On Motherhood.

It's raining tonight--hard--and I love it. I feel like I'm back in Portugal in my upstairs bedroom wrapped in my baby blue fleece blanket and laying over the radiator by my desk. I so dearly miss my room. And to think that I'll never see it again gives me a little lump in my throat.

Today I had a Senior Pictures Photo Session scheduled, but the weather pushed it back a week. And to think only three more photo sessions to go before my "pause." Here is what I posted on my Homespun Photographs Facebook page today:

I have been battling with myself the last few weeks but today I've finally reached a resolution. I need to push the pause button on my beloved Homespun Photographs business. The past few years have been thrilling and full of such good memories with all of my amazing clients. I love capturing your sweet moments and memories, but I have been feeling the tug to treasure more of those memories with my own family as of late. And seeing as my children are getting busier as they get older (which never occurred to me when I just had two little toddlers), this summer and the whole rest of this year is already a flurry. So with that said, I have committed to pausing my photography business until further notice. I will finish out the sessions I have scheduled through June and then begin my leave of absence. Thank you to all who have supported me through this photography journey and have hired me as your photographer. You will always be more than clients--you will remain my dear friends!!

Last year, when I really "opened my business" I did so with the full intent to save every single penny for the boys' missions. With our gigantic graduate school debt that loomed into our future 25 years, I never thought there would be enough for their missions. I prayed long and hard and felt impressed to use my business as a means to pay for this most important goal. Even so, I felt so very burdened with finances last year despite how blessed and fortunate we were.

Then one day last fall the Lord opened up a window that I never thought would open and we found a solution to our school debt that will knock off 15 years of payments. It was a miracle and a very real answer to our heartfelt prayers. And I felt deep down in my heart that this new window that had opened was the Lord's way of telling me that He would provide for my sons' missions--that He had accepted my offering to do all in my power to earn the money, and that it was enough. And ever since that time, I knew that the business I had worked for so long to create, would be put on hold so I could raise my children in the way the Lord has inspired me.

I feel so bittersweet about the whole thing but there is a peace in my heart that assures me I am doing the right thing. I stand in complete awe that I am the mother to 3 beautiful, perfect children from heaven. I feel so very honored that Heavenly Father has gifted me with this incredible, exhilarating stewardship. And I am reverenced at how the Lord has led me along this past year in finding my way as a mother and discovering just how powerful I truly am. Though far from perfect, I now radiate a light that comes from Him and shine it on my family daily.

In short, I have fallen in love with being a mother---hook, line, and sinker---and each new day that I get to spend with them is a delight....

I know it will ever be so.

Weekend News.

Last Friday I made fresh coconut milk and later we made homemade pizza. The sweeties sure loved making their very own little pan pizzas. (I think they ate it much better too than when I make it by myself.) 

During dinner, we continued our newest tradition of reading a story from the Friend during dinner. It has been one of my newest goals to implement with our Cottage MTC/TPC/HTC. :) The stories always provide a rich breeding ground for discussion and conversation. And this particular crossword was a hit! The boys loved trying to guess which prophet the clues were talking about--and they did very well! I was impressed. The next night they asked to do it again. We did, and added in more Book of Mormon prophets as well.

Monday after Easton left for school, I found this cute little paper he had cleaned out of his folder:

 The back is the best:

Sunday was my Birthday and I loved every minute of it! I was given this adorable chocolate bar from the Relief Society...notice the clever Nutrition Facts label:

We got all dressed up in our Easter clothes since we will be out of town for Easter this weekend...which of course required a quick photoshoot with my phone:

My sweet family came over for the afternoon and we had the most perfectly splendid dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, peas, and of course, pink cupcakes and ice cream!! ;) It was pretty cute because all afternoon and especially after dinner Maylie wanted a cupcake and we kept telling her she needed to wait. She was such a sweetie pie and so patient to not fuss at all. She had to wait all the way through dinner and then afterwards for our little Sunday lesson (which has become such a sweet tradition to me that we do with all of my family whenever we get together on a Sunday). Then we knelt together and had a family prayer. At the close of the prayer, instead of saying "Amen" like all the rest of us, Maylie jumped up like a firecracker and excitedly shouted, "CUPCAKES!!!!"

Maylie also got a little tiny hair trim from Aunt Coco--can you believe how long her hair is??

And sweet Tater held Baby Abi for a long, long time--which was a dream come true for him. At one point she kept reaching up and stroking his face...and she kept doing it for minutes on end. Tate held perfectly still, not wanting to move a centimeter for fear she would stop. They were absolutely adorable together, and thankfully, as I was taking pictures, Tate asked, "Mommy can you take a video of us?" I love him!

Then last night for Family Home Evening we had our Easter egg hunt and a lesson about the Resurrection. I left one of each of their eggs empty to signify the empty tomb and then told the story of the Savior's Resurrection. It was simple and sweet and perfect.

The Easter egg hunt was early this year since we will be out of town for Easter, but I decided after last night's success, I want to do Easter like this every year! Spread out the festivities throughout the week so it's not all packed in on Saturday! Plus, Easton, Tate, and Maylie have been doing Easter egg hunts non-stop ever since last night.  So I'm grateful they get to play with their eggs and baskets longer than just a day!

So now I'm caught up to date on the latest happenings. On to the next adventures in life! I have two photoshoots this weekend, a family date with Sadie in the temple for the last time before her mission, a girl's night dinner, an Easter egg hunt, and Sadie's farewell! It's going to be full and rich and busy!! The boys have been counting down for days now until the time they can go "sleep over at Grandma's!"

Adventures.

These last few days have been Spring at its best! And our afternoon ritual has been to run to the great outdoors for bike-riding, chalk-coloring, and field exploring.

The boys took me all through the empty fields and showed me all their secret places--alligator's river, bridge, special paths, pool, hideout, Mt. Syria...it was amazing! I never knew how many alcoves and nooks and crannies the land around us holds.

Yesterday Maylie was riding her trek around and singing all these beautiful nonsense songs...and I instantly had a flashback--that is exactly what I used to do at her age--I have video to prove it! And I really should have taken a video of my Maylie singing...but I'm sure she will do it again...summer hasn't even begun!

We also did some lovely chalk art the other day. We all love being outside so much. Maylie cries and cries every time we have to go in (and usually runs away from me as she's doing so.) It breaks my heart!!

The last few days have also brought some fun imaginative play for Tate and Maylie. We have been acting out our favorite stories--The Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, The Gingerbread Man, and Little Red Riding Hood.  We've done some of them twice. It's been our little morning routine for the past few days...

Our Props:

The porridge bowls and spoons

The chairs

The beds

And what happened to Baby Bear's chair. :)

Have a fabulous Thursday--one more day until the weekend!!! :) Yay!

The BYU Game

Yes this is terribly late, but we finally loaded Patrick's pictures onto our computer.

This night was back in February...the night when Maylie and I had a princess girl's night?

Well, the boys drove down to the BYU Game with Grandpa and Sadie for a night of their own. I'm so grateful they had the chance to spend time together. They had a wonderful time!!!

Project: Kitchen Organization

This was my project last week. I started out little--deep-cleaning and organizing a drawer a day...but when I came to the cupboards and pantry...there was nothing to do except take it all out and do it all at once.

So we orderd pizza one night since there was not one square inch of room on the counters or table to prepare or eat food. It was a 5 hour project spread between 2 days, but I finished and celebrated with taking some time for myself to plan our 8th anniversary that's coming up in just a few months.

These are my wheat and oats stations. I LOVE THEM!

And this is my perfect little station just for me. The kitchen has truly become a haven for me!!

Hooray for the kitchen! Now on to the littles' rooms and the ominous basement!