One of those months but we are still smiling

The month of September had me making a list of all the items we need and want to purchase as old ones have been broken and situations arisen. It started out when I broke the new gate we bought to keep Marshall out of the kitchen. The next day Marshall got a hold of Derek's glasses and scratched them up. The following days our camera refused to work right (still has its moments as you can tell below), Marshall ate the remote control to our DVD player and it ceases to work right, our bread maker made its last loaf of bread, and my favorite bowls received as a wedding gift cracked and died. To top it all off Derek's wedding ring went missing. The first two and the loss of Derek's ring weren't funny but as I started adding items to the list we started to find our lot kind of amusing. Each day we would wonder what was going to break or come up. Thus the title, ONE OF THOSE MONTHS, BUT WE ARE STILL SMILING.

Today and yesterday we watched General Conference and it was so uplifting. General Conference is like Christmas because it is something to look forward to, enjoy whole heartedly, and long for its return when it ends. One of my favorite talks was by Elder Wirthlin. I love this man dearly. He talked about keeping positive and full of hope in times of trial. I felt this applied to me, as many of us probably do, in more ways than that listed above and I felt a sense of relief. It reminded me of my favorite talk from last week's Relief Society General Meeting by Elder Uchtdorf. He spoke about our heritage for happiness.

We have already had experiences to put what we've learned from these talks to the test. Last night Marshall woke up several times during the night. The first time I laid him in our bed and he looked up at me and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back and let out a giggle. He started to giggle too and then Derek. Maybe it was because we were all tired but on and on we laughed. Later, with an ice pack on my hip and a heat bag on my jaw and shoulders I was able to smile again. At that moment I thought about what a happy and great life we are leading and that no amount of injury, pain, or heartache could take away the peace I felt knowing my Savior and Heavenly Father. Or the knowledge of the plan of salvation. Or the fact that we live in a comfortable home and have a life filled with opportunities.

This post is turning more into a journal entry and props to you if you got through my ponderings but I just wanted to document a few of the things I have learned and feel grateful for.

Onto fun pictures of my babe! In the last couple months he has displayed 3 new teeth and just this morning we discovered his 4th. Here is a picture of his bottom two. :)

Here he is wearing some walking shoes! He isn't there yet, but more and more he shows his balance is improving and his legs strengthening. He took his first two steps the other night while walking between me and Derek. I put these shoes on him last night while Derek was off at the Priesthood meeting. We walked around the back yard and he was just as happy as can be. The sweetest lady in our ward has given Marshall some cute clothes from her work at baby gap. His shirt is scrunched up but I took this picture for Lee. His shirt is of an airplane and it says, "Pilot in Training." I thought Lee would appreciate that.
Marshall is quite the climber! His new thing is to climb up on everything and anything. As I mentioned before he is a clever little guy and has figured out he can maneuver furniture (this step stool and little bike) to climb up onto things that sends his mother running to him.
And a final picture of his sweet smile. I admit that I am camera happy and in love with this adorable boy. He keeps us going, he keeps us happy. What would I do without such a supportive wonderful husband and a sweet innocent mischief maker??!!??