The other day, I asked Addy how many babies she wanted to have when she was grown up and married. *remember that Addy SUCH a baby lover* Her answer: “Ten.” So, then I asked her if she could choose, how many of them would be girls and how many would be boys. Well, that thought had not occurred to her. After slight hesistation, she relied, “Ohhh. I better have ten of each!”

She did it again! Kennady donated her hair to Locks of Love. The first time she donated her hair, the decision was difficult because her hair really was part of her identity. At six months old, her hair was already halfway down her back and she had long hair ever since. So, she was torn between wanting to keep her long beautiful hair and wanting to donate it to a little girl with cancer. We went to the locks of love website and she was able to see before/after pictures and read about how the little children felt. Kennady has such a tender heart. She always wants to help others and do what is right. So, as much as she loved her hair, she knew that another little girl needed it more than she did. At one point, after she decided to donate her hair and we had made the appointment, she came to me (very concerned) and said, “Mom…{big pause}, I really like my long hair.” I assured her that we could cancel the appointment and she could keep her hair long. She told me that she wanted to think about it for awhile. So, she went into her room for a long time, quietly thinking about what she would do. When she came out, she let me know that she had kept her resolve to donate her hair. I know that it was a big sacrifice for her and I was so proud of her.
This time around, much of the apprehension was gone. She kind of knew what to expect and she also knows that her hair will grow back quickly. I think it helped that I just cut my hair short because she was excited about the prospect of having twinner hair with me So, on Friday evening, we met Grandpa Dave and Grandma Char (thank you for coming with us and making her night so special!) and drove out to Dolce Salon and Spa.

Dolce is a high-end salon that offers free haircuts to people donating their hair to Locks of Love. This time, Kennady was able to donate over 12 inches of hair!

Afterwards, we all went out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (Kennady’s choice).

On the drive over, she leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, “I think Heavenly Father is happy with me.” I am sure He is, sweet girl!

Karli came out with the boys today and we did some pressure canning. Since I have no boy toys yet, “G” entertained himself (and us) by playing with the cups! Meanwhile, “B” was the happiest baby while awake and slept almost the entire time they were here!

And here, “G” is cracking himself right up!

Thanks for making the drive out today, Karli! It was so fun to spend some sister time. I respect you so much for what an amazing mother you are. It was so fun to watch “G” explore his little world and find so much to be excited about. I know that you have instilled in him that love and enthusiasm for life! Thank you for your example to me. I feel inspired to spend more time playing, connecting and sharing the joys of childhood with my children. Thank you…I love you!

On Monday, Kennady had the day off of school. She loves to do art projects and is extremely creative. She found this orange tissue paper and got all of the girls involved in making projects…

In the afternoon, we headed into town and visited the Mesa Center for the Arts.

These next two pictures of Addy are so funny to me because they are totally Addy, half sweetheart, half stinker

More pictures to come….

As soon as Brighton woke up this morning, she wandered into our room and exclaimed, “Happy Easter Day!” And…it has been a happy day.
We attended church, took naps, watched “The Lamb of God,” ate a yummy dinner and colored Easter eggs. (My egg was the champion of the traditional egg war)
In Sacrament Meeing, Sister D’Addabbo spoke. She reminds me so much of Grandma Loveland, so whenever she speaks I feel a special kinship to her. Anyways, she shared an experience from her life of a time when she was caring for her aging mother. She still had many children at home and the demands were very taxing on her emotions and mental capacities. She began to feel angry and resentful, to the point that she didn’t feel worthy to hold her temple recommend. She went in and placed her temple recommend on the bishop’s desk. He lovingly asked her to sit down and tell him about her concerns. When she was done expressing her feelings, he simply asked her if she could remember when her children learned how to walk. She did. She recalled the time her oldest child took his first steps. It was especially memorable to her because he began walking on his first birthday. She told the bishop how he took several steps in a row before falling down. Then he asked, “When he fell down, did you spank him really hard?” She was appalled! Of course not! She lovingly picked him up, hugged him, stood him up and helped him to gain his balance, then backed up and held out her hands to him while saying, “Come on. You can make it!” The bishop told her that when we fall down, the Savior is there on the other side of the room, ready to help us up and offer encouragement and love. He told her to put her recommend back in her wallet, then to go home and do something really special for her mother every day. She followed his counsel and with the help of the Savior was able to overcome her feelings of resentment and regain her feelings of love an appreciation for the amazing woman who gave her birth.
I am thankful for a loving Savior who willingly suffered for my sins and is there to lift me when I fall. I have a testimony of the atonement and resurrection. He lives again!

Now that Jase is four months old, supposedly he should be sleeping through the night. However, he was still waking up to eat consistently every three hours. Well, a couple of nights ago, I was so exhausted that I went to bed early and BJ fed him a bottle of formula before putting him to bed. He slept for six hours! So, last night we tried it again and he slept for seven hours. So, here’s to hoping that a nighttime formula bottle will solve our exhaustion problems I am so happy to be able to get some sleep finally. And…so happy to have my little love baby!!!

I LOVE this face!

YEA!!! I finally sold my bead inventory and was able to fund my next business venture Due to BJ’s upcoming career change, we knew that I would need to supplement our income. So, I will be taking my photography hobby to the next level. With that decision came the demand for better equipment. So, here are the goods: brand new camera, lens, flash and other accessories!

This is the VERY first picture taken with my new equipment. I was very anxious to get out there and take some pictures, so here we are by the gate on the side of our house…

This set-up is much heavier than the Rebel/50mm combo, so that will take some getting used to. It is a good thing I have been working out. I will need some serious muscles to heft this camera/grip/lens combo, but I am sure the picture quality will be worth the weight.

Can a blog expert out there tell me what color space I should be saving pictures as to have correct web color? The color is looking dull here, but in real life, it is great. BTW…this is in Adobe RGB. Thanks in advance for any tips! *Aha! I answered my own question. A little research is all it took. FYI-web files should be in sRGB. So, a little conversion and waalaah! Beautiful color.

He seriously melted my heart! Chris & Ann and their cute family came for a visit. The plan is for Chris to take BJ’s place in the lighting agency with Mom and Dave. So, they came to check things out and do some house hunting. We would LOVE it if things worked out for them to move down! It is so funny because before I had Jase, I hardly ever noticed the boys. But, for some reason, now that I have my own little guy, I find myself really taken in by these sweet little boys

And here is “G” so sweet and shy. We bribed her for a picture. What a cutie!

While Chris & Ann were in town, all the boys (except BJ cause he was working) went golfing while us girls and the kids hung out at our house. After the round of golf, the boys came over and we all ate quesadillas with yummy salsa. *Here’s a little shout out for El Sol Salsa. My neighbors make this salsa and it is now available at Costco and Walmart. It is super yummy!* Anyways, Grandpa Dave was holding Jase for me while I made lunch. I am so thankful that my kids are blessed with two amazing sets of grandparents!