Say a little prayer

 photo courtesy of Reuters on Yahoo!News

photo courtesy of Associated Press on Yahoo!News

Our computer is broken and as a result I have been using our INSANELY slow and old laptop.  But I felt like I should post about this.  Most of you have seen the crazy amounts of news coverage about the rescue of the trapped miners in Chile.  Makes you smile, doesn't it?  This story really got me thinking- When was the last time I saw something happy and uplifting in the news that had this much coverage?  Ummm... pretty much never.  I sat last night and watched different news stations cover this miraculous rescue.  I keep thinking about it today.  In a world where there is so much tragedy and misfortune, there is so much good to be seen that isn't.  But these miners have made me double take and look at the world that I live in and all that I have to be grateful for.  How many wonderful things happen to me daily. 

The earth is filled with sorrow and turmoil, and many people feel lost and alone, physically and spiritually.  Yet, here is proof that God lives and still assists in miracles today.  An Associated Press news article said this-

                    'They emerged looking healthier than many had expected and even clean-shaven, and at least one,

                    Mario Sepulveda, the second to taste freedom, bounded out and thrust a fist upward like a prizefighter.

                  "I think I had extraordinary luck. I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God," he said...'

 

I just keep thinking about the role that our Heavenly Father must have played in these men's lives to sustain their hope and well being, and about the role he plays in my life. 

As you see all the coverage of the miners in Chile, take a moment to say a little prayer to thank Heavenly Father for the miracle of these men's lives and to thank Him for all the blessings and miracles that are present in your own life!

An attempt...

... to update my poor, neglected photo blog...

http://karlasmithphotography.blogspot.com/

August in Review

August was a busy month, full of fun and friends.  Life could not be better right now, we are just loving our two girls and we feel so blessed to have them.  Jenna has been potty training for the last three days and she is doing sooo good!  The first day was rough, but today she has only had one accident!  I think she's catching on quickly and I'm so excited.  Only one in diapers? Yes, please!  Lucy is our little darling.  She is 13 months and loves to stand up by herself, but refuses to walk.  She'll come around, we're just letting her go at her own pace and trying to not force her.  Anyways, here's a taste of our August for you...

During bathtime I like to play with the girls' hair.  This time was particularly funny, because Jenna looked at Lucy and said, "She's a sun!" 

So we made Jenna a unicorn... or something...

Our friends, the Hutsells, also had a baby a little while ago, so I thought I'd give Julie a little mommy/daughter bonding with her new baby.  I took her sweet girl, Kairi, to the Discovery Kid's Museum with us.  Jenna and Kairi had so much fun together.  They're great little buddies!

They sat here in front of Brookstone and wouldn't get up until I took their picture- so funny!

Playing in the museum...

There are so many great things to do in Utah.  There is this place called Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, where there are a lot of different things to do.  During August they have $2 Tuesdays, where you can get into any of the attractions for just $2 a person.  We chose to go to their farm and dinosaur museum.  We went with some of our friends from our ward, and had so much fun!

Jenna and her friend Olivia on a cow bench

Lucy looking cute and Jenna riding a pretend tractor on the farm

Tractor ride

Eating ice cream

At the dinosaur museum, being eaten by a shark, aaahhhh!

As if that isn't enough fun things, we had a gift card to the Hogle Zoo, so we went last Saturday and the weather was perfect!

Riding the zoo train

We waved to the elephants...

...and laughed at giraffes too.

At the very end of the month, we had an amazing thunder/hailstorm.  It actually woke me up.  Our battery was dead when the storm started, so I rushed to charge it.  This picture was actually later in the storm.  The storm was literally right on top of us.  The lightning was so close, it was blinding.  I've never seen/ heard anything like it.

And the hail.  Oh, the hail.  It seriously came in a sheet.  You could hear it coming- it was kind of scary.  All of the hail came in less than 5 minutes, but it covered the ground.

At the very end of the month, I noticed how big and cute my girls are.  How can they be getting so old?!!  I still feel like Dan and I just got married.  They are just so wonderful.  I had to snap some pictures of them just to remember them at this stage.

We had a great family night where we made carmel popcorn.  Here are some cute videos of the girls.

"It" happens...

My friend Jamie just wrote this adorable post about her girls and when "it" happens, it made me cry and I have to follow suit so that I can remember what I remember now.  So "it" is what happens to your sweet little baby.  You know, when they are in their "teen" months and you look at them and see a toddler in the place of your once was baby.  I can't believe how reading my friend's post made this memory jump back to the front of my mind. 

Jenna was about 15 months or so.  She'd fallen asleep early so I decided I'd just sneak into her room before I went to bed and give her some milk so that she wouldn't wake up early, starving.  I crept in as quietly as I could and picked her up from her crib.  She stirred, and I woke her just enough so that she would actually drink her milk from her sippy.  Jenna sipped with her eyes closed and I just held her, rocking her gently.  I felt tears come to my eyes as I looked at my baby, my firstborn.  What a big girl she was!  How did this happen?! How had my baby become this little girl who loves to run around and get into mischief?  I was about 5 months pregnant with Lucy when this happened. I cried as I realized that this little girl would be the big sister to all of my children even though she was my baby.  

Jamie wrote something that I think just sums it up perfectly:

 "I cried little tears and hugged her close to my body, memorizing her smell, her little face, and how her toddler body fit so perfectly in my lap, with her head laying on my chest, cradled in my arms. I remembered holding her so, rocking her to sleep just a year ago. She fit perfectly in my lap, with her head on my chest, cradled in my arms. It was then that the lump in my throat went away and the tears stopped, a calm warmth filled my soul and I felt a peaceful feeling, a small whispering that reminded me: she is mine forever. The power of the temple made that possible. I knew right then and will never forget, that each of my babies, no matter how big they are or how much they grow up, will always fit perfectly in my lap, with their head on my chest, cradled in my arms.

Its what being a mother means. And it never changes."

As I look at Jenna, all I can think is how right Jamie is.

                                                 

The only redone/complete spaces in our house...

You know how when you move into a new place you just want to make it your own? Yeah, I had those ambitions.  But it takes soo much work!  And ya know what?  I would be willing to do the work even.  The true problem?  It also costs lots of money.  If I had lots of money, this stuff would be a breeze.  But I don't.  So one room at a time, slowly but surely, we are making this house our own.  I started with the downstairs bathroom.  It's kind of a weird room, since it is also the laundry room.  The toilet sits in it's own funny little nook... 

...and the sink is kinda close to the shower...

... and when they painted the bathroom beige, they decided to not do behind the washer and dryer.  BUT, our washer and dryer show part of that!

This is what it looks like from the doorway.  It's not a true before, because as you can see, I already had painted the back wall by the sink.  But check out that funkiness above the dryer.  Weird, eh?  It was the primary reason I wanted to paint.

So, how did I decide on blue? Easy, we already had it.  Yes, we lugged it all the way from Nevada.  I had better stinkin' use it already... Anyways, I added some much needed touches and... voila! Our now decent looking downstairs bathroom. Sorry for the picture, all the mirrors bounce the light like crazy!

The weird window ledge stops me from putting up a normal mirror in front of the sink, but hello, who doesn't have a mirror in front of their sink?!!  There are mirrored doors opposite the washer and dryer, but what if we have a guest over and he's shaving?  They won't want to have to keep going back and forth to rinse their razor and then go back over to the mirror! Yes, a mirror above the sink is a necessity.  As is something to dry your hands on, so a towel ring went in as well. 

I used curtains we already had (they're from Wal-Mart) but they were way to big, so I cut and sewed them to the right size.  I wanted something cute to hold them in place.  I'm cheap and I had twine. I think it's kinda cute, don't you?  Oh yeah, and it's actually hung on a shower curtain rod.  I picked up a couple of Target shelves for the wall behind the toilet, found a way cute vase for .50 at DI, insert fake flowers and I really like it.  The picture frame was black, but I spray painted it white (it looks right)  and the picture is actually from an old Hawaii calendar.  The shelves are actually set closer to one wall than the other, to help balance that the toilet isn't centered in it's nook.  Why isn't it?  I have no idea... I'll have you know, that I only spent $43.50 in this room.  $30 of it was that mirror that is a NECESSITY.  But overall, I think it looks much better. 

My other space isn't a room at all.  No, it's my beloved craft closet.  Dan gets the garage, so I can at least have a closet, right?  I worked hard to organize this space.  Dan let me buy a microwave cart for $20 from the classifieds on ksl.com (kind of like craigslist) and it holds my sewing machine and surger perfectly.  When I need to get behind it, it rolls out easily.  Yay for organization!

It's nice to look at things you accomplish.  Too bad I turn around to look at the rest of the house and can only sigh...  One room at a time.  Next up, the office nook!

Some Fun (and not so fun) things this last month

So much has gone on this July! This has been our first summer away from our families, but I think we have really grown closer as we have had to think up fun things to do with the girls.  This post is pretty much to catch me up to current, since I feel like I have been behind for FOREVER and slowly posting is just keeping me the same distance behind. 

This July we've had fun....

...playing at the pool...

...eating- a lot...

...playing in the backyard...

...going to Farmer's Market (yes, you see right. This guy brings his piano by BIKE to play at the market. awesome. Sheer awesomeness.)...

...LOTS of going to the Children's Discovery Museum...

...playing in the fountains at the Gateway Mall...

...riding our bikes...

...and sharing lollipops...

...going to Temple Square...

...visiting with Uncle Herbie and riding the escalators...

...and visiting with Grandma Smith and Auntie Abbie

...and just plain looking good.

The not so fun?  Just one really.  Jenna found the diaper rash cream during her naptime. Kinda cute and yeah, kinda funny, but sooo not fun. Taking a picture actually helped me keep my cool.