3rd birthday Part One

Yes, I said Part.  As in..the first of many!  I went a little bonkers taking pictures-and you get to see them all!  Ok, maybe not all...that would be 324 pictures...so I'll narrow it down a bit.  This first part is the pre-party festivities.  Getting everything ready!

I decided it would be a fun tradition to display photos from each previous birthday!  So we got her newborn picture, 1st birthday party, and 2nd birthday party pictures and displayed them.  It is crazy how much she has grown!

The food prep started a week in advance.  Along with the decor.  I kind of get into planning birthday parties if you couldn't tell..

I wish I had a better picture of the banner.  It was so darn cute!

Mara excited and ready for the fun to begin!

Beautiful Mara

Beautiful is definitely the word I would use to describe Mara.  From the moment she was born everyone has said that.  As she gets older and her personality has developed, I would still describe her as beautiful.  She is inside and out.  She is so full of life it's CRAZY!  She loves her family and friends more than anything else in this world!  She is very sensitive to people's emotions around her.  Her hugs and kisses can truly break a bad mood!  Trust me, I know!  Last night she said, "mommy is very lucky to have me." and it is true!  I am!  Oh, man...I love her.

Sean's cousin Janika asked me if she could use Mara for a photoshoot, so we (of course!) jumped at the chance!  Go here to see the shoot.  Janika was so professional, and got so many amazing pictures even though Mara was having a diva moment.  Thanks Janika!  I would just pot the pictures on here (and hopefully I will soon) but as of right now, I've only seen the photos on Janika's blog and did not feel right about stealing them!  Seriously, go look at it...you will NOT be disappointed!

Divine Potential

"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which...you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization -- these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit -- immortal horrors or everlasting splendors." -C.S. Lewis -

"This" by Darius Rucker with Lyrics

One of the best things in the world is finding a song that truly means something to me. Music has the power to change moods, to uplift and enlighten. Or the exact opposite. I have found myself in a dark place lately, and this song by Darius Rucker reminded me how much I am grateful for. I wouldn't change anything. NOT.ONE.THING. Everything that has happened, all the best moments like the first time I met my children, the day Sean and I were sealed, and even the worst times of my life have led me here to this. "This" is what I love. I wouldn't want my life to be any different. If I could wave a magic wand and take away all of the sorrows in my life-I wouldn't do it. I am GRATEFUL for those times. They have made me the person that I am. They have bonded me to my family. They have given me an inner strength that I didn't know I possesed. Sometimes it is hard to have an eternal perspective during the rough patches, so I am grateful for good music that has the ability to remind me of all the good in my life. There is so much of it.

I truly thank Heavenly Father for all the "unanswered prayers" (another amazing song by Garth Brooks) that I might have been so sad about at the time, but He knew what I really needed. He knows everything. He is always watching over me and my family, and has the power to enrich my life beyond measure if I let Him.

Reminiscing

Yes, I did spell check that word.  Is that really how you spell reminiscing?  It looks all wrong.  Anyway...

We got new cell phones so last night Sean started to process of removing all the pictures off of the old phones.  Oh my goodness.  So much has changed in the last 2+ years that we have had those phones!  When we got them Mara wasn't even crawling yet! Some of the pictures were too cute not to share so here you go!

Did I mention how much I love my little family?  Well, it's true. I do.

Neglect

I've been neglecting this blog of ours lately.  Sad day.  I blame it on life. 

My first semester at school in 7 years has definitely been an eye opener.  Generals are gay.  End of story.  I don't want to be a historian, so why do I have to take history?  Blah.  Don't get me started on my public speaking class either...

We're weeks away from nursery.  Maybe then I can actually enjoy church again?  Those poor nursery leaders...Mara and Logan together for 9 months in there....plus their cousin?  Poor, poor nursery leaders.  Atleast Dylan (their cousin) is the most mild mannered kid I've ever met.  He is beyond adorable to boot.  Love him.

Sean just switched to graveyard shifts.  Eeek.  I'm not a fan of sleeping by myself.  At least I know I've got Sean's parents right upstairs to save me when the boogeyman comes. 

Upside of graves is that we will see Sean more (believe it or not).  No more of this class at 8 get home by 1 leave by 1:20 for work and come home at 10 go to bed, repeat.  He will be crazy sleep deprived though.  Pray for him ;)

Aren't I negative today?  I don't mean to be.  Hmmm...what something positive to blog about?...OH YEAH HOW COULD I FORGET?!??!  Project get out of debt is almost 75% complete.  I say almost because debt #3 is getting paid off at the end of this month.  Just one more to go!!!!!!!!  I'm already feeling so much better about life just by having these bills paid off!  We actually own a car (and our children....what would've happened if we hadn't paid off IHC?  Would they have repossesed our children?)  Shortly here we will have my school loan gone too!  Just my car left.  Wowsa.

Pictures will happen eventually.  I haven't even loaded them onto the computer since before Christmas.  Oops.  Another day.

2010.......

As the NewYear always does, it leaves me reflecting the year before.  Did I make good choices?  Was I a good mom?  Did I learn from my mistakes?  Did I handle the hard times well?  Did I serve others?  Did I share my testimony often enough?  Ultimately my question always is: would Heavenly Father be proud of me?

Hmmm...

Without devulging too many details December was a hard month.  Like, really hard.  Trials came up that I always hoped and prayed I'd never have to deal with.  Don't we all have those?  The things we say: Heavenly Father better not give me that trial because He knows how much I can handle and I definitely can't handle that.  Welp, never say never--because here I sit.

Through this experience I have come to realize that I can do anything with the help of Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ.  I have to constantly remind myself of that, because it is so easy to let Satan tell me otherwise. 

So for 2011 I am not making any crazy resolutions.  Nope.  I'm just going to keep on trucking and trust in the Lord.  By doing that I think I'll ultimately become a better person than I ever could on my own.