Letters to My Kids and Others

I used to write poetry, someday maybe I will start again. Until then I will use the words of others. In this world of non-stop media there are so many negative images daily it can be overwhelming for adults. I cannot even begin to imagine how this is going to impact the current generation. How can we possibly teach our kids what is truly important? I think much will come from our example, but sometimes I think we need to spell it out.

So, this is for my kids. Here are several poignant letters from other people that I second. Never sell yourselves short to keep up with media hype. God has so much in store for each of you! Love, Mom

 http://themattwalshblog.com/2013/08/28/dear-son-dont-let-robin-thicke-be-a-lesson-to-you/

(this one has some profanity in the blog post, but the letter is clean and well stated.)

http://healinghamlet.com/healing-stories/letter-to-my-daughter-after-watching-the-bachelor-2/

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585423/Dear-daughter-let-Miley-Cyrus-be-a-lesson-to-you.html?pg=all

( you know your parents will follow through on the threats in this one, try us :)

And Finally, for all of the women in my life, be kind to yourself and remember that we are each doing the best we can!

http://www.emilywierenga.com/2013/07/a-letter-to-kate-middleton-on.html

http://living.msn.com/family-parenting/mom-to-mom-blog-post/?post=b1775da5-fef6-4e61-9e8e-51f5a048f5c2

http://growinginashrinkingculture.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/in-defense-of-the-iphone-mom/

http://thegiftofgivinglife.com/blog/

http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/

http://wonderwalther.blogspot.com/

(This is my sister-in-law Marissa's blog. She is an amazingly Provident Woman if you are looking for recipes! Also click on the ads on her blog, it makes her some $)

I know these are mommy related, but even those who are not in the mommy stage,
I love you!
God Loves You!

Be happy where you are in the journey,
and remember who you are!



Last, but not least...Mike is the most amazing man I know! I am thankful everyday for his love, for the way he cherishes me and our kids. Thanks for choosing me for eternity Babe! This song made me feel so many emotions, the strongest of which was greater gratitude for each moment we have together...

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1409956452563446

Life is Crazy!

Have you ever tried going to school with a 4 month old? Yeah, homework and reading already WAY behind. Hoping the 3 day weekend will help me catch-up.

Charlotte needed a current photo for Young Women's this week so we pulled out the camera. She is growing up too fast!

And since the camera was out we decided to take a few of the little monster! (Michael was busy playing with his friends so we will have to catch him another time!)

Four months has flown by...

and even though I wish everyday for a little more sleep,

I would not trade the beautiful smiles I get each day

For all the sleep or money in the world!

Stormond is really pushing to be a big kid,

I think mobility is just around the corner,

he can already move himself around in a circle 

and scoot around on his back.

My sister Lydia sent this beautiful quilt to us last week, 

thanks dad for being the courier!

It is probably the only thing he will ever own with his name on it...

Okay, there may be a few more custom thing eventually,

but no key chains or plates from the store :)

So that is the news, now I am off to do a little homework before he wakes up!

Quick Trip

As our last summer Hurrah the kids and I took an over night trip to see my brother Bruce and his family in the Vernal area. (I don't actually know what his neighborhood qualifies as, Ballard? Uinta County?) Anyway, we had a great time, and the kids came home exhausted after enjoying little cousins for a day.

The drive was amazing, I should have pulled over for some pictures, but all I had was my phone camera. May be next time. I will post the few I took from my phone.

Bath time before we left, Stormond would not sit up, he wanted his head in the water!

Sun rise while I fed the baby, truly beautiful!

Blurry ( I let M take it, he is getting really good with the SLR, but the phone is hard to control)

Feed the kids M&Ms, sorry about the stains Marissa!

Just one of the views I wished I had my good camera for... this is almost back to Heber. Next time I want to stop at Starvation Reservoir!

Last, but not least, the important things:

Stopping at Dairy Keen in Heber for a shake!

Making sure I have everything going for the baby is keeping me from really taking many pictures. Hoping to get back to it soon!

Honestly...I thought this summer would be different!

I started the summer with great intentions, I have been doing better doing the school year at getting up with the kids and moving through the day. So, I mistakenly thought that with a new born I would be able to have some fabulous schedule where we all did amazing activities and learned great new skills. FUNNY!

Turns out our new little guy does not want to sleep 12 hours at night like the other 2 were at this age. He is constantly hungry, so if we get a 6 hour stretch at night it is a blessing. I have started quipping when people ask if he is sleeping through the night that "He has done x, y, or z for the last 3 nights, so we are sure to have a different pattern tonight."

He sure makes up for any lack of sleep with his pleasant disposition and smile. We are constantly finding new ways to make him laugh. Tonight we were fighting over whether he would get his fingers in his mouth or I would get the binky in. Turns out he thought it was a great game, he figured out that laughing let him get his mouth open wide enough to get a finger in around the binky. That made him laugh harder! What fun!

The kids are amazing with him. He follows M's every move, including trying to dance while watching him play "Just Dance 3." C has so much patience, and is totally saving me. I don't know how I will get anything done when she goes back to school. She is always willing to sit and talk to him or hold him while I accomplish a simple task or two.

Anyway, it is too bad I cannot type and upload picture while I nurse! This blog would have extensive entries everyday, but I guess I will just have to enjoy cuddling the precious miracle the Lord has given us instead!

Love to you all! Hope the remainder of your summer is blissful and full of perfection, Lol!

Letters to our kids

Just saw a beautiful letter from a mother to her young daughter. For some reason my phone won't let me paste the link, I will share it on facebook. It was about how the women on the bachelor act, and how it will affect her daughter if she acts that way. We must try harder to help our girls see themselves through a realistic lense, not the media lense. It breaks my heart to see girls with low self-esteem who are amazing and beautiful!

2 Months Old!

So, we really took 2 month old pictures, but I have not edited them yet. Hopefully that will happen soon, but feeding him seems to take priority. Anyway, I am going to add a few pics from my phone, hope you are all well!

8 Wonderfully Reflective Weeks

8 weeks ago today I was preparing to be induced. Too bad the hospital was full, so we did not make the cut that day, but in a lot of ways I was grateful. The extra 3 days gave me time to pull it together and resign myself to the fact that Pitocin and I were going to meet again. Somehow I survived, thank goodness for super fast deliveries, and we have had our beautiful boy for 8 weeks on Monday.

8 sleepless weeks...okay, not really. He is up to about 6 hours once per night now, but that usually starts at 11:30 or midnight. As a result there have been many days that I just have to get up and going when he is done nursing. I keep hoping he will either make it 7 hours or start sleeping a little earlier so I can sneak in another hour. I am so grateful summer vacation starts tomorrow. Hopefully by the time the kids go back we will be on a great schedule. (Wishful thinking, I know!)

Anyway, we have had some requests for more recent photos. I will try to get some up soon, but here are a few from his 2 week photo shoot:

Love you all! Hope you are well and happy!