Smuggler

The sucking of the fingers. This is the problem when your kids don't take pacifiers. I have been trying to figure out how to break this child of the habit. Most recently we said "Good-Bye" to her green blanket. We folded it and put it up in the closet, so when she missed it she could blow kisses to it.

Hallie's soothing technique includes, fuzzies, (pulled fuzzies of blankets, sweaters etc.)and her fingers. She rubs the little fuzzies under her nose, and sucks her fingers. Don't ask me! ANYWAY, we said good bye. We hoped without the fuzz she would then stop sucking her fingers. But, to no avail. She found daddy's manshaw from Pakistan to fulfill the void of the green blanket. Needless to say, when she wasn't feeling well on Tuesday, I yanked the green blanket down, and she took a great nap.

Any Ideas on how to stop this habit, I'd love to know it!!

A Prophet, Seer, Revelator.

The Prophet President Hinckley died last night. You can read more in this article.

I loved our prophet. He was an amazing leader, and loved his people. He always encouraged us to be a little kinder, a little better.

I was able to see him in Chicago, and in Salt Lake at General Conference. I remember sitting in church for a general conference as he told us his inspiration regarding smaller temples, I wasn't even married yet! In those ten years or so, the number of temples has already doubled. I remember his talk on the "BE'S". I loved his wit, and wisdom.

We'll miss our Beloved Prophet.

A Favorite Thank You

The weeks before Josh made it home from his "trip", I was asked to accomplish a seemingly difficult task. However, as honored as I was, I could not say no. Nor did I know, how I would do the project for my friend. A scrapbook to remember a daughter lost. It happened a little over 14 years ago, a pregnant mommy, and a terrible car crash. She lost a little girl, Emily. I was able to make a small scrapbook with shadow box for her. I wanted to focus on hope and peace, and the eternal nature of families. I knew my friend did not know how to thank me, and truly it was an honor to share in the sacredness of their story, a thank you wasn't even needed. I was happy to do it. While working on the project there were some pictures of Emily, they had tried to save her, and so she was bruised where they intubated her. Colson happened to see it, and began to ask several questions about her. I tried to explain to him what happened. He paused for a moment and said. "I know who I'm going to do at the temple, when I turn twelve." I was so impressed with his tender heart. That is my son, sweet, pure and future apostle:). So, to my friend, I thank you, for giving me the opportunity to see such compassion in my little boy. And thank you for the wonderful note, and beautiful flowers. Fresh flowers are truly one of my favorite things.

For those of you of other faiths you can learn more about what Colson was talking about HERE.

Valentines' Times Twenty

I found a new love. I might just have to subscribe. Anyway, one of the ideas I discovered was this super cute cell phone valentine. I had to make them!! Tonight while Josh was at a priesthood meeting, the kids and I, Hallie included, Laila not included, made these for Colson's Class:

Oh, OOPS!!

I forgot to mention, a particular thing. My Sweet husband who took the kiddos to give me a break, and completed the Honey-Do list. which was SO DANG sweet. I love you.

Scrapbook Retreat: Year Four

I've been fortunate in the Army, that's right. You heard me correctly I've been fortunate in the Army. Fortunate in that I've made the most amazing friends wherever we've been. I literally have friends spanning the world. I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL!!

Our last duty station, has been no exception. I've been a part of this super fun group year after year that gets together to celebrate the life of Dr. King. O.k., well maybe it is more scrapbooking than anything.

This is the 4th year, I was in Indiana during the first year, and so I've been able to share in the last three. I'm not sure if it was just that I needed this more than ever or that it really was the MOST FUN weekend yet. I laughed, I cried, I slept, I ate, I did scrapbook, and even more I bonded deeply with some awesome women. What is so cool is that we're all different ages, have different interests, it seems the one thing we ALL have in common is the gospel. Other than that our personalities (in some cases night and day) are different, we enjoy different things, some of us have kids some don't, some of our husbands are in the military some aren't. But, yet, throw us together in this spectacular five bedroom OLD home, and we have a total blast, learning about each other, lifting one another, and share tips and techniques about the world of scrapbooking, or maybe just about the world.

Let's talk about the house, I'm not sure but I think we found out that it was mid 1800's, it's been added on since then, but it had the wide plank wood floors, and full of charm. We had FOUR full bathrooms, a kitchen, a dishwasher, which has been a change since last time. Oh and it can NOT go without saying that we were a little bummed we weren't drinkers, because the house was FULL of drinks, everywhere!! It was hilarious that we literally could not walk five feet without having the option of having an alcoholic beverage. We were taking some fun pictures when I realized none of us had a clue about alcohol, I thnk we even thought one bottle was maple syrup!! :)

We also had internet access, which was new this year as well. This added some fun conversation as we reminisced on the Darwin awards, and also discussed politics as some of us figured out "Our Candidate" for 2008. Looks like I'm a McCain fan. We ate great, played harder and had the best conversation about ice cream. We even came up with a diet of ice cream every day for two weeks. A few of us are giving it a try. We'll let you know how it goes! And some of us are going to have an Ice Cream Party in a bit, which will be interesting, to say the least!!

We talked about real issues like politics, religion, families, marriage, parenting, and finances. I learned about a psycho girl, and psycho guy, a sweetheart suffering from some depression, a journey faraway, a soon to be deployed spouse, and even met the "skin whisperer". It was a much needed break, and had such an amazing time. Here's a few pics of my weekend away. Thanks girlies. You know I love ya!! Now go get yourself some ice cream...

My To Do List.

Let's see laundry, dishes, diapers, scrapbooking, bake cookies, help Colson with homework, take stuff to recycling, make dinner, etc. Sound Fun? Of course it is!! Joy in the Journey, right?

Oh ye of little faith.

That is me today. Colts lost. I'm in mourning.

Confessions of a SAHM

Yes, I stay at home. Yes, I shop online, and Yes, after Josh was gone for four months and my camera mysteriously broke, (I swear it wasn't me) I bought the big one. Yes it's true, I'm guilty. I bought it. I asked for permission from my hubby, and he said yes. So I shopped for the best deal. Surprisingly I found it at QVC. That's right, QVC. They had EASY PAY!! I love it, it's like a layaway...except I got the camera right away. So, apparently the pictures have greatly improved and it can no longer go unnoticed (see comments).

I confess, my new love, and I'm not kidding, is my Canon Rebel XTi Digital SLR. There you go Cathy!! It's amazing. Now, I know the quality of the picture has A LOT to do with the camera. But I will put a disclaimer, that I in fact, practice and study photography. I have several books, I read online, I visit excellent photographers' websites, I confer with friends that have great talent, and I take pictures EVERY SINGLE day. I am NOT a professional, but I'm also not just a clicker. I'm probably somewhere between a novice and a professional. With that said. There it is. I confess. I love the camera, I bought it.

My dad would say this is a ridiculous way to spend that kind of money, he's probably right. But, to make him proud, I have been concocting ways to make it a tax write off. How does selling pictures on the ETSY website sound?? That means I would use the camera for a business purpose right? I'll be thinking about it.

Pediatric Cardiologist

Laila had an appt. with one today because of a heart murmur they detected at her last check up. Thankfully everything came back completely normal. Thank you Heavenly Father again, for the blessing of good health. While there they did an EKG, some of you may have experienced these before, I on the other hand have not. Never even seen one. They tape these tabs all over Laila's body, maybe ten?? And then clip wires to all of them...

I was a little worried about it (We've been waiting a couple of months for the appt.) but when they started clipping the wires to the tabs on my little bare baby, I thought this is not for me. I prayed hard she would be fine< I did not want to hear bad news. I could feel the worry begin, is there something wrong? What could I do if there was? I was regretting not having Josh go with me... Hallie was with me and thankfully she was a destraction. After the tests, we headed into this room: Probably the "Bad News" room, the room where there's carpet, a fluffy exam table, a cozy blanket, a pillow in the chair. I imagine this is the room where the unfortunate few are given the news, the kind that changes things, that changes your plans, the kind of news that throws you for a loop, the unexpected, overwhelming, and the kind that sends you into shock instantiously. Here the doc gave me my good news. The relief set in, and I felt like I was a lucky one, this time. You never know what cards you'll be dealt. Maybe my thoughts are lingering on topics like this because of a talk I have to give based on a talk from General Conference "Live with Faith, not by Fear". Take a peek, maybe it will bring a bit of peace to you!

I have seen the Hand of God in my life today. Have you?

Zumba Anyone?

OH MY WORD!! WHERE HAVE I BEEN? This is the newest, hippest exercise out there!! how did I miss the craze I do not know. But today for my Y time, I decided to "try out the class". Let's just say, I have NEVER in my life seen so many people smiling and exercising at the same time. I mean it was nuts, there's even special shoes for this stuff!! It was so fun, and now I'm so sore!! If you haven't already tried it give it a whirl. Did I mention you burn 500-700 calories in the hour??

Al Gore may have something.

Global Warming might just be an issue, I'm not sure with who. Because it 1)lowers heating bills and 2)we get January days like these:


















She may not sit up yet, but she's got chompers!!

Contest Entry

Scrapbooking is no longer just about keeping our memories... there's this crazy online world that is competitive and challenging, and well you know I love a good competition! I recently entered the CMK design team contest, and the following pics are my entries. The competition is amazing, but I've been a fan of the store forever so it would be great to be a part of the team!









Wish me luck!

Laila at six months

I completely missed five months due to a camera malfunction, but here we are. She's arrived to the six month mark. And maybe you overachieving mothers out there would be shocked at the list of accomplishments she's made up to this point, however, you just go ahead and push and prod your children to the top. I'll happily extend the non-mobile baby as long as I can, so without further ado, here are her abilities... smiles, coos, babbles, laughs, reaches and grabs, rolls over only from her tummy to her back, almost the other way, but not quite, pushes head up at a 90 degree angle. She does not however, sit up alone, and doesn't appear to be all that close. Am I worried?? Nope. I know that children develop by daily placing them on the belly. But I've also learned if you don't do this they will still learn, just later. Exactly. Did you know this?? I mean who wants a crawler?? That means they move, no thank you.

Here she is enjoying some bananas and rice cereal. Yummy.