Wrapped in Warmth

First off.  I love my neighbors.  They are right upstairs and the gorgeous momma home schools her seven children.  SEVEN!  Ah, she’s so inspiring to me.  Boston would honestly live up there if he could and forget all about his boring little family downstairs in an instant.  I asked him the other day if he wanted to live with his friends and he said, “Well ya… wouldn’t you?”  I followed up by asking him who would get him ready for bed and help him get in his jammies and he said, “I’d just have Seth help me.  He’s really nice”.  HA!  Well great.  Replaced like that.  Ari and Miah, oldest of the seven, took the photos in this amazing sesh.  Aren’t they fabulous?  They’re building their photography business right now and if you live in Utah County and are looking for something affordable, these girls do it all.  If you’re interested email me and I’ll get you in touch with them!

Bag: c/o Joe Totes | boots: Target | leggings: Franchesca’s (thick and lined with fleece, seriously you need some) | Boyfriend Cardi: Old Navy  Graphic Tee: Old Navy | Scarf: Old Navy

Over the past few months I’ve really struggled with this blog and the direction I want to take it.  I’ve felt that it’s become a little… oh… how would I describe it.  Worldly?  Vain maybe?  All I talk about are pretty clothes and new products and ways to put on your makeup.  Even though all these posts and articles I’ve been writing are for you, to hopefully empower you and give you fresh new ideas, at the end of the night I feel so selfish.  It’s been driving me absolutely crazy.  I’m not that girl.  If you knew me in real life you’d know that I’m a total nerd who wears yoga pants all day and jams to Taylor Swift with a spoon as her two kids laugh hysterically at her.  I have been given these amazing opportunities to model and style clothing from great companies that I truly love, to write as a beauty expert (Ha!) for Babble and to teach women all over the world how to take better care of their hair.  I’ve sort of taken these blessings and opportunities and have run with them.  In the process of doing so I feel like I’ve sort of lost myself.  I’ve decided that if I’m going to continue writing about pretty clothes and sharing my style with all of you, there’s going to have to be more substance.  There is so much more to me than pretty clothes and great hair, lol!  So here goes.  Some substance.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been reading up on pornography and the devastating effects it has on marriages, families and the rising generation.  It honestly makes me so sick to think that one day my little boy is going to be subjected to that filth whether by accident or from a friend.  It terrifies me.  I pray every night that Boston will be able to feel the spirit urge him to turn it off or to look away.  If the world is as disgusting as it is now, can you image what it’s going to be like in ten years?  The day for passive parenting is over.  If we are not doing everything we can to teach our little ones right from wrong, to teach them how to stand up for themselves and to teach them about the redeeming love of our Savior, they’re going to fail.  Last night I was reading an article in the April 2013 Ensign titled The Words We Speak.  It pulled at my heart and inspired me to try harder to be a better example to my two babies.  Rosemary Wixom said, “To speak to a child’s heart, we must know a child’s needs.  If we pray to know those needs, the very words we say may have the power to reach into their hearts.  Our efforts are magnified when we see the direction of the Holy Ghost.  The Lord said: “Speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts… for it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, the very moment, what ye shall say.”  When I read this I thought, well crap!  Have I missed a teaching opportunity?  Have I missed many teaching opportunities?  How many times have we forgotten to pray or to teach our little ones about God?  How many times have I snapped out of frustration at my three year old and disturbed the spirit in our home?  If I am not in tune with the spirit, I won’t know when or what to teach my children when they need it the most.  Wixom said, “Unfortunately, the distractions of this world prevent many children from hearing encouraging words that could shape their view of themselves”.  And might I add, shape their faith

I am so distracted every day by my ever growing to-do list.  Am I listening to my children?  Am I really playing with them with the sole purpose of teaching them and building their faith?  I fear there have been too many times when I missed faith promoting experiences because my mind and thoughts were elsewhere.  So I’m making a commitment, and I’d love for you to join me, to have the spirit with me at all times so that I might know and speak the thoughts that are put into my heart by my loving Father in Heaven.  And in the end, if my children end up traveling a different path, I will know with a surety that I did everything I could to teach them of their Savior’s love.  It is my hope that one day all wayward children will remember the precious moments where they felt wrapped in the warmth of their Savior’s love and will come back to believing and living for something greater than themselves.  But for today  I’m going to do all I can to build my children’s faith, to capitalize on teaching moments and to have the spirit in our home and hope and pray that it’s enough.