The Cluff Family

professional family photographs

2012-01-10T08:16:00.003-06:00

I got these beautiful photos taken by my sister in law marie. and I decided to do some more photo editing with my new software. I think I just found a new hobby! enjoy!

girls laying in the grass

luke walking around the park

Cara

Elizabeth

luke,cara and lizzy

sisters

our family

luke and daddy

mommy and luke

wedding photos.

2012-01-08T22:18:00.002-06:00

So I got ahold of some digital copies of my wedding that my dad took and decided to edit them with some new photo editing software that I got, and here is the end results. enjoy!

so this picture is obviously not from our wedding, but it is during our engagement at the beach

also from our engagement

a kiss from dad

jarom and his groomsmen

me and my bridesmaids

in front of the temple

me, my mom and my sisters. good times

my whole family.

cake time!

dad and me dancing

leaving the reception

it's time to go home.

catch up

2011-12-17T09:19:00.000-06:00

looks like I need to play catch up on pictures for my blog. so i decided to post random pictures from the year.

NURSING

2011-11-15T12:47:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is next week and Christmas is right around the corner. This will probably be the busiest holiday season I have ever had. I am taking my certified nurse assistant class on the 28th of november. I had to take a cpr class and get a bunch of immunizations done for it, and get a bunch of supplies but I think I am finally ready to go. Mom and Dad helped me get some blood pressure cuffs and a stethoscope, and they found me some awesome white shoes for the class. I also got my all white scrubs which were not very easy to find. I'm all set to go, and super excited to be starting on my nursing career. The staff at my doctors office was real excited for me when I told them why I was getting all those immunizations. I think there were five. my arms hurt for a few days afterwards. I have been trying to get all my christmas stuff done before my class starts because I know I wont have anytime for it during class. It is four weeks long and all day long. I had to make arrangements for someone to watch luke during the day. some nice ladies in the ward are helping out. I have somehow managed to convince my husband to help with early morning transportation for the girls to go to school since my class starts at 7:45 am. It is going to to be a busy holiday season for sure. Then the last day I get out of class, our family jumps in the car and drives 14 hours to Arizona to visit family for Christmas. This is going to be fun. but mostly I'm excited to do nursing because it is what I've wanted to do for a long time. I knew it was what I wanted to do when I first started college in 2003. Of course life kind of got in the way, I got married, had three kids and moved to Oklahoma. But, I am kind of glad to be starting now because If I had started when I was much younger I imagine I would have missed out on a lot of things that I have now. It might have been easier to go to school then but I wouldn't have been able to use it if I were to stay home with all my little kids, and maybe would have forgotten a lot of stuff in the process. This is a good time now though. And I am super Excited!

my future love.

2011-10-03T09:03:00.001-05:00

Remember the good old days of dirt bike riding, and put putting through the neighboorhood on daddys scooter, I miss the adventure. It's not like getting your first car it's so much better. I especially love the breezy feeling as I am riding along. After taking the kids to school this morning I randomly thought of my dad's zuma and decided that I want one. not knowing who even makes a zuma I decide to research it online, yamaha. ah yes now it all makes sense. so I look at other models and I find the one just for me. The 2011 honda pcx scooter. looks like a street bike rides like a scooter, with the exception that most scooters wont go faster than 40 mph, but this one 55-60 mph. now that's sweet! Not only that but i can picture myself taking my kids for rides on this awesome looking scooter through the neighborhood. I can also picture telling my kids if they dont eat their vegtables for dinner they wont get to go on a scooter ride. Bribery, I learn from the best. Besides missing the days of dirtbiking through the desert this is a close second, and a definite cure for my need for adventure. Not only that but the gas mileage is like 110 mpg and I can also imagine going to the grocery store for a gallon of milk and stuffing it under the seat storage compartment. like I said SAWEET! I do know how to spell sweet but this adds more excitement to the word. You would think I was trying to sell this bike to someone but no! I'm just very excited at the prospect of getting one.

elizabeths birthday

2011-06-22T13:29:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth turns 4 years old. sleeping with all her gifts.

THE BEACH 2011 , OCEANSIDE, CA

2011-06-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

me and my sister camille. hugs.

camille walking with luke on the beach

luke having fun on the mini golfcourse

playing with the flags on the mini golf course

walking on the beach house complex

luke

he loves to throw rocks

professional pictures taken by grandpa

luke on the beach

bucket baby

luke eating sandy fruit snacks on the beach

camille and me

me and my sissy catching some sun rays

my sister camille, my mom and me

THE FAMILY after church in california

Easter

2011-04-26T10:48:00.000-05:00

my kids

the bunnies

daddy helps luke find his easter basket

cara finds her easter basket

lizzy finds her easter basket

coloring eggs

the finished eggs

luke eating an egg

beaches past

2011-03-30T19:45:00.000-05:00

To prepare for this years beach trip i would like to look at the beach years past

the stevens family

good times

we always had fun together

sisters forever!!!!!

2011-03-10T12:38:00.001-06:00

I find that that having a family and fullfilling dreams of the ideal life are impossible after you have babies.
1. You can't wear any cute clothes you currently own because nothing fits so all that money you spent at the mall wasted
2. The energy it takes to chase around 3 kids has gone out the window when you realize all you want to do is take a nap.
3. Despite how many hours you put in at the gym, the post baby fat is still laughing at you.
4. Swim suit season+ stress marks= me hiding. Need I say more?
5. watching all the skinny moms chauffer around their 5 kids or more is just plain mean.
6. The realization that you can't have kids and super model body
7. Finding time to eat upon seeing the only thing left in the house to eat is a bag of cheetos
8. Attempting to go running only to find you feel wasted after two minutes
And yes swim suit season is coming. . . . Beware!

2011-03-07T10:48:00.000-06:00

daddy's little boy

such a cutie!

baby luke

our kitty tigger is getting fat

he is kind of wild, too!

princess lizzy

making funny faces

elizabeth

daddy daughter dance

2011-03-07T10:40:00.000-06:00

cara playing with the puppets

my girls

dancing at the daddy daughter dance

playing puppets together

happy cara

elizabeth dancing

cara dancing.
mommmy stayed home with luke while jarom took the girls to the stake daddy daughter dance

At the mall playland

2011-03-04T19:04:00.001-06:00

So these pictures were taken at the mall play area with my new camera phone.

Breathing treatments

2011-03-04T19:00:00.001-06:00

Luke and allergy season

2011-03-04T18:59:00.001-06:00

my brother Kelvin gets sealed in the temple

2011-02-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

camille(my sissy) holds baby luke


me and the baby. it is very chilly outside it even snowed that day

in front of the temple

Kelvin, Abby, and Lexie get sealed and dad's approval. hence the thumb

Kelvins cute family in front of the temple

all smiles

my little babysitter. she is so fun!

more temple pictures

Abby's family. (sorry dad couldnt find one with you guys)

Grandpa and little lexie. he loves his grand daughter

why is there a santa in a mexican restuarant I do not know!

AT the luncheon: Kelvin, Abby is hiding, Neil, me, and Camille with a huge lemon in her mouth

such a cute picture

family and the sand dunes dec 2010

2011-02-18T08:32:00.001-06:00

about to ride the dune buggy

looks like neil just woke up from a nap

googles

the sand looks so cool!

Me and my pretty sissy camille

my brother kelvin getting ready to go for a ride

Camille in the sand

dad, I think this would be a great senior picture!

I love the ripples in the sand

Dad and camille

gonna ride the big bike despite my shortness

footprints

valentines day and the gigantic lollipop

2011-02-15T09:26:00.000-06:00

cara got this huge lollipop from school

it is as big as her face

lizzy wanted a lick

yummy

random pictures janurary 2011

2011-02-15T09:21:00.000-06:00

attempting to clean up the snow in our driveway/ lizzy playing in the snow

he fell alseep like this

tigger in the snow

tigger wants to take a bath with lizzy

drinking lizzies bath water

luke will sit in the girls chairs
when he is ready to take a nap

3 years old and still sucking on those fingers

just got done repainting the girls room

the cat is claiming the cake as his own

daddy and his baby luke

oklahoma blizzard

2011-02-15T08:53:00.001-06:00

got to play inside while daddy is off work

daddy and lizzy dancing. check out the re painted room i put yellow dragonfly stamps on the wall

jarom venturing out in the snow

can you see any feet? i cant!

still snowing. was out of school for 2 weeks! and jarom stayed home from work the entire time! bad driving conditions

our front porch

there's no going anywhere for anyone.we were all snowed in

the kids slide

we brought in the tricycle for the girls to ride inside

biker chic lizzy

riding the trike

over two feet of snow and counting......

that wood pile goes is usually 3 ft tall

our house on a hill

more house

The mail man. I still didnt get any mail

what better thing to do on your day off of work than re enact your favorite movie?

hint: that's a light saber

guess that movie. be specific

the first snow storm

2011-02-15T08:35:00.000-06:00

such a happy girl

the trampoline

cara in the snow she doesnt stay out in it very long before she gets too cold

weather proof hammock

under our porch

can you guess what jarom is trying to be?

we took the cat outside because he loves the outdoors no matter the weather , at least he cant get fleas in the snow

the snow suit mom gave me was a bit small for this chubby baby

snow in oklahoma

2011-02-01T22:47:00.000-06:00

so oklahoma got a blizzard today and no! I'm not talking about the cups of icecream from dairy queen because evidentally we dont have a diary queen out here! :( a real snow blizzard. the most snow in a 24 hour period in over twenty years! record breaking. ready to hear how much we got? 14 inches. in some parts the snow goes up to my knees. it's so cool. unfortunatly jarom wont be working for a while since he is in the pest control business it would be pointless with all this snow. and the local schools will be closed until the snow melts because since we dont always have snow, the city wont invest in snow plows. the only ones they use are for the major roads and since they dont do residental the school buses cant go through so they keep the schools closed until it melts. I figure that it will be a long time because we have another snow storm coming on monday. I hope it melts before valentines day though because I'd hate for cara to miss her class valentines day party. they are always so much fun! but in the meantime the kids will enjoy playing in the snow. Elizabeth couldnt wait for it to stop snowing so she could go play in it. she made some snow angels in the snow today but likes to call them butterflies instead.

luke

2011-01-26T19:26:00.001-06:00

so my son finally started walking 1 day before he turned 17 months old. It's about freaking time! he just got up one day and was walking across the room like he knew what to do all along. kids are funny arent they? he is also trying to talk and say a bunch of things, but it all sounds chinese to me! I've heard that late baby walkers are the more cautious ones. I would have to agree with that. My second oldest lizzy is a little dare devil and hardly ever thinks before climbing or jumping off stuff, or running into things for that matter and she was walking at 12 months old. Cara is somewhere in the middle, at 15 months and I'm glad she didnt wait until 17 because lizzy was born the next month. horray! little mookey, way to catch up, dude!

cara's 5th birthday

2010-12-28T08:33:00.000-06:00

chubby bubby

cara and her birthday gift

lizzy giving cara her birthday gift

the girls playing with cara's marble game she got for her birthday

cara blowing out her birthday cake candles

jarom setting up the marble game

happy baby luke.

cara's 5th birthday party

2010-12-20T16:20:00.000-06:00

so I consider myself rather smart. Invite all of cara's class the weekend before christmas ,most will probably be out of town so end up with five guests, and we have a nice little birthday party. too bad one of the guests threw up but luckily it was on the wood floor and not the carpet, poor kid.

stuffed kitty. it didnt take long for lizzy to snatch it and call it her own.

holiday barbie. exactly what age do girls start playing with barbies?

heaven help us! her first barbie doll. If anyone cries over a lost shoe I'm gonna loose it!

one of the guests mother's made cara a pillow case. how sweet!

she loves herself some toy story

she got a princess puzzle.

happy birthday cara

cara blows out her tinkerbell birthday cake

jarom playing with all the kids from her party

randomness

2010-12-20T16:09:00.000-06:00

lizzy and her pink bunny

randomness

eating pizza

we bought this hat at the state fair

after church

iron man lizzy

2010-12-20T16:05:00.000-06:00

so one of jarom's customers gave this to him for his baby boy. unfortunatly luke is not a size 4 yet, so the jammies went to lizzy.

daddy and his lizzy

iron man!!!!

the state fair

2010-12-20T16:01:00.000-06:00

elizabeth running into the jumpy bouncer

luke chilling under his umbrella showing off his battle scars.(summertime mosquitos)

my girls going on a fair ride. space ships!

can't believe my girls are old enough for this!

they were so excited

and off they go.....

it's been a while since I have really blogged and I think a update is way over due.I finally found my memory card that goes to my camera after months of searching, so some pics are kind of old but new since you have never seen them before. this recent collection is of the state fair. enjoy!

christmas picture

2010-12-15T08:55:00.000-06:00

my camera is on it's way out so I had to take this picture with jarom's phone. which doesnt have a timer, so somebodies got to take the picture.

new menu planner

2010-12-12T21:25:00.000-06:00

so I am pretty horrible when it comes to menu planning. I always run out of food by the end of the paycheck and we end up getting "emergency take out" that's what we call it anyways. for justification purposes. so I saw this on a fridge at my friends house at thanksgiving and thought "that's what I need" . so I went home got the laminate the self adhesive velcro and some stickers and scrapbook paper and made this awesome menu planner. now I will never run out of ideas for dinner! horray!

thanksgiving at the sample's house

2010-12-02T13:26:00.000-06:00

we had a wonderful thanksgiving this year. we went to visit some friends down in lawton. about 2 1/2 hours drive (when jarom drives, only 2 for me). the kids had a blast playing with their toys and friends. cant believe the holidays are here already.

fall time in oklahoma

2010-11-18T16:42:00.000-06:00

our backyard

more of our backyard

our neighboorhood

red tree in neighboorhood

new flower

2010-11-18T16:35:00.000-06:00

It might be a bit big but i thought this flower was cute. my mother would make fun of me because I always hated bows and frilly things as a little girl.

another froggie

2010-11-18T16:29:00.000-06:00

I made this frog for my friend. she just had a new baby boy.

baby popping eye prints

I love this print, so adorable

baby doll

2010-11-18T16:24:00.000-06:00

this is the face of the new doll I made. I drew on the face with a fabric marker.

I made this doll for lizzy for christmas

I love new sewing projects

lizzy found it somehow and decided to snatch it when I wasn't looking. had to get it back before she woke up

new bunny

2010-11-15T12:17:00.000-06:00

This is the most recent bunny I made. Isn't she cute? I made the bunny for a friend, though I know lizzy would love it for her own. I have to hide it now because I have already caught her cuddling with it. I'm starting to make a lot more of these for friends and family, and have had many requests. Especially for animals I have never made before. My sister requested a turtle which I am currently working on. some animals you can find patterns for but some you have to draw up on your own. It's pretty easy and I love going to the fabric store and picking out cute fabric for these projects. for the animals I decided to stick with courdroy because it seems to be the longest lasting fabric. plus it reminds me of the story of courdroy the bear that I used to read when I was little. I will continue to post my creations on here and if you see one you really like send me an email and I will gladly make you one. I love making these animals because I get really bored out here and it gives me something fun to do, and it's something I know I can do well, so it gives me great joy to make them for other people. plus with the christmas season coming up they make great gifts!

cute baby boy

2010-11-08T13:10:00.000-06:00

there's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby. Luke is such a doll!

handmade christmas

2010-11-08T12:13:00.000-06:00

So this year I am going to take a break from santa clause and all his plastic toys "made from china". I've got enough of those. plenty of broken ones too. So I found a sewing book from the 1970's that my mom gave me. It has patterns for dolls, frogs, snakes, finger puppets, owls, ect.. All sorts of cool things. So I took a trip to the fabric store, got some fabric and got started on this years christmas gifts. The snake and the frog are made from corduroy and have embroidery stitching on them, I also filled them with pinto beans to make fun toss and throw toys. I think luke will like them.

movie review- "not without my daughter"

2010-11-02T13:54:00.000-05:00

I just watched a really good movie called "not without my daughter". It was nine oclock in the evening and I was holding luke who had a fever and waiting for jarom to get home from school and this movie was on t.v.
has alfred molina and sally feild in it. it was a auto biography and simply amazing movie. It was about an Iranian business man who lived in america with his wife and daughter, and he decided to go visit his family in iran. well he actually tricks his wife into staying there. when she tries to move back she learns because she married an iranian she is considered an iran citizen and not a u.s citizen. she also learns she has no rights and if she divorces her husband he keeps her daughter. they had a happy marriage before they visted iran but slowly her husband begins changing into a domineering male. she is not allowed to leave the house without his permission, she is not allowed to answer the telephone. she tries to escape with her daughter several times but everytime he finds out he beats her, which is shocking because it is something he would have never done while living in america. she is urgent to leave iran when she learns her daughter can be married as young as nine years old. the boys are taken away as young as twelve to be trained in the military or used as runnners to get rid of the mines in the feilds. Her escape is amazing as she travels through turkey and several check points operated by radical muslims. finally she makes it to a us embassy where she can go home. the u.s removed their embassy in 1979, so if u.s citizens wanted to escape particullary wives who married iranians could not. what is simply amazing is this took place in the 80s. yet this kind of slavery towards women is still happening today. I am so grateful that I have womens rights and am treated as important as my husband is. that such injustice is not permitted to happen. that woman can travel freely as they please, talk to who ever they want to, that we dont have to endure such abuse, that we have equal rights to our children whom were born out of our womb. It is not simply a muslim thing, it is a cultural thing in the middle east to treat women this way. I am glad that our soldiers are fighting the terrorists but even more glad they are finally bringing justice to the land and freeing the people from such slavery. Such things have been going on for a long time. I would reccomend this movie to anyone wanting an understanding on iran or iraq, or to anyone who really values their freedoms. I think alot of people take freedom for granted because they are born free. freedom is not a given right it must be fought for. time after time our country has had to fight for the freedom of the american people unless we become captives of such terrors. I am so thankful to our american soldiers for protecting us so we can feel safe in our own homes.

moving to arizona

2010-10-18T14:30:00.000-05:00

hey everyone! well the title you read is right. we have been offered a position that would enable us to go back to Arizona. It is exciting on some levels, so we accepted the position but nothing is ever for sure. we must first of all prepare our house for sale, pack up everything, Jarom has to finish out the semester, and hoping all goes well we could be in arizona by feburary. Nothing is for sure though some minor details still need to be worked out. we are just going to plan on going and see if we get there.

skiatook lake

2010-09-24T09:18:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken at skiatook lake with jarom's cell phone because I forgot the camera at home. It was a swimmers lake, and we all had fun in the water, though it was a bit cold for my liking. we had a picnic there and I didnt use sunscreen because I didnt think I would get burned but I did.

Princesses need their beauty rest

2010-09-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

my quote for today

2010-09-18T16:53:00.001-05:00

Never apologize for what you feel, it's like saying sorry for being real.

excited

2010-09-17T20:30:00.001-05:00

Normally in the morning I wake up and think what can I do today? The obvious list is to kept the house clean, do laundry , take care of the baby and kids, everyday things really. Since being out in Oklahoma for 4 years and counting I've realized I am so bored! I relize some people move away from family and rejoice in their freedom but after a while I start to think about actually getting out my house and having a life. I'm the face behind the mask. The husband goes out and works I hold up the fort keep things organized or try to at least and sometimes feel like I no longer have an identity. I'm either mom or jarom's wife. Then I think of spending the fourth of July with my siblings and parents, Christmas, thanksgiving , birthdays, mothers day , fathers day, Easter . Is anyone's bank broken yet from all these holidays? Or going swimming with the whole family on hot summer days. Maybe having a sleep over at the grand parents. Or going to get a pedicure with my sister. Or maybe not having to go to the hospital by myself when my heart decides to act up, laying in the hard bed wondering if anyone will even notice I'm feeling a bit under the weather? Or perhaps just good old family time with the grandparents just because my kids miss them and want to drive to grandmas house or want to give grandpa a hug. It's sad when I try to explain grandma's house is a long ways awAy and perhaps another day. Or when Cara mentions her cousins name and asks where she is? Little kids don't understand that kind of stuff. Cara once thought she saw her cousin cailee at school and said there's cailee and I say no, it's not her just another girl that looks like her. I loved seeing how much fun lizzy had playing with her cousin Lexi. If though Lexi didn't seem to like it lizzy would give her hugs and follow her around the house . She would get so excited when she finally had a friend to play with, because here it is just mommy. Oh and how they loved to wake my sister Camille up in the morning. Though Camille hated it. I love my family and the once a year chances I get to visit with them. I just wish we could have these kind of interactions everyday. I hate having to drive 17 hours to only spend a week with family. Everything is crammed into one week. We have to see both sides of the family in one week. We are lucky if we can cram in a few friends. Not to forget the great grandparents and then to try and book it home in time for Jarom to be at work. I bet he sleeps have the first day at work away. How nice it would be for us and the kids to have such constant influence of granparents, cousins, and aunts/ uncles. I always grew up that wAy so I never once thought about it the other way. I'm so excited to finally be changing course, and living close to family. It is so much rewarding when you have kids that they can have that bond with the grandparents. Growing up I loved it when grandparents would visit from out of state. I'd pick out special clothes to wear, probably one of the only times I cared if my room was clean or not. Finally I can live that dream!

new haircolor

2010-09-10T21:23:00.001-05:00

The last hair color wasnt so great. like this one so much better!

forgiveness

2010-09-08T08:51:00.001-05:00

I have learned through personal experience it is better to forgive and forget than to live with the grudge and hold it in and to let it fester. It's like a bad splinter that if left under the skin will get infected and will continue to swell unless you remove the splinter it can not get better and it will only continue to irritate the skin. Some things are harder to forgive than others especially when you have to forgive someone who isn't sorry or doesn't know they have wronged you. If you have ever sat in and listened to a therapy session the first thing the therapist will tell you is to forgive. Forgiveness is an important part of life not because it is for the other person but for yourself. It is liberating once you can let go and not hold onto your grudges. You can begin to live life without anger. It is sad for me too see friends or family holding in their demons until it eats them up, till it destroys any life they might have had before, they can not move on and they can not see things clearly as they really are. Everything always appears worse than it really is. I wish there was something I could do or say to help but there is not. They must live their own life until they can find what it is that will free them. Oft times they will continue to look in all the wrong places when the answer is so simple but never easy. I guess it is easier to hold grudges for life than to confront the problem but it is never healthy for you and in the end is only damaging to you and the people around you. When I say you I mean in a general term. This message is not aimed towards any one particular person but many who I wish I could help. I only wish this message would be a glimmer of hope for some.

Ballerina Elizabeth

2010-08-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

flying

happy

tired lizzy

ballerina lizzy

Luke's 1st Birthday

2010-08-30T21:46:00.000-05:00

he liked the chocolate cake, very much!

happy birthday luke!

my beautiful girls.

mmmm chocolate cake

Birthday boy

i'm aware this picture is side ways. you'll just have to turn your head. :)

nostalgia- old engagement photos- never before seen!

2010-08-26T17:01:00.000-05:00

phones with color screens were all the craze back then. haha funny.

cara's first day of preschool.

2010-08-25T08:08:00.000-05:00

Cara's first day of preschool. now cara has attended preschool before but this is the first time she will be attending a public school that offers full day preschool. I'm so excited for her and I know she is going to have lots of fun! It was hard to get her up at 7 am because she usually like to sleep in until 8:30, so she looks kind of tired. I know her sister will miss her, they have been like glue the past few years following eachother around every where, making messes together, hiding together, putting on mommy's makeup together. good times! but we will find fun things for us to do. maybe i'll break out the double stroller again and go on some walks with the two kids. I look forward to the coming year!

random video from the week

2010-08-21T00:08:00.000-05:00

taken from the cluff video archives

new front door

2010-08-20T23:42:00.000-05:00

new front door, with full glass storm door. sweeet!

I am so proud of my new front door we just bought. should save us a few bucks on heating and cooling costs.

Random video of the week

2010-08-15T16:10:00.000-05:00

Luke photos

2010-08-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

big blue eyes

mr. smiling baby luke

loving the grass

my baby and me

2010-08-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

we love to call him chubby bubby.

i'm so blessed to have such a beautiful baby

my happy babes

lukey and me

Holly wedding pictures at the temple.

2010-08-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

holly and burdette after they got married

becky and burdette

looks fun!

boys hanging out by the sides during a photo shoot

dad and unlce bruce

More of holly's wedding

2010-08-15T09:35:00.001-05:00

the wedding cake

where are all the boys you ask? right here enjoying a movie of cars.

my brothers family

camille playing with the baby

on my honor i tried to get a good picture, but the eyes just kept blinking, stupid camera!

good ole' dad

aunt maries daughter zaidee and aunt dianes daughter arden

family having a good time at the wedding

the buffet table

my Aunt carol

I tried to get a good shot of both of them but there were so many people there it was next to impossible. congrats holly!

Holly's pretty sisters.

beautiful grandma stevens

elizabeth

cara

little Roman. what a cutie.

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my brother neil's family.

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boys will be boys

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Roman Stevens, my nephew

Quotes I really like, that make you think

2010-08-14T16:39:00.000-05:00

If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it.

Epictetus

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. -Ambrose Redmoon

Any fool can know. The point is to understand. — Albert Einstein

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. — Leo Tolstoy

Experience is the name that everyone gives to their mistakes. — Oscar Wilde

Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. — Henry Ford

First get your facts; then you can distort them at your leisure. — Mark Twain

Hear and you forget; see and you remember; do and you understand. — Confucius

If we don’t protect freedom of speech, we will never know who the assholes are.

It’s not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what’s required. — Winston Churchill

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction. — Blaise Pascal

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right. — Isaac Asimov

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. — Albert Einstein

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. — Edmund Burke

War does not determine who is right – only who is left. — George Bernard Shaw

You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life. — Winston Churchill

You laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at you because you’re all the same. — Jonathan Davis

You’re only young once, but you can be immature forever.

I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator. -Adolf Hitler

Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others. -Socrates

To find yourself, think for yourself. -Socrates

The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

Albert Einstein

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The mice think they are right, but my cat eats them anyways." "This is the point, reality is nothing, perception is everything." terry goodkind

People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People's heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.” terry goodkind

"You can't argue with the fools in the world. It's better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying attention."

— Terry Goodkind

"There is no such thing as pure good or pure evil, least of all in people. In the best of us there are thoughts or deeds that are wicked, and in the worst of us, at least some virtue. An adversary is not one who does loathsome acts for their own sake. He always has a reason that to him is justification. My cat eats mice. Does that make him bad? I don't think so, and the cat doesn't think so, but I would bet the mice have a different opinion."

— Terry Goodkind

my cousin's wedding in utah

2010-08-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

camille chasing the girls around the tree

luke playing with grandpa's tie

cara took some of the wedding flowers

cara spinning around on the grass

pouty face

lizzy eating a cookie. it was a cookie bar. yay! cookies for dinner.

the wedding reception

mom and dad holding baby luke

aunt Marie hanging out with cara

my cousin holly gets married in the utah bountiful temple.

elizabeth in grandma stevens tree swing

mom holding cara

hope for the day

2010-08-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

Despite our best efforts we were shunned for doing good deeds, and misunderstood for the intentions of our hearts, we were shut out for doing that which was right, we were rejected for loving. And despite our best efforts we realize life must go on and good will prevail and justice be sought for the wrongs done here this day, and carry on we must, because life goes on. We must endure to the end all trails whether unjust or harsh. whether wrong or unfair. And all this for the purpose of life. To learn from the lessons we came here to be taught. Though my heart is broken I must go on and try harder even if I know I will fail in the end. Even if all my efforts are wasted I will not give up, I must keep trying.I must have hope, for without hope there is only despair. And with despair comes the end. with that end there is only bitterness and hate, and I will not, cannot let myself come to such a sad place. carry on sad heart, for there will come a day when everything is right again, and I shall rejoice because it is then I shall be reunited with the ones i hold dear.

my beautiful sister

2010-08-10T14:31:00.000-05:00

This is my very pretty sister camille. she's going to win her a billionare one day on the account of her good looks. not only is she beautiful on the outside but a gorgeous person on the inside. I do love my sister for she i can consider my best friend! she can aspire to great things when she puts her mind to it. She is such a fun person to be around and great with little kids (unless they bite her on the butt)! just a word of caution dont wake her up too early! love you camilley!

my trip to arizona

2010-08-10T14:17:00.000-05:00

my beautiful sister camille and baby luke cara in grandpa s. living room

my trip to arizona

2010-08-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

eating cheetos in grandpa office. dont worry grandpa! she's heavily supervised by grandma!

luke my baby baby

2010-06-22T21:21:00.000-05:00

how can I resist showing off my cutest baby ever? he is such a doll! we just want him to stay round and fat and never grow up. He likes to eat that zebra! He thinks it's so much fun!!

2010-06-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

we had such a good time at lizzies birthday. we made glitter crowns and ate chocolate princess cake and even opened presents!

meet the royal princess cake

2010-06-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

Okay so It's not the best princess cake ever but you must admit it is creative! Yes I made that! Aren't you proud of me? Elizabeth loved it!

swimming

2010-06-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

so we got a new whale pool that sprays water, and the girls love it! I just know I am going to get me a lot of flac for the two piece. My only retort is retail is pricey and you cant beat an old navy bathing suit for $2 at a garage sale. Although You can see how cheap I really am because it doesnt even fit cara, I had to use safety pins to keep it intact. Thanks mom and dad I learn from the best on how to conserve and nickel and dime it.

update

2010-06-20T00:01:00.001-05:00

today we had Lizzie's third birthday party and it was a huge success. I always hate never knowing if I spend a ton of money on parties if anyone will show up. But I'm glad I did, because It was a blast. Although I always feel terribly bad for my child whose sister gets all the presents and she gets none. Some would call me a liberal because at times I Think more with my emotions than I do logic, or wait! I think that's what they call a woman. I always want things to be fair, And I'm always sensitive to other people's feelings. luckily I have a husband who balances me out because he is quite the opposite, Always thinks logically, doesn't care about fairness and sometimes can be very unemotional. He tends to not like my spontaneity. I guess the days of taking off to rocky point, Mexico for the weekend with nothing but a toothbrush are over. When you have kids you suddenly grow up very fast and learn quickly to be responsible. for some it takes longer than others. Although there are the few who don't and they usually end up in the front page news. I remember when I first got married I was still just a kid, and even with new babies a kid raising kids, as my grandma has once said. I finally feel that I am adequate in my current position as sahm (stay at home mom) But, it took years for me to get there. I would envy the college kids shopping at the local clothing retailers who still had their shape, and hands free. It seems weird How we all view our accomplishments. Most of my friends are graduating college now, and I am finally emerging from a pile of diapers with three kids in tow. And yet I'm only 24. Cara is finally completely free of her diapers even at night time. My just turned 3 year old is potty trained and only wears night times, and of course I'm still going through loads of diapers with Luke. I can remember when he was born, I had 3 kids in diapers and it seemed my whole day consisted of changing diapers and wiping bottoms. I finally am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is beckoning me to keep going. AT the time It seemed like It would last forever and I was destined to change diapers as a career. Though I realize while most of my friends have their degrees and are looking for good jobs, there will come a time they will want to settle down in their later years and have babies of their own, and will venture through the territory I am currently in, and when they are where I am, I will be smooth sailing and my children will be older and have learned the art of being self efficient. I will be glad I had my kids early while I was young. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. So to all the young moms out there who didn't get to finish college and decided to stay home and raise their kids instead, There will come a time when your light will shine and you will be proud to say "no more dirty diapers!"
The END
-TO VICTORY!-

fried

2010-06-01T15:54:00.000-05:00

well... how do i start? i was trying to start the bbq-er the other day and it wouldnt start and i guess the gas was left on longer than usual before it actually started and just my luck to have it FUME in my face when it finally started. one half of the side of my hair were tiny curls of fried hair. none the less 10 minutes before i had to be at work. yay! i came inside to my husband unable to contain his laughter when all i wanted to do was cry. why do bbq's always blow up in my face?

new kitty

2010-05-17T18:26:00.000-05:00

we sometimes call him tigger and sometimes tiger. i personally love kitties. if they claw my house or go to the bathroom in it i dont think its a good reason to get rid of an animal. my kitties are like my family to me. they will stay with me until their time comes. I always grew up with cats and have a deep love for them. i think there are solutions for every problem.

swimming season

2010-05-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

swimming time!

they love to play!.................................................i told them there was an airplane in the sky

Cara and lizzy in the pool

here or there?

2010-04-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

I feel in a trapped state right now. literally. you see I live in oklahoma with no family around which was alright at first because I have been around my family my entire life. there comes apoint where you need to be free and go experience the world on your own, do your own thing. some would say I wouldnt survive without family around to help. But I have done just that. I dont have to rely on any one else and I feel I have done it on my own. It has been hard being away from family. the hardest part has been living in such a beautiful state with no one around to share it with. I am reminded of the reason I moved away from arizona was to enjoy the beauty of other places. the greenery and the trees and endless views of grass and hills has been beautiful. the affordable housing, the lesser population, a smaller town. Then Everytime I go back to arizona I rememeber how much I hate scorpions, the desert, but being in the snow and ice for endless months i dont think i mind the heat anymore. I just wish my family lived in a greener state then I wouldnt have to choose between being around family and living in a cooler place. I have been out here for four years now and I think it's time to go home now. I think i'm finally ready. It would be nice to visit again and renew realtionships and friendships and be able to see family around holidays and be able to celebrate birthdays together. although time will only tell when we will be able to go back. let me just hope it comes at a reasonable time.

conference

2010-04-12T12:12:00.004-05:00

chilling baby
perhaps we could use a bigger couch.
fun family!
we love conference!
cara and her mommy!

conference day!

2010-04-12T12:06:00.004-05:00

do you know who this is? perhaps you didnt recognize her with her disguise on?
miss. mischeif
exploring their easter baskets
we need a new rug luke eats this one way too much, im sure grandma stevens wouldnt apprecitae that!
cara loves to go around in circles over and over and....

Easter!

2010-04-12T11:05:00.004-05:00

gotta love the happy baby.
Elizabeth found her easter basket
Cara is looking for her easter basket. my was it a bright day.
Elizabeth found an easter egg
cara was so excited to find all the eggs!

my kids

2010-04-12T11:02:00.002-05:00

dont you just love sleeping babies?

2010-04-12T10:52:00.003-05:00

Luke loves to suck on his arm while he sleeps
he's a rollie pollie now so we have to put pillows on each side so he wont roll off of the bed

dont you just love it when your kids get into your makeup?

2010-04-12T10:45:00.003-05:00

at least cara has the right idea of how to put it on

But if lizzy ever wanted to be the joker for halloween she could pull it off

MY KIDS ARE SILLY!

what we were doing the day we found out I was pregnant with Luke- Old pictures!

2010-02-27T10:19:00.006-06:00

hanging out with jarom
jarom and cara relaxing
lizzy up to her usual climbing antics
elizabeth dancing for everybody
mommy and lizzy
cara wearing her aunites apron
looks like she just stepped out from the little house on the praire
*kissy*
so silly cara
is it a contest on whose mouth is bigger? because i think cara won.
daddy and sleeping elizabeth
so precious
they grow up so fast!
yep, she still sucks on those fingers
and she still has that smile!

so much has happened in one year!
but my husband is still hot as ever!
sisters forever!
such dolls!

Goodbye Toby. we will miss you!

2010-02-27T10:07:00.003-06:00

We gave Toby away. It was sad to do but I have a rule three strikes and your out. Toby bit Elizabeth a couple of times and the third time I had enough. I'm not really a dog person anyways and it was really weird that I even got a dog because everyone who knows me knows I love cats! Jarom loved the little puppy, which is nice. But he didn't have to deal with a puppy through out the whole day. Between cleaning up his bathroom messes and throwing away chewed up toys of my daughters and recovering beaten up stuffed animals, I just can not tolerate biting! some dog lovers may fault me, but You can only tolerate so much and with the new baby around I just have to say goodbye Toby! we will miss you.

princess for a day

2010-02-27T10:00:00.003-06:00

Elizabeth is snow white for a day
well actually no! she wants to be snow white everyday
its more fun to be a princess!
the girls think these googles are awesome
hahaha
my little princesses

You asked for more baby pictures. here He is!!!

2010-02-27T09:54:00.003-06:00

he looks god in red, and he loves his little swing
he's not so sure what to think about the flash
he has his daddy's tongue

so happy!

me and my little buddy

2010-02-27T09:45:00.004-06:00

my cute baby luke
puzzled
you can tell he keeps me up, I look very tired, I just want to sleeeppp!
such a happy little dude!

fat and happy baby
yes I do love him!
baby blue eyes

2010-02-26T22:12:00.002-06:00

sleepy time for my babies

2010-02-26T21:48:00.006-06:00

a new hairstlye I did for lizzies hair. unfortunatly only one of my girls can have this style because at the moment i was doing this hair style unbeknown to me cara was in the other room cutting her hair with scissors. it didnt turn out good. where do kids learn to use scissors on their hair? is it like natural to use scissors on hair? im sure indians didnt have to worry about this.lizzy playing with luke. the girls eating lunch and playing with jaroms darth tater

2010-02-26T21:43:00.004-06:00

yummy fingers! love those baby blue eyes. are they yours grandpa stout? maybe grandma stevens? who knows they arent mine or jaroms but they sure are blue. luke loves to play with his sisters

2010-02-26T21:39:00.004-06:00

luke at five months old, sitting up.
yes he is in a pink chair. does it really matter? i hear in the fifties that there was no pink or blue just white. im sure thats how it was in the 1800's. plus it was on sale

my project to tear down all the wallpaper