12 hr shift

spent the day @ my favorite scrapbook/fabric store,



planning/creating/kitting & carrying out my photo frenzy class.



thanks to everyone who came/ordered kits!

and now, my bed needs me.
i've been SUCH an airhead/soooo absentminded the past few days.

i'm hoping it's just sleep related,
so i can get caught up tonight & be back to my {only sort of} ding-y self tomorrow!

sweet dreams!

to everything there is a season

march has been a busy season.
and april looks like it might be even busier.

going back to part-time work has meant [very] little free time.
like, i don't even know what's going on with american idol! *scandelous!*

but [all in all] things are great.
feeling challenged and stretching out of my comfort zone is proving to be very liberating & satisfying.

i'm:
learning how to be a ward camp director.
learning the ins & outs of coupon sense. [rocks so far.]
learning how to balance a new schedule.
learning that i have [a lot] to work on with balancing said schedule & that's okay.
[and] {in the meantime}
learning to be comfortable with a small dose of healthy-chaos.

i end each busy day with a prayer of gratitude for a husband that loves, honors & serves me... charming children that challenge [make me slightly crazy at times] and inspire me deeply...and an extended family that supports & strengthens us in a moment's notice.

being busier helps me stay more conscious & live in the moment.
and i like it.

a plea

i {need} to go grocery shopping.
and these days, i have three month supply {constantly} on the brain.

food related mom-jobs are my least favorite chore
because i don't feel like i'm very good at them.

i'm trying to improve my methods & get organized.

i aspire to be one of those rockstars that saves a bazzilion & spends five cents.
but i want to buy healthy-ish too.

i want a big stock of usable food at my house, in case of emergency.
but, i need to make sure that it's stuff we'll really rotate & eat.
*i hate wasting money.

i have a year supply of boring rice/grains/oatmeal/pasta/sugar/flour/salt/powdered milk & blah, blah, but i need help with the everyday meal items....how to stock up in the most {tight}budget-conscious, stress-saving way.

*balancing it all forever confuses me.

comments, suggestions?
{help!}
please.

feeling better

chloe's been fever-ish the past couple days.
i think she turned a corner this morning.
so, to celebrate, we had a mommy&me game session during sister's naptime.

it was incredibly entertaining.
*minus the part when i got schooled in memory, guess who & candyland.

i love my expressive little chloe.
this definitely needs to be a tradition.

broken pieces

i don't know if it's the amazing weather, or the copious amounts of dayquil in my system,
but i'm feeling rather peaceful/reflective/grateful right now.

i'm chilling on the couch in my pjs.
every window is wide open.
cuddled in a debra-made flannel blanket, pondering on life.

it seems like there's been an extra dose of turmoil in the world lately. so many people are going through really hard trials right now. so much uncertainty. hurting. families struggling. earthquakes & tsunamis & let's not even talk about libya.

i have personal worries & fears about the future. finances. spiritual safety. our physical health. preparedness.

i look at the trials people endure & i say to myself, "i could never do it, i couldn't handle it."

i talk about myself & my "issues" a lot on this blog. and sometimes i get embarrassed, because my [problems] seem so trite compared to the unimaginable things others are going through.

but the truth as i see it is:
we are all fragile in one way or another.
and our broken pieces teach us things.

i have spent the last couple of years doing some deep self-introspection.
i can safely say: i know myself.
i know my strengths & i am also {very aware} of my broken pieces.

i am no longer ashamed of those broken pieces because i know that they are helping me become a better person. i have learned about my savior & his grace because it's what is healing my heart.

learning through those broken pieces: the depths of depression, self-hate, insecurity....has taught me one profound truth.

i can endure.
we CAN endure.

there is a plan for each of us.
and that plan includes toil & adversity & sadness & pain.

i think a lot of my inner-hurt is associated with missing where i came from.
my spirit knows that there is more than this world.
there is something greater than we know waiting for us.

and looking through that lens of perspective makes me so grateful and at peace.

i know heavenly father is watching over us, even though sometimes it seems like life is too cruel for that to be so.

all we have to do is get up each morning & look to god-and live.
things have a way of working out.

going green

me & my homegirl coree got together to throw a picnic
for our little leprechauns at the park today.

it was fun to chat while the kids enjoyed
shamrock-shaped pb&j, {green} apples & lots of other special treats.

we are [lucky] to have good friends.

latest obsessions

chloe's newest prize possession=a nintendo DS that was generously given to her
by her aunt madi.
she [loves] it.
she calls it her ipod or her ipad. one time she accidentally called it her "ipeed"
....she & i had a good laugh about that one. :)



livy got a card & some birthday money from her grandma & grandpa dent in the mail this week.
she is obsessed with the card.
she carries it everywhere she goes.
she even stops & pretends to read it, in her little livy-language.
it's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

my girls [& their quirks] make me so happy.

celebrating olivia

on sunday, liv turned 2.
man, time sure flies.

we had a special family birthday bbq in our backyard
to celebrate our special girlie.

i was in host-mode & forgot to take lots of pictures. )':
but i felt like it was a delightfully successful pink & orange evening-
full of love from family, yummy food & happy memories.

this sweet girl means the world to me.
she's a ray of sunshine in my life & i'm so grateful to be her mommy.

made me smile

it was my very first shift back to work tonight.
it felt very fun & familiar & good to be registering it up @ the store again.
i just love it there.

after work, i went in to kiss my babies' foreheads/whisper iloveyou in their ears.
and much to my delight, chloe had 4.
love.

beautiful people

[chloe's preschool art: they're learning about being unique]

we had an awesome lesson @ church on sunday.
it was on conversion....becoming.

i made a comment that made no sense,
['cause i get really nervous in the spotlight]
but i just found this quote & it's {exactly} what i was trying to say:

"the most beautiful people [i] have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. these persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. beautiful people do not just happen." - elisabeth kubler-ross

***

isn't that true?

when i think about the people in my life that i [really] look up to.
the most loving, compassionate people i know.

most of them have {really lived} and experienced hard, hard things.
none of them are perfect.
some are rough around the edges, with the hugest heart inside.
some are religious, some aren't.

but one thing they have in common is that true-ness of self, that can only be found through experience....through living life....trying, failing, learning, growing.

it's all about the process.

random sweetness

* chloe's new favorite line = "you're killin' me, smalls!"
* myron's cookie of choice: butterscotch chip
* i {really} want brad to choose emily
* libs turns 2 in 5 days
* i'm going back to work @ scrapbooks etc! {excited!}
* i've exercised 2 out of 2 days this week
* it feels like spring/nirvana in az right now
* if i'm sad, i listen to [home] by edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros & i smile
* it's been such a happy, productive week. :)
* have a grand wednesday, homies.

FHE

family night was [extra] fun this week because myron/daddy had the night off & could join us.

we usually have a special "date" night with him later in the week,
but it was fun for us to have him for our monday night festivities too.

we talked about families.
we made a [strong] chain of ideas/ways we could [strengthen] our family.

and then we played the classic, don't eat pete.
cute/free printable off the internet + starburst jelly beans=so fun.



i love family time.

my {almost} 2-year-old excuse

if you regularly read this blog [you know] that
i often wonder [why] it is SO hard for me to keep a clean house.

well, wonder no more.
i now have photographic evidence to why this is.

here's what went down while i was cleaning the bathroom this morning:



i do a chore & the reward i get is the opportunity to clean up 5,345,768 sprinkles!

*i do have to give her props for putting chloe's dance clothes on.
*and i'm terribly grateful i found her before she discovered the food coloring.

{sigh}

it's ok.
i wouldn't trade these days for a pristine mansion or any maid in the world.
i love my baby.

perfect brightness

i needed these words today.

[seriously]
times are tough for all of us,
but it's gonna be okay.