Twenty Four

The last time we took family pictures together (besides a selfie with a phone camera), Andrew and I were outside the Manti temple just after we got married.  So sad.  I used my birthday as the excuse to borrow a tripod and remote and update our family photos.  Andrew was kind enough to help me wrangle Emily and use half his brain so we could get everything ready the night before.  Test shot:

When we set out on our 1.5 walk to the location, it was FREEZING.  Emily was so bundled up she could barely move in her stroller.  We were quite a site packing the camera, tripod, and large quilt as we walked along a busy road. Andrew snapped this while I was setting up the tripod.

We found a spot that was shaded from the relentless wind and snapped away, finishing just as the rain began. We sped walked/jogged home as fast as we could, and decided on the way that the next time we take family pictures it will be hot.

Tuesday itself was a rather typical day.  Andrew was on campus for 13.5 hours, getting home around 9 and working until 2 am.  Emily and I went on a walk, played with friends, did dishes, cleaned up, worked on a few projects, and prepared meals.  We went over to a friends house for dinner, and she came home and went right to bed. I enjoyed talking to friends throughout the day and receiving texts – thank you to all that remembered my day of birth.  On Wednesday Andrew took us out to get frozen yogurt to celebrate turning 24.

I am overwhelmingly grateful for my little family of three, for the enthusiasm Andrew and I share about our life, for the moments of time we have together each day, for our wonderful home that is fostering all sorts of creativity, for the friends and family we are surrounded by – physically and emotionally, and for all of the experiences this last year provided that has brought me so much closer to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am learning and stretching as I navigate through my roles as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.  I love the days where the training wheels have come off and I feel like shouting, “I’m doing it! I’m doing it! I am actually doing it!” I don’t love the days that I keep falling down and feel frustrated because I’m still adjusting to life as a mom and figuring out what that means for me and how I spend my time. But I am figuring it out little by little.  And all of those moments even out so I can honestly say that I am doing well.  This is truly a season of joy, despite all of the challenges.