Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

Family pictures are hard

~ Etc.

These are our family pictures back in 2010.  That was 4 years ago, how times flies by!


As you can tell by Jay’s big huge grin on his face that he was sooooooo excited to take our family pictures, he just couldn’t contain himself!  We actually got in a fight and I ended up crying in the car during our outfit change and had to tell the photographer that we were done.  You can read more about it on the original post.

So you would think looking at the above pictures brings back bad memories and I wouldn’t be fond of these pictures, but no, I actually love them.  Why?  Because first of all, look at my adorable little girls that were so small back then.  With chubbier cheeks and their baby faces and Ana’s lack of hair and Adi’s little bangs and short hair.  It makes me want to cry because they’re so much bigger now and it just means 4 years closer to when they’ll leave home and go to college but we can’t talk about that because every time I do, I start crying.  Literally, just ask my husband.  And second of all, this is what life is about, isn’t it?  Having to endure and work through the hard times in order to appreciate and enjoy the good times?  Knowing that we’ve worked together through almost 8 years of marriage and we’re still in love!  And happy!  And can’t imagine our lives with anyone else.  We’ve had 8 years of memories, good, hard, easy, hilarious, sad, pissy, and sweet memories of us and our kids and our growth.  I honestly believe God made men and women different so that we could work out our differences and try to compliment each other’s strengths and help each other with our weaknesses and to grow.  If marriage was easy, where would be the growth?  The patience that’s needed, and the perseverance?  If marriage was easy, it wouldn’t bring out the worst in us in order for us to refine ourselves to bring out the best in us.  There is opposition in all things and since marriage is one of the greatest things on earth, the opposition is that it’s suppose to be one of the hardest things on earth also.  I believe marriage is more easy than hard and most of the times it isn’t hard but there are moments that are very challenging.  And those are the moments that eventually strengthen our relationships and strengthen our character.  
So yes, I love our family pictures from 4 years ago.  And no matter how many more times we may fight, I have faith that we will get closer and stronger and better with each fight we may have.  

We didn’t have time to send out holiday cards this year but here are a couple I made, including the LEGO Minifigure holiday card which offers options such as different backgrounds, facial expressions, hairstyles and outfits.  LEGO wants to help families to build memories and my girls had fun picking out their own hairstyles and outfits and even the facial expressions!  And is it sad that this is the only “family picture” we have with our dog Achilles in it?  Yeah, that’s pretty shame, we are the worst dog owners!  

You can create your own LEGO Minifigure Holiday card for free.

And here is another one, this is probably the picture we would have chosen, even though it was taken 7 months ago, since that was the last time we got a decent family picture.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and are able to spend it with their loved ones!  May we remember the true meaning of Christmas and be able to help the people around us who are in need.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Sunday Best

~ Etc.

I wish there were many things more perfect in this picture. I never finished the other plaid dress for my other daughter so our Christmas outfit got postponed to next week.  I wanted to put make up on and try a subtle smokey eye but only had the time to do my eyebrows and put blush on my cheeks while we drove to church literally 1/2 a mile away.  I wanted to put my hair up in that cute braid crown style I’ve seen people do on Pinterest but I didn’t have the time.  I also wanted to try on another pair of gold strap heels that are a lot more simple to see which one would look better with my outfit, but didn’t have the time, I got 3 kids ya’ll!  How am I suppose to find the time?  I honestly don’t understand how people have fashion blogs and have the perfect hair, perfect shoes, and the perfect makeup every single day and look like it took them 2-3 hrs. to get ready.  Not to mention having someone take your picture at different locations per outfit and then uploading and editing and posting everyday!   I can barely do a fashion post once a week on Sundays when I have to get ready for church anyway!  And it’s always taken right by our front door because I ain’t got time to go anywhere else! And I’m wondering, are there any fashion bloggers out there with multiple kids?  Maybe they’re all childless or have just one child?  It would make so much more sense.  


whoops, no make up doesn’t look good in a fashion post, let me add some sunglasses to that.  also in this picture as my husband was taking it he said to me, “So who are you looking at and smiling for?”  just let me do my thing! haha
much better!  except, the black sunglasses make me look a little creepy. oh well.  I don’t got time to take anymore pictures(or learn to pose better)! 😀
Outfit: midi dress | necklace: DIY | gold heels: BCBG
This dress is the same dress as I wore last week for the Sunday best except in green!  This dress is more green, it’s a deeper forest green in real life but in pictures on a overcast, rainy day, it showed up in a different color than it really is in person.
I also applaud the real fashion bloggers for their dedication and drive, they have to be constantly buying new clothes and they can’t really wear the same outfit more than once, could they?  I am honestly thinking about opening up an Instagram account where I post everyday outfits of me, which is mostly leggings, sweats, or repeated outfits I wear weekly.  Or sometimes I wear the same outfit 2-3 days in a row.  Because I didn’t shower for 2-3 days either.  
shop similar styles:

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Gold + Plaid

~ Etc.

This silk plaid fabric with gold lining is perfect for Christmas, don’t you think?  I have one dress down, and one more to go!  If you’d like to take a sneak peek at what I made, you can go to my Instagram account to see it!  I post many behind the scenes and up-to-date DIY projects on there. 

Our family tradition: gingerbread house & hot cocoa night

~ Etc.

One of our family traditions is having a gingerbread house + hot cocoa night soon after Thanksgiving. I’ll be sharing with you how I made my orange & cream hot chocolate using Keurig 2.0, one of my favorite ways to drink hot cocoa. This post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #Keurig400 #CollectiveBias
orange & cream hot cocoa
My favorite family tradition I had while growing up was to go out to dinner at a restaurant with my whole family after we finished reading the Book of Mormon.  We would read together as a family every night, right before dinner time and most of the time I was never excited to participate(who makes you read for 15 mins. right before dinner time when you’re hungry and you can smell the food that’s just waiting for you?  My parents.  So cruel!) but I did love going out to eat!  That was pretty much the only time we went out to eat, like 1-2 times a year, so everyday I would grab the rest of the pages of the book that we have left to read and see how much thinner it got over time and would get so excited when it would get thinner and thinner, until we were on the last page of the book.  We always went to some really cheap buffet(like seriously cheap like $3 buffets.  But I guess in Korea it’s cheaper), but to me it was like Christmas, it only happens once a year!  

So now that I have my own family, I love starting traditions on my own, like for one, we go out to eat way more than just once a year.  Ha!  Another tradition we have is right after Thanksgiving, we build a gingerbread house while sipping on hot cocoa and listening to Christmas music.  Did you know that having family traditions helps the kids to bond, form an identity and feel secure in the home?  I read the article here, if you’d like to read it.
My kids love adding as many sweets as they are allowed to, they put heaps of marshmallows, candy canes, and chocolate chips, but my favorite way to drink hot cocoa is to put marshmallows and squeezing a slice of orange into the hot cocoa!  The marshmallows make it frothy and creamy, while the orange gives it a hint of fruity and tangy taste.  It tastes very fresh and delicious, you should try it.
Orange & Cream Hot cocoa
Ingredients:
Hot chocolate
A slice of orange
Mini marshmallows
Directions:
1. Make hot chocolate.
2. Squeeze in a slice of orange
3. Add mini marshmallows and stir.
Here are the gingerbread houses my girls built this year, on Thanksgiving day after our feast!  Aren’t they adorable?
I love the little sidewalk she made using pretzel sticks!
I made the orange & cream hot cocoa using Keurig 2.0 and the Swiss Miss hot chocolate K-cup packs and let me be honest, I was dreading opening up the box and setting up the brewing machine, I hate assembling or setting up anything, it just intimidates me(which is why I just watched a video and learned how to thread my serger last week after I’ve had it for 3 years!).  So I opened up the box, and I set it up while my husband was gone which is even more intimidating since he’s not there to help me in case I get confused by the instruction manual, but let me tell you, I set it up in 3 steps!  You plug it in, fill up the side with water, and put in the hot chocolate K-cup pack and press a button!  I was literally grinning a little and thinking, “Oh, that’s it?  Awesome!!!”  So if you hate assembling or setting up any machine, you’ll find it so easy.  I loved how I didn’t have to open the K-cup pack seal, the machine just pokes the top and the bottom with a little hole and does everything for you.
I received another Keurig® 2.0 to gift to someone which makes a great holiday gift and I am planning on giving it to my brother-in-law David, who goes to Starbucks every single day to get his coffee.  Starbucks is one of the brands out of the 400 beverage varieties from 60 brands for Keurig® 2.0 so he’ll be able to save so much money!  He can brew a single cup or a four-cup carafe of coffee, and the new Keurig® 2.0 features a Keurig 2.0 Brewing Technology™, which reads each lid to deliver a perfect beverage every time. Fancy, fancy!
If you’d like to purchase one to gift for the Holidays, they’re available for purchase at Walmart.

*I have one more sponsored post later on today(a yummy drink recipe) and another one next week, and then that’s it, no more sponsored post galore where I post several in a week!  Whew.  Once again, thank you so much for your understanding and for supporting this little blog of mine.  You can read about why I had so many the past 2-3 weeks on this post.  

super easy no bake granola bars

~ Etc.

I have a recipe to share today which is quick, easy and kid-approved!  This post has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Quaker. All opinions are mine alone. #CollectiveBias #LoveMyCereal #QuakerUp

Having 3 kids is crazy for me.  I am always over the max of my capacity which is exhausting and chaotic but it also brings me so much happiness and satisfaction.  There has to be some lows in life to fully enjoy and appreciate the ups in life and anything that is of great worth is hard, I’ve learned over the years, such as parenting, marriage and education.

Sometimes I take on too much but one thing I do not take lightly is cooking for my family.  I guess I can say cooking is one of my strengths?  I am pretty proud of myself that I’ve only served frozen pizza or other frozen ready-made foods less than I can count with one hand, and I just made those boxed macaroni & cheese for the first time in my almost 8 years of marriage just a few weeks ago for lunch at my kids’ request.  I am not telling you this to brag, I’m telling you that I take cooking seriously and believe it’s one of the most important things I do for my family on a constant basis.  And cooking is my strength while cleaning is my weakness, so it all evens out!  Everyone has different strengths and while another mother might not constantly make homemade food for her family, she might be very good at cleaning or other things, so this motherhood all evens out and there’s no need to compete!  I talked more about not comparing and celebrating each other’s strengths instead of competing or feeling jealous on this post.  
One thing I do love is semi-homemade cooking.  I love watching “30 minute meals” by Rachel Ray on Food Network, don’t you?  It saves you time, and is delicious, a win-win for the whole family!
semi-homemade no bake coconut & chocolate granola bars
I made this semi-homemade no bake coconut & chocolate granola bars using Quaker® Simply Granola in oats, honey & almonds and my kids loved it!  Granola is an excellent source of fiber and it keeps you full for a long period of time, which is perfect for while the kids are at school, since kids who eat breakfast or who don’t feel hunger during school do better at school(that’s what I read anyway which makes perfect sense!).  So granola is my go-to when needing to feed my kids something quick and filling.
Semi-homemade no bake coconut & chocolate granola bars

Ingredients:
1/4 c. Agave 
1/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 small banana
Directions:
Blend or crush 3 c. granola cereal.  Mix it with the rest of the ingredients, squeezing it all together with your fingers works best.  Put it in a square pan on wax paper and pat it down(I used a rolling pin) and refrigerate for 20 mins.  Cut it in rectangles and serve!
 I got all the ingredients I needed from Wal Mart!
You can see all these other offers below at Quaker®.
Quaker® Real Medleys®
Quaker® Oatmeal Squares
Quaker® Simply Granola
Quaker® Life

I’ll be sharing another favorite recipe of mine that we make for the holidays tomorrow, so stay tuned!  Do you have any easy and quick recipes that you make regularly at home?  I would love for you to share!