Thoughts for Thursday

Today...Today has been an interesting day. Most of the day I found myself depressed and so super irritated. I couldn't figure out why and kept going through a mental check list as to what the problem would be. I know that I get REALLY grouchy when I don't eat, so I made sure to eat as much as I could (which just isn't that much these days for some reason). Lincoln took a nap and that gave me some time to think and relax.

As I was getting ready for a baby shoot today, it hit me... Today is my dear friend Shannon's one year mark of her death. It all made sense after I realized what day it was. It's weird how something can affect you with out you even realizing it. Every time I scroll through my phone to find a number and come across her name, I stop and just stare at her name. I can not bring myself to delete her name out of my phone. When I drive past one of her old homes by UVU, I often find my eyes starting to burn from the tears (as they are now). Loosing someone you love so much is HARD. You never EVER get over it, you just learn to cope. I am STILL trying to find the courage to go visit her grave. I have never been, nor do I want to go but know that I NEED to. One day this spring is my goal... We'll see how that goes though.

Lincoln...My boy is WALKING!!! He has been for 2 weeks. He's pretty good and very proud of himself. He just walks around the house like it's no body's business. It's the cutest thing ever. I can't believe in just ONE SHORT WEEK, he will be ONE. That seriously was just a blink of an eye! I am quite depressed about that too. He is growing too fast. I took pics of our new nephew and Lincoln looks like monster baby next to Parker! Crazy... I miss my little newborn Lincoln!

Chef's Table with Tyler and Robynn...Last night, we went with our friends to the Chef's Table. It is a REALLY nice restaurant that has like a 10 course meal. Seriously, by the time your main dish comes, you're so STUFFED! Really, it is the NICEST place I've EVER been too! I have been so excited to go out somewhere NICE. Well... we thought if we went while Lincoln was taking his afternoon nap, we'd be just fine. He has been a lot better at his naps lately but not yesterday. NOPE! He woke up as soon as we got out of the car. We both just looked at each other and shook our heads. We KNEW where this was heading. But it IS our fault-we shouldn't have brought him. Our friends brought their baby and their baby was acting up too, so we didn't feel as stupid.

Lesson learned though. Lincoln wanted to walk around and kept pointing to the other room and whining. We had to eat in shifts. He REALLY wanted that knife next to my plate and wasn't quiet about letting me know. Trying to eat with a baby in your lap is almost impossible. There were crumbs EVERYWHERE! We tried to feed him some of our food too. A few bites here and there is all that happened. I'm sure the waiter was more then annoyed with us. We joked about that and how even more annoyed he was going to be when both couples pulled out their GIFT CARDS!! HA HA HA!!! At one point during the meal, Jory was talking and all of a sudden we hear this splashing noise. Jory had his wine glass of water in his hand while he was talking and Lincoln put his whole hand in the glass and started just splashing a way! Jory just said, "Whatever, he's happy-I don't care!" Two seconds later, he was BAWLING (and quite loudly too) because the water was in fact ICE water. His poor little hand was freezing!! LOL!!!!

By the time we left, the beautiful white table clothe had massive stains everywhere on it and the floor was TRASHED with crumbs and food that had flown everywhere. How white trash! They probably thought we belonged in McDonald's-not this place. I was quite embarrassed, but what can ya do? Oh yeah... GET A BABY SITTER NEXT TIME.

Parker Landon

The minute I found out my sweet nephew was born, I packed up my stink bugs and we headed over to the hospital to see him. Oh is he darling. I took some pics of him while he was in the hospital. Believe me, there will be MANY more photo shoots of this little guy!

Clearly, this isn't Parker, but these two kidlets were pretty excited about their little baby!

Wedding Expo!

What a weekend!!!

I haven't done a bridal fair for a while because the last one I did was awful. I didn't book a thing and it was devastating. Then again, there weren't that many people there and there were  about 12 photographers there as well. NEVER doing the Provo High Bridal Fair again. Thanksgiving Point is SO much better! Anyways, I really felt that I needed to try again. I kept telling myself NO WAY. The thoughts wouldn't leave though. I decided to try one more time. I had forgotten HOW much time was invested in one of these things. To keep up with the cut throat industry here in Utah, you have to be on top of your game ALL THE TIME and always updating your portfolio. LOTS of work. Not to mention expensive. I think it went ok though. We'll see...

Dayle told me I had to take pics so she could see my booth, so here it is! Turned out cute eh?

Anyways, I've been getting ready for that all last week and we also had the birth of my new nephew as well. Can I just tell you how CUTE that little boy is? I can't wait to hold him again. He was born in the same hospital as Lincoln and it was a little hard to go back there. The memories are still fresh and raw. At any rate, I am so glad he is here and doing well. He is the 4th grand baby on the Bennett side and I am thrilled that Lincoln has a boy cousin that is closer to his age.

Speaking of Lincoln, he is yet again sick. Not to mention teething. Poor little boy. He has started walking though and it IS the CUTEST thing I've ever seen. He gets so proud of himself and gets that little Lincoln signature smile on his face.  I also got sick as well. I broke out in Fever/Herpes virus all over my ear yesterday and never to fail, it makes me sick.  Needless to say, Lincoln and I only made it to Young Women's to teach the girls today.

Here's a pic of me and Lincs in our booth. Don't we look so good together??

Special thanks to...

*Ashley for watching Lincoln while we went to load our stuff over! He was such a sad boy and I always feel so bad when I have to have someone watch him for me!

*Jeanie and Dustin for helping load, unload and GENEROUSLY lending us their van as Jory's truck wouldn't work (so depressing!)

*My mom who dolled up, drove down from Ogden after having a ROOT CANAL THAT morning and helping out with the booth and taking over so I could go eat . IN FACT, one girl came and talked to me later that evening and told me how wonderful my mother was and how she had sold her on using my services! GO MOM!!! =D

*Melissa Blanton who always supports me in everything, is sooo loyal and always makes my hair look fantastic (which isn't easy BTW).

*Jory for watching Lincoln all day and being a such good sport about it. Also for helping set up, take down and doing most of the loading home. And for telling me how proud he was of me for doing this. It TRULY was hard for me to put myself back out there!

*And of course let's not forget my cute boy... He just cute-plain and simple! ha ha ha!!!

Baby Bennett

The day has FINALLY arrived that my brother and his sweet wife welcomed their 3rd baby into this world. A beautiful little boy. So sweet... I can't wait to hold him again.  Kinda looks like Bugs to me. Here he is in all his glory

                                                                             Baby Bennett 03/17/2011
                                                                                  9:19am  8lbs 12 oz
                                                                                        20.5 inches

The Perfect Walk

Last week, Lincoln and I were looking out the window. The weather was warm(er) and the lighting was perfect. Hmmmm... Why not, I thought to myself. I packed up my camera equipment and my baby and off we went driving. We found a spot where it was peaceful, desolate and beautiful. I pulled out the stroller and off we went walking. Can I just tell you HOW HAPPY this makes my boy? And of course, when my boy is happy, I am happy.

I can't believe how beautiful the day was. Lincoln was so very intrigued with everything going on around him. I put him on a blanket and he just did NOT move. There was so much to see and hear. He was in Heaven. It was a perfect walk indeed!

It will be so nice when it is warm enough to take him out on long walks. I can't wait. He is an out door boy already. I love it. He gets so sad when we bring him inside. It will be a fun spring and summer for sure.

It was nice to wear him out a little!

Ah ha!! Just kidding, he couldn't be more alive and wide eyed!

So VERY much in love with catch light in eyes and this image nailed it!

Oh how this stick made him so happy and entertained him forever!

How does that cute little smirk not make you smile? =D

 Here are just a few of the gorgeous images I took of my boy boy. I will have tons more on my portrait blog within the week. I LOVE how they turned out. I'm so excited for the weather to warm up and for the earth to become alive again!

This last image just warms me right up inside. That is my sweet little miracle boy! That is HIS little trade mark smile. He smiles like that at me ALL the time. It's a funny smile that lights up my world. Happiness right there friends!

Decorating Ideas...

So I've been looking at a lot of different ideas for our room. I am beyond shocked at some of the things that are so popular right now. I'm being serious here. Ruffles. ???  Ummm, REALLY? What are your thoughts? I found ALL images below on different sites, so it's not even just one person.

A Bed Skirt??

Hideous bedspread

Nursery Curtains

And this delish shower curtain.

If you like any of this and I have offended you some how, I am sorry. However, I do think these are disgusting. I am not a ruffley person in any way, shape or form. Dayle!! Perhaps you likey?? HA HA HA!!!! Yeah right...

Colds

I know the following 3 images look quite similar, but I love them all and didn't want to narrow them down. Lincoln has been battling colds and ear infections for a while now. He just got over his 3rd ear infection since December. I feel like he gets over one cold and then he jumps right into another one. So sad for baby. These pics of him were so beautiful! Even if he is sporting a snotting nose. I thought about retouching the snot out and that just seemed like too much work at the moment. That and this is history and how he really did look at that moment.

Our house has been looking like this a lot. Actually, it has been worse. It seems as though everytime I get it picked up and cleaned, it's right back to this state. I think I'll just give up and enjoy life! Ok, maybe I'll do one last spring cleaning! Maybe...

More Dirt

Last week as I was working on our taxes, Lincoln was crawling around me playing toys and what not. As the taxes got a little tense, things got a little quiet. I actually had my camera close by and this is what I found. Not to mention, a hand in both plants at the SAME TIME!! Poor, poor plants... They simply need to go!

I was behind him getting mad at him, and he only turns his head ever so slightly and gives me this look. Fantastic. He knows he's in trouble and doesn't even care.

I went around the other side of the table to shoot through the chairs to get a better look at his face. If you'll notice the pretty orange stains on his NEW onesie, I have been TRYING SO HARD to get him to eat better. Yeah... that didn't go well either. LOL!  Pretty cute and pretty hard to keep up with!

Lately, Lincoln has been keeping me on my toes. It's been exhausting. I know this will only get worse. In fact, as I was cleaning up this mess, he managed to find his way to the bathroom and dump EVERYTHING from the garbage can into the toilet.

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He SERIOUSLY thinks he's hilarious. No joke. When I found our toilet full of garbage, I was giving him a scolding while trying to keep my giggles under control. I'm going to have to work on this one (and he WILL give me PLENTY of practise) cuz he was just laughing right there with me.

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I've been feel down a lot lately for many reasons. One of our friends has been in Y.W.'s with me since I was put in there (4 years ago??). I totally love this girl. She just got released and put as the Primary President in our ward. She will do amazing! However, Sunday and Wednesday night were hard for me. I miss her. Weirdest thing ever... Just not the same with out her.

A lot of girls will tell you that nothing cures the blues like chocolate. Since I'm not a huge fan of straight chocolate, I decided to make strawberry dipped chocolates. D.E.L.I.S.H!! They turned out so good. Even better, Jory doesn't care for them so I got to wolf them all down myself!

Oh were they soooooo GOOD!!

Angels

My mom sent me this last night. She is inspired. I know she knew I needed this.

 

“My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” 1 On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.”

 

Elder Jeffery R. Holland Oct Conference 2008

 

Isn't that beautiful?

Sweet Comforts

Last Christmas, my sister in law gave me a gift certificate to a spa here in the city we live. I wanted to save it for after I had my baby when I was feeling really down about myself. Life just got away from me though. So a year later, I finally redeemed it. I went tonight and had a Hot Stone Pedicure. Have you had one? If not, go get one. The most amazing thing EVER!! The girl that did my pedicure was super nice and easy to just sit and chat with. Not awkward at all. So of course she scraped away at my poor, dead and dry skin, but she also massaged my legs and feet with hot stones. So comforting. After, she put my feet in a bag of warm wax. WOW... I loved it! Then she painted my toes-man were they long over due. My feet have never felt so soft or fresh. I love it! It seriously was the most amazing experience ever! And clearly, I'm living quite the boring life if I'm blogging about how amazing it was. HA HA HA!! But truly, I highly recommend you go get one or get your wife a certificate to go get one.

Seasons Salon and Day Spa
Bobbi Hunsaker
801.223.9356

Stolen

I read this on someones blog today and had to record it. So profound and meaningful.

"Ezra Taft Benson said, ""What does it mean to love someone with all your heart? It means to love with all your emotional feelings and with all your devotion. Surely when you love your wife with all your heart, you cannot demean her, criticize her, find fault with her, or abuse her by words, sullen behavior, or actions.

"What does it mean to 'cleave unto her'? It means to stay close to her, to be loyal and faithful to her, to communicate with her, and to express your love for her. "Love means being sensitive to her feelings and needs. She wants to be noticed and treasured. She wants to be told that you view her as lovely and attractive and important to you. Love means putting her welfare and self-esteem as a high priority in your life."

One last quote I found interesting was, "Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is growing up." --James A. Baldwin"

We need a new bed BAD! Since we are actually getting a tax refund this year, I am begging Jory to get a new bed. There are a lot of things we want/need so we have to pick off a long list. However, a new bed is MY top pick. I've been looking for different ideas and things I'd want. Let me tell you, there are some INTERESTING things out there. I can only imagine what would run through Jory's head if I asked him if we could do this to our bedroom...

That is some LOUD wallpaper!! lol...
I DID like this idea though.

They are not the colours I have in my head, but I like the style. It's simple, bright and fresh. Oh, I saw this and LOVED it, so I am hoping Jory will build this for me for my bday next month.

Seriously? How fabulous is that?? And to have these cameras on my shelf

The Yashicamat LM (the first camera) is beautiful eh? I want one so bad! I know what you're thinking-why would you want a film camera when the world is using digital? Well, I LOVE the art aspect of photography and my dream one day is to teach Alternative Photography at a University level. I fell in love with this medium of photography while working on my Associate Degree and am secretly dying to get back into it. Most Alternative Photography processes require film negatives and you would be shocked at the beautiful art you can do using some of these techniques.

I still want the Nikon D700 in the worst way and I am saving for it. I just have a lot of dreams though.

Dishes

My little man loves to come play with the dishes in the dishwasher. If I try and shut it before he gets there, he gets pretty mad. But it will keep him entertained forever! I figured maybe this isn't a bad thing to teach him to help around the house. We all grew up having to help-even my brothers. So I say teach them while they're young! Heck, maybe he'll be able to do his own laundry by the time he's 2! ;) 

Lincs Latests

Yeah, he pretty much bawled the whole time I tried to take his pictures. I was so excited about this shoot and this location. He, however, felt quite different. We will try this again hopefully next week and see how it goes.

Today I ordered his Birthday Party Invitations. Ummm... I'm a little emotional that he is already to this point. It's been fun planning his party and all, but I am so sad that it has gone by this fast. It will be a super cute party though.

I have been chatting online with my youngest sister. She had been asking about Lincoln and I was telling her all these things and realized I hadn't recorded them anywhere yet. But here's his latest tricks...

*Loves to laugh when someone else laughs
*Arches his back and throws his head all the way back when he doesn't get his way.
*Since he has either destroyed all the plants or we've moved them out of his reach, he has resorted to pushing chairs and laundry baskets around.
*He loves to clap and wave.
*Still LOVES bath time and books it to bathroom when he hears the tub going.
*Understands what being outside is and gets upset when he's brought in.
*Loves to smack you in the face and just LAUGH about it. (We have no idea where this came from, but we ARE working with him on this-not a good habit.)
*Still LOVES Elf. ???
*Gets a kick out of his cousin Bugs. Whenever he sees her, he has to tease her so bad that she gets mad and then he'll giggle so hard about it.

**As I type this, they are both laying next to me snoring away! Good times...**

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