I Love My Family

We have been working on taking some family photos lately.  Mainly because I finally found some cute matching shirts for the boys.  I didn't want to spend a lot of time and money so I asked a sweet girl in our primary to take them.  She is from a family we adore here! I think she did a great job! 

One Step After Another

I once received a piece of mail from my favorite retailer and it had a picture of Kate Hudson laying on a perfect couch looking pristine and she had a little toddler facing her. The child was immaculately clean and everyone's hair was shining. 

I laughed because I thought, yes, my life is totally like this. Perfect hair, clothes, and house. And my kids never have mac n cheese left over on their cheeks. I should of kept the picture but I threw it away because I didn't need to be reminded about how much I wasn't like this photo. 

I had a terrible day yesterday. I would say terrible 5's are the worse stage yet! Everything seems to be a fight and I constantly deal with giant meltdown. On top of that I get so frustrated because I have this little angel's teachers tell me he is so perfect. How much they love and appreciate him. Seriously??? Why does he save his best behavior for me? 

After a good cry and watching a few episodes of GG (a guilty pleasure because I want to be Blair Waldorf) I decided to keep trying. I am extremely blessed and I know it. But that doesn't mean I don't struggle. I struggle lots!!! 

I found this talk (should hashtag that phrase) and it inspired me. Inspired me to only measure myself against myself. Here is the part of the talk I loved. 

One Step After Another (Wirthlin 2001)

Let me cite a hypothetical example of a dear sister in any ward, the one who has perfect children who never cause a disturbance in church. She is the one working on her 20th generation in her family history, keeps an immaculate home, has memorized the book of Mark, and makes wool sweaters for the orphaned children in Romania. No disrespect, of course, intended for any of these worthy goals. Now, when you get tempted to throw your hands in the air and give up because of this dear sister, please remember you’re not competing with her any more than I’m competing with the members of the Quorum of the Twelve in winning a 50-yard dash. (One Step after Another)

Basically it just reminded me that I should keep my eyes on my own paper and stop thinking that I might not measure up. Measure up in any way. Whether in motherhood, church callings, missionary work, or any other sphere. I am trying and that is all that measures. 

A staged Mother's Day photo. Done by Joshua with lots of bribery before church. All three kids were not very happy but I pretended we had it all undercontrol. 

At the zoo before I began to sweat like rain. Humidity is a terrible thing! And this morning Ben was particularly grumpy until he was put in his car seat. 

Hasty photoshoot and being eaten alive by Mosquitos. 

Boys are not cooperating for me. I need more hands. But at least I snapped a few good photos. 

The money shot. Hardest but best job around! 

Catching Up

We celebrated Matt's birthday this month. We had a blast during his special day. We were able to snag a babysitter and go to the temple and then go eat at very fun restaurant on Franklin. It was weird having that much time to ourselves. Everyone did great with the sitter except Benjamin--he is kind of going through that stranger anxiety stage. Bummer, because he use to go to anyone. 

After that we headed out to see some friends in the next town over. And then of course we headed to chik-Fil-a for dinner. 

The summer has been a never ending party it seems. We have been to the pool, parks, and had several water fights. I am exhausted. Today Joshua was completely taken back that I told him I didn't enjoy going to the pool. I said I would rather sit home and sleep/read a book. I was trying to explain to him that sometimes we may not like what we have to do, but we do it anyway because it helps us grow. 

Nothing new here, just having a blast in Tennessee! 

Snack time at the pool. 

Playing at the zoo's farm. 

Made them smell the roses. 

This guy loves to swing. 

Summer isn't summer without dip and dots. 

This boy loves to eat! 

Cookies and the park! Keep in mind this is at 8am 30 min from our house. We are up early so we miss out on the heat of the day. I despise humidity and heat!!!