Buddy the Elf in the house!

On Sunday Buddy decided to spend a little time admiring the Baby Jesus.  The girls loved that he was kneeling.  I guess Buddy found it fitting for a Sunday.

Today Buddy was found in our theatre room playing the playstation.  Little gamer!

What will Buddy do next?

We love our Elf.

Last year we got our elf Buddy.  We really enjoyed having Buddy around.  He was always into some kind of trouble or something crazy.  The girls love their elf.  They were so sad when he had to leave on Christmas Eve.  In fact Elle cried. :( Sad news right?!

Yesterday Buddy arrived! The girls were so excited.  He left them a note saying how much he missed them.  

Today he decided to take Barbie on a date. 

Clever little elf. 

Hopefully he will be an influence on my girls {cough cough Ava} to be good. 

Thoughts?

Okay what's your thoughts.

Elle came home from school today and was visibly upset.  When I asked her how her day was she said "Good if that means nobody will play with you." {yes please insert my heart breaking right here}

Me: "Why won't anyone play with you?"
Elle: "Because I am being bullied."
Me: "What? What is going on?"
Elle: "I am being bullied with their mouths."
{sob}
Elle: "A.J keeps saying I talk like a baby and that I'm short. He say's I am weird. And he said 'whoever your mom is really messed you up!' "
{Insert little 8 year old princess weeping here}
Then she says to me
"I sometimes feel I wasn't meant to be on this earth."

Back when I grew up one would say "oh that boy teases you because he likes you."
Even if this is the case Elle doesn't see it this way.

What do I do?  She hasn't told the teacher.  Should I write the teacher a note?  Should I go visit with the teacher, should I put Elle in Karate?  Or am I overreacting?

My little photographer

Elle loves the Reflection program at school and last year she entered a poem and won best in school.  This year she wanted to enter the photography contest.

So we got the form and saw the contest theme which was "Magic of the Moment".
She remembered a photo I did of her last year and she wanted to take that same concept.
She came up with the idea all by herself.
She wanted her photograph her sister reading a book and having magic coming out of it.  So she called it "Magic of a Story"

I set up my camera for her on automatic and told her how she would need to take the photograph.  I told her that she needed to make sure that her sister was in focus but the background wasn't.
I then gave her my camera and left my studio.

She took about 100 images and she picked this one.  Although it isn't super in focus I think it tells the story she wanted.  And let's face it...she's 8.

Her photo one the overall in school for the photography division.  I am so proud of her.

Forget Me Not

As I have contemplated the effects of this recent General Election and I've been scared...rather terrified I have had the calm feeling that my Heavenly Father has not forgotten me.

He knows how much I am worried.  He knows how much I worry for my family and how much I worry about our country.  However he has not forgotten us.   He knows and loves us.  He wants the best for us.  But we are to endure the trials that he places before us.

I try to live my life by the 13th Article of Faith

The part that I think is most profound here for this time is "We have endured Many things and hope to be able to endure all things..."
It is important for us to keep the commandments of God and endure the tests he gives us.

I also think about the the talk that Dieter F. Uchdorf gave when he spoke about the little forget me not flowers.

"As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.

Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.

And I know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!

You are not forgotten.

Sisters, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love.

Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!"

I know if I remember these things it will allow me to more fully live the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That I might be an example of his greatness and that I will be prepared for when he reigns on the earth. 

I encourage all of you who are struggling to accept what we have been dealt as a nation to remember that you are not forgotten and that if you endure and keep an eye single to the Glory of God that all will be okay. 

XOXO

God Bless America

Well as I it here in this beautiful back country town of Banner Elk in North Carolina in this beautiful bed and breakfast (where I might add I have the most fabulous room to myself) I am hanging out by myself thinking about our country.

Well the election has happened and it didn't go the way I voted :(
Nope Mitt Romney was not elected president.
I am beyond sad.
I cried.
I facetimed Dave and sobbed to him.

I worry about our freedoms, I worry about our lively hood, I worry about our country.

This made me put some things into perspective.
One it makes me have a stronger desire to do what I know is right.
I need to make sure I am doing everything I can to return to my Heavenly Father with my family.
That means I need to do my part.  I need to be better.
As I cried to Dave I told him of all the things we need to do better at.  We made stronger promises tonight to be better about our family priorities and our spiritual priorities.

And I am now putting my faith in God's hands.  He has the control now.
I have to have faith that he will guide us through.
I have to have faith that we will be okay.

I have to prepare myself and my family for the reign of my Savior Jesus Christ.
He is the ultimate ruler.  And he will reign and we need to be prepared.
He has not forgotten us and if we don't forget him then we will be prepared to meet him.

I pray for our country...and I ask you to pray for it too.

Still Lonely in North Carolina

So I made it to where I was headed and I'm not going to lie....I am still so lonely.  I haven't met any of the women yet.  I've been alone since yesterday and that bites.

I miss my littles, my hubby, my parents and my sisters.

This is why I could never live away from people.  Because I need people.  I drove nearly 3 hours to get to the location of the workshop and parts of the drive I felt like I was in the back woods of North Carolina.
I have to giggle at their 'mountains'.....I like to call them tall hills with trees.  We have mountains in Utah.  I am grateful for my mountains.

Well today is November 6th...obviously and it is election day.
I voted last week because Utah has early voting.
I voted for Mitt Romney and I don't care that I share it.
I am praying he wins the election because as a small business owner I am not sure we can have another 4 years of mister socialist Obama.  Yes I think he is a socialist.
I work so hard for what I have.  I don't relish in the thought that I have to work hard for me to support those who don't.
I am all for helping the needy but I don't want to support the lazy.

Okay moving on....
I am really hungry right now.
Kinda famished.
I need food.

Next..what if I hate this workshop?  That would suck :(
I hope I don't.

Okay that's all....I am now typing nonsense so I will sign off.
Till later.

Lonely in North Carolina

I few into Charlotte North Carolina today to spend the week shooting.
Tomorrow I will meet up with a group of women.
As for now I am alone in a swanky hotel in Charlotte.

Let me just say this, traveling alone is not fun.  I am lonely.
I miss my girls.  I miss my husband.  I miss my mom.  I miss my little sister.
I know right?! It's so silly that I haven't even been away from them for 24 horus and I already miss them.  I think part of this reason is because I am alone and that's not fun.

So here I am sitting in my hotel waiting for some room service to arrive because I am starving.  I haven't eaten today because I didn't want to buy anything on the airplane, because let's face it...I didn't want to pay for a over priced nasty sandwich and then my layover in Atlanta was not long.  By the time I got my rental car and got to my hotel I was starving.  But being alone I didn't really want to go out by myself.  SOOOO I decided to order in.

Tomorrow I will leave Charlotte and go to some little place north of here where I will meet up with other photographers for a workshop.

I'm praying I have a good time because right now this isn't very fun.

Okay that's all.

Surgery

It's official people...I am having surgery on November 29th.  I will not be working for the entire month of December.  (Okay well I'll do some editing and some online stuff..but no shooting)
I'm taking the month of December (the only month of the year I have) to recover.
I'm really anxious about the surgery but it will do so much for me and I believe my quality of life will be so much better.
Maybe if I'm brave enough I'll post pictures when all is said and done of the outcome.