Smiles!

Brooklyn started smiling a couple weeks ago but we haven't really been able to catch the full smile. We would just catch parts of it but after working on it, we did catch her smile yesterday. We can't believe how much she has grown already! It's a little sad in a way to see her growing so fast but we love having her in our family and watching her grow and learn everyday. She hasn't lost any of her hair yet which we are excited about. I took a few pictures of her right out of the bath where you can see all her hair standing up. With Kyia, we didn't have to comb her hair until she was about a year old. It's fun to see the differences between them already. Brooklyn is a very cuddly baby where Kyia wasn't. Kyia took a pacifier and we're working on Brooklyn with that. Kyia was also a good sleeper. Brooklyn has her moments of good sleep but is getting better. We love our two girls!

If you love her - tell her!

The other day Kelly and I had our temple recommends renewed and the Stake President asked me if I loved my wife. Of course, I said yes. Then he asked me if I tell her... While I do tell her, it is definetely not as often as it should be. So over the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about that and writing down some of the reasons why I love Kelly. Not only do I want her to know these things, but I also wanted everyone else to know just how much Kelly does for our family. I am a very lucky guy!

Why I love you:

1- You are always willing to stop everything and listen to me (even when I am just talking out loud trying sort things out in my mind).

2- You a very unselfish and often sacrifice your own needs for me and our family.

3- You at least humor me with my various spreadsheets and calculations (which I change and think I have to explain daily.)

4- You are an awesome mother and devote all of your time each day to our girls.

5- You see the big picture and are willing to sacrifice today for a better tomorrow.

6- You continually put things in perspective for me and calm my anxieties.

7- You are a beautiful girl both inside and out.

8- You support me and push me to set high goals and work to achieve them.

9- The gospel is important in your life and you work hard to make sure it is a priority in our family.

10- You praise me for my strengths and are patient and forgiving of my many weaknesses.

Kelly I love you very much and that loves grows stronger and stronger every day. I don’t know what I would do without you and I just wanted to let you and everyone else know how awesome I think you are and how much I love you. You are a very special girl.

Problem...

We heard that gas prices were starting to go down so we decided that we would hold off on getting gas until we really needed it.  Today as we were driving, we noticed traffic was really bad in spots and there were unusually long lines in random places.  We soon realized those lines were for the gas stations.  They had cars lined up out into the street to fill up their car.  As we looked around, several of these gas stations were completely out of gas and that is why there were lines at certain stations.  Instead of waiting in these lines, we figured we would go to Sam's to fill up.  The only people that can fill up there are members so we had a better chance there.  Well, Sam's was out of gas and now, all the gas stations around us are out of gas as well and no one knows when they are getting another shipment.  We have a fourth of a tank left. This could be a bit of a problem....    

Disney On Ice

We took Kyia to Disney on Ice for her birthday.  She loved and wanted to go skate with them.  She was singing along to the songs and clapping the whole time.  Before the show started, they had a princess dress display that had different princess' dresses to look at.  Right now Kyia's favorite princess is Snow White so she was really excited to see her dress because she was wearing the same one.  My pictures from the actual show turned out a little blurry but it was a fun night and we had a great time.  

Sisters

I love seeing these two together.  Kyia cannot get enough of Brooklyn and is a big help to mom.  Brooklyn is the first person she wants to see when she gets up and the first to say good-bye to when she leaves and she wants to hold her non-stop.  It is so fun to watch the two of them and see Kyia singing songs to her or trying to calm her down when she cries. She loves showing her new sister off to people.  So far we haven't had any jealousy problems which we are thankful for.  We love are two girls and blessed with such a great family.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kyia!

I can't believe our little girl is three years old already! Time goes by sooo fast. She has been such a joy and blessing to our lives these past three years. She had a great birthday and her Grandma and Grandpa Sparks were able to come visit for a couple days. Kyia loved having their full attention and someone to play and read to her whenever she wanted to. She got the Rose Petal Cottage (which she new about for a couple months because she found it hidden but never forgot about), a bike, a doll, and a cash register she has been eyeing. She was very happy with everything and even learned how to ride a bike over the weekend. While Mike's parents were here, we went to Chuck E. Cheese and swimming, two of Kyia's favorites. She has got the sunbathing down as you can see from the pictures. We love you Kyia! Happy BIrthday!

Decision Time - King & Spalding LLP

We are excited to announce that after receiving full-time job offers from both of the law firms Mike worked at this summer, he has accepted the offer to join the law firm of King & Spalding in Houston, Texas after graduation. He will be joining the firm's Global Transactions group.

Many of you have asked us to provide more information about King & Spalding and the type of law Mike will be practicing in the Global Transactions group. Below is a brief description of the firm along with links to the various parts of the firm's website for those of you who really want to know more about where Mike will be spending the majority of his time starting next fall.

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 companies and in a Corporate Counsel survey in September 2007 was among the top firms representing Fortune 250 companies. More information about the firm can by found by clicking the following link: http://www.kslaw.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&cached=true&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=0&in_hi_userid=2&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=209&PageID=0

The Global Transactions group specializes in international business transactions. Contrary to the traditional view of a lawyer, Mike will not be attending court or arguing cases before judges. He will be working on complex business deals across the globe with a special focus on energy-related projects. The following link provides an overview of the different aspects of the firm's international practice group: http://www.kslaw.com/portal/server.pt?space=KSPublicRedirect&control=KSPublicRedirect&PracticeAreaId=187&us_more=1

King & Spalding is a leading international law firm and is ranked as one of the 50 most prestigious law firms in the world. More information regarding King & Spalding's rankings and awards can be found here: http://www.kslaw.com/portal/server.pt?space=CommunityPage&cached=true&parentname=CommunityPage&parentid=2&in_hi_userid=2&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=210&PageID=0