Because everyone else is updating...

*I finally gave the old blog a face lift.  It's been needing it for some time now.

*Christmas this year was awesome!  I absolutely love the age my kids are at.  Everything is SO exciting to them and thus...for me. We made a huge list of activities we wanted to do over the break and it's been fun crossing them off.  Making reindeer puppets and snowflakes, Christmas parties,

 a wagon ride (or as Emma calls it, a one-horse-open-sleigh-ride) to see the lights on the bay, decorating cookies, making a gingerbread house (try not to envy our mad decorating skills),

Christmas movie nights, Ogden's Christmas Village, Temple Square lights,

reading Christmas stories and drinking homemade hot cocoa...you get the idea.  It all made for a fun month topped off with a perfect Christmas day.

*Eight years!  That's right, this month Dave and I have been married for 8 years!

(picture by Melinda Smith Photography)

 I keep trying to figure out where all that time went.  Sheesh.  Thanks to Dave's sister we were able to celebrate sans kids.  Dinner and a scenic drive in the dark.  It was perfect.  I sure love that guy.

*I have a whole new respect for moms who work full-time.  I really only do it for the fall rush each year and man, does it get hard! On that same note, I'm so incredibly happy my little business has made it to where it is today.  I hope it keeps growing!  This year I plan to study up on the business side of my business.  There are some changes I'd like to make.

*Family pictures.  We finally had ours done!  And man, am I in love with them. Worth EVERY penny. We had a good friend we met through photography take them.  Really, she is amazing!  As soon as I got the disk I printed out a gazillion and one.  That's only a slight exaggeration. Stay tuned, I plan on doing a whole post dedicated to family pictures.  And speaking of family pictures, I made up a Christmas card this year, ordered a good handful and never mailed them.  So, family and friends, here you go...

*I'm sad to see 2010 go.  Really sad.  Why?  My baby, baby was born in 2010.  I'm weird like that.

*My focus for 2011 will be on health and spirituality.  Both are areas in my life that have been neglected more than I care to admit. 

*I'm thinking of taking up digital scrapbooking.  My girls LOVE to look at their books and have me read stories about them when they were smaller.  I feel scrapbooks are important but can't seem to find the time to do them.  I'm thinking going digital will help.

*There's more, but this post is getting much too long.

I Am Thankful...(day 14)

For Taylor Swift.

Odd, I know.  But the thing is, Ali loves... adores...  idolizes little Taylor Swift.  Every morning she makes me cake mouse in her hair so her hair will be curly like Taylor Swifts.  She also has us play all of Taylor's songs so she can sing passionately along.  And you know what?  I'm 100% ok with it all because Taylor Swift is pretty clean cut.  In a world full of Brittney Spears and Miley Cyrus' I'm thankful there are Taylor Swifts. 

I Am Thankful...(day 13)

For a living prophet.

It gives me great comfort that when questions arise or I find myself in a gray area I know where to turn for answers.  It gives me even greater comfort to know that when my children have tough questions about those gray areas I can whole-heartily advise, "follow the prophet".

I Am Thankful...(day 12)

for this challenge, actually.  This challenge of listing something I am thankful for everyday. 

Today I was tired.  I haven't slept, really slept, in oh, so long. The wee ones were sick, clingy and crabby. Dave was in the middle of a 24 hr. shift. The laundry was piled up high waiting to be folded.  The dishes needed to be done.  The floor needed to be vacuumed.  I had 6 sessions I needed to finish and mail off.  Emails were waiting to be answered.  In short, I was anxious, short-tempered and felt like I was drowning.

Somehow I got to thinking about this challenge and it hit me, all of the things I was complaining about were the things I am most thankful for.

I am drowning in blessings.

My kids.  Oh man, do I love them.  They are everything to me. EVERYTHING.

Dave.  What a great guy.  He works SO hard to provide for us.

My job.  How many people get paid to do something they love and are passionate about?  How many people can set their own schedule and work 90% from home with a baby on their lap?

My home.  I love our home.  We have SO much.  All that laundry I complain about...shame on me.

So yes, I am thankful for this challenge.  I may need to find some balance in my life but I am VERY thankful for everything I have to balance.

Oh and very thankful for my sister-in-law who brought over dinner just because it was a bad day.

I Am Thankful...(day 11)

For light.

I have to admit, before I got into photography I didn't really care about light.  Ehhh, it was there, but that was about all. But now? I am borderline obsessed. I spend a lot of time searching for light.  I love how the right lighting can turn something quite normal and boring into something amazing.  Light touches my soul.

I Am thankful...(day 10)

For baby tylenol

I Am Thankful...(day 9)

For Mrs. Pierce.

I stressed a lot about Emma and Kindergarten.  I debated long and hard on whether I should put her in a charter school or public school and on whether I should put her in whole-day or half-day kindergarten.  It seems to have all worked out perfectly.  Emma absolutely loves school and is thriving in so many areas.  I owe it all to Mrs. Pierce.  I've had the opportunity to observe her while volunteering in the classroom and she is amazing.  AMAZING.  I couldn't wish for a better teacher for Emma. 

I Am Thankful...(day 8)

For Zumba, spin classes, my bike, and the many, many health and fitness apps out there.

I Am Thankful...(day 7)

Wow.  So many things to be thankful for today...the day Canyon was blessed.

I'm thankful for the priesthood.  My husband.  My sweet baby boy. 

I'm thankful for our home, especially when it is bursting at the seams with friends and family.  And I do mean BURSTING.

I Am Thankful...(day 6)

For work.

Sure, sure, I may rather lounge in a warm tub with a good book and a handful of chocolates then spend the day scrubbing toilets, mowing the lawn, folding laundry, raking, mopping, etc..etc... but there is something very rewarding about hard work.  Or in my case, just work ;).

I Am Thankful...(day 5)

For sweet little, "I lub you"s before bed. And the squishy hugs and juicy kisses that accompany them. And let's be honest, I'm quite thankful for bedtime itself.

I Am Thankful...(day 4)

For Fall.

By far, my favorite season.  I love the colors, the smells, the temperature, the crisp crunchy leaves I have to brush out of my girls' hair every night, the jackets, the lighting, the seasonal treats...I love it all.

I Am Thankful...(day 3)

For late night movies on the couch with my boys...the hairy one, the slobbery one and the handsome one.  Great way to unwind at the end of a crazy day.

I Am Thankful...(day 2)

For this little guy

Who is currently laying on the floor drooling and smiling at me.

He makes me happy.

Remember when I wanted a handsome lil' mama's boy? Well, I sure got me one. This boy loves his mama. And loves to snuggle. Boy howdy, does he love to snuggle. When he leans in and rubs his little head into my neck over and over again my heart absolutely melts.

Or how about when we are napping together and I get up and his little arms flail out searching desperately for me? Melting heart, I tell you.

He is new, smiley, miniature, demanding, and oh so very sweet and loving.

So glad he joined our family. Definitely a keeper.

I Am Thankful...(day 1)

For the best neighbors ever.

Seriously, we totally lucked out in the neighbor department. For example, once when I was prego with Canyon and very sick, mind you, Dave was working and poor Howie got sick. He got covered in his, ummm sickness ;), and my darling neighbor saw my gagging dilemma and came over and scrubbed him ear to tail while he growled and nipped at her. Who does that? Only the best neighbor ever.

Or how about a couple nights ago when I thought I broke my foot (haha, long embarrassing story) and my phone died while I was on the phone with Dave, who was working. Not 30 minutes later in walk my fabulous neighbors. Dave called and asked if they could check in on me and the monkeys. They left a family dinner and came over, helped put my kids to bed and took out my garbage. Who does THAT? You got it...the best neighbors ever.

Oh and they spoil my kids. Love them.