New years resolution

This year I am doing things a little bit different. Every January I sit down and write my goals for the up coming year. I usually make categories and make lists under each one. Last year I even made a book dedicated to my new year's resolutions. Not this year....this year I am setting ONE goal. It is weird everyday I see things about myself that I want to change and I think to myself "that should be a goal this year", but I am not adding any more to my list this year. 2011 is different. I bet you are dying of suspense wondering what my one goal is, right?
I have decided that this year I am going to only speak KINDLY of women. Last year I thought a lot about how our society has trained women to hate each other. I think it is so sad. In my world that is going to change! If you are a woman, then I am on your team. I may not agree with you on everything, but I will respect you. Men and children are great too, but I really feel like women need to stick up for one another and help each other out. Seriously, what is better than having a great girlfriend that you can tell anything to and you know that she will not judge you or think differently of you? What if ALL women treated each other that way? Wouldn't our world be such a better place? What if instead of gossip, and backbiting and all the other horrible things women can be so good at; we replaced those things with friendship, kindness and understanding, all the things that women are even BETTER at? Well, I know that the whole world will probably not jump on this band wagon, but I am going to. I may slip up, but I am dedicated to this goal (otherwise I would not be sharing it here) I think this will be a great year for me and I hope it is for you to. What do YOU think?

Baby Leo

I know this is really late, but I guess better late than never, right? My due date with Leo was May 18. Since both of my girls came early I was really expecting that he would come early as well. May 18 came and I was still pregnant. I really believe in natural childbirth and I have the philosophy that babies will come when they are ready to come. Well, ELEVEN days later he still had not decided that he was ready to be born. So, I went in to see my midwife (it was Saturday at 1:00 pm) and she tried stripping the membranes. At that point I was dilated to 6 and he was just about as low as he could be, so there really wasn't much left to strip.
My mom had taken my girls for the day so Connor and I went home and thought we would be having a baby within a few hours. Oh, I should also mention that I have my babies at home. Around 6:00 that evening my midwife came over because she too thought that I would be having the baby any time. So, the hours passed and nothing happened. Around midnight we all decided to go to bed. My midwife (Heather) slept on the couch. We all woke up around 8:00 the next morning and there was still no signs that it would happen anytime soon. I had been having contractions for 2 days, but they apparently weren't doing much. I told my midwife she should go home and call me when she gets home from church. Heather kept telling me that she would gladly break the bag of waters and she really felt like that would push me right into active labor. I kept telling her that I will just wait. Finally, Sunday night around 9:00 Connor called Heather and told her to come because he thinks it will be soon. She got here and I had her check to see how far dilated I was. I was only at dilated to 7! I was so discouraged. I felt like I was going to be in labor forever, so I finally agreed to let her break the bag of water.
She broke my water at 10:00 and I immediately went and got back in the birthing pool. Leo was out at exactly 10:20. Those twenty minutes were pretty intense, but it was so worth it. As soon as he came out Connor caught him and then handed him to me. It was one of the most wonderful moments of my life. Connor and I both cried with happiness and relief. Everything went great. He was healthy and weighed a whopping 9 pounds 12 ounces. I couldn't believe I gave birth to such a huge baby!
After he was born Connor and Leo and I went and laid down on our bed and spent the night nursing and bonding. It was such an incredible and beautiful experience I will never forget. I am so grateful for my little (huge) Leo. I love him so much! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has blessed me with such wonderful children and such wonderful experiences. Without Him I could not do it!

Our new kitchen

This one is for you Alea.

Our dog Max....

For Christmas this year we decided to get a dog. It was a huge step for us. We have been so scared to make that commitment and get a dog. One day we decided to go to the shelter and just look at the dogs. We saw Max and he just looked so sweet. We took him to a back room and got to know him a little. He was such a sweet and gentle dog. We all just loved him. Connor had the final say and he said we should get him. So, we brought him home and he has been wonderful! He is so smart that sometimes I feel sorry for him because he would do absolutely anything to please us. The kids just love him. He is so tolerant of them climbing all over him and hugging him constantly. I feel very blessed that we found such a great dog.

Barack Obama declares October as National domestic violence awareness month.

For the past couple of months I have been the worst blogger ever. I guess it has been a combination of feeling horrible all the time and not really having anything interesting to share. This may not seem that interesting to you, but this is something that I am passionate about. For almost the past year I have been volunteering on a weekly basis at a local shelter for women and children who have experienced any form of domestic violence including: physical, emotional, sexual, and financial abuse. During that time I have met people who have been through some of the MOST HORRIFIC things I have ever heard, I have seen victims break the cycle of abuse, and I have met some of the most amazing people. It has been such a rewarding experience for me. I have come to understand more and open my eyes to abuse. Domestic violence will affect 25% of American women in some way throughout their lives. That means that about 1 in every 4 women you encounter will at some point experience a serious form of abuse. This breaks my heart! 50% of all children in a home where a mother is being abused will also suffer from abuse. Abuse is found in every social class, race, religion, etc... No group of people are exempt.
I commend Barack Obama for bringing attention to this matter. This is a serious and ongoing problem, but there is hope! We can all do our part to SEE and STOP abuse. We can also research the laws surrounding abuse in our communities and do our part to let our government leaders know how we feel about it. If you know someone who is suffering from abuse please let them know that there is help out there. There are programs that will give a woman and her children a place to live, food to eat, and give the woman resources to help her get on and stay on her feet financially and emotionally. Even if we are not the ones being abused we are all affected by it in one way or another. Let's try to break this cycle, even if it is only one victim at a time!

Here is a link to the official declaration: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office
/Presidential-Proclamation-National-Domestic-Violence-Awareness-Month/


For some more disturbing statistics about domestic violence check this out: http://www.ncadv.org/files/DomesticViolenceFactSheet(National).pdf

The Great Salt Lake

A couple of weeks ago we went on a fun trip to Antelope island. We wanted to go down to the beach so Connor parked and we thought we would be taking a shortcut. The way was definitely shorter, but it was filled with HUGE spiders, and they were everywhere! Connor and I were freaking out the whole time and Bronwen kept telling us that it will be okay because she will protect us. It was fun once we finally got to the beach. Connor and the girls had no hesitation going right in. By the end Connor even convinced me to sit down in it. It was a little gross, but it was actually a lot of fun. After we left the beach we decided to go see the bison. It was awesome, except for the part where Connor almost hit one that was bigger than our car. That was freaky, but all in all it was great fun.

Camping in the Uintahs

On Friday we went camping up in the Uintahs. It was absolutely gorgeous! I had a ton of pictures, but they were mysteriously erased. So, when we got home there were only 4 pictures on my camera. I was really bummed. Here are two of the pictures. We had a really great time. It was nice to get away from the heat for a while. As you can see there is still a little bit of snow up there. In the first picture if you look really closely you can see Bronwen and Howard climbing up to touch the snow.

My bead board project.

I finally finished this project! It actually wouldn't have taken very long, but I just didn't get around to it for a while. I just added bead board to the walls above the counter tops. The project would have only cost about $30.00, but I ended up buying a power saw which made it so much easier. I actually think it looks much better in person, the pictures don't really do it justice.

Bronwen's first talk in church....

On Sunday Bronwen gave her first talk in church. It was the cutest thing ever! I told her a few days in advance that she would be speaking in primary and she was so excited. She told me everything she wanted to say. I thought I would have to prepare it, but she did it herself. I was amazed! On Saturday she practiced a couple of times and then on Sunday she got right up and said what she had planned. It was a very proud mother moment to see my three year old get up and give a talk that she prepared herself. She wasn't even scared at all! I wish I was as brave as her.

Glenn Beck in Utah

Connor's brother, Alex, with the newly renovated capitol in the background.
Marcus and Cherine.

On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend a black tie fund-raising gala for George Wythe University. It was held at the Utah state capitol. The keynote speaker was Glenn Beck. The night was absolutely amazing! Mr. Beck spoke primarily about the shortage of statesmanship in America. He talked about the times that we live in and how the ship is going to sink, but not to worry because the people will build a new ship, and that will be up to the few statesmen left. He also talked about how the constitution is hanging by a thread. The whole night was just so inspiring and it really motivated me to stand up for what I believe in. I think others are really taking it seriously as well. Mitt Romney introduced Glenn Beck via satelitte, and while I was there I met our new govenor.
George Wythe University is a small but impacting school in Cedar city Utah. Here is a link to their website: http://www.gw.edu/

San Diego

Christie and Greg dancing their first dance together.
We just got back from a great trip to San Diego. We went there for my friend Christie's wedding. The wedding turned out just beautiful. I was the maid of honor so I was pretty busy the whole time. I learned one very important thing about myself on this trip and that was that I should never be a wedding planner or have anything to do with weddings. It is way too stressful for me! Luckily, it was everything Christie had hoped for. The best part was Greg's mo-hawk! Connor and I had a great time and we were so excited to see the kids when we got back.

What do you think?

Interesting.......on so many levels.

Quik update

So, this has been a crazy month or so for us. I just finished this semester and I am sooo relieved. On the weekend right before finals Eva got sick. Bronwen had croup earlier in the week and so I knew Eva had the same thing. Her breathing on Friday was really worrying me so I took her into the doctor. Come to find out she needed to be hospitalized to help with her breathing. Luckily, everything went okay and we got to come home Saturday afternoon. I am so thankful that she was okay and that it was not worse!
Also, after years of hesitating to buy a TV we finally broke down and bought one from Costco. They were having a great online sale so we thought we would take advantage of it. After about a month of watching and feeling extremely guilty for watching TV it just completely stopped working. I was so relieved! We haven't taken it back yet, but we will be soon. I figure for us having a TV is just not meant to be for now. I'm sure eventually we will buy another one, but it will probably be a while. Ironically, after the TV stopped working we have become addicted to watching "Lost" online. We never watch TV dramas, but I am hooked to this one. Some nights we stay up till 2:00am watching. I can't wait until we get caught up to season 5!
Another exciting thing that just happened was Connor's brother, Alex just came home from his mission. It has been really fun to hang out with him and hear about life in the south. Connor has really enjoyed it. Now he has another Juijitsu buddy.
So, those are some of the things going on with us. I am so happy to be done with school for now! I feel so free! I hope all of you are doing great as well!

This just makes me happy!

I know I am a nerd, but I love this random stuff! I want to do something like this......anybody in? If you ever need something to cheer you up this should do it!

Strength in numbers

This week I had a really cool opportunity to stand up for something I believe in. Most of you know that natural childbirth is very important to me. In Utah there is currently one free standing birth center (where women give birth in a bed and breakfast type setting with a certified nurse midwife who is pretty much a doctor the only difference is she can't perform surgery) and it is under attack. The hospitals are trying to monopolize the birthing industry. They are trying to make the laws for midwives so strict that it would be impossible for a birthing center to open or stay in business. The fact that more and more people are drawn to natural childbirth and midwives is starting to affect hospital's bottom line. It is sad that it all comes down to money. Anyways, almost 150 people showed up to the Utah health facilities committee meeting. There were so many people who showed up to show their support for the birth center that they had to move the meeting to a different room and use microphones. The proposed changes (hospital and birth center's) didn't pass so the laws will stay the same. For the time being a woman in Utah still has the choice of where and how she will give birth to her baby. Even though the changes that would allow even more birth centers to open in Utah didn't pass the fact that so many people stood up for the freedoms they would like to protect really got the attention of the committee. They see that people want the right to choose and they felt like at that time they didn't have enough information to change the laws they also encouraged the midwives to keep fighting for the changes. Even though it didn't end up as I hoped it would it was really inspiring. Here is a link to the KSL news story: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=5960679

Christian the Lion

I thought this was really sweet and I wanted to share it with you.

This week's assignment

So, capturing movement is a pretty tough thing to do. This is the closest I could get. Even though this isn't an action shot it looks like the background is moving. We have been experimenting with all the things Dan told us about, so this was just one of those experiments.
Actually, a funny thing about this picture is that we took it at a bed and breakfast. We took a bunch of shots like this and some pretty weird things turned up in the pictures. While we were there we also had a bunch of things happen like the lights would be on when we came back even though we turned them on when we left or off if we left them on and the alarm went off twice at crazy times! So, maybe there is something moving in the background..........

Eva and the snowman

Laughing yoga

Assignment: Angles

Since I didn't do that last couple assignments I thought I would just start with this one. Photography is a lot harder than it looks! I know I have a long ways to go, but I am going to give it my best shot. Dan really inspired me the other night. He told me so many interesting things about photography that my appreciation for it has really grown. He thought he talked too much, but I could have listened a lot longer (Dan, you should teach me some more stuff sometime). One thing he told me was to photograph things you love, so this picture is of one of my loves in life-old books. Now that I know more about my camera I am hoping my pictures will get better and better.