Can you overdocument an Anniversary?

We recently celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary.  Paul took me (with a lil' wifey hint, hint) to a unique Phoenix restaurant he found called St. Francis.  We had my brother's family watch Taya, and Dyllan accompanied us.  I tried to doll on up & off we went.  Yummo food, killer atmosphere (hence the abundance of pictures), and one & only type of company.  My only complaint was trying to ignore my knarly sinus infection headache/achy muscle symptoms ... but ignore I did  (sort of) & enjoy I did. 

Thanks Paul for a night on the town.  You know I love 'em.  And you.  Most definitely, you.

(50mm lenses make a tight self-portrait fit!)

The Good.

The Bad.

And the ugly.

Paul teased that those latter two are his favorites & for that, he gets a funky photo posted as well :)

His salmon was our favorite of the night.  It was perfect.

Actually, Dyllan's cheeks could have been the best thing to chew on all night.  Don't you just want to bite them?  ... softly I might add (as if I meant vigorously ...).

A little design admiration ...

A little vanity ...

(a lot of vanity actually, I don't think any post except my birth story has involved more pictures of myself, but I say it's a good thing for us moms.)

And a little more design admiration ... warped as it is.

This was a great night!  I can't believe it's been 6 years.  Every year feels like that though.  6 sounds closer to 10 (I know, just barely) & 10 will have just flown by like that. 

Thanks for the strength, dedication, laughs, fatherhood, husbandhood, & the love Loaf.

So can you overdocument an Anniversary?  Yes.  But can you like it?  Hope so. 

(On a side note, I love going to one of a kind places like this.  No more expensive than Cheesecake Factory or P.F. Changs, but everything is a first time experience.  There are a ton of unique restaurants in this valley.  We love finding them when we have an occassion to).

**This has been edited now.  Thanks for the photo HTML tip Lauren!**

Parlez-vous français?

 At Christmas time, my parents received their much anticipated mission call.  We, along with my brother's family gathered at my parents' house for the big opening of the mission call to see where they would be spending this next year and a half.  We connected with my other siblings over Skype.  We had all cast our predictions March-Madness style; my bro even laid out a map & pinned everyone's guesses - including friends' guesses.  Considering my parents' history of having simultaneously served missions in France & Belgium as young adults (their mission president told my dad to ask my mom out when they returned to BYU - and later told them he never suggested that to any other missionaries), and their verbalized willingness to go to a foreign speaking & or challenging mission, most predictions were for a French speaking mission. ... A lot of us predicted French speaking regions of Africa (as per my mom thinking that might be the spot & my dad excited about the idea of such foreign place).  And only one person, one little 3 year old girl guessed the correct location of their mission call -

and that was Taya (ok, so maybe I assigned a prediction for her name) - so do you want to know what she guessed that landed her the position of best grandchild in the family (finally firming up our suspicions anway)? 

Yah?

Well, she guessed ...

Paris, France!

We are all so stoked for them.  This mission includes other areas of France & part of Belgium as well.  I know they will be such a blessing to those they encounter.  They both have so many wonderful skills, qualities & talents to offer, and most meaningfully to me, they are incredibly people oriented & service oriented.  We will miss them of course, but are really excited for the adventures, challenges, & wonderful times they are bound for. 

While they are gone, Paul, the girls & I will be living in their home. So once they leave in April, we will be moving into their home.

We had originally hoped to rent our house out while doing this, but have decided it is better for us to sell our home instead (well, short-sale). That has been a tough decision, not so much due to what we're losing, but just making peace with it (though I am feeling quite nostalgic about our home these days). The fact that this decision enables me to stay home with the girls, as well as gain other important blessings, has driven us in this direction and overall, we feel it is best.

So come Spring, we will be saying goodbye to this beloved territory & heading 22 minutes away : )   (Come visit!)

I know I will have many a chance to share my gushy love for you friends so close by, so I will wrap this post up since it is about my parents and not me!

They are busy, busy preparing & brushing up on their French.

I am proud of them & grateful for them, to say the least.

And to cheese up this post lil' league style:

Go get 'em Mom & Dad!

(yah, I really did just say that)

Coming to Grips

There is a word that keeps coming to my mind lately:  paralyzed.  I realize that this or that feeling or the other sometimes paralyzes me into NO action.  For instance, I have such a hard time knowing who & what to vote for because I don't know what information is credible out there so I'm paralyzed into indecision on who to vote for right up until I'm taking pencil to ballot.  Or on seemingly smaller elections, I'm sometimes paralyzed into not voting at all.  This really bothers me because I do believe in being a devoted, participating citizen.  Anyway, something to improve on. 

And so the other key example that I've been paralyzed in (have you heard that word enough yet?) is .... blogging!  I'm sure this comes as no surprise.  But because I have elaborate blog posts come to mind, I end up putting them off until I can do them justice.  Then those memories & feelings are void of justice all together.  I'm probably stating a common problem. 
Oh yeah! (light bulb fills head that is filled with air), I think that's called 'writer's block'. 
... Writing ... I miss writing.  Which is why I need to just post; post anything.  I do feel like blogging can be a very good thing.  I have missed it.  So, this is my start.  Writing ... anything. 

So, let's see each other back here soon.  I am coming to grips with the fact that my stage of life right now is not conducive to my idealistic dreams of elaborate posts.  And so, I will not stay immovable.  I will blog.

(You like that dramatic conclusion don't you?  That's what I thought  ... I know you've missed me because I've missed me - and apparently my narcissism too). 

And on a note about much more important things ... my girls!  Taya is loving Joy School & has missed it over the Christmas break, and she is doing a great job on her new 12" training wheel bike that Santa gave her.  She is still as sweet a big sister to Dyllan as ever.  And she keeps us on our toes with smart plans to get what she wants (yikes) & wordy, witty comments throughout the day.  And Dyllan - has hit a development spurt lately.  She loves to jump on our laps, stand on our laps, roll around both ways everywhere, say 'dada, lala', & just for me, an occasional 'mama'.  She is showing more & more personality & smiles a lot.  Still a bald little q-tip of a head on a long body, with a beautiful smile - & I really say that oh so lovingly.  Parts of her look like Taya to us, but overall, she has her own look (somewhat resembling my sister, Tiffany's baby pictures, which is endearing to me). 

We had a wonderful Christmas.  Several times a day for weeks I thought to myself ... I love Christmas time.  I really do.  I am sad that it can be a hard time for some, but am happy that life is full of happiness & special gifts right now to make the season that much fuller.  I've been enjoying my new bike trailer that Paul gave me for Christmas, giving me the chance to take the girls on breezy bike rides ... As well as a couple of photography books.  Soon, I'll share more of the photos I've been taking and spending my hobby time on.  Perhaps 1 or 2 at a time without an in-depth post to go with it is how I should think of it ... after all, I am trying to come to grips, right?

Below, I'll leave you with 2 photos from our recent Thanksgiving/family reunion on my side:  And for kicks, see if you can find the 5 things I eliminated in photoshop in the first photo.  I think I would title the second photo:  'We ain't got no brains' - complete with my family's sense of humor & drama. 

(Do you think that I can wind up with a long post, complete with a couple of pictures - having lost parts of it, re-edited it more than once, taken forever and a day for pictures to upload on my computer, and still call this post 'Coming to grips'? ... Maybe it's 'Trying to come to grips'  : )  )

Essence of Parenthood ...

Sometimes the essence of parenthood is best seen in our prayers, because night after night, Paul & I speak words to this effect:

Dear Heavenly Father-

We are so thankful for our amazing daughters & how special they are.

Please help Taya to learn obedience .... (most recent plea)

And please help us to learn patience.

......

.........

In Jesus' name, Amen.

A call for help for obedience, and an even greater need - for patience & gentleness, but first and foremost, an expression of gratitude for the gift of these girls.

***

No matter the difficulties parenting brings, we find ourselves in amusement, gratitude & awe over our girls every single day (currently we are losing our marbles because Taya is repeatedly coming out from nap & bed time over and over and over and over and over ... again [oh, she's been in a toddler bed for several months already, this is just random :)  - I know this is a small example of kid woes, but it's a bit real at the moment!].  If anyone is ever teetering on having children, or having a 2nd or 3rd child, take the leap!  I've thought many times how I can't imagine anything in the world that gives as much joy, laughter, learning, stretching, growing, perspective, and gratitude as parenting does.  And if there is anyone reading this who is trying & yearning for children or for another child, I would imagine your trial has the opportunity to help you stretch and grow in ways we can't fathom.  I frequently think of those I know & even don't know who so badly want to get pregnant, and every time it reminds me to strengthen my gratitude for my daughters. 
****
Oh, and guess who rolled over yesterday!  Dyllan's rollin, rollin, rollin ... 

Three Year Old Fashion

Sometimes I choose Taya's outfits ...

(Today's Sunday church outfit; 3 year old poses entirely self-initiated & void of mom-instruction)

And sometimes she chooses them:

Today's Sunday after-church outfit (both outfits are entirely hand-me-downs, which is wonderful).

................

And on another note, here is Dyllan's cute smile.  There are two things that almost guarantee a smile from Dyllan:  lip buzz noises & saying 'zzzabazabazabazabazabazaba'; ironically those were the exact noises we discovered triggered Taya's smiles at this age.

Blessed Blessing Day

This little belle had her blessing in September.  We were lucky enough to have some family from Paul's side & my side travel out for the event.  I love these moments, as chaotic & exhausting as they can be, I love being with my family - and having both of our families join together to support Dyllan/us - was great.  It is nice to have both sides of your family reaquaint themselves now & again, and enjoy each other too.  Dyllan must have sensed the special day because she started sharing some major smiles the morning of her blessing when her Aunt Fawn (my WONDERFUL sister) was entertaining her while waiting for church to start. 

 

The classic after church group photo, rain or shine ... and shine/shady it was!

Games after dinner that Sunday at my parents' house.  This motion was non-stop all weekend. 

Chillin Dyllan

Here is my Baby Darlin.  Darlin Dyllan.  Chillin Dyllan.  DyllanbaJyllan.  So many wonderful names to snuggle her with.  She is somewhat chill and easy going much of the time, so it fits.  Taya loves to tromp around the house saying 'Dyllan's chillin/Chillin Dyllan/DyllanbaJyllan' - it never gets old. 

I took these photos in a few different sittings (and the others I've shared so far here, here, and on my sidebar) between about 6 & 18 days of age.  She has been the perfect practice subject for me with photography, hence the abundance!

We are all in love with her; she is now smiling, slightly doing soft laughs, and cooing up a storm. 

We're so happy to have her!