Family Photo Shoot

Someday Reagan is going to get tired of me unabashedly taking advantage of her for her photography skills. Until then, I'm determined to exploit her. Some of my favorites from this recent session:

I love that this is on our front porch. I love the matching leather jackets and of course the Converse!

Oh the Converse!

I've come to like photos with varied expression because I find it's more true to life than frozen smiles.

Just us.

Great picture of Brent, although he thinks he looks high.

Not to be narcissistic, but I fell in love with this photo. Brent was off camera doing a sexy dance to make me smile. The wind blew my hair over my neck, covering my freckles and moles I'm self-conscious about. I'm clearly smiling but not enough to show my crow's feet. The contouring, eyebrow and eyeliner were perfectly on point. I wish I looked like this all the time but at the very least, I'm glad Reagan captured the fact I briefly looked like this that one time!

In the rush to get to this location, we forgot to change Sydney out of her black leather jacket and into her green swing coat. Reagan fixed that up no problem.

I love how Ireland is looking back! It's SO her. 

I fell in love with this location but it was freakishly windy and cold. We didn't spend much time there and the girls were pretty miserable.

Sydney was just shaking she was so frozen! I'm proud of the other girls for smiling in spite of the weather.

I was tempted to make this one our Christmas card but there was another that was THE ONE.

That time when a reindeer photo bombed us...

 Reagan also captured some fantastic individuals of the girls but I will have to add those when she gets a chance to edit them. The poor girl is working for free, the least I can do is have a little patience!

Thanks Reagan! We had so much fun with you behind the camera!

Thanksgiving

We were brim to overflowing with blessings this Thanksgiving season as the relatives rolled in. Mom and Dad came, of course. Reagan and Allen drove all the way from Maryland with their little ones. The cherry on top was my brother Logan, sister in law Krystal and their two kids. I'm SO glad we could get Logan et al out here! After I had Liesel, Krystal flew out to Boston to help out and stayed in our dumpy little apartment. It was nice to host them in a legitimate house! We had Lou Malnati's Pizza and Buffalo Wings N Rings and we all met up at the MSI and Reagan took everyone's picture. Those memories will keep us warm for a long time. 

I have to give a shout out to Allen. We'd noticed our clothes were coming out of the dryer pretty wet. Thinking it was the heating mechanism, we utilized our home warranty to get a repair guy out to the house. He fixed that portion of it but told us if the vent was clogged, we'd have to get another professional to take care of it... and he didn't have any recommendations. We'd had our chimney inspected recently and they said they "looked" at it but turns out it wasn't anything more than literally, looking at the vent from the outside. To get them out again would be around $300. 

I was running errands with Reagan when all this came to a head and she called Allen and asked him to look at it. Allen found access to the vent through our closet. Turns out there's enough attic space up there for a whole 3rd floor! He took apart the vent, found the tool used to replace light bulbs up in the chandeliers and started pulling out masses of soaked lint. He even went to Home Depot to get parts. Whaaaaaat? He cleaned it out completely and put it all back together. Oh how I could have kissed him! Reagan's right, Allen is good at that stuff.

On to Thanksgiving. The meal was positively delicious. We divvied up the food assignments so everyone could concentrate on just a couple of components. I decided to try my hand at gravy because I had heard it's really not that hard. Turns out that's true, it's pretty easy. We ended up running out because it was sooooo yummy! I'm still ridiculously proud of it. 

 It's all in the gravy!

 Allen made apple pie... he's clearly excited.

Brent made the mashed potatoes... he's clearly excited!

 Everyone was supposed to be gathering around the table and just Sydney and Dad had actually sat down. Here she is looking at him across the table (see his striped shirt in the reflection of the window?)

Logan and Krystal's little crew were back in Iowa for Thanksgiving Day, but we really enjoyed them while they were here!

Making the Cut

Usually at the end of the summer I have a good 3" taken off of Ireland's hair to take off the most damaged and uneven parts. For whatever reason, she didn't have much damage and so I decided to see how long it could go. For about the past month, both Ireland and I were getting tired of combing through the tangles to the point she asked for a haircut. 

Once I made the appointment, I mentioned her hair was long enough that she could donate it... and then a little girl who was struggling with cancer would be able to have Ireland's hair as a wig. She was absolutely enchanted with that idea and decided right then and there she wouldn't do just a few inches to make life easier, but the minimum of 8" to make the donation requirement. I was stunned by her charity. Ireland's hair is practically an integral part of her persona. She's receives so many compliments, it's an odd day if she doesn't hear something about those long, thick tresses.

I swore I would never cry about a haircut unless it was lost due to chemotherapy. While I haven't cried, I have to admit I'm really having a hard time with the shorter hair. Sure it will grow. Sure it went to a good cause. Sure it's much easier to brush. But styling Ireland's hair was my bonding time with her. It's so thick now it braids wide instead of long and I'm struggling more than ever to work with it.

When I sent her hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, I included these photos. I felt they should know who gave up those ponytails of golden locks. I'm glad she's so generous and not vain. Ireland really taught me a lot about selflessness when she made this decision.

Ireland is perfectly content with her shorter hair. She keeps flipping the bottom of it and tells me she wants to just keep it short. 

Well... we'll see about that one.

BYU vs Mizzou Football Game

When Steve and Sara saw that BYU was playing Mizzou at Arrowhead Stadium (about 30 min from their house), they invited us to cheer on our alma mater. 

To be brutally honest, Brent and I were at each other's throats that night. Travelling is stressful and there was a lot of mis/non-communication about expectations. This might sound odd, but Steve and Sara are the kind of dear friends that you can openly fight with your spouse and know they don't look down on you. In fact, I'm a little suspicious they were rather entertained.

Watching a college football game at an NFL stadium is definitely the way to go. No cold, hard benches, better than average refreshments, and all the up to date technology. The temperatures dipped and eventually I decided to put aside my differences with Brent to snuggle up to him. It's been ages since I've been to any kind of football game! Spending time with Steve and Sara was the best kind of therapy.

 We were only there for the game and then overnight before we needed to make the long trek back to Chicago via Iowa City. However, we managed to stop at Jack in the Box twice.

I love Jack in the Box for two reasons: when I was a missionary in East L.A. and our dinner appointment fell through, we would stop there for their extremely cheap and tasty food. There was a manager who would slip an extra fry or some kind of dessert on our tray. When I was in the middle of a day of nothing but rejection, I was SO grateful for a little kindness.

When I told my mother about my afinity for Jack in the Box, she told me her mother loved it... especially their tacos. Interestingly enough, my favorite menu item is their tacos. I feel like I connect with Grandma Grace every time I'm able to have one. I was thrilled to find they had a Jack in the Box Christmas ornament. The antenna covers adorned every mission car I drove. Aaaah the memories!

Before skipping town, we stopped by Liberty Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith was incarcerated during one of the coldest winters on record. I think it's one of the most unique Church History Sites because a lot of horrible things happened there, but because it was also a place where revelation was received, the church has preserved it. Liberty Jail is ironically named and is a dichotomy in the evil and faith that it held during the Prophet's imprisonment.

Sydney is TWO!!!

I apologize in advance for the glut of photos. Reagan did an amazing job and every time I think I've found the one I love, I find another one I love! Even as I press publish I'll be thinking I should have added the few I've left out. It's hard to make pig tails, big blue eyes and a dashing smile look bad, but Reagan really captured her essence. And now for the eye candy:

The quilt is one Katrina gave her when she was born. The pig was BJ & Jeanne's gift for her along with a copy of If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Mom was on hand to help out and I really loved that two sets of grandparents were represented. Not to be morbid, but we never know how long they'll be in her life! I want to capture the moments while they still are around.

 Those eyes!!!

 Oh those eyes...

This one is the essence of their relationship. Sydney's just her little shadow that follows her around. Mom has boundless energy as she shows her the world. Then there's the adorable pig! SO much love for this picture! 

 Peeking!

The money shot. At the end of the day, she's still a baby. 

 For her dinner celebration, Sydney seemed happy to get presents...

...but not to turn 2. 

I know I'm guilty of babying her a bit much. Hearing her cry when Brent puts her down tugs on my heartstrings enough that I've sprung her more than once (and much to Brent's chagrin). It seems that as her vast vocabulary increases minute by minute, so does her sass. She knows how to stand up for herself in the face of 3 older sisters. Sydney isn't terribly keen on anyone other than me, including Brent and the girls. I guess we are kind of selfish that way, she likes my company and I like indulging her now and again. For some reason, I really get a kick out of seeing those two go head to head. Everyone comments on how much they look alike. It's such a battle of wills, and I'm never sure who's going to win. 

I sense this coming year isn't going to be an easy one. Potty training is on the horizon along with cutting some nasty molars. It's time to get rid of the binkies (oh how I will miss those long naps!). Sydney and Gita are so close in age, clothes are becoming an issue. Gita has a hard time seeing Sydney in something she wore last week... and they really get catty over shoes. Ahhh sisters!

YWIE- Take a Hike

I'm incredibly pleased with how our Young Women in Excellence turned out! The whole presidency really came together and everyone contributed. The result was nothing short of fantastic. Take a look at our campfire under a blanket of stars!

My secretary was the brain child of the camping theme. We have a lot of girls who are athletic and love to travel. This fit a tad better than something dressed up and fussy. Let's take a closer look at that set up.

We asked the parents to think of a camping object that correlated with the things they love about their daughter. Each member of the presidency highlighted the girls in their class as they were likened to a sleeping bag (warm and loving), star chart (beautiful and reminds me where I'm going), map (knows what she wants and is good at getting there), poncho (weathers storms better than anyone), first aid kit (helps broken and wounded people), and of course lots of flashlights, lanterns, matches and campfire analogies for these bright young women!

These mini camp fires adorned the tables for refreshments following the program. One of the advisers actually rolled an ankle as she was running down a hill with a backpack full of heavy rocks for the decorations.

Heidi, my brilliant Mia Maid adviser who headed up the decorations mentioned there were flannel shirts on sale at Menards. See how unified we are? We ended up buying the same shirt separately!

I should have gotten a picture of everyone in the presidency, dangit! And I wish I'd snapped a pic of the refreshments! Caramel apple pops, trail mix, chocolate covered Golden Grahams, veggie platter... YUM! I was fortunate enough to take home the trail mix which Sydney and I noshed on while the rest of the girls were at school. The giveaways were adorable. 

 Let's take a closer look at those:

My talk was about What's in Your Backpack? and was inspired by John Bytheway's talk of the same name. I found this absolutely fascinating piece about the history of the backpack on NPR by Lee Hale:

Campfires are for telling stories so I’m going to begin with one about cousins Skip Yowell and Murray Pletz.

In 1967, they started an outdoor gear company in Seattle. The only problem: They needed somebody who could sew.

"Murray was dating this girl named Jan Lewis, and she had a home sewing machine," Yowell recalled recently. She also had a teaching degree, but there were too many teachers in Seattle at the time. They brought her aboard as a partner.

"Murray decided to take it one step further," Yowell said. "He told her, 'If you marry me, I'll name the company after you.' "

And JanSport was born.            

One of the new company's first products was the Ski and Hike daypack, released in 1969. Yowell approached the typical vendors: ski and outdoor shops...

One of those shops was connected to the University of Washington bookstore, which was unusual for the time — and also fortuitous.

"Because it rained so much there," Yowell noticed, "the students started buying our packs to put their books in."

To bring in the spiritual component, I felt prompted to talk about some trails or paths written about in the New Testament:

1.  Jerusalem to Jericho (traveling east)—In a parable Christ taught during his mortal ministry, this is the trail where a man was traveling when he fell among thieves. He was robbed, beaten, and left for dead. A priest and a Levite passed him by but a good Samaritan bound up his wounds, set him on his own beast and took him to an inn where he paid for his care. Think about that priest and Levite whose careers were to care for and serve others. What was in their backpack? Now think of that good Samaritan, a people who did not have a good relationship with the Jews. His backpack was carefully packed and he expertly used his tools of compassion, service, and unconditional love.
2. Jerusalem to Damascus (traveling north)—In the New Testament we read of Saul who was extremely hostile to the Saints of the early church. So much so, that many of them fled Jerusalem. Saul pursued them and it was on the road to Damascus that a light surrounded him and he heard a voice, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” Perhaps initially Saul’s backpack was pretty empty, but he repented and filled his backpack
3. Jerusalem to Emmaus (traveling west)—On the day that Christ’s body was not found in the tomb, two apostles (good men, true followers of Christ) were traveling along this road when a third man joined them. They spoke of the events that day and how they had hoped Christ would redeem Israel but the chief priests and rulers delivered him to be crucified. Only later when they saw Him break bread and bless it did they realize the Savior had been their companion stating, “Did not our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us by the way?” Perhaps their backpacks were full of all the right tools, but in their grief they simply failed to use them correctly.
4. What was supposed to be a one way trip from Jerusalem to Nazareth and ended up being a U-turn back to Jerusalem (traveling south)—Has anyone felt the sheer terror that accompanies the realization that you have lost a child? I have and though I know it’s not physically possible, I’m sure my heart stopped for the longest 3 minutes of my life. This was the experience of Joseph and Mary who had traveled to Jerusalem for Passover and after a day’s travel home realized their child was not with them. It took them 3 days to find him in the temple in the midst of doctors who were questioning him and astonished with his understanding and answers. Mary reacted the same way any spiritually minded, loving parent reacts in this situation—WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!?!? Do you know how worried we’ve been? Christ’s response is beautiful- “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” To put it another way, he was filling his invisible backpack. He was preparing himself for not just an earthly journey, but an eternal one. The last verse of Luke 2 reads, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.”

So this all bears the question, what is in your backpack? 

In putting together the program (we had two other excellent speakers: Bishop and our Personal Progress Coordinator), I felt strongly we should end the night with a moment of gratitude to thank all those who had contributed to the evening. At the point where I started to thank the parents for hosting activities, helping out with youth temple night, providing rides to and from activities and encouraging their daughters to better themselves through the Personal Progress program, I kind of lost it and started crying. I was so overwhelmed with the love and support I've received in my calling. 

Even though we are a new Young Women presidency, I'm so proud of what we accomplish together like this evening. I'm grateful just to rub shoulders with these amazing girls and women!