Our Amazing Photographer

A couple weeks ago we had our family pictures taken. Our photographer, Eric Harker out of Salt Lake City (ericharker.com), happened to be in town and did a very professional job. He understood my complicated vision of what I wanted these pictures to look like and captured them perfectly. I loved the indoor lighting, the formal clothes, and the classy and elegant location. Of course, we have a million pictures to choose from, but these are 5 I really liked out of 230. I could have posted 20 more. Enjoy.

I would recommend him! Thanks again, E^2.

Tip of the day

Want a great seasonal tip? When you go to make your gingerbread houses this year, instead of making icing that doesn't taste so great out of confectioners sugar, instead buy a normal-sized container of white frosting and add 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch. You won't taste the cornstarch and you'll be surprised how stiff your frosting will dry. Plus, it's cheaper.
Also, instead of worrying about using knives to adhere all your candies- simply spoon your frosting into some Ziploc baggies and cut a small hole off of one corner. Zip up the top, and you've made yourself a mess-free, less-hassle way to frost your gingerbread (or Graham cracker) houses.

Your welcome!

I wrote this post for you!!

I made the mistake a few months ago of naming specific people who have made a lasting impression on my life. Of course, I didn't name every single person that deserves to be on the list, and because of this, lots of people were offended! So, to all those I didn't mention by name, this post is for you.

I got the idea from my good friend, Lydia. She did a post a little bit ago and without naming people, wrote a trait or talent that each person has. So, thanks for the ingenious idea, Lyd!

If you're reading this, I know who you are, and this is for you.

*You're one of the best friends I could ask for. I know I can always call you about any random fact or just to spill my guts out and you'll always be there to listen. The pizza isn't so bad, either :).

· *If I could describe the word 'loyal,' it would be you. You're practically a sister to me. What I'm thankful for most is having a best friend who gets me.

· *You have so much courage and a great sense of self. You're very honest, sincere, talented, and apparently have a great memory of things that I don't remember happening!!

· *Thanks for always being a good friend and being on my side even when I'm probably wrong. You're one of the best parts about me marrying into this family and I love you!

· * You're a very patient and fun mother who I've always looked up to my entire life. You've always been supportive of my decisions, support I've needed many times from others and didn't get.

· *Essentially, you've always been a good and trusted friend. You make me laugh, you understand why I get irritated, and you have a beautiful gift of music, art, and comedy in general!

· *You're not afraid to try anything! Whenever I hear about a new trendy craft or skill, I'm sure you've already done it.

· *I'm thankful for you because you are as sweet a friend as they come. I liked you even before you broke out of your "shy" stage, and I admire how you look at life and live it to the fullest. You fulfill every single goal you set and are a light to others.

· *Man, sometimes reading about your life makes me tired! You're a very cute mother of 3 and are probably the most considerate wife I've ever known. You're honest. You're also very self-less and I admire your patience!

· *Every time I read your blog posts I laugh! I'll tell you again, please write a book!!

*I don't think you know how beautiful you are. I know it's not fair why some people are blessed in certain ways and others aren't, but you deserve to be happy and to have everything everyone else has. You're a good friend, and you're always very sincere.

· *Some women are born with amazing maternal instincts, some have to work at it (like me!). You are a wonderful mother and never think twice about serving others.

There.

Thank you.

Everything's shaping up for 'ol Erika

Last week was bad. Our car almost died! I was driving home on Friday (Oct. 29th) from the party store when I noticed that our oil light was constantly blinking at me. I called Dustin right away and told him what was happening. He asked if the car was smoking, was making funny noises, or even smelled questionable- None of the above. He then inquired where I was and finding out that I was only about 1 1/2 miles away, he told me just to come home. I was watching the dashboard like a hawk making sure the temperature didn't rise. It was an intence and scary drive, especially since I had Lillie in the car with me.
After I pulled up and got out of the car, I noticed there was a trail of oil down the road I just traveled. I went inside and in a panic-stricken voice called out to Dustin. He went outside and popped open the hood only to find that every square inch of the hood and engine was covered in oil. He even took one of our wheels off only to find more and more and more oil. The dipstick was bone dry, and even after adding 2 more quarts of oil, nothing was registering. That night was the Trunk-or-Treat, so we hurried and blew-up 50 water balloons for Lillie's costume (pictures to come in a later post) and all packed in to the 2-seater pickup to drive a little over 1/2 mile to the church parking lot, don't tell.
Luckily, we found a guy in our ward who specializes in Honda/Toyota mechanics (thank goodness!). We towed our beloved car over to his place a couple days later. A butt-load of money later (which would have been at least doubled at a 'real' place) we got our car back ONLY TO FIND that there must be car-angels out there watching over us. Apparently when that oil light flashes, it means there's no oil pressure at all going to the engine.... and usually when that happens, when an important seal has broken and all the oil has been gushing out of your engine, your engine usually explodes in about 15 seconds- rendering your car as a 2,000 pound paper weight.
You see why there must be car angels? Because I drove the car for a good 6 minutes after that happened. I was even driving it on I5 at a high speed for a good mile.

Well, naturally I didn't see it as a blessing at first. I was pretty upset! It's not like we just have that money laying around for this kind of set-back. All the money we had been saving to go to Idaho for Christmas has now gone to repairing our only vehicle. Another blessing, though, is that with just 90 dollars remaining to our name until the next payday (2 weeks later), I was miraculously able to buy groceries for our family of 4 for only 36 dollars. I bought all the usual stuff and have a dinner menu for at least 15 meals. Coincidence?

Things started shaping up in the most inconceivable way. Not only did the previous 2 miracles happen, but I also received a ticket to Time Out for Women! To make a long story short, My bro-in-law's mother wasn't able to go so she gave me her ticket. I spent this past Friday and Saturday at the convention center in Portland with Tacie and Laura. We even stayed in a nice hotel, ate at Red Robin and everything. No kids, no diapers, no bedtime routine, no accidents, no tantrums. I haven't slept that good in years. The speakers were incredible and with the theme of "Hope," I really did come back home with a renewed importance of my role as a mother- something I have been struggling with. It was an experience I had been praying for and that I really needed.

On top of THAT, I just received tickets for the Mo Tab Christmas Concert featuring David Archuleta! Tickets were so difficult to get that they turned the entire thing into a lottery, with just one entry per address. AND I WON! I've been trying to get tickets to this thing for 4 years now. We're not sure if we're going yet, but just receiving the tickets in the mail made my day yesterday.

PLUS, Dustin is on-call for his work this week. That means he's still working 40 hours a week, but after work from 5pm-7am he has an activated cell phone for emergency maintenance matters. It's a blessing (contrary to what your instincts might think) because all it means is more moo-la. So, maybe we can afford gas to Idaho and back plus a moving truck rental/expenses?! We'll see. Hopefully he gets called in a lot... (he want to, too)

So there you have it. It looks like things are finally turning around!

Can you belive it??

This was our tiny 6 pound 8 ounce Jack when he was just 9 days old...

...and now here's our handsome, happy little Jack a year old already!

The wierd stuff on my mind.

1. I love my family. Dustin and have have been living with his parents and my parents for 11 months now. We've really learned to appreciate the times we have together when it's just us together. We go way out of our way to spend time alone and have "immediate family time." The past 11 months have brought us way closer together. Monday night "family night" seems weird, because every night is family night.
2. I want a place to live. How I envy any and everyone who can afford to live on their own!! 8 months of unemployment and a butt-load of medical bills makes it so we can't right now, but hopefully soon. Be grateful that you don't have to fight over the TV, the thermostat, and who's eating whose cereal.
3. Jack is 1. I know I should have done a blog post (maybe I still will?) about his Happy Day- but it was a tad depressing for me. I really thought that by the time he was 1 I would have had a place to put his crib. For well over a year now, I've had a brand new nursery for him, stocked with brand new bedding, teddy bears, quilts, baskets, a lamp, newborn pictures, his name in wooden letters, and even a vinyl saying for a wall that I haven't been able to take out and put up. I even have paint samples picked out. I know, I'm whining about something insignificant- but isn't one of the best parts of having a baby is getting their room ready and customized? Needless to say, I cried for a long time after Jack went to bed that day.
4. Lillie is 3. And I have a headache.
5. Our stuff is in 4 different locations and it's driving me CRAZY!!!!!!!!!! But not to worry- we're saving up our money to afford a moving truck. The plan is to move everything back when we're in Idaho over Christmas. Sooo excited for that! Well, and also to go to Idaho for Christmas!
6. I need more willpower. I want to lose 7 pounds REALLY bad. Why 7? Because I have a stupid number in my mind of where I want to be. I know I could easily get there, but I'm not committed yet to give up all my treats. I need to eat better. I bet if I changed just my eating habits.......
7. I'm feeling like a horrible mother because I still haven't gotten Jack's 1 year pictures taken. I need to do that, I'm just slacking. And I need to get his 12 months vaccines. That's it. I'm scheduling it tomorrow.

Anyway, nothing too exciting. Just a glimpse at my thoughts lately.
I'll post pictures later when I feel like it!!

A Touchy Subject

Here's the deal. About 7 years ago I was terrified of gay people. I was uncomfortable around them and almost even... afraid of them. What the heck?! Why??
Answer: Because that's the way I was raised. My mother never specifically said she didn't like people who were gay, but every time we saw someone who was, she would make this "clearing her throat" sound, look down, stop talking, and quickly walk past them. I'm not blaming my mother, I'm sure she had early negative influences also.

Well, fresh out of high school, I took an intern position at a Theatre Camp (CGST). I will never forget how I felt that first hour or two after I was dropped off. I went in to meet the other staff, only to find that out of the 21 staff members, 11 were gay. I felt awkward and imagining myself there with "those people" for 2 1/2 months scared me.

A funny thing happened, as I'm sure you saw coming. I became really good friends with almost everyone. I was surprised to find out that they were normal human beings. It blew my mind. All this time I thought gay people were weird, horrible people- only to find out that they were just like everyone else in the world! I know, I know. I'm making it seem like I thought they were aliens. Well, maybe I did. That Summer I got a big slap in the face.

Any person who has been or is constantly persecuted usually ends up being nicer, more considerate, and accepting of others. The people I had the privilege of being friends with at CGST were exactly that. They knew how much it hurt to be hated and mocked by everyone, to be judged based on one part of who they were. To be talked about, disrespected, and unwanted almost every day. In spite of that, the people I knew at least, were kind. Even though Mormon's have a stereotype of being unaccepting of gays, they were still nice to me. One friend I had at CGST told me on the last day, "Usually Mormon's don't talk to me. You are the first Mormon who has ever been nice to me." Her words haunted me.

While Mormon's believe that marriage is to be between a man and a woman- we don't believe that having same-gender attractions are fake. We do believe that gender isn't an accident. For more on what Mormon's really believe, check out the following links:

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=1aba862384d20110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=e1fa5f74db46c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=e5cbba12dc825110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

The point that I'm trying to make is that I'm sick of all this. While I still firmly believe that marriage is to be between a man and woman, I still love those, and am respectful to all those who are gay. I'm tired of all the comments I hear, the jokes, the relentless mocking, the headline news when someone sees 2 guys holding hands. And PLEASE stop with your stupid argument that "I can't understand how it feels because I'm only attracted to the opposite gender." Well, you want to know how it would feel? It's easy. Have everyone tell you that your feelings towards your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, whatever- are fake and wrong. See how it feels. Have some compassion. We're taught that Heavenly Father "is no respector of persons" and loves us all equally. I can't explain everything, but please don't be one of those dumb Mormon's who contributes to the bad rep of: "You're the only Mormon who has ever been nice to me."