My new project

My friend Annie mentioned that I should get a small camera to capture the little moments. It got the wheels in my head turning. This week, the boys and I were at the park, and I noticed a mom with a small camera. I asked her about it, and learned lots. She had a Kodak easyshare. I was blown away that such a small camera had 12 megapixels on it, the same as my big camera!

I just want something small to capture the everyday stuff, and to document it better. The boys are growing too fast. I want to simplify and get pictures of them more often. Less editing, just preserve the memory. I still love doing the artsy stuff with my 5d, but you know, this will be great.

So, I was able to find that Kodak camera with a card and case for a sweet deal on Amazon. I cannot wait for it to come this week, and start taking more pictures. You will see more pics on the blog for sure!

Mormon mommy blogs

I love listening to podcasts from the mormon radio station online. Simply love it. Recently, I listened to an interview on the “Everything Creative” program, on the subject of “Mormon mommy blogs”. Four mom bloggers spoke of their experience blogging about their family, other positive things, and using the internet for good. This idea was inspired by an M. Russell Ballard talk, about using the internet for good intentions and sharing uplifting content. Here’s some things I learned from the interview:

• One question was “What do you do when you receive a negative comment on your blog?” One mom said this: “It’s easy to take it to heart, and to feel bad. My husband said, ‘Think of Joseph Smith. He got plenty of negative comments in his life. When someone says something negative about you, don’t dismiss it. Look at your life, and see if there is any truth to that comment. If there is, fix it, and move on. Let it go.’” I loved that.
• One mother said she doesn’t blog when her husband is home. He felt that he wasn’t a priority if she was on the computer all the time. I sometimes am guilty of that. I try not to do photography when he is home. I’m only on the computer two times a day, and hardly at night, because that’s family time.
• The wonderful and continuing message of using the internet for good. Making your blog like a journal. Posting pictures, and sharing good content. Printing your blog off yearly, and saving it in a book.

I want to blog more, and share more wonderful things. It’s tough to find the balance, the strength, and the time for it all, but I hope that this little blog of ours can be joy to read, and a help to others. I love learning. Learning is so, so fun now. I have learned that when you really enjoy learning something new, and seeing how you can use that knowledge, there is no limit to the joy of learning. Why didn’t I feel this way in college, when I had more time to devote for studying? Argh, who knows, but it’s never too late to read a new book, learn something new, pray for guidance, and apply it to the chapter you are living right now. That’s what I have learned

It’s a girl!

For those who may have missed the big announcement last week on Facebook, we are expecting our first girl!! I still am in awe of this news. It truly is exciting.

Last week, I dropped the boys off at a sitter, and drove down to my ultrasound appointment. I love these chances to drive in the car alone, listen to some church talks on my ipod, and treat myself to some small type of lunch. Every now and then, I’ll take a break from wholesome eating, and partake of some good crap. I discovered that I love the ultimate cheeseburger from the Wendy’s dollar menu. The perfect, small burger with all the toppings. I was in junk food heaven.

I was so excited with anticipation walking in to the office. I love to find out the gender! I think it’s so fun to know, and nice to prepare. I kept telling myself “It’s going to be another boy, another boy..” and then I would think “but what if it’s a girl? That would be neat.” Sure enough, as the lady and I watched the tv screen, and I held my breath waiting for her verdict, it turned out to be a girl. I was in shock, and pretty darn excited. Thoughts of having a Bath and Body works buddy, going to Young women church activities, and dressing began to float through my head. I walked all the way back to the car with a big smile on my face, and a thankful prayer in my heart. I couldn’t wait to tell Shaun. He just kept repeating to himself “We’re having a girl”. It was funny.

I can’t even begin to imagine what a girl will be like in our family. All I know is rough and tumble boys with big hearts. Ethan keeps calling the baby a ‘baby sister’. I think the boys are ok with the news. It’s still crazy and exciting to us. I knew if it was a girl, I’d want to throw myself a shower, invite friends over and eat cupcakes. When I went shopping at Walmart, I noticed the flock of pink and purple girl clothes for the first time ever.

So, we are stoked and it feels like we’ll be starting from scratch all over again with this gal, learning how to be parents to a girl. It will be wonderful

My Mother’s days gifts

What a fun and busy week we have had! We had our dear friends Mark and Jen stay with us for a week. They endured some moments of chaos from the boys, including meltdowns at a birthday party, and a typical hard, fussy time at sacrament. It was neat to have a little girl in the house, and see what a difference a girl is. They are saints to ever want to visit again. Yet, it was so fun to have the queen mattress out for them, a jumping playground for the kids. They cooked some awesome meals, inspired me to eat a little more healthy, and got me an awesome King Arthur Flour cookbook. I love it when our home is a hotel

We all went up to Calico Basin, and got some gorgeous family pictures for them. Their daughter is just stinking cute, and I had to share this picture. I got seriously lucky when another photographer was kind enough to let me use her chair.

Here are some shots I grabbed in between the session pictures. These are my gifts for Mother’s day, my family.

It feels like I am constantly in the ‘trenches of motherhood’ with this guy. There’s been some tears and prayers in the past week, and utter exhaustion, but I love Ethan so much. Getting him to pose for the camera is pointless. He just is always on the move, and I love this picture of him so much. I am so thankful to be his mom.

My darling, wonderful friend. He woke me up Mother’s day playing “Good Morning, Beautiful”, and hid a brand new crock pot on the bed for me to find. I love him so much. We are both in this parenting thing together. We pray, laugh, and sweat through it all together. I don’t know how I got so lucky to be with him, but he was worth the wait.

My sweet, tender, little Kevin. He’s so different from Ethan. Shaun and Mark were wrestling on the ground. Ethan jumps in and laughs. Kevin starts freaking out and crying. He doesn’t like to see violence

He’s so little and has no fear, jumping like a kamikaze onto the queen mattress this week, bouncing onto the ground and laughing. Love him.

Today, I find out the baby’s gender. I love to find out. It’s an exciting thing, and I just have to know! I wonder what precious soul will be coming down to our family. Mothering sure is humbling. When the hard stuff comes, I keep asking myself ‘Is it I?’ What can I do better to help these kids? I just keep trying to take it one day at a time. Thanks, everyone for reading our little blog