blessing

trudy had her blessing on sunday july 24th. we were in utah for about three days for a family reunion and figured that was the best and most convenient time. we had a smaller and more intimate setting with some family and a few close friends. my mom had always planned on making trudy's dress and so earlier on i sent her this picture. the dress turned out perfectly... i couldn't have been more pleased. trudy looked like a little angel.

unfortunately trudy was pretty fussy during the blessing. we were quite surprised because she is always pretty content. later that night we found a very sore bum and yucky diaper rash and knew that was why. poor girl. her pooh is starting to not be as liquid-y so that is good. i feel weird talking about pooh in the same post as her baby blessing. anyway we love our little trudy baby. grant did a great job and loves her so much. she is our little blessing.

p.s. i see tutorials on how to use photoshop and get rid of things like stork bites, discoloration and even veins. why would i contribute to that? does anyone else think that is silly? it's like changing my baby's appearance to make her look "perfect" already? no thank you. she is perfect the way she is. amen.

forgiveness: my burden was made light

the only way i know how to get everyone i know and love to see this, is to put it on our blog. i am so touched and so full of love as i type this. my eyes are filled with tears and my heart is full with gratitude. his example to me and his testimony... it is just absolutely invaluable.

goodbye is the saddest word

yesterday was the last day that i will see my brother blake for two years. he will be serving an lds mission in lima, peru. grant and i drove up to orem for an extremely short trip. way too short. i didn't get to see everyone that i wanted to and i definitely didn't get to spend as much time with blake as i wanted to. sometimes i really wish i could turn all of my four younger brothers into girls. that way i wouldn't have to send one off on a mission every time i turn around. blake is such a cutie. i just love love love him. he is so mature and smart and he just makes me so proud. his testimony is so beautiful. i love being around him. he is always so collected and composed. i love to hear his opinions and sometimes when listening to him... i can't believe that he is 19 years old. i will miss him so much. i hope that the next two years go by fast. i know he will do fabulous with people. he is such a little sweetie. 

mark mabry

last year when i found out about the photography of mark mabry, i immediately fell in love. for those who don't know, mark recreates authentic meridian-of-time scenes using both full color and black and white photographs. he has completed two beautiful projects, his first being the "reflections of christ" and the newest,  "another testament." each project includes a book of beautiful scenes of the life of christ and then a dvd that shows mark as he helps to recreate the savior's most awe-inspiring moments as if you were there witnessing the events first hand.

the dvd is truly amazing, we own the first one; reflections of christ. first of all, it's so interesting to see images of all the scriptural stories we read about, with real life people; it creates such a different impression. the photos are absolutely stunning. on top of that, hearing powerful testimony from mark and his life-changing experiences and many others who participated is just amazing. (i can't even imagine what it would be like to portray the role of christ). you can view a slideshow of reflections of christ or meet mark in a little clip here. his newest project - the new testament, i just watched tonight and also loved. the links alone are a must. i mean, i don't want to sound like i'm begging... however i don't really think you could spend 5 or 10 minutes in a better way. i think these books or dvd's (that are both at deseret book and even walmart) are perfect christmas gifts and a fabulous addition for the season.