how the mrs. met the mr.

Lots of people wonder how Jason and I got together.

It seems like we are total opposites--I'm very social, very outspoken and outgoing, and Jason is a lot more reserved. He's perfectly friendly but he isn't really his true self around just anybody.

What is his true self? Hilarious.

My first contact with Jason was at a ward mix-and-mingle one Sunday night. I was new in the ward; I had just moved in to Liberty Square at the beginning of summer term for my sophomore year at BYU. We were asked to bring an object that represented ourselves to the mix-and-mingle so people could get to know each other. I brought a plastic lion cookie jar that roared when it opened its mouth because I am rough around the edges but sweet on the inside (?)

So, we were all going around the circle, showing our objects.

"I brought this pencil because I'm creative but I'm not afraid to erase my  mistakes!"

"I brought this teddy bear because I like to snuggle!"

"I brought this piggy bank because I'm a saver but I'm still a kid at heart!"

Then Jason stood up. He said, with a completely straight face, "I don't feel comfortable sharing things about myself."

I have to get to know him better, I thought.

We went to a dollar movie a week or so later with a big group of people from our apartment complex and we ended up sitting next to each other. The movie (The Day After Tomorrow) was a bust and Jason kept me laughing the whole time. We all stopped at Wendy's on the way home and Jason lent me a dollar to buy a Frosty. A few days later, I asked him if he had gotten his car out of the shop yet and he said "No, I haven't been able to because you haven't paid me my dollar back yet." After that it was history. I asked him out, he said yes, and we've been together ever since--just over eight years now!

The best thing? He still cracks me up all the time.

how to rise and shout with a bad back

So I have this problem:

every time I am looking forward to something, it turns out to be not that great.

It's happened to me with vacations, movies, restaurants, and date night at the county fair. And it's always a bummer!!

Jason and I had tickets to the BYU season opener last night and I have been excited for weeks. I love BYU! I love going to football games!! It's especially fun because we used to go to BYU football games when we were just dating, so it's like we're in a time warp and the last eight years haven't happened.

Yesterday I was all set with a plan: I was going to take the girls shopping, let them play on the playground, and then head home for lunch and naps. After quiet time was over, it would be time to pick Jason up from work and head to Provo. We would drop the girls at my brother's and be in our seats with plenty of time to enjoy the pre-game festivities. The night would be clear with just enough of a fall hint in the air that it would feel like football, but not enough that I would be cold.

The day started off according to plan, but as I was loading everyone up to leave the playground, I did the worst thing ever: I threw out my back.

This has happened before (too many times to count) so I knew what to do. I kept moving, I did my back stretches, I took a ton of Ibuprofen, but it was too late. I was down and out for the rest of the day.

We made it to Provo with minimal discomfort and dropped off the kids; then we crept along, inch by inch, for over half an hour to get to the parking lot in Provo traffic (which is the best, right?) We barely made it to the lot before it closed. It started pouring as Jason walked and I hobbled into the stadium. There was a scrum of people passing through the portal and it took us even longer to get to our seats.

By the time we finally were settled, I could barely stand, we were soaked, and there was only 10 minutes before kickoff.

Not going according to plan.

But you know what? I was so tired of being disappointed by things I was looking forward to. I decided I would not be disappointed at this game. I would enjoy it!

I may not have been able to jump to my feet and scream at the obviously biased refs, I may have felt like I would throw up if I moved wrong, but I made it through most of the game and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was everything BYU football is meant to be and I'm so glad I was able to go!
Go cougs!

on Motherhood

"I like to clean up with my mom. I like to play with her. I love to do cooking class with her. My mom likes to cook, she likes to do painting projects with her husband. She likes to vacuum.

My mom is seven years old. She looks like a mom, of course. She has purple eyes and brown hair. I love you, Mom!" --my Mother's Day card from Helena, age four.

 

Happy Mother's Day! We had a busy day on Sunday, so we celebrated mostly on Saturday. We went to the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakeshop so I could get a free Mother's Day cupcake (mango--yum!!) and then Jason took me to Home Depot to pick out a new tree. We had a lovely little pussywillow tree in our front yard but it blew over in our windstorm last December. I really loved that tree so I was so excited that Jason thought of this great Mother's Day gift!

I picked out a little blossoming cherry tree and he planted it for me. We took this picture before church on Sunday morning--me and my girls! Wonder if there will ever be a little man in our family??

Motherhood truly is the greatest blessing in my life. I am so grateful for the examples of the mothers in my life--my own Mom, who is always there for me and who gave me a magical childhood of my own, and my wonderful mother-in-law. 

 I sure love staying home with my little girls! It can be trying sometimes, but there is nothing I would rather do. 

I think all stay-at-home-moms go through slumps. I feel like I just recently came out of one--a long one--basically since Juno was born. For a long time, I had lost the joy in motherhood. It just seemed like everyone needed something from me all the time and it wasn't enjoyable anymore.

I am so glad that I seem to have thrown that off! I mentioned this a week ago, but reading "Heaven is Here" by Stephanie Nielson really changed my life and helped me find that joy again. I've never read her blog, but her book was a life-changer, corny as that sounds. Reading it made me realize how wonderful being a stay-at-home-mom really is. It made me think, why am I not more grateful? why do I not enjoy this anymore? 

I haven't really changed anything since I read it--we still have to do chores, I don't just play with my kids all day--but I feel completely different. For me, it really was all about attitude and choosing to enjoy every day with my kids. That's something I have to re-commit myself to every once in a while, and I was overdue.

Being a mom is great.

{Mr. and Mrs.} master bedroom

So it's been a while since I started my master bedroom makeover. In fact, it's been so long that I've been staring at a half-finished room for so long that now that it is actually done, I don't really feel that sense of accomplishment that usually comes with finishing a big project. Darn! But I am really happy with how it turned out. With three little kids, our whole house seems like it is filled with toys and other kid-related junk most of the time. I really wanted our bedroom to be a special place where we can celebrate being a couple.

I'm not going to share any before pictures because they are all on the other computer and I just don't have the energy to --spend more time uploading pictures from a half-dead computer. So you'll have to use your imagination. The walls were builder beige, the light fixtures were late '80s mod sconces, and there was a forest green, velvet cushion on the window seat. Oh, and there was a mirror niche in the wall behind our bed. A big ugly mirror.

What is it with my house and mirrors?????

Our bedroom is really big with vaulted ceilings (high vaulted ceilings). I started by painting all the walls navy blue--no paint info, because I got the first gallon as a $5 oops gallon. Then I had it matched for the additional gallons I needed.

To take care of the mirror niche, I used a section of the fence that my neighbor lost in our windstorm. My dad helped me to mount it on the wall directly over the mirror niche, using flush mount hardware. Easy peasy!

I got the bedside tables from KSL and spray painted them coral (Krylon Coral Isle) and then glazed them. I really love how they turned out!

We went to New Orleans for our honeymoon so I just HAD to get this poster from Orkposters.com.

The light fixtures on this wall were these white ceramic half-globe things. Blerg. I got the new little guys from DI (excuse the ugly lightbulbs, please) and replaced the globes with new ones. I looooooooove this picture of me and Jason! My favorite picture ever.

I love my new windowseat area. It used to just have a velvet cushion on it but we NEVER sat on it. I used it mostly to stack DI donations on. I decided to make it more of a focal point, so I stenciled the windowseat with some mustard yellow oops paint and hung some sheer white curtains from Ikea. I added some vintage books and a typewriter and a couple of candlesticks and pillows for accessories. But the best part is definitely the light fixture. Oh, the light fixture. I almost cried when I saw it at DI. I love it so much. It only cost $5. Can you believe that??? I am really the best at taking pictures, huh? Too bad I can't capture the true awesomeness of this light.

And hanging over my sewing desk are some of the paintings Jason has done for me. He paints one for me almost every year for my birthday or Mother's Day. So sweet!

{7 Years and Counting}

Today I am celebrating 7 years of being married to my best friend!

Jason is the best husband in the world. No, really, he is.

He works hard all day to provide for our family and then comes home and does anything I ask him to do around the house--dishes, garbage, you name it. He basically takes over all childcare duties after dinner so I can have a break from the kids.

He is so generous. He loves buying presents for the people he loves, especially his three little girls. He always agrees to a budget on gifts for each other at birthdays or Christmas, and then promptly goes over budget getting me something totally awesome. He's also so thoughtful with his gifts!

Best of all, he still makes me laugh more than anyone in the world. I am so grateful for him and for the happy life we have together!