Raiyah's first fight (hopefully only)! I'm not sure how well you can see Raiyah's face but she has teeth marks with a bruise by her right eye, and scratches along her upper lip. When I went to pick her up from nursery last week I found her cuddled on the teachers lap with huge tears rolling down her face. It broke my heart to see my little girl crying over something that had really hurt her. I guess she was holding one of her friends shoe when they were getting ready to leave, and when her friend tried to take it from her, Raiyah held on. Obviously her little friend wasn't very happy because she bit, and scratched Raiyah. It's funny becuase although I was so sad for Raiyah and really upset at the situation I immediately thought of the little girls Mom, who has recently become my friend. I knew she was going to feel horrible, and that made me feel really bad. Anyway, this was a pretty traumatic thing for little Raiyah but she is just fine now. :) I think I wanted to write about it because it's the first time Raiyah has really been hurt. I don't even want to think of the future when she gets hurt and there is nothing I will be able to do for her, but hold her and tell her how much her Mom loves her. I'm not excited for those times. Malakai and Papa sleeping after a day of hard work. :)

My Parents bought the girls in the family tickets to Wicked! I was so excited. I have never seen it before. It was totally different than I had anticipated. I loved every minute of it, and was so thankful to my parents for letting us go. Aren't my sister-in-laws so cute. I really couldn't have asked for better girls to marry my brothers. I love getting to know each of them more and more. In case you are wondering starting on the left is Gina- married to Matt, Allsion- married to Mike, and Chantel- married to Bryan.

My sweet Mom and I before the show. Thanks for the tickets, ride, gum, phone, and purse space. You took great care of me as always.

Hanging out during maternity leave and after graduation

February was a life changing month for our family. Ryan graduated nursing school (yahoo!), and Malakai was born letting me be on Maternity Leave. What did we do during these days of nothing to do but hang out with our wonderful family. We flew kites, made forts, went to the park, and just enjoyed being our lil family. Life really couldn't get better. :)Raiyah and her valentine the nurse gave her at the hospital. I think she's adorable even with peanut butter on her face, and broken glasses she always wears. It's pretty funny to try and get a picture of Malakai without his eyes being huge. He's trying to take everything in.

Raiyah was so excited to go fly kites. Her favorite book is about Elmo flying a kite; so when Daddy brought a kite home with Elmo on it she was in Heaven. I love seeing her have incredible joy over simple things of life. On most of our outings Malakai had fun hanging out in his "polar bear" outfit, and car seat.

One day we spent the entire day making and hanging out in our fort. We had picnics, played with flash lights, took naps, read books. It was so much fun. I recommend a fort for any day you are looking for something to do.

Raiyah loves to jump on my bed. I don't mind because she has so much fun. The other day I walked out to get a basket of laundry and she got really quiet. When I came back in she was laying down in Malakai's crib, cuddled in his blankets. After taking a quick picture I held her in my arms and rocked her like a baby (her favorite thing) to reassure her that she will always be my little girl no matter how many brothers and sisters she ever gets.

If you haven't been to Castle Park in Fruit Heights I recommend it. It's one of Raiyah's favorite things to do. On a really cold day in February we packed up and spent the afternoon at the park. There are so many things to do you could spend hours there.

Malakai Jamieson Babinsky

Say Hello to our little angel. We named him Malakai Jamieson Babinsky. He arrived on February 11, at 1:00pm via C-Section. Weight 6pnds, 14oz. Height 19.75inches.He is absolutely perfect. He is eating and sleeping great. His sweet little spirit is very relaxing, and soothing. We've already found his tickle spot (his thighs) and he hates having his hands wrapped. It's so incredible to already love this little man with all of my heart. We are having a lot of fun. We will be heading home on Sunday, just loving recovering at the hospital. Well, if you hadn't gathered by now Malakai looks exactly like his Daddy. It's pretty cute seeing Ryan hold him, they are just the large, and small image of each other.

Raiyah loves being a big sister. She just sits and holds Malakai and talks about "little brother Malakai." She doesn't like when he is sad and loves to run her fingers through his hair. She is going to be a wonderful big sister.

Trip that changed our family

So this trip took place a couple of months ago; actually at the beginning of the summer. But we barely were able to get them on the computer since we used a disposable camera. Anyway, I had to post this trip because I think it really changed our family forever. We were hiking up past Trial Lake which shouldn't have been a big deal but maybe we shouldn't have been doing it with Raiyah. One of our favorite things to do is hike in the snow. So when all the roads were closed to cars, and you could tell no one had hiked where we were going we were excited. It was the most beautiful day. To make a long story short we had to cross a huge river but couldn't find a suitable place to cross. We found a "bridge" that really did seem safe. I crossed and turned to wait for Ryan to cross with Raiyah on his back. Next was one of the most horrible moments of my life. As Ryan stepped to the middle of the bridge the entire thing gave out from underneath him. They both crashed straight into the river. All I could think of was my tiny angel drowning or freezing to death in the river and we were several miles away from anywhere. As I raced down the river about to jump in, some how Ryan was able to pull both he and Raiyah out of the water after being submerged and almost bogged down by the bridge that had just fell onto them from above. There were no dry clothes for either of them so I put my wind jacket around Raiyah and prayed for the best. We hiked back down the mountain as fast as possible. I know our little family was being watched over that day. The outcome could have and probably should have been so much worse. I still have nightmares of seeing them crash into the river and still count my blessings every day that my family is safe by my side, and that my husband had the skill and strength to get out of the river. It was one moment in my life I will not forget and reminds me that we need to watch over and make sure our children know how much we love them every moment.

After I knew they were okay I decided I needed a picture to remind us of this day so I quickly took a picture of them and the place where the bridge had been.

January Happenings

I think this is my favorite picture I have of Raiyah. This picture captures her personality perfectly.She is such a happy girl. I just laugh every time I see this picture thinking of all the wonderful little things about her.

We started a tradition a couple of years ago to hike to the flag in Centerville on New Years Day and replace the flag. Hiking is probably the number one thing I miss being pregnant. My Dad and Ryan banned me when I was about six months pregnant from going with them anymore, it was a pretty sad day. Anyway they seemed to have a great time on the hike.

Our family loves playing in the snow. Yes I still go out even though my snow suit won't zip up around my belly :) Sledding and rolling around in the snow have become two of Raiyah's favorite things to do on a cold wintry day.

Ryan really enjoys going snow shoeing with his Uncle Todd. They decided to go up to the cabin in Adam's Canyon I believe in Layton. They had a really good time. It took them a little longer than expected due to the storm that came in but had a good time. Ryan loved the cabin. Some hunter's built it in the 70's and now anyone can go and just have a good time. Everyone replenishes the wood and food when they go so all can enjoy.

December Happenings

Christmas was really special this year. My Dad and Mom worked really hard to make these two presents. They will be treasures my family will always keep. Raiyah loves her rocking horse she has named, "Boy" and loves putting all of her Doll's to bed in the cradle. I'm really grateful they took the time to make these priceless gifts for Raiyah and our other children to come.

Christmas really starts to change when you have children of your own. We went to a party at Ryan's Aunt Dottie's house where Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up. Raiyah was sooo excited. She just sat and talked to him for a very long time. Usually you just run up and get to sit on Santa's lap for a minute but they got all the time they wanted. It was very special for Raiyah. I love seeing the little twinkling in her eye when she is really happy.

Turning two has big a big step in Raiyah's life. She changes so much every day. She now talks in three word sentences and comes up with the funniest things. She tells me all about her dreams every night which is always about: church, nursery, Brinkley, Jack, or her bear and Cocoa her lamb. She still loves to cuddle in bed with Mom and Dad, have Daddy run after her and "get scared." She sings constantly about everything she see's, loves to play her violin (a styrafoam violin with a wood bow) while I play mine, do gymnastics, play dress up, and play in the snow.
I honestly wouldn't ask for anything to change about my sweet little two year old. It's true they want to push every button and although it drives me nuts sometimes I am glad she is finding her self and trying to see where her limits are in life. Happy birthday my lil angel.

Max at the Temple

I wanted to post these pictures and say how proud I am of my dear friend, Max Laforet. For those of you who don't know about Max he was my pen pal from Haiti who introduced me to the wonderful world of humanitarian work, sacrifice, love, and compassion for a people who I consider some of the most beautiful on this earth. We wrote for seven years talking about starting our own school in Haiti and how we could change the world. In 2000 I was able to start that wonderful journey. And now since May2007 Max has been going to UVU to obtain a degree in elementary education, and adiministration so he can some day help to run schools in Haiti. The fact that Max is here is a miracle in itself. They never let single, male, Haitians leave the country. They are too much of a "fligh risk." But with many prayers, phone calls, letters, and miracle workers Max is here gaining his education.
If you've ever been in a church congregation in a third world country you know that the people are devoted. They walk many many miles to get to church, or a temple. People will sell house and all they own just to attend the temple. The members in Haiti have to take a bus about ten hours, and a couple of hundred dollars later to attend the Dominican Republic Temple. They make so many sacrifices to serve their Lord. I was so touched a couple of weeks ago for Max to be able to receive his endowment at the Timpanogas Temple. I know Max is destined for incredible things because of all the miracles that have been had in his life. I am thankful to be a witness of the Lord's work and his hand in our lives. Did I mention how he was converted? After many letters talking about the church I told him to somehow go find our church and talk to the missionaries. I had yet to know how the church functioned in Haiti. So I just had faith he would find someone to talk to. As he walked into a tiny church house in the middle of the most populated city in Haiti he found two Elders sitting in a room and showed them my picture and said he wanted to hear the gospel. Another miracle, one of the Elders was one of my really good friends from Centerville Utah. You can imagine the shock he got when some random Haitian had my picture and wanted to learn about the church. Again, I know the Lord is aware of us and all we do. He guides our life and will help us find the things that will make us most happy. I didn't mean to make this some sermon but I am in awe of how blessed I've been to be a part of Max's life, and the world of Haiti.