Happy Birthday Hannah!

Dear Hannah, 

Happy Birthday sweet Hannah! What an amazing year it has been. I have teared up multiple times this month (including a few shoulder shaking sobs) thinking of the fact that you were going to turn one so soon. One year ago, tonight, you changed my world forever. After being in labor for 18 hours, I was so excited when you officially made your debut! I remember being so surprised that you had a bunch of brown hair- or any hair at all. Since that life changing night, your dad and I have learned and grown so much. Thank you for making that possible. You have made me a better person, Hannah. You have helped me to learn about selflessness at a deeper level than I have ever experienced. 

Being your mother has been the most amazing experience. My very best days are the ones that I get to spend the whole day with you. Sometimes I just stare at you in amazement. You are such a smart, kind, and beautiful person. 

Your dad and I feel your strong spirit. You make us want to be better. You make us want to follow God that much more. We know that you and your future siblings are rooting for us! We are a "team" just like your dad always says. Thank you for being our "third teammate". We truly feel honored to be called your parents. 

I try to be more like you every day. I love you. I always will. 

Love, 
Mom 

Contentment

“Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough” - Oprah Winfrey. This concept, of being grateful and content, has been on my mind lately. Isn't it funny how easy it is to focus on the negative things in life? It is so easy to compare ourselves to others when it comes to what we have, what we can do, what our bodies look like, the way our spouses express love, and everything else. What if we could just be content with our lives exactly how they are? There is such beauty in being content. Content with our family, our spouses, our friends, the amount we get to travel the world, our money, our small town or big city, our talents, our trials. Although I am not saying that our contentment should hinder our progress or our desire to improve our lives, I have seen that simply being content can help us to be happier. 

How do we stop wishing our lives were different? When you find yourself going down that path, pause for a second and list things that you are grateful for. As soon as you wish you could travel more, or that your spouse would do more sweet/romantic things for you, or that you looked differently, or that you lived in a different town, or that your trials and struggles were different, or that your were better at something... STOP and literally LIST things you are grateful for in your mind. I'm not meaning to pull a therapy stunt on you but I have seen the positive effects of being content and grateful. This is something I have to continually strive to work on in myself. But when I work on it, I find that I enjoy my life, exactly how it is, more. We will never be perfect at this. We will always catch ourselves wishing parts of our lives were different. But there is something amazing about trying to be content. There is beauty in life, exactly how it is. 

Picture from here 

Top 13 of '13

Just like I have done for the past two years (see them here and here), I am going to write about some of our highlights of this year. 2013 has been the most life changing year of my life thus far. Our sweet Hannah was born. All of our "top 13 of '13" would be things that Hannah has done and learned. But, I am going to mix it up a bit and add other significant and special events as well. What a gift 2013 has been!

#1- At 7:26 pm on March 20th, Hannah Elizabeth Dickey was born. It was such an amazing, crazy, and life changing experience. She is our joy. She has added so much to our family. My "princess Hannah" makes me smile each day and Jaren's little "bannah" is his little love.

#2- Because Hannah was born in March. I had my third trimester of pregnancy in 2013. I loved my growing belly and Jaren was my cheerleader (I'm not sure he would like to be called that haha) the whole time.

#3- Jaren got accepted to medical school in 2013! On the first day that people could start getting accepted, he got in! What a blessing. The acceptance came from the MD program at St. Louis University. Although there is a chance we may go somewhere else (since he has other interviews), we have heard nothing but positive things about St. Louis. Adventures ahead!

#4- Hannah has learned sooooo much over the first 9 months of her life. It is amazing to see how much they change and learn. It's been a great ride! Here are a few of the highlights...

First Easter (about 2 weeks old)

First time she rolled over (about 3.5 months)

First Independence Day

First time swimming 

Learning to sit (about 5.5 months)

Playing in the leaves 

First Halloween 

First pumpkin patch (Her cheesy grin kills me!) 

First Christmas morning 

#5- I started a new job at the beginning of 2013. I am a mental health therapist in Rexburg. I love my job and my supervisors are so great! Counseling has been a good fit for me. I love helping people who may otherwise feel like all is lost. Although some sessions are better than others, seeing someone come into my office with shoulders drooped and then leave with their head higher and a smile is amazing! I only work 5-10 hours a week which is awesome because I get to spend my time being a stay-at-home mom! My favorite!!

#6- Jaren also got a new job this year. He is the general manager at a place that sells TV and Internet Service. His job has been a blessing. Although it is not what he likes to do and has been frustrating at times, it has been a good job for the time being.

#7- Since Hannah's birth, we have been able to go on many little get-a-ways! Hannah has been on at least 9-10 trips in her short 9 months. Haha call us crazy! She does really well in the car. It has been fun spending extra time with family on vacation.

Boise, ID

Morgan, Utah visiting family 

Girl's trip to Logan, UT

Driggs, ID

Jackson, WY

Jackson, WY

Visiting Jaren's grammy in Layton, UT

Hotel in Rexburg! A "stay-cation" as Jaren calls it.

#8- My little sister, Stephanie, left on a mission to Little Rock Arkansas in 2013! She is doing so well and is the happiest I have ever seen her (and she has always been happy!). Hearing her stories blow me away. The gospel of Jesus Christ is so amazing.

#9- My younger brother, Ryan, got married! His wife, Allison, is my first in-law on my side of the family and she is soooo awesome! We have bonded recently and she is one of my best pals now! I'm so happy for those two. Their love is so sweet.

#10- Jaren and I became an uncle and aunt for the first time this past December! Jaren's brother and his wife had sweet little Lincoln Alan Dickey! He is a little cutie and is so sweet.

#11- My family's dog of 17 years died this past summer :( Bear was a huge part of our family. Sometimes I still expect her to come walking up to our car when we pull up. Many summer days I could be found sitting on the lawn snuggling with her. She was always one of my best friends! I'm sad that she is gone now.

#12- Mine and Jaren's alone time has become more valuable since becoming parents this year. We have always been kind of obsessed with spending time together (hopefully in a healthy way haha). This year we have had many fun dates and special time together. Becoming parents together has been a special experience.

#13- Although I finished in December 2012, I was able "walk" in graduation in May 2013 for my masters program. Both mine and Jaren's families drove to Boise, Idaho to support me. It was such a fun experience.

Along with these 2013 highlights, we have had trials, hard learning experiences, and stresses as well. It is those times that shape us and bring us closer to God and the ones we love. I'm grateful for those trials as well as our happy highlights. 2013 has been great! I am excited to see what lies in 2014!!

Things I Love About Jaren

Today is my sweet husband's 27th birthday. I am eternally grateful that he was born. He is my everything. My world. Marriage has been such a gift in my life. There are so many things I love about him. Sometimes he may drive me crazy or annoy the heck out of me and other times we argue but the good outweighs the bad by about 100 million ;)  

Jaren, I know you will read this (because I will tell you to ;) so here are 27 things that I love about you! HAPPY 27TH BIRTHDAY LOVE!!

1- You let me put my ice cold feet on your legs as I fall asleep
2- You bear your testimony in little insights you share each day
3- You like every person you meet
4- You never have anything unkind to say about anyone
5- The fact that "We are so blessed" is a common response from you
6- That you are quiet when you get ready in the morning so that you don't wake me up but then end up waking me up anyway with an "I love you babe" when you leave.
7- That I'll be going a million miles an hour in the kitchen making a meal and you will slowly pull me close and whisper "Thank you for all that you do."
8- Sometimes you surprise me with a Reeses or Hershey bar when you come home from the store
9- You always ask my opinion and value it
10- You kiss me after every single nightly prayer
11- You are quick to realize a gift from God and are quick to thank Him
12- You love it when I lay my head on your shoulder in church and ask me to do it
13- That you tell me to pause exactly where I am ("Don't move!") so that you can take a picture of me
14- You are so animated with your expressions
15- That you teach Hannah about God through little comments you say
16- That when I am pulling out of the driveway and you see me, you press your fist to your heart and then point to me
17- That you get sucked into any movie/show that is on the TV (even if it is Blues Clues haha)
18- That we sometimes stay up late into the night laughing and teasing each other
19- You get dressed up for dates to impress me (even if it is a date at home!)
20- That you appreciate science and love it so much
21- Hannah is your little love
22- You value motherhood and womanhood
23- That you have had a crush on me since I was 16 and never gave up until you got me
24- That being a dad is your most favorite thing in the world
25- That you have worked so hard in school
26- That you woke up yesterday morning and said "I'm so glad that I married you. I want to get to know you even more than I do. I wanna be a fly on the wall during your day when we are apart. I love you." (Yes, I am a stalker and I jotted that down after you left the room).
27- Today, on your birthday, you changed Hannah's blow-out poopy diaper and said "I have missed changing her diapers! I like taking care of her!"

Date night

Playing in the leaves 

A sexy beast ;)

He loves her 

Family time 

Applesauce Kale Muffins

I LOVE to cook healthy things! It is one of my hobbies and it allows me to be creative. Tonight we had some kale in the fridge that was going to go bad if I didn't use it soon, so I decided to create a kale muffin recipe. I was a bit nervous about how they would turn out but we loved them! Plus they are really healthy. Kale is literally one of the healthiest vegetables in the world and is known as the "queen of greens". I learned that "one cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus." It also protects against cancer and lowers cholesterol. Okay, enough of the technical stuff. What is fun about this muffin recipe is that it allows you to get all of these health benefits in an easy and yummy way. They were easy to make as well! 

Here is the recipe...

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon 

3/4 cup Splenda (or any other sweetener you want) 

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup applesauce (I used "no sugar added")

1 tbs oil 

3 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup oats 

1 cup kale (steamed and chopped) 

Add anything else you would like... shredded carrots, raisons etc!! 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add everything else and stir until evenly moist. Pour into greased muffin tins filling each one 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 mins or until knife inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!! 

Quote from  http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/the-truth-about-kale  

Live To The Fullest

A couple nights ago, Jaren and I made hot chocolate and laid outside our bedroom window on the grass to watch the stars. We kept the window open so that we could hear our sleeping Hannah inside (we have been getting creative on our alone time since becoming parents). As we laid there, we talked about really living life and not taking it for granted. We only have so many days in this life, taking one for granted is one day lost. It is so easy to just go through the motions of the daily grind. Wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep, or whatever our days consist of. Are we treating each day like a gift? A precious gift that can only be used and loved for a moment until it is gone? I believe that we generally miss out on what life has to offer. Whether we spend 8 hours a day in a business office or whether we are chasing after our kids all day, there is beauty and wonder that we miss if we don't take a moment to let life sink in. Look for the good. Take a moment to smile when you otherwise wouldn't have. Look around and make note of a blessing or one of God's beautiful creations. Jaren and I decided that we would come up with a saying that we could use to remind each other of this idea. "Live to the fullest" is now our motto. I know that I can't do this special conversation that we had justice, but all in all, we are trying not to take life to granted. We are trying to love and live each day. Life is such a blessing!

Here are some of our recent simple pleasures...

Fun on Jaren's lunch break!

Sleeping with Daddy

Community event (can't remember what haha)

Drive-in movie