Merry Christmas!!

I am having a little of the post Christmas blues this evening. It is over before you know it and I just feel a sense of complete letdown. Is that normal? Maybe I should attribute it to a week of little sleep because heaven knows I do NOT function well with little sleep.

Jackson loved Christmas and I loved being with him as he got excited over every single gift he got...
huge gasp, "I LOVE it. It is JUST what I always wanted. I love it love it." It was so fun. He played with his pirate ship all day.

Paige was hilarious as well. She loved unwrapping and loved running her stroller into everything she could. Oh, and anything made of refined sugar also made it into her mouth. She ran around all day with her new necklaces. She also could be found at almost all times with someone's toothbrush in her mouth. She is such a feisty little thing.

J has been such a complete struggle for me lately and I apologize for venting on Christmas day, but it was like every other...fighting about everything. For lands sake, he is only (almost) 4. I really don't know how to deal with him. Everything is a fight with him from getting dressed to getting out the door to going to a friends. I feel completely worn out from dealing with him. I need some serious, practical help and I don't know where to find it. I have done Love and Logic and it works okay, but it is so hard and seriously I think he is too smart for it sometimes. I try to have consequences, but nothing means anything to him. It this what the rest of my life is going to be because seriously, I don't think I can handle it. And I am not a nice mom to him. I pray to have patience with him, but it is so hard. What do I do?? I may end up with only two children if things don't improve.

We have had a nice holiday season. I was really busy with my photography and learned some things that will be different for next year to hopefully allow me to enjoy more of the season. I really hope to have a slow next month just to regroup and enjoy being a mom and homemaker for a while. Luckily I have the greatest hubby who never complains when he has to come home and whip up dinner because I am frantically getting Christmas orders together. Seriously, he is the greatest.

We had a really nice Christmas eve get together with tons of tasty food and company. I have felt a little sick all week so unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I would like to, but I sure enjoy watching others enjoy.

I had an awesome trip to San Francisco with Anne. I am just going to copy from her blog and post since she is such a thorough story teller. Now I just need to actually post some photos.

Speaking of which...anyone figured out a way to have your blog printed? Blurb used to do it, but they don't anymore. I want somewhere that requires less work that copying and pasting into photoshop and creating my own pages.

We had the ward Christmas party last week. I am on the activities committee and so we were busy planning that. It was pretty successful minus the lack of orange juice. The red faced Santa made his appearance and I was shocked that J didn't recognize him this year either.

Merry Christmas once again...did I mention we woke up to a white Christmas? Crazy.

I can't even begin to tell you how this makes me laugh and laugh and laugh and laugh. He is such a good sport.










Christmas sunday. Such cute kiddos!

Our Christmas eve spread.

Watching a little Mickey's Christmas Carol (and calming down!!) Santa Came!!





The kids in their Christmas pjs...we gave J a long talk about coming straight to our room before going downstairs. Did he listen? Of course not.




our white Christmas.




He really was this excited about his pirate ship. He played with it all afternoon. The pirates always win in his world.

The Horton game is a hit! Thanks Kim!

I love google reader

except when it informs me that I have 525 unread blog entries. I have been out of the loop that long (oh me oh my). I have to say that it was a great sacrifice to give up my blogging time while I caught up (or continue catching up) on work stuff. That was the only way to do it though.

So, lest you think I don't love you from my lack of comments, I do, I am just darn busy right now.

And it continues to snow here...crazy.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

In St. George???

The snow keeps coming down and there is a thick layer of white on everything. I feel like I am in Provo with all the snow outside. It is beautiful!!

Can you hear the angels in the heaven singing??

I am FINALLY done editing all my Christmas sessions!! Hallelujah...now I have a few non Christmas sessions to edit, orders to put together, cards to design and a blog to update. But, I am DONE editing. Hooray, hooray, hooray.

And I get to go with my friend Anne to San Francisco on Thursday. Life is good...

minus my three year old who is really challenging me right now, but that is a post for another day. Any of you have a really difficult child who wants to fight you on everything??

no, I am not still grouchy...just busy.

I feel grouchy today.

my kiddos

I have been majorly burnt out the last few days and I still have 8 sessions to edit and four more in the next week. It has been a real blessing, but it is also a LOT of work. I dream about curves and layers (photoshop stuff)!! I decided to take the day off and it was nice. I took photos of what I love, the kids, made Christmas suckers with J, did laundry (what fun), cleaned off my desk and enjoyed not editing. Tomorrow of course will be back to business as usual, but for a day I needed to regain my sanity.

So, I love these from a mom perspective, but I think I will redo them tomorrow because there are a few things photographically that I wasn't thinking about and they bug me. I can be a perfectionist about my own stuff, right??

This is such a true depiction of my children--J, the happy go lucky, goofball and P, the drama baby (or DB as my mom calls her) who will only smile if she decides she wants to. Yet I still love that little grouchy face...it is so her.



I love this picture. She can be such a doll. She is talking a lot and her favorite words are "candy" and "no". Gotta love it.



This little guy us such a buddy. Tell him you need a snuggle and he comes running. He can be such a sweet thing one minute and a total pain the next. He is finally getting semi fun to take pics of again. He at least has figured out the cheesy smile bit, which I actually think is so cute.


And here is my sweet baby girl with her ghetto snuggler. I tried to switch it out, but she wouldn't have it. I have wanted to get a picture with her sucking her thumb and I finally did! Hooray!

Proposition 8

So why is it that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is coming under condemnation and being called intolerant because we supported something that is CENTRAL to our beliefs?? Why is it a hate crime to support something that is Central to our beliefs?

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

"We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."







It seems to me that we are not the ones being intolerant. Democracy is democracy. The ballots were cast and prop 8 passed. Our greatest goal in this life and the life to come is to live eternally with our families. We believe the family consisting of a man and a woman is ordained of God and "central" to the creators plan. We had no ill intent in preserving this traditional definition of the family. We don't hate homosexuals. We don't agree with their choice though and we don't condone it. I gave a great deal of thought to how I would feel if one of my children chose to be homosexual and I would feel the same. I would love them, but I would never agree or condone their choice. The same would hold true with any choice my child made that went against my moral beliefs.

Our potential and sons and daughters of God is to return to live with him and be heirs eternally. That includes living together with our families forever. The greatest blessing we can receive in this life is to be married for all eternity in the temple of God. This is extremely important to us.

I also want to be the one that decides how and when moral values are taught to my children. My brother made a great argument for prop 8 that you can read HERE .

So, lay off the LDS church. We didn't do this because we hate gays. We did this because we love our families and understand their potential.

Dear Blogging Friends,

I feel the need to get on a little political soapbox for a while. This is not about who won the election, but rather us as americans. First off, I am so sick of hearing people say, "we need a change". What the heck is that supposed to mean anyway? A change from what? I will tell you what kind of change I think we need...we need a change of the American people feeling entitled to anything and everything they want. Since when have so many "wants" become "neccessities"? Why are we not saving when the going is good? Why do we feel like the rich owe us something? It annoys the living you know what out of me. It is not a governments responsibilty to make sure things are always smooth sailing for us. I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we make do. We budget (I am not always perfect at sticking to it, I must say) and we recognize our position. Do I hope to be rich some day, you better believe it, but if it doesn't happen I sure hope I am just happy with what I have because I recognize it is a lot and I will continue working hard to achieve our goals.

On a different vein, I am also sick of everyone bad mouthing George Bush. He has done a ton for us as a president...mainly kept our country safe since 911. I imagine that is not an easy task. I don't agree with all his fiscal policies, but you know what, he has kept us in an offensive position with the terrorists and to me, that means a ton. I am glad we are fighting them on their soil and not ours. And frankly, we need to finish the job we went over there to do. I am all for bringing our troops home, but not until we have finished the job we started. So, everyone get off his case. He has been a good president with good morals and I truly believe the desire to do what is best for this country. I appreciate that he is a religious man as well, because so am I and I want a president who prays and tries to have some divine guidance. It is not George Bush's fault that we are in an economic downturn, not the repulican party...sure there are certain factors that influenced it, but really the economy does this. It will get better and until then we may just have to forgo that new pair of shoes.

You know what change I want to see. I want all of us (me included) to be wiser with what we have, more grateful for what we have and a whole lot less selfish. There you go.

Some Jacksonisms

Coming down from the mountain J said, "Daddy yawn!! Daddy yawn!! Can you hear wouder now?"

"daddy I want to be home now (they were driving back from the cabin). I want to whooo, whooo, whooo, whooo (his lasoo noise) lasoo an airplane wing, climb up and fly home."

Douglas was explaining to J not to touch the mouse poisin at the cabin. J told him that he liked mice though. D explained not these ones because they poop and eat the blankets and stuff so J replied, "well the ones at home do really nice things for us"...

hmmm like make ball gowns and stuff?? I think someone has watched Cinderella one too many times!!

halloween madness

I have a great hubby. He wore his costume to work all day. He won best costume at the neighborhood party. He acted the part. Not all men are man enough to do that.

The kids were adorable in my opinion and Jackson loved every bit of Halloween especially passing out candy. I have tons left (I only bought one bag!!) which is bad news for me.

Paige was fine dressed up too and even kept her scarf on. Their costumes were very challenging to make and I assure you the craftmanship is shoddy at best, but hey, I did it. I am already thinking about our theme for next year.

J has forgotten about his candy, but not his costume. He has enjoyed wearing it for days. It is already missing two buttons which he told me he "sworded" off. Great.

Now on to Thanksgiving. Have I mentioned I love this time of year. My goal this year is to stick in my budget with everything. I get a little out of control this time of year.

D got me an IPOD for my birthday. Have you heard of those? THey are really cool you can put music on them and take them wherever you go (Just kidding, I am making fun of the fact that it took me this long to get one.) Any recommendations on good music? I like fairly mellow (Jack Johnson is a favorite) but I am kind of out of it when it comes to music. I would love suggestions.


You have to love J's pirate face in that first one!!

what did you have for lunch today?

I had three cupcakes and a glass of milk...and I feel good.

a little update...

Douglas should never be gone for the night. He took J camping and now I am up late and I will be tired in the morning. It is all his fault. J has been so excited about this excursion. He told my friend that he was going camping and they were taking guns and they were going to shoot bears. I don't know where he comes up with these ideas.

My friend watched J and P on Tuesday mornings so I can go to a meeting. The other week her little boy was being a pill and J says to her..."Grant is being a B-R-A-T and that means he is mad." I guess spelling words to D over the phone is no longer an option since smarty pants J attaches meaning to the spelling and then uses it. He is such a stinker.

He also told her that it was okay if he went outside even if it was cold because he had on his "long sleeve pant".

Miss P is sick. Poor little girl is miserable. She has already been up five times tonight. I am sure it will be a really long night. I am guessing she got sick from the farm we went to since she insisted on sucking on everything. Why? It makes my skin crawl when my kids put their mouths and gross dirty things.

I am keeping really busy. I finally gave in and got someone to clean my house again. I just can't keep up with everything and I can't stand to have a filthy house. Hopefully this will help relieve the pressure for a while.

J loved all the animals at the farm.


Miss P decked out in her Halloween attire. Thanks, Nana.


Love those blue eyes!!


This kid is afraid of nothing. I like it that way!!





So J has started holding his hair again. I tell him about 50 times a day to get his hand out of his hair. He started this back when he nursed. He always wanted to stroke my hair (which drove me bonkers!!). He never needed a blanket because he had his hair. He still holds his hair when he goes to sleep. Once our Christmas pics are taken, I will cut it off so he has nothing to hold to. I am mean, I know. I just need to break the habit before kids make fun of him for it.


And actually we had our Christmas pics taken yesterday and they were kind of a disaster. J was a pill and P had a horrible fever that I wasn't aware of until we got there. I like myself in the picture and J is cute, but not the best of D and poor miss P looks so sad. I guess we will attempt round two once day light savings is here and the best light isn't right at bed time. P has a really cute sweater too that she would just cry when I put on her.

J looks cute here. Is is such a little boy now....when did that happen?

The Office

Douglas and I finally started watching the office. It is the short bonding time we have each night (or almost every night). It is hillarious. Why did I not watch sooner...oh I know, because we have no TV. Thank heavens for Netflix watch instantly.

And we don't have Tv because we are a. cheap, b. would waste way too much time watching c. cheap.

don't tell douglas...

but I finally broke down and bought a new stroller.

actually, he wouldn't care, but I would have to deal with the rolling eyes...

Mmmmm...the smells of fall.

I love fall. I love pumpkin, cinnamon, Thanksgiving, Halloween, baking and cooking, cool days and chilly nights. I love it all (minus allergies).

I have a pumpkin cake baking in the oven and it has filled my house with the best smell. Yum.

I need to add this...

J and I were discussing his Halloween costume the other day and why he can't play with all his pirate garb already (he has a way to destroy or lose just about everything. As we ended the conversation he looked at me and with real concern in his voice asked,
"but who are going to be my maties"....
good thing he has a dad (and a mom willing to make his dad a costume.)

I soon regreted my late night when I woke up to all the lights on in the house at 6am. J was awake and ready to start the day. I ordered him back to bed, but not with quite a fight. He was a grump all day having all out fits at Costco and Walmart. We had a long talk tonight about the fact that he is not to get up before the sun. Not that he will listen to me, but it is worth a shot, right?

So, today is the antithesis to yesterday. I spent the morning grocery shopping (we were in serious need, let me tell you) and have done nada in the house. The dishwasher is still unemptied, laundry unfolded on the chair, groceries yet to be put away (although I did put the perishables away). You get the picture. Life is back to normal/crazy in the Shaw house.

On another note, I think my site is done, minus critique etc. and since I get more comments when I ask for opinions, I thought I would put the preview on here and ask for opinions. It is simple, but if you have any suggestions, I am open to them. I know a lot of clients look at my blog so no offense taken if your pics aren't on the site. I couldn't bring myself to go through the archives so if it wasn't on my computer, it didn't make the cut. Guess you will need some more pics done so you can be famous on the site. Anyway, here is the link. Thoughts?

I am off to tackle the kitchen.

I have had an extremely productive day and night. That feels nice once and a while. I bottled jalapenos and tomatoes. I folded laundry. My ironing is almost done. I ground wheat. I made homemade bread. My kitchen is clean. A wedding book is designed. My new website is almost done. I feel good.

D is out of town and it is 1:40am (don't tell him or I will never hear the end of it :). I miss him and I don't want to go to an empty bed that I just realized has no sheets on it.

Well, no day can be perfect.

Sissy was in the cwoset and she fell and she bonked her head and then I came and I looked at Paigie stucked in the cwoset and then stridie came and looked at paigie stuck in the closet and he said, "woo, woo, paigie stuck in the cwoset" and I took a picture of her.

That is Jackson's account of what happened. He is the world's greatest storyteller.
She actually just got stuck in the closet and I thought it was funny...nothing else interesting about that.
Jackson decided to record life from his eyes. He sees this way too often.
self portrait
Just a bit of my insanity...we (me and a few friends) canned all this last week. I still have a few pears waiting, but they are just going to have to wait because I am fruited out right now. And I think the peaches on my tree are finally ready. I think I will make a pie.


I got back from vegas really late saturday night and J fell asleep on the stairs while I was getting P ready for bed.
My ghetto baby loves the slide. I normally dress her first thing, but seeing as how all my clean clothes is in a huge pile, I didn't. Once this swiss days is over I might fold it so we can all actually find our clothing.




They love the slide...especially P. She will play for 30 minutes before coming after me crying.


So things are a little nutty around here and my house has taken the toll. I will be happy to get this thing back in order!



I feel like I am exposing myself showing my messy house, but it is what it is and life has been a little insane lately. At least all the dishes are done, thanks Douglas!!

This it too funny and true!!

**my brother sent me this and I thought is was funny enough to merit a blog entry. It is so totally true.

9 WORDS WOMEN USE
(1)Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they areright and you need to shut up.
(2)Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half anhour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been givenfive more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
(3)Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This meanssomething, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin withnothing usually end in fine..
(4)Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
(5)Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statementoften misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are anidiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here andarguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaningof nothing.)
(6)That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a womencan make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Justsay you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true,unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is notthanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... that will bringon a 'whatever').
(8)Whatever: Is a women's way of saying SCREW YOU!
(9) Don' t worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement,meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do severaltimes, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a manasking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Queen for a day...

I FINALLY got my crown put on my tooth. This has been the longest process of my life and I am considering never going to the dentist again.

On a funnier note, Paige bit Jackson's nose today...HARD. I think it will bruise. No, not funny that it will bruise, but maybe it will teach him to keep his face out of hers.

She is a pill. I blame it on her dang molars, but really I think she has developed colic at 16 months since she is happy all morning and cries all afternoon long. It is a little tiring.

I now have all of my frames for swiss days and I am a painting maniac. We fit in time to paint some Buzz Lightyear wings though so we are good to go.

I will be happy to spend no more moola on this Swiss Days extravaganza. Why can't I do ANYTHING in a simple fashion.

Speaking of simple, I have been a canning fool this past week. What was I thinking? I still have two boxes of pears to take care of. YUCK.

Jackson is so funny. Some of our conversations are so totally random, yet I carry them on with him anyway. I need to record some of them. The best is when I find myself arguing with him over something so totally stupid that is should require no energy.

Well, off to bed. It is only 10pm which is earlier than I have gone to bed in weeks. How sad is that?

and then the morning comes...

and I remember why I am always crazy!

I woke up this morning to find:
1. numerous knives that had been used in an attempt to open gogurts
2. Ice cream cone bits all over my newly mopped floor
3. No ice cream cones left
4. Ice cream melted all over my counter, and newly mopped floor
5. Puzzle pieces scattered everywhere.

What am I going to do with him??

I love these two!!

Seriously, that smile, I love it...it is crazy, but it is so Paigie. Here are a few things I love about Sissy Bear.
-she is a snuggler...give her her snuggle blankie and she will lay her head on your shoulder indefinitely. She also comes up to me random times throughout the day and snuggles into me. Mmmm...I love it.
-Loves girly things. She know just what a "pretty" is (her braclets) and runs straight to the bathroom when I tell her "let's go fix your hair".
-Loves food...eats anything and everything. Is it possible that neither of my kids are picky eaters? Hooray!
-Loves to be outside. She has no fear of the jungle jim at the park and has gone down the slide every way possible. She really has little fear for anything.
-Is saying and signing so many things now.


What a good big brother Jackson is. He loves Paige so much...too much at times. It is so rewarding to watch them play together.
-Is also a great snuggler. He will snuggle with you any time of the day.
-Loves to read. He will drop anything if you offer to read to him.
-says, "thanks mom" if I do anything for him. Today I read him an extra book before bed and he excitedly said it. It is too cute.
-Loves to sing along to songs.



There are so many things I love about these two. Our days are often times really long and tedious, but at the end of the night, I sure am glad I have those two. They bring a lot of light and meaning into my life. I need to love them more and be more patient with them. They really do grow too fast!