Hazel and Mommy!

New Callings and a Promotion!

Mike and I recently transferred to a different ward in our stake because there are several deaf members in that ward. They already have intrepreters there which makes it very nice for both of us:) (Mike gets to hear everything without feeling guilty for asking me to interpret).

Our new bishop (who was our Bishop in our ward when we fist moved here before they changed the ward boundaries) wasted no time giving us callings:) Mike is now working with the young men on their Duty to God awards. He's loving it! Next month is his first campout with them (we'll see how much he loves it then - it already snowed here once!) I am the Relief Society assistant secretary until the current secretary moves in a week. Then guess what calling I'll have? Haha. I'm really enjoying my calling too. It keeps me busy!

In other exciting news, I got a promotion at work. I'm now a lead teacher for the Early Intervention classroom! Our school is growing so fast they opened up this position and I got it:) It will be really fun to oversee several kids lesson plans, write their monthly reports, and meet with parents to address any concerns at home. I'm excited:)

Meanwhile, Hazel is doing great! She's as cute as ever, and she smiles more everyday. This week she discovered that holding toys is very fun! She'll hold them for a bit, stick them in her mouth, and stare at them. She's soooooooo cute!

This adorable little girl is now 2 months old! Wow time flies. She's now 11 lbs 5 oz and almost 24 inches long! She's a doll and we're so grateful to have her in our family.

Things around our house are a bit crazy now a days. I went back to work full time this week. Mike is going to school full time, working part-time, and being Mr. Mom 3 days a week. The other 2 days two wonderful women from our ward are watching Hazel. Thanks Katie and Deborah! It's hard to leave Hazel to go to work, but I know she's in great hands. Plus Mike's having a blast with her.

Cute, cute, cute!

Hazel's Blessing

Sunday Mike gave Hazel a beautiful blessing. All of our family came to support us and meet our sweet girl. Since she is the first grandchild on both sides of the family everyone was excited:) All and all it was a wonderful weekend that made me immensely grateful for eternal families and especially for my beautiful daughter.

Mike's Family

My Family

Hazel doing what she does best - puking on Grandpa Ballard:)

Playing with Uncle TJ

Ward Campout

Friday night was our ward campout. Since Jamie, Gabby, and Jake were in town for Hazel's blessing, they and my parents joined us. We had a blast! Hazel slept 6 hours through the night which made me tempted to go camping every night!

Mike's sister Jamie with Hazel.

My dad cooking breakfast.

Sweet Little Hazel

She likes to sleep with her hands behind her head like this.

From a photo shoot we did at home. We only got a few good shots, but we consider that a success:)

Hail Damage Saves Us Big

Everyone knows hail and cars don't mix well, but for us hail turned out to be a great thing....

We have been considering trading in our Ford Focus for a while now. It's getting to the point where it will start costing us a lot of money in repairs to keep it running plus it's AWFUL in the snow (not a good thing when you live in Colorado).

Well, there was a terrible hail storm in Denver last week and several dealerships were having "Hail Sales." We stopped in just to see what we could get for a trade in and look what we found.....

It's a 2008 Suzuki Grand Vitra with only 6,700 miles on it!
Normally we would never be able to afford such a new car, but with the hail damage it was priced right in our budget. The hail damage really isn't bad either - just some pitting on the hood.

We know this was the Lord's way of blessing us with a car that will be reliable and safe for our family. We are so grateful!

3 Weeks Old

Well Hazel is already 3 weeks old! She is still the sweetest little baby. She's eating very well and getting so big. Friday she was 8 lbs 8 oz! Her hair is already becoming lighter too. We love our little peanut!

Kiara ADORES Hazel :)