Photos I Love

I love this photo.  No further explanation is needed.  Just look at it.  Isn't she precious?  She was the tiniest little thing, and although she was only 2, the dance teacher at Lucy's ballet studio let her into the 3 year old class because she couldn't resist this cute little thing in her tights and ballet slippers.  She practically lived in this outfit....dancing all day long, spinning in circles and singing, leaving me with a perfectly perfect memory of my perfectly perfect little Hannah.

Follow Up...

So inquiring minds want to know what on my list from yesterday got done.
I wish I could say everything, but I am having trouble finding my motivation.
Kelly is out of town all week, so in my mind that means a week off for me too!
I did clean the kitchen first thing.  It is spic and span this morning!  I also got
all the laundry done and put away, but the closet still needs to be swept out. 
Garage sale stuff is on the list for today, and bathrooms can wait until right
before Kelly comes home on Friday.  That's when I'll make my mad dash around
the house trying to make it look as if I've been busy all week!!

(Don't tell me you don't all know what I'm talking about!)

It's a Dirty Job......

What I NEED to do today:



Clean my kitchen!! I haven't even put away
my groceries.



Organize the laundry room closet



Sort and price these items for a garage sale this weekend



Scrub this shower - it is gross!!




What I WANT to do today:


Make some more of these cute haunted bird houses. We
have been making them all week. I LOVE them!




Use these cute witches that I made...



And these fun things to make a Halloween garland for
my front door.




So I have gone to get my morning pick- me- up and I'm off to
get started.

Photos I Love

For the second installment of "Photos I Love", I present to you one that I don't so much love. This was me. A face only a mother could love, as she will readily admit. I think the story goes that after I was born I was so fat and had such a huge birthmark on my forehead that my mother was not eager for others to see me. She covered me with a blanket at the grocery store and when a lady asked if she could lift the blanket to see her baby she said, "Not right now. She's sleeping."
This is the way my life started out. At least, that's what my mother says. The good news: I think I turned out alright. Let this be a lesson to you all. If things aren't always what you'd like them to be, wait a few years. They will improve!

Not A Baby Anymore

So last month Lucy turned 12. My baby is nearly a teenager. As I reflected on this event, I pulled some of my favorite photos of her through the years and decided to tell the world all the reasons I am happy to have Lucy for my daughter.

1. LOOK AT THAT FACE! Could there BE a cuter baby anywhere? From the start she has had so much expression and personality written all over her.



2. She was the perfect baby from the start. No, really. She never cried or had tantrums, even when she was hungry. She would go to anyone and she was always happy.




3. She has always been independent. She takes great pride in being able to do things on her own. Although there were times I wish she needed me a little more, I know that this is a trait that will serve her well throughout her life.



4. She is good conversation! Her teachers always commented that she was fun to talk to and very friendly. One of her teachers (2nd grade I think!) said that she enjoyed talking to her so much that she had to move Lucy's desk to the other side of the room so that Lucy could get her work done. They spent so much time talking during the day that her work wasn't always getting finished!



5. She has always had respect for her parents. She has never talked back to me or said hateful things to me, and as a mother of little girls, I know that doesn't always happen! I am very grateful for this!!



6. She is helpful. From an early age she has has been helping me do things that sometines made me have to stop and remember just how young she was. I depend on her for a lot and she always rises to the challenge.




7. She knows exactly what she wants. She has always had lots of input for exactly how she wants her birthday parties to be run, just what she wants to wear, just who she wants to play with, and just what she wants to do (or not to do!) Another word for this is STUBBORNNESS! At times this makes me crazy, but at least she has a mind of her own. I don't have to worry about her caving in to peer pressure!




8. She is the first grandchild on both sides of the family. This has given her a special and unique relationship with her grandparents. She has a great sense of family and who she is.




9. She is confident in who she is. She is an individual and doesn't feel like she needs to follow the crowd. This gives me great comfort and also is a good example for her siblings.



9. She is very talented. She has musical ability, athletic ability, artistic ability and academic ability. I know this sounds like I'm boasting, but I am genuinely proud of all the things she can do. She is good at just about everything she tries.



10. She is my friend. We have fun together and I truly enjoy her company. I am so proud of the young lady she has become and I appreciate being able to talk to her about silly things or things that matter. I know that she will be a good mother someday, and that she can be anything she wants to be.




I don't know what I did to deserve such a good daughter. I hope she always wants to talk to me and confide in me. I am proud to be her mother.

Photos I Love

I was looking through my huge box of old, un-scrapped photos last night, and came across several pictures that filled me with instant and vivid memories and emotions. I thought about doing a blog post displaying all the photos, but there were too many for just one post. So I have decided to post one every week, on a Friday, and write about why I love these pictures. Here is the first installment:

My mother. Obviously I do not remember her at this time in her life - she most likely didn't even know I would be born yet. I see this picture and I can imagine her life when she was young. I can hear her singing with her sisters and practicing her viola for her orchestra performance. I can picture her joy when she heard about and accepted the Gospel and changed her life forever by joining the church. I can imagine what it was like for her to meet my dad and how he must have instantly fallen in love with her. I can see all the things she thinks she wants her life to be written on her face. This is where my family began.