Busy start to life....

It's been a busy start to life for little Ms. Paige. She is now 8 weeks old and has been to Casper, WY twice, pictures taken with her sister and two trips to the doctor's--for wellness checkups, plus visits from many different friends and family.

First off, here is a picture I just couldn't resist putting up. Brett took the picture just in time. This picture cracks me up every time I see it!
On a last minute whim, I decided to take Addison and Paige back to Casper, WY to visit my parents and Brett's family. It was the last weekend in September. Paige did great in the car...she was such a little trooper. Addison was a great helper. It was strange to travel all that way with two kids and strange to believe I have two. Brett couldn't come because of his church calling.

Addison had so much fun with her Casper cousins. She loves playing with them! She was very sad to leave. Little did we know, that would be the first and last time Paige would be able to see her Grandma Stagg and the last time for Addison. Here is the picture we have of Grandma Stagg holding Paige....this was the last picture ever taken of her.
Three days after returning home, we received the call that Grandma Stagg passed away. It was pretty sudden. Brett and his family are doing well, considering. Addison was really upset. Grandma Stagg would write her little letters quite frequently and Addison loved getting them.

It has been humbling to see a little child's perception of death. They are so sweet and innocent in their questions. We told Addison that Heavenly Father called Grandma Stagg home to help Him. She asked a few hours later, in tears, "why couldn't Heavenly Father get someone else to help Him?" A good friend of the family really put things in a comforting light. She said, "when you go to a righteous person's funeral, it is like going to the temple. You leave feeling at peace." I really think that is true. As hard as it was at the funeral, after it was done, you couldn't help but feeling at peace. It really strengthend my testimony of the gospel. They were sealed as a family and we will be able to see Grandma Stagg again.

Below is a picture of Brett and Addison at Grandma Stagg's grave.
Before the funeral, Brett was able to make a memorial video for his mom. He took all the pictures his entire family could find of his mom (she wasn't a fan of the camera) and put them together to a couple of her favorite Hymns. He is working on condensing it so I can post it here for those who want to see it.

The weekend before the funeral (conference weekend), we were able to celebrate something happy. My sister, Terra, had a 1st birthday party for her little boy, Benjamin. Uncle Blake and Aunt Trish and cousin Lincoln were able to come. Uncle Trevor and cousin Tyler were able to come up, as well as Nanna Howard. Here is Aunt Trish, Benjamin, Paige, Lincoln, Addison and Tyler.

Terra made some really cute cupcakes for Benjamin's birthday. Here are some pictures of them:

Here is crazy Aunt Terra decorating them:We were also able to get Paige's 4 week old pictures taken. We were given a gift certificate to a cute girls dress store and I got Addison and Paige matching dresses. Here are the scanned images of some of the pictures:

Addison is having fun in first grade. She is doing well. She loves spelling and math and of course recess. Just today she went around collecting leaves for a school assignment. It is really neat to see her learning and growing and being curious about the world around her.

Paige is doing well. It is crazy how big she is getting and yet she is just barely fitting completely into her newborn clothes! She is continuing to grow and become more alert. I have so many more pictures I would love to share, but I will just include the ones above. :)

Brett is still looking for a job. This is now the 6th month. He has an interview this coming week. We are still hopeful that he will find something.

I have just finished my maternity leave and now head into the optional, up to 12 weeks, of unpaid leave. Before Brett lost his job, we decided to do 4 weeks of unpaid leave. When he lost his job, we thought that would be un-doable...however, we have decided that we will stick with the original plan and have faith that Brett will find something. I can't bare to leave such a sweet little spirit...at least if I leave her, Brett will be able to be with her. I will be going back to work November 2nd if Brett's job situation doesn't change. We will be blessing Paige November 1st, so it will be nice to know I will be a stay-at-home mom up until she is blessed. :)

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. It has been a roller-coaster of a ride for our family these past several months. Knowing that our trials are given to us to help make us stronger and that Heavenly Father doesn't give us anything we can't handle has been a comfort. When I am frustrated and to the point of giving up, I am reminded of that and know (even though at the time it's harder than hard) that things will be okay for our family. It is also been a real help to have such great family, friends, neighbors and ward family. Thank you all!