Welcome, Jacob!

Jacob Michael Simpson
Born February 17, 2009 at 11:17 AM
7 lbs 7 oz
20 1/2 in

Mom and baby are doing great!

More pictures here.

I've also just uploaded four month's worth of Amaia pics.

Videos

Since I don't have enough space at Picasa for videos, here are some recent ones:

Autumn Leaves




No, Goose!



Future Ballerina

New Pics

Hello, all! I've just posted three months of pictures on our Picasa page. Sorry about the delay; we've been pretty darn busy getting settled the last few months. My job is going well. I've been able to learn the software package that I support pretty quickly, at least the easy stuff, and I like the people I work with. Overall, I think it will suit me well for the time being. Amaia is getting spoiled rotten by grandma and grandpa and loving every minute of it. She is in Nursery in Church now, and seems to be adapting OK; only a little clingy when she gets dropped off. Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Good-bye Utah, hello Denver

If you haven't already heard, yes, we have moved to Denver. Mike got a job as IT support for Tuff Shed. It's basically what he was doing at Caselle, but with more money. We are currently living with Mike's parents until we find a place of our own.

The move over was very stressful. It took us forever to get our old place cleaned and the U-Haul packed. We were exhausted and have been exhausted ever since. If you ever have to move, I would recommend paying the extra money to have someone else move you-it's such a pain to do it yourself. It didn't help with our huge issues with the storage place. I got everything signed and ready to go to move our stuff in our storage unit. The problem was that the employee who signed me up didn't tell me that I had to have my own lock on before they closed that night at 6pm. We arrived with the U-Haul and several people from our new ward to unload everything at 7pm only to find that someone had put a lock on our unit and we couldn't get in. We tried getting a hold of a manager, but couldn't get anyone to help us get the lock off. The next morning I found out that each night, they check all the units to make sure they have a lock on or they put one on for you. That really would have been nice to know. We tried to get the Elders' Quorum to help again, but they had meetings, so Mike and I set out to move our stuff ourselves. Our prayers were answered when a guy dropping off his stuff offered to help. He and Mike got all the big stuff moved in. We called him our angel of mercy, because with me pregnant, I couldn't do any of the big stuff. After that, the Elders' Quorum finally showed up (only because Mike's Mom called the bishop to complain) and they helped with everything else. We were grateful to everyone who helped-we couldn't have done it by ourselves.

We are all adjusting pretty well-it was hard to get use to the change in altitude, but we're surviving. Mike likes his new job and is catching on quickly. Amaia is adjusting well and is having fun being spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa.

We had a fun evening Sunday visiting my brother, Jer and his family. They are all so cute and Amaia especially loved playing with her cousin, Emma.

So, that's it for now. Here's to our new home and beginning of a new chapter in our lives.

Love y'all

Oh-please forgive me for not calling people. I have been crazy-busy, but will try and set aside time to talk to my dear ones. In the meantime, I hope everyone is well and happy.

-Kristen

Happy Birthday, Joe!

My nephew, Joe, turned 19 on July 14. I hope he had a very happy birthday. Sorry, Joe, but the only pic I could find of you is this one. Joe is the one dead-center. Guess I need to take more photos of family and not just of Amaia!

Big news

For those who don't already know I'm pregnant again! We just found out a couple of weeks ago. I'll be due the end of next February. I forgot how fun being pregnant isn't; at least not yet. Right now is the fun nausea and tiredness. I can't wait to find out what it is and I can't wait to feel it moving inside me-that's the best feeling (except for getting kicked in the ribs!) Let me know if y'all have any guesses as to the gender and send me a list for names (wacky or normal) that you think we should use. Maybe I'll have a contest to see who comes up with the most clever name! For starters, I say that I don't have a feeling if it's a boy or girl. If it's a boy, a wacky name would be Rufus Two-toed Buckbeak and if it's a girl, a wacky name would be Twila Starlight Beaming Through the Meadows Simpson!

Happy Birthday to Bryan!

Happy day to my bro-in-law, Bryan. Sorry, this is the only picture I could find to download. Hope you have a great day, Bryan!

Happy Birthday Marylinn!

Happy Birthday to my little sis' Mary! Mary is the best and I love her to pieces. Since it's her birthday and she has already embarrassed me on her blog, I'll take the opportunity to share a funny thing about Mary. When we were little, we didn't have money cause we were just kids and so for one Christmas, Mary wrapped one of her favorite teddy-bear shirts in tin foil and gave it to me for my present. It was of course too small for me, but Mary has always had a generous heart which is one of the qualities I love best about her. Hope you have a super great day!

Just chillin'

Amaia loves sitting in her daddy's chair!

Water Fun

Amaia loves her ducky tub and new swimming pool!

Fun at the Zoo

Last Saturday, we took Amaia to the Farmers' Market up in Salt Lake and then to Hogle Zoo. She loved watching all the people and dogs at the Farmers' Market. I think she didn't quite know what to think about the zoo when we first got there. There were a lot of people and it was hot. She loved the elephants. It was Dari, the elephant's birthday and we watched her pull down a giant pinata filled with popcorn. She made her usual sounds as she saw monkeys, bears, tigers, giraffes, etc ("ooh, ooh, ooh"). She loved the snakes. We let her roam through the snake house and touch the window where a huge python was sleeping. I think she would have try to carry it away if she could. She chased the meerkat along its window back and forth-that was pretty funny. By that time it was getting really hot and she was ready for a nap. So we stopped by the train for a ride. I think she liked riding the train, but she wasn't too interested in the sites we passed. She was more interested in the zoo map she had found on the ground. Oh well, go figure. It was fun to see her reaction. We will have to go back when she is a little older.

Happy Birthday, Reub (aka. "Red")

Yesterday was my brother, Reuben's birthday. I can't remember if he is 33 or what, but I do know he is and always will be older than me (ha, ha!) Hope you have a super happy day!

We haven't heard back from the EEOC in San Jose for a possible job opportunity for Mike. We figure that with it being this long, most likely, no answer is not a good answer. It is a Government job and their HR is very slow at getting back with anyone. So, who knows.

Tomorrow we are going to the Farmers' Market in Salt Lake. Yipee! I love that place. We go every year and get the best produce. Afterwards, we are taking Amaia to her first visit to the Zoo. I'm so excited to see her reaction-she love animals! We'll take lots of pictures.

We definitely have a toddler!

Amaia is officially walking. Boy was church fun! Amaia spent most of the time visiting with the people behind us and being taken out of the chapel for throwing a tantrum when she didn't get her way. I thought that tantrums weren't supposed to start until she was two.

In Primary she had a fit when another little girl her age came over and started playing with her toys. She wouldn't have that. She was over by the piano and as soon as she saw the girl pick up one of her toys, she made a beeline straight for the girl and took the toy away. Guess we're going to be teaching her the wonderful virtue of sharing! And just look at the above picture. How am I supposed to say "No" to that cute face! We are definitely in for a long arduous task of living with a toddler. By the way, Amaia looks so much like her Grandma Carol in this picture! What a doll! I guess we'll have to keep her!

I Love the Temple

I love going to the temple. I went on Saturday while Mike stayed home with Amaia. I was initially going to do an Endowment Session, but something told me to do Initiatory instead. When I got there, there was a 45 minute wait and I was almost going to change my mind, but I decided to stay and read scriptures while I waited. I looked up scriptures under "Healing" because I have been feeling down a lot lately and just trying to deal with personal issues. I found wonderful scriptures about Christ healing those who were inflicted with diseases, and evil spirits, etc. I've been reading a lot about the Atonement lately and realized that the Atonement is what truly and completely heals us; whether it is from illness, sorrow, or sin. I read about how all people on the earth are precious to the Lord. That means everyone, including people who have done terrible things. The Lord has prepared a way for everyone to receive the blessings of the Atonement. If we believe in Him, it can be applied to whatever ails us. I've learned a new meaning also in forgiving others. It is through the Atonement that we are able to forgive others for their wrongdoings. When we hold things against other people, it is as if we are holding their sins on our own heads because Christ already paid for those sins. It is silly for us to hold grudges and useless as well. Think of how much energy we waste in mulling over other people's misdoings. In the end it doesn't matter what other people did in this life. What does matter is that we forgive them and forgive ourselves and ask for the Lord's forgiveness for not believing in the Atonement for others.

I love the blessings given in the Initiatory session. I decided I want to go every Saturday until I have those blessings memorized. I felt huge burdens lifted from me during that session and I continue to feel great joy and peace. I have felt a great love for the Savior, for myself and for everyone. It's an amazing feeling.

Videos of Amaia

Here are some videos of Amaia. Some are new, others were too big to post to Picasa. I'll probably just post all future videos to the blog. Enjoy!

Amaia's first birthday cake.


On Monday Amaia decided to stand up and start walking around:


Dancing queen.


Getting ready for a night on the town.

Toe Fettish!

Amaia is so funny. She loves toes-anyone's toes. The other day we went to a Japanese restaurant and the hostess was wearing flip-flops and of course Amaia had to touch the hostess's toes and try to stand on them. She really likes to try to take the hair off a Daddy's hobbit feet! It's funny. What a girl!

Eleven years

Today marks the anniversary of my dear brother Darin's death. To this day I can't believe it actually happened and that he is gone from this earth. The last I saw Darin before he died was six months before. I remember when we were leaving his home in Las Vegas to go back to Elko that I felt impressed to give him a hug and tell him I loved him. I'm glad I did. Three days before Darin died, I was awakened in the middle of the night while still in a middle of a dream. In the dream I was talking to a young dark-skinned boy with curly hair. He was all dressed in white. I know that the conversation was lengthy, but the only thing I remember the boy saying was that everything was going to be all right. It was at that moment that I realized my eyes were open and I was still talking to this boy by my bedside. I believe that boy was some sort of guardian angel to prepare me for the tragic accident that took my brother's life.
During the funeral services for Darin, I felt him put his arms around me and in my mind he said, "Everything is going to be all right, little sister." That was so comforting to me and helped me remember that he is not very far away. I can't wait for the day when I can see him again in person.

Welcome to my blog!

Hello world! I decided to create a blog to join the now growing population of bloggers. I really have no idea what I'm doing, so hang tight and come along for a view of the life of the Simpsons; that is, the real Simpsons, not the cartoon!