featured author on Power of Moms today

this morning i am honored to have my post

'the parable of the swing'

featured by the incredible organization Power of Moms

one dedicated to strengthening deliberate mothers in their day to day efforts of 

building, fostering, and molding

each member of their family

you may recall that i was able to attend a Power of Moms retreat in Las Vegas

this organization is filled with powerhouse women who dedicate their lives to the cause of motherhood

arming mothers with the tools, knowledge, and a confidence to thrive in this most important work

their community is one of sharing and support

a place to draw upon the insights of women of all experiences, faiths, and beliefs

i truly am grateful to be a part of such organization and team of women

thank you to these ladies for this opportunity to share a brief little moment i had with felicity which opened my eyes to how to face my own falls

my failures, my bumps and bruises

through her little tumble off the swing

i would love for you swing on by over here

read this little parable

and comment to show support to such an incredible group working tirelessly to do a world of good among the mothers of the nations

we've got a kleptomaniac in the family

after arriving home from my trip to Utah this past weekend
i dropped my purse and went upstairs to talk with Mike
big mistake
upon realizing that I had left my phone downstairs
i went to retrieve it, finding it missing
there was only one possible explanation
felicity

this little girl has become an absolute kleptomaniac
secure anything you want to stay in its place because if its out or in an unlocked drawer its free game for sticky fingers felicity
we have found crazy items stashed in her purse, behind her rocking chair or in her closet
computer mouse, my lipstick which made its way onto the mouths of her dollies and stuffies, foreign currency, marbles, toothbrushes, open jar of peanut butter
and the latest addition
mike’s debit card

i asked her if she took my phone
she remained silent
her little shoulder raising up to her chin as she tilted her head to the side
her big brown eyes looking guilty as charged
after a little more encouragement on my part
she confessed to the robbery

she had taken my phone, put it in her hello kitty backpack 
and huffed it up the ladder of owen’s backyard clubhouse and threw it on the roof

once again we needed to have an intervention with her

     me: felicity, don’t take anything that doesn’t belong to you
     felicity: i don’t even know what that means
     me: you don’t take anything that is not felicity’s
     felicity: i want my own phone

i had to turn away because i was dying laughing
my three year old had just told me that she needed her own phone
and if you could see her face, you would know she was serious

this little girl keeps us laughing 
oh how we wish we could freeze her in time
preserving all the three year old felicityisms that we love
never ending stories and prayers
her photo-ready pose of hands on hips and tilt of her head
daddy’s little helper of handing him his spritz, spritz {cologne} and deode every single morning
who wants to be just like dad by putting on deode herself right onto her shirt

and even the her mischievous artist self that colors murals on her walls, ‘hair-fed’ {forehead}, and walls 
as seen below in her tale of the blue marker

and makes it snow in her room by pulverizing styrofoam all over her carpet

its never a dull moment with our baby girl

and as long as our phones and debit cards are recovered

we wouldn't have it any other way

one word wednesday: summer

SUMMER

summer summer summertime

to sing a little will smith

yesterday was our last full day of our kick-off summer vacation here in the beautiful Salt Lake Valley

if you have never had the privilege of visiting this incredibly lovely state of Utah

i would highly recommend it

each time i come, the grandeur of those Rocky Mountains penetrate my soul and i am in awe again and again

i can't turn away

here in the valley no matter which way you turn you are surrounded

which i guess ... is the definition of a valley

felicity is my little fish

she is fearless in the water

which is a first in this family

when all my boys were this age the biggest accomplishment was to get them to have water poured on their head without screaming

we have had some seriously patient swim instructors over the years

see Owen's four year old self here in swim lessons

we are sad for our vacation to come to a close

all the kids have voiced their declaration this morning that they will not be leaving grammy's house

the tears are most definitely coming soon
it may be the longest flight of our lives

how have you kick-started your summer?
can't wait to see your photos today for one word wednesday

being on the go with some bare essentials of blogging

i'm unable to feature some of my reader's favorites

i will be sure to showcase both weeks next one word wednesday

One Word Wednesday is a simple photo challenge intended to tie friends together and inspire anyone and everyone to document the everyday beauty in the world around them. Please join us every Wednesday, sharing a photo that celebrates a scene from your life on your blog and/or instagram. Each word will be announced one week in advance to give you time to think on and capture an image that celebrates that particular word. Be sure to leave a link or add hashtag #onewordwednesday and @briana6 to your photos, so that we can all share in the joy! Next week's word: HELLO!

one word wednesday: reflection

REFLECTION

this week wedding bells have rang loudly in my ear

i had the privilege of attending my dear cousin's most exquisite wedding in the tops of the snow capped rocky mountains

as well as be present at one of the most exciting milestones in my baby sister's life

wedding dress shopping

with Felicity in tow we delighted in the ivory and lace adorning countless gowns

i was pleased to capture this little moment of Felicity gazing at all the 'princess dresses'

her spunky little reflection spreading across the dress shop

when have you looked at your child to see a reflection of their future?

i am counting on her staying three

how i want her to freeze her little sassy self in time

but oh how i know i will treasure each stage as they come

til one day her reflection will include some ivory and lace of her own

being on the go with some bare essentials of blogging

i'm unable to feature some of my reader's favorites

i will be sure to showcase both weeks next one word wednesday

One Word Wednesday is a simple photo challenge intended to tie friends together and inspire anyone and everyone to document the everyday beauty in the world around them. Please join us every Wednesday, sharing a photo that celebrates a scene from your life on your blog and/or instagram. Each word will be announced one week in advance to give you time to think on and capture an image that celebrates that particular word. Be sure to leave a link or add hashtag #onewordwednesday and @briana6 to your photos, so that we can all share in the joy! Next week's word: SUMMER!

there are stickers in my boots: challenges in child photography

as any mom knows who has tried to take family photos of any kind

getting your kids to cooperate can be beyond frustrating

and can bring out the worst of us

that moment when you are spewing irony with each yelled command

stop moving around and just act natural

can you just cooperate and be happy and smile???!!!!

some days taking photos of my children is easy

they are actually naturals with their posing and of course i consider them naturally beautiful so that helps mom out

with each photo shoot i long for the photography minds of my incredible photographer friends

who can create masterpieces of their children without them even knowing they are being photographed

geniuses i tell you

i am lucky to have quite a few of those friends

some of which have imparted wisdom onto me

one day i will learn how to shoot on manual

that was my goal for last year....and for this year

one day

one day

by this point in our 'le petit society' giveaway photo shoot Felicity is just done

thankfully i am laughing through my anxiety

how can you not chuckle at these glaring stares

at some point she decides to do her own thing

laying on the blanket

playing with her dolly

twirling

and she begins to enjoy it

and so does mom

we pressed on to our second location

second outfit

i can hear her call out in her cute little voice

'thehre ah stickahs in my boots'

her first introduction to fox tails

as she repeatedly raised her knees wide spread bounding toward me with each step

i was chuckling to myself 

as i realized there was no way i could have prepared for this obstacle

stickers in her boots

we found patches of the field that were a little less 'weedy'

and we had to take time-outs to destickify her boots

looking at these photos this morning she added

'i don't want to go thehre any moah

ouchies, ouchies in my feet'

i would LOVE to know some of your favorite tips on getting the cooperation of your children to take photos and any other advice on getting the most out of your photo shoots with your littles

the more i take photos

the more i realize how little i know

and how much there is to learn

which for some reason excites me instead of being overwhelming

and if you haven't enter the 'le petit society' double giveaway yet to win these darlings outfits

be sure to head on over here

‘le petit society’ double giveaway

happy wednesday to you

i am thrilled to be able to offer a chance for two readers of Sweet Dreams are Made of These to win

a darling little girls’ outfits from

the pink candy tee and white ruffled skirt

or

the pink kimono party dress

i found this gem of a children’s shop... where else, but Instagram

i was drawn to the bright colors and playful, comfortable feel of their girls and boys clothes

i love their darling brand icon that is made up of ‘x’ and ‘o’ s signifying hugs and kisses, gestures of love
check out this darling video of le petit society in action

le petit society is a budding business, with its beginning only last April and their first collection launching this past January

it was founded by the ambitious pair, the lovely Robyn & her fiance Dylan, both from Singapore but now living in Hong Kong

yes, Hong Kong, they are in Hong Kong

another reason i was drawn to them

my hubby lived in Hong Kong for two years while serving a mission for our church

to him it is the greatest city in the world and feels like home

we have a chant, a song really, in our family that goes a little something like

‘hong kong is the best place, hong kooonng’

you can watch my silly boys sing and dance to it here

today you have a chance to win

the pink candy tee and white ruffled skirt

or 

the pink kimono party dress

both worn below by my felicity

i was so impressed by the quality of fabrics used in the construction of these pieces

as well as how soft and comfortable they were on my little girl

here are two of my other favorite girl items from their shop:

tea party dress

le bird red backpack

LE PETIT SOCIETY GIVEAWAY

two lucky Sweet Dreams are Made of These readers will win

the PINK CANDY TEE & 
WHITE RUFFLED SKIRT

or

the PINK KIMONO PARTY DRESS

one winner will be drawn from our blog entries

one winner will be drawn from our Instagram entries

this giveaway will close at midnight on Monday April 15th PST

this giveaway will be open to blog readers worldwide

the winner from the blog will be chosen using Rafflecopter 

the winner from Instagram will be chosen using random.org

both will have 48 hours to respond to the winner notification email. after 48 hours another winner will be chosen
sizes 2 - 7 available for the pink candy tee and white ruffled skirt
sizes 2 - 6 available for the kimono party dress

double the chances

double the fun

good luck

good luck

ENTER HERE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

an unhurried day: felicity is princess for a day, her birthday that is

amidst the hustle and bustle that is life

days of an unhurried nature are the fresh air of living

i am so grateful that i made a point to let Felicity's birthday be that kind of day

granted having my van's transmission go out leaving me car-less forced me to slow down 

but making her day, her day was intentional

and i am rather proud of myself for not answering email, having my post for the day scheduled previously, not feeling pressured to clean or get something domestic done

we just played and played

started the day with a little present opening

i have been saving this beautiful joyfolie dress for just such an occasion

side trip to drop of the van to the repair shop, yippee

and then a breakfast pink sprinkle donut with coco {her little doggie} and cousin abigail

later she

lounged

struggled with sharing a bit

played the keyboard demo a bigillion times

i repeatedly asked for another song but she was set on this high pitched twangy melody

later on her song requests were

niece dadidad {feliz navidad}

the twelve days of christmas {muppets edition}

gandalph style {our chosen alternative to gangnum style}

she heavily anticipated our trip to the park when her brothers got home from school

our car-less day continued with a walk/bike/scooter ride to the park

found some shade for cousin sack races

always a favorite with the kiddos

it was ridiculously too hot for March

tired jumpers needed water and rest

quite the resemblance on the cup sketches 

Owen was so proud of his game he created for Felicity

pin the wand on the princess

continuing our low key birthday with mom's sweater turned blindfold

oh, did i mention that i made cupcakes

pink ones actually

yes pigs are now flying

cupcakes and presents followed

necklace from cousins

tea set, which she now calls glass picnic, from me

i was so impressed with how dainty she was with her glass picnic set

only 2 pieces down so far

what goes up must come down

or in our case

what goes down must come up

up, up, up the hill

back home

i had a cute view huffing it though

home at last for some tea in the front lawn

wintermint anyone?

my baby is 3 and i cannot believe it

i do love how she does have some baby left in her face

although its fading fast

so happy to have had an unhurried day 

a birthday day of play

i will definitely be needing more of those on a regular basis

just the girls: disneyland through a little girl's eyes - my baby turns 3

the day i found out i was pregnant with our baby number 4 was the exact same day that we found out that Mike had been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis

it is remarkable how the Lord's timing works out

that night after sitting on the sofa as Mike retold the unbelievable news that the doctor had delivered to him

i was overcome with grief and disbelief

one of the boys needed something for their class that required me to go to the store

as i drove the van, the tears came harder than ever before

i had to pull off to the side of the road for my safety

as i sat there shoulders heaving up and down and my body shaking from my sobbing

i recalled the beautiful news i had received earlier that day

we were going to have another baby

i had suffered a miscarriage recently and so the thought of losing another one due to stress that i was perhaps inflicting upon this new spirit from this emotional breakdown caused me to pull myself together

for this little life

living for another's life saved me from collapsing with agony

in the months ahead i continued to believe that i would have another little boy

i love my boys

i adore my boys

but my yearning for a girl began to emerge as i thought about mike's condition and the future that lay ahead

my most intimate thoughts and prayers revealed to my Father in Heaven a desire for a baby girl

not for typical reasons

i wanted a girl so that together we would be able to take care of Mike in the future

its not to say that my boys would not attend to their father whom they love dearly

but there is just something unique about a daughter's love and care for her father

three years ago today my little baby girl arrived into my arms

Felicity

a word meaning happiness and bliss

Felicity Gail

although i had had an ultrasound that revealed that this baby was a girl

i harbored doubts throughout the remainder of my pregnancy

after the delivery my first question was 'is it a girl?'

yes, it was sweet baby girl

i have thoroughly enjoyed having another girl in the house

i tell you after 3 boys it has been a completely different world

one that i have had to allow myself to embrace

i would consider myself girlie but not to the extent of some

in the beginning when her personality began to show through, i had to embrace the fact that felicity loves princesses, tutus, and pink

now i find it endearing

though i still find myself trying to reel some of it into my control

offering red over pink

a red headband over a pink jeweled crown

or a navy and white striped dress over a sequined ball gown 

its growing on me 

and how could it not when its dressing up that little face and self

and when she twirls and sings and dances with delight

Felicity is rather independent and strong willed

which actually describes every one of my children

but she is unique in being the baby and the only girl

Daddy's surely not going to mind

he is wrapped around her little finger

there are many events that occurred last year which due to the difficult events

did not get posted here on my blog

i regret that

but don't see how it could have been prevented

what i do want you to know was that amongst the difficulty we still sought out and found joy

one such event was

felicity and i heading to disneyland just the two of us

it was a completely new experience for me

seeing the park through the eyes of a little girl

we paused at places that we would have normally walked straight by with all of the boys

flowers

the princess castle

the princesses themselves

anything pink

we made our way to Snow White's wishing well

this little visit to hear the sweet song of Snow White sparked one of my most favorite habits of Felicity's 

the singing of the wishing song

a-ha-ha-ha-ha    a-ha-ha-ha-ha

i'm wishing    i'm wishing

for the one i love

it is seriously one of the most adorable things i have ever witnessed

our day was delightful

with the addition of her cousin

we headed out to see the princesses

something she continues to talk about every single day

which makes standing in line for literally two hours worth it

and i have come around to embrace the princess phase

blue sequined ball gown and all

for i know it won't last for long

those little toes will be trying on high heels soon enough

happy birthday baby girl

you've brought fairytale magic into our home