Of Hair and Humility

I confess...I aaaalllmost fixed those funky uneven pony tails after this happened Sunday morning.

And then I realized my pride is far less important than what transpired here.

The ponytails stay.

Sister, Sisters

Today I am grateful for sisters.



I spent the entire day with my sister, Erin, who lives a mere 30 minutes away and was in desperate need of some adult time.

As our children ran around my house we sat and talked about our childhood memories. We swapped tips on local grocery deals and clipped coupons. We rolled our eyes at the things our husbands do as we professed our gratitude that they saw past our dorkiness and actually wanted to marry us.

We made Christmas plans and wondered about the future of our aging parents. We debated the pros and cons of sister wives as we fed seven hungry children. We ate leftover Halloween candy and coaxed little ones to smile for the camera.

It was a long full day of sister time. Time I no longer take for granted now that I have spent a few years living far far away from "home".

I love both of my sisters. Erin and Camille.


 I'm grateful for the companions they were in childhood and remain to be as we stumble through adulthood, parenthood, and onwards through sisterhood.

From climbing trees, giggling in our bunkbeds late at night, and dancing in the basement to swapping babysitting, sharing recipes, and laughing over sushi. The calenders and faces are changing, but the fun and love is ever the same.

I look at my three little girls and can't help but smile with the anticipation of their forming sisterhood.

They will learn as I have learned that sisters are one of the dearest things we can have in this life. I hope they hold tight to their sisters no matter who steals who's clothes, no matter what friends may come and go, no matter the distance or time that separates them.

Sisters will always be there. Teasing, listening, provoking, cheering, advising, competing, gossiping, remembering, suffering, lifting, laughing, loving as no one else can.

It's a Sickness I Tell You

Remember how I told you the other day in my vlog that I am a "picture frame fiend"?




I wasn't lying.

Or even exaggerating.

For the past several years we have been renting temporary places of residence. It's hard to want to nail a picture on a wall when you know you aren't going to be sticking around for long.

Plus, there just hasn't been any room. So all my pretty pretty frames and decorating items have been biding their time in dusty boxes in storage...

...Until we moved here and my family helped us unpack and settle in our new spacious home.

While I sat and held my week old newborn, my sisters, sister-in-law, and mom unpacked box after box of frames, stars, Americana, shelves, and assorted decorating paraphernalia that I have been hoarding collecting over the last almost eight years of marriage and moving.

They laid all of it out in that front room I was showing you the other day on the vlog and then called me in for an intervention.

Let me tell you...those pictures do no justice.

I may need a testimonial from my sister Camille. She'll tell you how bad it was/is. She was more than willing to tell me I had a problem that day. (In a loving, humorous, sisterly way of course.) And I began to wonder if I did when I saw it all laid out in one place.

It looked like an episode of Hoarders.

I almost started crying. Out of happiness at seeing all my pretty things again. Out of shock that I could possibly be one of those crazy people who collects stuff simply for the sake of collecting stuff.

My story is on its way to a happy ending.

I have not allowed myself buy a single frame since being faced with my frenzy of frames. I even went through the ones I already have and purged some of the less desirable.

I am on the road to recovery.

Now to get all the ones I have sitting in boxes in the corner up on that big white wall. (I keep saying I am going to wait until we get it painted, but I think my self-dictated therapy may require a sooner-rather-than-later approach.)

This episode of Hoarders is ready for HGTV.

Fumbling-to-Find-the-Fun Friday Flop

You wanna know what's fun?: Going "home" for a visit.

You wanna know what's NOT fun?: Going home for a visit because of a funeral.


Fun: Thrift-store shopping!!

Not fun: Guiltily admitting to your husband that you spent $100 at Deseret Industries alone (and trying not to blab about the money spent at the other two thrift stores, antique shop, and fabric store).


Fun: Eating fresh, warm cheese soup from your favorite hometown bakery on the way out of town.

Not fun: Eating the first bite of your fresh, warm cheese soup and then hearing your son who is sitting in the back seat of the van announce that he has just thrown up.

Even more not fun: Watching, frozen in place with shock and disgust, as he continues to empty his stomach of everything he ate over the past three days...all over himself and the back seat of the van you were planning on traveling in for the next five hours.


Fun-ny: Thinking, "How could I tactfully get a picture of this for the blog without my husband being irritated at my need to share everything about my life?".

Not fun-ny: Deciding it wouldn't be worth the marital discord for one nasty shot of your son and backseat covered in puke only to hear your husband suggest an hour later it would have been a "funny" thing to get a picture of.


Fun: Eating fresh corn on the cob from your mom's garden.

Not fun: Realizing it's all gone.


Fun: Getting home after a trip so you can sleep in your own bed and hang out in your underwear again.

Not fun: No longer being able to ignore this...
or this...
or this...


Fun: Rubbing bellies with your pregnant sister.


Not fun: Realizing for the millionth time that you are fatter than your sister even though she is twice as pregnant. (See how cool we are flashing how many months pregnant with our hands.)


Fun: Getting to see your baby on ultrasound.

Not fun: Having a sleepy baby, pushy placenta, and cranky doctor who is "too busy" to take the time to show you the ultrasound or find out if your baby is a he or a she. I may or may not have cried in my car afterwards out of pure frustration and disappointment. I'll never say! Looks like three more weeks of waiting to get to know my little one a little better. {sigh}


Super Fun!!!: Participating in Sami's Quince Quote game at Symmetry in Motion. Go check it out! It's easy to enter and even easier to get sucked into her blog fun/goodness!

Not fun: Realizing I actually knew this movie whereas I didn't know all the chick-flicks she has done in months past.

Super not fun: Not winning, but I'm not too worried about that this time. I've got a good feeling about this one. {fingers crossed}

What's so fun and not fun at your house these days???