rOmAnTiC sLeIgH rIdE....

tHe KeLlY fAmILy

I am so lucky I get to work with such great people. Not to mention photogenic. Thanks Kelly family for being so great even though it was FREEZING! And for being so patient with a over sick and emotional photographer!  You're great.

Check out the "writing on the wall". I thought it was cool. 

cHrIsTmAs!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Definitely Wrapping paper.

2. Real or Artificial Tree?

ARTIFICIAL all the way! Why spend money on one EVERY year.

3. When Do you put the tree up?

Um....When do i like to put the tree up? or when does it actually GET up? Because you know they are very different.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Usually end of January sometimes Just before Valentines Day. (Hey, I have to compensate for the previous question.)

5. Do you like Eggnog?

Um....No.

6. Favorite gift received as a child.

My brand new stereo that I would listen to Paula Abdul on for HOURS!

7. Hardest person to buy for?

Ben's Grandma and Grandpa

8. Easiest person to buy for?

Jackson

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

Heck yes!

10. Mail or email Christmas Cards?

Mail. We can email any day.

11. Worst Christmas Gift?

A Blender from my Thoughtful Husband

12. Favorite Christmas Movie.

The Bestest Christmas Present Ever. (Cartoon)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

Just after Christmas the year Prior. Pretty much year round.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas Present?

Um.....Yes. But not if I've used it or opened it.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Mom's Cookies, and dips.

16. Lights on a the tree?

YE-AH! Would it be a Christmas tree without them? 

17. Favorite Christmas Song?

Silent Night

18. Travel or Stay home at Christmas?

Travel....If you count driving 45 minutes as traveling.

19. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer?

Oh....You betcha.

20. Angel or star on the top of the tree.

Star. Although we grew up with an angel on top.

21. Open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?

Christmas Morning. Santa is still wrapping Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

The cold and never having enough money.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

I'm an eclectic type of gal. I usually will by a new ornament for each member of our family each year and use them all on our tree. No themes.

24. Favorite Christmas Dinner?

Ham, Turkey, and we can't forget the Green Bean Casserole.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

Happy and Healthy family for the year to come. :)

i tag.......

1.DOT 

2.BECCA

3.STACEY

TMI? Probably, Readers Beware!

I had my first Prenatal appointment on Monday...By the time I left I was, first, exhausted because of all the overcompensated emotions I had experienced in my 2 hour visit to the OB. (thanks to hormones) And Second, a tad disappointed but relieved at the same time. 

I showed up to my appointment 15 minutes early, as requested by their office, (with full bladder), and filled out the necessary paperwork, blah, blah, blah. Then they had me sit and wait, and wait, and wait. Yes, I still had to pee, but by now I was getting much more desperate. 

They FINALLY called me back, (relief) and i had to pee so bad I almost didn't get my pants down let alone in the cup! (Gross! I know--Right?) So let me add another side note. The smell of EVERYTHING makes me want to puke, (especially pee), So going to the bathroom, in itself, is already a chore...Then to hold a cup in a steaming stream of urine, and have to feel how warm it is through the cup....BLAH! I was gagging trying really hard not to throw up (or spill my cup full of warm urine)  I had to pull my shirt over my nose and mouth, and barely touch rim of the cup. I finally was able to pull myself together enough to wash my Hands and gather my jacket and purse. (embarrassment)

You Ladies know what comes next....The DREADED Scale. Yep, Gained 2 pounds. (ALREADY!)....LAME!  So the really nice nurse took me back to the room asked me a bunch of questions...When was the first day of your last period....what medicines do you take....Blah, Blah, Blah. and then hands me my paper nightgown to put on, I was a little shocked because I had just had an "EXAM" in September, so I asked her if I needed one again so soon, she just said yes and that it is standard procedure for your first prenatal visit, and left the room. So, I did as I was told. and sat....on the exam table...in my paper nighty. 

After sitting there for awhile I had a HUGE urge to, well lets just say, I really needed to pass some gas, and I thought better now, then when I'm having my "Exam". (Could you even imagine? Farting in the Doctors face as he's swabbing...) So I let it RIIIIIP, and it was a bad one. And I kid you not, not even 2 seconds later the doctor walks in! (Embarrassed) (Yeah, Laugh it up!) So the Doc and I are sitting there discussing my chart (in my cloud of stench), and he says,

 

"Oh, you had an exam in September, No need to do another one so soon." (RELIEF) Probably because he was afraid I would fart in his face...lol. But I was relieved, anyway and kinda pissed because I just asked the nurse if I needed one and she said yes. Anyway...

As the Doc and I were talking he said that because I had been treated for Insulin Resistance before the pregnancy he said "We are just going to assume that you have and are going to get gestational diabetes." and he wants me to eat the way a pregnant woman with Gestational Diabetes would eat. After that all I heard was No table sugar (fine), No white bread (fine), and no PASTA.....What?!!? (freak out) Pasta is like the only thing that tastes good and stays down well. 

THEN....

The Nurse calculated that I was probably 10+ weeks along. So the Doc was going to use the Doppler thingy to hear the baby's heart beat. I was really excited because I had hoped that we would be able too. So the Doctor put the thingy just below my belly button and is moving it around, and pushing down hard and move it some more and pushing it down harder (discomfort) and he couldn't find a heartbeat. (Panic) Then the Doctor decided to measure my uterus to make sure I was measuring correctly, measuring just right. So he said, "Lets do an ultrasound to make sure it's a Viable pregnancy." (Panic, Excitement, Sad) I was really getting upset then. Not only because the doctor thought there might be a problem with the baby but because Ben wasn't there! He was plowing SNOW. (Seriously, plowing snow in St. George what are the freaking odds.)

During the ultrasound the doc checked everything out, the heart was there beating strong, everything was there and looks perfect. (Relief) He measured the baby and I was barely 9 weeks. (Disappointment) Seriously, I don't know if I would last the whole pregnancy being this sick. Hopefully it will ease up after the first trimester.

So the doc printed up a few photos of our Kidney Bean sized baby. (Awww) and I left. When I got in my car I just started BAWLING and I called Ben and was yelling at him for not being there. (Poor Ben, sorry honey) Then I called my mom and bawled because I can't eat pasta. (Poor Mom, sorry.) and then I was a wreck at work. (Just because I was hormonal.)

So lets see in 2 hours I experienced relief, embarrassment, dread, shock, more embarrassment, more relief, anger, a freak out, excitement, discomfort, Panic, more panic, more Excitement, sadness, relief again, disappointment again, an AWWW moment, and finally a hormonal break down. 

I apologize to anyone who was in my path that day. But the final verdict is this, I'm only 9 weeks along, (I know....you've heard that before) Doctor says my due date is now July 21, and so far baby is fine and healthy.

If you're still reading, thanks for reading my very long and Rant style post. 

 

Fun with Rick, Kelly, and Kelly's Girls.....

Talk about a gorgeous family! 

They were really fun and I think nearly every shot was usable. It was so hard for me to choose my favorites. I love that each of the girls have their own personality, and it reflects in their photos. Thanks for the great session ladies (and Rick).

Sneak Peek for the Thompson Family

The Thompson family was AWESOME! We had so much fun and they are a no nonsense family. They knew what they wanted and that allowed for their babies to get out of the chilly morning air quickly! Thanks for a great session I PROMISE they'll be done by the weekend.

Fun with uNcLe JeReMy!

Jackson so looks forward to Mondays at Grandma Cram's house. 

When we pick him up after work he doesn't want to leave. 

Can you Blame him? 

Shhh.....It's a secret!

Well...Not anymore!

Yep, we are having a BABY! We are only about 9 weeks along so still pretty early but I just couldn't keep it a secret anymore!

Jackson says that he wants a baby sister......(Oh!) He is going to be such a GOOD big "Bruder"

I wanted to tell my family in a fun and creative way. I went to a flower shop in town called "Speaking Roses" they Print custom messages on roses anything from a portrait to a saying. They are really cool. So I decided to have them print Boy-Girl-Boy-Girl on the pedals of a Gerber daisy and I attached the following tags and had Jackson deliver them. We had fun and are so happy that everyone is as excited if not more (Cheryl) then we are!

This tag was for my Grandma.

And my mom's and Cheryl's (Ben's mom) looked like this...

Piece of Advice....

To get something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done.

When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. 

The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.

Sneak Peek for Kris

What a fun family this was! We had a blast at Nisson Park! I LOVE the family photo, it is one of my favorites. It is so.......unconventional, But turned out fantastic! Thanks Guys!

Fall pics....

When i get Jackson together to do some pics, he is ALWAYS such a stinker. He won't pose, smile, or even hold still! It makes me want to pull my hair out! Even so, when I get home and load my pictures I am ALWAYS amazed that most of his frames are good shots. I love my Jax, he is such a good boy to put up with his mama. Here are a FEW of my favs, (I haven't really worked many other photos.)

KiSs Me, DaZzLe Me, ChAnGe Me FoReVeR!

Saturday, my mom, sister, Wendy, Natasha and I had a girls Night out. We knew we were going to go see tWiLiGhT but we ended up at  Texas Road House for dinner first. The food was FANTASTIC! I really think they are one of the BEST Values in town. Great food (and lots of it) at a fantastic and affordable price. When we were done eating we headed to the Theater (like a block away) and we were 45 minutes early! (we had to make sure we got the best seats-Right?) But even being 45 minutes early, there was already a line to the back door. I couldn't believe it! These people are crazy, and I was totally bummed. We were going to have to split up and not sit together or have really crappy seats. LUCKILY.....We had Gimp 1 (Wendy who has a broken ankle) and Gimp 2 (Natasha just had knee surgery and was on crutches) and the kind Westates Theaters workers let them in first and they were able to save us some seats. 

But I want to go back to being in Line......There was this Lady in front of us (in line) who I will kindly refer to as Crazy Twilight Lady. She would not shut up about things she didn't know about. She was saying that Stephanie Myers did all the film work herself and wrote the screen play (which obviously in the opening credits she did NOT), and blah, blah, blah. She almost didn't go to Disneyland because she wanted to see the movie on opening day....blah, blah, blah. (miss out on Disneyland?! i told you she was Crazy) She had just pulled in from California dropped her kids at the Babysitters and came to the movies. She was nearly hyperventilating when she kept saying "I can't believe I'm getting to see Twilight the weekend it came out, I never thought I'd get to" over and over again. But here is the REAL kicker. She said that she tends kids from her home and runs her own daycare, and that her husband was REALLY happy when she finally finished the last book.......ummmm....so what.....the kids you are supposed to be caring for were just out of control, chillin' with your husband?Yeah---like i said CrAzY tWiLiGhT lAdY.

And now that I've totally dissed Crazy Twilight Lady (sorry lady) 

On to HeAtHeR's MoViE rEvIeW........ 

I LOVED the MOvie! This movie couldn't have failed even if it had naked chanting and raving men in the forest. Edward was HOT, Jacob was even HOTTER! Even Chief Charlie Swan and Billy were good looking in their own rugged authority figure ways. Bella was beautiful and simple, Alice was cute and bubbly and perfect for the role. Rosalie was fantastic and so beautiful. Carlise was nearly hotter than Edward.  And Esme was THE perfect mother and so accommodating. You really could tell The cast was hand picked by Stephanie Myers. They were all just as she saw them in her head. One of the best parts was when Edward shows Bella why he can't be seen in the Sunlight. His Diamond skin was dazzling and better than I had expected it to be...

 I read a few reviews before hand......Most were complaining about petty things like Edward's chest hair (which wasn't REALLY bad, his arms were worse) but I kind of agree with that. Edward should be smooth like "marble" right? Another review said that it didn't stick to the book at all....What movie did that person see? or rather what book did they read.  It was so close it was almost scary! Of course it couldn't possibly be exactly like the book but it was pretty dang close!

I'm gonna go see it again when the crowds die down, It will be interesting to see what I did and didn't miss. How did everyone else like the movie?

Shay's Sweet Family

What A Super fun Family this was! Shay came from SLC to have photos taken....(wow, I am totally flattered) We had a blast on the Red Rocks, by Town Square, and at Dixie State's Football Arena. These boys are super athletic, we got some great action shots!   

tWiLiGhT

I am seriously SO excited for this movie! 

I read the series. The first one i wasn't too impressed with. I kept getting hung up on the fact the Edward is technically like 100 years old. And for him to want to have a relationship with a minor was tipping the Pedophile meter for me. And THEN for her to have such a mature "love" relationship at the age of 17 and only being a Junior in high school, it was a bit sickening. The Lovey Dovey the whole bit, it was a almost nauseating. Not that i don't love a good Love Story. I just must have been stuck on the Pedophile thing.  

But after much deliberation, plus the fact that I couldn't just NOT read the others when I knew they were there, I finished the series and have truly become a 

TWILIGHT fan. 

I've been so Excited i've already bought my movie tickets. The theaters were sold out for the Midnight showing on the 20th, and opening day was already sold out too! So I've purchased my ticket 2 weeks in advance, for  8:45pm on Saturday the 22 at the Pine View Stadium 10. My mom, sister, Good Friend Wendy and I are all going. If anyone wants to join in the fun you are more then welcome.

Also just released Today, about 12 hours ago, they are going to also do movies on the second the third books. New Moon and Eclipse. 

I seriously can't wait....I need to get a life.

i'M aN eSmE!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

CrAzY 8 tAg FrOm CrIsTi!

8 TV Shows that I watch:

1. Law and Order SVU

2. Biggest Loser

3. Sponge Bob

4. The Incredibles

5. First 48

6. Time Warp

7. Diego

8. Wonder Pets

8 Things that I did yesterday:

1. Got Jackson and I ready

2. Went to Work

3. Went to Grocery Store

4. Did the Dishes

5. Made dinner

6. Talked to Stacey

7. Edited Photos

8. Watched The Incredibles

8 Places I Love to Eat

1. Texas Road House

2. Mesquite Buffet

3. Olive Garden

4. Famous Dave's

5. Jimmy Johns

6. Marv's Spud and Grill

7. Alberto's

8. Del Taco

8 Things that I am looking forward to:

1. Family being here for Thanksgiving

2. Family Pics in January

3. Being a Stay at home Mommy

4. Having another baby (eventually- No, I'm not making an announcement)

5. Tax Returns

6. Picking up Jackson from Kori's

7. Being Home with my Honey

8. Telling my boss I quit.

8 things on my wish list:

1. New Clothes

2. Having a residual income that never stopped and supported my photography habit.

3. Having and owning our own home.

4. New Camera, the Canon D50 to be exact

5. Jackson Grows up strong and Healthy

6. All missionaries and Soldiers returned home safely

7. A new awesome cell phone.

8. World Peace

8 people I Tag:

1. Becca

2. Dot

3. Staceylacey

4. Haley

5. Erin

6. Wendy

7. Meredith

8. Amy

Prop Me Up...

There once was an old fellow who always prayed, "Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side." After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed for that so fervently.

He answered. "You see, I have an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot of weather, it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years."

"It's still standing, but one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit. So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on it's leaning side so it wouldn't fall."

"I got to thinking about that and how much I am like that old barn. I've been around a long time, I've withstood a lot of life's storms, I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, and I've withstood a lot of hard times...and I'm still standing. I, too, find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I ask the Lord to prop me up on my leaning side, because just about everyone gets to leaning at times"

Sometimes we get leaning toward anger,  leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't. So we need to pray,  and ask our Heavenly Father to help prop us up on our leaning side, so we can stand straight and tall again.

Take one more look at the photo if you didn't catch it the first time....

HaLlOwEeN.....and ThE BiG hUgE rObOt!

Halloween was SO incredibly fun this year! It was the first year Jackson REALLY knew what was going on, as far as trick or treating. We ran from house to house in Grandma Cram's Neighborhood but by the end of the second street his bag was so heavy and full of Candy Jackson couldn't carry it but to the door. At one house, the nice old people were waiting outside for us with a BIG bowl full of candies, little toys, apples and pencils. Of ALL the things Jacskson could have chosen he chose the APPLE! (I was so proud!) Then immediately afterwards I thought..."what if they had poisoned it or something?" and later, when I was telling my mom about it, and what I had thought, she fueled the fire further and said "they could have injected it through the stem!" (Thanks Mom) So I threw the apple away when we go home. It's sad when MY paranoia really isn't to far off sometimes. 

Anyway.....enough of my ramblings. Enjoy the pics.

Jackson wanted to be A BIG HUGE ROBOT (Transformer) So he is wearing a Power Ranger costume with the Transformer mask. Silly Kid. 

Whatever makes him happy.

Is this NOT Hillarious! Thanks Uncle Jeremy!