Christmas Project

I made this for Christmas for Lincoln's Grandparents and his Dad. I LOVE them! I made two because I couldn't make up my mind on which one I liked better! The other one is on my portrait blog.

Lincoln is still doing great! He hasn't thrown up in almost two weeks now. We hope he keeps this up. He has been enjoying his new toys but still has cabin fever. I took him out for like a minute the other day hoping he would FEEL HOW cold it was. Of course the plan back fired on me. We got outside and he gave a huge sign of relief and was the happiest little boy EVER! Dang it...

I totally forgot to post about Christmas! Maybe I will try again tomorrow. It has been a stressful week over here. Our car has just been a MESS trying to figure everything out and it took a weird turn for the worst the other day. Sadly, I have learned over and over again, that you just can't trust anyone. I have also been trying to get ready for a huge bridal fair in the next two weeks. It's hard to figure out which images to blow up, what size, how to to arrange them, how to decorate your booth, pricing, price lists, designing them, business cards, ALBUMS (this is by far my most favorite thing to do!) and the list just goes on! It is A LOT of work! But I have all my albums done and ready to be submitted and I THINK I have all my prints ready to send off. The problem is I keep changing my mind and second guessing myself! AHHHHHHH!!!!!

Other then that, we are doing ok. Our house looks like it could be on the show Hoarders. So please, no one stop by to take pictures cuz if you submit them, we might end up on the show. First thing that needs to go is our bushy Christmas tree! There is no room to put Lincs toys anywhere! One of these days we will get it all organized! I hope...

Lincs: Christmas

We had a REALLY NICE Christmas this year! We just got home late last night and have been forcing ourselves back into the swing of things. Normally, I am quite ready to be done with Christmas, but this year I am not. I am a little sad it's all over. Maybe it's because I have cute boy and life in general is just more exciting with him. Who knows... Either way, super fun, super busy and we are EXHAUSTED from it all! I have been busy getting ready for an upcoming Bridal Fair, and some other fun things going on this January. I will blog more about Christmas hopefully tomorrow though as I do have a few pictures. For now, I wanted to post these STINKIN cute pics of my cute boy. I took them several weeks ago and am dying over them! He never fails to make me smile, happy or want to be a better mom. And... he is still doing so well! That's MY boy!

Merry Christmas!

Jory's brother was awesome and offered to take some family pics for us if I set it all up with the posting and the camera settings. I think he did quite well. We had really wanted a different location because down here in Utah County it all been done! I printed our cards on Pearl-Linen paper and seriously... COULDN'T BE HAPPIER with how they all turned out!

We hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I know a lot of our family and friends have really struggled this past year (scratch that-the past couple of years) so when we say have a Happy New Year, we TRULY mean that!

Lincoln's Surgery

Today was Lincoln's big day-his little surgery! We were told not to give him any food or Liquid after midnight last night. I already knew this would going to be a LONG night. We asked our good friend Cort to come over and give Lincs a blessing. There is just something so AMAZING about the Priesthood. I love it. What would I do with out it? I wish I could remember what it even said and it was my intention of writing it down, but that just got away from me all together. It was a beautiful blessing and we are grateful for Cort and his willingness to give blessings!

Lincoln woke up around 3:00am wanting his Bubba. We clearly couldn't give it to him and just hoped he would fall back asleep. Nope, he surly did NOT! I think he finally passed out about 6:00am. We had to get up at 7:00 to get ready. It was seriously such a sad morning. I wanted to cry and throw up all at the same time. We got to the Riverwoods Medical Center at 8:00am and checked in. I figured we'd do paper work for 15 minutes and then they would take him back and prep him. They didn't call us back till after 9:00am and they didn't take him back into surgery till 9:30am. Do you KNOW what it's like with a 20 month old baby who is hungry and bored out of his brains? The Anesthesiologist came and talked to us and then took Lincoln with him to put him under. Lincoln of course was just bawling and so sad. I think this was the hardest part for me. They put Jory and I in a room to wait for him. Much to my delight, Jory found a station that had Prison Break on it. Heck yeah! Except, I totally fell asleep. It seemed like less then 15 mins later, the nurse came back and said he was almost done. So fast....

 Dr Heras came back and told us he did really well. However, she said that when they went in to put his tubes in, they found his ears were red-which means another ear infection was on its way. I felt so irritated that he just keeps getting them! She also informed us that his vocal cords were really swollen and he failed his hearing test. Again,I was so sad. I just wanted him to be fine. But, she was happy with how everything went and suggested maybe looking into food allergies if his vomiting continues. We are taking him into her office tomorrow to do another hearing test and see how that goes.

 They finally brought my cute boy into me when he was waking up from everything. Cort warned us that he was going to be crazy fussy. Holy crap... no kidding! It was awful!! There wasn't a THING we could do to calm him down! I hated feeling so helpless. The poor kid was STARVING and guzzled half of a glass of juice. When we came home, we stopped at Wendy's for lunch since we both knew making lunch just wasn't going to happen. We got Lincs a milkshake and he started pounding that too. When we brought him home, he wanted a Pedia Sure and pounded that right down as well. It took him about 2 hours of being crazy before he calmed down. Then he was back to being our Lincs. He was ripping down the hall and smiling. Crazy kid... Jory and I ended up passing out in the living room. I was on the couch and he was on the floor. Lincoln was playing with his cars next to me and when I had woken up, I saw him laying next to his dad sleeping away. FINALLY!!!!

He has been doing AMAZING tonight!!! He kept wanting crackers and other little snack foods we normally can't get him to eat. It was such a happy evening! He had been saying the word "no" before his surgery, but after he says it a lot more and more clearly. He just sounds more clear all together. We are so very happy and feel blessed that we were able to have this done for our son.

Mater

Lincoln LOVES Disney's Cars. I think that has been one of his top favs for quite some time. During this Christmas Season, we were driving around and right by our Target, there was Mater!! We HAD to take Lincoln there. I am sure we were more excited about it then he was. When we got there, Jory covered Lincoln's eyes and wouldn't let him see him until we were in front of him. When he uncovered Lincoln's eyes, it was quite apparent that Lincoln knew this truck. He gave a shy little smile for only a moment and then was done. He was more intrigued with all the passing cars. Awesome! Oh well, it was a lot of fun anyways! Luckily, we took some cute pics while we were there. I am getting better at just taking candids of my boy!

Tomorrow morning is Lincoln's surgery at 9:00am! I am excited to have him get this done, but nervous for him and I understand that sometimes things just go wrong. Please pray for my boy! Heck, pray for me to be able to keep it all together. It's been a rough month and I am rather emotional these days! HA HA HA HA!!!!

Temple Square

About a week ago, I shot a wedding at Temple Square. It was SO beautiful. After the wedding was over, Jory, Lincoln and I went back to see the lights. I always love going to see the lights at Temple Square! They always amaze me every time. We didn't last long because it was cold and we are trying to keep Lincoln as sick free as we can. Plus I was exhausted from shooting all day. I LOVE shooting weddings-I truly do, but they REALLY take a lot out of you by the end of the day. This is why Jory had the camera more then I did and there are more pics of my and cute boy together! For once, I wasn't the designated photographer! HA HA HA!!!

We walked up to the popular granite stone to takes some pics of each other holding Lincs and this girl asked if we'd like our family pic taken. Umm.... WHERE did this good Samaritan come from! Who ever you are-THANK YOU!!

Little man was OBSESSED with the water!! He LOVED it. Then he started shivering cuz it was a cold night. That's when we decided the family event was over. We had him wrapped in blankets in his stroller, but he wanted to run free as usual!

Lights

I saw the cutest image of this little boy all wrapped up in Christmas lights and really wanted to try it out on Lincoln. I knew it wouldn't turn out nearly as cute considering Lincoln is a stinker when it comes time to taking his pictures. He screamed about 15 seconds into and didn't want anything to do with the whole situation. But still, it was fun! The only light source I used was the lights wrapped around him and the glow off our Christmas tree lights. There were a few cute ones that turned out and I have learned that at his age, ANYTHING is better then nothing right? But cute Christmas stuff to come.

Christmas Time!

Since it's a week before Christmas, I figured I should blog some Christmasy stuff! The day after Thanksgiving, Jory usually helps his Dad out at the tree lot. We decided to try and do a little Christmas Shopping while we were up there. While in Wal Mart, they made an announcement that Santa was in the Garden section and you could have a picture taken with him and get a free 5x7. Ummm.... ok! So we took Lincoln over to have his first picture with Santa and of course he BAWLED!!! I was so sad. I did NOT want to be in the picture at all since I CLEARLY wasn't dressed for the occasion-or any occasion for that matter! But I still wanted to have my son's picture with Santa. I think this is just hilarious though. Typical Lincoln! Jory and Lincoln went to Logan last night and I miss my boy SO MUCH! They will be home soon though and I can't wait to give him hugs and kisses!!

So stupid cute!!

The Gateway

This is has been a rough month over here. With being sick constantly, cars breaking down, job situation and the lack of the Christmas Spirit due to all the above, we have had a hard time getting excited about Christmas. We have done a few Christmas things as a family. Last Saturday, I shot a wedding up at Temple Square. Since my car is pretty much a goner, Jory and Lincoln had to tag along yet again. We figured we'd see the lights and head over to the Gateway. We didn't stay too long at either one since it is butt freezing cold and we're trying to keep Lincoln healthy for his upcoming surgery. Either way, it was nice to get out and DO SOMETHING! It is always so beautiful up at Temple Square and I never fail to feel the spirit when I am there! Here are some pics we took at The Gateway! You'll have to excuse the picture overload. We hardly ever go out and have fun-let alone take pics anymore, so we have been trying to be better at that! Lincoln HATES to be in his stroller anymore because that means he's not a free spirit exploring everything on his own. And he wants to do everything on his own anymore it seems! We thought this pic was hysterical!

We have always loved going to The Gateway, ESP at Christmas time. Then you get a little boy that is full of adventure and does NOT want to be in any of the stores because there is less room to RUN! So we've come to conclude that shopping and eat out is needing to be a Lincoln free zone! LOL!

Equal

***PLEASE NOTE**** I did NOT post this image because of the man's naked chest, but rather I LOVED the message from this. SERIOUS, it's perfect! I am all about women's rights. I was also taught growing up that in the marriage a man and a woman are equal partners and that is how you should be treated. I always saw my Dad helping my mom with the kids, around the house and making meals. After all, marriage should be a partnership right? Anyways, this message is beautiful to me! I truly am grateful to be raised the way I was in this aspect. Love you Mom & Dad!

Sick Day

The one thing you are never prepared for is middle of the night vomit sessions with your kid! We had gone Christmas shopping last night and came home to put Lincs to bed. Jory stayed up working on a fly rod and I did some work for clients. I finally went to bed about 1:30am and Jory came in about 2:00am. At 3:00am, we were awoken abruptly by Lincoln VOMITING!! Oh it was AWEFUL!!! But when it is not? We had first thought it was him just having a vomit episode that he gets so often, but this stuff was STINKY-worse then normal. Jory got in the tub with him and I got him out to get him dry, dressed and back to bed. Then... he started throwing up again! Yeah, this wasn't an episode AT ALL! This poor little man continued this every 10-20 minutes for almost 4 hours!! It was so very sad. I am not exaggerating here, I did 4-5 loads of laundry during the night. We went through EVERY blanket and towel in the house. He has no clean clothes left either-those are still waiting to go through the wash. Clearly we learned after 2-3 outfits just to let him run around in a diaper!

He FINALLY fell asleep at 6:30am. We both went to sleep and at 8:30am, I was jolted out of my sleep, yet again, by my mechanic calling to tell me he figured out what was wrong with my car, but he doesn't know how to fix it and has researched it and can't find ANYTHING on how to fix the problem. AHHHHHHH!!!! It was NOT going to be a good day at all. I was so depressed!! Around 9am, Lincoln woke up and was bawling for his Bubba (his sippy). He was STARVING. ??? Of course we were both nervous to give him anything, but he wouldn't stop crying-he was so sad! So I put a tad bit of apple juice and watered it down. He GULPED that sippy like it was no body's business. He started perking right up. He wanted more though, so we gave him a tiny bit more.

Then came the runs... geez! We put him in the tub again and gave him a little more water and put him to bed with a movie on. When I went back to check on him, he was laying on his stomach just smiling away. Once again... ??? He wanted to get down and he started running around playing. Then I KNEW what was next! YEAP... sure enough, he puked down the hallway! Thank goodness for hardwood floors eh? :) That has been the last of it so far. He's is playing around the house acting like my cute boy. Not that I'm not grateful or anything, I'm just saying this isn't like ANY stomach bug I've ever had!!! We are praying that we don't get it as well, but it was a bad one, so we are just planning on it coming in the dark of the evil night!

PS-Sorry if this is graphic and gross but since this is my journal and this IS the events of the day, I had to record them! Hey, at least I didn't photograph this event! lol!!!!

Look to the Light

Unfortunatly, sometimes it is only through our deepest, darkest hours that we turn to the Saviour for help and comfort. I have been guilty of this more then once. I am going through this right now in fact. Sometimes, however, when we are at our lowest point (or we just FEEL like we are there) we don't always feel him there and we feel utterly alone. I have never in my life been inactive from the LDS church and nor do I have ANY intentions to either, but sometimes, I do feel like he isn't there or doesn't care. I believe these feelings are normal and we all go through them at some point in our lives. I have felt like I have been slipping through the cracks on so many levels for far too long. The other night when I was talking to my mom about everything, she told me she felt strongly that he was watching over me closely. I WANTED to BELIEVE her so bad, but I didn't. It seems like everything is just going wrong and I. AM. DONE! This evening, I remembered a talk someone gave years ago where he point blank said, "Christ isn't the one that turns His head from us, we do that on our own." Ummmm... yeah-pretty much right?

It started with a small and simple prayer for ONE beautiful picture of my CUTE BOY. I KNOW he heard that small, simple and lame prayer. But HE KNEW HOW important this aspect of my life is. Everytime I shoot a session, I pray that I can do a beautiful job and a lot of times, I DO feel him there. Whenever I kiss my cute boy (which is more then not) I have a prayer of gratitude in my heart because I KNOW it was Him who brought me this boy at the time He did.

I have started to take this one step at a time to rebuild faith and confidence in MY OWN ANSWERS to prayer. I may not always be on my knees praying, but my heart seems full of prayers lately. I can't do this alone anymore-my plate is too high and my heart is so full of things that shouldn't be there. I know I have to give some of this burden to Him. I NEED Him. And so do you.

The following video is one I found while blog stalking that inspired this post. It is BEAUTIFUL and so heart felt! Even though we should look to the light all the time, sometimes it's just gotta start from somewhere...



I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did and are enjoying this beautiful Christmas Season! :)

Hmmm...

Well then.... YIKES!!!

Lincs First Horse Ride

So clearly I am not very good about blogging things as they happen. In fact, I have no idea when this even was! It may have been in Aug... ??? Either way, it is better that I blog about this then my current car drama!

Whenever this happened, we had gone up to Almo for the weekend and Lincoln became fascinated with Grandpa's horses! Every time we go there, he points and points to the horses until we take him over to see them. It doesn't matter how cold or dark it is, Lincoln wants to see those horses. So Jory decided to take Lincs on a horse back ride and he was pretty scared. I don't think he liked it that much. Still... we got some CUTE pics of him on them right?

After looking at these again, I remembered his horrific hair cut while we were there. Clearly his hair was WAY too long! So we asked Aunt Cami to give him a trim. Both jory and I had to pin him down. Cami worked FAST and I was quite impressed with how fast she could work. Close towards the end, Lincoln had been screaming so hard that he started gagging and dry heaving. He threw up a little and then we decided the hair cut was OVER. Jory picked him up and held him close. Next thing we know, Lincoln throws up ALL over/down Jory. It was a LOT of throw up too. We started cleaning him up and I couldn't handle the smell-I thought I was going to start dry heaving myself! So we didn't get the hair cut done! He looked pretty silly for a while. ha ha ha...