Nora Jane's big toe.

 Saturday, January 29 - NJ was in the kitchen of her home. By herself. Tay and Nae were in the other room, and were alerted to the situation by the screams of NJ. They ran to her and gave her cuddles as they assessed the damage. They couldn't really see anything terribly wrong until they noticed drops of blood on the floor that were coming from one of NJ's feet. She had black socks on, so they carefully removed the one from her injured foot to discover that the tip of her toe was nearly severed. They aren't quite sure how it happened, other than they have a tile floor, somewhat heavy barstools, and one of the barstools had toppled over with Nora Jane. They took her to the ER to have her toe checked out.

Tuesday, February 1

NJ would need surgery, but until then, her toe was wrapped and her foot splinted.

Gigi and Li'l Bill sent her a doctor kit to {hopefully} help ease her anxiousness around doctors and hospitals.

Wednesday, February 2

Surgery Day.

NJ handled it all like a champ.

Friday, February 4

A pink cast, some fairy dress ups, and the best big sissy can make any girl smile.

Saturday, Feb 5

Boss Baby Back in Action

Nae called these pics "A Series of Nora's Emotions."

Tuesday, February 22

Still hanging in there... one day more.

Wednesday, February 23

The cast comes off.

Again, NJ handled it like a champ. I'm super impressed with this girl's resilience.

Saturday, February 26

Doing just dandy {as long as she has her shoes or boots on}.

(with her "hoppies")

Nae said, "She's doing GREAT! The surgeon was an absolute perfectionist and her toe looks perfectly normal, minus the missing toe nail. It's incredible. It doesn't seem to bother her at all! Hallelujah! She's still a little ginger on her left leg but we think it's more from her minding the stiffness in her ankle from it being completely immobilized for the past 3 weeks."

The first time you experience a child's big injury as a parent is tough, too! Tay and Nae handled it all so well. I'm so glad they kept us in the loop and informed so we could keep them all in our prayers and their names on the temple prayer roll. I'm also grateful for good doctors, and for all those who watch after these precious little people.

HBD at Mystique.

Britta and Austin gave us a fun experience for our birthdays this year. 

On Thursday, February 24th, we made our way to magical dining.

It was such a fun night. 

Good food, good company, and good entertainment.

We loved it! ♥

Someday I'll be a more creative gift giver... I hope!

Black and white + color on a Saturday.

 Bill and I have started working in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on Saturdays. It is not our ideal or preferred shift, but we were thrilled to be able to both start on the same shift (the sweet Temple Presidency member we met with said, even though they didn't need more sisters for the Saturday 2nd shift, they will do what he tells them to do). Bill had worked for 4 years in the Denver Temple prior to the pandemic closure (he only worked once or twice after before we moved), but I have never been a Temple Ordinance Worker before, so it's all new to me. We are excited for the opportunity to work in the Saratoga Springs Temple once it opens.

This does make our Saturdays a little less free and available, but we manage to squeeze in what we can.

Saturday, February 19

After our temple shift, Bill changed and headed over the Austin and Britt's to help tile their laundry room.

It turned out amazing... and now I want my laundry room to have this tile too haha.

While Bill was doing that, I headed over to Westlake High School to watch my niece, Larkin, in her Color Guard competition.

It was so fun to watch her perform, and you know I miss those high school activities, right? I'm hoping to make it to a couple more this season. Larkin is a freshman, so will have a few more years of shows and competitions if she stays with it. I was totally impressed.

Celebrating our Valentines.

 February 7

Grandpa headed to CO, so V and NJ got their Valentines from us early. He's so lucky that he gets to see those cute girls and their parents fairly frequently.

February 8

NJ was in bed fast asleep when Grandpa arrived the night before, so she got her Valentine the next day.

She's not sure what to think about it ;-)

February 14

I got the rest of the grandkid's Valentines together and we planned to drop them off that evening.

Mar came over to spend her V day with us... so sweet.

I had found some beautiful strawberries the day before, so tried to sharpen my skills at dipping them. I'm not sure how fabulous they looked, but they tasted delish.

We dropped off Scarlett, Ellis, and Reese's Valentines.

Emmett and Brielle weren't home, so we left their Valentines on their doorstep before heading to The Smoked Taco for dinner.

February 15

Lex sent pics of Brielle and Emmet with their Valentines.

That day I also took Cal B's Valentine to him, but he was napping, darn it. Shi sent me a pic later that day with a text that said, "Cal was VERY happy to wake up to some treats. He says, "thanks Gigi!!"

I love my funny Valentines ♥