it was merry....

see ya next year!

o holy night

The crafter in me loves the Christmas season because of all the homemade goodness, the glitter, the wrapping, the salsa making, the red & green tulle, the pretty lights.

The organizer in me loves the shopping lists, the receipt keeping, the gift deciding & purchasing.

The child in me loves believing in Santa & not believing in calories from December 1-31st.

The mother in me can’t. wait. to see her babe’s shock & excitement when they discover their new treasures early Christmas morning.

The consumer in me really wants an ipod touch & an orange beach cruiser.

The spirit in me knows the real, legit meaning of Christmas.

***

Ever since I can remember, Brother Cox has sung O Holy Night in Lyn Rae Ward sacrament meeting, the week before Christmas. I enjoyed it every year growing up.

*So powerful.

Fast forward to this year. After six years of being married & living on my own, I find myself in Lyn Rae again, with a husband & two kiddos. We are blessed to be living with my parents while sorting out our career’s future. During the course of the last 12 months, I have often questioned why it was necessary for us to take this “backward” step. At first I felt like a big fat failure, but now I’m realizing there are reasons why we were led here. I’ve recently been making a mental list of all those blessings.

And Brother Cox’s number on Sunday is on that list.

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

Christmas is such a magical, happy time. It can be such a stressful time too, if there isn’t enough money or resources to do the things that you want to do. I have felt both emotions this season.

As I listened to Brother Cox on Sunday, a simple picture came into my mind of that little stable in Bethlehem. And the baby Jesus who means so much to me.

I cried. [Imagine that.]

I left that meeting with a stronger testimony of Christ & his infinite love for us. “Our weakness is no stranger” …. “And in His name all oppression shall cease.”

I believe in Christ. I know that he was born among the humblest of circumstances, lived a perfect life, and then died for you & me, because he loves us. His mercy is sufficient for all.

The perfectionist in me has a hard time understanding His grace.

The human in me forgets sometimes.

But the spirit in me, knows the truth.

The real meaning of Christmas is Him.

“His power & glory ever more proclaim.”

tis the season

we're
{pretty much}
ready for
christmas!

it's december...

...fall has {finally}
arrived in mesa.

and there are few things
that make me happier
than these two girls

[in their grandma dent
hand-knitted sweaters.]

wasn't this week's weather lovely?
and today's rain?
*mmmmmmmm.

my ballerina

if you ever want to be very entertained,
i would highly recommend
attending a 3-year-old's dance recital.

if you ever want to smile ear to ear,
watch chloe dance
{and wave repeatedly}
on the stage.

if you ever want to be really jealous,
try applying mascara to chloe's thick/amazing eyelashes.

if you ever want to laugh really hard,
listen to chlo' call her tights "stretchy pawnts."

if you ever want to be incredibly proud & in love with life,
be a momma to this fearless, joyful, adorable child.

good job chloe!
you are performer through & through.
i love ya babe.

eric & jentry sitting in a tree....

{K-I-S-S-I-N-G}

first comes love

then comes MARRIAGE!!!!

eric is officially engaged.
[to the cutest girl ever.]

{we love her already.}

she's chloe's new best friend.

and most importantly,
eric's phased.

next item of business:
angie getting skinny for
her bro's march wedding.

18 months

my baby turned 9 months old this week.

that means:
she's been out of me as long as she was in.

and let me just tell ya dude,
time flew MUCH faster post-birth.

{and you CAN say that again.}

i mean,
it seems like just yesterday
that i typed this post.

i remember the day i drafted that blog.

i remember feeling crazy-nervous about all the changes going on in my life.
[renting our house, job unknowns, new babe, etc.]

and i remember having that conversation with little unborn-liv whilst laying on my bed with moving boxes surrounding me.

i remember thinking, "k, this is all too much for me to handle, yo."

and then i remember feeling
a blanket of peace come over me.

knowing that this baby
was just what our family needed.

{this babe} was going to be the perfect addition.

[this little lover] was going to calm my heart at times it needed calming
& often remind me
what life {and eternity} is all about.

*and now,
{a c-section + 9 months later}
that mini-angie-revelation has come to pass.

that girl's smile melts all worries &
restores all the hope in me that is often misplaced.

i have no words for how special she is.

my motherly heart
is thankful for the past 18 months.

...and the many more months
that sweet olivia
will richly bless in the future.

my hobby/job

ya probably get sick of me

posting work-ness on my blog.

but...
a semi-{huge} part of my life
is paper-n-glue
so i thought
i'd *share* a couple of
[not-so-recent]
projects i did for friends/clients.

{circus banner & invites}

{wedding announcements}

{relief society scrapbook pages}

and there's lots more...
but!
i have children
to attend to &
christmas shopping
to start-n-finish.

***

if you know anyone who needs custom invites or
scrapbooking/projects done for them....

have 'em hit me up.

angieinpink@gmail.com
{thanks!}

purple&gold

dear mesa high,

so...
it wasn't meant to be.

carry on, anyway.

love,
angie

name them one by one

Today,
started off frustrating.

Chloe was late to preschool because well, I’m sort of {in love} with sleeping in. Let’s get real-we’re [always] a healthy few minutes behind, but today we were rushing. Granny {bless her soul} fetched shoes, ponied up hair, and had patience for the both of us…while I grumbled under my breath & remedied an amazing diaper explosion on the babe. We skipped breakfast. We couldn’t find Chloe's shoes. Were there any warm clothes clean? Who knows! Crap! It’s show & tell today! Needless to say: we ran out the door at 9:12.

PS: Preschool starts at nine.

Then, domino effect style, I was going to be late to my 10am visiting teaching appointment. Because [of course] I was still barefoot, in Myron’s athletic shorts, crazy/greasy bed-head, & looking like a legit crazy person. I needed to bathe. So I jumped in the shower hoping that soap/hot water would lift my spirits. Smelling like shampoo & midnight pomegranate always helps, right?

En route to VT, I received a worky-related phone call that stressed me out completely. Like, straw that broke it all style. It wasn’t the end of the world…but it might as well have been because I was acting very, well…drama queen-esque.

And then, on the corner of Pueblo & Lindsay, began inner-Angie-torture-session number 566774503598. Why can’t I do it? Why can’t I have it all together? Seriously, getting your kid to preschool on time ISN’T rocket science, Angie! Why can’t you do this…Why is it like this? You can’t do anything right, girl. You try so hard, why doesn’t it LOOK like you are? Etc.

The stress ulcer forming in my stomach lining aside, visiting teaching was fun. I chatted with cute girls, held babies & gleaned from their strength.

{Deep breath.}

But still: on the cranky-scale 1-10, I was still a good five. I said a long prayer & busted out a pepsi. [A magic combo, btw.]

The spirit quietly whispered, “count your blessings- name them one by one. “

So I did.

And my Myron is always number one.

I thought about him in his little rental car driving to pick up his dad in Vegas post heart surgery today. I thought about how he ordered a convertible just ‘cause he thought it’d be fun.

I thought about him giving Chloe horsey rides & then stopping and asking for a sugar cube.

I thought about him & Livy napping in the bed next to each other & looking like little twinners.

I thought about him wearing a {self-titled} “monkey suit” to a job he isn't a huge fan of...every stinking day-because he loves us THAT much.

I thought about him encouraging me during rough times.

I thought about him praising me during good times.

I thought about the promises to each other that we share. And that was enough.

I only needed to count to one.

***

In our church, we believe that families can be together forever. That through the divine blessings of the temple fathers will be sealed to their children, and children to their fathers. I am deeply grateful for this knowledge. It is my strength. It is my perspective through every discouraging moment that I feel on this earth.

Times are tough, dude. I am really affected by all the turmoil & sadness in the world right now. The economy has hurt me & others I know profoundly. It just seems like, freak….life shouldn’t be so hard! That…coupled with my major tendency to be very sarcastic & hormonal = bad mood.

But I am quickly comforted & lifted by my blessing number one. AKA Myron. I am humbled by the opportunity I have to rally around that boy all the days of my life & throughout all eternity, yo. I’ll probably never understand his love for UFC. And he’ll probably never understand my need to organize things inside of neatly labeled boxes. We are very different and just what each other needs all at the same time. We’re here together. Both of us have hardcore weaknesses but we’re learnin’ together.

And that...

gets me through.

a slice of heaven

just finished some sweet little
babe announcements
for my newest niece.
{photo cred}



tiny nevaeh is
so special
it kills me.


i love her
& i love
her parents.

welcome to the world
little one.

love,
aunt ang

a very un-birthday

my chloe is kind of obsessed with birthdays.
birthday parties.
birthday songs.
birthday hats.
birthday cakes.
etc.

once a day
{at least}
she says,

"momma, you come to my birthday party?"
or
"my birthday is tomorrow."
or
"is it april? 'cause that's my birthday."
or
{my personal fave}
"come to my party when the clock strikes one,
and the mouse runs down."

well,
it just so happened that i needed
some pink birthday photos for
a page i was designing for work.

so,
we staged a faux birthday of sorts.

chloe turned 3.
again!

and we lit,
blew out the candles,
and sang the happy birthday song
7.4 times.

{chloe was in heaven.}

*don't be fooled:
the cupcakes were nasty.

{happy un-birthday!}

christmas shoot

i love my family.

thank you for being
sooooooOo
talented, amanda.

{happy december!}