.

We may not have it all together.
But together we have it ALL.
Thankful for this family of three.
and very grateful we can be together forever!

You darling, are precious!

Kyren Jace Ropelato

"How it amazes me, you're changing with every blink
Faster than a flower blooms they grow up all too soon.
So let them be little 'cause they're only that way for a while.
Oh just let them be little"

"I never knew how much I loved your daddy
until I saw how much he loved you"

Jace, I am so thankful for the sweet daddy that you are.
I know that sometimes I'm a little
overbearing
emotional
demanding
bossy
too mama-bear-ish
and overly protective
but I thank you for wanting to tickle our son, throw him in the air, and spin him in circles.
I know that you will be his all time favorite best friend, and I secretly already know you are the "fun" parent.

"Having my baby fall asleep in my arms
takes away all of my worries and stresses.
A sense of complete and total peace
comes over me"

Every minute I hold you I feel the Spirit.
I'm not sure if it's because of all the Angels gathered around you
or if it's because
you ARE my sweet and perfect Angel.

However I do know that you, my Angel Baby,
have already touched the lives of
so many people.
You pull at our heart strings, ya know?
I can't wait to see the great warrior
that you will one day be.
I just know you have BIG things awaiting you.
Photo Credit:: Sabrina Lemmon

"Every good and perfect gift is from above"
Photo Credit:: Sabrina Lemmon

Today as I sat you in your carseat
you started screaming
that sad sad cry..
I had to pick you up.
Then you did it again, and again, and again.
Every time I sat you down.
I decided I needed to bounce you. (ALL 7 times)

I caught you staring intently to the side.
I started talking to you, like I usually do.
"What are you looking at"?
"Kyren"???
"Who's over there"?
Usually you look at me and respond to my voice.
Nope, not this time.
You kept looking over there.
After a few more times of turning your head and you instantly turned it back

I realized what you were set on staring at.
A picture of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I got chills. I got emotional.
I may have let a tear fall or maybe two.

I know you know so much more than we do.
I know you still talk to Angels.
I know that when you're sleeping
and that cute smile comes out
you're playing with the Angels.
I know that they sing you back to sleep.
I know that our Savior has held you
just like the sweet child in this picture.
HE loves you.
and WE love you!
Thank you Kyren Jace for being ours.
For letting US love you.

you know you're a mom.

You know you're a mom...

1- when you catch yourself rocking everything you're holding. I mean everything; the curling iron, a cell phone, a blanket. yada yada and so on.
2- when scrolling through your phone every picture is or has your little guy or girl in it.
3- I don't know if it's just me but I get emotional SO much easier and SO many more things just warm my heart.
4- when you jump for joy when you get 4 hours of sleep at a time.
5- when changing a diaper at a fast pace and your hubby says "wow babe you're getting fast" is one of your greatest accomplishments.
6- when alone time with your spouse is pretty non existent and when you do get it you find yourself talking about and missing your baby...or wanting to sleep.
7- when you feel more like a cow than a human.
8- when you would rather buy your little human something rather than that cute dress or have-to-have-shoes!
9- when that inner Mama Bear comes out more often than you'd like to admit.
10- when you look around and baby stuff is literally everywhere.
11- when you get so frustrated, and at your wits end that you have NO other choice but to turn to your Heavenly Father.
12- when the first songs that come to your mind are lullabies, and church hymns.
13- when you see a whole different side of your husband. One of the absolute best sides.
14- when the one thing you don't leave the house without is the Binky instead of the Cell Phone.
15- when you all of the sudden can't imagine life any other way than without your significant other and precious baby.
16- when your laundry consists of messy baby clothes, and your dishes of bottles and more bottles.
17- when your heart just skips a few beats when they coo or smile at you. There are far few things better in life!
18- when you can feel the Angels around you because never have you had something so new from Heaven of your very own.
19- when it breaks your heart to see your 6 lbs 10 oz. baby be 8 lbs.
20- when at the end of the day no matter how hard, challenging, or fabulous it was you are so thankful that he/or she is yours and that Heavenly Father is giving you the privilege of being their Mommy!

What's going on with the Ropes?

1- Jace has been playing some Softball on Monday nights. Well last night they were playing in the Championship Game and I would say the crowd and the players were a little bit riled up. A member of the opposing team started throwing the "F" word out and my man of a husband told him to stop because his family was here :) Two Things. One I think I fell in love all over again. and two how sweet is that?! How thankful I am to be married to a man who stands up for not only me, but for our little man, and all of my in laws. I'd say some heart strings were definitely pulled.

2- Kyren is cooing and smiling so much! It is one of my absolute favorite things on Earth. I have always thought he was adorable but he proves to only get sweeter and sweeter everyday.

3- Team Josh anyone? The Bachelorette is over and you guys i'm in love with the Final Rose/Proposal. How cute are they?! I don't care how fake or how real the show is...I'm a definite fan and am going to tell myself how real it actually is.

4- Jace thinks it's the funnest thing to play with our little guy as if he is a 2 or 3 year old. He would throw him up in the air if he really thought he could get away with it. Lucky for Kyren and I he knows better!

5- Kyren throws some major temper tantrums...I know he's only 7 weeks old, today, but he does. After a long day of some crying and these random but few tantrums Jace will come home and take him from me. He'll take him in and lay him on our bed and have what he calls a heart to heart or a serious conversation. They talk all about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith. I have loved every second of watching these two interact with each other. NO one can get a bigger smile or conversation out of our baby then Jace.

A Realization. A moment.

The other night we were sitting with family. Listening to stories, laughing, and doing the things that families do. I was standing up, bouncing my baby, hoping that he would finally zonk out. I was standing a ways a way from everyone but still close enough to hear the stories people were sharing. Jace kept looking back at me and our baby, and we shared one of our normal everyday winks at each other and Kyren had fallen asleep. As I stood there looking at him, looking at our family, and looking at Jace I had a HUGE wave of emotion come over me.
There was something about seeing everyones families, and seeing my little family of three. I felt so much love for them. I felt so much love for Jace and Kyren. I love them SO much. In fact, it's hard to imagine that I could love them or anyone could love them any more. And for some reason the thought "Wow. Our Heavenly Father must love us SO much"! He loves us so immensely and with such a STRONG and PERFECT love. I know how much I love my family and to think that he loves so perfectly just made my heart so full. In the movies you hear of a 'great love' and let's be real. The love that a woman has for her husband, and a mom has for her child is like no other. I don't have any clue how to compare it or even begin to explain what it feels like. And I know that there is absolutely NO greater love than the love our Father in Heaven has for each of us. I have felt his love for me, personally, so strong these last few days. And I hope never to forget the way that it has made me feel, and the way that it has helped me love.

Pics from hospital and coming home

Meet Grandma and Grandpa Gray

Meet Grandma and Grandpa Ropelato

Meet some of your Aunts, Uncles, and Little Em.

Oh we love you, you sweet sweet little guy!