GreyBaby

Star light, star bright, wish I may, wish I might...PLEASE DON'T LET GREY GROW UP OVERNIGHT! Greyson is growing like a weed these days. It's totally not cool. I'm so proud of him and his milestones and his journey of learning but can't he just stay small and chubby and fit in 6-9 month clothing forever? He's really into laying on my bed w/ my lap top and watching Power Rangers and he always shoo's me out of the room! How dare I steal snuggles and kisses while he's learning how to fight like a P.R! Sometimes I put on baby shows just to slow down his maturity process...but lets face it BOYS were meant to kung foo at a young age.
Greyson is my little person who I'll love and adore for eternity. I will love him through all the principal office visits and baseballs through glass windows. But I will especially love him through all the bedtime stories, when its his turn to crack the egg, when I have to run a mile through the mall just to catch him, when I have to buy the $5 cookies because he already took a bite out of one of them, when he picks the most expensive toy on the shelf, when he dumps out all his toys right after I cleaned them up, when he wants to wear his pajamas to the store, when he covers my mouth because Í am talking to much (can you believe it?), when he says "Mommy, remember Daddy?" because he misses him while he is at work, when he sings every song on the radio... I just LOVE the person he is. I'm so grateful to watch him turn into a little boy as much as I miss my baby! He has such a sweet spirit and I am learning so much from motherhood and I'm just glad Grey gave my heart a makeover and made it full of gratitude and pure joy!

I can count on one hand how many times I've braved the walk to the pulpit on fast Sunday. I always get that warmth pounding inside my chest but I attain public speaking disabilities. The most severe case ever discovered. Okay I'm not that bad.  But I just can't rock those red flushed cheeks and I'm not a cute crier!

I distinctly remember asking my mom what a testimony was when I was little. Where could I buy one? Does it have to be written in permanent ink? Will it be graded and checked for grammatical errors? Little did I know that my testimony existed in that one place that gets warm and starts pounding when the spirit testifies of the truthfulness of The Gospel. My heart.

The greatest thing about The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that you never stop learning, hence the constant edification and strengthening of our testimonies with every spiritual encounter. I am so grateful for the diligence Heavenly Father has with each of his children to constantly edify us and prepare us to enter into His kingdom. I'm thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ and its power to change souls and help us along our journey to find everlasting joy. I am thankful for each unique testimony attained by others so that they can share and inspire.  How great are those who share to bring forth the spirit of Christ. Our testimonies are what furthers the work of God here in the latter days. It is our responsibility to teach, and inspire and be ever so humble so the spirit can dwell with us and those around us. I'm thankful for the testimonies of my family members. It is such a calming and joyous feeling knowing that my brothers and sisters are striving together in faithfulness to attain membership in the Celestial Kingdom. I'm thankful for our journeys that strengthened us individuals and as a family. I will never cease to thank God for his hand in our lives and the change he brought upon all of us so that we could experience JOY here on earth! Heavenly Father is always willing to comfort us, calm us, reassure us, edify us, teach us, strengthen us, change us, prompt us, direct us, put his arms around us, love us, IF WE LET HIM! His arms are always stretched out waiting for us to call upon His name in faithfulness, humbleness and sincerity. Through those actions we gain our testimonies and become edified servants of God. Pray often so that we can come to know our Savior and Heavenly Father. The greatest accomplishments were done under the influence of the Holy Ghost so always strive to have the spirit with you! I love Heavenly Father, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the plan of salvation! I'm thankful for eternal families and Temples! I'm thankful for the diligence and faithfulness of Joseph Smith! Because of him we have the fullness of The Gospel! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the foundation of my life. With His doctrine I find joy in this life and know that in the life to come I can have eternal happiness! I'm thankful for missionary work! Missionaries are doing such an important work by bringing others to know of Christ and His plan for them! I'm thankful for His spirit. It has gotten me through tough times. I'm thankful for his arms around me when I need Him most. I love my Heavenly Father so much! I  am grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow in the Gospel and I will strive to know my Heavenly Father and Savior more and more each day!

Elder Conner Timothy Felix

Conner opened his mission call late November to learn he would be sent to spread the gospel in Lansing Michigan! Missionary work is the hardest yet most rewarding service any man can do! Whether you're called to serve with a companion or called to serve in your classroom or neighborhood it is always important to be an example of Christ! I'm so proud of Conner that he decided to devote not only 2 years of his life serving The Lord away from home but choosing the route that will keep his testimony burning through the journey that will lead him to the celestial kingdom! He is such an example to me and all of my siblings and especially my son Greyson! I'm so blessed to have him as an example to Grey! Missionaries are called of God as worthy elders who can take upon his name and act as an advocate for The Lord! My heart is filled with joy knowing all the blessings and strengths Conner will receive devoting the next 2 years working for The Lord! As we said goodbye to him today I just felt his confidence as he shook my fathers hand and hugged my mom tightly! He knew he was in the right place and doing the right thing! Conner has such a pure heart and the people of Michigan will truly benefit from the teachings of Elder Felix and his companion! Heavenly Father sent him to that specific mission to learn and grow and have the time of his life! So many lives will be touched by the words of Christ and how pleased is Heavenly Father that his work is being done by earnest young adults! This teaches me to be a missionary in my neighborhood and to my friends! The best way to spread the gospel is to be a good example! "Declaring our testimony of the gospel is good, but being a living exampleof the restored gospel is better." -President Uchtdorf

True Life: I'm a mom and I love it!

Home is where your mom is! I love this saying! Til this day anytime my brothers and I are at my parents house & my mother is not there we freak out! "Where's mom?? When is she going to be back??" My mom always kept our home full of silliness/adventure/laughter and it just wouldn't feel like home without her!

Now that I have my own home I feel the passionate duty to create the same environment! I have such a love for home and family and appreciate the patience I gain when it comes to teaching Greyson tenderly the things he needs to know about this life!

Don't get it twisted, grey still loves to poop in the bath tub and commence to dumping out all of his toys right after I've put them away. But for some reason those little moments remind me that I'm so lucky to have this life! God has given me a precious gift and entrusted me to teach Greyson everything he needs to know to have joy on this earth! Amidst the tantrums and sleepless nights I know that this is only a moment before he receives his priesthood, goes on a mission and marries in the temple!

Okay let's go back to where Grey is still my little one year old hunk! He is such a cuddle worm! He loves to watch movies and will routinely ask for chocolate milk, a pillow and a blanky and his mommy and we could sit there and watch Brave time and time again! And occasionally he will grab my hands and ask me to dance! It's quite flattering! It amazes me how smart he is! He has the greatest memory! I'm thinking to hire him as my secretary to help me remember all my to do lists! He has 12 teeth now and loves to eat blueberries, chips, fruit snacks, veggies, eggs; pretty much everything!! He's still my skinny little peanut though! He loves nerf guns! He makes the noise "pew pew pew" and it cracks me up! He made his first poop on the potty! He was so proud of himself! He is so aware of everyone else around him! Every time we go to the play place at the mall or the park he is always asking the kids on the sidelines to play and trying to include them! It is seriously so cute! And anytime somebody starts crying he always has to make sure they're okay! "K? K?" And he always says that immediately after he hurts himself too! He's one tough little boy! He is obsessed with spider man! He could see a poster of him a mile away and he will shout "Pida man!"
I could go on and on with little things my little boy does! I'm writing a few so I can remember how much he made me laugh and how much I adore him for it!

Mostly I love to blog because I have a mild case of amnesia and will forget the little moments. Reading previous blog posts instantly puts a smile on my face and concern in my heart for the severe case of amnesia that is yet ahead for me. Thank goodness for the blogging world. P.S. I have not yet been professionaly diagnosed with any case of Amnesia, I'm just painting a picture in your head of the severity of my lack of recall.

I love the life I live with my sweet husband, and heart throbbing little boy. This past weekend was Thanksgiving and I truly am thankful for everyday I get to spend in joy with these two boys! This holiday season I look forward to decorating the Christimas tree and making cookies and buying gifts for loved ones! I love that as a new family we can set new traditions and start doing things our way and make memories for Grey that he can treasure forever!

I'm so thankful for the new family I inherited by marrying Anthony! His family is so full of love and charity! Although there not LDS anymore, i've never seen such Christlike attributes when it comes to selflessness and love for one another.

I can't believe it will be mine and Anthonys 2 year wedding Anniversary this February! These past two years have been such a learning experience! We've had so many adventures as a couple and have learned more about eachother and ourselves everyday. I've learned that Anthony is impossible to cook for and he's learned that sometimes I just need to cry and its completely normal! He's also learned that i'm a neat freak, and i've learned that he's blind when it comes to finding the laundry basket! I'm also reading the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" and its giving me a lot of insight on how mentally girls and guys are different and its normal! Sometimes its hard when Anthony doesnt want to do facials and talk feelings, and i'm sure he feels the same way when I don't play video games and want to sleep in til noon. But as a couple we've learned to accept our differences and love eachother more because of them! The most important thing i've learned about relationships is to always keep an open communication! As partners its so crucial to set aside time to talk about your day and lives to always know whats going on with eachother. It also strengthens trust and the bond between us.

I'm just very grateful for the chance I have here on earth to have a family!

Grey is growing!

Man o' man, has this year been a great one! Anthony and I have loved this second year of marriage and Greyson is making me fall in love with him more and more everyday! I'm so grateful for the decisions i've made in my life! I can never imagine an alternate result to how i'd spend my early 20's!

Grey is now 18 months old! He's basically has more brain power than your average 1 1/2 year old and anytime you quiz him on that assumption, he will blow your mind. He knows all his body parts, and can say them (in a scooby doo accent). He says: nose, hair, eyes, ears, teeth, belly, butt (and will commense to a spanking motion), toes, hands, etc.

He loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates and will throw his head back in excitement and say "Jake" everytime it comes on! We took a trip to Disneyland this past October and there he met Jake and loved it! I've never seen him so interactive and excited! We also went to Newport Beach and he hated the sand! He literally sat on the beach towel with his arms up and wouldn't touch anything! I always thought he'd be a little surfin' bum with his blonde hair and blue eyes but I guess not!
He loves to be outside! He always asks "Mom, mom, mom, mom, out-ide?"
He says "pwease" & "tank too" Its so hard not giving him want he wants everytime he says please!

Today I gave him a talk on how to be gentle and not hit. Here's how it went:
Me: "Grey, look at mommy. Listen, I know you're a boy and you like to be aggressive and rough but you can't hit anybody and you need to be nice when you play!"
Grey: *Rolling his eyes, looking up at the ceiling and has a completely bored look on his face
Me: *Dying of laughter!
He's 18 mths people! Is this normal!?

Grey loves cars and football! He loves to run around and dance! He is your typical rough and tough boy!

Gab about the Garcias!

So it's officially official...sticky notes; to-do lists; dry erase boards; and event reminders still don't keep me on my A-game. But i'm learning how to manage marriage, motherhood, and merchandising without losing my mind. It's mostly Anthony's gorgeous face and Grey's melting smile!

Greyson is now 10 months old and is crawling, eating EVERYTHING (in large quantities), discovering bathrooms (one toliet at a time), clapping, waving bye, growling at his toy lion, saying "thhh" when I say "What's this!?", throws a ball..or rocks, tries to put on glasses or hats by himself, pulls himself up and he adds new milestones to his list everyday! I love that he's learning so much, he's such a sponge!

I've decided to go to school to become a Medical Esthetician and Anthony is a technician for Direct TV and plans on getting his EMT this fall. He's still unsure of a profession but there is so many possibilities out there so I like that he's taking his time trying to find something that will really make him happy! I've decided to become a Medical Esthetician because it's fast schooling and I can be working in the Medical field but still doing something that's a tad bit girly! If I decided to work in a hospital I could be helping Cancer patients, and burn patients and I just love the idea of helping people build confidence again through Skin Care!

We also decided to move our family to Omaha, Nebraska in July for 2 months while Anthony works as a technician! It's a great opportunity for him and I think it'll be fun to experience somewhere different for a while! And I googled Omaha...there's a mall. We're good.

We also are getting our Temple Recommends for May 16, 2012! The date where our family will be sealed for Eternity and me and Anthony will have a Celestial Marriage! I'm so grateful for Anthony's conversion and his faith and love for the Church. I'm so grateful for Heavenly Fathers hand in our lives and the tender mercies he's blessed our family with. I'm so grateful for all the divine intervention that has led us where we are now and the road that we took to become an Eternal family. I'm so thankful for Christ's example of forgiveness and kindness and love. I can't wait to make those special covenants with my Heavenly Father and my eternal companion!