"Oneness in Marriage"

Steven and I read the First Presidency's Message "Oneness in Marriage" from 1976 this morning. We took turns reading paragraphs and afterwards discussed our thoughts and shared how the article impressed us differently or similarly in some ways. We were pleasantly, yet not surprisingly, aware that the article, although over 30 years old, was still applicable to our own marriage today. In the article, President Kimball gives us a formula to follow to have happiness in marriage.

"First, there must be the proper approach toward marriage, which contemplates the selection of a spouse who reaches as nearly as possible the pinnacle of perfection in all the matters which are of importance to the individuals. And then those two parties must come to the altar in the temple realizing that they must work hard toward this successful joint living.

"Second, there must be a great unselfishness, forgetting self and directing all of the family life and all pertaining thereunto to the good of the family, subjugating self.

"Third, there must be continued courting and expressions of affection, kindness, and consideration to keep love alive and growing.

"Fourth, there must be a complete living of the commandments of the Lord as defined in the gospel of Jesus Christ."

I am so grateful for Latter-Day prophets and for the direct guidance that we recieve from our Father in Heaven through these righteous men. Each of these steps are so vitale in keeping a strong marriage and constant work is needed to maintain happiness in marriage. I am so fortunate to have a wonderful, selfless, worthy, smart, funny, talented, dashingly handsome man as my husband. It's because of his example that our marriage is getting stronger day by day and sometimes argument to argument, meltdown to meltdown :) I just wanted to share with all of you this article. I think that everyone should read this article, LDS or not. Apply what you need to to strengthen your marriage or relationship :)

One of the parts that impressed me the most, "Some think of happiness as a glamorous life of ease, luxury, and constant thrills; but true marriage is based on a happiness which is more than that, one which comes from giving, serving, sharing, sacrificing, and selflessness."

President Kimball is a smart man :)

I thought I'd include an old picture just for fun!! Hawaii.... good times :) May 2009

Playing in the NEW PLACE!!

Here are a few pictures of Olivia being the most darling baby girl ever. We are so lucky that she is healthy, happy and beautiful :) I put her down for a nap on Wednesday afternoon and when I went to check on her, I couldn't resist taking a picture. This precious little princess was fast asleep in the most adorable little position. It doesn't look very comfortable, but it worked. She slept like an angel. She was all smiles when she woke up :) We played the rest of the afternoon and just enjoyed being silly together.

Sleeping Beauty"Look, Mommy! I'm standing up!"

Trying to get the camera :)

Play time!!

♥

After Olivia's nap and some play time, we went to Brentwood with Daddy to look at a table we were thinking about buying (P.S. Loved it and bought it) and then went to some appointments he had scheduled in Antioch. The day had some unexpected rearrangements, so we found ourselves starving and still in Antioch around 7:30pm. We had a free appetizer coupon from Red Robin(...yum) and decided to use it. Olivia loves being around people because she eats up all the attention.... and she gets LOTS of it! She only has eyes for her Daddy though. Absolutely adores him.

Love this picture ♥

We've moved!!!

Here Olivia is on moving day :) She likes her bottle, but only if it's full of water or breast milk. Give her a bottle of formula and expect her wrath to be upon you. Seriously. Ask Grandmama :)

She did great on our 1 1/2 hour trip from Roseville to Dublin. She played with Grandmama (she wasn't supposed to be lifting anything that weekend, Doctor's orders) while Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Lindsey, Auntie Milly, Auntie Lauren, Auntie Missy and I moved all of our stuff into our new third floor apartment. That was quite the work out :) We love our new place and so does Olivia.

Bath Time....
After Bath Time :)

Levi and Liv ♥

Our good friends, Josh and Mia Culp, welcomed Levi into their cute little family on March 10th, 2010. He is such a sweetie and is sooooo fun to cuddle. I hogged him all night :) We can't wait for these two love birds to grow up and get married. Lol :) We miss you, Levi... oooh... and you, too, Mia and Josh.

We made it very clear thata this would be the ONLY time they'd be lying down with one another.... Haha :)Oh!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE him!!

Olivia ♥s Yoga

Olivia is all over the place nowadays. She has started crawling (sorta) and loves her new found freedom :) I was able to capture her in some of her most common moves. We call them her yoga poses....

Full Locust Pose

One Leg Downward Facing Dog

Downward Facing Dog

Getting into Child's Pose

I'm-so-beautiful-it's-ridiculous Pose

Easter 2010

Olivia's 1st Easter was wonderful :) The night before, Steve and I decorated the eggs we'd be using for her Easter egg hunt in the morning. I'm learning to be frugal, so I knew that Steve would rather me buy the cheapest egg dye. Because of this, the pack came with only the dye and nothing fun to decorate them with. We got creative and crafty and decided to draw on them instead. It was actually a ton of fun! I think we'll draw on a few eggs every year, just as a reminder of how once upon a time Mommy and Daddy couldn't splurge and buy the $3.00 pack of egg dye and chose to buy the $1.50 pack instead. Haha :) Anyways, we had a ton of fun decorating them together and can't wait for Olivia (and future Clegg kiddos) to join in the fun :)

In my family, it's a tradition for the Easter Bunny to hide our baskets. In the morning, we get to search for where he hid them :) Olivia's was hidden beside the couch and she found it pretty easily. She crawled...well inch wormed... to all of her new goodies. Grandma Janie sent her a beautiful dress, some Little People Olympians, her beloved Ring Pop (which we only let her have for about a minute, so don't judge) and a few other treats. She loved the Ring Pop though :) It was so cute watching her eat it.

The Easter Bunny remembered everyone in the family and brought Steven some fun treats. He got a little yellow basket with Jillian Michael's book called, "Making the Cut", a measuring tape, chewing gum and some Zone bars. The Easter Bunny wants us to be healthier this year apparently :) He brought me an adorable basket with a HUGE Hershey's Kiss and an adorable card. I love Easter :)

After finding our baskets and secretly keeping an eye out for hidden eggs.... we had our Easter egg hunt :) Steven made sure that Olivia found every last one. Next year will be lots of fun with an 18 month old. She's going to love celebrating the wonderful holiday!!

After our morning festivities, we spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon watching Conference. It was such a blessing to hear the words of President Monson and the other leaders of our church. I love everything about conference. Listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, listening to the choir and congregation sing and, as cameras sweep over the crowd, seeing the thousands of Latter-Day Saints attending, seeing the kind faces of our righteous leaders as they convey messages of love and offer counsel, are a few reasons why I look forward to watching :) This year we noticed how many talks were focused on family relationships. Mothers and daughters, parents and children, etc. As a new mommy, I was listening more intently than I otherwise would have to talks on that subject. Great counsel was given to us and I'm looking forward to next month's Ensign so Steven and I can read through each talk together. We are so thankful that we are an eternal family and hope that our children understand the importance and significance of this wonderful blessing.

Overall, we had the best Easter ever! We are so grateful for our Savior and His atoning sacrifice.
Because of this, we have the opportunity to live with our Father in Heaven once again. He is risen. He lives.......

I know that my Redeemer lives!
What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead;
He lives, my ever living head!

He lives to bless me with His love;
He lives to plead for me above;
He lives my hungry soul to feed;
He lives to help in time of need.

He lives to grant me rich supply;
He lives to guide me with His eye;
He lives to comfort me when faint;
He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.

He lives to silence all my fears;
He lives to wipe away my tears;
He lives to calm my troubled heart;
He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives to bless me with His love;
He lives to plead for me above;
He lives my hungry soul to feed;
He lives to help in time of need.

He lives, my kind, wise, heavenly friend;
He lives and loves me to the end;
He lives, and while He lives, I’ll sing;
He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King!

He lives and grants me daily breath;
He lives, and I shall conquer death;
He lives my mansion to prepare;
He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives, all glory to His name!
He lives, my Savior, still the same;
Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives:
I know that my Redeemer lives!

Hoppy Easter to all of you!!

The Future is BRIGHT :)

We've been pretty busy lately with our move to the Bay Area closely approaching. Our house is packed up, our applications are in and we're just patiently waiting (yeah right) to be approved for our new apartment in Dublin, California :) It's called Emerald Park. It's perfect for what we need and in a great location. It's close to the freeway, Steven's office, shopping, the BART station, close to some of Steven's family, relatively close to the Oakland Temple :), and has some really amazing amenities. We're so excited to start this new adventure together and can't wait to move in, get settled, go to our new ward, meet new people, try new things and grow stronger as a family. The future is looking bright :)

While looking for apartments/homes/condos/townhomes/anything that could closely resemble some form of housing, Steven, Olivia and I had some fun times together. Here are a few pictures that document our last few weeks...

Emerald Park Waiting to eat lunch on the road :) Look at my SEXY husband in his work attire ;) I love it!

Just us girlies hanging out at the office together :)

Olivia just lounging in her carseat while driving from showing to showing. She's sooooo adorable.

♥


Olivia LOVES bathtime. She's been sitting up on her own with slight assistance since she was 5 months old, but now she finally has it down. I have to keep extra careful watch on her in the tub though. She still makes me nervous :)
Pooped out after a long week.

♥
AND FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE...LAUGHING IS ACCEPTABLE AND DEFINITELY EXPECTED :) While we were packing and going through all of our things, I found my old cheer uniform my Mom sent to me forever ago. I tried it on and it barely fit. Lol! I was sucking in like you wouldn't believe just to zip it up. Haha!!! I just wanted to document it for future reference. I doubt by baby #2 I'll even be able to look at it without the seams busting. Lol :) Thanks for indulging me.