Waiting for Daddy and The Pea Dilemma

Every day, we sit and watch for daddy to come home from work. This is where we always sit. And she just looks so cute sitting there I had to share.
By the way, this awesome bench was a spectacular find at Goodwill, for $20. I love it. And I love southern second hand stores. They are the best.
Contrary to what it looks like, Hailey is happy here. In fact, she is hysterically laughing. I just happened to catch her with this hilarious look on her face.

Hailey LOVES peas. Frozen peas that is. If they are cooked, she will not touch them. So one night when we had cooked peas for dinner, we tried to trick her. Obviously, that didn't work.

Lessons from Grandpa

I know that i don't write much on here, and when I do, its about Hailey and updates in our lives. But today I feel the need to do something different. You see, today is different. I have a lot on my mind.

One year ago today, my grandfather, Keith Harris, passed away. He was a very simple man. A man of few words. Yet, in spending time with him, I have learned some very valuable life lessons.

I had the privilege of spending the last week of my grandpa's life with him. I watched him pass away. And while many people may think that is a little weird, I will honestly admit that it was the most spiritual experience of my life. There are things that I witnessed and was a part of during that week that I will only share with relatively few people, but I felt like during that last week, I grew closer to Grandpa Harris than I have ever been. He was an amazing man.

As we sat by his bedside one year ago, my testimony was deepened in the simple truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that because of our Savior there is life after death. And while death can be a sorrowful occasion from our perspective, it is a glorious and beautiful thing. That man is no longer bound to an aged, and illness-stricken body. He is free of this mortal experience. I miss him dearly, as I know many people do, but I rejoice in the fact that he is continuing his mission on the other side of the veil.

Grandpa, we miss you. We miss your experimental dishes, which sometimes scared us a little bit. We miss playing SkipBo with you, even though you usually cheated. We miss sharing some cherry pie with you. I miss just seeing you sitting on the couch, reading your novels. Thank you for what you taught me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being the best grandpa a girl could ask for.

And so the adventures begin...

Grandma and Hailey eating some barbecue!

Mom, dad and Hailey out for Mommy's birthday.

Hailey after a day of playing downtown with mom and grandma. She was pooped.

Hailey's favorite thing to do is to dip. She dips anything and everything. But, it keeps her busy, meaning we can usually both sit through dinner without any interruptions. Its nice :)

Mom, Hailey, and grandma checking out the ducks at the Peabody Hotel.

The Memphis temple! It is so tiny.

I know it has been a long time since I have posted. I'm aware of that. But I hope I will be forgiven, given the fact that in the past 8 weeks we have had a trip to Utah, a trip back from Utah only to discover our apartment was flooded, an immediate move out of said apartment, a few weeks living with one set of parents, a few weeks living with the other set of parents, a move across the country, and getting settled into a new apartment and city. But we are doing well! We are finally settled into our new home, and getting acquainted with our new surroundings and our new ward. We miss our families terribly. The hardest part of moving across the country has been all of the goodbyes. Thanks to all of the love and support we have received from you. We could not have done all this without you.

Here are a few glimpses into our lives over the past few ! Hailey is almost fifteen months old now, and getting bigger every day. She is so much fun, walking now and getting into everything, and is starting to mimic everything we do. She is adorable!

So Grandma Higgins was trying to teach Hailey how to nod her head to say "yes" when we ask her something. In order to do this, she would first say "Look at grandma" to get her attention. So now, when you say "Hailey, look at grandma" she immediately nods her head. Its hilarious.