Mary had a little Liam.

Welcome to Liam Jackson Mott, my newest nephew!! I went by to see my sister and her baby Tuesday morning, just hours after she had her baby.

Can I just say she spent several hours at my house Monday afternoon bouncing on an exercise ball and fighting off Rose, who was very persistent in asking, "Me turn bounce big ball minute Maymay, please?" Rose is working on learning English.

Who does Liam look most like? He has red fuzzy hair and is so cute. If Mary and Luke got married and had a baby, their baby would look just like Liam!

Families can be together forever.

Happy birthday to me!

We had a sweet Family Home Evening lesson tonight about the plan of salvation, how much Heavenly Father loves us, how Jesus made it possible for us all to be resurrected, and how we can be with our families and loved ones forever.

On Friday I got to celebrate my birthday spending the afternoon with my mom. Early this morning my dad took her back to the hospital because she hasn't been able to keep any food down for several days, and the pain she is feeling has been getting worse and worse.

After church I stopped by the hospital to see her and hear the news. It's not good. And that's okay. Every time I consider a serious or sad post, I have to ask myself the question at the top of this blog. Can life get better than this? This gives me time to reflect and look for some perspective when I really, really want to ask, "Can life get crappier than this?"

I showed my kids a picture of Heavenly Father and Jesus presenting the plan of redemption to all of us spirit children, and told my family how much they love us, that they know what's best for us, and that they want us to be happier than we can imagine. I asked them where their Grandma will go when her body dies and her spirit leaves, and they immediately answered that she would go live with Heavenly Father and Jesus. I imagine that she will also have a beautiful reunion with her father, David Phillips (Elijah's namesake), as well as other loved ones.

My mom has spent the last few months telling everyone who will listen to her from the nurses at the hospital to her friends and children that our Savior loves us more than we can understand, and that if we will just come to him and give him our burdens and sorrows and ask him to help us, he can and will help us. It's all she talks about, and she's sure that's why she's still with us.

We will miss her and feel sad, (and I will cry a lot more in the days and weeks to come), but just thinking about my mom going home, and knowing that because of the Savior's sacrifice, we can all go home, helps me to remember how very much God loves and how well he knows us. Really, can life get better than this? I submit that it cannot. Not as long as we can come to Jesus and live.

He's got skills.

Elijah can roll over! He can go from his tummy to his back, and since he doesn't really care for tummy time, he doesn't have to endure it anymore. Except when mean Mommy keeps rolling him back over so he can show off his new tricks.

Also, let me assure you that being on his tummy does not hurt him in any way. He is completely recovered from surgery (except for the stitch that was supposed to dissolve and hasn't quite disappeared yet). He's just crying because he's tired and hungry, and he had already rolled over several times before the camera came out.

Elijah also loves to smack his lips, stick out his tongue, make kissing noises, and "sing." Thank you for documenting, Aunt Mary!