Elder Cram

I need a good quote for this last image. "... the fields are white..." or something would be cool, yeah?

This is my baby brother, Josh. He's the raddest kid I know. Talk about original. His positive energy is contagious and his love for people is admirable. I want to be like him when I grow up!

He will be serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Perth, Australia! It will be beyond awesome if he comes home with an accent... just saying! Without a doubt he will do incredible things and the Lord will be able to work miracles through him. 

I love you, Josh (if you ever doubted it). Mega proud of the man you are becoming! 

Changing my thinks... and feeling better.

I've been in a rut. Maybe it's the pregnancy, and it would be easy enough to blame my changing body and unbalanced hormones,  but in all honesty, I have been pretty ungrateful and a little unhappy. I have been focusing too much on the things I don't have and the things I should have and what's fair and what's not, that I've dug myself into an unhappy hole. And it's my own dang fault.

It's no easy thing to change your thinking process... even if you catch it early. It takes time and effort. So here is my effort in changing the way I think, and then the way I feel about the way things are right now. Because things are fine. Really. I'm just kind of a brat sometimes.

I am grateful that my children are healthy.
I am grateful my pregnancy has gone well.
I am grateful I have a warm home to live in.
I am grateful I have hot water to shower in, wash clothes in, wash dishes with and use whenever I want to.
I am grateful I have a washing machine.
I am grateful I have a warm bed to sleep in, with comfy blankets and pillows.
I am grateful that my boys have a father that they adore, and that he loves them back 10x more.
I am grateful for in-laws who have become some of my closest friends.
I am grateful that I can be forgiven by my Heavenly Father for my mistakes and short comings.
I am grateful I am here on this earth, at this time, learning and growing closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior from my experiences.
I am grateful for warm socks.
I am grateful for my warm sweaters and jackets.
I am grateful for my mother.
I am grateful for my father.
I am grateful for the things I do have.
I am grateful for my developing talents.
I am grateful for inspirational music, and that others share their talents!
I am grateful for a running toilet.
I am grateful for electricity.
I am grateful for the sunshine.
I am grateful for my friends and neighbors.
I am grateful for my husband's hard work and sacrifices.
I am grateful for the hugs, kisses and smiles of my boys.

There. I feel a lot better.

Life is good, even when it's not perfect.

 

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Have a beautiful weekend!

I'm not alone in this journey.

 

When I finished editing this picture, I fell in love with it. 

Let me tell you why.

The face could be any woman, it just happens to be mine, which allows me to connect with it in a way I haven't with other maternity images.

A hand on the belly suggests tender feelings about the child within her and the pregnancy itself. 

The hand on the hip suggests confidence and strength. 

Her face turned upwards towards the heavens gives me the impression she is looking towards her Father in Heaven to help her in her role as a mother. She knows this child is not her own, but also a literal child of God, and needs divine help if she will be successful.

That is how I feel about my pregnancies and this picture speaks to me, reminds me. 

Maybe it's just me - and that's OK if no one else feels that way about this image. I want it up in my home to remind me that not only do I need my Heavenly Father's help, but I am entitled to it if I live the way He has asked me to. 

Sometimes I forget.

I don't want to forget.

So I will make a better effort to remember.

Parenting is not just about my husband and I. 

We are not alone in this journey.