B+C+B+C+B+C: From Stevie's camera

Thursday, December 30, 2010

From Stevie's camera

I'm glad that people who more frequently have two free hands are willing to share their pictures. Ever wish you had a camera implanted in the corner of your eyeball and you could take photos just by saying CLICK.... that would make capturing happy moments so much easier for this mom with her arms full... So until that's invented, I'm relying on others with their cameras. I got these from my eldest and most flatulent brother Steven. I wish I got a picture of us out running one night... around 6pm Steve said to me, "hey I'm going running, you wanna come?" I replied incredulously that it was dark and snowing hard. He said "yeah, so?"... and I quickly got my gear on, secured the babies with B, and ran out before anyone could try and stop us. It was the most fun 4.5 miles I've done in a really long time. At one point there was a car coming towards us and one coming from behind, so we had to quickly jump off into the 3 feet deep snow pile on the far side. We talked about what we would do if one of the tigers and lions from Cat Tales escaped and attacked us, since we were running right behind the zoo.
Anywaaaayyyssss... here are a few pics Stevie took:

Top left: my little nephew Nathan is so flippin cute and funny. He and Brianna were the closest in age at the house, so they played together nonstop and had a blast. When she couldn't find him, she'd go around the house asking, "where's my friend?"
Bottom right (and below): SLEDDING. Probably my favorite thing we do here at my parents' home. Their driveaway and street are super long and steep - so perfect for sledding. Dad drives the four wheeler down and up beacause walking back to the top takes 11 long minutes.

Top left: the view from their balcony and back windows is absolutely gorgeous. It's fun living up on a big hill (though I'd never ever want to live on a hill myself, personally - so annoying having to drive so far to get anywhere, and having to do a major hill at the end of all my runs!)

Bottom left: Lindsay and Cougar and Cougar's Dad Kardon. It was really great having them all here. Brian and Kardon spent a lot of time chatting and had some man-movie-dates.

Bottom right: my sweet neice Annalee and her brand new American Doll. That's all she wanted from Santa and she got it! Santa rocks. I'm extremely flattered at what she chose to name her most special doll: CHELSEA! Not lying. She seriously named her doll after me. Love that girl.

Top right: This lovely Smith family is moving to Texas soon for Steve's new job!

We didn't actually get to be there at the house for the fun Christmas morning festivities, but I loved the pictures so I'd thought I'd include what we missed. Being here with family and beautiful Christmasy decorations just gives me major warm fuzzies. I hope we get to come here next year for Christmas! (which would mean getting on an airplane with two 16 month olds and a 3 yr old. Scary.)

2 comments:

Unknown said...: I love that your dad drives the 4 wheeler up and down. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we would hook the red flyer sled up to the back of the car and my dad would pull us down dirt roads. I think that is my favorite childhood Christmas memory!; January 3, 2011 at 10:46 PM
Malerie said...: great pictures. Your parents' house looks so cozy and festive!; January 4, 2011 at 5:00 PM

Quotes I want to remember

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain."
- Neal A. Maxwell

"It is a fundamental truth that the responsibilities of motherhood cannot be successfully delegated. No, not to day-care centers, not to schools, not to nurseries, not to babysitters. We become enamored with men's theories such as the idea of preschool training outside the home for young children. Not only does this put added pressure on the budget, but it places young children in an environment away from mother's influence."
-Ezra Taft Benson

“Perhaps there has never been a time when we had greater need to pray and to teach our family members to pray. Prayer is a defense against temptation. It is through earnest and heartfelt prayer that we can receive the needed blessings and the support required to make our way in this sometimes difficult and challenging journey we call mortality.”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know you have made. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
-Jeffrey R. Holland

"We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith."
-Neil L. Andersen

"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
-Neil L. Andersen

President Hinckley admonished both men and women to be nurturers. He said, ‘How much more beautiful would be the society in which we live if every father . . . and . . . mother regarded [their] children . . . as gifts from the God of heaven . . . and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord.’ ”
-Susan W. Tanner

"Children are like trees. When they are young, their lives can be shaped and directed, usually with ever so little effort. Said the writer of Proverbs, 'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it' (22:6). That training finds its roots in the home. There will be little of help from other sources. Do not depend on government to help in this darkening situation. Barbara Bush, wife of former U.S. president George Bush, spoke wisely: 'Your success as a family, our success as society, depends not on what happens at the White House, but on what happens inside your house.' "
-Gordon B. Hinckley

“I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and soften the sorrows of your companion.”
-Henry B. Eyring

“Reverent behavior is not a natural tendency for most children. It is a quality that is taught by parents and leaders through example and training. But remember, if reverence is rooted in love, so is the teaching of it. Harshness in our training begets resentment, not reverence.”
-Margaret S. Lifferth

"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
- M. Russell Ballard

“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’?”
-Thomas S. Monson

“Security for our families comes from learning self-control, avoiding the excesses of this world, and being temperate in all things.”
-Kent D. Watson

Thursday, December 30, 2010

From Stevie's camera

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