[this Christmas]

family, friends, food, shepherds and angels...
what more could you ask for?

we enjoyed every busy minute this Christmas!
i hope you and your family did too!

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[love at first lens]

the smell of freshly peeled oranges
and my four year old's cute little version of taylor swift's love story are in dancing around in the background as i snap off all kinds of objects around me.

sam and the kids decided they couldn't wait to give me my Christmas gift; they excitedly brought me a big box taped up and adorned with a red sticky bow stuck on top.
after trying to insist on waiting, i lost, and then proceeded to hesitantly open the mysterious package they quickly prepared.

after several seconds of fishing through oodles of bright white tissue paper, i spotted it. my new love.
my micro lens!



"what? are you serious? no way!" i screamed.
"ahhhh!!!" i couldn't stand to look at it one moment longer! carefully ripping it out of the box and quickly attaching it to my camera is what i surely did.
"go ahead, take some pictures already!" sam hollered with a gigantic grin.
he proceeded to tell me all of the functions and details about the fabulous new thing.

craving a good close up and bribing my kids to pose was my next move.
then pine cones, Christmas lights, glittered ornament balls, and pretty much everything in sight was captured!



this lens can focus within six inches of any object.
for portraits and table top photography, this bad boy surely gets 'em good!



i told sam that it probably wasn't a very good idea to give me this gift 5 days before Christmas...
now nothing will get done :) all i want to do is take MORE pictures!

i just had to post a little bit of my happiness tonight :)
thanks family!



merry monday to you!

[the scent of a woman]

...in a house with a fresh pine wreath!

there are two things my husband strongly dislikes:
wreaths and needles (pine needles that is).
he's always bumping into the hanging arrangements, cursing them every time. "they're always in my way!" he gripes. and the mess of dried fallen needles makes him twitchy too. silly practical man! i love wreaths, all kinds.

but ahhh, there's nothing more festive and nostalgic than real aromatic boughs!
i can't get enough! my nose is continually glued to our door where it's hung.
because sam loves me so much, he puts up with me and all my musings :)

i think i acquired the love of fresh pine from my dad. we share the same sniffer genes i think. if a restaurant smells weird, we're outta there. very sensitive.
it was too cute, when i had my december baby, he brought fresh boughs to my hospital room for me! every time visitors or nurses walked in, they couldn't help but comment and reminisce about Christmas trees. so jolly! sam bit his tongue and kept patiently sweeping up the needles.
i love you sammy!

sorry, but scented pine candles are just not the same!



the one candle i do absolutely love is winter, it's the best!
.gotta love these luminaries too.

[broken]

over the course of several weeks, each one of my throw pillows have come apart.
the last one standing finally joined the others in my laundry room heap awaiting repair.

my question to you dear readers,
have you ever seen these kind of buttons before?
are they fixable? they don't look like they are.

i am trying to decide if i should just sew the middles for the "tuft" look and then hot glue the buttons on, or if I can somehow connect the top and bottom buttons together again.
they are perfectly good pillows and still look brand new....
i'd hate to throw them away!
help! i need sewing advice :)

[spilled milk part II]

stephanie sent me this e-mail and i just had to blog it...
it went along so nicely with my last post!


The Wooden Bowl
[I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now, a year from now.]

> A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.
> The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered
>
> The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and
> failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
> When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
>
> The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.
> 'We must do something about father,' said the son.
> 'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'
>
> So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
> There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
> Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
>
> When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
> Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
>
> The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
>
> One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.
> He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded,
> 'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.'
> The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
>
> The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
>
> That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.
> For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason,
> neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
>
> On a positive note, I've learned that, no matter what happens, how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

see a little holiday heaven here

[spilled milk]

i just cringe when i see spilled milk commercials...
whenever one comes on, sam knows i'll hide.

when "this" (below) happened the other morning, i just sucked it up, made myself laugh, and of course grabbed the camera.

yay! i'm proud to say i didn't even cry!
[trust me, i was on the verge]

gotta love those little hands in there :)

Excuse This House

Some houses try to hide the fact
That children shelter there,
Ours boasts it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges are on the doors
I should apologize, I guess
For toys strew on the floor.

But I sat down with my child
And we played and laughed and read
And if the doorbell doesn’t shine,
His eyes will shine instead.

For when at times I’m forced to choose
The one job or the other,
I’d like to cook and clean and scrub,
But first I’ll be a mother.

-author unknown

[bright eyed bella]

aHhH, is she cute or what?
those big baby blues!
bella was such a doll...
i love taking pictures!
here are a few more

p.s. can you see my header? is it too light?

[ornament]

the primary presidency in our ward handed these adorable little baby Jesus ornaments out to all the children this last sunday.
i thought they were so cute and appear to be very simple to make.
they used hot glue to hold it all together, placing the wire behind the little head.
just a cute christmas craft idea for you... if you're looking for one!

[back float]

back floating is pretty easy right?
sure! for a while it's nice, tranquil and refreshing; it's great...
until even the smallest waves start splashing over your face, and it's not so comfortable anymore.
time to turn over and swim ashore.
as i lay back, float along, and things seem to be going great, life happens again.
thankfully nothing major... small waves, but interruptions to my peaceful swim.

my toddler turned two and now i fully understand the famous term "the terrible twos" - my latest waves.
what happened? right on her birthday!
i feel lots of extra kneeling coming on - asking my dear Heavenly Father for added patience and help.



one thing that did make her very happy and me as well today, was this fun gift she got for her birthday.
a swimming baby!
she really swims! she'll swim on her back and stomach... awesome!
she's so cute and very entertaining for all our kids!

if you are still looking for a little girl christmas gift, here you go!
we found this one at walmart for $15 by little dreams
(i didn't notice if they had a little boy swimmer doll)
a sure hit!



now back to my laps!

[rollin' along]

i think this week has rolled away faster than any other week i can remember!
and where did november go?
sorry i've been a little absent lately, i have been working on some photography projects and loving every minute of it!

my sweet little preschooler made this cute miniature gingerbread house in her class and it just depicts the fun stage our family is in right now;
not to mention small renderings on random objects that fill our home as lulu draws on everything she can get her hands on.
sam found this rolling pin first and showed me while chuckling and shaking his head.
"what can i say?" i laughed,
"she's just like me!"

[e wall]

take a look at these paintings!

my darling cousin-in-law erin is AMAZING!
she is currently attending byu & definitely kicking major bootie there - she has such a gift!

she's currently doing freelance work...
what an amazing christmas gift that would be!
erin, when can i hire you to paint my children?

check out more of her work here