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Dec 25, 2020

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 😆🤣

I shared this on a story and it’s just too cute

I shared this on a story and it’s just too cute to me so I want a place to permanently watch it over and over again. The baby leaning curiously, the Daddy working hard, the little kid dance moves, the “let’s wrestle mommy” giggles, the project finished I had been dying to find time to do and figured it out alone. Granted, I wanted to curl into a ball and scream at my kids just a few hours previous to this. I actually smacked one kid on the cheek and then felt absolutely terrible (they knowingly put their sibling in danger. We made amends, I asked them to forgive me and they told me to pray to ask Jesus to forgive me too 😅). The cutsie music makes this as magical as it felt in the moment but know this is not the full picture — there is overwhelm, utter exhaustion, and burn out, yet I see the magic in it too. ✨ So I will rewatch the magic. *Literally right after this video that child wrestled me down and told me “You’re the best mom ever!” The pure love and quick forgiveness of a child is definitely the most magical thing of all!

Junie turned 11 months two weeks ago and I had to

Junie turned 11 months two weeks ago and I had to make sure we got her photo before her first birthday or else my perfect track record would be ruined 🤪😅. Juniper is our food-loving, crawling up stairs as fast as she can, walking any day now, little busy bee! She loves waving hi and Daddy is becoming her favorite little wrestle buddy. We can’t believe how much bigger she’s gotten and smarter she seems and love her all the more! #juniperfaygrew

Spruce up your pancakes for Palm Sunday with one s

Spruce up your pancakes for Palm Sunday with one simple spinach leaf and a few heart shaped strawberries! It got an official approval from my little buddy! Happy Palm Sunday everyone!