I have to admit, when I was a teenager I felt that Heavenly Father loved me, but I never truly TRULY felt His hand in my life. It's interesting how now that I am older I am so highly sensitive to how much I feel Heavenly Father watching over me and my family.

This story starts back in July of 2006. We were getting ready to leave for law school and we really needed to sell our Jeep. We also needed a reliable car to take with us, but we couldn't buy a car until our Jeep sold. The weeks went by and many people came to look at our Jeep and kick its tires. It got very old showing it so much, and yet no one wanted to buy.

Two weeks before we were to leave for school, Trevor and I were packing in our room and talking about what we were going to do. The Jeep still hadn't sold. We didn't know what we were going to do. Surely we didn't have enough time to sell the Jeep and then find a reliable car that was in good enough condition to be able to make the drive across the United States and not break down, be reliable for two/three years, and then get us back to Idaho.

As I was packing books into a box, I picked up my Book of Mormon. I flipped through the pages and "whoah. What was that?" I saw something that looked like.....
A TITHING ENVELOPE. Yes. It was. A sealed and addressed tithing envelope. It had never been delivered to the Bishop.

We put a stamp on it right at that moment and Trevor ran it out to the mailbox.

The next day Trevor called me from work. He had just had a call about the Jeep. A man wanted to buy it. Except he had no money. He wanted to know if we would trade. He had a truck. I said "NO!" Then I said "Wait a minute, only if it's an extended cab. Oh and four doors."

Trevor said he didn't know what it was, but that he told the guy to come look at our Jeep and bring the truck so we could look at it.

Trevor said "While we are dreaming, I'd really like if the truck could be a short bed. And also, if it could have the bigger motor. And maybe if it was Green. I LOVE green cars."

That night the man came. This is what the truck looked like:

You see, it was an extended cab, four door (suicide half doors, but good enough), short bed, biggest motor they made green truck. It was in amazing condition. The trade was made.

This truck (named Gordon) has been one of the biggest blessings in our lives. We drove safely to Michigan pulling a trailer. We moved twice while in school with it. I couldn't even tell you how many people we helped move using this truck. We drove to Palmyra and camped with this truck. So many good memories. And then at the end of school we drove home in this truck.

Once we arrived safely in Idaho, the truck went caput. It died. It died and we had another hard lesson to learn. But that is a different story.

Trevor has spent the past three years trying to fix this truck. Finally, he fixed it, and it wasn't by accident that it didn't get fixed before now. You see, Heavenly Father truly does have a plan for each one of us. And this year I have been so busy, I haven't really kept very good track of finances. Apparently Trevor thought I was, and I thought he was. Since tithing settlement just happened, we each thought the other had been paying tithing, but neither one of us were. So when it was discovered what was going on, we had no extra money in the bank.

We have been fasting and praying that we would be able to pay our tithing by selling the truck. Finally, on Christmas Eve, a man came and payed our asking price and we all said goodbye to Gordon our truck. Very sad.

And on Christmas day, we were able to hand our tithing to the Bishop. It brought tears to my eyes.

What a blessing that truck has been. We miss you Gordon.

Merry Christmas from the Misseldines!

Ah, it's time for relaxing, playing holiday music, hot cocoa and yeah the most important of all... AN UPDATE!!

I just want to take a minute and brag about my kids. They have been such an amazing help to me these past few months. Logan has been making lunch for the girls and sometimes breakfast. He has shouldered some huge responsibilities. Samantha and Logan have been doing the laundry including folding and putting away. They both do the dishes together, and Samantha is a superb vaccumer. I am so thankful for everything they do to help me around the house. Logan was helping me on almost every photo shoot we went on too. So thankful.
I put up another post today, but I felt so stupid and embarrassed that I hid it two posts down. Read it only if you are feeling kind and not judgemental.

We finally got around to taking pictures of the kids for Christmas cards, but it was just too late to send them out in a card. So Merry Christmas everyone!!

This is my Christmas Wish List

Dear Santa, (Yeah, this is funny considering my last post)

This year all I want is $5000.00. Let's not think of it as you "giving" me the money. It could be a loan! I promise I will pay all the money back (over the course of three years).

I would buy some pretty awesome camera equipment. You could be my sponsor! Think of how you would be furthering my progression!

So what do you say Santa? Is it a deal?

Alyson

So I get that I have not posted much on here lately. I have been killing myself off trying to get pictures to people for their Christmas cards.

This brings me to a very important announcement.

Wait. Now for a back story.

Sometimes I have to learn very important lessons. It's never a fun thing. I really wanted a new lens this past Spring. Trevor told me that the only way I could get it was if I took on extra clients and payed all the money from the lens back into our account.

So I stupidly and excitedly took on all the extra photo shoots I could find. It was a mistake. I now have giant, hopefully not permanent, bags under my eyes. I honestly cannot remember much from the past year past June. And unfortunately I cringe at the thought of taking pictures for strangers. Notice I did not say friends or family.

I have payed for the lens and then some, but what was the ultimate cost? I have lost time with my kids, time for myself, my house is in need of some mad crazy organizing skills (help me Colleen), and I think the ultimate loss is that I don't love taking pictures for people. They can be so thoughtless and inconsiderate.

So yeah, there you have a very honest admission from me. I don't want to take pictures for rude people. I think that pretty much means that if I don't know you, I won't take your picture.

And now I would like to know what you guys think of my new slogan:

PepperWood Photography: Now serving my family and not yours.

I am exhausted. I can't wait for a week of consecutive nights of 8 hours of sleep. Three is not cutting it.

My parents have arrived in their new mission in..... oh shoot. I'm so tired I can't even remember where they went. ummmmm.... thinking here......

Oh yeah! INDIANAPOLIS! That sure doesn't look like I spelled it correctly.Missing them already.

Christmas is fast approaching. I am all ready! Not because I've been shopping. I didn't even go out on Black Friday. GASP! I know. I am usually hard core!

I've been gathering deals all year long and stashing them in the top of my closet. I pulled it all out and shockingly I had enough gifts for everyone! Trevor and I won't be getting anything this year, but I am getting to the point where I don't care anymore.

Speaking of gifts, we decided two years ago to do away with Santa Claus. It was the best idea we've ever had. Santa is not even in the picture. This holiday is all about the birth of our Savior and serving others. Our kids all know that Santa is not real. They know that Santa is really all of us parents. I don't want them to get caught up in all the presents and everything that diverts attention away from what the real reason for the season is. I realize it's not a very popular thing to do, but I am not in to being popular anyway.

So, I promise some real pictures will be coming soon. I still have to catch you guys up on Halloween and other stuff. Maybe another time.

Okay, so I'm still promising a real post... very soon. Really. I PROMISE.

Until then, watch this video.

I've always loved Kelly Clarkson. She is so talented. She is the best singer American Idol has produced. Sorry to you Carrie Underwood fans. It's true.

Kelly's problem is that she tends to pick crummy songs to sing. This video proves she is truly the best.

Here she is, singing Carrie Underwood's song "I know you won't". And yes, she sings it WAY better.

Get More: Kelly Clarkson, VH1 Unplugged

And because I know you all would want to hear Carrie's version, here is a video of her singing it. They are both live versions, just to make it fair.

Cute Little Funny

Just a quick story. I promise a real post will be coming soon.

I heard Logan just now yelling "B Y U!" over and over. I asked him what he was yelling that for.

"Cause my zipper was down, Mom!"

I think he meant "X Y Z".

HAHAHAHA!

PreSchool Trip

I've been writing and rewriting and deleting this post now for the past two weeks. I keep coming back to it, which means I really need to say it. right? RIGHT?

Since when did church become like high school? Has it always been this way, but I've been too obtuse to notice it?

It's a huge shock to me. I mean, aren't we supposed to love and support each other, not compete with each other in a popularity contest?

Seriously, who cares how I dress and if it's in style. Aren't I funny and nice and caring? Doesn't that count for ANYTHING? Even if I were cross-eyed and had huge buck teeth, I'd like to think that I would have tons of friends.

Unfortunately the truth is that I go to church and feel like a piece of crap. I try not to pay attention to the situation, since I am not going to church just for social reasons, but I can't ignore it any longer. It really hurts.

Here's what it all boils down to: If you aren't outgoing, a snappy dresser and/or do not live in a nice house, do not expect to make any friends in your ward.

I've been shot back to earth.

The New Adventures of Lawnmower Man!

I know you have all been dying for an update on Lawnmower Man this summer, but the truth is, there hasn't really been anything to tell.

Every week Logan has been very aware on Wednesday night that Lawnmower Man will be coming the next day, and even if it is 10 o'clock at night, he will ask to go outside and pick up all the toys so Frank won't have to in the morning when he comes (Remember Lawnmower Man's name is really Frank). That was a super long sentence...

We baked Frank some cookies a few weeks ago and left them on the sidewalk for him with a note, but then we had to leave before he picked them up. As we were getting in the car, here he came around the corner with his weedwacker in hand. He entered our yard through the gate, and the kids jumped out of the car and ran to the gate to watch him pick up the cookies. Of course he was grinning ear to ear and telling the kids "thank-you" over and over.

The next week he returned the container to us with three FULL-SIZED candy bars. Oh how excited my kids were!

Now for a back story. My neighbor hates Lawnmower Man. HATES him. You should hear the nasty, hateful words that come out of her mouth about him. And she will do anything to get him in trouble. She calls up our landlady all the time to complain about him to her. I always tell her that I have never seen that side of him and that he seems so nice and sweet.

Today we got a knock at our door, and there was Lawnmower Man and his wife (Crystal) who sometimes comes and helps. They wanted to invite us out to their HOUSE to pick pumpkins from their pumpkin patch!!!

I think we just found our surrogate Grandpa and Grandma!

Well That Was A Mistake....

Try saying the title of this post with a little attitude. Go ahead. Say it OUT LOUD. Now with a little more sass.

HAHAHA! Ah, I woke up this morning saying that to myself as I deleted my latest posting. Gross. It grossed me out. I am SO sorry to whoever actually read that story. Ick. We do not need to read about vomit. Ever. End of story.

Good News!

I found Phoebe's birthday photos!

Bad News!

They are all blurry! Every. Single. One.

But that's how we roll around here. So without further ado, I give you

Phoebe's 2nd Birthday!

Now just so you know, we like to open our presents every year in the same fashion we came into this world... OUR BIRTHDAY SUITS! Except we wear underwear.

Sheesh! I'm kidding! Who do you think we are? Phoebe likes to roam the house, yard and neighborhood in nothing but her skivvies. She is very comfortable in her own skin. I don't have the energy lately to stop her. Or is it that I don't have the energy to get her dressed. Hmmm. So... yeah.

Please don't judge us by our messy house. I am in the middle of working on a photo booth set for a wedding and it was taking over everything in the house at the time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHOEBE!!!!!

My name is Alyson and I have allergies.

I only have them in the Spring and Fall.

I get them the worst in the Fall.

Every year I forget I have allergies.

Then I remember.

I took a Claritin D last night.

The first time I've been able to take an allergy pill in four years.

It made me really loopy and weird.

I threw the tv remote at Trevor in the middle of the night. Really hard.

It took a huge chunk of skin out of his ankle.

It was bleeding.

I pulled some of my hair out.

I had some really strange dreams all about a soft white cloud.

I don't remember any of this except the cloud.

This morning we couldn't find Trevor's glasses.

We thought for sure that I picked them up in the middle of the night and with super-human strength crushed them in my hands to a pulp.

Then we found them. Unscathed.

I don't think I'll take any more of those things.

Sami Sue, I love you

Sami has made some breakthroughs lately and it gives me hope for her. Okay, maybe that's a tad dramatic. LOL!

Since starting pretty school (that's what she calls pre-school) and tumbling she has actually been more talkative. I think it has given her something to be proud of and a little bit of confidence. She still has a long way to go.

We love you Sami, messy hair and all!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!

Just thought you should know.

Some news and a funny story...

Logan has been in school for a week and a half. It has been great to get him out of the house. He loves being away from us too!

Trevor gave all of us school blessings the Monday before school started. It was really a nice way to start the school year. Yesterday Logan came home from school and said "Mom, I am so glad Dad gave me that blessing and IT REALLY WORKS! I've been so good at school!" LOL!

We have started Sami in preschool and I think that will be SOOO good for her. If you know anything about her, you know she is ME when I was little. SO SHY! I would much rather do preschool at home, but we felt like that would not have been a good thing to do for Sami. She really needs as much interaction as possible. We also decided to take it a step further with her since she is starting to act like a typical LOST middle child, and we signed her up for a tumbling class. Just another way for her to feel good about herself.

Things have only gotten more chaotic around here, and I don't think life could speed by any faster! Today as we were getting ready to send Logan off to school, I asked him to brush his teeth and comb his hair and just then the phone rang. I picked it up and talked for a few minutes.

When I hung up, we had exactly ten minutes to make it to the bus stop (about a half mile away). Perfect. Except Logan had not done what I had asked him to do. I rushed him into the bathroom and shoved the toothbrush in his mouth while with the other hand combing his hair.

Then we ran out the door. Except the girls stopped at the driveway. We had exactly four minutes to make it to the bus. I ran back to grab Phoebe's hand and as we were running across the street, she tripped. I looked back at her as she was going down, and she fell into my feet and made me trip too. LOL!

Both of us sprawled in the middle of the street, and Logan and Sami looking on saying "Come on! Get up!"

Of course it wasn't exactly that humorous at the time. Phoebe immediately had a huge goose egg on her forehead and I had huge chunks of skin missing from my hands. We were both bleeding and yet still running for the bus stop. Then a lady from our ward who had not seen what happened pulled up in her car beside us as we were running down the sidewalk. She wanted to talk, and kept attempting conversation with me as Phoebe was screaming and Logan and Sami were still running. I slowed down to a walk and tried to talk, but my mind was a huge jumble. I don't know how I got her to drive away, but she did and we were off at a run again. We made it with a few seconds to spare. Then Logan was gone and we sat down on the grass to examine our wounds.

Phoebe kept saying "Hit my head! Owie!" Poor little girl! I felt so bad for her! She was so excited to get a band-aid when we got home.

Now I think it's time to end this chaotic day and go to bed. I've had a migraine all day long.

I re-injured my shoulder. Trevor doesn't know. Don't tell him. He never reads this.

I was sitting at my desk and the kids were fighting. and fighting. So I JUMPED up to break up the fight, and JUMPED into the top of the desk with my shoulder.

Ow.

It has hurt for about a week and a half. Same spot. But it is starting to feel better finally. Kind of.

No. It is.

He just freaks out over it, and he doesn't need to.

That is all.

Oh, and I accidentally erased all of Phoebe's birthday photos.

I'm on a roll.

BWAHAHA! Time to go out for ice cream!

I realize I sound like I'm depressed lately.

I'm not. Really. Life is GOOD!

I can just picture Heavenly Father watching me and my antics and he is ROLLING on the floor laughing at me.

He has a sense of humor.

And I am THAT funny.

Logan Rides the Bus

Technically this was from Logan's second day of school, but we'll just pretend it was his first. I took him to school his first day, and that is just plain boring. He was so excited to ride on the bus. He really wanted me to let him ride it the first day, but there was no way I was going to miss out on taking him to school.
He looks a little nervous waiting here for the bus to show up.
He finally sees the bus coming!!
Logan's bus driver's name is Rusty.
Bye Logan! Have a good day!

So when I went to school to pick Logan up this afternoon (he rides the bus to school, but not home) Logan started crying and yelling at me hysterically that he wanted to ride the bus home and his friend was riding it home and how I was so mean. Ok. I think we've got some hormones going on.

Finding Me

So lately I feel like I'm drowning. I know I've talked about this in past posts. It's just that I have so much going on all the time, and I don't want to disappoint anyone, so I normally end up trying to do it all, which is normally me running on a few hours of sleep.

I love doing things for people. I guess you could say I'm a people pleaser. I'll give up my sleep and food to help out in any way I can. But this brings me back to my original point. At what cost can I keep doing this?

I think I may be toxic. Not my body, like the way I eat, but my personality. Me. I'm hurting myself by helping others. Wait. That sounds weird.

My dad was reading to me out of the book "How to hug a porcupine". Some of it really hit home with me. Like the fact that I need to put up boundaries with the people in my life that are too needy. And it's okay to say no to people, because saying yes and then complaining later is toxic. I don't need to put myself in situations that make me uncomfortable. And by "uncomfortable" I mean being around someone with a negative personality that has disrespectful and inconsiderate things to say.

I am a good person, and I need to stop putting myself in situations where I end up feeling frustrated and tired. I know this probably won't make sense to a lot of people reading this, but maybe it will give you some insight to my personality.

I wouldn't trade any of the experiences I have gained over the past three years. There are certain things I have had to learn that have been so hard and have made me so much better. Some sacrifices are necessary. So don't think I am complaining. Don't misunderstand. What I am saying is that I need to weed out the unnecessary, and savor the good things in life.

Wowee this month has been a bear for me. Lots of people in and out of our house staying with us. Birthdays here and there, and lots of work for me. Multiple trips to Boise, Salt Lake and Idaho Falls area. Cars breaking down here, there and everywhere. Tons of last minute projects. Paint is permanently adhered to my fingers. I swear I have been living in front of the computer. My eyes feel like they are permanently bloodshot. And my house, oh my poor house. It has NEVER been so messy. I don't feel like myself either.

Perhaps my problem is that I feel like I missed out on this summer. Where has it gone? I've been so busy that it passed us completely by. And now I'm running wildly after it trying to make it stay put.

Maybe I need a break. Logan starts school September 6th. I think we should get away. Except we don't have a car that would comfortably get us there. The AC broke on our van. Yup. Sad.

We could go camping! And we could drive at night so we won't die in the heat! Nah. It's too hard to set up a tent in the dark.

I don't know. Got any ideas out there?

I have this crazy dream of singing this song someday. It doesn't have to be with Il Divo, but can I just find four men who can SING? We'll put it together for a talent show or something. Every time I hear this song I just want to belt it out. Love it!

oh yeah, fast forward to about 1:19 where the song actually starts.

Logan's Birthday

I am now the proud parent of a SIX year old. Wow. We decided to let Logan have the birthday party of his dreams this year. He's been talking about a party for his past three birthdays, and up until now we have resisted. This year he talked us into it. Let me just say that this will be his last birthday party for a LOOONG time.

He decided he wanted a CARS party. Logan designed his photo shoot and wanted to make a special invitation. I have created a monster.

We went home again this past weekend. Home=to see our parents. While we were there we decided it was time to go visit my sister-in-law's grave. We have NEVER visited her grave. I looked back in my archives and strangely enough, this blog started exactly one day after she died.

I wish I could remember what was going on in my immature brain back then. Trevor was getting ready for finals in Law School. He decided it would be best to not go to the funeral. I wanted to go, but we would have had to buy two tickets for Logan and I. I sent my mom and sister in my place. I heard that it was a beautiful yet sad funeral. She was so young. Correct me if I am wrong, but as far as my calculations go, she was only 29 years old. 29 YEARS OLD!

Even at her young age she was very sassy and opinionated. She was a teacher and very smart. I can remember a specific time where she and Trevor got into a heated argument. Boy did she hold her own... which is saying a lot if you've ever gotten into a true argument with Trevor. She welcomed me into the family with warmth and kindness. She took me under her wing and tried to protect me. I didn't always agree with the things she did or said, but I still loved her just the same.

Sitting there around her grave, Trevor and I tried to tell our kids about their Aunt Nikole. As we sat there remembering, I looked up at Trevor and saw tears in his eyes, and I knew that mine were the same. There is something sacred about a cemetery.

Resemblance?

My parents are going on another mission. I'm happy for them, but sad at the same time. I'll miss them. My dad was organizing some things in preparation for their departure and came across some old slides and negatives. He decided to convert them over so we can actually do something with them all. All these years I didn't think I had a lot of pictures of myself when I was young, and I was wrong! I look like my girls! I am so happy!

I am the littlest one on the right sitting on my dad's lap.
Again, me on the right and my sister Alysa on the left. Yes twins if you didn't know.




What in the world were my parents thinking with this shirt? I look like Little Orphan Annie!