"I wanna go Potty."

I have to share this because my heart is just BURSTING with joy right now!  Claire just came in the office, butt-naked mind you (she takes of her diaper CONSTANTLY), and said to me, "I wanna go potty."  I figured this was just another one of those moments where she would tell me that, we would go sit on the potty for a couple of minutes and nothing would happen.  NOT THIS TIME!!!  She got on the potty and IMMEDIATELY started going pee!!!!  AHHHH!!!!  SHE IS GETTING IT!!!  HOORAYY!!!!  can you sense my excitement? :)I tried to call Trev but he didn't answer so I am sharing my excitement with all you mom's out there instead. :) 
I love these moments in motherhood. :) 

Now mind you, I know this won't likely be the last of the diapers.  I am sure we will have our share of messes, but it is soooo nice to see progress. :)  Hopefully Abby will see Claire do it, and then she will want to also.  Could I really be somewhat close to not changing diapers anymore???  What a lovely thought. :)

Family Picture Time Again...

So the time to get family pictures taken is upon us.  It's still nice weather, the fall colors are coming out, and we need at least one good family picture to replace last years' in my big frame, and for the upcoming Christmas card.  Most importantly however, I am a FIRM believer in getting your family's picture taken AT LEAST once a year.  It is just so imporntant for you and your kids.  You get to preserve the moment in time of your lives together (which I am quite certain will bring me a lot of joy in my older years when they are all grown and gone) and your kids will love to see themselves and you as they grew.  Trust me, I don't have any pictures like that of my family and I sooo wish I did. 

With that all being said...I have a LOVE(which was already explained above)/HATE (which I will explain now) with getting family pictures taken.  They are SOO much work for me!  SOO much stress!!  What do we wear?  Where do we go?? Will the kids actually sit still long enough to get a good picture?  Will the stars align and we will all be looking at the camera and preferably smiling, at the same instant???!!!  AHHH...

Being a photographer, I can appreciate how much work goes into this.  I always would feel the worst for the mom.  She is usually the one that loses it first in the photo shoots.  She has worked SOOO hard to get ready for this day in hopes of capturing her happy family.  Often it doesn't go as planned and I often wondered after I would leave if the mom is crying in the car the whole way home. :)  I have done that myself.  We moms want SOOO badly to have pictures that capture the essence of our family.  I just hope that the "essence" I WANT to remember is captured, instead of the "other" stuff I don't (i.e. crying kids, annoyed look on my face, etc.). :)  I think that I am just going to try and remember the ages of my kids, then I think I will be happy with whatever comes out. :)

Here is last year's family photo:

Okay, back to trying to coordinate outfits.  Wish me luck... :)  I'll post the pictures soon. :)

P.s. My little girls are in the living room watching Cinderella as we speak.  This is the first time they have been into it.  Fun moment as a mom.  So cute.

A quiet morning at home.

This morning M woke up with a pinkish eye.  She told us when she woke up it had goop in it but she cleaned it out.  She convinced her father, I am still not sure if this is a true case of sickness...but I kept her home with me and the girls, just in case. :)  My girls are also feeling a little under the weather, so this morning has been pretty low key and quiet.  I secretly like when my kids aren't feeling so hot because then I get more snuggles. :)

 

Learning about me.

This last week has been an eye-opening experience for me.  Just to warn you, this is a post for me.  I debated whether or not to share these things so publicly because althought I may not seem to be, I am actually somewhat of a private person.  I don't believe everyone needs to know everything about you.  There are certain things that you only share with certain people.  However, I gain so much strength from other women's blogs, especially when they share their feelings/thoughts/impressions - both good and bad.  So for two reasons, I am blogging mine. 

#1: Most importantly, I want to document them so that I don't forget.

#2: Because maybe someone reading this will relate and this will strengthen them.

So now that you are all thinking I am going to delve into some deep closet to share my soul...perhaps I have built this up to much.  Or perhaps these things were powerful to me and that is why I view them as personal.

This last weekend, we had our Stake Conference.  For those not of our Faith (LDS) it is a meeting where our local leaders speak to us.  Sometimes a General Authority will come.  This time Elder Brimhall of the Seventy was there.  The focus of the meeting was how can we strengthen and serve others.  I won't go into all the details but I want to record the feelings and impressions I had.

Love

First impression - Sometimes I feel as though I have so far to go in becoming the person I want to be.  Or better yet the person my Father in Heaven created me to be.  There are things that beset me so easily.  But I try SO hard!  I can honestly say without reservation that I know I am trying, and the Lord knows that too.  But still I see my struggles.  So, the thought came to me in Stake Conference that if I try to do these two things with every fiber of my being: Love the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength...and love my neighbor as myself...that everything else will fall in line.  So that is what I am going to try to do.  I am going to try and love.  Love God and love others.  If this becomes my focus I know that I will have the Spirit guide my life and I EVENTUALLY will get there.  And that's all that matters right?!! :)

Art

Second Impression - I am an artist!  I love art!  Particularly, writing, music, and photography.  These elements touch me deeply.  I feel the Spirit when I am creating or experiencing art.  This realization came to me in a number of ways, one of which was while watching some of the LDS Youtube videos on www.lds.org.  The other was attending the plays, The Sound of Music with Trev, and Mary Poppins with Morgan.  In addition, I have been DEEPLY touched my LDS women's blogs who are excellent writers and photographers.  I feel as though I know there families so well, even though many of them I have never met.  I truly love the way photography captures and encapsulates those precious moments of life that the mind forgets.  
This realization about myself came to me as a bit of a suprise.  I grew up in a tiny country town, where the only extra-curricular activities revolved around sports.  I was decent at sports and all my friends played them so that is what I did.  I also grew up in "less-than-well-to-do" family so experiencing art was not a major piece of my childhood.  I actually realized my love for art by watching my daughter Morgan.  Personality-wise, she and I were cut from the same clothe.  I have always known this.  But what I didn't know was that as I studied and tried to help her, I would learn about me.  This is one of those times and I am so grateful for it because now that I can articulate what touches me, I also know what will touch her.  This will be a major piece of my mothering of Morgan from now on.  

Health

Last major impression - this one has really just become a confirmation of MANY impressions I have had in this area.  I never knew why, other than the obvious...it's- important-to-take-care-of-your-body reasons.  I think the first time I began thinking about my health and trying to live a healthy lifestyle was when I went to college.  I wanted to be healthy so that I wouldn't have to spend my whole life dieting like I saw my mom and aunt do.  I just wanted to be healthy so that I could live a long time and be able to do the things my soul yearned to do (i.e. take my family on hikes, go on bike rides with my kids, etc.)  These were not a part of my childhood, but I knew I wanted that for my future and my future family.  I wanted an active family. 
In addition, in my patriarchal blessing, I am counseled specifically to learn how to care for my body so that I can be healthy.  Well, long story short, over the last year I have had even great impressions to cut out sugar, junk food, and start eating more veggies and whole grains...I already eat a ton of fruit.  In fact, I have even been reading this book about healthy eating as well.  Sufficeth it to say that this subject (healthy-eating/exercising) has been something I have had many impressions about, and been studying over time.
WELL...yesterday I went to the doctor for my annual physical.  I told him that I have noticed, mostly in college but progressively getting worse, a great impact when I don't eat regularly throughout the day.  I get very moody, my mind gets fuzzy, and if I wait too long I get shakes, headaches, and start feeling sick.  I also know that there is a great deal of Diabetes in my family.  He informed me that I am already showing a lot of symptoms of Diabetes.  He also told me that with my family genetics, if I don't be super careful how I eat, that I will almost definately have Diabetes.  In fact, he said that if my waistline gets to be a 34, that I would for sure get it.  He also told me that my children would be in the same boat as me.  However, he said if I am careful about what I eat, that I could stave this off entirely for my life.  He also took my blood and we are going to monitor it over the years.  I have THE BEST doctor!  
Now this might sound somewhat scary, but really talking to him was just a confirmation of all the impressions I had had previously.  It was just clear to me "why" this is going to be such an important issue for me.  Why the Lord had prompted me so much in this area of my life.  Why I need to learn how to eat properly.  Why I need to make this a focus in my life and the life of my family.  I love when the Lord blesses you with the "why."

So those were my impressions.  These are my take-aways.

1. Love others.  Even and especially those that are hard to love.

2.  Art.  Take the time to create art through photography, writing, and listening to uplifting music.  Take LOTS of pictures of my kids and make art out of them.

3.  Cut down on, and eventually cut out sugar and refined carbs (i.e. white flour, white rice, etc.)  Continue with previous impressions.  Make my meals for my family more balanced and whole.  Don't forget the "why."

That's all.  Thanks for letting me put these feelings that have been occupying my mind, into yours. :)