Mmm....Oreos.

Yum....You ALL know you are enjoying your Oreos this way in your head.

Thoughts on Mother's Day....

This is a photo of my Mom. Isn't she lovely? She has taught me SO many things.

I love her so much. I'm so thankful that she is here with us today. Just over six years ago she had a stroke. It was sevier, but we know it could have been so much worse then it was. She lost use of her left side, but through physical therapy she has been able to gain almost 100% of the use back. How amazing right? And she still gets to giggle about how she has no feeling in her hand and how she finds it in odd positions and places.

She has endured through so many of life's battles besides her stroke. She was a worthy young woman to marry and be sealed for time and all eternity in the Los Angels Temple, She's given birth to four children (all natural, I mean with NO epidural....That makes her a real woman in itself I think.) She has endured through and been the rock for our family during times of sickness...when my brother Chris at the age of 14 was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. She knew the name of every medication and what they did for him. She spent hours and hours traveling and by his bedside with a brand new baby. Now with my Grandmother and her breast cancer how it left and then came back again worse then ever and knowing that one day she is going to loose HER mom, probably sooner then later. And she is my littlest brother Joey's whole world and Everything, as he and she are learning how to deal and cope and overcome everyday with Aspergers.

I think all the time about how lucky my kids are to have her has a grandma, and what if it had been her time that afternoon in February? They wouldn't have been able to EXPERIENCE what a wonderful woman she is. My only hope is to be half the mom she is...

Sometimes I find motherhood to be so so hard and yet the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. I've given up my personal interests, career, and social life to witness every burp, smile, hiccup, whimper, scrape, and milestone my kids have. And when I hold them and see them succeed or witness any ONE of the things listed, I KNOW it was a good trade.

I guess the most important thing is to keep going. Keep teaching, keep kissing and hugging and loving, keep doing, keep snuggling. and most of all keep praying.

Hair Tips

Did I mention the hair tips are from a Four year old?

Thank you big brother Jackson for getting your little brother ready for the day.

rOcK aNd RoLL BABY!

One major thing Ben and I differ on is Music. Ben LOVES Rock and Roll, usually really hard rock. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate the great classics and musicians and some of the....other stuff.

Jackson is following in his daddy's footsteps. He tells me he likes Dad's music better then mine. I Love Love Love that Jackson has such a great imagination and fun friends, and at the ripe ol' age of four he is already in a rock band. Check out their first performance at the link below. You won't regret it.

Rock and Roll Kiddos

Decepticons and Autobots

I didn't realized not all four year olds are as versed as Jackson is in the Language of the Transformers.

Jackson was trying to explain the difference of the Autobots and the Decepticons to his four year old friend Tyson. Tyson kept looking at Jackson like he was crazy and kept saying "What?"

So Jackson showed him his Optimus Prime and told Tyson

 "This is an Autobot, he's a good guy."

and Tyson said  "What? An Otter Pop?"

I was laughing SO hard. Whats even funnier is that Jackson said, "Yeah!, an Otter Pop, lets go get one!"

Pretty Miss Anna

What a fun shoot this was! Anna is one of the seniors I had the pleasure of shooting this year. We battled some wind, but the shots still turned out great. Congratulations Anna!

Hoppy Easter!