Family Pictures

Elements Photography

Kellie Larsen

Giant Pencil

I sent Sophia off to the book fair at her school yesterday with $4.50. She and her friend were there for over an hour. I trusted that I had instilled in her the value of a dollar. She came home proudly with her purchase...a giant pencil.

Alisa- "How much did you spend on that pencil?"

Sophia- "It was $4"

Alisa- "You spent $4 on a pencil! That's not a good deal!"

Sophia- "Did you see how big it is?"

I Don't Care

If you know Emma June then you know that she's SPICY! Emma June won't do anything she doesn't want to do (without a fight). That goes for coughing too. Emma June does not like to cough and she holds it in.

This morning while she was watching tv (she wakes up 2 hours before the rest of us) I could hear her coughing and after every cough she yelled,

I DON'T CARE!

I-DON'T-CARE!

Oh my.

LOVE this Face!

My Joy

Dr. Laura always says that as a kid you didn't have control of your parents or the family they provided for you. But, as an adult, your family is all up to you.

Now that I'm an adult I finally have the family I've always wanted. My family is my joy.

Nathan's Prayer

Every night, during our family prayers, Nathan prays,

"Heavenly Father, please help Emma to go poop in the toilet, help Gigi to choose the right and eat healthy, help Mama to be a good mama and help Daddy to be a good worker."

Thank you Buddy!

Working From Home

For many years I've been David's business partner in our painting business. I love that we have the same world. His concerns are often mine and we are always on the same page. But, being a stay-at-home/work-from-home mama has its challenges for sure. It seems like it was easier when the kids were smaller, even babies. They slept longer which gave me more quiet office time. But now that the kids are getting older they have become even more needy.
Although I complain from time to time about the difficulty of balancing being a mom and keeping up my office duties, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm grateful to be the one who changes their diapers and makes them lunch. But, I can't tell you how many times I've had to run out to my car and lock the door behind me or flee to my closet and hide just to take a phone call.

Sophia

"Sophia, wash your face"
"Sophia, comb your hair"
"Sophia, please calm down and lower your voice"
These are things I hear myself saying daily. One afternoon while she was away at my mom's house I realized how special Sophia is; just the way she is. I realized how much I treasure her messy face and hair. Here are a few special things about Sophia:

Loves Scooby Doo and dresses up daily in her Scooby Doo costume (that's way too small)
Loves animals and takes great care of her toad and dog, Gracie (she never plays with dolls)
Walks around the house with her toad, Froggy Boy, on her shoulder
Writes letters to the Worm Stork (if you leave him a note he'll leave a bucket of Canadian Reds on your doorstep)
Tells me often that, "looking cute is not important"
She skips and hops instead of walking
Always has a messy face and dirty hands with fluffy hair
Has the cutest freckles


Sophia is Priceless and I'm so grateful to be babysitting her for God. I adore her

"How do you have time for that" or "I don't know how you do it" are things my friends would tell me about the business I started 2 years ago. I started Posh in Clover Bath & Body when Rachel was about 6 months old. I was filled with creative juice and was eager start something. So I gave birth to a company that I loved. I learned how to do things I never imagined I could to do. But, my family suffered. David was left alone at night while I worked into the wee hours of the morning. My babies would come into the office and pull my hands off the computer. The truth is, the time I was spending working on my business was time I was taking away from my family. I didn't realize that I had already created something far bigger than myself; my sweet family. I needed to return to them. I've often heard women say that you can have it all, a family and work. I never figured how that was done. It was painful, but I gave everything over to my partner and gave myself back to my family. I missed a lot of time with my little people but I'm hoping that I'm not too late. Posh in Clover is still doing really well (check out our website here)and I'm still on as an investor. But now my loyalty lies with my sweet family.

Everybody Poops

"Everybody Poops" Well not everybody! Emma June says, "going poop is dumb!" We've been trying to get Emma June to go poop on her own (without laxatives or an enema) for about a year now. Our doctor instructed us to leave her alone, not talk about it and give her Miralax everyday. He said that eventually she would go on her own. But he doesn't know our Emma June that well. For 15 days she held her poop in. Hiding in closets and corners, she struggled to keep that poop in. So on the 15th day they did an x-ray on her tummy. Sure enough, she was full of poop. I was instructed to give her an enema. Now what? Here's all I can do now, give her Miralax everyday, add ground flax seed to her food, give her lots to drink and when I think it's been too long give her an enema. I think she needs to see a therapist (I need one too).
Btw, I've tried EVERY conventional potty training plan or idea.

Sophia's Baptism

What a blessing it has been to watch our first-born grow up and become a beautiful young soul. Sophia's baptism was a special evening.