Spring 2011

So, I realize I have been ruining everyone's life by not posting frequently. Shame on me. There, I said it for you. =) Really, life has been pretty crazy this past year. Our family has overcome it's hardest bump yet, and we are finally getting on our feet again with flying colors.

I doubt I will post many pics in this post, just because there are probably close to a thousand by now since I last posted. But I will do a few since I have a new camera now (which I am super pumped about), and I know my hubby likes to see new ones on here while he works =).

I tried doing some pics of the kids in front of Bountiful Temple, but I was alone and it was hard to manage three cold kids who wanted to play in the snow. But I was lucky enough to pick a day when the temple was closed so I could get a few shots of them in front of the doors without them opening.

Easter came and went in a blur. I don't think I was entirely prepared for it. But we did get some Easter eggs 'painted' =) An almost total disaster and before we could display said eggs the girls ate them behind my back. Hmmm..

I got really busy, what with the normal stuff, kids, writing and then Bryan asked me to plan/decorate an Elder's Quorum activity. He knew he could get me to do it because I love planning parties and decorating, but of course I went overboard. I made posters and flyers (the posters, hand painted), made these centerpeices of old glassware from D.I., painted parts of them spring colors, made a gazillion homemade, gourmet cupcakes of different flavors (coconut, almond, lemon, chocolate, vanilla), had Bryan find a tent (it went with the scripture theme) and made a glittery sign for it that said, "Do Not Disturb, Studying Scriptures", and a bunch of crepepaper flowers.

Anyway, I was so stressed about that and the fact that writing my YA novel is taking much longer than I thought that I turned down an offer from a fellow 'published-hopeful' to illustrate her children's book for her. But I felt really bad about it, like I was doing the wrong thing, and after the event I felt so relieved that I told her 'yes, I would do it'. If you know me, I have a hard time saying no to anyone. And I thought once she saw my practice artwork and ideas for her book that she would laugh in my face and say, never mind! But to my utter surprise, she not only still wanted to work with me, but she was so happy that she and her daughter were literally screaming with delight when they saw my work!

So, on top of my YA novel, I will be illustrating her children's book (for now, entitled, ALIEN BABY), about a little girl who gets a new baby brother, and she thinks he MUST be an alien because of all his newborn symptoms =). It's a cute story, and definitely one that I can get behind and be really creative with. The author really wants to self-publish this book, since she has seen great success with PBs in that arena, and has already hired an editor (formerly of Penguin books, who is now freelancing so she can spend more time with her kids). The editor is not free with compliments and is tough, like most people in the industry, and when Lisa (the author, as well as my critique partner for YA) showed her my practice work, she liked it, and even said "Wow" when Lisa told her how fast I got the pics out.

Pretty good stuff.

We'll see where this takes me. Obviously not the road I was planning on taking, but art has always been an equal interest with writing for me. Who knows where this will take me. Neither of us is dead-set on seeing a lot of money from this project, mostly we are both interested in publishing credits, and we both have a similar value system, so I feel comfortable working with her. She's a great gal and is always encouraging to me in all I do, which I really love and appreciate. 

Well, enough of that....

Bryan took the girls to Home Depot and they built bird houses. It was a lot of fun for them.

Meanwhile, Off and on I have been working on a little playhouse for the kids. It was supposed to be a birthday present for Emma in February, but is still missing a roof and some of the detail painting. And we decided it wasn't fair for just one child to own it, so it is now public property, so to speek =)

William really loves the house, too, so I will have to put some monsters in it or something =) for him. I guess I just am not ready for this little guy to grow up. Didn't realize he would be so into it, but, well, duh! He is a toddler already! Before I even knew it.

Just ignore the fat gray elephant =/. My brother, Thomas, came to visit Easter morning just in time to snap a few family shots for us outdoors. We were going to just get the kids and were lucky with his visit...(or unlucky in my case) =). So, the kids got all dressed in their new Easter clothes (that we were really blessed to be able to buy, because we never thought we would), and we took pics around the front yard. (Take a look at my Facebook page for more).

My cute girls. I am so glad they love each other so much...and trust me, the love spreads to others daily =)

And my two handsome boys =)

Speaking of which, Bryan has been working really hard the past several months. He not only is trying to start up his own business, but works for CITI to keep the money and insurance coming in for us. Which basically means that he works all day long, and on Saturdays. His business, Healthcare Compliance Pros, is online and getting a lot of people signing up as clients already. He has two partners, and they make a great team. I'm really proud of the progress he is making, and all the hard work he has put into this company. I know he is going to make something really great out of it.

Easter egg hunting.

This was William's first time hunting eggs and he had a lot of fun, I think. He wasn't so much interested in what was inside of the eggs at first, just finding them, until he realized there was chocolate in some of them =)

This black cat decided to help, too =) If it weren't for the Easter baskets, I 'd say this was a great Halloween shot.

I love spring flowers.

I can't tell you how glad I am for warmer temperatures. Of course I will take it back when the Summer heat sets in, but for now it's nice to finally get out and not feel trapped inside all the time. The kids LOVE to draw on the sidewalk, and now that I am doing the Illustrating route, the girls are constantly compairing their artwork to mine, frustrated a little that they aren't 'as good as Mommy, yet'. I love their artwork. To me there is nothing better than kids artwork. It's so sweet, innocent, and creative. I wish I still had their creativity.

And of course William had to add his touches to the girls' artwork =)

It's a basic fact that after one has colored with sidewalk chalk, they MUST inevitably take a bath =). Good times. And time for more chalk. I think they used most of it up in only a couple days.

Pretty blue flowers. Not sure what they are called, but I like them in my mom's yard, where we live at the moment. My parents will be back in a little over a year, and by then we hope to be able to afford a place of our own again.

It's a good thing that there are blossoms and new flowers in spring, otherwise the mud would really get to me.

The last of the snow. Now, we hope we won't get too hard hit with flooding.

We went to a housewarming party for my cousin Andrea last month. She lives in my grandparents old home. It was harder than I thought to re-visit the place. I kept expecting that everything would be just the way it used to be. And although I miss the old days there, I think Andrea and Nolan did an excellent job with improvements. Gone is the old icky walpaper in the kitchen, replaced with pale blue and gray walls. New flooring in places, as well as carpeting. I will have to make sure those pics made it to Facebook as well.

Then there was a birthday extravaganza at the Packer home in Orem, for Nephew John. The kids (and my husband =) had a great time! They made huge bubbles, shot bottle rockets sky high, searching a mountainous pile of sawdust for burried treasure, and slammed a pinata 'til it burst. And to top it off the obligatory icecream cake and goodies. =)

Bryan used some of our tax return money to get season passes to Lagoon for all of us. This is only the second time the kids have come. It was slightly premature of us to go, seeing as how it is still chilly out, and we ended after only about an hour or so when it started sprinkling. But the kids had fun, and the parents were happy when they didn't have to pull screaming kids out of the park. They were ready to go. (Bribing them with French fries and chicken nuggets didn't hurt either)

Memorial day was a blast at Lee and Robyn Pearson's home, as usual. It was rainy and cool, but not miserable. There was even a game of ultimate frizbee for some of the older ones =). I loved seeing the kids have so much fun in a yard that I played in so much as a child. I love it here. Makes me want to move back in a way.

Grandma made a special effort to smile for my 'random' shots. =) I thought it was quite cute of her to stop eating her cookie to smile, when I didn't even think she noticed me there.

And William had an extra great time, especially when random people got him cookies =). I was really glad he had no problem playing here. He had a moment of shyness, but it soon melted away and he made frequent trips back and forth between me and the playroom, at the back of the house.

So, that's about it for now. I'm sorry for neglecting many of you. It doesn't mean, however, that I don't think of you often. I promise to try harder balancing hobby time with friends and family. And if you have questions, or just want to get together, remember the phone/email goes both ways =)

It's That Wonderful Time of the Year again!

It's that time of year again. I LOVE Christmas! I dressed my littlest cherub in his little red suit and put up decorations even before the Turkey was 'et. =) (Sssshhh, dont' repeat that. I just couldn't help myself.)

Here are the decorations from the foyer. Don't know why I didn't take some of the Family room. It isn't as impressive I guess =).

We were crazy putting up that big hunk of tree. And we will probably put it up again next year because we never learn our lesson. But what is the Packer home without it, I say?

 It is becomming a tradition in our home to cut out snowflakes and systematically tape them to our sliding glass door in the back of our kitchen. (It's a good thing we have always had sliding glass doors other wise this tradition wouldn't work). There is something about the instant gratification of cutting out shapes and the awe at opening them up and discovering what strange patterns they made. There is a surprise in each one...sort of like a Kinder egg, but almost better.

 I got to steal borrow my moms Christmas ornaments and add them to my own this year creating a doubly-homey feel. This snug little Christmas room is my favorite place to be right now. I can cuddle up with a blanket and book in front of the fireplace and read to my hearts content (or until the kids find out where I have been hiding.)

 Ignore the dark massive blob in the upper right hand corner. The rest of my family looks so cute, right? Except Kate had a little trouble timing her smiles =). She takes after me, short attention span.

 Now there is a smile from Kate...just a half a second more and it would have softened into a normal smile and if he waited to take a picture a half second even longer it would have snuffed completely out of existance. And then returned as soon as the photo shoot was complete. (Not to mention the galluping and prancing that goes along with perfect smiles, which also creates a blur on film if you try to catch them).

 Here you see John and Emma. John is actually happy, I promise. He must have noticed me. =) They were 'thick as theives' as usual on this our celebration of Advent, the second of the year, and first and only one so far that we have actually done anything about, sad to say.

 Kate and Anna are bacomming fast friends. It is fun to see. Here they were guarding the treats to make sure that none got away. Such kindred spirits.

 After a short advent the adults shunned allowed the kids to go down to the basement and frolic to their hearts content while we relaxed and talked.

TEMPLE SQUARE VISIT:

 This is probably only the second trip we have been able to make with our kids to see the lights at Temple Square. It was lovely. The temperature was milder than expected and, aside from the occasional sprinkle of rain, it was the perfect night for it.

 My cute little angels sitting in front of the Temple where Bryan and I were sealed.

 This is new to me. The nativity sitting on the reflecting pool. It was quite beautiful. The other parts, shepherds and Wisemen, were on the grass a little way off, observing. You see floating candles on the water which added to the splendor. I also got to talk to a couple of Sister Missionaries, one from Switzerland and one from Finland. That was also great. I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK!



Below are some pictures I took of our trip to Logan to visit my wonderful cousin, Becky Griffiths, and to see her newest addition blessed in their ward. It was a great Sacrament meeting, and Bryan got to be in the circle. What a great family!

 This is Becky's Christmas tree. She is great at decorating as you can see, very talented. I took a lot more pictures but our camera was acting up, so the ones I have aren't the best. Time to get a new camera.

 Aunt Robyn holding little Sawyer, who got blessed. Little Gracie on the couch as well. Poor thing was a little sick.

 Here is a picture of some of the fam in Becky's front room. She did a great job accomodating so many people. There were more people in the kitchen and in the basement as well.

 Here is Stephen, Tony and Mary in the basement. I made Mary jump in and add her cuteness to the picture. Aren't you glad?? I AM! All my relatives are so good looking! (Why didn't they share the genes with me, you ask? Beats me.)

 A cute glittery sign Becky made for the downstairs bathroom, and cute artwork by the kids. LOVE IT!

 Aunt Robyn with Sawyer again. This time a better picture. And Stephan's wife, Emma (great name! And again, such cute people!)

 Ha, caught him smiling. It was a bigger smile (again, just a half a second early, but my camera...) I got to dress him that morning before church because we didn't know how long it would take to get there and we arrived early. That was special. I'm glad I got to spend extra time with Becky before her hostess duties ensued.

 HA! I caught Grey (Mandi and Jon's youngest) trying to get at the tree. I completely don't blame him. I had a hard time not taking it home with me, too.

 I tried to get a picture of Becky and Erick, but it didn't turn out so I had to get this sneeky photo whilst she was chatting it up with company. Little cute baby on shoulder. I seem to get a lot of these of Becky. =)

 These are some cute little Christmas houses Becky made a year or two ago. CUTE!

My dear cousins, Mandi and Jon. You can't see it, but Jon is in the process of tangling with Grey on their way out. =)

Well, that's about all for now. The pics, at least. Everyone keeps asking me about the book I'm writing. Well, I decided to take a break with it, shelve it, and work on another project. I am trying to be practical and to do that I need to realize that publishers aren't going to want a series from a newbie like me. And I wasn't willing to make my first book of that series a stand-alone. So, I am taking the advice of many more experiecned people than myself and using it as a practice novel and beginning again.

Not to worry, though, I have a superb idea that I am really excited about that I will start on the beginning of next year. I want to do some reading/studying to get my head in the right place first, and then when I feel completely (or at least partially) inspired, I will begin it. But to give you a clue, I wanted to do a Fairytale remake for the YA market. Everyone has done Cinderella to death (not that I'm complaining. I love Cinderella stories) and Snow white is another one that people do, so I am staying away from those. Instead I am using my favoritest of all, SLEEPING BEAUTY as my inspiration and making it into a more modern tale. If I do it the way I want, it will be a completely fresh take. Perhaps not even resembling it, though I can't decide on all the details just yet. I'm still working on the idea. But I'm excited and have learned a lot from my last book, so I think this should be good. Who knows, I may even get published this time around (er..or at least try querying =).

PS. I did get some good reviews on my last book, so no need to fear on that account. People loved my story and thought it was an original idea, I just didn't want to take the leep if it meant selling out on my ideals.

As for the rest of my fam, they are doing well. Bryan is trying to set up a new business which we hope will work out. We won't know until the first of the new year, and that is a little scary, but we are willing to take that leap of faith. (What have we got to lose, Right?) Bryan is a hard worker and I don't think our relationship has been stronger during all the trials that have come our way. It has been a remarkable holiday season thus far and we have felt the blessings roll in even amidst a situation that has been shaky at times. There is a lot of love in the ward we are in now, and that makes things better when we have missed our old ward and friends terribly. To all those in Omaha reading this, we love and miss you and hope you have a great holiday season! And to all our relatives here, I hope we can spend a lot of time with you! We love you! We hope everyone is well and are better people becaue of you!