The next day

After a long run of challenging parenting days that can really wipe you out, the sun came out. Isn’t it nice when the sun comes out? To all those sweet friends who commented on my blog and FB, just wanted to thank you so much. I collected all your great tips and advice, and printed them out. They are in my contentment basket, and I read them often.

Have you seen that many times when the rough times hit, it’s really just you being taught by the spirit how to be a better parent? It’s usually not so much about your sweet kids being brats, but about how you need to listen better, breathe more, and take a step back. I’m sure you’ve witnessed this in your mothering days. I sure have. I’m grateful for the lessons.

I want to share something neat I heard in my church class on Sunday. A very humble mother spoke to us about parenting, to which I thought ‘Sweet! Need all the help I can get.’. She taught us the importance of respecting our children’s agency, and to listen to them better.

She spoke of attending a mother/daughter thing in Utah, and the keynote speaker was Elizabeth Smart. I was listening before, but now I was supremely listening, as everyone else in the room. Seriously, you could hear a pin drop as she spoke. (For those who don’t know, Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped years ago in Utah, and 9 months later returned to her family.)

I will do my best to paraphrase, so here we go. Elizabeth was held hostage by her kidnapper, and had horrible things done to her. As the man forced himself upon her, she thought to herself ‘ No one will want me now. This is the worst’, and such. She had the spirit touch her heart and felt the love of her Heavenly Father during that time. She also recalled a conversation she had with her mother. She remembered her mother telling her how much she loved her. She remembered how much her parents loved her, and with that memory, vowed to do whatever it took to get back to her family. The speaker finished her talk with the important reminder of ‘Are we telling our children that we love them dearly? Are we listening to them?’. Whew! So good.

With that, and all of your kind words, I am trying again this week to love my children, and to listen to them better. One day at a time, or like our most favorite movie at the moment, ‘one game at a time’.

In other news, Kevin got bounced a little too hard on a big trampoline, and landed on his arm. He broke it very small, above the elbow, and only has two more weeks in a cast. He has been such a trooper, and has kept a smile on his face. We were all at the hospital, and I watched my boys. Kevin was darling, answering all the nurses questions. Ethan was curious about all the machines and lights, asking the nurses tons of questions, and talking with them. I watched, fell in love with my kids again, and thought ‘They really are good kids.’ It was tender.

May you all have a beautiful week:)

Why I love being a Mom

Mother’s day was special. Shaun spoiled me rotten with some new kitchen items, and an umbrella for our backyard. Packages kept coming to our home that I was told not to open yet:)

The boys were darling in church, singing with all the kids mother’s day songs. At the end of one song, where they sang ‘dear mother, like you.’, Kevin pointed right at me while he was singing. Cracked me up. He’s so funny.

Here’s a little picture tribute to my sweet mom, who I miss dearly. I remember these boxes of all her stuff very well.

She taught me so much, and how to be a kind mom. Selfless. Giving. She was wonderful.

I’ve only been a mom for 5 years, and still have much to learn, but here’s a few things why I love being a mom.

I get to be with them everyday, and see all their little quirks, emotions, and smiles.

I can sit down and hold them anytime. Nothing should stand in the way of just holding them, and giving them tickles.

I can read them stories at night, and tuck them into bed with their favorite blankets and stuffed animals. Ethan’s bed is filled with his stuffed animal friends. Kevin has his blankets, and I love this stage.

I can smile at them, and help them know that they are loved dearly. They have a home that is a safe haven for them, and they can explore their backyard, digging in dirt, and splashing in the pool.

I can make ice cream for them, and it totally makes their day. Simple vanilla ice cream. Perfect.

Oh, there’s so much more, but I love being their mom, and trying to teach them how to be kind, like my Mom taught me.

One thing I love seeing them do daily now:

We got a pool to help survive the awful summer heat this year. We go over the safety rules often with them, but they love the pool. I love being out there watching them, and seeing them splash and laugh.

Brooke likes hers, too:)

Here’s a few more shots from our daily life:

And now, I need to go take care of them. Early mornings sure do fly by fast. The days are so short. Trying to make each moment count:)

Beautiful quote

Shaun’s father quietly passed away in his home last week. Now, funeral preparations. Not fun, but here’s a beautiful quote that I came across yesterday. It’s from Joseph F. Smith, a former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

“I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separate from them. … We are closely related to our kindred, to our ancestors … who have preceded us into the spirit world. We can not forget them; we do not cease to love them; we always hold them in our hearts, in memory, and thus we are associated and united to them by ties that we can not break. … If this is the case with us in our finite condition, surrounded by our mortal weaknesses, … how much more certain it is … to believe that those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond … can see us better than we can see them; that they know us better than we know them. … We live in their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; … their love for us and their desire for our well being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves.”

Isn’t that beautiful?

Purging

I’ve been doing a lot of purging lately. Spring cleaning, so to speak. It feels great. I’m constantly realizing that time is so important. There’s only so many hours in the day, and the days fly by.

I’ve been cutting down my Facebook time. As much as I like to catch up on everyone and participate in chatter, I’m finding I just don’t have time. So Facebook has been reduced, and you know what happens when you’re not constantly checking FB? You are free. More time to focus on the big stuff, and see my kids in their cute moments more.

Worked on email inbox. Way too many subscriptions. Too much time trashing emails each day.

Cut down on the amount of Pinterest boards I’m following. Tried to keep it to the things I’m really interested in, and will use. I love Pinterest, because I use so many things I pin. Vital source of activities for teaching the kids, for real food recipes, and photo business stuff. Cannot live without Pinterest, but have to filter the board following.

I have a black garbage bag that is hiding in my closet. It constantly gets filled with crud laying around the house; broken toys, stuff we’re not using, etc. Decluttering saves your home! Wow, to have less makes it much easier to clean the house. Brings peace of mind, too.

So, purging has been going great around here. Now, here’s a beautiful picture of Ethan I was able to capture last weekend.

It’s always been a challenge to take pictures of the boys. They just wiggle and move so much. Boy nature. Even though Ethan may not always look at the camera for me, he always gives me this wonderful, candid shot that turns out more beautiful than I hoped for. I love this. I’m always at a loss about decorating my mantles at home. I now know what to do;  just put framed pictures up of the kiddos. That’s just perfect.

For this picture, I took the kiddos on a nature walk at my favorite photo taking place. It sure doesn’t look like the desert. It’s the most beautiful, peaceful place with a little creek bubbling along. I have some great pictures of Brooke to share next post.  Kevin was too busy exploring to hold still for a pic, of course.

That’s it for today. What purging have you done lately? Get cracking, it feels great:)

Bittersweet

This week has been a busy one. WPPI has come to my city again this year, the big photography conference. I told my boys that this week would be a little busy with them getting shipped to babysitters on the few days I attended some classes, but that I loved them so much. I felt guilty not having as much time with them this week as I like, but it was also a wonderful treat for me to go to the conference.

Here’s a few shots from today. I won’t post a ton, as I already did on my photography account on Instagram, but it was a good day.

First off, I went to a portrait business class on Monday that really opened my eyes on how I could do better for my clients. I was so thankful to go and hear this humble woman share her mistakes and teach us. My friend Celise and I sat together and listened, taking notes. Second year going to this conference with Celise. Fun:)

We walked around the trade show, and I kept seeing photographers who I saw teach online at Creative Live. Big wigs with lots of gear.

Today, this wonderful musician, Mindy Gledhill, performed some music before my class started. She has a beautiful album named “Anchor”, and her songs have been used by many photographers. I got into my class, saw that she was on stage performing, and thought ‘Sweet! Double whammy! “ Two great treats in one class, Mindy, and Sue Bryce teaching us.

Mindy was so kind and approachable. She is heading into the studio next week to record her next CD, which will be out in September. Yea!

Lighting was pretty off in this area, but oh well. It’s a picture:) I’ve been watching and learning from this funny and kind lady, Sue Bryce. She’s a huge portrait photographer from New Zealand. I’ve watched her on Creative Live for the past year. Excellent teaching in posing. I just wanted to meet her in person, and tell her thanks for teaching me how pose, and to direct hands so well. Haven’t mastered it yet, posing hands is insanely hard, but she’s about the only one who teaches posing so clear and direct. So, this was my treat:)

Then, it was time to come back to reality, get the kids, give them big hugs, and try to not forget the education I gained this week. Grateful I could go for a couple of days.

The bittersweet part of today was a phone call with Shaun’s tender Dad, who is battling leukemia cancer. He no longer wants to do chemo, and the nurses say he has about two weeks left here. So hard to think of, and yet, a comfort to know that soon, he will be with his wife, his best friend, Shaun’s wonderful mother, Dixie. Still, it’s sad and emotional.

I called him today, praying that he could answer his phone. He did. Fighting back tears, I told him how sorry we were that we are so far away, and can’t see him in person, but that we love him very much. I thanked him for teaching Shaun how to be a good worker, because Shaun is one of the hardest, most helpful, working people I know. He takes such good care of us.

I thanked him for teaching Shaun how to treat a wife like gold. Shaun learned from his Dad’s example. Shaun spoils me, and constantly is thinking of my welfare first. He saw his Dad do that for his mom. Example is powerful. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to Shaun.

I just wanted to thank him so much for the gift of his son, Shaun, to me. I told him how much I love him, and how happy I am to be his wife and friend. I remember being single, and giving up on the idea of someone wanting to spend eternity with me. I had the mindset of being content single for a long time, and then Shaun came, and my life has been forever blessed. It takes a good Dad to raise a good son.

I also told Dad even though this is hard and sad for us, how happy I was for him to be with his wife soon, and to see her again. She’s waiting to greet him, and everything will be ok. How grateful I am to have the knowledge the gospel gives us, that life does not end at death. There is so much more to come, and families are eternal.

Then, I got off the phone, and cried in the car. I’m an emotional basket case.

So, that was my day today. I tried to notice the sky more, and hear the birds chirping in the trees. Life is a precious gift.

Today

Here I am. This month is flying by. I want to blog, but don’t quite know what to blog about today. So, here’s a little post about something.

Lately, I’ve been trying to remember that the kids are not going to be little for long. Kevin will not be so small that I can curl him up in a little ball, and hold him in my arms. Ethan will be taller than me very soon, and will not want to sleep with his stuffed animals forever. Brooke will be out of her adorable toddler stage soon, and on to new chapters.

Whenever I see older kids, I sometimes think, “Oh, yeah. Our kids will be big like that one day.” My greatest fear is that I will regret not savoring the moments of them being little, when that day comes. I know that today is given to me once. I’m so incredibly lucky and blessed to have these three darling, little spirits in our home. This is what I’ve been trying to do more.

Look into their eyes. See the light shining in them, and the excitement as they talk about something they love.

Really care about something the care about. Kevin’s glow stick toy broke. It was from the dollar store. He was pretty bummed about it. I think we’ll swing by the dollar store again today.

Ethan loves being able to do stuff all by himself. I try to give him lots of opportunities. He does his morning chores great. Unloading the dishwasher is becoming very easy for him. I’m trying to teach this kids to work. Each morning, we eat breakfast, and then do some chores. Ethan can do more than Kevin, but it’s a start.

Ethan loves being tickled and wrestled with. The boys love it when I chase them around the house, even if I’m too tired to do it. They just run screaming with joy, and then we collapse and laugh.

Brooke is too cute for words. I love this 16 month old age. She’s so delighted over everything, and is a snuggler. She laughs, plays peek a boo, and hands me food when she’s eating it.

I tried to get up early again to get computer work done, but didn’t make it. Got up around 6:15, and will go jump on the trampoline, but just wanted to blog this. These kids are so precious, and teach me so much. Some days are very physically exhausting, and barely survivable, but life is still good.

My friend recently quit FB, and I’ve been thinking about the good things of that. She has more time, and less distractions. I am trying to be on my phone less, and in the moment with my kids more. Hug them more, and listen to them better. They are my gifts.

A recent trip to the dollar store. We enjoyed the balloons:)

That’s it for today. Time to bounce and feel amazing:)

Daily life

Catching up with some shots of daily life that goes on around here:)

Brooke is really doing great. She’s pulling herself up to a standing position everywhere. She is now cruising along the couch, hanging onto it carefully as she moves around, and crawling up on all fours. The boys never did that. They just did the army crawl. She’s almost 17 months. We love her.

One day while the little kids napped, Ethan and I were ‘organizing’ the shed. We went through a lot of my old stuff. Camping gear that brought back lots of memories of camping with Mom. It was nice to slow down for a moment and remember.

Anytime Shaun is off work, we make pancakes for breakfast, these ones HERE. Made this recipe over and over and over again. So very good.

I have been working on creating some family picture books on Blurb. It’s quite simple, and I love finally doing something with all the pictures I’ve been taking. I ordered this book below, an Instagram pic book. Can’t wait for it to come!

Does this happen in your family? Dada comes home. He tries to get a bite to eat, and the kids are all over him to eat his stuff, even though it’s what they ate for dinner just an hour ago? Crazy, silly kids.

This picture cracks me up, because it shows you just how hard we crash sometimes when we try to pull a late nighter. This was at 7:30! We’ve been trying to have Fridays be Family Fun Nights. We let the kids pick between watching a movie, playing some games, or a sleepover in the tent. Our boys are SO active, for almost all day. They wear Shaun and I out. 4-7pm is the most exhausting time of the day. I am on my feet for the entire time getting dinner ready, outside playing with the kids in front yard, taking care of Brooke, bathing kids, moving and moving. Right now, I can’t imagine these hours of the day not being exhausting. It just simply is. So, when we try to stay up late, (Late at 7:30, ha! I know:), it usually doesn’t work. We are so tired. Which is why when I go to church activities at night, I have to try hard to not sit down in a chair and pass out. I have to be somewhat with it and social, but it just feels so good to sit down and not move for more than 5 minutes, and to visit with grownups after being with kiddos for a long day. We are just so darn tired from these active kids. I wonder if it will ever get physically easier during these hours when they get older. I can’t imagine it right now.

Usually, before 4pm hits, I’ve been getting on my knees and saying a little prayer to help me survive the next few hours. It’s been helping a lot. I try my best to have dinner prepared before these hours, but some days not.

Anyways, this was one of our Friday nights. We were trying to watch a movie. I just had to take a pic:)

Ethan was enjoying playing around with my props for photo sessions. I was getting ready for a fun shoot last week, and he looked so adorable.

Here’s our little group, with my friend’s family for our models. They are always so willing to come help us practice and keep learning photography. A couple of little girls freaked out when they saw our models, and wanted to get pictures with them. They thought they were from America’s Next Top Model. It was fun:)

Ok, time to go get breakfast done. Hope everyone is having a great week!

A day at the park

The time is fleeting this morning. I pulled myself out of bed at 6am, only to realize that I need more time before the kids arise. Tomorrow, we’ll try 5:30. Need to work on my talk for church. Shaun and I get to speak in church this Sunday. Argh!! I get so nervous to fill 10 minutes of time. Drives me crazy, but it will be ok.

We had a nice little walk at the park this weekend. I was able to catch a few shots of my darling, incredibly active kids who rarely hold still for a picture. We have sweet candids and glimpses into their precious, little souls right here:)

Happy, little Kevin. My bucket of giggles.

Energetic and passionate Ethan, who is in a sweet stage of loving his stuffed animals right now. Had to take them to the park for the fun, too.

Our princess, (I vowed I would never use that term for a daughter, but here we are using it often at home. Sheesh:) Brooke. At 16 months, she’s emerging with her cute personality. She was especially enjoying the nature here, while I was rolling around in duck poop, trying to catch a shot of her looking at me. The sun was just setting. Supreme golden hour at its best!

Love my family. Praying this week to listen to them better. To foster better relationships with them. That there is a huge one that takes constant, daily effort. I hope I can do it better. I love being a mom, even though it’s the hardest job ever some days. It’s worth it:)

Kevin’s birthday

My darling little Kevin had his 4th birthday! His birthday was in the midst of our long sick time, when we were all getting the flu and colds from each other. It was rough, but we tried to do a little something for him. So thankful that we finally got better. Here’s our little celebration at home. We’re pretty simple sometimes, cupcakes and a present.

Kevin really loves tools, so Ethan and I went to Target to pick out something for him. It was fun to have a little date with Ethan. Love doing one on one time with the kiddos when I can. Ethan has to show Kevin’s present to him, of course:)

He’s so stinking cute. Things about Kevin I love:

• He loves his blankets, still, and has to sleep with at least three of them.
• Love his talking Spiderman plush toy.
• Has the cutest giggle, and will go flying off the couch onto you when he sees us all playing on the floor. Has no fear, and can turn into a little, giggling wolverine in a second.
• Loves to play “I Spy Bingo”, and work on his letters.
• Always tells me’ Mama, you’re good. I want to keep you.”
• Loves to wrestle with Ethan on the couch, constantly laughing.
• Is still small enough that I can hold him all cuddled up in my arms.

I think I’m finally learning to slow down and enjoy them being little. I just think, ‘Wow, Kevin’s 4! Ethan’s getting so huge, and Brooke is moving towards toddler years.' Please slow down, but they won’t. They keep growing. It makes me think of this wonderful quote I saw on Pinterest. Oh, I love this one!!

“You will never have this day with your children again. Tomorrow, they’ll be a little older than they were today. This day is a gift. Breathe and notice. Smell and touch them; study their faces and their little feet, and pay attention. Relish the charms of the present.

Enjoy today, Mama. It will be over before you know it.” Jen Hatmaker

Isn’t that beautiful? I just love it. It nails what I need to be doing every day with these sweet kids. Just enjoy every moment with them, even when the challenging days come. Each day is a gift.

I love taking the time to just hold them. I’ll sit on the ground, and call out ‘Who wants held?’, and they will come running. I usually have to take turns and hold each one for a second, but I think they get a lot of security and peace from just being held.

I love being their Mama. I love making good food for them, and creating a safe haven for them to live in. We’re not perfect, they still stress us out some days, but we try. That’s all you can do. Don’t ever, ever beat yourself up and let your thoughts dwell on the negatives. That’s just what Satan wants you to do, so you waste precious time not ‘relishing the charms of the present’. We just don’t have time to waste thinking thoughts that don’t get us anywhere, but that lesson can take a long time to learn. Just don’t forget how blessed you are to be alive, even if its really, really cold right now! Ready for some warmer days, that’s for sure:)

Our little Christmas

Happy New year’s eve! After seeing all the pictures of friends doing parties, games, and food with their kiddos tonight, I started to think that we were pretty lame for all going to bed early, as usual, and then I remembered that we have young kids. Ha ha! I guess parties will happen when they can stay up later and not get cranky, right? Hope everyone is having a great time tonight:)

We had a lovely, quiet, little Christmas this year. Shaun did not work on Christmas, like many years in the past, and that was a wonderful gift. We were able to get some presents for the kids starting back in August. Another huge blessing. It was a good day.

We got the boys remote controlled cars, and they loved them!

Fun hats from Aunt Dana, and a Kindle fire from Shaun!

I always like to get Shaun nice clothes from Target. He’s so sweet, and wears anything I get him. It’s like having your own Ken doll:)

Brooke was happily swimming in paper.

Playing on the kindle with Kevin, and the house aftermath.

And that was our happy day. Just playing with the kids and their toys, watching “Christmas story”, and staying in pajamas all day. Best way to spend the day.

I can’t believe Christmas has come and gone. This year has flown by. We learned so much this year, and were greatly blessed. It started out rocky and fearful, yet we were strengthened in our trials, and learned great lessons. Humbling times. I’m still trying to grasp all the great things I’ve learned this year, and yet, 2013 is tomorrow! I’m not ready, ahh! Yet, more great memories lie ahead. What a gift life is. I still can’t stop thinking of the families in Connecticut who lost their children. My heart aches for them, and I am constantly reminded to savor every moment I have with my family. I’m so thankful for it all.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and is having a little party of their own tonight. My party, since everyone is asleep, is to get under my down comforter, and watch a little more of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”. A bit of a change from the days of sitting on my friend’s roof in Vegas with a bunch of friends, and watching the fireworks go off from the strip, but it’s something:)