One Crazy Year and a BIG Thank You

One of the many perks of living with an award-winning photographer is that she is willing to take family pictures for you even though she just did it a month before. I love the way these turned out. Thank you, Becky! There are too many favorite pics for one post, so here are just a few:

When they annoy each other as teenagers this is the picture I'm going to pull out.

Our family is once again over a thousand miles apart, with the kids and I in Utah and Ryan in Wisconsin. My mom flew out to Colorado this past Thursday to help me drive back to Utah with the kids (now that's the love of a mother--she never even saw the sun in colorful Colorado. It was such a quick trip just so I wouldn't have to travel alone with three young kids). I must say that I hate the feeling of having my family go in separate directions and knowing that we will be apart for an extended period of time. We headed West on I-80 and Ryan headed East. It will be nice to be back together again, and hopefully this time we spend apart will fly by as quickly as time flew while we were together.

Our goofy-faced picture

This past year our family has been on the receiving end of so much help, it's overwhelming. So many family members and friends have helped us so much. We couldn't have done it without you! Thanks just isn't adequate but we hope to be able to be the kind of people that you have been to us and somehow return the favor one day. 

I joke about being a "single mom" while Ryan is away on his externships, but the reality of my life is that I have never had to do any of this child-rearing stuff alone. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and friends have all stepped up to the plate and helped me so much without even being asked. They just see a need and take care of it. Thank you so much for that. I feel like Heavenly Father is watching over our little family and answering our prayers through you during this crazy time in our lives.