Finally!

Introducing Evelyn Lee Stewart!




Born on June 16Th, 6lbs even, 19 3/4inches long. Yes, she is almost 3 weeks old now and she wasn't due until Wednesday. She came quite unexpectedly. My water broke at 4am on the last day that Ryan was to be at Scout Camp at Big Lake, 4 hours away. Thankfully my dad was sleeping on an air mattress on our living room floor. After he gave me a blessing my mom took me to the hospital. After trying for 4 hours we were finally able to reach him through the husband of a ward member who was also at camp. Ryan rushed home in his 'new' Dodge 4 door Cumin's Diesel truck that he finally bought just a couple weeks before. He says it handles really well on all the tight turns. I was just praying that he would get there safely, not quickly, since I had only been at a 2 for a long time. He got there about 2pm on the 15Th and after a series of meds. to get me to dilate and take the edge off the pain, which also made me see cartoon animals in the room, I finally got an epidural. Wish I had done that first thing! At 5am I was at a 7, but within 2 hours she was ready! So with a few good pushed at 7am our little girl came into the world.

With her being so small and early she struggled to learn to eat. The last few weeks have been hard, but amazing! She is doing really well now, and we are finally managing to get a few things done, like posting pics! I can not begin to thank my and Ryan's family, my cousins Christi Starks and Katy Smith, my sister and especially my mom for all their help. I could not have done any this with out my wonderful husband Ryan, who had a great first Father's Day! I love him more than I can say.

Easter and Mothers

pregnancy calendar from WhatToExpect.com


I kind of missed posting anything about Easter. Since I don't have little egg hunters to take cute pictures of quite yet I guess I didn't think there was much to say. Then today I was thinking about Mother's Day and how I wanted to post a couple of my favorite quotes, and I thought that it's interesting how Easter and Mother's Day are so close together. All of the women of the scriptures, from Eve to Mary, to the Mothers of Helaman's warriors, have Christlike qualities that I want to emulate. All of the really great Mom's that I have ever had the honor of being influenced by throughout my life are also the most amazing, Christlike women that I can think of, and are right up there with the mothers of ancient times. Of course I know that no one can ever be the perfect mom, but with the examples I've had in my life, Primary and Young Women Leaders and teachers, many sisters I've worked with in church capacities, friends, my Grandmas, Aunts, my sister-in-laws and my Mother-in-law, my sister, and of course, my own Mother, I know that if I come close in any way to being as wonderful as they are I will be able to be the greatest influence for good in the lives of my own children and help them come to know and love their Savior. I know that is the most important thing I will ever do or be.

Happy Mother's Day!


“How many thousands of heroines there must be now, of whom we shall never know. But they are there. They sow in secret the seed of which we pluck the flower, and eat the fruit, and know not that we pass the sower daily in the streets.
One form of heroism- the most common, and yet the least remembered of all- namely, the heroism of the average mother. Ah! When I think of that broad fact, I gather hope again for poor humanity; and this dark world looks bright- this diseased world looks wholesome to me once more- because, whatever else it is not full of, it is at least full of mothers.”
-Charles Kingsley


"As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord’s secret weapon. Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn’t stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won’t tell you that, but the Spirit will."
-Sheri Dew

Getting into the Spring of Things

To me Spring is a beautiful time of the year filled with new and exciting things. This has definitely been true for us this year so far, with getting ready for Baby Girl, Ryan being busy with Young Men and school at least 3 nights a week, me getting acquainted with my new calling as Compassionate Service Leader, and of course extended family birthdays and fun. We have also managed to get a few things done around the house, like hanging pictures, curtains, and the shelf Ryan made me for Christmas of '08. We even made time to visit the Gila Valley temple last Friday, which is absolutely beautiful! Ryan also had a fantastic trip to attend General Conference with the Teachers Quorum, but all the pictures he took are still on his phone. Here are a few pictures that we took when I remembered to grab the camera. (and to charge the battery)

perspective, prayer and the "health care" bill

Let me tell you a little story about a young man named Matthew Quist. He can only really move a few muscles in his face anymore, but he is as concerned with the political state of this country and all the news that goes on locally and globally as any able bodied human being could be. He can't physically do anything about any of it,(he votes every election though, which is doing something) yet he is concerned about the world around him and heartily voices his opinion. Something I've learned from him is that it's good to be concerned about all the evils in the world, as long as you enjoy your video games, love your family & friends and always keep an eternal perspective. If you don't you'll go crazy, or at least be very unhappy.

Part of keeping that perspective is found through prayer. All we have to do is turn on the news, or go to a grocery store and listen to people talk, to see that these are definitely the last days. Anytime I start to get down about anything I think of him and I'm all right. I love my little brother!

Something that he feels strongly about, as do I, is the "health care bill" that is being deliberated on right now. As far as I understand from the reading and listening to the reports on this bill that I've done, it will only hurt this great nation of ours, and us. If you feel the same, perhaps you've signed numerous petitions, sent emails and tried your darndest to make sure those representatives in Washington D.C. know that a majority of the citizens of our country don't want this thing to be passed. Perhaps you've been praying that the Lord will continue to bless this country and those who hold influential political offices to do what will be best for us as a people, not only now but always. If you haven't done so, I urge you to. Prayer is the one great way to have an impact on otherwise untouchable circumstances, in all aspects of our lives. No matter the outcome of this issue I will still count myself blessed to be a citizen of the United States, and I will do my best to keep an eternal perspective, to remember that the Lord will always be over it all.

once upon a December...

Now that it's been, what, over 2 months since Christmas, (yikes!) I've finally put all the pics on the computer. So, here are just a few things that we did during that wonderful, fast, crazy month, and the first week of January.

Ryan and I had a great Christmas spending a lot of time with our terrific families and each other. Ryan's brother Karl came and helped him put in a pull-down ladder on the attic entrance which helped the next projects he did be a lot easier. My dad came over a few days in a row to help Ryan with some electrical projects. They put an exhaust fan in our bathroom (love that!), and now that room and the garage now have their own gfci switches. They also put in an outlet on the front porch, another light in the hall and Ryan put some lights on the house on either side of the garage and installed a new kitchen sink!





















On December 29th our niece Bethany turned 8! I was fresh out of high school when she was born. I can hardly believe she's that old. I was able to finish the quilt for her baptism just the day before. It's the first time I've made a rag quilt and it was so much easier than I thought it would be. I was able to make it faster than any other smaller sized quilt I've done. It might just be my new favorite quilt style!








That's all I can think of that I took pictures of. Hopefully I'll have some pictures of the Allium bulbs I planted in bloom soon. They look like they'll blossom anytime now, thanks to all the Spring rain!

and the doctor says...

It's a girl!

The fist thing I say,"Ohhh, a girl! ...we still have 4 girls names that we like."

The first thing Ryan says, "I kind of thought so. I have to get me a silver shotgun now. It'll get a lot of polishing when she's a teenager."

Cravings!

I don't think there have been too many things that I NEED to have or I'll just DIE!
But there have been a few FOOD items, or maybe JUNK FOOD items, that I've found myself snacking on more than I normally would.

1.GUMMY CANDY: gummy bears, gummy worms, jelly beans, orange slices etc. Eventually fruit snacks came to be the "healthy" option. There are some out there with real fruit juice and less sugar than most. My favorite so far is Welch's brand.

2.FRUIT: Which is, of course, healthy!!! apples, oranges and grapes, mmmm!

3.DOUGHNUTS: I've only given in to that one twice so far and I blame it on the fact that my parents had some once, just sitting there, looking delicious, and I went shopping hungry. Not a good idea.

4.HOT DOGS: I can't figure that one out. A good beef hot dog with ketchup and I'm a happy camper.

One of my favorite meals is one that I really liked before I was expecting anyway. I call it Mexican Lasagna. So, for one of my friends doing a blog recipe exchange of sorts, which is a fabulous idea, here is my recipe:

Mexican Lasagna

What you need:
~about 1 pound of cooked, drained, lean ground beef (any meat will work)
~a package of taco size tortillas, about 6-8 inch diameter
~about 1/2 a pound of grated cheese of your choice
~a bottle of salsa
~a 16oz can of yellow corn, or frozen
~a 16oz can of black beans
~an 8 inch diameter round glass casserole dish. Round is best, but a 9x9 will work too.

Drain the corn and black beans. Start by pouring a little salsa in the bottom of the dish. Place a tortilla on the bottom and wiggle the salsa around so it thinly covers the bottom. Spread about 2 tablespoons each of beef, corn, beans, salsa and cheese on the tortilla. Add another tortilla and layer again. 3 or 4 layers will usually fit. Top off with just a tortilla and cheese. Cover with a glass lid or plate. Microwave for about 12-15 minutes, let it cool a little and enjoy!


I love this recipe because it's something to cook in the microwave and it's fast! I like to cook a few pounds of beef at a time and freeze it, so it makes this recipe and a lot of others so much faster when it's dinner time. I usually don't even thaw it for this dish. This is a perfect size for a small family, and if you're lucky you'll have delicious leftovers. We usually do, even though it's one of Ryan's favorites and he definitely has a healthy appetite :)