All about me

It feels a little selfish to write that. I have been doing really well so far in my training for my marathon. In fact on Saturday I ran farther then I have ever ran and faster then I have ever run (long distance that is) I am still not fast but I am not really going for that. My goal is to simply finish. To finish with my head held high and a smile on my face. Whenever I run a longer run I imagine it is my last few miles in the race. How will I feel? And every time I can't help but smile. I have always wanted to be able to run for miles. To have miles of time to just think and step away from the world. And on Saturday I felt like a real runner. 7 miles all to myself. I was even doing hills with a happy heart. It was huge for me. I ran to Emma's gym where she was playing bball and I just felt such pride. I have been amazed at how quickly my body has adapted to the longer runs and impressed with the training book I have been using. I was thinking, "If I had never started this program where would I be now? Still only running a couple miles and feeling stuck in my desire to be a runner but not taking action." I want to remember this when I feel overwhelmed by something new I want to accomplish. A little action every day leads to great accomplishment.
Along with this I have also been learning so much about my camera and I have been venturing into the manual zone of my camera much more frequently. I am starting to see some wonderful results and I don't need to edit my pictures like I did before. I am loving how warm indoor pictures can be without the flash on the right settings. I have taken a lot of horrible pictures but I can usually, eventually, get what I am going for. With time, just like training for the long runs, I am sure I will be able to get what I want on the first try. If I never try I can never succeed.

My favorite right now is playing with my 50mm lens on manual. I don't know the right terms for things but I love the way it makes the background so blurry and the subject so clear.

My kids are always wanting to be my model or asking me to take pictures of their things. I have the best kids.

Good intentions

I was planning on writing a big long post all about my week but I am going to bed instead.

If you want you can read a little snippet here.

Good night all!

Just the begining of the down pour.

With the rain on the kids day off of school what do you do? A little bit of everything.

The kids played cards. Cards with Josh means you put down a card then he puts down a card. At some point he declares himself a winner and we all laugh.
We met friends at the church to let the kids run around and play and visit. Then we met Ryan at Rubios for a quick lunch.

Then off to the movies to see the Spy Next Door. Such a dumb movie but I love Jackie Chan and so he made me smile.

What next? We played Wii Just Dance (no this game does not get old.) Jacob was so interested in what they were doing. He was dancing and bopping right along .
With all the excitement of the day Joshua had a hard time taking a nap. Here he is pretending (not very well) to be sleeping.
Then today with more rain we got out Joshua's rocket his Uncle Trent got him for Christmas. He had fun painting it and flying it around the house the whole day. He even wanted to sleep with it.
Life is good. I spent most of today buried in my book for book club. It is called "The Help." I had never heard about it and it sucked me in instantly. I love when a book does that but then I am always sad when it is over. I have become a part of this group of women and I want to see how things turn out for them. I guess I just have to use my imagination.

I have rediscovered my love for cooking. I had gotten in a rut for a while and I am back. Costco gave out a cookbook a couple years back and I have been trying new recipes from it and they are wonderful. My whole family is thrilled. I think learning that Cashew cream can replace the cream everything in any recipe has helped open up the windows of recipes I can eat. Again- Thanks Hope!

Change. It's mostly good.

Today our stake/wards (church) were shaken up a bit. We now belong to a new ward with my husband as the 2ND counselor in the bishopric. Last week during church the stake meet with Ryan and I. I somehow knew it was coming but it still felt a little overwhelming. I went straight from that into Young Women's and taught my lesson. I think I looked a little dazed and out of sorts. Since then I have had time to process things and I feel like I can handle being on my own for church on Sundays. Heavenly Father will bless me. Last week the old 2nd counselors wife spoke and she touched my heart so deeply. She talked about how sad she is that her husband will no longer be the counselor because she has been so blessed because of his service, She felt that their family has grown so much during this time. I cried because I felt that we too will be blessed that way. I am grateful for angels who say the words we need to hear when we need to hear it.

Other changes? My baby is now 1.
His first real word is oh no. SO cute.
He babbles a lot and we try to make out what he is saying which is rather fun for us.
This last week he got two more teeth in so now he has a total of 4.
He still prefers to army crawl because it is so much faster.
He is testing out his standing skills and likes to see how long he can do it before he falls. down. Today he was bouncing up and down while standing and the kids got a good laugh out of his dancing skills.


I was trying to set up the camera to take pics of him eating his cake and he had to see what I was doing. It was so funny because his pants kept getting under him and he couldn't crawl. He just was sorta stuck in one spot. he seemed to enjoy that we were laughing with him.

A quick pre-party pic. Isn't he such a doll??

Joseph loves his waffle maker and really wanted me to make waffles for the babies bday. They were yummy!
When you are the baby this is as close as breakfast in bed gets. Waffles in the highchair. Good stuff.
Joshua usually doesn't like to draw. But when we got new markers for their white board he has been drawing up a storm. He told me this was his angry guy

I decided to buy a $5 cake this year and give the other kids ice cream- my family doesn't really like cake. How cute is this little bitty cake?

Jacob loved the frosting but not the actually cake. Oh how he makes my heart smile!
When it came to present time he was not really that interested. He just kept looking at his card over and over again. He seemed to really truly love it.
Jacob- I love when you give me kisses over and over again. Or when you blow on my face. And the way you smile so easily at me but give everyone else the grumpy-furrowed-brow-look. I love when you snuggle into me and try to hide. I love your sweet little spirit that find such joy in life and in others. In short- I sure do love you!

Life is good!

I am really loving this project 365. I am looking for things to take pictures of. I am more aware of the cuteness that is my kids. I am finding the positive in my day that I may capture it through my lens. I am actually uploading my pictures everyday which makes taking pictures more enjoyable. Basically I am loving it. Here are pictures I would not have captured had it not been for this project.Joseph got a remote control dino for Christmas. He kept talking about how cool it was and how much he wanted one. It was kinda expensive but I finally gave in and got it. The baby is not sure what to think of it. He doesn't seem scared of just unsure. He can't seem to figure it out. These faces crack me up.

This is how all Sundays should be spent. Relaxing together as a family. I love snuggle time.

Josh found this costume on Saturday and had me help him get dressed up. This kid loves to dress up more then any other child of mine ever has. He asked me what a pirate says. So here he is saying "arghhh"
My SIL had a shower thrown in her honor yesterday. We played a matching game where you won a candy prize that match the "birth" experience. Very humorous stuff.

We were served these most delicious berries. I can not tell you how yummy they were because words can not describe it. I did not know I loved blackberries until I ate these. My new favorite food of all time.

Here are all of the beautiful women that I am blessed to have as my family by marriage.
From left to right
Ryan's Grandma, MIL Kelly, SIL Kaylee, SIL Lindsay, SIL Orchids, SIL Allie, SIL Sarah, SIL Amy, SIL Hope, Me, Ryan's cousin Kiersten, Ryan's Aunt Chris. I love them all!

The boys got this car for Christmas. Jared is such a good big brother. He has a special bond with Jacob. I'm sure it's cause they share a room and Jared likes to play with him in the morning.

Blahhhh

That is really all I have to say tonight. Some days are just like that and tonight happens to be one of those. The end.

Christmas 2009- Till we meet again next year

Christmas has come and gone and I am sad to say that this year I was a little excited to see it go. I am normally much more into the season and love everything about it. Don't get me wrong I loved much-just not all. I waited to long to do my shopping which meant I had to try to get it done while kids were off of school which meant less time with them which brought on guilt. I miss them being gone at school all day and I miss just hanging out with them. Once the stress of Christmas day was over it felt like I could breath again.

This last week was just spent having fun and relaxing. One day my SIL came over and helped me really decorate my house. That was rewarding. I have had boxes in my garage filled with home decor just waiting to be used. I got an amazing photo printer for Christmas so I have been having loving putting new pictures in the frames. I wake up excited to walk downstairs. Love it!

I digress. Christmas eve we spent at my in-laws. The kids got all dressed up and did the nativity. Why is this so cute and I do love it every single year. Then they each got to open their present from Grandma and Grandpa. With 21 kids this took some time but for the most part the kids were really good. Then we put the kids to bed and got to work. I was surprised at how little there was to do. We had wrapped most everything a couple nights earlier which helped a ton.

Christmas morning was early - 6. I was so tired from staying up late I hardly took any pictures. I just kept thinking about my warm bed. I did make the kids waffles with Josephs new waffle maker. He has wanted one for a long time - I'm not sure why though. We put toys together and just played most of the morning. Then we enjoyed a dinner of soups and family gift exchange.

It wasn't until the next morning that I woke up feeling relaxed. Truly relaxed. I can't really remember what I did just that I have felt pretty stress free since.

Christmas Eve opening up new PJ's

The goods BTW I love my tree!

Getting ready to open up some presents Why do they look so awake?

The kids getting ready to act out the nativity.

Baby Jesus was being very loved and watched over.

Sarah got a new camera for Christmas and it has been fun watching her position her subjects and just really having fun with it.
Jared and Sarah both got to be a part in the radio show version of A Christmas Carol at the center for the arts. I was so proud of them. I would have been way to nervous to participate in something like this at their age.

365 days = 2010

Another one of my goals is to get better at taking pictures. Sarah, my SIL, and I took a class a few weeks ago. It was to much information to fast but it helped me realize that I really do want to learn more and get better with my camera. So in this effort I have followed the example of my friend Shannon and started project 365. I thought I would do it last year or the year before but I wasn't really committed. Now I have decided to start a blog just for this purpose so that I can blurb it and make it into a book at the end of the year. This will also help me to journal just a little bit better. The link is on the top left of my blog for any one who is interested.

Emma's Day

What a wonderful special day we had celebrating Emma and her choice to be baptized. Look at all of these people who came to support her. We have such wonderful family!


We have not had a family picture taken in a while and most of us are looking at the camera. That is a big deal. I am so excited to have photorange photography take my family pictures at the end of the month. We have never paid someone to do a real photo shoot and I could not be more thrilled to have her work on my walls.

This was her as soon as we got home. You can see it in her face that she is so happy. I love this princess.

Grandma and Grandpa came all the way from Vegas to share in her day with her.

And her other Grandparents who love her

Waiting for the big moment.

Emma was blessed to share her day with her cousin Kai. It was so wonderful to share the planning and preparing with Auntie Hope. This was such a no stress day because of it (even when the baptism was about to start and I realized I had forgot her beautiful dress to change into. Thanks to Uncle Allen's speedy driving skills know one even knew.)

This one is just for good measure. My nephew had on this cool hat and tried it on Jacob. He made the best faces while wearing it. Don't you love the rice stuck to his forehead?

I am offically starting tomorrow!

I think I feel slightly excited to start my training. For the last month I have been re-getting comfortable with running 3 miles. It now is rather simple and comfortable. So what does that mean? Time to switch it up. I bought a great marathon training book with help and advice for each week of training. And tomorrow I start the 16 week program that will end with the Ogden Marathon. Why in the world would I want to do this? Ever since high school I have wanted to be a runner. I would watch the cross country team train with ease and just want to be one of them. I Ran the 1 mile race in the 6Th grade Jr Olympics and about died. I think I just believed that I was not a runner.

Then when I married into Ryan's family I was shocked and impressed that my MIL could run for miles. After weight gain came from children I decided to try to wind sprints. Walk a little run a little. At first I walked a lot more then I ran. After each child I seemed to be able to do a little more then before. After Joseph was born I finally jumped in with both feet and decided I needed a bigger goal. I wanted to do a triathlon. Before this time I had never run 20 minutes straight. When I came to finish line of that race I felt more accomplished then I could remember feeling. I set out to do something I felt was so hard and yet I achieved it. I remember riding my bike up this steep hard hill during the race and smiling at people because I could now say I was a triathlete.

When ever I look back on that experience I feel pride and humility. With the help of my Savior I was able to do something I never thought I could. I guess that is how I feel about this marathon. It is finally my time become a marathoner. To take the time for myself and become more then I currently am. To push myself to higher levels and help my mind realize I truly can accomplish anything, with My Heavenly Fathers help, that I decide to accomplish. I know it is not for everyone but I am thrilled to embark upon this journey!
Here am I saying bring it! This is my year to accomplish the big goals!

As a little pre-training Jared and I have been running together for this 5k around Balboa Park on New Years eve. IT was hilly and challenging and great. Jared ran ahead with my MIL and I just enjoyed my nice slow pace. It felt great to start the new year in such a way. I kept imagining it was the last three miles of the 26.2 miles I am going to run.

Mobile Me + Blogger = Blogging Made Easy...

Can I tell you how much easier my life just got when it comes to adding photos to blogger??? My awesome husband just showed me how to use iPhoto to drop my pictures to a mobileme gallery, then grab the URL of the picture from the gallery and drop it into my blog. SOOO much easier than uploading photos to blogger. Plus, check out how big they are now!! I had Ryan widen the blog a bit so that they would show in all their glory...so first let me explain what we're doing here...
Sarah Ann my SIL gave a rockin Just Dance wii birthday party for Monica. If you have not played this game it is so much fun. I felt like a little kid. Loved it. Thanks again Sarah!My mom and dad came today for Emma's baptism tomorrow which is tomorrow. My mom brought the yummiest Vegan cupcakes. I ate three. I guess I miss chocolate. I gave some to Jacob and he LOVED them! He was so excited when I first handed it to him and he didn't even know the goodness that was about to enter his mouth. YUMMY.

Joseph finally lost his first tooth on Sunday. He has been waiting for years to lose his own tooth. After watching the kids get money from the tooth fairy time and time again he was so thrilled to find 8 quarters under his pillow in the morning. Good thing the tooth fairy actually came and didn't forget like she has the past few times.

For christmas we got my dad a plaque with our family name, crest, and origin on it. He seemed very touched by it. I love this man!

I set Jacob on the counter while I was doing something in the kitchen. He thought the oranges were balls. Cuteness!