Catch-Up

It has been too long since I last posted... I have lost the charger to our camera! I was hoping to find it so I could post pictures and video from our trips this summer. We have decided that we will need to buy a new charger... Anyway, we have travled to Southern Utah the Thorley Family Reunion at the cabin, with a stop in Lancaster, CA to visit with the Blair Family. Then we took a flight into Bellingham, WA and drove across the border into Vancouver, BC Canda to visit with my sister, Vanessa, and her new little girl, Brooklyn Pearl (who is too cute for words). We had a blast exploring Vancouver and Langley, BC. We got to see the Beautiful temple that was dedicated last year in Langley. Vanessa lives less than five minutes away. We actually walked to the temple from her house! It was nice to see so much family and create memories this summer.

Peter is getting sooo big! He has learned so much and continues to learn new things each day. It is a joy to see him grow. He knows how to say mom and dad well, and a few other words not so well. He knows several signs. He will sign eat/food, milk, juice, more, all done/finished, bird, light, and he does some of the cutest gestures and facial expressions. I love it when he comes and grabs my hand to take me to something he wants. He definitey knows how to communicate his needs and wants. We sure enjoy being Peter's parents and feel privledged to have been entrusted with such a wonderful, sweet spirit and son of God.

For those of you who do not know... we are expecting our second child. We are having a little girl! Her due date is February 4th 2012. We are excited and anxiously preparing ourselves for her arrival. We know it is a big change form one child to two. We just hope we will be as prepared as possible to make this change.

Camping at Dinkey Creek

Peter loves nature. He loves to play with plants, he loves to watch birds fly, and he loves to explore. So, David and I decided to take him camping. We only stayed one night, but Peter had a blast! We drove up to Dinkey Creek, a campsite near Shaver Lake here in California. I grew up coming to Dinkey Creek Campgrounds every summer with my family, so it was easy for us to decide where we would camp. However, preparing for the trip was not so easy. There are so many things required for a family to be able to live a day without the convenience of a kitchen with a fridge, stove, oven, and microwave. But we ended up surviving. Actually we did better than survive, I think we ate pretty good :).


We arrived at the campgrounds around 11 on Friday the 15th and left at 12 on Saturday. From the moment we got there up to the minute we left, Peter had a blast! He explored everything. It is amazing how a one year old can be so easily entertained by rocks, sticks, and dirt. Peter loves water, so we took a hike over to a waterfall and let him play in the river. He had a great time. I think we may turn this into a annual family tradition :).

See the post bellow for a video of highlights from our trip.

Camping at Dinkey Creek 2011

Here is the video of our camping trip to Dinkey Creek :)

Happy Birthday Peter!

We can't believe a year has passed since we first met little Peter and welcomed him into this world. Time has sure passed quickly this last year. Peter is walking pretty good now. He is still a little wobbly, but he can get where he wants to go. Here are some pictures that our friend Gwen Hawkins took of Peter at one year. Enjoy:)

P.S. - June 9th was his birthday... we're a little late in posting this.

Graduation

All went well with the graduation. It sure felt good to walk across that stage. I was able to see and feel that my goals had been realized. After the graduation, I was stopped by a 10 o'clock Fox News camera man. He was interviewing random graduates and asked if he could interview me. I said sure. He asked what I received a degree in and what I plan to do with that degree. I told him that I graduated with a Bachelors in Child Development and told him that I plan to use my degree to help me be the best mom I can be. He then asked what I could do with a degree in Child Development. I explained the various options and stated that if there ever came a time where I needed to use my degree I would. It is a good plan B. David and I hope and have faith that I will not need to get a job, that I can stay at home and raise our children in truth and righteousness. I feel that there is no better way to improve and help society than to teach children correct principles so that they can grow and contribute to society in a good productive manner. Anyway, it sure feels great to be done. Now I can more fully focus on my dream job... being the best mom that I can be with the help of the Lord.

Here are some fun photos of the big day!

We Can Breath!

David and I each turned in our last finals today! We are glad for the semester to be over. This week has been so crazy! We have a plaque in our living room that says, "In the strength of the Lord we can do and endure and overcome all things." by Elder Bednar. This is so true. Without the help of our Savior and of the angels he has placed in our lives, I don't think we could have made it through this week. I also know that without this help, I would not be graduating tomorrow. But it sure feels good to be through this rough patch and to be able to breath again.

Just in case you missed the line where I said I am graduating tomorrow... I'm GRADUATING! I get to wear that big black gown and the nifty cap and tassel. Wohoo! It feels good to be done!

Peter's First Easter

Despite how busy we were, we still had a pretty good Easter. On Saturday, after the Baby shower for my sister, we had a nice family gathering at San Gabriel Park. It was nice to see so much of my family. Peter was a celebrity! Everyone loves his red hair, and he is just too cute! We ate some yummy food, talked, and played. We had a good time.

Peter ate with us too :) Strawberries, yummy!

Peter found the egg jackpot!

His first experience with Easter eggs...

Too cute!

Easter Morning:

I put together a little Easter basket for Peter. Since he can't have candy yet, I gave him "Puffs." These are pretty much like little cereal pieces with yummy fruit flavors. He hadn't had them before, but he loves them. I think they are candy to him.

David's talk went great. He did an amazing job. We also got to participate in the choir. We sang a great song, perfect for the beautiful Easter Sabbath. After church we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with the entire Murphy clan. It was nice to have everyone together again. We sure have missed my sister and her husband.

On Friday, we had the opportunity to take some family photos. Our good friend Gwen Hawkins knew that Vanessa and Ryan were coming down from Canada for Easter and offered to take family pictures for us, for free. The photo I placed with our title to this blog is one of my favorite photos of our little family. Here are some more photos...

In the picture above:

Right to Left on Top: David, Peter, Yvonne, Dad (Daniel), Mom (Cynthia), Ryan, Vanessa

Right to Left on Bottom: Nicole, Pierce, Kamilah

Another favorite!

Spring Break?

We were hoping to breath a little over Spring Break, but it seems we are just as busy as ever. It doesn't quite feel like a break. We have loads of school work, David is giving a 20 minute sermon on Easter Sunday,my mom and I are throwing a Baby Shower for my sister who is coming down from Canada with her husband, we have to find a way to get our car to pass smog, and there are a few other menial things to take care of. Needless to say, WE ARE BUSY! But, it is good. We are excited to see my sister and brother-in-law. I am excited for the shower. We are excited to celebrate Easter with family. It's Peter's first Easter. There are a lot of good thing happening this week, so the busyness is good, right? Also, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I graduate next month! and David only has one more semester till he graduates! Then he will be off to some Doctorate program for physical therapy and I will be able to more fully enjoy motherhood. I know we are supposed to enjoy the now and not wish for the later, and I feel like we do this most of the time, but I just can't wait until school is over for me and David is further on his way to becoming a Physical Therapist. Anyway... Life Is Good! We love you all. And wish you a Happy Easter and a great Spring Break.

Here is a picture of Peter just because we think he is so cute! And you can't have a post without a picture, right?

Keeping Busy

School has consumed most of our time and thoughts for the last month, but we found time to relax and enjoy family this past weekend. Annie, Adam and their three kids, Ryan, Natalie, and Jason, came to visit for a week. So over the three day weekend we enjoyed spending lots of time together. We played a lot of Pinochle, other card games, dominoes, ladder ball, and even some basketball. We had a blast! Unfortunately, we were having so much fun that I didn't get any photos taken! But I assure you we enjoyed ourselves. Now we're back to the grind stone and working hard to catch up on the work we should have been doing over the weekend. Life is good though. It is good to be busy :)

Peter is growing so fast! He now has four teeth, two on top and two on bottom. He is rolling and scooting all over the place. He isn't quite crawling yet. He can get up on all fours and move backwards and lunge himself forward, but he hasn't quite figured out how to crawl. Peter had his first haircut on Saturday! He had the comb over look going on so we gave him a little trim. It looks kind of good, I think. Here is a picture...


Love to all of you. Here are some more photos of Peter being cute...

All bundled up to go for a walk!

Hang'n out in his Johnny-Jump-Up.

Being cute!

Being silly... a face only his parents can love ;)

Our little Peter :D

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We know we're a little late with this, but here we go...

The first thing we did was set up the nativity.

Then we went and picked out a tree from a tree lot.

Peter is excited that we have a tree in the house!

He thought he would see if it tasted as good as it smelled ;)

The tree is decorated and ready to go!

Peter chill'n in his festive Christmas sweater :)

As we predicted... Peter enjoyed the wrapping paper more than his presents.

We had a wonderful Christmas as a little family of three. We felt like Christmas took on a whole new meaning this year. Having Peter has helped us realize how special the gift our Heavenly Father gave is. We see how much He must love us. We knew of this love before we had Peter, but I think we are now able to look at the gift of His only begotten Son from a different perspective. Now that we have a son, whom we love with all our hearts, and would give our life if it meant saving his... I think we can understand just a little bit more, how hard it must have been for our Father in heaven to send His Son to earth and watch Him go through the trials, tribulations, and suffering that He needed to experience. I don't know if I am explaining this clearly, it is hard to describe the difference in feeling we had this Christmas... but we are truly grateful for the gift of our Savior, and to our Heavenly Father for sending Him to save us from sin and death, to provide a way for us to return and live with Them again.