Fall 2011 Update

Good morning friends! I guess every blog post is going to start with a comment on how long it's been since I blogged last... Oh well. Life is busy! That is my excuse. There are a great many things that have changed in the Griffith household so I will try to touch on a few of them.

First, and most important, Michaela is now 17 months old! She started going to the Nursery class at church and is loving it so far. Mommy is loving it even more because I get to sit and listen in Sunday school and teach my Young Women's class without having to worry about entertaining her at the same time or asking friends to take her to their class with them. Thanks to all the wonderful friends who have been helping me out so I can teach my class on Sunday! Miki is the pride and joy of our life. She started walking at about 15 months old on August 14, 2011. She has been go go going ever since. She is such a love. She takes great care of her stuffed animals and dolls. She spends time putting diapers on them, covering them with blankets, feeding them bottles and giving lots of hugs and kisses. She even brushes their hair and shares her own sippy cup with them. She is very meticulous. She likes to have things a certain way. She hates to have her hands dirty whether it's food or dirt or whatever. She is very careful when she walks and runs too. She looooves playing outside. This beautiful Tennessee Fall weather is great for playing in. She loves to collect leaves, sticks, seeds and other things that she finds outside. Rocks are the newest conquest. She likes to hand them to me and keep them in her little hands. The other day she was sticking a rock in her mouth and I said, "No Miki. If you put the rocks in your mouth we will have to throw them in the trash." A minute later I heard her in the kitchen saying "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She was throwing the rocks in the trash and saying Thank You after each one went in the bin. She is so sweet. I love watching her learning about the world. She is discovering something new each day. She understands so much and she says so much now. She likes to call Matt "Mamma" and he haaates it! I think it's hilarious. She knows he is daddy. She even calls him that sometimes but she calls him Mamma a lot more. She cracks me up! We are excited to celebrate her 1 1/2 year old birthday next month. Time continues to fly as we watch her grow and change daily. What a blessing she is in our life!!

Big changes have taken place in my life as well. Our babysitter had to move with her husband to Utah in July kind of suddenly so Matt and I talked and made the decision that I would quit my job and stay home with Miki. The pieces fell into place quickly. My last day at the day care was July 27th and Miki and I enjoyed 3 weeks together in August before we all went home for 2 weeks for Labor Day with our family in Colorado. Now I am watching 3 little kiddos all between the ages of 4 months and 13 months. I get to be here with Miki and bring in a little money for us and it has been a great blessing in my life. I love being here with Miki and getting to really spend this time in her life with her. I now have 3 young women at church that I am enjoying getting to know. We have weekly activities at my house and we meet each Sunday for great classes. I learn so much from them and my testimony of my Savior and the gospel grows each week. I still get frustrated with being away from family but I am so blessed with wonderful women in my Branch at church who have become my friends. I also have my very close friends Kelly and Brittany who I am so thankful for. They have become my sisters-away-from-my-sisters and I am so grateful for that! I am loving finding a little bit of time to read and always looking for new things to read. I have a book club that I am involved with each month and I look forward to those times with friends to catch up and have a great time.

Matt is busy as always. He spent the summer playing 4 or 5 gigs a week with his band, Brookline. They had a great time and played for a lot of parties and restaurants. The gigs are slowing down as the weather gets colder but they have some exciting ones coming up soon. I guess the biggest change in Matt's life is that his job at DSI is being eliminated as of December 1st. He is going to spend time after that concentrating making music his full time job. He will be gigging with the band and trying to get into the studios to record more vocal demos. He was able to record at the famous Blackbird studios this summer for a friend of his. He recorded the vocals for 4 original songs written by his friend. He worked with amazing musicians and a great producer/engineer who has worked with Frank Sinatra, Gavin DeGraw, Carrie Underwood an many others. He learned so much and made some great contacts. 2 of the songs that he recorded have been picked up by Taxi and will be playing in restaurants across the country. So if you are out to dinner, you may hear Matt's voice! One of the songs is also being considered for a movie! We are very excited about all of the changes in our life coming around the corner.

We are continuing to marvel at our blessings. We thank Heavenly Father every day for the blessing of a home and an income that we are able to live on and provide for our family. We look forward to our family growing in the future.

There are a lot of frustrating things happening right now in our life and our family and friends lives. We just want to say that we love and support everyone and we are here to be friends and family to everyone who needs us. We pray for you all everyday and we love you all. Heavenly Father will see us all through these times of loss and frustration. Turning to each other and to Him and the scriptures will help pull us all through these difficult times.

Love you all!