seven year...itch?

photo by Karen Anderson Photography (I don't think she does weddings anymore though!)

Just three weeks to go and then... my husband and I will have been hitched (but not itched!) for seven years.  SEVEN YEARS!  That went by fast!

When we were newlyweds, we bought a full eight place setting dinnerware set.  After seven years, there were only pieces remaining...a few plates, a couple mugs, and some bowls!  We have been thinking about getting a new set for a while but have been too lazy and too stingy with our money.  However, this past weekend we decided it was finally time to renew our dish cabinet!  We took a trip to Costco and came home with a lovely new full set of dishes!  Yay!  It feels good knowing we can actually invite someone over and not have to ask them to bring some of their own plates!  Ha ha!

I think sometimes, marriage can be similar to those old dishes.  Shiny and new, and at first, you treat them with care and delicately.  But after awhile, you become lazy.  They start to get thrown in the sink, sometimes they get dinged and dropped, or maybe they just don't look as "in style" or "beautiful" to you as they once where. 

Sadly, for many today, it is easy to just throw the old marriage in the garbage and go out and get a new one.  But I've learned from others examples, that it just doesn't work that way.  I have always been taught that marriage is eternal, and I believe in that.  I also believe it's up to us to make it that way!

A story told in a General Conference of our church by Elder F. Burton Howard comes to mind.  He told about when he and his wife were first married and the only thing they registered for was a set of silverware.  His wife carefully chose the set that she wanted.  When their wedding came and they opened the gifts, there was no silverware at all in any gifts.  They laughed about it, and the years went on.  Money was scarce but piece by piece his wife collected the silverware set until eventually they had the entire set.  Even then it only came out for special occasions and sometimes not even then.  After any use, it was hand washed and dried and carefully placed back in it's box, if it needed polishing he would go get the polish and they would carefully polish any stains away.  He continued to say, 

"Over the years we added to the set, and I watched with amazement how she cared for the silver...

...I noticed that the silverware never went to the many ward dinners she cooked, or never accompanied the many meals she made and sent to others who were sick or needy. It never went on picnics and never went camping. In fact it never went anywhere; and, as time went by, it didn’t even come to the table very often. Some of our friends were weighed in the balance, found wanting, and didn’t even know it. They got the stainless when they came to dinner.

The time came when we were called to go on a mission. I arrived home one day and was told that I had to rent a safe-deposit box for the silver. She didn’t want to take it with us. She didn’t want to leave it behind. And she didn’t want to lose it.

For years I thought she was just a little bit eccentric, and then one day I realized that she had known for a long time something that I was just beginning to understand. If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."

I have always felt like my husband and I have had a good relationship.  But, like every couple, we have been through some trials together, and you know... we have our days ;).  Sometimes we get lost in the everyday routine and I neglect to put that extra care and polishing into marriage that I should.  I don't consider myself a marriage expert (who is?), but I do LOVE my husband and want to make our marriage last FOREVER!

idaho rememberies.

Connel and I at Mesa Falls, ID

OFF-ROAD BABY!

I have been missing my Idaho lately.  Maybe it's because summer is almost here (despite the random monsoon season we are having) or maybe it's because I have a serious hankerin' to go camping.  Either way, I think I'm feeling a little claustrophobic...

Please don't get me wrong.  We love Ohio for it's own beauty and for the people we know here.  We have been blessed to be able to explore many local and not so local Ohio treasures and build wonderful friendships.

But I'm a sap for Idaho...there is something irreplaceable about being able to look out and see for miles around, or take a last minute camping trip to a remote lake, or see beautiful pink and orange sunsets almost every single night, or look up into the sky at night and actually see stars...tons of them! 

Lil' Sis, Lil' Bro, Connel, and I.  At Yellowstone Nat'l Park...I know, it's in Wyoming...close enough!

When Connel was looking for jobs we were excited to get out of Idaho.  We wanted the adventure of another place...One of my best friends called from home today and I just cried to her about how I miss it so much!  How ironic!

Two words:  Snow. Chainsaw.

One of our many trips to the Rexburg Ice Caves.

She and I both agreed that we miss those days of freedom and adventure.  But this is a different season of our life.  And you know, perhaps I am dwelling to much in the past.  Someday we will move back to the west and I will look back and miss these days...miss Ohio, just like I look back and miss our time in Missouri...

Connel smothering me with kisses at a remote mountain lake.

...and our life in Idaho. 

I know that God led us here and that it is where we are supposed to be right now...but I still can't help feeling a little homesick.  :(

g.l.a.m.o.r.o.u.s.

Who says you can't be glamorous while doing housework?

cleaning crud up in the kitchen.

Funny how something so small can make you feel so special.

I do not enjoy doing the dishes.  I could say I hate it but, there is one part of it I do enjoy.  When I am standing there doing my little everyday mindless task, I get to have time to think to myself...to work things out in my mind.  Or sometimes I turn on my dancin' tunes or Sara Bareilles and sing/dance my heart out, but that doesn't mean I enjoy scrubbing hardened cheese from a casserole dish.

This weekend my husband did the dishes.  Not once.  No, not twice... but THREE TIMES!  Not only that but he cleaned the entire kitchen too!

For those who know this man (and all he has to do), well... you'll realize that this is not a common occurrence!

It was so thoughtful and sweet for him to sacrifice any needs, obligations, or rest that he might take care of, and instead help me out a bit.  It made me feel special and appreciated.  

Ha ha.  I love him!  

Hey honey...thanks for ALL you do!

most important.

We are stuck in a lazy kind of routine, my poor baby had pneumonia and we haven't really been able to get back on track with our daily routine.  I'm trying to get out of this rut...and I have had a few days of motivation and energy here and there.  I need to find some energy... actually, it's more than just that.  I have some things I need to change.  

I have some goals I want to achieve and relationships I want to strengthen.  I know what I have to change within myself to make these things happen.  I have been inspired this past weekend and I feel a sense of urgency to prioritize, to make time for the most important things, and start weeding out things that aren't necessarily bad, but that are distracting me from my ultimate goals.  The problem is that times like now, I see all the things that I am doing wrong and I want to change them all at once.  Then I get overwhelmed by it all and suddenly I loose the motivation to keep going.  

It was mentioned by an inspired leader in our local/district stake conference this weekend to look at the weakest part of our lives and strengthen it first.  I know where I can start and it will require some patience and determination on my part but I know that it is possible.  I guess it has to do with submitting our will to the Father.  I also read an article here and one portion of it stood out to me:

"His focus on the Father is one of the principal reasons Jesus’s ministry had such clarity and power.

In the same way, you and I can put Christ at the center of our lives and become one with Him as He is one with the Father (see John 17:20–23). We can begin by stripping everything out of our lives and then putting it back together in priority order with the Savior at the center. We should first put in place the things that make it possible to always remember Him—frequent prayer and scripture study, thoughtful study of apostolic teachings, weekly preparation to partake of the sacrament worthily, Sunday worship, and recording and remembering what the Spirit and experience teach us about discipleship.

Other things may come to your mind particularly suited to you at this point in your life. Once we make adequate time and means for these matters in centering our lives in Christ, we can begin to add other responsibilities and things of value, such as education and family responsibilities. In this way the essential will not be crowded out of our lives by the merely good, and things of lesser value will take a lower priority or fall away altogether."  -Elder Todd. D. Christofferson

This is the direction that I hope to take.  I want to try to live more simply with my life focused on Christ.  I want to have more peace in my home.  I want to fill my home and life with good and important things.  I want to better myself, so that I can be my best for what's most important...

What do you do when your stuck in a rut and want to motivate yourself?  What inspires you to stay on track/stay motivated?

eighteen months.

Hannah my baby, I mean...my big girl! :(


You are gettin' big!  And it's all happening way to fast.  There are a lot of cute, funny and sometimes naughty things you do and I would like to remember how adorable you are and some of the things you did at this age.

-You are 32 5/8 inches tall  (that's abot 2 1/2 feet) and 22 lbs 7 oz.  That means you have grown 2 inches in the past 3 months!  You are on the average/tall part of the scale.

-You recently got your 1 year molars at about 16 months and you are working on the "vampire" teeth (top and bottom).  Ugh.  Not fun.


-You had Pneumonia!  I thought it was allergies and I took you to the doctor.  She said no on the allergies and said she was concerned because you were breathing really fast.  We went to the hospital and had an x-ray.  The machine they put you in was quite the contraption.  You sat in a little saddle in the middle of the machine.  You had your arms above your head and I had to hold your hands.  While two clear curved windows wrapped around your chest/ribs and held you there.  You were VERY brave and didn't cry until they put the screen in front of your face and you couldn't see me anymore.  Then you were a little upset!  But you didn't scream, you just cried a sad, scared cry.  I had a hard time holding back tears myself!  The x-ray confirmed that you had Pneumonia and we put you on an antibiotic.  A couple days later you were coughing really bad and so we took you back to the doctor.  They did a breathing treatment.  I had to hold you with my legs and hold a breathing mask on your face for 10 minutes.  You screamed the entire time and I don't think it did any good at all.  But you got a stronger antibiotic and were better in about 5 days.  You were actually pretty happy (despite many many night wakings) the entire time you were sick and so we were suprised to find out it was pneumonia.  But, we are glad you are feeling better and sleeping better!

Here is a picture of the x-ray machine.  (That kid is not Hannah)

-You are very talkative.  You babble on and on about who knows what.  Your favorite word to say is "No-no."  You will say things like "a-doo-ba-do-ba-dee-ba no-no."  or "No-no. Am-da-ma-do-moo Ma-ma."  I love it.  I don't know what you are saying to me but I talk back to you like we are having a regular conversation. 

-Other words you say are: Mi-mi (binky), Dee (blanky), gook (book), baw (ball), ow (owl), birds are "quee quee" ("tweet tweet"s), fshshsh (fish), bee-bee (baby), wock (rock), sha-sha-sha-shoo (shoe), gock (sock), shesh ("stairs" for upstairs/downstairs), heow (help), bye, and lots of others that I can't think of right now.

-You do your own signs (not classic) for help, more, all done, please and thank you.

-You like to blow kisses and wave bye bye.  When Daddy tell you "night-night", you say "Bye" and wave bye-bye.

-You are starting to pretend a little bit here and there and you like to dress up in my necklaces.

-You are getting better at feeding yourself with a spoon.

-Your favorite foods are chicken nuggets, cold cereal w/ milk, pasta, and chocolate.  You love to eat spicy foods and are an excellent chip and salsa dipper. :)

-Your favorite toys are your vacuum, toy riding car, and books.

-Your favorite books are "Moo, Baa, La La La" by Sandra Boynton, and "Winter in the Big Woods" (a picture book adaptation of the Little House on the Prairie), and a sing-a-long Pocahontas book (which you like me to sing to you every naptime and bedtime...kill me now).


-Your favorite songs are "Skin-a-marink-y-dinky-dink" and "Popcorn Popping"

-You attended nursery for the first time on Easter and the week after that but have not been back since because of Pneunonia and then Stake Conference.  You have done very well so far!

-You fold your arms for the prayer and are starting to try and say babble prayers.  We do a dance at the beginning of family home evening and right after it's over you bend down and fold your arms for the opening prayer...you know the routine!  It's so adorable!

-You have a scowl that could scare a monster away!

-We just bought you a little potty to "practice" sitting on.  You love it and carry around the house.  I just hope you love it when it's actually time to USE it!

-You like to climb on the table... but you fall off too.  You know you are not supposed climb on it and you get a big smirk on your face when I tell you "no" or to get down.  I have to put the chairs on the table to prevent you from doing it.

-You like to go around and point at our "be-ee"s (bellies).

-Your favorite show is Dora ("Do-do").

I could go on forever, but I won't.  I just think you are the best thing that has ever happened to us and I want you to know how much I LOVE YOU!  You are my best friend and I love having you as my little shadow.  I love ya Mae-baby!

Love, Mama

april 2011.

In pictures.

We find our cutie in the funniest places these days!

Hannah was "feeding" Elmo.

We went to the zoo with our friends Caelen, Brinkley, and Kimi.  Cute story...Caelen was looking at the bunnies and said "Aw cute!"  Then she said "bunnies, talking me!"  I said "The bunnies were talking to you?"  and she said  "Ya, flowers!"  The animals were talking to her!  How cute is that?  A princess in the making I guess. ;)

The koala was AWAKE!  (the koala is NEVER awake!) and there is a baby koala in that picture...under the mommy koala.

Here are the lions.  The couple getting married in front of the lion's den are not pictured...It was an interesting day at the zoo.

Kimi, Caelen and Brinkley!  :)

riding the tram.

Brinkley protecting Hannah from the rain.  Aw! How sweet!

When Daddy got home from his trip to Moab he brought some old memorabilia with him...from Letterman jackets, to mission souvenirs, to funny notes from middle school girlfriends telling him he had a nice toosh! ;)

Hannah was enthralled with the carving her Daddy brought home with him.  She thought she would ride to Ecuador on this turtle.  I doubt she'd get anywhere fast!

Along with all the decluttering we've been doing, we have rearranged Hannah's room so she could have a reading corner.  We love it, it has become part of our naptime and bedtime routines to sit here are read stories...sometimes we fall asleep right here!

Thanks to Grandma C for the fun video and candy.  Hannah loves both chocolate and Elmo!

This is the annual Easter egg hunt at the church, Hannah wasn't the only one having a hard time waiting behind the line!  (yes, we have a ton of nursery age kids in our ward!  this is only half of them!

Set free to collect her Easter goods.

She had a hard time resisting the urge to open each of them up as she collected them!

Already a mouthful!

some of the group looking over their goods.

That is MY kid. :)

MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY!  (insert evil laugh here)

EASTER MORNING!

Eyeing her Easter Basket.

We hid a few eggs around the house for her to find.. which she opened and ate as she went.

It was a nice dinner over at the Kirkham's house!  Everyone brought something yummy to share and the Kirkhams provided an enormous HAM!!!

yes, there are 4 booster seats in this picture.

Cutie pie Jackson will melt your heart! ("dat-deen" in Hannah language) 

Braden and Jackson...OH!  I mean Trapper and Suzy!  Sorry, the likeness is just stunning! :)

Connel socializing with Aaron.

You are a goddess Katie!

Little piggy. Little piggy, you are SO CUTE!

SOMEthing out that window was really interesting.

Livi is a doll!

Cool Joe.

Colorin'.

Dippin'.

Smilin'

Adding finishing touches.

It was a bad day,  but `big bear made it all better.