Pictures--priceless or pricey??

Here are a few new photos from Spring in Northern Utah.
It is wonderful to capture and relive memories with photographs.
After our Chicago trip I thought our digital photo files had somehow been destroyed or lost. I was devastated, then elated to retrieve them later.
I am still so sad when I think of my trip to Bryansk, Russia with a broken camera. Then the roll of film with the first moments of Michael's life was nearly exposed and ruined....
So, pictures are definitely priceless.
But, when you have too many they become a curse.
I am trying to find a balance as I work on scrapbooks for Michael, Jordan and our family. We have three huge boxes full of albums. Do I really want to create more?
I would really like to collect less stuff.
I am always a little behind the new technology. I imagine I will catch up with digital scrapbooking soon. But it doesn't quite have the same effect as flipping pages in a memory book. So by the time I have time to work on it I hope I'll have it figured out.
In the meantime, I keep taking lots of photos....

CHICAGO

Here are a few photos from our spring break trip!
Jenny was our hostess. We saw nine law schools, and a few sights in the "windy city."
March turned out to be kind of a whirlwind --livening up our quiet routine at home in Logan. We have needed a family trip for a long time. As soon as we found out that one of the schools would pay for Jared to come visit, I started planning a trip with a fury. It took the few weeks before spring break for me to prepare for leaving Michael and Jordan. Then the week after to get back on track at home. It was a real blessing to know the boys wouldn't miss us while they were spoiled by grandmas and aunts back in Utah.
We are feeling more and more ready to make the leap into law school and out of Logan at the end of the summer.

SHOES

I love shoes and have always loved shoes. I don't have a lot of favorites or things I enjoy just for the sake of enjoyment, so I gladly claim and recognize my love of shoes.
I remember a few special pair of sneakers I wore in grade school, and several monk-strap style Sunday shoes I chose throughout the years.
I admit that there have been a few times when my closet contained too many pair of shoes. I have a hard time discarding even old or out-of-style ones. Having a few sisters and a mom with my same shoe size helps in collecting hand-me-downs. There are shoes for every occasion (sometimes for that occasion that never happens, but I have to keep the shoe in case).
I have done well in the past few years to keep a minimal and modest shoe inventory. --mostly comprised of a pair of Mommy-shoes or everyday loafer type.
Last week I enjoyed replacing my old pair of Mommy-shoes with a new pair and having an occasion to wear some non-Mommy ones as well. The shoe fettish lives on.

Michael is growing up.

I am learning that I am a mom who enjoys spending time with my kids when they function somewhat independently. This will probably come across sounding naive. But I do know that it is more difficult for me to spend time cradling and feeding a baby, than to talk with, understand, and cheer my children on.

Today was one of the more emotion-oriented payoff days for the nitty-gritty of daily care-taking. I am enjoying working together with Michael as he spreads his wings.

Here are some of his more recent accomplishments and landmarks:

• Michael is more or less potty trained.
• He swims by himself--with a life vest (not clinging to Mom or Dad).
• He rides a bike by himself--with training wheels.
• He has a verified crush on the neighbor girl.
• He has learned to communicate well enough to negotiate...He doesn't stop talking....

He is our loveable superhero!
Thank goodness those moments of gratitude come to help us continue forward.

Jordan's Daily Menu

• milk
• yogurt
• fruit juice
  
• sometimes V-8
  
• stick pretzels
• select cereals
  
• cheese
• oranges or pineapple chunks
• pancake or French toast
  
• Quaker chocolate chip granola bars
• noodles (if I'm lucky)
  
• French fries (if he's lucky)
  

Occasionally Jordan will eat some muffin, sausage, potatoes, or white meat.
Of course he'll always go for ice cream, creme puffs, chocolate or candy.

He used to eat tortilla, pureed fruit, cottage cheese and eggs.
Every few months we'll have a few good weeks and Jordan will try new things.

Is it OK to vent on your blog?
Feeding my sweet, active, skinny one year old is a daily struggle.
Any new recipes or tips??

Michael Miracle!

Michael is potty training! And it isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Michael took a little step, Jared gave a little push and I kept it going. This is day two. Of course it is worth the challenge, so we are committed. Yea!

Scripture Power

Our lesson from the Joseph Smith manual on Sunday was about the Book of Mormon. As a R.S. teacher, I seem to be the best learner in the class. How better to learn about the Book of Mormon than from the perspective of the prophet who translated it.



Our ward has a challenge to share the Book of Mormon with friends. I am enjoying the opportunity to think about the different ways each person can appreciate the message of the sacred record.

It seems that life’s lessons often come in waves, or waves of events that lead me to learn a lesson. We are working on our scripture study at home as of late. For Family Home Evening tonight we used the Scripture Power reading challenge and coloring page from the February Friend.


p.s. I wanted have to share the handout idea for a lesson on scriptures. Jared’s mom showed it to me after a lesson in her ward. The picture above is the version I made.