The world through their eyes

I had to write and record the memory of tonight. I put Sage to bed and she said her prayers as she does almost every night. Lately she has enjoyed saying 2 or 3 different prayers. Here is what she said during Prayer #1: "Dear Heavenly Father, I'm thankful for this day. I'm thankful for Jesus and Heavenly Father. I'm thankful for the American flag. I'm thankful for the flowers, and for Ariel and Cinderella, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Prayer #2: "Dear Heavenly Father, I'm thankful for this day. I'm thankful for my purple dress and for Sydney's white dress, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." (we had just picked out their dresses for church tomorrow, hence the gratitude for the dresses) These moments melt my heart. It's so adorable that she comes up with her own things to be grateful for in her prayers. It's SO sweet. Since I became a mom, I have really enjoyed seeing the world through my girls' eyes. I often think about how often Jesus tells us in the scriptures to become as a little child. Children have an incredible amount of Christlike qualities. My children help me stop and see the beauty of life. I must say I have a whole new love for the moon. I have never stopped to really look at it before becoming a mom. Sage can spot it wherever it is and she comments on what shape it is. Sage can spot an American flag anywhere and that has made me notice how many flags are everywhere. That has led me to realize how much patriotism we have in our country. Sage can also spot an airplane anywhere in the sky. I now really enjoy watching the airplanes. Sydney of course follows in her sister's footsteps by noticing these things. They also always comment on the stars. I've also come to appreciate even more sunsets. I started thinking of how a lot of what they notice requires looking up. I think that is one of the childlike qualities Christ wants us to emulate. As adults I think we too often look down or get so caught up in the busyness of our lives to look up and appreciate beauty and nature and all the things around us. I know Heavenly Father wants us to look up towards Him for guidance and answers. The girls also notice animals. We see a lot in our yard and I've enjoyed observing them too. Flowers are another big one. Sage picks flowers all the time and she always has an extra flower to give to her sister. As a mother I've been humbled by Sage and Sydney's purity and sincerity. I can honestly say that being a mother has made me a better person and it's because of my girls. It's because of their example and effect on me. I'm so grateful for every single comment they make and for every single priceless moment. I have two daughters with such unique and adorable personalities and I don't know how I made it in this world 28 years without them. :-)

Christmas and New Years

Christmas was nice and relaxing for us. We didn't travel Christmas weekend so it was nice to be home. I went a little overboard on gifts. The girls would've been fine with less than half of what I got. Their big gift from us was an indoor/outdoor trampoline. They love it. John's mom got them a really nice wooden easel and Sage loves painting on it and writing on the chalkboard. For New Year's we went to Kansas to my sister Stephanie's house. My parents and Steven, Katy (his fiance), Melanie, and Alex drove up. We had a great trip. Sage and Sydney loved playing with their cousins.


We had a Christmas ornament made with this adorable picture.


We made this gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. It turned out cuter than we thought it would. The girls enjoyed eating M&M's more than anything else.


Here we are right after church. These were their Christmas dresses. I wish I would've taken more pictures of them wearing it but we were in a rush for naps.


Here are all the Prince grandchildren: Mason, Hannah, Zoe, Sage and Sydney.


Here is Nini and Pops boasting with pride with their breathtaking grandchildren. Thanks to Stephanie's entertainment abilities we got some good smiles from the kids.