I know… we’re already halfway through April, and how is that possible?! But I do need to recap March a little bit. It was a good month — I pulled out my camera a lot more and tried to get creative, I finished my social media fast (phew!) and read about six books in that time period (see what quitting social media can do?!), we celebrated a Christ-centered Easter and Holy Week, we watched the snow veeeeeery slowly melt, and I just generally really enjoyed spending time with these little ones of mine. It was so good to slow down and really focus down to the essentials.

Here’s one photo I took that was more of a creative stretch; I love those gorgeous, moody B&W flower shots so I decided to try my hand at it!

It’s tough being on this photography forum because I’m surrounded by amazingly talented people and realizing just how little I know and how terrible I am, ha! But I can’t get discouraged: onward and upward! And in fact the above edit is a long way from my original one, thanks to some great feedback from pros on the forum. It was really fun learning all that!

I also decided that while cutting my hair short was fun, and I really liked it, I’m ready for it to grow back now, ha! Maybe when I’m older I’ll come back to this 🙂

Andrew caught Adelina and me reading one day, I love those lazy Saturdays! And the kids sure love piling up on papa too.

I also FINALLY grew up a little and decided to start waking early — before the kids are up — so I have time to get a little exercise, shower, read my scriptures, etc. I am NOT a morning person by any means so this is big for me, and there are days (especially when we all got sick a little bit ago) where I do allow myself to sleep in, but overall it’s been a really positive change and I feel so much more in control and ready to face the day after. All of these little changes are things I was able to think of thanks to my social media fast because, believe it or not, it’s crazy how mindless entertainment numbs the mind. I’m really, really grateful for this needed break. And I need to write about it, but I’ll get to that in another post.

In the meantime… these silly kids were a lot of fun in March! They love hanging out in our coat closet, and generally get into mischief of all kinds.

I love that they’ll actually play together now, it’s awesome! Well, not always very nicely, ha, but still. Sometimes it’s just like magic.

Jonas is really growing up. I love watching him toddle everywhere around the house! He has a few new teeth coming in and is extra mischievous now… ha. It’s ok though, we forgive him because he’s so cute! Especially with beans all over his face 😉

He’s so curious about the world around him, and he’s not really talking as much as saying made-up words and sounds, but he acts like he’s holding a whole conversation — questions, emphatic statements, complaints… it’s pretty cute! And he’s very good at pointing to what he wants… Here, he was fascinated by the printer doing its thing.

We didn’t celebrate St Patrick’s Day this year because we were traveling (and poor Andrew was sick!) but that’s OK, I have no special attachment to it — last year was the first time it was actually fun for me! We’ll catch it next year 🙂 (And I am sad I missed corned beef and cabbage, that is good stuff!)

We visited my sister Sylvia for a weekend and had a dancing date!

Then I went to the temple the next morning (while poor Andrew was sick) and had a really good experience there. It’s amazing how the Lord can teach you what YOU specifically need and answer prayers in such a personal way. I’ve been to the temple plenty of times but this time, I heard something in a whole new way, and it was a huge answer to years of prayers. I’m so grateful I’ve persevered in coming to the Lord to receive what He has to give me. The temple truly blesses our lives.

Lots of cuddles with our little ones — sometimes everyone needs mom at the same time!

We went to a health fair in town and got to see the life flight helicopter, Adelina was nervous but came with me when I went in. I actually flew in one for a news story several years ago, it was pretty cool!

Adelina is REALLY into dolls and make-believe play these days. They “watch TV” with her, read books, she does dance concerts for them.. trains are fun too, we’ve been getting pretty creative!

Speaking of dolls, and the kids, we made a big change: we moved Jonas’ crib to Adelina’s room, so they now sleep together! It’s going really well, honestly. I moved some of the toys — the toy kitchen and doll things especially — to the guest room where the crib used to be, so now the room has more open space for just playing and she has toys while Jonas naps during the day. I’m thrilled that it went well, because it means less disruption when guests come (Jonas’ room was also the guest room) and I actually really like the new configuration!

We also discovered how to make an AWESOME fort using the crib! Just put on the side and lay the mattress on the new “bottom,” and voilà! So much fun 🙂

We measured the kids and Jonas was so proud to stand tall in front of the wall!

If you didn’t know, Adelina has a pretty outsized personality… look at how big she drew herself next to the rest of the family! Ha. (she’s drawing Jonas’ head in the photo below — and yes, Jonas is eating the chalk…)

In March we had our first Relief Society activity as a new presidency, I think it went well! Other than we massively over-planned and had tons of food left over… but at least the sisters who came had a good time, I think! I wish I had thought to take a picture or two, the setup was really pretty, we put on a dinner to celebrate the Relief society birthday. Sisters brought their favorite things/talents to share and display, I loved learning more about them. But of course it’s much more than pretty décor. Working in Relief Society keeps me busy although it’s more mental business: what should I be doing, what do our sisters need, how do we best reach out to them… trying to have the Spirit and really listen to what we need to focus on. I’m grateful for a chance to serve, although I admit at times it’s a little overwhelming!

Total change of subject, but this is nuts: my video for world clubfoot day has more than 13,000 views! I guess when they talk about finding your niche, this is it: when people get the diagnosis, they google, and apparently this must be hitting the right target.

I’ve had so many people comment and ask questions, say thank you for calming their fears, etc. I’m so glad to get to help connect people to resources and just another person who can say, “me too.” It’s a small community, but I sure love it. (Plenty more about clubfoot here)

He sure is cute!

This was funny: we introduced Adelina to Peter and the Wolf and a few days later she pulls out these books and tells me, “regarde, c’est Pierre et le loup!” (The little boy in the book on the left is called Pierre) She sure is clever!

Jonas was being particularly cute one Sunday.

So was Andrew 😉 Oh and here’s a small-town moment for you: the Maverik gas station in town was redone and they had a big grand opening this month, and yes, people were super excited about it. In fact when we had originally moved here a friend who knew the town said it was the best food in town, ha! So right after it opened we thought we’d check it out… oh boy. The things you get excited about in a small town! HA.

Yes, we’re slightly ridiculous. (And it’s true that the food there is actually good — they have a legit grill!) You know what I AM super excited about though: we just got a REDBOX! We’ll have a way of seeing movies that come out now! I was driving in town and saw it and just about yelled for joy, ha ha. And then texted all my friends… yup, this is the small-town life alright!

Finally, Adelina had a dentist appointment and was very brave. It was nice to have my in-laws in town so just she and I went together, it was a special little afternoon. I’m so proud of her.

And speaking of the grandparents, we were so glad to have them with us for Easter — the kids AND the parents! It’s always sad to say goodbye, but we are so glad we live relatively close and have all these opportunities to see each other ❤ It was so cute when they pulled in in front of our house and Adelina spotted their car from the window — she thought they wouldn’t be there until Easter day so it was a good surprise!

And there you have it — March is over and April is well on its way. Time is flying! I can’t wait for summer now though, I’ll be honest. It SNOWED this morning and I’m over it!