My Thankfuls

-for my husband -for my chillens -for my family who loves me even though I'm me -for my Savior and My Father -for my faith -for my life -for raspberry filled doughnuts -for generosity and kindness -for a washer and dryer -for sharp knives -for sharp wit -for chances, firsts and seconds -for believing -for sales and coupons and clearance -for creativity -for modern medicine -for books -for my camera -for DIY -for post-it notes -for forgiveness -for favorite pens -for make-up (used in bucket loads) -for inspiration -for mentors -for forethought -for prophets -for teachers -for great teachers -for lists -for crying -for laughter -for happy

Happy Anniversary and Midnight Pie

To celebrate our wonderful 4 years of marriage I decided to surprise Kevin with midnight pie by candle light. How romantic! He had to work and he doesn't get home until the wee midnight hour. Of course this totally flies in the face of our 'wanting to go to bed at a reasonable hour' goal (we are night owls, at least I am, and Kevin just likes my company) but I figured that it was a special occasion and I reasoned my way out of going to bed at 10:00 . . . ish. On the menu:
1 lrg. supreme pizza pie
2 hostess cherry pies
and a little "mormon" bub lee

Since we've been married 4 years here are my four reasons why I married Kevin (I couldn't tell you why he married me because I haven't figured it out yet):

4. I knew that he was the ONLY man out there that could (or would) put up with all of my drama. And any man that found out that I was a nut bag and still wanted to marry me is the man for me.
3. Even though I complain about this one sometimes I still love it about him. He is a doer. Plain and simple, he has to be doing something and usually that something is helping. So even though there are times I wish he would just STOP and listen to Frankie, any man that is a doer is the man for me.
2. After an Institute activity one evening (while we were dating) we were helping to clean up and Kevin got the vacuum and started vacuuming. After a few minutes he pretended to get tangled in the cord and kept tripping over it and made a cute fool out of himself, all so he could see me smile. Any man that would go to so much trouble to make me exercise my face muscles is the man for me.
1. And I hope this is the most obvious one. Because I love him. I love him deeper than the ocean, wider than my thighs, stronger than the mountains, and harder than my head. Any man that can elicit this kind of love from me is the man for me.

Thank you for four amazingly fantastical, wonderful, enchanted, hilarious, maddening, lovable years. You are my one and only, you are my favorite and my best, you are the one who keeps me going, and I will never stop loving you.

I'm A Bully Like That

Today, Lydia got a hold of my purse and started rifling through it (looking for some green backs I've no doubt). She pulled out this little card that I'd forgotten that I had in there. I was given it while walking around Estes a month back. Some lady just walked up and handed me the card and wished me a happy day. I saw that she had a whole stack of them so I didn't think much of it and I threw it in my purse and (can you guess what I did?) I forgot about it (wow, you're good. how did you know I was going to say that?) So I took some time and sat down and read what it actually said . . .

and then . . .

I cried.

I know I come off as an emotionless cyborg but there is a heart in me . . . somewhere I'm sure.

Because I love and respect all of you ladies (and I only say ladies cause let's face it, what male is going to read this blog?) and because I'm a bully and I want to make you cry too I'd like to share these words with you.

Dear God,
The lady reading this
is beautiful, classy, &
strong and
I love her.
Help her live her life to
the fullest.
Please promote her and
cause her to excel above
expectations.
Help her to shine in
darkest places and love
where it is impossible to
love.
Protect her at all times,
lift her up when she needs
you the most and let her
know that when
she walks with you;
She will always be safe.

I Finally Figured It Out!

For the longest time I've admired a certain style of photography. I just think that it is so beautiful. It's not for everyone. It's called high key. I finally figured out how to edit my photos to fit this style. Here is an example:

Before

After

This is my first attempt. Now if I could only get this result SOOC (straight out of the camera).

Who Knew. . .

. . .that hitting the couch could be soooooooo hilarious?

Poser

This last weekend the kids and Kevin went out with me so I could get some pics for my Photog class and to scout out sites for future "shoots". We stopped at this abandoned cafe along the way and I was able to pop some shots of the kids. There is some focusing issues but I'm gonna work on it.

Passover

When the Israelites were slaves to the Egyptians, Moses came to tell Pharaoh to "Let my people go!" When Pharaoh refused Moses, through the power of God, unleashed plague upon plague onto the people of Egypt. And even after all of the sufferings of his people Pharaoh still refused to "Let my people go!" With that last refusal came the last and final plague. The Angel of Death visited every house hold in Egypt to take the life of the first born. But for one loop hole; every household that slathered their doors with sacrificial lamb's blood the angel would pass by or Passover.

This is what I've been reduced to to keep the Angel of Death (the Vote Now or Die people) away from my door. Okay, so they don't really say that I will die if I don't vote and I am being overly dramatic when I call them "the Angel of Death" but they are rather annoying.



Every single day it's:
Knock knock knock (or worse) ding dong (this wakes up the kids.)
"Hi, I just wanted to encourage you to get out and vote and remind you to cast your vote on November 4th. Have you or do you plan on voting?" (One girl in particular had on a rather "colorful" shirt that told me to "Vote F*****" I'll let you venture a guess as to what it said.)
"Yes, we've voted already thanks."
"Has everyone in your house who is eligible voted?"
"Yes."
"Who did you vote for?"
"That's kind of personal." (I don't know you! Why on earth would I tell you who I voted for?)
"Oh, well I have some information on Obama if you'd like." (So far no McCain people have stopped by or any other candidate's people for that matter.)
"That's okay, thank you."
"Okay, bye."

BYE!