Praise to the Man

We just got word that our beloved Prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, has passed away. Both Eli and I have felt a deep sense of loss for this man whom we came to love so much. We are forever grateful for his life of service and dedication to the gospel of Jesus Christ... his testimony has strengthened ours in unspeakable ways. We feel peace knowing that he is now reunited with his wife, who passed before him. Though the Church will certainly feel loss at the passing of this great man, Eli and I both look forward to the spiritual leadership that will come from our new prophet and are thankful that we know the next prophet will also be a man called of God. We have certainly enjoyed the time that we have had to get to know President Hinckley on a more personal level as we have attended Sacarament Meetings, General Conferences, BYU Devotionals, and so forth. We smile as we remember his witty humor and that famous cane wave! May the family of President Gordon B. Hinckley feel peace at this time.

"Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith"- PRESIDENT GORDON B. HINCKLEY

Christmas Pictures

Sorry it took so long but I thought I would finally post some christmas pictures!! Enjoy :) We sure did.

sitting up! sorta....

Giggles...

Just hanging out

I caught a couple of cute pictures of Jax while we were eating dinner tonight, so I thought I'd post them! He's getting so big!

Here is one of Jax helping Eli with his homework... :)

A Video of my mad "Skills"

Needless to say my skills are not "mad" in any way...

A Date Day at Sundance

Eli and I spend so much time as a family with Jax, but we realized it had been a while since we spent time just the two of us (tough with a little one!). We decided the perfect remedy for that would be a half-day of snowboarding. There was a great snowfall the night before and so we packed up our gear and headed up to Sundance. They had gotten about a foot of new powder by the time we arrived- perfect for someone like me who has only been twice before and falls all the time! We had such a fun time together, and Eli was very patient as I tried to learn to ride on my toe side... I never really got the skill down pat, but I had a good time trying (...the falling... then trying....then falling... then falling.... then doing a somersault).

Quick Catch Up

I started school again this semester and have found myself way too busy to transfer our Christmas pictures on to the blog! I'll post them soon, just bear with me :)

We flew home to Georgia for the holidays and had the most wonderful time. Jaxon got so used to being held all the time that I think he went through some serious withdrawls when we came back and he was stuck with just me, Eli and Cosmo. He seems to be readjusting well though.

Jax is continually working on new tricks. He has started to giggle, but it is mostly just unpredictable and spontaneous... we can't seem to make him giggle at the same thing twice. The giggling has been put on "hold" for the past couple of days, though, because he got a sinus infection (poor little guy!). He's been on antibiotics and it seems to be clearing, but he certainly hasn't been the happiest little camper. I think that Eli is a couple days behind him on the infection, and I am starting to come down with the crud myself so if you're making a mental note to stay away from the Stephens family for a short while, I'll be sure to let you know when the coast is clear.

Other than that, we are happy and we are healthy. I am looking to graduate in August and Eli is pushing to graduate in December, so hopefully we'll be moving on in the not-so-far-off future. Right now Eli is taking a full load at school while juggling two jobs (teaching at the MTC and working as a dental assistant in Orem). He puts in about 30 hours a week between the two jobs, but that doesn't seem to slow him down at home- he is the most wonderful father and, of course, husband. And it's pretty cute to see him and Jax playing together... Eli's always asking him "wanna go fishin? Wanna go huntin? Come with me, I'll show you how to build a snow cave!"... that is about the time that I step in and remind Eli that Jax is only 4 1/2 months old. Unfortunately I think the two will have to wait a while before they can do those activities together!