Cheers to the holidays

My husband is on the ball and already discussed our trip to Montana...so I'll mostly just add the photos. (And if he doesn't stop talking like he's a hundred years old I'm gonna give him something to whine about!) Matthew, if he hasn't already, will need to add their photos on their blog because him and Becky took some and I also used their camera, so I had very few on mine.

The highlight was getting to see Matthew, Becky and little Paulie Wog. He was 7 weeks old the last time we saw him. It was Jasmine and Paul's first meeting. SO CUTE! We never thought we would have kids just 4 months apart. Of course, this was our first trip to Montana without the Millers. It was weird! They were terribly missed. Hopefully some day really soon all the cousins will get to be together. Photo Op! Rowan needs to meet the crew (who is trying to wait patiently)...


One of these things is not like the other...
Nice hat Hoppy!


Lovin on grandma Steele


I have the luckiest kids on the planet...they have more grandmas than they know what to do with.


Lots of photos have been taken on these stairs...Paul's expression is priceless!


SO CUTE


She wanted to show him some love, but he just wasn't feelin it.


It is official! Our beautiful little girl will eat ANYTHING/EVERYTHING! When I told her it was "icky" she started first calling my name to make sure I was looking right at her before she dipped her face into the tub water to inhale her next mouthful of bubbles...you should have seen her laugh at my reaction. I was grossed out, but not bad enough to stop her from doing it two more times until I was satisfied with the photos I'd gotten.


Yum!


It just can't be good...

Hope your holidays are as tasty as ours. Lots of love.

Montana/Siberia

Well we just got back from a nice trip to Montana to see family. My brother got into town from Florida, only two days late because of the blizzard of the year that hit northern Idaho. Apparently he's lived in Florida to long and forgot how to drive in the snow. Maybe he can drive in the sand?? But it was really nice to see him and his growing family. It was a wee bit cold however, even for us northern Utah folk. Every night was below zero including some 7 and 9 below nights and highs were in the single digits. Yeah I guess my old bones are starting to feel the cold....hmmm now what?? The drive wasn't too bad. We took our nice gas guzzling four wheel drive environmentally destructive SUV. Cruising the majestic snowy mountain west in automatic four wheel drive watching little green, efficient, commuter, smart cars bounce of my bumper like bugs on a windshield. It was nice. I do what I can to support Exxon Mobile. I hear their numbers might be down for this last quarter, so I try to help out. Overall it was a really nice relaxing trip home. It's always good to reset yourself and take time out for whats important. And of course a little Nintendo Wii!

Green Beans and Christmas Lights...

This has been a fun week at our house. Getting ready for Christmas is always the best. Josh decorated the outside of the house with lights. (All perfectly in a row, in his typical OCD fashion) It looks awesome and was a lot of fun. The inside of our house looks like a little snowy village, same as every year...speaking of Christmas decorating...Jim, we are going to expect to walk into your house with the Florida Sellers' and find a perfect Winter Wonderland, just like last year. However, if you don't feel like putting out all the effort, please make sure that you, Cindy and Bitsy wear your Christmas hats, and without exception naked titty woman needs to be adorned! Love ya.


Obviously this is how a "Star Wars Power Ranger" helps to hang Christmas lights.


Izzy helped decorate too!


Do you see this Cindy??? Josh has apparently officially passed on the tradition of "icicle clumping" on the Christmas tree! Thanks (from both Shane and I)


My boys...clearly thankful that's it finally Christmas time!

On a completely different note, I walked into the kitchen this week to find my beautiful little daughter dutifully eating her green beans. I watched her stuff the very last one in her mouth and smiled at just how amazing she really is...then I noticed her cute little pocket on the front of her shirt. Only you Izzy. Saving them for later???




Come on Mason! Open wide...


Fine, suit yourself, I'll eat it then!

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

It's been 33 years of marriage for my parents today. Wow...what a long time to be married. I hope I can tolerate my wife that long ;-) Just kidding honey! Thats a long time to be married especially by todays standards. So congratulations to my folks for another year of being together. I guess that just means they are getting old. What's next to look forward to?? Death I guess!! Haha love ya.

Brotherly Love

You know one of my favorite things about this blogging thing is the lovely communication it brings between siblings and family. If you take a moment and just scroll through all of the posts and comments you will see an endless amount of love and affection amongst my family. These are not just meaningless comments about "how's the weather there" or "so did you watch the news the other day, the economy is going down the toilet." No my friends... not my family. Our comments to one another are well thought out articulated responses to everyday life. They are from the heart people. We put so much effort in to showing our love that if we just took a few minutes and combined our brains, our massives IQ's, we could solve all of this countries woes. If we could just take all of the energy we spend on being smart asses to one another and use that same energy for good, the earth would be our playground. Oh the things we could accomplish. The economy, peace in the midde east, the Browns winning a Super Bowl. We might even be able to figure out a cure for premature hairloss in young attractive males. Hmmm

28 + 2 = 30

My husband turns 28 today! Apparently that's a big deal because now there is only 2 years until he turns 30. I wasn't sure that 30 really should be a big deal, or that being 2 years away from it should be. That was until I found him wandering in the desert. Well, not so much wandering as much as hitchhiking...he's gone mad, thrown in the towel and decided that life as he knew it is over. If I listen closely I can still hear his muffled cries, waiting for someone to stop and pick him up. That's his only hope really. If he can start a new life somewhere then maybe he can lie about his age. Then and only then would someone still want to be his friend. That's where true happiness will find him. At this point a strong attempt could be made to scrape the shattered pieces of his life back together. When all else has failed, hope remains. (Oh well, he might be old, but he's still got killer good looks and a body most women can't keep their hands off of!)

Love you baby! Happy Birthday.

Jasmine on 97.1zht

Hey everyone Google 97.1zht Utah and go to the Jacko-Cuties page and vote for Jasmines photo. We could win $500 if she wins. She is entry #224 cast your vote and hopefully we'll win! Thanks for your support.

What About Life?

So as I sit with my family having a Little Ceasars five dollar pizza by candle light I start to ponder over the range of emotions I've experienced the last several weeks. Any of you that have been reading our blog know what we have gone through. It hasn't been easy. We've been tested in so many ways and it feels like life just continues to throw stuff at us. Just the other day I was on a call and watched a young woman die right in front of me. She took her own life. So I run over and over in my mind what could be so bad that would cause a person to think that ending their own life is their only option. I will never understand, my only hope is that God is waiting for them on the other side and His mercy covers them. That is my prayer for all of us...that God covers us in His grace when we face hard times. I'm not trying to say that what we have faced has been as bad as what was going on in her life. All I am trying to say is life isn't always fair to any of us. Her life coming to such a tragic end has effected everyone who new her or who came into contact with her in many different ways. There is a line in one of my favorite movies that always sticks with me. When a man complains about his situation and the adversity he faces saying he never wished for his situation, his friend responds by saying "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us." I don't think anything can decribe it better than that. I have experienced frustration, anger, sadness, confusion and so many other feelings in the last few weeks that it's hard to summarize my thoughts. And yet through all of the bad I feel as though God reveals himself in extrodinary ways. I have such an amazing love and appreciation for my family. I see my son and daughter with such a powerful love and hope for their future. Just looking at them lately can bring a tear to my eye. My wife is the most supportive, caring, compassionate person I have ever know. Her love for our family cannot be measured. The love of parents have been experienced from my point of view in both directions. What my parents and grandmother did for us I will never forget. The time they spent with us recently and the blessing they have been will forever remind me of the uncompromising love a parent has for their children. The love shared with us by our friends caught me off guard. It comes from the most unexpected places sometimes...it truly amazes me. SO in closing all I am trying to say is through all the tough times we have, and the emotional roller coaster we ride, God is always there. Constantly trying to remind us to just look up! Sometimes I think God has to guide us through struggles to remind us of all the blessings we have. The hard times in our life shine the blessings we have even brighter. It's an incredible reminder of the fact that we do not walk alone and that He has promised us a future abundant with hope and love.

A Light At the End of the Tunnel

They found Amber's purse downtown in an alley. It was torn to pieces with her wallet missing but we did recover her SSCard, some credit cards and her keys. The keys had been messed with so we are thankful we chanegd our locks, but atleast we got them back. It was found in a pile by a dumpster with about seven other purses. Yeah I guess some punk had a fun time breaking into cars and stealing purses that night. We need to give props to the poor poverty stricken couple that found her purse and was nice enough to call the cops. I guess it was a poor couple with two children who live in a bad area that found it. The husband makes his rounds everyday to pick up trash around there house because he like's it to look as nice as possible when he found all the purses. There can always be good honest people anywhere, thank God for that.

We're Not Done

I need to finish what my wife started in the last post. I found out that to replace our stolen car keys for the Expedition would cost $120... who knew that a chipped key for security could cost so much. I also had to pay a plumber to come out and fix our drain that I tried everything on God's green earth to fix and yet all attempts failed. But hey, he only used all of my tools, asked my opinion on what he should do, then I told him how I thought he could fix the problem...which worked by the way. He then proceeded to step on one of my sprinklers and broke off the head, used one of my pens to fill out his damn invoice and then charged me $75.(In my father's words I should have asked him to join us for a movie and popcorn.) What the hell is that all about?? I guess I should just take it up the tail pipe and say thank you can I have another. And so I did... just today I got a subpoena to court to testify about a call I was on just under a year ago. Yeah, and the hits keep on coming.

Oh Happy Day...

I really do hope that every one's day is going great. The following is a short account of how our lives have been unraveling, day by day. We are hopeful that we have reached the bottom and things will only go up from here. All things considered we have an amazing family and stellar friends. (thank God for that) As Dr. Wayne Dyer says, "We're all in the gutter, but some of us can see the stars from here." If you'd rather not read the ramblings of a very pissed off, angry, drowning house wife...stop here.

Many of you know that on one very unfortunate day approximately 2-3 weeks ago our house attempted to crumble down around us. Our washing machine, dish washer and furnace all bit the dust IN THE SAME DAY! Not to mention our bathroom sink mysteriously stopped draining. All the while my son had lost his voice, was plagued by chronic stomachaches and began pooping blood. Perfect. Suddenly we were summoned to court by our hospital because of a bill for our daughter that is an entire year old. We didn't know it existed. Turns out, someone there dropped the ball. But, are we going to pay $2000.00 to get a lawyer and fight them. Most likely not. Clearly this is what they are counting on. As a separate issue my surgery ended up costing $200.00 more than we had been told and apparently they had been sending bills which we hadn't paid, so we were being sent to collections...as it turns out, they had the wrong address. Now we are on a payment plan, only to receive another bill today for the anesthesiologist. Again, we did not know this bill existed. Turns out, wrong address! We have been sent a billion and one things from these offices before, but suddenly our address is incorrect everywhere. After an unbelievable amount of time spent on the phone to lawyers, doctors and collections agencies (all of whom are obviously conspiring to attempt ruin our credit) we feel like we're living in Middle Earth, hell, the Twilight Zone...take your pick. So today we are feeling a little postal. Where would we be without the hope that God is going to reach down and drastically change our circumstances in the not-too-distant-future??? Oh, and by the way, I was with a friend last night who found out that Missy Higgins was coming to a little venue downtown for a small concert. (She happens to be one of my favorites) She bought both her and I tickets just because she thought it would be something really fun to do together. It was, until the concert ended. We walked outside to find her car window smashed in and my purse stolen. Including but not limited to, my wallet, social security card, ID, keys, iPod, necklace and so on and so forth. Could've done without that...

Isn't She Lovely?

How sweet. He thinks he's gonna have to help me open my presents...just wait till I show him my mad unwrapping skills!

Tear the paper? ...Absolutely!

Outta my way, just gimme the box.

Yum! Wet, slobbery cake.

Come on Daddy...don't you want another bite?

All this cake eating makes a girl happily sleepy.

It's fun to be messy


It's official. Our baby has had her 1st birthday. It was a blast. She was really great at opening her presents and of course, there was no problem with the cake. By far the highlight was when she reached over and shoved her messy little hand into Daddy's mouth...she was sharing. Lucky Dad :) We had lots of friends show up to give some love and hang out. In her short little life Izzy has impacted more people than we realize sometimes. God is so faithful. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us. Love you all

1 year old...

Our preciously posing, pouting, praying little lollipop princess is turning 1!
She keeps us laughing, crying and helplessly in awe. She gets more beautiful every day. Her strong personality is developing quicker than we can keep up with. She really is hilarious. She is rough and tumble, but sweet all the way to her core. There are no words to describe her, just an unimaginable amount of gratitude that she belongs to us.
These are just a few of our favorite expressions. Obviously I had a really tough time choosing. The one that is on the title of the blog is "the shot." For those of you who are unfamiliar with this term...In every shoot I do I look for the ONE. It's the one that perfectly expresses who the subject is, what they are about, what makes them tick...It's the one that is full of emotion. You can know a truth about them just by seeing one photo. Whether the shoot went good or terribly wrong, it's all worth it if I can capture the shot that speaks. Because of this photo I would consider her shoot a success. You can't see it because the photo is too small, but there is a single tear underneath her right eye...priceless. Shouldn't she be in magazines??? We think so...
Happy Birthday Baby Izzy.

PS. A great big kiss for Jessica...who made the tutu! THANK YOU

Paper Paper Everywhere...

Who knew paper could be so much fun? Mason and Izzy had the time of their lives today. No, it wasn't on the beach, or at a park...it wasn't at the zoo or grandma's house. It was in an enormous pile of shredded paper! We laughed so hard. I found the first copy of my manuscript for The Magic Dozen. The "final" copy was sent to the publisher yesterday. So, I decided to tear it up. This copy was one printed before any editing, so several things have changed. What do you do with an outdated piece of work??? Destroy it of course. Anyway, I wasn't expecting it to become a family affair, and I definitely didn't expect that it could have been so much fun. It was ceremonial, freeing, and just felt plain good.

Check It Out

jag photography is finally getting itself a blog! We have been working hard, and can assure you there is more to come. But, for now, check it out if you're interested. Love ya

Sorry

I'm just going to apologize for my husband...Yes, that is Mandolin Rain on our playlist. If you happen to sign on and hear that song start playing, please know that somewhere, I am cringing! I hope he did this just to bug the hell out of me. Otherwise, there is NO excuse. (Love ya Babe)

Where does the time go?

Well today is our eighth wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's gone by so fast. It's nice to report that we are still VERY happily married and are looking forward to many, many, years to come. Amber is just as beautiful as the day we got married I on the other hand, am not. I've lost some of my hair, so now I just shave my head. I've gained a little weight, but thats not all bad I could probably use it. I think the other day I saw a few gray hairs, so i'm thinking maybe "Just for Men." Now I have to stretch before I play sports or I actually get sore. What the hell is happening to me?? Maybe I should blame Amber for all this...she's aging me! Or maybe it's the kids?? Did I actually say I'm happily married...this is killing me!! HELP!

All I Want For Christmas...is another loose tooth

Our little man lost his first tooth today! The first thing he said to me was, "That was fun, I want to do it again." Who does this kid belong to??? Sick. Anyway, apparently he thinks there is a possibility that the tooth fairy is going to slip a Power Ranger under his pillow. I don't know which tooth fairy he's been talking to. -?- His Daddy and I would never have told him that...he must have been spending some time chatting with the tooth fairy of the Florida Sellers. I'm sure a lawyer's tooth fairy is high class! Mason will be lucky to get a dollar. Teeth were going for $.50 when I was kid. Inflation.

YEAH!!!

So for all of you who have been following my wife and her journey to becoming an author it's time to CELEBRATE!! She got word this evening that there is a contract being signed and she is going to be published!! RIGHT ON BABY!! There is a scheduled release date of before this Christmas and her first childrens book will be on the shelves. You'll be able to find it on Amazon.com and several other distributors that are yet to be named. Hopefully Barnes and Noble before to long. So call her up and congratulate her, she's AMAZINGLY GIFTED. Love ya all

A Mother's Pain...Kindergarten

Anyone who has been through it knows how hard it is. Sending your baby to KINDERGARTEN! Who would have thought that 8:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. could last the entire day? This is the hardest thing I've had to do in my short career as a Mother. Putting on his great big backpack, combing his hair, watching him dress up in big boy clothes...all exciting and heartbreaking! I guess it was so difficult because on the way to school all I could think about was how the first day of kindergarten marks the first day of an onslaught of devastating experiences as a Mother. (Of course, this wasn't much easier for Daddy.)
I know it's exciting for him, and he's so happy to be in school. But, he's my little buddy. He has been a permanent, everyday fixture in my life for 5 1/2 years. The changes are just beginning. Josh and I decided after the first day that half day Kindergarten must have been created for parents, not kids.
We got to go with him for his first day. It was awesome. We spent a lot of time with his teacher, and she visited with each child one on one. When we dropped him off for his first "official" day, he met a few kids in his class and happily marched up the long stairway, FORGETTING to wave. Josh had to yell his name to get him to turn around.
He's going to a private Christian school (thank God!) and we're ecstatic about his teachers and her aides. Before Mason went inside she had all the parents gather around the kids and pray for them. Then they handed out slips of paper for the parents after the kids had left. Isaiah 49:15 & 16a "Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? ...I will not foret YOU. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands..." Yeah, thanks for that!
His teacher walked him out to the car after school. She told us that he was wonderful to the other kids and had "obedience in his eyes." He was the first to listen to her instructions. It made us feel really good that she seemed to pick up on characteristics that are true of our little man. She shared with us what her prayer was for him for this school year. I don't remember when I've cried as hard as I did after seeing him walk into school...and I think my face hurt from smiling after hearing all about how great his first day was. All in all, a success.
If you are reading this blog, click on the song "In My Arms" by Plumb on our playlist. (especially if you're a mom) I heard it on his first day. I cried so hard. This song puts all my feelings into words, feelings I could never hope to explain. It's dedicated to my miracle boy with more love than I understood (until he came on the scene)...

SoCal Vacation

So we recently got back from our southern California vacation and we had a wonderful time. We spent six days of fun relaxation in the beautiful California weather. It was mid 80's the entire time and sunny with the occasional ocean breeze. Several of our days were composed of spending time on the beach. We went to New Port, Huntington, San Juan Capistrano, and Laguna. The picture above is of Laguna Beach at sunset. Amber and I went down to the beach that evening for a sunset date with just the two of us and walked the beach and just admired the view. The ocean is an amazing place at sunset everything takes on a very different feel, it seems very spiritual and almost as if it's a whole new world all together. Needless to say we really enjoyed the time by the ocean.
We also had the opportunity to take the kids to the San Diego Zoo. It was a lot of fun and the kids really loved seeing all of the animals. Jasmine just rode around in her stroller all day and was a little trooper...I think she liked the Giant Pandas the best because she bought one at the gift shop when the day was over. So the seven hours and two hundred miles of hiking the zoo was a success.
The other exciting thing we had the chance to do was to go to Hollywood and see the sights. We got to tour Hollywood Blvd and see the stars. We stopped by the Chinese Theatre and got to see all of the old movie stars signatures in the concrete. (John Wayne, Clark gable, Frank Sinatra...etc) Apparently the theatre is a popular spot for the big premiers even today. Pretty cool place. Later in the evening we went back to the Pantages Theatre and watched the Broadway show Wicked. It was the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard of OZ. It was really good. By the time it was over you felt bad for the witch...but it's okay because she actually faked her death and is now living with Elvis. The entire production was really cool, I had never seen anything like it.
So that's the rundown of our SoCal vacation. I hope you all enjoyed it and maybe you'll get a chance to visit there soon. It's worth the trip. Even for some of you that think California is going to fall of the face of the earth with the next earthquake. I guess you should get there why you still can. ;-)

On A Brighter Note

I thought I should write about some of the things that are happening here that don't include the world falling down around us...We have done a few fun things this summer, even in the midst of craziness. Right before surgery we went to the Utah Arts Festival which was really fun.

Mason and Josh have been working on Mason's ability to ride a bike WITHOUT training wheels. It is so funny. He scoots right along until he realizes that Josh isn't right next to him. When he sees he's doing it on his own he panics and stops.

Izzy was playing in the basement the other day and I heard Mason yell. I went running and she was halfway up the stairs. She has never even attempted them before. She's gonna give me a heart attack.

Back In Commission...hopefully

Yeah...life's been nuts! Times like these make us learn to appreciate "normal" days. As if having the bathrooms under construction less than two weeks after brutal surgery isn't enough...our dishwasher started pouring water onto the kitchen floor on the night that Josh was supposed to finish the bathrooms. Fun. Shortly after that Mason and I came down with the worst flu in history...which Josh was blessed with less than 48 hours later. Izzy started her bout with explosive diahrrea the day before the flu hit our house, lasting an amazing 13 days!!! We're not just talking trickle-out-of-the-diaper-here-and-there kind of diahrrea, we're talking getting-it-in-her-hair-changing-clothes-5-times-a-day-waking-up-in-the-night-elbow-deep-in-poop kind of diahrrea. Honestly, we've never seen anything like it. Now that you're thoroughly grossed out...imagine living it!
Nate, Rachel, Reese and Damon moved in with us for 7 days quickly following the flu (yes, there was still plenty of poop to go around). They bought a beautiful house, but not before they had to be out of their other one. Two of the four of them had already gotten the flu from us. After moving in, the other two got it. We had a good time, but it was ridiculously busy...and Izzy was pooping.
However, there is a light flickering at the end of what has been a terribly long tunnel. We are getting ready to go to California! Nate's parents live there and they are amazing. They let us stay, feed us, are great company, and allow for a super fun vacation. Mason loves the beach just as much as his dad. It's all he can talk about. Rumor has it we will be getting picked up from the airport and driven to the beach...YAY! I love the beach too, I just can't compair with these two, they'd live in it if they could. It will be Izzy's first beach experience. We will get pictures posted as soon as we can!
So, the moral of the story is that life throws you curves...but if look on the bright side, somehow you can find small victories to be happy about. For example, yes everyone was sick and throwing up and Izzy was making an enormous mess, but, we had two beautiful bathrooms to do it in! Thanks Josh ; )

Been Busy

For all of you that keep bugging me about new posts. You know who you are...my family. I've been a little busy. My wife had surgery, my son has been sick and throwing up, my daughter has diarrhea and now a horrible diaper rash, I'm in the middle of remodeling both of my bathrooms at the same time, I work two jobs, and still try to find time to be a father and a husband. So for those of you that sit around and tend to our nations senior citizens while you rapidly become a couple of old farts yourselves....and those of you that sit on a beach everyday and pretend to get an education.... Put down your Depends, pull your heads out of the sand and cut me some slack!! Love ya all!!

Amber's Doing Well

Hey all, just wanted to update everyone on Amber's condition. She had surgery a week ago and they found the usual. She had more endometriosis and had an abnormal looking appendix so they removed both. She is recovering well. Still a little swollen and sore but she is definetly improving. Thanks for all of your prayers. For those of you that are tired of the photo of us kissing, not to mention any names, I'll have to talk to Amber about changing that one.

Oops!

Sorry, we forgot to tell you that Jasmine is officially a crawler as of Tuesday! She cruizes! Our house is now fully equipt with baby gates...on to the next phase.

Grandparents 50th anniversary...and one fabulous trip to Montana!

The Little Sellers'

So here's a little update on our wee ones...(let's be honest, that's what this whole blog thing is really designed for) Mason is having a killer summer. He has spent nearly every moment that he's awake outside in the sprinkler, or in Rachel's sprinkler, or at Dom and Amy's pool. Even though he hates to get his head wet, there isn't anything he likes better than playing in the water. His little sis is another story...where there is water, you'll find Izzy splashing water in her face, laughing, or trying to drown herself. Doesn't matter if it's ice cold, she's in it! And who can resist a beautiful little "chubba wubba" in a two piece with pigtails?

Mason has decided that he hates to have his picture taken. Although who can blame the poor kid, I am his mother. So, the focus of most the shots lately have been baby Bella Blue...who happens to still be too little to tell me "no".

Josh and I laugh everyday about how different our kids are. Anyone who knows Mason knows that there has never been a more anal, organized, hilarious kid with a ridiculous memory. Easy in some ways, so tough in others. When he was a baby he would've never dreamed of picking anything dirty up off the floor to put in his mouth! Jasmine looks for things, anything, that will fit into her mouth. She's always finding trouble. Lord help me, I am NOT used to this...but it does make for an interesting day. Watching Mason follow her around and try to keep her clean and out of trouble is so funny...keep tryin' hunny. She is going to be our "dive into the deep end-rollercoaster riding-stick stuff up her nose-rough and tumble-raging mess. Everyone should have one!!!

Parents...who are they?

I've always believed that parents teach their children how TO be and how NOT to be. Sometimes their methods lean more in one direction than the other...But as the child we don't get to choose our upbringing. It's not up to us how we are parented. The only thing that is up to us is how we choose to learn the lesson they are trying to teach...or not trying to teach.

My dad spent this last week in the hospital. He was finally released and is now at home. He had a perferated bowl. Clearly painful! He will be having surgery on it after he completely heals from this terrible ordeal. I know that it would be cliche to sit here and explain how seeing him in that hospital bed made me think about the fact that none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. For that matter we aren't guaranteed the end of this day...Time with family is extremely important. I could go on and on about how much I love him and saw him as vulnerable for the first time ever and it scared me. But I'm going to assume that all of that is already known. Instead, his hospital experience was paired in my mind with the thought that we all just spent a 10 day vacation in Montana together. My mom's parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. All of the family got together to celebrate their commitment to each other, their family and friends. We also got to spend some much needed time with Josh's family. All around it was a fabulous trip. My dad was rushed to the emergency room the day after we got back...welcome home!

The word "reflection" comes to mind when Josh and I think about our trip to Montana. I was also blessed by getting to spend time with my uncle David who motivates me toward perspective everytime I'm with him. The compilation of all these events led me to think about my own life. I AM A PARENT! You know, one of those frustrating people that are always telling you "No". They say they know what's best...ground you for a month and then claim to love you. -?- I am the person that my children will spend some portion of their lives NOT understanding. I am the one that will make huge sacrifices on their behalf that they will never know about, level anyone who tries to hurt them and when I tell them they cannot go on a date when they are 14, they will most likely want to trade me in. There is only one guarantee for my life as a parent...I have only just begun to make mistakes. There are no perfect parents, and eventhough my kids are just 5 and 8 months, I already have some regrets. They will spend time wishing I had done things differently and trying to figure out why I am the way I am...But here's the kicker, they will never understand why I am the way I am, no matter how hard they try. It's because they didn't know Josh and I before they came along. They didn't know the life experiences we had or the way we were raised. They won't understand that just like every human on this planet, I am the way I am now, whether good or bad, because of my experiences. Life happened. They don't know how being with Josh has made me a better, stronger person. They won't know all that we've been through in our married life, or the lessons that we've taken away. They won't completely understand how our weak spots have been made stronger by the other one, or that a lot had to change on both of our parts to learn to be the best "us" that we could be. They won't know what I was like in highschool or the fact the every day God is making a bigger impression than He did yesterday. They will know, but not fully grasp the circumstances regarding their arrival. They will only know a portion of who we are because of the fact that they haven't always been on the scene...So if this is true for me, then it must be true for all parents...which means it's true for mine. In turn, my grace level for my parents and the way I was raised has just grown immensely...maybe my kids can do the same for me.

The other day, after spending the morning wrestling with my 5 year old, lunch time having a backyard picnic, the afternoon coloring and watching cartoons followed by our favorite evening walk, I told him I was only going to read one bedtime story, not two. This was quickly followed by big tears, a quivering bottom lip and, "You never do what I want to do!" ...really? How many times did I get upset with my parents without knowing the whole story, or seeing it from their point of view? How many times have I judged them for choices they've made without knowing how they got to that place? But I guess it's the infamous circle of life...I just wish I hadn't spent so much time in the past being irritated with situations I don't understand. That's not to say that they are perfect...but why are they supposed to be?

Obviously

Everything changes...I hate it, but it's true. Obviously the only thing you can do is adjust. Changing, restructuring, growing...all necessary. Apparenly when you haven't talked to your friends living all around the world for months at a time, their lives change. Go figure. Families change too. We want to make it as easy as possible to keep up with the people that mean the most to us.

Speaking of families changing...Josh's family is in the middle of a big transition. We all used to live in Montana. After Josh and I left, (following the firefighting path that was set in front of him) we could still go back and see everyone. Kind of a one-stop-shop kind of deal. One by one everyone's lives have led down a different path, which unfortunatley is typically the case. It's becoming clear that we will all be spread about the country. His sister, Laura, and her family will be heading off on a big adventure to Missouri. Her husband has accepted the job of his dreams and they will be starting the next chapter of their lives. We are all very excited for them. Although, if change were an easy thing there would be less tears and more laughter on their behalf. Not possible when we're going to miss them like crazy! Matthew, Josh's brother is in law school with his family in Florida...and quite honestly, they could end up anywhere. In case they haven't fully considered it, we'd like them to know we happen to enjoy the Salt Lake area. It really seems like a perfect place for a lawyer to settle down with his beautiful little family...no pressure ; ) Josh's parents and two grandmas are living in Montana. His Mom and Dad live at the house Josh considers home. But, with all of the kids growing up and moving on, they too are contemplating relocation. So, you can most likely see the "transition".

Hopefully this will be a place where we can keep up, catch up and hear about all the exciting things going on in our friends lives...And obviously a place where Josh's family can give each other hell. You never know, maybe this can become the cyber version of the living room floor that we're all used to sitting on together while these little battles wage on and on...we love you so much.

If you've been invited here, then you're someone special to us. Thanks for visiting. We look forward to your comments and love hearing from you. For those of you who don't have a blog yet...get on it! Enjoy!

Thanks All

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments. We really enjoyed the comments about the music selection and the petty bickering that followed. We, the members of the Sellers' Family Utah Chapter enjoy a wide variety of music from all genres. Might I add I have also made some poor decisions about automobile purchases. It must be something our parents taught to their two wonderful sons. By the way sorry about the delay with more photo's and such we've been extremely busy and should be updating it soon.

Our New Blog

Hey everyone this is our first Blog! I'm just trying to figure this out so stand by for more to come.