I found my word

I didn’t have any new years resolutions this year like I normally do (not because I couldn’t think of anything I needed to improve on, but because there were just too many things for my list) then I read a friends blog and I was inspired by it and decided to do like she did and choose a word to focus on for the new year. I’ve been thinking about my word a lot ever since I read her post and her beautiful thoughts.

So many words have come to my mind but none were exactly what I wanted to focus on and then today it came to me.

“Embrace”

I’m constantly learning about myself and one thing I’ve recently recognized is that I’m often disappointed with who I am. I feel like I should be a better wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, missionary etc. especially with the knowledge I have of the eternal importance of these things. Too often I compare myself with others, their talents, abilities, etc and feel that I come up short. Why do I do this? I get frustrated with myself because I feel that I have been so very blessed and I often just sit at home hording all my blessings and feeling ungrateful because I’m not good enough.

I know that it is good to have desires to be better but for me all of these desires sometimes just turn into anxiety and a feeling of panic because I can’t do it all.

And so for me, this word is perfect as I strive to embrace who I am with my talents, my weaknesses, my desires and my blessings and not wish for someone else’s or apologize for my own.
*Embrace the fact that I am not perfect and some of my flaws make me…me.
*Embrace my desire to be good and do right and remember that the Lord knows that about me and sometimes that is good enough.
*Embrace my husband and children; embrace them physically- because I don’t give enough hugs- and embrace who they are and their uniqueness.
*Embrace my dreams and desires and move towards them without fear of failure.
*Embrace my individuality and not look for others approval but find my self-confidence grounded in the love of my Father in Heaven.
*Embrace the plan he has for me.
*Embrace the life I have, the lessons I’m learning, the joy I feel, the challenges I face, the person I am now.

Most of all this year, and hopefully for the rest of my life, I hope that I can stop trying to do everything on my own and embrace the help the Lord so generously offers me. I know that He is there with outstretched arms, waiting for me to take those steps toward Him so that He can wrap those loving arms around me.
That’s the embrace I am ultimately seeking…

Please pass the Tylenol

I promise I don't beat him.

He does this to himself. It's like he has a huge magnet in his forehead that is attracted to any hard or pointy object that is sure to leave a bruise or puncture wound.

Seriously, what is the deal with boys?!? If we even say the word danger Campbell's head pops up like "where?"

His favorite things are cords, electrical outlets, stairs, sharp objects, and anything he might possibly be able to choke on. I'm serious! I can put a pile of brightly colored, brand-new, fun toys in front of him and he will climb right over them (probably trip on them and smack his head on the coffee table) and head for the newly sharpened pencil or electrical outlet 4 feet away.

I have a feeling Campbell's grandmas are feeling a little worried right about now...sorry grandmas ;).

Campbell's other favorite thing to do (at least twice a day) is find each an every cabinet in our house and open the cabinet then slam the cabinet on his fingers and scream. This is a really fun game.

Trevor is trying to come up with a bungee cord system. Maybe attach the bungee to the ceiling fan in our family room and clip it onto a harness for Cam with like an 8 ft radius.

I think it just might work.

Finally posting the scrapbook pages

I promised some of you (awhile ago... sorry it's taken so long) that I would post a few of the scrap book pages I did for my sister and sister-in-law for Christmas. I made a 8x8 scrapbook for each of them with the bridals/ wedding pics I took. These were really fun to do because I kept them really simple. I didn't use a lot of embellishments mostly just beautiful paper I found and a lot of sewing. The best part of these pages are the women in the pictures. Melissa and Julie are two of my very favorite people in this world. I'm not just saying that. They brighten my life and I feel so blessed to call them my sisters.

SNOW DAY!!

The phone was ringing at 6:20 this morning (way too early!) It was a recorded message telling me that school was cancelled on account of all the snow (approximately 2-3 inches, I know, I know, but this is Kentucky not Utah! ;)).

YA, SNOW DAY! I felt like a kid, I couldn't wait to tell Hallie that school was cancelled and that there was enough snow to build a snowman! We spent the morning sledding, building a snowman with the neighbors, coloring, and playing checkers- we don't have checkers so we weaved a board out of black and red paper... I felt like such the creative mom :) It was a fun morning.

I remember my best snow day. I was in high school and we were already in class but it was snowing heavily and the snow just kept piling up until the power eventually went out in the whole school. It was awesome! The teachers tried to keep control but eventually gave up and everyone left their classes and were running around the school acting like crazy people (we were teenagers after all). I found some of my friends and we jumped in a car and took off to the nearest church parking lot to do some doughnuts and have a snowball fight. Then we were off to another friends home to raid their kitchen and gather our others friends to hang out.

I just remember wishing everyday could be a snow day!

Strollers are for Girls

She's one tough cookie!

I remember when Meg was about 2 years-old. In the middle of the night I heard her cough and then call in a soft little voice "Momma". I slowly got up and headed to her room where she was sitting up in bed and she pointed to her pillow and said, "I spit". It was dark in the room so I turned on a night light to find that she had thrown-up all over her bed. I was amazed because I had no clue she was even sick, she was just her happy self. I changed her bedding and she smiled at me as I said goodnight and tucked her in. I remember thinking she can't be related to me... she is too tough (you don't want to see me with the stomach flu... it's pathetic!) . The night continued like that, a cough, a "momma", and a smile as I tucked her back in.
About a year later Hallie and Megan were playing in our neighbors backyard during a family party. They were holding hands and running around chasing some of the other kids. They were running very fast and Hallie made a sharp turn and swung Megan around. Hallie didn't see the tree (it was late evening) and pulled Megan right into it. I still remember the sound when Megan's little head hit the tree. It was the sound of someone dropping a big boulder on a wood floor. There was a gasp and then silence from the group of adults as I ran over to Megan in a panic- fully expecting blood and a trip to the ER. She was just laying there a little dazed and whimpering slightly. Hallie looked down at her and immediately broke into hysterics. Megan cried for 5 minutes and then was up playing again... Hallie cried for the next hour and a half. I remember waking Megan up every few hours that night to make sure she didn't have a concussion.
Megan had a cold this week. She had a runny nose and cough and was just uncomfortable for most the week. Two days ago she told me that her ear hurt so I gave her some Tylenol and a hot pad for her ear and made a mental note to have Trev look at it when he got home. Well, she didn't say much about it again so we forgot about it. Yesterday I noticed her whimper and put her hand on her ear so I asked Trev just to check it and make sure it wasn't infected. He checked the "good ear" (not the one she had complained about) first to find the ear drum bulging and infected then he went to check the sore ear only to find blood oozing out of the eardrum! Apparently her eardrum had already ruptured! We just felt sick... we didn't have a clue that it was this bad! Most kids would be screaming bloody murder!

Our little Megan, she is one tough cookie.

Crazy blogging lady that changes her template every other day!

That's me! Always in the mood for something new and different. :) Plus I need an outlet since I don't have time to scrapbook anymore... scrapbook night anyone?... at my house?... I'll provide the chocolate?

By the way my sweet friend emailed me detailed instructions on how to "customize" your blog. I already sent them out to some of you but if anyone else is interested let me know (leave a comment or email me at kathrynsphotography@gmail.com). They are very helpful. Thanks Steph!

FUN! FUN! FUN!

We got Ticket to Ride for Christmas from my sis. Have you played it? It is really fun! I played it with Melissa about 6-10 times (I lost track) while she was here.

She won every single time and I still love the game! I think that says a lot... and not just that I am terrible at games. ;)

If you want to play let me know and we will have a game night soon... If you live somewhere other than Kentucky it won't be as soon. :)

We Love Aunt Melissa!

We got our biggest Christmas present Christmas night when my sister flew in!
It was so, so good to have her here. Knowing she was coming made being away from family this Christmas more bearable. We spent a lot of the time inside (due to the freezing weather) making gingerbread houses, bracelets, playing games, shopping, and watching movies.
Of course Melissa and I had to visit the GAP clearance center in Cincinnati. Trevor watched the kids and we enjoyed perusing the isles and trying on like 50 items of clothing and let's not even start with the shoes and handbags. Bargain shopping without kids is SO FUN!



We stayed up way too late playing games and just talking, it was so nice to spend that time with Melis. Every morning the girls would beg me to wake her up (different time zones) so they could play with her and every meal or ride in the car they would fight over who got to sit by her... she is a very popular girl at our house.
We miss her already and can't wait for her next visit... maybe in 3 more months;) ?!? Please?!?
We love you Melissa!

Merry Christmas

Yes, Christmas was almost 2 weeks ago. I'm falling behind but I wanted to real quick post about our Christmas.

We were up late Christmas Eve getting things ready for Santa's visit.
Christmas morning Campbell must have been really excited because he was up at 5:30am... so, Trevor and I were up at 5:30. :( soooo tired!
We decided to watch my favorite movie (definitely NOT Trevor's favorite movie)- White Christmas- while we waited for the kids to wake up. Finally at 7:00 we couldn't wait any longer so we woke them up.

We had such a nice Christmas. The kids were thrilled with their new toys... and Trevor and I spent most the morning opening, untwisting, and assembling those toys (what is the deal with all of the twisty ties... SO Annoying!) We stayed in our pjs for most of the day and Trevor and I took turns taking naps.
At the end of the day when Hallie and Megan were getting ready for bed Hallie said, "This was the best Christmas Ever!!" Then the girls started talking about how Santa must really know them well because he got them everything they wanted. That Santa, he is a smart man, although I can't help but wonder if Mrs. Claus deserves more credit than we give her. ;)

Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas!

Christmas Eve we went to our friend's home for a party. We had a yummy dinner and then we tied some blankets for a sick little girl and her siblings. I thought it was such a great idea to do a service project at the party. It really helped our family focus on the true meaning of Christmas and count our blessings. I want it to be a new tradition for us to do some sort of service every Christmas Eve. Even with the kids running around and the chaos of a big party, I really felt a sense of peace as we worked on that project together.The kids performed the nativity (notice the beautiful angels in the back).
It was a really nice nativity, until one of the shepherds decided to use his shepherd's cane as a weapon and beat up one of the beautiful angels. ;)It was fun to spend the evening with great friends and after some karaoke and pool we called it a night and headed home to get ready for Santa's visit. On the way home we thought about all of you at the Burton Christmas Eve party and we chanted "rubber chicken" in memory of you... hope you had a great party. We miss all of you so much.

I was worried that Hallie and Megan wouldn't be able to sleep that night from the excitement of Santa coming but thanks to the party they were beat and

were fast asleep minutes after their heads hit the pillows.

More on Christmas soon... as soon as

I figure out why I can't get to my other Christmas pictures, ugh!

Christmas 2006

I was organizing our pictures and came across our Christmas pictures from last year in our West Bountiful home. I was 7 months pregnant and Trevor was in the middle of residency interviews. A lot has changed in just one year.
I can't believe how much the girls have grown. It freaks me out a little bit because I know that next year I'll look back on the pictures of 2007 and think the same thing. How can they be growing so quickly? I'm with them every single day and yet in some ways I feel like I'm missing it. Does that make sense?

As I look back on this past year and all that has changed for our family I can see the Lord's hand in our lives. I feel so loved by Him and so grateful to know that He cares enough about me and my little family to personally guide us here to our new home in Kentucky. I'm so grateful for His birth and for His life and to know that He still lives!

I can't wait to see what 2008 brings.

We love you and wish you a very Merry Christmas!!!

Mary did you know

I was emailed this link and I wanted to share it with you because it touched my heart. This is one of my favorite Christmas songs and I have found that it means even more now that I am a mother of a baby boy. There is a special connection that I can't describe between a mother and her son. Mary must have been an amazing woman of faith... I hope I get to meet her someday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii9JvTyeL1Y

GRUBINATUB

GrubinaTub from kathryn on Vimeo.

Kid Quotes

***(Hallie in the playroom with Meg) "Megan, you are the best sister!! It's true! Friends ARE for now and sisters are forever...(pause)... and dogs."
***Megan- "Mom, when is Hallie going to be an old lady?"
Hallie- "Megan, when you say that it hurts my feelings."
Me (trying not to laugh)- "I will be an old lady long before Hallie."
Megan- "Then will we get a new mom?"
Hallie- "No, Megan"
Megan- "Oh yeah, then daddy will take care of us"

Campbell Dances

Pause the christmas music on the sidebar first, then click on the play button.


Campbell dancing from kathryn on Vimeo.
A big THank YoU to Brett for helping me figure out how to post this video since blogger was not cooperating!

I was watching a cooking show today where the chef was teaching tricks to sneak vegetables into your kids food. I guess I was really into it because I didn't realize someone else was also watching and all of the sudden I heard a little voice behind me announce, "Mom, if you make that food I'm going to know what you put in it". . . shoot.

"All I want for Christmas..."

So BIG!

Campbell is growing up so fast! He is now 10 months and he is learning new things everyday. In the last 3 weeks he has started crawling, clapping, waving, and now he is standing on his own. I said in the last post that Jerry nicknamed him "Governor" because he waves and smiles at everyone, it's true! He loves to wave to people and they just eat it up. I often catch myself in a store surrounded by people who have come to talk to Campbell who apparently waved them over.
He is so cute when he is trying to stand up, he grunts and groans trying to hold himself in place then when he falls he sits up and grins and claps... he is so proud of himself! He also loves to dance! When we turn on music- he goes crazy! We got a video of him dancing but for some reason we can't get it to work on blogger (any ideas why?).
Anyway, it is so fun to watch Campbell grow and change. I can't believe he is almost a year old!!! He is so much fun!

Jerry and Kaye Grubbs Visit Kentucky

Right now I am blogging (obviously) and my mother and father-in-law are making me breakfast. They should visit more often. ;) Jerry is making his traditional heart-attack breakfast which includes sausage and gravy, bacon, and eggs... Yummy. Kaye is helping with the biscuits and stressing over the fact that Jerry is clogging our arteries.
They got here on Wednesday and are leaving today. :(

It has been fun to have them here with us and show them a little bit of Kentucky which is now very cold and rainy. We went to dinner by the Ohio river, went to the zoo, had a tour of the UofL's ER, and Trevor and I enjoyed a date night and some Christmas shopping while they put the kids to bed. Oh how we miss our family babysitters (hello Kim, Julie, and Melissa!).

(notice the Emu attacking Trevor in the picture, luckily Trev has quick reflexes and got away)
Campbell got his nickname from Jerry this week (every grandchild has one). It's "Govenor", Jerry thinks he is going to be a politician because he smiles and waves to everyone.



Trevor and Jerry got to take out one of Trevor's plane and also fly their helicopters in the house. Megan and Hallie have loved having their grandparents here to give them lot's of extra attention and hugs and kisses. We will miss them!!

Random stuff

***We got a fun package from my mom and dad about a month ago and ever since then the girls have been constantly asking me, "How many days until December?"

My mom sent them chocolate advent calendars and they couldn't wait to open them! As soon as they woke up this morning they were running to get their new calendars and Hallie asked if I could take a picture of them and put it on the blog. I said, "Of course!"

***We have the house all decorated for the holidays. I love to turn on the tree first thing in the morning and enjoy it all day long. Campbell also likes the Christmas tree... a lot. I had to put the tree on a 8 in wooden box and barricade it in the corner with the couch on one side and the coffee table in front. Not as pretty, but it will have to do this year. :)

***Trevor's parents and sister (Kim) are coming to visit this week. We are so excited! We have been in Kentucky for 6 months now. It seems like it has been a lot longer in some ways and in other ways the time has flown by! We feel so blessed to be here because we know it is where we need to be right now... for whatever reason. It is so beautiful here and we have met so many good people in Kentucky.

***I had the chance to talk to our neighbor yesterday about the Gospel. It was interesting. As I shared some of our beliefs I felt inside a strengthening of my own testimony of those particular beliefs. I don't know if she felt anything but I know that I felt the truth of what I was saying and I felt a deeper gratitude for what I have and a desire for her and her family to have the joy the Gospel brings . I am so grateful.

***I'm teaching Relief Society tomorrow. I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach because it gives me an added opportunity to learn. It should be especially interesting since Trevor works and so I will have Campbell. I'm thinking I will stick him in the backpack and just feed him Cheerios over my shoulder and let him pull my hair for his entertainment. Do you think that will be too distracting? ;) heehee

Addicted to Photoshop

Okay, I admit it... I'm addicted.

I can't believe how fun photoshop is! It takes your creativity to a whole new level. I've been checking out tutorials online (thank you Jamie) and I'm getting some photoshop books for Christmas (thank you Santa:)).

This morning I learned how to make a photo look like a sketch. This is the photo I tried it on. I love the way Megan's eyes look.

I use photoshop for everything now- to do my blog header, scrapbook, enhance my pictures, and this year I'm making our Christmas card with photoshop. Like I said, I'm addicted!

So my reason for posting this is, if you don't have photoshop, get it! You will be amazed at what you can do with it!

He Crawls

As of yesterday Campbell is officially crawling! I don't know what to say. Part of me is so proud of our little guy and the other part of me is looking at the stairs and the fireplace and the outlets and feeling a little nauseated about the whole thing.