April in Everyday Photos

Here is our lovely everyday life in April in photos:

Max and Mimi. Truth be told, I spend most of my time exasperated with their high maintenance demands. However, right after they are groomed and they smell sweet and are soft and act grateful, I remember why I love them.

Here are a few more photos of Emme in this purple bunny dress that I made for her. She asks to wear it every Sunday. I've had to start associating each of her dresses to a princess that they vaguely resemble or she won't dream of wearing them over this one.

We LOVE the parks by our house and Emme especially loves the swings.

My sweet friend, Megan Six Nielsen, was in town and suggested we get pedicures, something that I've never really done before. It was so relaxing and such a treat to catch up with her. She has been through some terrible trials these past two years with infertility and some serious health concerns, but her attitude is completely astounding. She has inspired me to be more grateful and more trusting in Heavenly Father's plan.

Yikes! Blowouts like this happen far too often. He's an explosive little guy. At least I was wearing yellow pants, though?

My colleague, Olga Pilkington, and I presented at the Teaching and Learning Conference on campus. Olga and I have team taught together the past 2 semesters and have compiled research about student outcomes in 2-professor blended composition courses. I love how my work affords me to rub shoulders with such wonderful people. I thought that we would be too different to really connect, but I now consider Olga a true friend. She has been amazing to work with and has really been supportive and helpful as I've had Hudson and other little things come up. This presentation was really fun. We are excited about our findings and hoping to publish or present at a national conference.

I had the wonderful opportunity to sing at a stake relief society fireside. I sang "The Woman I was Before." It was a song that I found rather cheesy at first, but I strived to make my own and really connect to the meaning. It is about remembering the valiance of who you were in your pre-Earth life and connecting to this strength. Such a powerful thought! In the weeks following up, I really drew strength from the song and thought about its words a lot. Sometimes I feel so frustrated with having little babies and especially with my own negativity or impatience with little everyday situations. My negative reactions can wear on me and make me feel like I'm not living up to my potential. This song reminded me to reach higher and elevate myself.

The feeling at this fireside was truly amazing. Each of the speakers shared challenges and when they could truly feel God's love for them. For the first time in ages, I felt that familiar "girls' camp feeling" of just overwhelming love from God to his daughters. There is something about a bunch of women sharing their hearts and lifting each other's burdens that just pierces through to heaven. The feeling just makes me so emotional everytime and reminds me of all the times in my youth when my testimony would really grow. There was also a group discussion where so many shared their heartaches and the miracles of God's love for them in these dark times. 

When I sang this song, I could honestly barely get through it. I don't mind getting a bit emotional when I perform because I think that it can bring the spirit and really make people stop and think, but this time I really could barely sing. My range was already a bit mediocre for this song, so I'm sure that my performance was nothing to write home about. Even so, several sisters took the trouble to look me up after the fireside to tell me how impactful the song was for them. Tammy Tremea from the Stake R.S. presidency even left me these flowers. Such a sweet experience. I really needed to be reminded of God's deep love for me and for women in general.

Emmeline helping me make wheat dough for rolls for activity days. She loves to eat the dough raw. Probably not the best thing. :/

Okay--I posed them like this. This was just before Hudson tried to eat Mimi and then she scampered away.

I learned a new "Elsa" hair-do for Emme. This is big news as I am really not great with her hair.

Speaking of hair--I am losing mine again. I thought I had dodged postpartum hair loss, but no luck. The struggle is real.

The young women delivered this fun flower arrangement after I did a little activity on songwriting. They were adorable and it sure was fun. I love sweet young women and the excitement they have about the years ahead of them. Reminds me of how I felt at that age. Emme sure loved these balloon flowers. I have a darling ward to do fun things like this.

And that's everyday April in pictures. :)

Family--Isn't it about Time?

I'm pretty sure that I take my family for granted. Majorly. It really is such a huge blessing to live in St. George so close to so many who love us. Here are some fun things we've done with family lately. They're such simple things, but when we're together, it doesn't really matter what we do.

Shaye's parents are adorable. They are the same age as my grandparents--in their mid-70s. They are certainly burned out of grandkids. I think ours are #31 and #33, but I know they love them. We spent some time with them at Shayden's soccer game a few weeks ago. (Side note: Emme managed to run out into the field at the start of the second half, excited by all the movement. When the teams all shook hands at the end of the game, Emme cried because she wanted to say "good game" too.)

Another photo of Hudsie with his Grandma Scott. We love sitting on this green sectional and making conversation about the large family's happening, politics (I've learned when to hold my tongue), and the gospel and things closest to our hearts.

It is a huge blessing to have my Grandma Hirschi still here with us. At 92, she is still sharp as a tack and just the sweetest thing ever. I love the way her face lights up when she sees my babies. I love hearing her stories about what my Granny and mom did as children. I love her grace, kindness, and positivity. She's always been a source of light and love in my life. We don't go and see her enough, but when we do, Emme loves to pet her porceline kitty, get a treat from her treat drawer, and dance around her front room.

Just before Easter weekend, we went and saw "Cinderella" in theaters. I built it up in my mind to be this super fun girls' time, but it ended up being sort of a disaster. Hudson had a blow out on the way there, so I had to take his pants off. The previews were about 25 minutes long, so Emme's attention span was gone by the time the actual movie started. I had to nurse Hudson in the theater, and so Amy ended up in charge of Emme, but instead she wandered around the theater, talking to strangers and calling out to Amy. I was embarrassed and frustrated because I absolutely HATE to put people out, but sometimes I just need to remember to shrug stuff like this off. It makes it worse to get frustrated and make a scene than to laugh and say I'm sorry.

I'm getting a real kick seeing my kids with their Uncle Brad after he's been away for so long. We've told Emme about him her whole life, but it was fun to see how quickly she warmed up to him. I get a kick out of seeing him with Hudson because they look so much alike.

And then there is my mom. What on earth would we do without her? She has such a way with Emme. When she is being a stinker and I'm just completely done with her, my mom takes her and lovingly and playfully chides her and teaches her. My mom is a magical, fun, educational Nana. My kids are the luckiest...and so am I!

Thank goodness for family and all the sweet everyday moments we share.

Hudson at 5 months

Just when I think I can't love this kid any more than I already do, it happens. Here are some fun facts about Hudson at 5 months.

1. He weighs 18 lbs and is in his 6-12 month clothes.

2. He's pretty chill, but he wants to be held pretty much all the time.

3. He thinks it's hilarious when we point at him and make missile sounds (pyew! pyew! pyew!)

4. He's discovered how to blow raspberries and scream.

5. He's afraid of the dark, especially when we are on our walk.

6. I call him "Hudsie Stud," "Blubber chunks," and "my sweet little buddy".

7. He loves it when I sing to him, especially "Good Night My Someone," which I've sang every night to Emme nearly her whole life. I think he remembers it from the womb.

8. I'm his favorite person in the world. Hands down. He cries excitedly when he sees me. If I get too far away he wails. It's mostly adorable, except for when I'm trying to get something done.

9. He can't sit up yet, but can roll over. Most of the time he gets stuck on his tummy.

10. He has the purest, brightest light in his baby blue eyes.

He usually has such a pleasant expression.

That smoulder, though.

He's pretty enthusiastic about his feet, when he gets ahold of them.

Melt my heart. He loves his daddy. This past month, he's started to really recognize and respond to Shaye. I can tell they are going to have a close bond.

Fresh out of the tub. There's just something about him all slathered in lavender lotion and warm. Whenever Shaye's home, I got and show off his rolls. I just can't get over how sweet and lovable he is. I was thrilled to capture his expression in this photo.

So special to have this sweet bond with him. I am trying to really relish this time when I am his everything and he needs me so much. The trust and love my little ones have for me is so humbling.

Plum Exhausted

What is it about sleeping babies? There's just nothing else like it. I think maybe it's the relaxed angelic expression on their faces mixed with the fact that it's peaceful and there is a glimmer of hope for a moment of relaxation. Sometimes I have to tear myself away and remind myself to do something productive in these precious moments, when I really just want to stare at them and think about how much I love them.

Lucky for me, Hudson is a rather good sleeper. He sleeps for about 8 hours at night and then nurses early in the morning and snuggles with me for a few more hours. Man, do I love his snuggles!

Emmeline, on the other hand, has never been a great sleeper. I couldn't get her to sleep through the night until she was 15 months old, and even now she wakes up in the night half the time. Sometimes I end up sleeping with her after she's had a nightmare about a "scary dinosaur" aka Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, or something. She is notorious for fighting naps. In the photo above, she was feeling sleepy at Grandma Porritt's house. The doorway seemed like the perfect comfy bed.

She is awake in this photo, but barely. Sometimes when Emme falls asleep in the car and we don't want her to, I set her down on her feet and she sleepwalks for a minute until she wakes up. Shaye gets frustrated with me if she naps too late and then won't go to bed early, so I try to circumvent 4:00 and beyond naps.

Here is another late afternoon nap that I failed to circumvent.

Sometimes when we're driving, Emme demands, "Momma, hold you hand!" and I give her one of my hands and steer with the other. This particular day, she fell asleep holding my hand.

Unfortunately, Emme does spend a fair amount of time in Time Out--usually got clobbering Hudson, pitching a fit, or getting into something naughty. Sometimes I leave her in her room for a few minutes longer than I mean to and she falls asleep in front of her door. (She knows how to open doors, by the way, but magically forgets when she's in time out.)

Hudson loves his sister, but he also gets pretty nervous that she's going to squeeze him to hard. Here he was calm and loved being near her as she was sleeping. :)

This was in the middle of Old Navy on a Saturday when I was shopping with Shaye. I must have looked like an idiot snapping a million pictures of my kids in the middle of the store, but I didn't care. I will totally record memories at the expense of my self respect.

This one particular day, Hudson fell asleep in his bouncie. I always felt bad when Emme did this, but at the same time she looked so peaceful that I couldn't bear to wake her.

That same day, Emme was wandering around tiredly while we were talking to our landscaper. She told Shaye she was thirsty and he went to get her a drink, when he came back, she was zonked on the hardwood floor. The poor sweetie, we soon found out, had a little flu bug and threw up twice (both times in our bed) in the next few days. That was fun.

Thank goodness for naps and thank goodness for these darling kids.

Crafting Therapy

The past seven years or so have taught me something important--crafting is a form of therapy for me. Whenever I am feeling clouded or stifled or bored with my life, creating something with my hands breaks me out of a funk. I started learning how to really sew and cook and crochet and whatever else when we couldn't get pregnant, just to fill the creative void that overwhelmed me. Now I have all these hobbies that are dear to me that I have no time for. When I can squeeze some craft time in, though, it refreshes me so much. Here are a few recent projects:

 I made this quilt for my dear friend Karly (and her new baby, Jimmy). I love to make complicated quilts like the kaleidoscope one I made for Hudson, but I also love simple projects that turn out lovely but don't take 20 hours to make. Enter in half square triangles. I love the chevron pattern, like this quilt for Jimmy, and the herringbone pattern, like the quilt I made below for Kyle and Liz Fisher's new baby Nora.

 It was so much fun taking this quilt to Liz's over the top darling shower. I made it the colors of her nursery and she loved it. :)

 There's just something that can't be beat about sewing, though. Making clothes that I can dress Emme in and then photograph her just makes me giddy. I love it. I meant to have these dresses done for Easter, but it wasn't until a few weeks after that I had them completed.

Emme adores this dress and wants to wear it every Sunday. She points at it hanging in her closet and talks about her "purple bunny dress." I have made plenty of things for her that she didn't give a fig about, and so it's fun when she really likes something I make.

I'm so grateful for all of life's little adventures and the opportunity to learn and create new things.

A Heartfelt Easter Weekend

Sometimes I feel like Easter doesn't get it's turn. Maybe it's because the spring season always feels busy to me, but Easter always kind of sneaks up on me. We had a wonderful Easter this year, and I felt the significance of the season more profoundly than I think I ever have.

I have been thinking a lot about death lately. A high school friend and his wife, Derek and Mary Staples, lost their perfect little Marjorie in January at 2.5 years old, and it has weighed heavy on my mind ever since. We were out running errands when I read the terrible news on Instagram, and from that moment on, something felt so unsafe to me about my life. The Staples are the kind of people who make the world a vastly better place and are clearly exceptional people, parents, and followers of Christ. When Marjorie passed away in the night of the flu, it broke my heart in so many ways and caused me to see my own children so differently. I try to grasp the meaningfulness of each day with them. I've always been terrified of losing my kids, particularly in their sleep, and so Marjorie's passing hit close to home. Since her passing, I think about the plan of salvation a lot more. It's such a joy to know that I am sealed to my babies and that they will be with me in spirit no matter what life brings.

Knowing the Staples' pain during this season and thinking about how Christ died for all of us and how this sweet little girl would be reunited with her family someday just made Easter more memorable than ever. Life is scary and unpredictable, and some of the most blameless and sweet people go through unimaginable suffering. I have felt of their loss so keenly, and have tried to use it as a way to strengthen my faith. Easter reminded me of how Christ has overcome all. The battle has already been won, but I just have to live now like I am always on his side. I'm so grateful for the boundless love that He brings into my life. I'll never understand how I deserve it, but I am so grateful. 

Despite my deep and serious feelings, Easter was a largely light-hearted holiday. We went up to Pine Valley to DSU's cabin up there as a family. It was truly so much fun, and we did fairly well with the kids and both dogs, though the dogs tried to run away on several occasions.

 

Saturday was rather eventful. We watched General Conference and then my mom's family came up for an Easter egg hunt. It is always so fun to get together with my family. There have been some real challenges for family members on my mom's side these past 6 months or so, and it always feels so good to come back together and reconnect.

We love Gramps and Grandma Chrissy. They are the best for making holidays so fun. So so much has changed since my beloved Granny passed away 15 years ago, but it is fun that we have reinvented some of her traditions in some new ways.

I sure love this family of mine. We're one crazy bunch.

Later in the afternoon, we flew kites. It's amazing how something so simple can be so darn fun. Emme was really enamored, but I think we were almost as much so. The day reminded me of being a little kid, fancy free on Easter.

General Conference, of course, was amazing. I feel like as an adult that it is this great spiritual feast that enriches my life so much. Saturday night was a strong spiritual experience, we all bore our testimonies and expressed our love for each other. Brad talked to us about his plans and dating and all that is changing for him now, and we gave lots of unsolicited advice. Just like I did when Brad first came home, I felt like a little kid. I love being a whole family unit again, and I'm sure I'll feel a void again when Amy leaves in a few months.

Sunday morning was very fun. Emme was exhausted and just would not wake up. The Easter Bunny had brought some fun stuff, and when she saw it, she was so excited.

 This second Elsa dress has shaped up to be a real treat because of the way it sparkles in the sun and casts little sequin reflections on the wall. Emme often says that she's thankful for "Elsa sparkles" in her prayers. That's how much she loves these silly dress ups.

 

 Nana and Amy spoiled her. (We were really missing Steph, who was in L.A. with David.) Amy even gave Em and Elsa braid, which she became obsessed with.

 I managed to snap some fast pictures when we were in the process of leaving. Shaye is always a bit cross with me when I snap pictures at inconvenient times--and who can blame him?-- but I was happy to get a few shots. (And though it makes for a less dynamic photo, Hudson really loves his new giraffie toy as well.)