Sweethearts

Soren [contemplative]: "Mom, what Backyardigan song can I sing on American Idol?"

Mom [amused]: "You're trying out for American Idol?"

Soren [serious]: "Yes.  But I'm not going to be crazy."

Anders [concerned]: "Mom, I don't want to go to Hell.  It make me bleed."

Mom [chuckling]: "Me neither."

Anders [whispering]: "You help me get to Heaven?"

Marriage . . . it's that simple.

I tried my hand at film-making.  Or rather, slide show arranging.  The only thing is, I have two major character flaws that have made this particular venture somewhat brutal.  First, I can't go to bed with a project unfinished.  So last night, I didn't.  I just didn't go to bed.  Not ever.  I spent the night working on my video and transferring nightmare-plagued boys to Mommy and Daddy's bed.  When Dan woke up the next morning to the sweaty discovery that his wife had deposited two little hot potatoes next to him as her place-holders, he just shook his head and told me I was crazy and I'd better not be calling him at 5pm wondering desperately when he'd be on his way home!

Second, I am a perfectionist.  An extreme perfectionist.  I comb through my projects over and over and over again until I pretty well want to throw my hands up (and the project) and walk away.  At this point, having spent a day and a half laboring over this creation.  I now have drums and Yugoslav singing doing a pretty adamant loop through my brain.

Oddly enough, I did fine today.  I must have been functioning on adrenaline.  No narcolepsy, thank goodness.

Anyway, after a bit of tweaking here and a bit of tweaking there, I've had quite enough of tweaking and am ready to just debut the stinkin' thing and get the message out to enough people so that I can no longer fret about making nit-picky changes.

So, without further adieu, I give you . . . Marriage.

Drum Roll Please . . . .

www.lizziejanephotography.com

TA DA!

Don't Forget . . .

. . . to watch Glenn Beck today at 2pm PST and 5pm ET (and somewhere in between for the rest of you folk). He will be talking about this "We Surround Them" movement to take back our government for the people. I am really excited about this and hope that he can help to unite our country behind sound principles again and empower the people to demand respect from and take control of our AWOL government "leaders."

Faces

This is the face of . . . cheekiness:

Family prayers in the evenings can produce some rather interesting behavior. Here, Anders is perched atop his bunk rail like a monkey, folding his arms, waiting expectantly for us to get the show on the road.


This is the face of . . . flattery:

You know what they say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Since half my life is spent right there in that chair (and, yes, my bum is growing a shelf), I am indeed flattered that my children find it so fascinating to "be mom." Here is Soren navigating the mouse, selecting home videos for the boys to watch together. You wouldn't believe how hard they laugh at their old selves.


This is the face of . . . insult and injury:

Soren fell off the top bunk and caught himself with his nose on the carpet. Can we say rug burn? And to add insult to injury, he claims that Anders pushed him off while his eyes were closed and he was trying to sleep. *yeah right*


This is the face of . . . serenity:


What would you do if you couldn't buy food in the stores? What if truckers went on strike or a natural disaster occurred and we couldn't rely on stores for our necessities? What if your husband or wife lost their job? Are you prepared? We aren't completely prepared, but we've finally taken the first step toward being so. This week Dan and I went to the cannery and canned three months worth of food for our four-person family. It was actually a lot of fun. Another friend from the ward, Tami, had scheduled a separate appointment at the same time. We three were the only people there and we worked out an assembly line to expedite the process and help each other out. We now have cans and cans of white whole wheat, rice, oats, beans, flour, sugar, potato flakes, and more residing underneath our recently-raised bed. The peace that comes from being prepared is phenomenal. I highly recommend it. Apparently people everywhere have been feeling the urgency of acquiring emergency essentials and food storage as our Church leaders have advised for years and years and years. In Utah, appointments for the cannery are at least three months out now. Here in San Diego, appointments have been increasing in demand and the current availability is about three weeks out where it used to be easy to call up the day of and receive permission to can. Ensign messages discussing preparedness are increasing in frequency and urgency. So what are you doing to become prepared? We've planted a garden and picked up a three-month supply of food staples. What else do we need to do? Any advice?

Note: Don't know how to start working on your personal preparedness? Try browsing this website. You will be inspired.

Hilltop with Daddy

So, Hilltop Park is one of our favorite places to play on a weekend. The views out to the ocean are gorgeous and there is grass aplenty, sand for digging, swings for swinging, and jungle gyms for climbing. It's a kid's dream park. This time, we got to go with Daddy and, of course, I couldn't resist pulling out the camera to shoot a few rounds.

This kid is growing up so fast.

How does this thing work?

He ALWAYS does this in sand. He scoops and flings, scoops and flings.
You can imagine what his scalp looks like after this ritual. :0)

Burying the toesies.

Chatting with Dad.

They Talked and Talked and Talked . . . .

Isn't this just the most darling little girl you've ever seen? Some friends of ours were moving out of the ward and I volunteered to watch their little girl while they packed and shuffled. She walked right into a prized position in Soren's heart. These two chatted and chatted about bricks falling on your feet with spiders on them . . . and crocodiles . . . and poisonous snakes. Then, without blinking an eye, they were suddenly discussing flying houses that floated with the help of balloons. And the imagination-fest went on and on and on. It was hilarious. And, of course, I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of this sweet mug. Dan has mentioned before that he wouldn't mind if Soren grew up to marry C. I agree wholeheartedly, though I'd like to spend just a little more time denying thoughts of Soren's future wife and marriage. Where's my baby?!

California's Cowboys

Rewind to the beginning of February. I had a great opportunity to photograph a friend with his aged horse, Story. And what a fantastic time I had! So, while I was doing this, the boys were busy being boys, painting their faces with dirt, climbing fences, and chasing stray cats. They helped Louise saddle Bristol and just generally enjoyed the fresh air and freedom the likes of which cannot be felt in a confined backyard or inside a home. Oh to live on a ranch . . . .

Both boys were sick with runny noses.
Bless Mark's heart - here he is wiping a belligerent Anders' nose.

Boys and Bristol

After filling their pockets with dirt while I photographed Story and Mark, the boys got to ride this cute, little guy, Bristol. I think they loved meandering around the property, perched atop the pint-sized horse. Eventually, Anders decided he didn't actually want to be on the horse. I think he was getting pinched in between the saddle horn and Soren. After a while he came up with the perfect solution - hitch a ride in Mark's arms. Soren quietly soaked in the experience, reveling in his lone-rider status once Anders defected to the ground.





Does it look like they're crooked? Yeah, that's because they are. They kept sliding to the side and I swear at this point I was ready to drop the-camera-that's-worth-more-than-I-am to dive beneath their line of descent. Luckily, right at this moment, Louise glanced over her shoulder and did a reverse shuffle, arriving at their side just in time to shove them back into the middle of the beast and safety. Whew, that would have been a disaster! My camera would have been destroyed and . . . . Just kidding, I love my kids more than my camera. Cross my heart and hope to die; stick a needle in my eye.

Mushrooms anyone? I love those little toadstool heads.

(click to enlarge)

Put me down! Put me down!

Pick me up! Pick me up!

Hey! What's the hold up?!

Oh yes, he did.