Sweet little girl...

Rachel is such a doll. She started smiling a couple of weeks ago (but of course, she'll never smile for the camera) and I finally snapped a shot. Isn't she a cutie?? Note: five minutes after the picture was taken, Daniel accidentally threw a book at her face-- needless to say, the shot wouldn't have been nearly as pretty with the blue welt.

BTW, I realized that I haven't updated the blog on John's work situation. He got a job working for the State of Idaho, specifically the Idaho Transportation Department. Yeah! He's working in the Suspension unit (which John loves-- suspending licenses because of DUI's gives him quite the rush!) and is really enjoying the job. We're grateful to have a steady income once again. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

Rachel's Baby Blessing

Family and friends came over for Rachel's baby blessing on August 3, 2008. We were so grateful to have Mom and Dad Tomlinson drive up from Orange, CA, and Mom and Dad Martineau from Soda Springs, ID. Adam and Dana are just down the street so they were able to make it as well. In addition, we had Natalie Hurst, CBS 2 main anchor and previous co-worker of John's, and my old boss from Riverglen Junior High, Connie Buckley. John gave Rachel a very special blessing. It's always an emotional day for a mother. I am so grateful for John and his Priesthood authority to bless our family.


A shot of Rachel... I need to fix the lighting...

The Tomlinson family

The Martineau family

Natalie and our family

Twin Falls Open House

Twin Falls, Idaho, is about two hours from our home. A temple was just finished there a month or two ago and, as is customary with LDS temples, there was an Open House for anyone interested to enter and see what they're like inside. John and I thought that it would be neat to bring both sets of our parents (since they would both be in town for Rachel's baby blessing) to check it out. The temple was absolutely gorgeous. It is a "medium-sized" temple with really unique craftsmanship. Daniel LOVED it, and was perhaps a little bit more vocal than he should have been in some of the rooms. When he entered the Celestial Room he couldn't contain himself. Everyone was silent and then you could hear him say, "WOW". It was sweet. Even a small child can recognize the holiness of a House of God. I look forward to returning soon. (For those interested, Boise has a temple, so we are lucky enough to have one a couple of miles away-- but it's always fun to visit different temples.) Here are some pictures from the day!

Shoshone Falls

Just a couple miles away from the Twin Falls temple is Shoshone Falls, the "Niagra" of the west. It was breathtaking! Incredibly, Shoshone Falls is over 50 feet taller than Niagra! Daniel loved it and kept telling us that he wanted to "swim in the waterfall..." Needless to say, we kept our reigns a little tighter on him. The pictures don't do it justice.

Sibling bonding...

I am grateful that babies are so resilient because Rachel has been kicked, punched, slapped, head-butted, and squeezed by her darling big brother, Daniel. All incidents were out of love (for the most part), but Daniel just wants to love her to pieces! I can tell him "soft", "gentle", "not around your sister", "careful", "STOP IT!!!" until I'm blue in the face, to no avail... :) I love being a mama. Daniel really has been good with Rachel. He loves to give kisses and hugs and he makes sure to check on her every morning. It really is so sweet to see the two of them together. I can't wait until she's a little bit stronger (and more mobile) so that they can play together (and so that she can defend herself). Rachel is such a sweetheart. We love her smiles and coo's. I don't remember Daniel coo'ing nearly as much as she does. She is precious.