Fall bucket list

We love fall around here.  So much.  But it seems to go much to quickly and we never seem to do everything we want to, so hopefully making a list will help.
1. Take family pictures
2. Take Emma to a pumpkin patch
3. Carve pumpkins.
4. go on a nature walk.
5.make cookies
6. fire in the fireplace
7. make a fall soup
8. apple cider
9. visit an orchard.
10. make chili
11. apple picking.
12. bake a pie.
13. play in the leaves.
14. trick or treating
15. lots of family gatherings.
16. give thanks. over and over again.

Here's to a happy and fun-filled fall!  Bring it. :)

.the man i call 'Daddy'.

I contemplated writing this post because I'm just no good when it comes to mushy gushy stuff.  not because i'm not sentimental...but because i'm too sentimental.   I start crying just thinking about writing a post about my daddy.  but, it needs doing.  so, with the image of a pathetic looking almost 23 year old hugging a jumbo box of tissues and looking like a big ball of mess, read on having been warned.

dad. daddy. dada. papa. pops. daddio.

all good names for the person who gave me half of his genes.  but not good enough.

giver. defender. guardian. protector. counselor. friend.
these are better names, but still not good enough.

 

hero.

 

my dad is my hero.  he always has been and he always will be.  there isn't a time in my life that I didn't have his support, love, comfort, and friendship.  everyone in my family has always told me that i'm just like my dad.  and to me, that's the greatest compliment anyone could ever give me.  I am his number one fan.  no one could possibly love him as much as I do, except, maybe, my mom. 

 

outside of the family there aren't very many people that really truly know my dad and who he is.  but here is just 1 story that i think shows, in a very small way, how my dad is.  it's one that always comes to mind when I think about my daddy.  and one that sums up just how, in his simple and gentle ways, he's always been there for me:

 

when I was about 14-15 years old I was having a hard night.  I was so dead tired but could not fall asleep.  I've never had that experience before.  i'm one of those people that can go to sleep easily.  my dad was up late and ready to go to bed and came by my room to say goodnight when i told him that I just could not go to sleep.  I was becoming emotional about it because i had a long school day ahead of me and was so worried about how hard it would be with no sleep. it sounds ridiculous now, but to a tired teen it was a big deal.  i think he could see how stressed I was about not sleeping, which made it even harder to relax and get to sleep.  without saying a word, he walked into my room, crawled into bed with me, and talked with me for the longest time.  we talked about everything and anything.  being a tall kind of man, with a relatively loud voice, i was touched to see him try to squeeze into my small bed with me, and to hear him talk to me with such a gentle and tender voice.  we talked for what seemed like hours before i finally fell asleep.  he stayed there for a good while longer, i'm sure, trying to wait until i was in a deep sleep. 

as he was trying to get out of bed without waking me, the bed creaked and i woke up to see his face right above mine.  he gave me a gentle kiss, whispered a 'good night', and quietly walked out of the room towards his own.  i laid in bed for a few minutes just wondering what i had possibly done to deserve that wonderful man as my father.

 

It sounds simple.  it sounds like something any dad would do.  but it was much more than that.  it meant more because it was a testament to me of his love for me.  that he would sacrifice his sleep, his personal time, and do something I didn't ask him to do.  he knew that I needed someone.  he knew that it would comfort me, calm me, and help me to fall asleep.  but he never knew that it would be something that stayed with me for years.

 

I could go on forever about my daddy.  I won't.  but I could.  he is one of my best friends.  and he is honestly someone I feel I could go to and talk to about anything.  he may not have advice that I want to hear, but he always has words that I need to hear.  he will never know...never ever know how grateful I am for his sacrifices in my life.  and now, in the life of my daughter.  she adores him. who wouldn't?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Dad is my hero.  always has been.  and he always will be.  for his unconditional love for my mother, all of my siblings, and now for my husband and sweet daughter.  for his faith in Christ.  for his never-ending sacrifices.  for the person that he is.

 

i love you daddy of mine.  i may be a wife and mother now and may not be a little kid anymore...but you will always be my daddy.  and i will always be your baby girl.

 

Happy Father's Day Daddy!







love, your Amy Lee

.pictures.

about a month ago jay and I decided to have updated pictures taken of just the two of us.  i had an underlying reason...i have an idea that i absolutely love for the wall above my bed, and it required certain poses that we haven't done.  so i wanted an updated session for that reason...and it's nice to have pictures of just the two of us.  the last time we had pictures done of just us was my maternity session when i was absolutely huge!  i'm still not as small as i'd like to be, but that could take ages!  and i wanted to get the wall done, so we decided to just go for it and have pictures done.

we could not have possibly chosen better than Priscilla.  she was perfect for us and for the style of pictures we wanted.  besides that I've known her for a number of years.  we went to the same ward together in church during our teen years, and she's always been the sweetest person, so there was no question.  we just HAD to have her, and we're so glad we did. 

here's a few of our favorites.  and now that we have them i'm super excited to get the wall art up and done in my room.  i'll post about that once it's done.  love them Priscilla!  thanks again.  you are the best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

.the wall.

ever since emma took her 6 month pictures I've been wanting to put them up on our living room wall.  i had NO idea how to do, all i knew is that i wanted it to be perfect.  lucky for me i had a few ideas already posted on the ever-popular pinterest, so we fiddled with a few ideas and finally decided on this one (and tweaked it a bit, since we only had like 3 landscape pictures from the session). 

we got the canvas all ordered and put up within a matter of a month after having the pictures taken.  and then we got the candles from our favorite store, LOVE their coupons by the way.  it has saved me so much money.  i'm there like every other week.  seriously all we need is an ikea in vegas and every weekend for the rest of the year would be busy going from one store to the other.  fun.

all we needed to get left were prints that we wanted in the 4 frames.  i don't know why but that part took us forever.  even when we finally ordered them and got them in the mail, they sat on my dresser for months.  we got the frames and glass, (again from my fav store) and had everything ready to go, and it sat.  don't ask why.  we've been busy, that's for sure.  but it's something I've been so excited about that i don't understand why i didn't jump on it right when we had everything we needed.  the only thing i didn't have was the vinyl, but everything else could've gone up.  i'm a procrastinator. oh well.

i am so excited to announce that after all this time (and after so much growing on Emma's part - she doesn't even look the same anymore), we {finally} have the wall done.  if i had my way we would've painted the wall too...but one step at a time i guess.  someday i will have everything in the house exactly the way i envision it...but that'll take lots of time, energy, and money!  haha.  but at least, for now, we have our wall all done.  and we LOVE it.  yay!

(excuse the nasty lighting. these pictures were taken at night, and with a single lamp; makes for some really bad pictures.)

thank you pinterest!  don't know what i did before it became so popular.  i just wish it was around for my wedding!  but that's for a different post. ha. 

.mother's day.

mother's day is so nice around here.  my two loves have spoiled me two years in a row.  jay and emma began the celebrations on saturday when we all went to dinner at red robin, and we all loved it!  even emma was loving the food, and she typically doesn't last long.  she'll take a few bites and be done and want to run around, but she was eating away this time, which made it nice because mom and dad were actually able to sit together and eat.

afterwards we made a quick trip to rod works -such a fun home décor store- and picked up a couple of things that mommy's been hoping to get. :)  then we called it a night, went home, put emma to bed, and ended the evening by watching {safe haven} with rachel.  such a fun night.

sunday daddy was sweet enough to make the family breakfast, and then we were off to church.  all the women in the ward received corsages for the day, and we had lessons focused on motherhood and womanhood.  very spiritually enlightening lessons that I enjoyed hearing and being a part of for sure.

we got home, had a lovely dinner also prepared by daddy, and then spent the evening cuddling and loving on the most precious girl that made me a mommy.  she makes me SO happy to be a mommy.  it's the hardest job I've ever had.  it's exhausting with my little super active baby.  it's tiring and sometimes more than I can handle in one day.  BUT it's also the most rewarding, most wonderful, most beautiful job I've ever had.  emma makes our days so much fun, filled with laughter and happiness.  i wouldn't have my life any other way.

thank you Jamison for making this the best mother's day I've ever had, simply because i got to spend it with you and our sweet daughter.  and thank you my little emma bug, for making me the happiest mommy there ever was.  i love you baby girl!  i can't wait to have many more mother's days ahead, and i hope to always be reminded each year how blessed i am to be a mother. 

 

 

 

.mine.

i share everything i have.  honestly.  i share my food.  i share my car.  i share my bed - which i'm not complaining about... :)  i share my blanket, i share my shampoo. i share my time. i share my energy. i even share my clothes with my sisters!  even emma is not entirely mine..which is great because i love that she has so many people to love on her.  the point is i don't really have anything to myself.  anything, that is, except him.  he is mine....he is all mine.

i love my husband so much.  more than i can ever describe.  he makes me feel like a queen every. single. day.   his dad taught him well.  i don't know what i did to have him.  i certainly don't deserve him.  but he chose me.  he loves me.  and i'm crazy about him...

i don't say that enough.  he really is the best husband and father i have ever seen.  he leads and guides our daughter with gentleness and in loving ways.  i have never heard him raise his voice to emma.  ever.  and he guides and counsels me with everything i deal with daily.  i honestly don't know what i'd do without him. 

 

he works soo hard at everything he does and deals with each trial our family faces like a champ.  there isn't anything he can't face with a smile and a positive attitude, and that's something i will always admire in him.

he's funny.  he's smart.  he's inspired.  he's led.   he's hott.  he's friendly.  he's kind.  he's helpful.  he's shexy.  he's sweet.  he's thoughtful.  he's loving.  he's perfect.

 

he's mine.  {thank heavens}