Our Easter

My dear friends Celise and Jessica invited the boys and I to their big family easter egg hunt. It was such a treat and a joy to attend, and to see my boys happily finding eggs and playing with other kids. I was so thankful. We rarely attend big family reunions of our own, being that they’re all out of state. Hopefully, someday, but in the meantime, we just make the best of it. So, when friends invite us to their family things, I think that just grants them a ticket straight to heaven in the next life

Kevin using a crochet bag of mine. He was more into opening the eggs at the moment, but got into the fun of adding more to his bag.

Ethan is SO big, clearly in this picture below. He’s definitely got Shaun’s build, and will tower over me in years to come.

Kevin stuffing those cheeks of his

Sunday night, we attempted to have the boys sit down and watch some church videos. They actually held still for about twenty minutes, which is huge! We watched “Lamb of God” and they wanted to see more, so we put on “Finding Faith in Christ”. Kevin kept asking “Where Jesus?” It was nice to make Sunday special and teach them about our Saviour. So, I think we did some good that night:) Hope everyone had a nice Easter.

PS: We find out the baby’s gender in two weeks, woo!!!

Thankful for the little stuff

I’ve been trying to keep up with the daily stuff, but it seems that the days fly by, and I am pooped. Probably the pregnant part plays into that, along with keeping up with these rambunctious boys of mine. I am trying my best to make each day special with them. Challenges always seem to abound, but there are sweet moments, too. Here’s some:

• Ethan and Kevin playing more together, even though Ethan gets very upset when Kevin wants a break, and begins yelling at him full force, thus making him cry. I try my best to help them out.
• Frozen corn dogs and crock pot liners. Sometimes, I just don’t know what to do for lunch, and the frozen stuff from costco sure helps. I will not cook in a crock pot without a liner anymore. They just make the hard cleanup process disappear, and are the greatest things ever in the ziploc isle.
• Getting three out of four mini sessions edited within a week of the shoot date. I try not to get behind in that, and I’m proud of myself with that accomplishment.
• Having a regular bedtime schedule. It sure helps. Each night, the boys go to bed at 7pm. Gasp! I know They simply are not late night owls. None of us are. Boys are in bed by 7, we shower and crash into bed by 7:30. Then, I have a small half hour of talking and laughing with a grown up, my best friend. By 8, we are SO tired and can barely keep our eyes open. One, Shaun goes to work quite early, and two, I am pooped from mothering, cleaning dishes, cleaning up, trying to teach the boys to clean up, and doing my best to love my little guys. We are in the ‘physical’ chapter of parenting right now, breaking up fights, stopping jumping on couches, etc. I wonder if there will be nights when we are not so dead tired by 8. Probably when the kids are older, right?
• The garden. It is so wonderful to have. It’s blooming like crazy. I love sitting in a camping chair, and holding Ethan on my lap, talking about God’s creations and such. This usually happens around 7am, before we get Kevin up. Kevin sleeps in. Blessing.
• The sound of laughter from the boys. It’s so fun to tickle them, and hear them giggle. Pure heaven in a bottle.

When I had challenging moments this week, I tried to remember these things. It helps. Prayer does too. Just trying to take it step by step, constantly trying to slow down around the house, and figure out this mothering stuff. Sure learn a lot from you dear friends

The busy weekend

This was a very busy weekend. Shaun flew out to Colorado Friday morning. There was a family gathering, and we could only afford for him to travel at the time. It was meant to be that I stayed home with the boys. Wednesday, I got the call of my dreams. A friend from church told me that they were in a bind, and needed a photographer for her son’s wedding that Friday, at the temple.  I got my first booked wedding of the business. Huge jumps of joy. All the second shooting and preparation paid off, as I had not an ounce of worry or fear for the big day. It was just so awesome to be the main photographer, and I loved every minute of it. My friend Celise was my fun second shooter.

Here’s some behind the scene shots that the groom’s sister took

And there’s my pregnant belly!

Their reception was outdoors. Outdoor receptions rock!! Natural lighting. Third one in a row for me.

Friday night, I came home pretty pooped. Receptions are the hardest physical part of the job, as I’m on my feet for about 2 hours. In the past, I tried wearing some snazzy looking black shoes that were more dressy, but my feet hurt after a bit. This time, I tried wearing my old black mission shoes. They are Josef Sibel shoes, and cost a pretty penny awhile back, (nine years ago! Wow!) but they’re leather and held up super. That night, no hurting feet. So I now choose to forgo dressy shoes for comfort

The next day, I had the morning home with the boys, and the whole afternoon doing some spring mini sessions. I am amazed at how beautiful Floyd Lamb is. Most of my clients had never been there, and it was SO green with loads of trees. Looked completely like another state. Those sessions were fun, and slightly easier than the wedding. Sweet families.

I am eternally grateful for the babysitters I used this weekend. Bless you!

Sunday, I went to church with the boys. I sang in the choir, as another one of my sitters sat with the boys for that song. I have a huge respect for any mothers out there that go to church with their kiddos on their own. Thankfully, the boys were not difficult, and it was a good day. We had the stake primary presidency do our music and sharing time for the kids. The music gal had the voice of an angel, and when she sang, a pin drop could be heard. I felt honored to accompany her. (primary pianist at the moment)

Next, another garden post. The cherry tomatoes are getting HUGE! Taking over the bed

 

Little playmates

Something wonderful is happening. The boys are playing together, and its been three days in a row. It’s totally new to me to be able to use the bathroom, and not have kids crawling all over me, but to be happily playing in the other room. I’ve heard this would happen as they get older, but have never witnessed it yet. Here’s some of the funny stuff that’s been going on:

• Ethan has taken upon himself to give Kevin early potty training. Whenever Ethan has to go poop, he demands that Kevin comes with him into the bathroom, shuts the door, and a poop party commences. I stand outside to listen and laugh.
• Ethan insists that Kevin goes ‘camping’ with him, and they proceed to fill up bags of whatever the can get their hands on for their camping gear, and find some place in the house to camp out. One spot is the large cubby hole under the game shelf. I found them laying down on blankets and pillows in there. So cute.
• Today, they went to our beloved, large tree in the backyard and dug in the dirt/rocks for a bit. Ethan gets quite upset when Kevin wants to go do something else, and at times has thrown his King Kong fits over it. It’s really funny.

This is our awesome pop up tent, (seriously, you just open it up and it flies out all by itself) and it’s their favorite hang out place this week. My mom got this tent awhile back in her camping days. She liked it so much she got two more, which are out in our garage. They rock.

So, that’s our day today. I’m moving slower today. Just seem to be pregnant tired. I am almost passed out into a nap on the couch, as I watched the boys play in the tent. Glad they are being easy today, blessing. We’ve been outside in the backyard playing in the garden and digging every day for a bit now. Trying to enjoy the weather before the impending doom of heat comes soon.

Simple blessings

Lately, I’ve just been trying to slow down and stress less. We’ve had some great days and challenging days with the boys, and I just want to have more calmer days. True, the rough stuff will still come, but I’m trying to really listen and think before I react to whatever crazy thing Ethan is doing, to give more hugs and kisses, and involve the boys in as much as possible.

We’ve been playing a lot in the garden. Ethan loves to snitch red strawberries, and delights in how ‘tasty’ they are. Shaun and I agree. Home grown strawberries sure blow store bought ones out of the water. The extreme sweetness, wow! I will work on getting some new garden pics up soon. The beds are getting filled in with plants from Star Nursery, and some of my seedlings.

I have learned so much from listening to the podcast conversation of Christian and Stephanie Nielson, the burned couple that have incredible and humble testimonies. Every time I’ve had a photo assignment to go on, I’ve keep listening to that podcast. I love her blog! I will read her words, and be reminded to quit complaining, and look more for the simple beauty in life. I am so thankful for her words and amazing friends I know that teach me wonderful lessons without even knowing it. Friends are gold, period. We’re all on this earthly journey together, and need each other so much, as Marjorie Hinckley has said. I couldn’t survive without the kindness of friends babysitting my boys, or sharing recipes and tips with me, and more. Thanks to all. I must got get started for the day. Here’s to making this Monday better than the usual, crazy back to Monday days