Law Graduation

It's been quite the week!  We're all settled here in Dallas so I finally have time to do some posting.  

Graduation was one of the most rewarding moments of our married life.  It was really awesome to have so much family there to celebrate with us.  I am so proud of Matt!  He has been phenomenal. 

 Here is his graduation announcement, 

he didn't want to order through the school so I decided to make one for him

 Graduation was on a Sunday, so after sacrament meeting we headed off to the civic center.  We all drove separately, so I was hauling two large bags a carrier and trying to hold Grace's hand.  I am sure I looked crazy, so a sweet lady took pity on me and put me in a balcony, it was just perfect.  This was our view of the graduates.  Matt is fourth row from the back, fifth one from the right.  (In case you were wondering;)

 It was a beautiful ceremony, I just loved it.  It being Mother's day they did a great job remembering the mothers.  Christa was able to stand and be recognized.  It was great, I was pretty emotional.  One of my favorite things was the bagpipes, they were incredible.  The speakers were really great too, they kept it pretty short which was great (especially for Grace's sake:)  

Here he is, in all his glory. :)  His school colors are blue and white, so in case you are wondering about the purple, that is the color they use for law graduates.  Also, don't let the lack of cords fool you.  Matt didn't care to pay the money, silly boy. But he finished top 11, (hoping top 10 after his last semester;) and as a merit scholar which is someone who is on academic scholarship and does service, like tutoring. 

 Basically, he is awesome.

 Matt is a niece and nephew favorite, as demonstrated on the left.  Ha ha, this is pretty much what family gatherings look like.  It was so special to have his parents and Lexi and Brad with us.  It was a sacrifice for them to come (and help us move!) and we are so grateful!

 Pictures after graduation...

{Graduation after Party:}

So, yes I got a little crazy but it was so fun!  Thanks everyone for helping me pull everything together at the end. We loved having friends, family, and good food to celebrate our graduate.

Here are a few details of the party.  

 The picture on the right is notes that we had our guests write for Matt.

 Oh man are we going to miss our Valentin friends, it helped the goodbye a little that they are moving to Florida in a few weeks...but still.  I for one could not hold back tears.  We love you guys!

 Lucky for us, Ben and Laura are only four hours away.  Not too bad of a drive, and it is a good thing too because we enjoy them WAY too much to let them go!

Here are a few of the notes from the party, ha ha maybe my favorite part was reading Luke and Jefferson's aloud.  Super funny!  Thanks everyone for being there.  What an unforgettable day! 

Moving

 It feels like we have been in a whirlwind the past month.  So many decisions to make and so many big and important events to celebrate.  I think I have run the gamut of emotions, everything from extreme gratitude to a lot of fear and anxiety.  One specific moment I will share, I was feeling particularly run down one night and full of so much worry.  We sat down at the dinner table and Grace looked me in the eye and said, "Don't worry Mommy, don't worry!"  Shocked, I looked at Matt like--how did she...?  She kept repeating it over and over the entire night. (Because sometimes I am very slow:)  What a sweet, inspired girl.  It was then I knew I needed to trust, Heavenly Father was definitely trying to tell me something.  I have been so busy and our decision to move so fast, that things haven't been able to quite settle in my heart until this past week. I have felt extremely sad to leave the place where both of our girls were born and where we have made so many dear friends.  We have loved it, and fortunately we will leave this place much better than we expected.  Happier, and more sure that the Lord guides our steps.  He really does, and he is involved in the details of our life.  We have seen it over and over here, and it gives me confidence for the future.

We decided to go to the temple one last time.  We have loved this temple.  In fact, when we made the decision to come to this school we were trying to figure out where we wanted to live.  We knew we had to be close to it.  It has been such a refuge for us.  Grace is now obsessed with going to the temple.  She woke up yesterday and said, "Going to the temple?"  :)  I love it. 

Bella is 3 months

 What can I say about Bella girl?  She is just the happiest little thing you can imagine.

I love walking in to see her smiling to herself,  pretty sure she just came this way.  She is still an amazing sleeper, unfortunately due to my genetics she is already teething!  Poor thing. 
She was up every few hours last week and it took me a few days to catch on.

  That said, her temperament is still fantastic. 

She is already laughing too, well more like grunting.:)  It's the cutest thing.  She likes when we play peek-a-boo, or give her any kind of attention really.  Oh, we just couldn't love her more!

Last Day

 

 (picture from our latest family pics)

Today marks the very LAST day of TWENTY years of school for Matt!

As we talked about it he told me that he was a little sad, and part of me is a little sad too.

I will miss the excitement on his face as he talked about what he learned that day.  

He told me that Law School been the best education he could have asked for.

  I am so proud of him.  He has worked so hard. Happy last day of school sweetie!

Easter Blessing Day

 Our little angel in white.  It was so fun to reflect on Bella and have her blessing the same day we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  I felt that this little girl will do great things in her life, she is so loved by us and her Heavenly Father.  I really felt that during her blessing. 

Matt did a beautiful job and we were lucky to have family and friends there.

  It was such a sweet day!

I spent two days mostly working on the dress.
It was a little out of my league but I am so happy i did it, she looked absolutely beautiful. 
Thanks to Michelle for the on the phone guidance, love my sister to death.

 

The white blanket you see was made by my sweet mom.  I LOVE it.  

It helped us feel like there was a part of her with us. :)

 

How good looking is this family?

 

Grace is the best little sister, she just loved Bella all day.

 

We made it a full on celebration with plenty of good food and desserts.  

The kids were so excited about all of the fun.  

 

 

The boys hiding the eggs, we locked all of the kids in Grace's room. :)

 

Star wars boys :)

 

 We loved every minute of Bella's special day!  Here is a little video capturing our Easter egg hunt.

My little Belle this morning.  Oh she makes me so happy!