Chapter 35: a letter to my sweet girls

Dear girls, Raising you has been one of my greatest joys. I have loved every stage of your lives. I have seen you grow with bittersweet feelings, and I’ve seen you develop. I’ve watched you as your balance and coordination has gotten more sure. Some days I would tear up just watching you eat lunch […]

Chapter 34: Mr. Snow Miser Needs to Step Down

I understand the need for seasons. I understand the need to experience things so that we can appreciate their counterparts. I understand the need for precipitation, but I am so done. I’m originally from sunny Southern Utah, and Northern Utah winters are particularly hard on me. I have a hard time with the snow, the […]

Chapter 33: Not so Sunny St. George

After the wedding I took the girls and we headed to St. George to spend some time with my family. We had to drive through Zion National Park to get there. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The snow on red rocks is always breathtaking, but add amazing views and you cannot help […]

Chapter 32: Mister and Missus Smith

This weekend we had the privileged to celebrate the marriage of Brittany and Sean. We are so happy for them. Brittany met Sean at work. Her friend finally talked her into inviting him over to hang out, and they became fast friends. It didn’t take long before they were dating. We have them over for […]

Chapter 31: The Day of Love

I love Valentine’s Day. It gets a bad wrap a lot of the time, but I love that we have a day set aside to remind us of the importance of telling those around us that we care about them and appreciate them. It’s more to me than a romantic holiday. It’s a day of […]

Chapter 30: She’s a Big Girl Now

How can life go by so fast? I swear it was just yesterday that I was holding Avery in my arms in the hospital. Now she is smiling, crawling, sitting in a high chair, and drinking from a sippy cup. Ellie’s newborn stage went by so slowly; Avery’s was over in the blink of an […]

Chapter 29: Older & Wiser, Too

This week we celebrated Mister’s birthday. We’re so lucky to have this guy around. He takes such good care of us. I’m always humbled by the sacrifices he makes for us, yet he never complains. He loves our little girls more than life itself, and he makes me feel like I am his world. To […]

Chapter 28: ‘Tis the Season

I can’t think of anything that is better than celebrating Christmas with little ones. I try to keep the holidays simple, but throw in some fun things to do. We have an advent calendar that contains one holiday related activity that we do each day. For the most part they are pretty basic: read a […]

Chapter 27: Finding Motivation Amid the Chaos

It’s hard to stay motivated. I did pretty good yesterday, but today I’m really struggling. It doesn’t help that the one time of day that you get to yourself either the baby refuses to sleep or the neighbor girl comes over to play while your toddler would be taking a nice long nap. I’m trying […]

Chapter 26: Trick-or-Treat, Smelly Feet, and Sugar

We were so excited to celebrate Halloween with two little cuties this year. Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite Halloween traditions, but it is so hard to do with kiddos. I have accepted that this is not the season for pumpkin carving, so instead I have found pumpkin decorating kits that we use instead. […]