I'm grateful

When Jori was itty bitty (not that she isn't anymore-4th percentile for height and weight, but still) and she cried a lot lot, I'd need sometimes to sit down and count my blessings. (Here's an example.) I've also seen this poem that I really loved...most of which I've forgotten, but the only line that stuck with me was something like "I'm glad for dirty dishes to remind me I have enough food to eat" or something like that. Certainly a positive spin on things! So. I wanted to do something similar now. Gotta turn this stress furrow into a smile wrinkle!

• I'm grateful Sam is busy/gone a lot, as much as 12 hours some days of the week, because it's a reminder he's got a job and we have direction in our life again that make the classes he's taking a tool, a means-to-an-end, not an inconvenience. 
• I'm grateful for feeling tired--it makes me appreciate the nights I do get a good night's sleep.
• I'm grateful my back hurts a lot, because it's a reminder I have a human being growing inside of me. What a privilege, honestly. I know I'm lucky to have this ability, and to get to become a mother all over again! 
• I'm grateful to have a lot of belly-shifting going on, because of the same reason and further, it tells me he's healthy and continuing to grow. 
• I'm grateful to be a mama in school, because how many people experience both at the same time? It's a privilege to get to constantly be peaking into two different worlds, and have such different ways to relate to many people. And for someone who gets restless easily, it's lovely to switch gears constantly. Keeps things interesting, even if it is overwhelming at times. 
• I'm grateful for when Jori is disobedient/tantrum-ing, because it makes me recognize how much of the time she isn't. What a relief! 
• I'm grateful to have this last mountain to climb. 1/4 of one class and 1 full class left, before the July 26 deadline. If I'm still aiming for graduating in August. It's (at this point) about equivalent to being a full-time student, just cause I figure a regular semester is around 15 weeks long, and a full time student takes 15 credits--I'll have about 3 weeks to complete the 3 credits remaining. But this will make me both extremely grateful to be done with school, and also already makes me grateful I've had education so easily accessible. It may be stressful but I know I'm lucky to have so much information, so much potential knowledge, right at my fingertips. 
• I'm grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because really...what else matters? Lots matters but...it's almost like, life is a bunch of assignments, but you don't even know what the point is or what the class is called without a gospel perspective. The church gives me the context for everything. It can count as a 'course outline.' That's not an adequate thing to say about the most important thing in life but it's the first thing that came to my mind, right at this moment...so let's go with it. 

Normal blog update. Or, here's a bazillion pictures of Jori, with some words.

Jori loves cousins. Her favorite thing, I'm pretty sure. :)

 My before and after hair shots:

 (Of course this was 3 months ago so I'm due for another cut but whatevs)

 We got to see my Grandma Butler right around my birthday, too, which was great,

 Ok so, this one day I dressed Jori in like Spring colors and wanted to get some nice photos of her. Buuuutttt she did not want to cooperate...

 This is the best I think. Finally throwing herself down, prostrate.

 Finally she laid on her belly and threw her head back and forth. (Not crying or anything just, you know. Showing her ultimate defiance. Lil stink.)

 We flied kites more than once in Idaho, which Jori loved,

 And....she played in dirt. Among other things, around the Hatch property. She sure did enjoy all that open space!

 For Easter, we and Melanie's family decorated Easter eggs the night before,

 And then we had a fun outdoor breakfast the morning of before having the actual Easter egg hunt.

 I love Hollie! Of course I love all our nieces and nephews, but Hollie is a complete sweetheart to Jori. She treats her like a life-size doll, which Jori generally loves (all that attention). I'm always so grateful.

 Gavin, Jori and Braden got to go first, on the grassy part of the lawn. (I think I enjoyed this part more than Jori did, I was so tickled by it all!)

 We did afterward this year, her discovering her Easter spoils. I had no idea she'd love the plastic eggs so much, seriously.

 Easter Sunday (sorry the stuff above was the day before), we tried to have a family pic...but poor Jori Pori struggled with the time of church in Idaho, at 1:00. (Her naptime is more like 12:30.) So she wasn't really feeling it.

Obviously, my mom just poked Jori and her cousin Elena in the eyes here...mom...

jk jk, they love grandma time I promise.

 While staying with my parents, Jori enjoyed the multitude of toys (particularly bear beanie babies, with the small McDonald's size ones being the children so she could make lil families) and time outside...

Especially this goofy one. I swear she wasn't in time out or anything.

 Oh! And Jori got her first bangs in...early April, I think it was. I finally took the plunge. (They're now growing out because little did I realize Sam's not a fan, so we'll just grow 'em.)

 Jori is super lucky to have so many cousins her age! Here's her with her cousin Miriam, who's the closest at only 6 weeks older than she.

 One of our Mondays while staying with my parents, Sam and I decided to take Jori up Hobble Creek Canyon for a campfire FHE. Oh my goodness our spot was perfect. BEAUTIFUL. We've found it before and I think I've decided it's my favorite.

 We also tried out the splash pad in Provo when it first opened, which Jori liked but was hesitant about the first time around...

 Then in early June, after we moved into our new place, my oldest brother Dan and his family Britany, Evelyn and Emmett came for a visit and stayed with my parents for about a week and a half. It was seriously wonderful--Jori and I went over there practically every day, she loved playing with Evie so much. This is probably my favorite picture of them:

 Helping grandma water the garden :)

 With their family, and later with my brother Mike and his daughter Elena joining us, we tried out the splash pad for the second time. THIS time Jori really 'dove in'! She was running through it the whole time, pretty much. I had to hold her hand after about the first 30 seconds since she slipped and got overwhelmed with all the water in the face, but I'd dressed prepared and was more than happy to run through with her. It was a hot day! Lots of fun.

And lastly...what do I do when I'm not trying to figure out lame adult stuff (bills, jobs, steps-to-be-taken-for-future) or trying to graduate? Or playing with Jori? Or thinking and stressing too hard about every little thing? I pinterest, basically. I plan and fantasize about what I want our place to look like. It's such a fun game for me, trying to find things that I think I could do that would make our place feel like a home but that I can keep when we eventually move (which is part of rental living). This is why I don't really want to put pics of our place up until I like the way it looks....which could be never, who knows, since there will always be more that I could do but still. Because I don't feel like it's really 'us' yet. That sounds so dorky in writing, but there ya go. 

So this will probably be one of the first projects for our new place: a gallery wall. I swiped some frames from my parent's basement (they were empty and I had my dad's permission, I swear!), used a couple of extra frames from a different project I have planned, and went to DI and bought the rest. What I want to do is fill these frames with different photos of us that have been taken throughout our life together, but that look professional, after I've converted them to black and white. Because it seems like such a fuss is made about getting a lot of these photos taken (engagements, bridals, maternity, newborn shots...etc.), but then after a year they get retired and are never seen again. So that's why I want a fair amount of frames, so the grouoping can be representative of the full amount of time we've been a family! Then (well, probably before) spray paint the frames in different colors in the color palette I want to use for our home (or at least the front room): 

 

This color palette just makes me excited, seriously. I found if after we learned Sam's brother Jotham would be letting us have their light blue, velvet couches, and I wanted something that would work well with it. Ta-da!! I hope I can make it all happen...I think I may enjoy the planning more than the actual process, since the process isn't all fun, but still. These things make me happy! 

(If you're curious...which you aren't but I want to share anyway, I also love this one post I found on...I forget, but I'll share it, about pillow arrangements: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/4071323/list/The-Secret-Formula-for-Perfect-Pillow-Arrangements it basically suggests a 2-2-1 ratio for pillow arranging. I just love the way this looks! :

 

And love how using throw pillows could really I think, introduce the colors I'm going for in the room well. But who knows, I don't really know anything about decorating or style really. Still. I love the fantasy.)