Turn on your TACTOMETER please

I have started this post a few times in the last few days and I am not sure this one will make the cut either.  That being said, I am going to go ahead anyway and trudge onward.  There have been a few things happen around me lately that are truly tragic.  We have had some pretty sad things happen in our family over the last several years, but there have always been answers to our questions and with the help of a loving Heavenly Father we dealt with those events.  In having to deal with such things, I am an open book and most people know that about me.  If you ask me a question, I will most likely tell you the answer or let you know you are out of line for asking me that question.  Other people in my family are not like this at all, they are a closed book and don’t want anyone to know things that happen in their world.  My point being is that people are so different in the way they handle issues, tragedies or just life in general and we need to be respectful of the differences.  I follow a blog of a cute mom who lost a daughter several years ago.  Just recently she posted a list of appropriate things to say to people who had recently been dealing with the death of a loved one, and I looked for that list, but was unable to find it to share.  I wish I could be more precise in the reasons I am writing this post, but because of others and the respect I have for them, I will not stoop to that level.  However, I would ask that anyone that does read my blog be so careful in the questions you ask people who have suffered tragedies or even things you don’t believe qualify as tragedies, because people’s opinion on such matters do differ immensely.  Just remember when trying to console other people that you don’t live in their minds or their lives and you DON’T know how they feel, even if you have suffered something similar.  One thing that I would hope we could all remember also is that we don’t need to know the details of their tragedy and especially don’t ask for details.  I know I am not a certified counselor or anything close, but I think a little common sense goes a long way and we need to make sure we turn on what I call our tactometer when talking to people in need of our love and support. 

BYU I festival time

 

So, I have gotten in the horrible habit of not taking my camera with me when I should be taking it with me.  Kinlee’s festival being the perfect example, even though I had some really good excuses.  She was scheduled to play at 9:15 Saturday morning and they like you to be there at least 10 minutes early.  Well, at 8:45 I woke up and realized I had shut off my alarm and that Kinlee hadn’t gotten up either, so it was a rush to get ready.  We did make it though and we were 10 minutes early, yeah, time to spare.  When we got to where she would play we saw the names of the judges for the day on the door.  The first judge of the day was Karen, one of my good friends, and Jerika’s piano teacher when she was younger and the other judge Gaye is in our ward.  I am not sure why, but this made Kinlee super nervous, but her judge ended up being Karen, and Kinlee did a fabulous job (not sure yet what her score was.)
When you arrive at festival, there is always someone playing on the baby grand in the lobby.  I never really understood who they were or why they were playing there, but we got to find out this year.  The teachers are allowed to ask a couple of their students to play where after they have finished their judging and this year Lori Ann (Kinlee’s teacher) asked her if she would play.  So, that is what the really blurry picture is right after Kinlee played.  I did video tape it but I am not sure how to post it here.  But, she did an amazing job and I was super proud that she had worked hard enough for her teacher to ask her to perform.  She has really done an amazing job with her piano and she really loves it too. 

  

Scrapbooking old style

Tiff & Allisa (sorry a little blurry). 

 

Me & Karen Beagley

I was really order pictures so I can scrapbook old style.  But Tiff and Karen were really scrapbooking and we are going to do it more often for sure!!  We had tons of fun!!

Halloween

We got home the other night from Kinlee's concert and this was waiting for us outside our house.  It was from our cute home teacher and of course his cute wife.  They were so festive and the soup was for Ray so he could feel better. 

I totally dressed up for Halloween as the itsy bitsy spider's fat big sister.  I wanted to do something and this was plenty.  That was pretty much the only dressing up that happened at our house, Kinlee did dress up as something in the morning and then as something else in the evening, but yup mother of the year didn't take her picture. 

This was the revolving skeleton from work, they had him or her set somewhere different for over a week and I must say it scared the crap out of some people. 

This is where it was located all day Halloween, those are my computer screens so it was my view all day.  I have to admit too that everytime I came up from the back of the office I thought someone was waiting in the chair.  That night we went to St. Anthony for the annual dinner with everyone else. 

Choir concert

 

 

 

 

Marvelous Mattsons

Nakia asked me to take pictures of her family a few weeks ago and I felt a little unworthy. I just feel like I do the same thing all the time and I look at other photographers photos and don't feel great about my pictures. But, I decided I would do and I am glad I did, they really turned out pretty good and we had a fun too, even though I was slightly grumpy that day.

Gaven, he's getting so big and he is just so stinking cute!! 

 

Tragen, I can always count on a hug from him. 

 

Kaden finally smiled nicely, he wasn't too excited about pics either. 

 

Rylen, look at that dimple, he thinks it he can rule the world with that thing. 

 

Brayli, the only girl and yes she can told her own. 

 

 

I must say that they turned out pretty good, cut they are all so cute!!