nativity-advent-calendar-5

Oct 25, 2016

I’ve been waiting a very long time for this mome

I’ve been waiting a very long time for this moment…when a note written by a child has the words “I love you mom” on them. For me I’ve always wanted to be a mother so this moment has been a long time coming - let me soak it in. ✨ 2017 me (crying about my miscarriage after 2 lonely years of trying) had hope this day would come but didn’t know how much longer she could wait. Now, I get to teach this girl every day and watch her become such an incredible generous kid. She makes the sweetest homemade envelopes (and then card holder) and then mini cards that she spells all by herself so proudly. My mama heart literally bursts ❤️ Oct. 15th is a tough day for many moms missing babies they don’t get to hold so I don’t mean to post this frivolously or make light of such a dark time many experience. If you are in that space, I hope you find hope in this and how God’s timing always heals in His own way. ✨ Had to add a few videos of all the little moments in the past month where I couldn’t help but smile that I am right where I was hoping I’d be years ago. The timing couldn’t be any more sweeter ❤️🤍

Was 105 today but imma pretend it’s fall ☠️🎃😅

✨ Light has been a recurring topic in my life fo

✨ Light has been a recurring topic in my life for over ten years now and in the past few years, I began digging ferociously for every verse I could find about light. I marked and tagged them, spreadsheet them, and wanted to compile them somehow to show how much Light is important to God and the connections we find in it. I feel like Ammon who bursts out in poetic praise in Alma 26 (which includes a beautiful verse about light!) so I did my best and created “Psalm of Light”. It holds over 230 of these verses about light!! ✨ The beauty of this is not the words I have compiled, but doing your own deep dive into the hundreds of scriptures on light because obviously God has a LOT to say on this one topic. You may feel a light and fire flicker on within you like I did years ago. Soon I will have a graphic for “verse” with their connected scriptures so the phrases that stand out to you can become your study guide. What phrase or section stands out to you? ✨

As a kid I thought it was pretty cool to share a b

As a kid I thought it was pretty cool to share a birthday with my Dad’s Father’s Day every few years. And it still is! Happy Father’s Day to the Dad who worked hard in the summer and played hard in the winter. A Dad who took us on adventures and never let his busy work-life stop him from spending time with his family. A Dad whose testimony of Christ is engrained in him and who faithfully took his family to church every week. A Dad who made snowmen, gave lap tractor and lawn mower rides, airplane throws into the air, swimming late nights in the pool, and would never say no to a Disneyland trip. Seeing him be a grandpa to my kids is even more magical than my magical childhood. Grateful for @ryan__sabrina and my father-in-law Bruce who are two of the greatest out there! 👏🏼👍🏼

I fell in love with this poem two years ago, desig

I fell in love with this poem two years ago, designed it to hang on my wall, and sort of forgot about it. A third tag-a-long came around and I’m gonna be honest, the past few months have awakened an anger I never knew I possessed. Mothering is HARD. I’m yelling a lot more. The weight of it all is excruciatingly exhausting. But when I hear their giggle or them do something cute, the weight instantly melts away. My husband giggles when he sees the instant countenance change happen 😅. And they are seeing a lot of me asking for their forgiveness again and again. As hard and monotonous and invisible as mothering is, I would NEVER take any of it away. Sometimes I take it all a bit too seriously because I know how important it is, and yet I think we aren’t meant to take it as seriously as we sometimes do. I think the burden of raising children can be a yoke that becomes light when we focus on the Light within us. I totally feel that some days and will hold onto that for those rough days. Creating this video reminded me of the inner light I possess (through the amazing Truths of loving Heavenly Parents and an atoning Savior and a plan of redemption that brings my family everlasting happiness) and how sweetly short this season of raising children is. These shadows are the biggest honor I will hold. Forever grateful for the mothers who shaped me and continue to shape me: my own mom, aunts, grandmas, coaches, teachers, church leaders, sisters, mother- and sisters-in-law, friends, cousins, neighbors. Happy Mother’s Day to all women everywhere! ✨

And all of a sudden my baby Juniper is a ONE year

And all of a sudden my baby Juniper is a ONE year old! Her personality has exploded and she likes to do playful things to make us laugh (like slap us in the face haha). She really enjoys playing with toys and following her siblings around, while also frequently traveling off on her own to explore the backyard. She loves thrilling, exciting things and she fits our crew just perfectly. We love our JuJuBee! (as James and Daddy have started calling her ☺️) #juniperfaygrew

Doggy door but no dog? I found a great use for tha

Doggy door but no dog? I found a great use for that 😆🤣