project life and whole foods

1. Have you heard of Project Life? If you're a scrapbooker, you've probably heard of Becky Higgins. She has this great product called Project Life that makes scrapbooking so simple and easy. The basic idea is that you take a picture everyday of something going on in your life - maybe it's of your son helping you make cookies or your daughter playing in the rain or your garden that's progressing...then you put it in it's slot and write out your journaling and it's done. It's so easy! The kit comes with everything you need, including the album, and it's all very adorable. There is none of the time consuming stuff (which can be fun but not always possible). People who don't consider themselves scrapbookers but want to preserve memories of your family might also be interested in this simple approach. There is also a digital version, which I really like. If you feel that committing to a picture a day is a bit much, you could take a handful of pictures a month and do it that way instead (which is kind of the concept I'm going for with Oliver's baby book - which I will share eventually. The kit I'm using to make his book is also designed by Becky). Anyway, I mention Project Life because it's $10 off through the end of this month (which is tomorrow). This would also make a great gift.

2. I went to a Whole Foods grocery store yesterday for the first time ever and I was like a kid in a candy store. Every isle was so exciting! There was even a salad and hot food bar right there in the store (with ten vegetarian soup options - ten!). I had to make myself leave the store. It's probably a good thing that this store is in Seattle and not too close to my house.

3. I start school tomorrow. I am a bit nervous, mostly about balancing everything (school, work, baby, house, etc.) but I'm hopeful that somehow it will work out. Wish me luck.

two things

Two things:

1. This is the cutest little hat. It is so tempting to buy it for Oliver for Halloween but we already have a little pumpkin costume for him and this hat is expensive. Wendel feels that this hat is weird and it's weird to blog about it but I think it's cute. (Wendel stands by his comments.)

2. Restaurant.com has 80% off of their $25 gift certificates right now, making them only $2 for a $25 gift certificate. Stock up on Christmas gifts.

newport, oregon

We took a much needed 5-day vacation to Newport last week. It was perfect in every way. We stayed in a condo by the beach. It was beautiful and had a gorgeous view. The first two photos are the view from our balcony at sunrise. This is a photo of our living room.



Britney (Wendel's sister), Ron & Connor came up the first day we were there (they live in Portland). It was fun hanging out with them for a day and wish they could have stayed longer.

We saw some sea lions. Oliver was interested, which was cute.








From what I understand, these cages are for feeding the sea lions but they like to hang out in them, even when it's not feeding time. I thought it was so funny to see one squirm his way up from the bottom of the pile, and all of the others got mad at him for disturbing them.





We took Oliver to the Undersea Gardens, where he got to touch a starfish. He is really into textures lately, so I think that was kind of cool for him.



On the dock with Dad after visiting the Undersea Gardens.





We also went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Checking out a huge turtle.



Oliver seemed most interested in the jellyfish. They were pretty cool.









You can't tell too well, but there are sea lions in the water behind us.




Aquarium Village (where I found the book Where The Wild Things Are for $1.00!).













We also took turns sleeping in (Wendel made a big breakfast one morning for me while I slept in - amazing!), Wendel went golfing, I went shopping, we ate yummy seafood, went swimming and hung out in the hot tub, Wendel worked on a puzzle, and I read The Hunger Games. (It was so good! I'm on the second book right now and I'm loving it. Wendel started reading it on our way home from Newport and finished it in less than 24 hours.) We also had fun reading with Oliver.



It was so sad to leave. We both concluded that before having a child, 4-5 days of vacation was plenty - more than that and we would start to go stir-cray. But with a baby, there wasn't as much downtime, so a week is our new minimum vacation time.
It's good we had this break though. I start school in a week and I think it's going to be a difficult quarter. I loved our little break.

a few thoughts at the beginning the journey

"Of all the joys of life, none other equals that of happy parenthood. Of all the responsibilities with which we struggle, none other is so serious. To rear children in an atmosphere of love, security, and faith is the most rewarding of all challenges. The good result from such efforts becomes life's most satisfying compensation." - Gordon B. Hinckley

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I think this quote will sink in and have different meaning to me throughout my life as I experience different seasons of parenthood. For now, the first part rings true to me - that parenthood has brought me such joy. The first few months of Oliver's life were so difficult. I had a rough recovery from his birth, nursing issues, side effects of depression, anxiety and loss of bladder control from medication that I was taking to increase my milk supply, hives from the Fenugreek that I was also taking to increase my milk supply, shingles from stress, little sleep, and research and bio classes on top of it all. I felt like I would never be in a different place and I would be stuck in that little time warp forever, surrounded by papers filled with feeding times to remind myself of when he last ate, pamphlets about nursing, and books about healthy sleep habbits .

It's amazing how much changes in three months. It was like Oliver hit his three month mark and suddenly he became this little person who smiled a lot, interacted, and brought a whole lot of joy to us on a daily basis. My thoughts on parenthood now? I love it. I love my little 6-month-old and just can't get enough of him, even with his fussy teething spells and waking up to comfort him in the night. I know that being a mother is a divine calling that is meant to teach me and help me learn and grow, but also to bring me immense joy. I think that is why this quote stood out to me so much when Wendel and I read it the other night.

The second part of that quote is kind of daunting - out of every responsibility we will have in life, none will be as serious as being a parent. This reminds me of another quote that I really love by Harold B. Lee: "The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own home." I think about that a lot these days. I'm trying to do my best to make my role as a parent (and wife) the most important thing that I do, while still balancing school, work, housework, exercise, spirituality, etc.






[Photos taken by Wendel and me on August 22, 2010 in our backyard after church.]

Even with the weight of this great responsibility on my shoulders, I am grateful to be starting this incredible (and undoubtedly difficult) journey.