Day 91

(Looking back)

Day 90

This is the dam that we run/walk on! To the right, bluebonnets. To the left, the lake. Behind us, trees and more greenery. The sun sets in the front. (That’s a view that makes me willing to run a lot longer)

Day 89

The longer we live here, the more grateful I feel. We’re being blessed beyond belief with wonderful friends to add to our already-wide circle, and the scenery here is just breathtaking! This is Joe Pool Lake, and one of my favorite things to do is to run on the dam from which I took this photo. I also like taking the kids here when Phill has drill and we need something to do, or coming here as a family for FHE.

Day 88

Savvy with one of the RVSX people. They were having a tea party.

Day 87

Cutie-patootie.

Day 86

Reed loves when I take photos of him. At least he seems to. He immediately does the most endearing, loving, personality-filled things. (Like picking up his little sister, who equally loves the photo-op.)

Day 85

Yeah, another car picture (I’m grasping at straws to catch up; please excuse…). Cool guy.

Day 84

One thing our backyard has a LOT of is grass—and weeds. It turns out, I’m quite allergic to grass, most kinds, and some weeds. My allergies have been AWFUL around now, but I’m grateful to be surrounded by gorgeous foliage and greenery!

Day 83

I got side bangs! Even though my expression seems not-too-thrilled, I love them. I’m still figuring out how to style them.

Day 82

My gorgeous cousin, Rivka, visited with her family for a couple days this month. We LOVED having them; they brought a wonderful spirit with them to our home.

Day 81

Another SOOC shot—I’m getting lazy as I try to catch up on over a month of neglect! This is probably best-served unedited, because the colors/tones are true. I like the red of the trees with the gray of the sky.

Day 80

Helping Phill with the Jetta. (Which is in need of quite a lot of help. The Jetta….not Phill.)

Day 79

Possibly my favorite picture of all time.

Day 78

My mom’s birthday is today! I’m not sure how old she is. I always ask, and she always tells me, and then I always forget.
A few things about my mom:
Her feet are insanely ticklish. Like if you were to even BREATHE on the bottom of her foot, she would jump a mile.
She loves foot rubs. (A hilarious contradiction to the previous item.)
She likes to think like a child—that is to say, she likes to see through the eyes of kids.
She’s playful.
She’s clever.
She’s intelligent.
If you do something embarrassing and she notices you’re embarrassed, she’ll kindly pretend she didn’t see it happen.
She loves to read.
She seeks to understand how our minds work. (People in general.)
She loves cats.
She likes to make up rhyming songs.
She loves children’s literature.
She went to Harvard.
She used to “handle” my morning moods by playing Jon Philip Sousa at top volume. (And a juice box.)
She taught me to read before my kindergarten teacher ever did.
She used to go with my oldest brother to rearrange the letters on people’s nameplates on post. (We were Rabbit Toga.)
She taught three of my seminary years.
She homeschooled me for a few years.
She explained to me the meaning of “magnum opus” by telling me that her children are her magnum opus.

Day 77

Obviously, this is PRE-haircut, and therefore, out of order. But I think it’s sweet.

Day 76

Sometimes I let the kids man the camera.

Day 75

In my house and around the house, I have my favorite sights. The table at 10:00a.m., for example (buttery morning light, the artline above it, roses in a pitcher), or my bookshelves upstairs, or my bus painting over my little dresser that’s piled with books. My bed (when it’s made), my stack of books on my nightstand, the tall window above the stairs. Anyway, you get the idea—and this picture is another favorite site of mine. Three layers: the metal gazebo out back, the palm tree, and the moody sky.

Day 74

My cute babies post-haircuts. (Savvy had my robe wrapped around her.)

Day 73

In my efforts to eat more mindfully, I’ve found that it’s easier when I remember something simple and somewhat stupid—nutritious food is prettier. Weird, but remembering that little fact makes me more eager to eat well.

Day 72

She’s oblivious to how distracted her driver seems to be—in fact, his eyes are closed. Very concerning.

Day 71

I really love Savvy’s personality. Of course I love my daughter, but I also REALLY love who she is. She’s spunky and tough, nurturing and kind, sassy and brave, tiny and strong. I like to think that maybe she’ll absorb some knowledge of mechanics, spending as much time as she does with Phill when he works on his car.

Day 70

Whenever Phill works on his Jetta, he smiles. It makes his inner mechanic so happy—and it makes ME really happy, as shown by the last picture where I told him to flex for me.

Day 69

I read that the British children’s author Edith Nesbit used to have politicians, artists, foreigners, and sometimes political exiles over at her house frequently. I enjoyed imagining what her children thought of growing up in that household, how unusual and interesting that might be—or how unsettling? Anyway, today we had THESE artists (not politicians, foreigners, or political exiles, sadly) over at our house. They make up RVSX, an RV of really awesome people traveling to SXSW in Austin. We fed them pancakes, bacon, and eggs, and enjoyed looking at some of their work. (They’re really good at what they do.) OH! AND. One of them is my sister-in-law. She may or may not look like she’s definitely related to Phill. Guess which one she is.

Day 68

This is an accurate portrayal of what scripture study usually looks like in our home. The slightly-diabolical look is right-on.

Day 67

Savvy looks very concerned. I guess I would be, too, if Jaxon really were driving.

Day 66

A SOOC photo of the boys. (They have such a great dynamic.)

Day 65

Because of the incredible generosity of friends, I will be going back to Saint George with Savvy from April 9th – 12th!!

Day 64

Jaxon was only feigning annoyance. Savvy was going for effortless beauty.

Day 63

The best part about the Dead Bug pose is, you can pet his stomach, and he stretches out reeeeeally long and purrs up a storm. When he’s really relaxed, his legs just flop to the sides, and he’s completely comfortable being that vulnerable.

Day 62

Ladies’ Man. He’s waving, but the rest of his body is nonchalant and devil-may-care. His face is confident.

Day 61

Every now and then, I become infatuated with a certain color combo. As much as I’d like to claim it’s something I came up with on my own, it’s usually a color combo that’s really in style at the moment—tiffany blue and rose pink, grey and yellow, etc….Right now, that color combo I’m enjoying is coral and turquoise.