Entertainment for all

Yesterday I took some pictures of the kids and ended up with an outtake or ten.

And since they are clearly the best part of torturing my kids, I was pretty happy.

Happy, sad, hysteria, all three at once? 

We don’t discriminate against any emotion at the Allen house.

The set up was ridiculously bad, the closed eyes added to the greatness, but at

least Grace saved it with that lovely look on her face. Sweet waffles, help us all.

 This is totally what I meant when I asked him to look at me and smile.

Um, Grace, somehow you are making the group shot

 above look like the professional photo of the year.

 How my request to smile turned into this fine photo, I’ll never know. She really isn’t an angry child. 

But me thinks I’d better get her into anger management anyway. You know, to be safe.

 While taking a photo of another one of the kids, I turned around to Nate setting up his own

individual shot. And he obviously nailed it. Don’t be jealous, Olan Mills, don’t be jealous.

Sorry Ben, no matter how many crazy faces you pull, I’m still 

going to pester you until I get a real smile. Carry on.

 A couple of years ago I got a really great hugging picture of my kids. Clearly it went to my head.

 Err, what?

Please make my mommy stop taking pictures. I’ll work on my anger, I promise.

Champions

Campbell's competition soccer team won the tournament for his age group this afternoon.
The game went into overtime and then penalty kicks and shaved a few months off of my life.
But it sure was fun to watch, especially considering the end result. I was so happy for Cam the man.

And in related news, in a decision a long time coming (at least two years), our boys will

no longer be playing comp soccer. They are officially done as of this afternoon. They are

signed up for rec soccer for next fall and even though it was really difficult to make the

decision official, it is right for our family at this time. Good things are ahead for sure!

Wedding luncheon for J&J

My sweet friend and neighbor came over a few weeks ago and asked if I would mind taking photos for the wedding luncheon of her son and his soon-to-be wife. It was going to be held in my friend's backyard on a Saturday afternoon. I was more than glad to do it and was touched that she would ask me.

I wasn't nervous at all about it. (I had already made sure she was clear, clear, clear on the fact that I am not a photographer. I love to take photos and take loads of them, but if she was looking for super fancy and perfectly edited pictures, she had the wrong person.) And I was pretty excited to photograph people who actually wanted me to be taking pictures of them.

Until last night. When my darling friend called to say that because of the rain, they had to move the wedding luncheon to our church. I acted like that was just great and got off the phone and the nervous hit me hard. Inside lighting is not my friend. I don't know enough about photography or my camera to make sure the majority of my indoor photos turn out well. (Yes, I should probably take a class. No, the most effective photography tool is probably not the one I constantly use--take 15 shots of the same pose so the likelihood of one turning out is pretty good.)

The wedding luncheon was just a few hours ago. And I am more than relieved to report that they did turn out. Many of them, in fact.

(A handful to show you below. You're welcome.)

Of course, if I had thought a little more, I would have realized that the darlingness of the bride and groom pretty much guaranteed they would be perfect.

Phew. I'm so grateful.

(No need to point out that half of the ones I shared above were actually taken outside.
Just focus on the loveliness please. And the fact that they aren't a blurry mess.)

Playing with friends

One million

I might have cried when I saw the official announcement come through.

Annie's first 4-H competition

And even with the terrible lighting, I still got a few photos I love. 

This girl can ride. Boy howdy, I love her.

Today

Today the bishop of our ward was sustained as our new stake president. Our previous bishop/new stake president is one of the best men we have ever personally known. His goodness makes you want to be a better person. It was a sweet and wonderful experience to be a part of his sustaining this morning.

Today our previous stake president was released after only six months of service. With the passing of his wife, the leaders of the church felt like it was important to release him to give him more time to be his children. He is honestly one of the most faith-filled people I have ever met. It was an emotional and tear-filled day.

Today our basement flooded. Most of the damage was to the unfinished portion and the carpet remnants we have on one side of that large room, but it did extended into the older boys' room a bit, as well as the hall, where we have new carpet and pad. And yet, it could have been much worse and all I could feel was grateful that we escaped something more serious.

Today several friends responded to my text to beg for any extra fans our neighbors could spare. And one friend in particular, took it upon himself to spend time working in our basement to dry things out...even after we had left for stake conference. (Jacob had not only been asked to give the closing prayer, but we wanted to be there to support both our previous stake president and whoever would be chosen as our new stake president.) Our friend's incredible kindness blew our mind and we were so humbled and grateful.

Today I realized that I had received a reply from our good bishop last night around 10pm, after I wrote asking him a question about a special musical number for an upcoming sacrament meeting. The reply, which was kind and complementary, was received 30 minutes after I sent my question. I, of course, had no idea he was our new stake president and the fact that he took the time to quickly and kindly reply to my request, when his mind must have been overwhelmed with his new calling and all that was ahead, made me emotional with respect and awe.

Today I spent a lot of quiet hours feeling so grateful for the gospel, so deeply emotional for our previous stake president and his family, so thankful for our interaction with good people, so overwhelmed with gratitude for my amazing blessings and so overcome with the hope and happiness we have because of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

Today felt like a sweet, sacred day. I feel so grateful to have been a part of it.

5th grade fifties day

AP tests and reminders

Just a few hours ago, I drove our Campbell to school early to make sure he would be on time to begin his AP Human Geography test. I didn't feel nervous for him (I know that boy almost better than he knows himself and know what he is capable of), but he was nervous and I understood. I remember quite clearly the worry over taking my AP tests a year or twenty ago.

But since I couldn't take that nervousness away, instead I just made him a nice breakfast, drove him to school and told him that whenever he felt anxious or unsure, he needed to remember two things. First, he had prepared so very well and he had the right to pray for the peace and help I knew would come to him. And second, he needed to know that his mom would be praying for him constantly and he was loved like crazy.

As I pulled up to the school though, and he got out of the car, an unexpected wave of emotion spread over me. I was glad I had my sunglasses on, because I just smiled an encouraging smile, told him I loved him and wished him luck. And off he walked.

As I drove away, the emotion didn't go away. In fact it stayed there for the whole drive home. And for some reason, it came accompanied by the feeling of something that will be very similar (and yet so much more important) in about three years.

During the drive home, my mind and my heart pictured dropping that same boy off at the Missionary Training Center on the day he would be leaving us for two years to serve a mission for his Heavenly Father. I thought about the "test" he would be taking at that time and how well he would be prepared. It completely filled me with gratitude for the privilege of being a mother, and specifically at that moment, being Cam's mom. I felt honored with what the Lord asks us to do.

I can't think about any of my kids leaving home, especially for two years, without getting really emotional at the thought (never mention when it actually happens). But I also know what a blessing it will be for them and how important it will be for their spiritual growth, as well as the rest of their life. But oh man, having that very small experience, reminding my heart of a much bigger experience to come, was something I wasn't prepared for this morning.

And yet, I'm grateful.

It reminded me once again, that God loves His children. So very much. And that there is so much ahead that is good and wonderful and amazing. And a bit hard.

But mostly, so very good and wonderful and amazing.

Somebody I know kind of likes to dance

A really rough morning

I think we're both pretty grateful for this moment.

Darling boys and kind friends

I've mentioned about the preschool co-op we have been a part of the last school year. Yesterday preschool was at another mom's house and the following conversation through text happened. (And anyone who knows Nate, even a little, can hear his voice saying some of these things. Oh man, it about did me in with the cuteness.)

Nate is adorable. I was telling them they could paint with their fingers or their toes.
The look on his face was priceless and he said he just wanted to paint with a brush. 

Thanks for sharing. I try so hard for my kids to be able to feel creative and
have life be exciting. But having an OCD mom apparently runs deep. :-)

You have amazing balanced kids. I love that you are teaching order.

Thanks Rebecca.

"Actually I am finger painting."

"This is going to be pretty exciting." He warms my heart with his cuteness.

You are the nicest ever! I love these pictures
and thank you for being so sweet to him and about him.

 He didn't know I took the other pictures. He requested this one to show to his mom.

  That makes me laugh like crazy. Thank you Rebecca!  
I just love this boy so much. And am so grateful for kind friends and
how they treat our kids. What a huge blessing to this mom.

Yuck, yuck, triple yuck

 

Something lovely swept through our house the last few days. (Well, it started a week ago with one of the kids, but then looked to be extinct. Apparently it was just napping.) Without going into details that no one, including myself, wants or needs to know/remember, let's just say that the blessing of feeling not sick, after being really sick, is just so lovely. It is crazy how much everyday life just seems wonderful when you don't feel deeply ill. Or when you know you will likely sleep through the night without waking up to multiple children who need immediate help.

That little cute one on the right was so sick throughout the night, but then woke feeling better and I'm so grateful. She literally went through several pairs of pajamas and ended up having to wear some of Nate's, since she was out of clean ones.

(And apparently, even though the sickness had nothing to do with tissues, she wanted an abundance to make her feel better.)

Oh life looks really happy at this moment. And I'm even grateful for the good reminder of how wonderful everyday life truly is.

At least now that that reminder is over.

Pretty much I love them

Next up, soil to fill up the boxes and more stones to make the pathways look lovely.

Annie told me the other day, "You seem to really care about our yard this year."

Yeah, I do. Finally. Our first year here, I was just in survival mode. This feels nice.

Preschool before and after