if only all food was this beautiful...

then finding out I am definitely diabetic (gestational) wouldn't be so hard to swallow.

from marthastewart.com

But, to be completely truthful and transparent...I am really bummed.  In fact I kind of want to cry. 

No more white sugar.  No more white flour.  No potatoes (french fries, I will miss you!).  No fruit juice.  WHAT?  Boo!!!!  How pathetic is my love affair with food????

Even with all of that...deep down, there is a part of me that is somewhat grateful for this challenge because my family really needs to be eating healthier...and if I have to eat healthy, then so does everyone else!!!!!  

When the Dr. from the lab called to discuss my results from today's glucose test, all she had to say was that if I'm not eating right, then it's like a thick sugary syrup flowing through my arteries and into the placenta...and then all my baby is eating is sugar.  That image alone was enough for me to dig my heels in and stop eating crap right then and there.  

And, it's about time!  I'm surprised it's taken 4 pregnancies to bring it out...but, being that I come from a family with a history of diabetes, I shouldn't be too surprised.  It doesn't make it any easier though.  Learning how to follow this diet is going to be hard...and to top it all off, it's starting while I'm off on vacation!  I guess that will be the true test for me... 

Wish me luck! 

moving pro...not quite!

 I have moved 19 times in my life.

1. Saudi Arabia to the U.S. (Brea, CA) when I was 18 months old...(1979)
2. Brea, CA (southern) to Danville, CA (northern) when I was 3 (1981)
3. Danville, CA to Littleton, CO when I was 5...just a wee Kindergartener! (1984)
4. Littleton, CO to Spring, TX when I was 12...at the start of 7th grade (1990)
5. Spring, TX to Orem, UT two weeks after I graduated high school (1996)
6. Orem, UT to Tempe, AZ at the end of that summer to start college (1996)
7. Tempe, AZ to Spring, TX  at the end of that school year (1997)
7.5 Spring, TX to Spring, TX when our house was struck by lightning and we had to move out (1998)
8.  Spring, TX to Murray, UT a few months after moving out of our burned house (1998)
9. Murray, UT to Salt Lake City, UT to be closer to campus (2000)
10.  Salt Lake City, UT to SLC, UT - from an apartment to a house in the avenues (2001)
11.  SLC, UT to Midvale, UT - to my first apartment with Brad when we got married (end of 2001)
12.  Midvale to Midvale, UT - to a different apartment to escape the chain-smoker below us because I was pregnant with Jakob (2002)
13.  Midvale, UT to Sandy, UT - to a bigger/nicer apartment now that we had Jakob!  (2003)
14.  Sandy, UT to Fountain Valley, CA - into Brad's parents' home so he could start working with his Dad's business (end of 2003)
15.  FV, CA to FV, CA - to our first place on our own in CA, I was pregnant with Joshy (Jan. 2005)
16.  FV, CA to HB, CA - the owner of the last place decided to sell...so we moved again... (Oct. 2005)
17.  HB, CA to FV, CA - Both cars broken into and some crazy/shady stuff going on in our neighborhood, plus the smoker next door and the dogs/dog poop/flies from the other neighbor next door made us want to move again...oh, and I was pregnant with Drew! (June 2007)
18.  FV, CA to HB, CA - being sucked dry by rent and not enough income...so we moved again to save money...(sept. 2009)
19.  HB, CA to HB, CA - just down the street, but to a bigger apartment...now that baby #4 is on the way, this is a huge blessing...even though it's my 19th move!  (2011)

So, you might think after all of those moves that I am a pro, right?  No.  Not at all.  I have definitely learned a lot...since some were long-distance moves, but many were local moves-- I think they are all incredibly difficult physically, emotionally, mentally...it's a lot to handle.

Because of all of those moves, I went to 4 different elementary schools, 2 junior highs, 1 high school (thankfully), 3 colleges, and have been in too many different wards to count!

BUT...because of all of those moves, I have been blessed with so many wonderful friends and amazing opportunities to grow.  That is what makes moving exciting.  Now, when it's local, it's a bit different...however, here in CA I've been in 4 different wards within the same stake...so I have been able to get to know lots of different people which is pretty awesome!

Even with the perk of making new friends...it is still really hard to say good-bye to old friends and old places...and even though I have good intentions of keeping in touch with everyone, it just doesn't always happen.  So, my friends, old or new, I hope you know how many times you all cross my mind and how thankful I am for your friendship...and I especially love knowing that if and when we meet again, we will pick up right where we left off!

This move feels different to me for some reason.  The last one felt very temporary...the entire time we lived there, I treated it as if it was just a quick stopping point for us...and thankfully this bigger unit became available for us!  Now that we are here, I can see us staying a while.  It doesn't feel temporary like the last place.  Jakob is stoked to have is own room...Drew and Joshy are enjoying their room together and in a few months we will have a baby in the empty room!  Hard to believe that there will be another little Hanson boy growing up with our family...hope he knows what he's getting himself into!  :)

Anyway...if you've made it this far...you must be really bored.  ha ha just kidding.  It's been a while since I've just babbled on and on...so thanks for being interested!  And if you're one of the people who have helped us move...THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.  And I hope I can return the favor in some way, someday.  

Say NO! To Auto - Photography Workshop with Kristen Duke

Hey All!

My friend, and oh-so-fabulous photographer, Kristen Duke

is coming out to California in July, and is going to conduct a 

"Say NO! To Auto" Beginner Photography Workshop 

right here in Huntington Beach!  

This is a great opportunity to learn how to use your

DSLR camera and to move out of Auto-Land!  

WHEN?  

Saturday, July 23 @ 10am

WHERE?  

Huntington Beach Central Library*

WHAT?

• How to use your Digital SLR camera
• Aperture (f-stop), shutter speed, ISO, and how they all work together
• Lighting, how to locate the best light
• Lens suggestions
• 30 min. of shooting time with discussion and questions
• Very basic Photoshop tips
• Ways to get your subjects to relax
• The importance of capturing the candid moments and how to get them

COST? 

$150

Pssst...Mention MY name and get $25 off!!!

*If you are interested in hosting this workshop, Kristen will give you a 50% discount!

Click HERE for complete details and to register!

a thank-you for teacher

I go the idea for this cute note/treat from the blog eighteen25...and if I was a scrapper and had all the cute paper and paper punches I could have copied it exactly.  However, I am not even close to scrapping anything and so I rely (heavily) on photoshop for creating cutesy things like this.  :)

I also had each of the boys write a thank-you card to their teachers.  I didn't think about taking a picture of them until after I had already sealed Joshy's in the envelope...but his was pretty cute!  I was going to help Jakob format his letter, and he said, "Can't I just write whatever I want?"  That's when I realized I was being way too controlling (part of me being controlling was fueled by the fact that it was already after 9pm and my kids were not in bed yet).  Of course he should write whatever he wants.  He's 8-yrs-old, he knows how to say THANK YOU!  So, here's the result of his cute thank you card:

(click to enlarge)

 I'm so proud of both my big boys...I can't believe another school year has gone by...Joshy is officially done with Kindergarten and Jakob will be a 3rd grader next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Drew still has 1 year left of preschool before he starts kindergarten.  They are getting so smart and so much fun to talk to!  The things they come up with always keep me on my toes and make me laugh!

On another note...the next few weeks will be SUPER busy for us, so I may be absent from the blog world for a while.  Look for updates mid-July.   :)

Happy Summer!

i wanna be beautiful to Him

(scroll down to pause my playlist before clicking play on this!)



"Beautiful To Him" by Rachel Thibodeau
So much noise
so much peace destroyed
i can hardly hear the voice
leading me through the void
just so much noise

the world's little lies
destruction in disguise
opportunities to compromise
to make me beautiful in their eyes
but i'm not going to buy
the world's little lies

cause i define myself and find my beauty in
the light he gives
i'm refined by his divine intentions every day i live
it doesn't matter what the world believes
or what they say that beauty means
it comes from within...
i wanna be beautiful to him.

he's given me his trust
so i'll be strong enough
to run from a dangerous touch
i don't need THAT kind of "love"
i don't need that crutch
he's given me his trust.

cause i define myself and find my beauty in
the light he gives
i'm refined by his divine intentions every day i live
it doesn't matter what the world believes
or what they say that beauty means
it comes from within.....
i wanna be beautiful to him.

I know how to shine
my life's not really mine
it's not about a worldly climb
it's all about HIS design
so in his eyes...
i wanna shine.

cause i define myself and find my beauty in
the light he gives
i'm refined by his divine intentions every day i live
it doesn't matter what the world believes
or what they say that beauty means
it comes from within...
i wanna be beautiful to him.

i want to live to have his peace
and feel the holiness he sees
it comes from within.....
i wanna be beautiful
to Him.

drewbie-drew loves salad

Drew loves salad. He will frequently ask for it for breakfast, or just for a snack during the day. He likes all kinds of lettuce, including baby spinach! He is somewhat partial to Ranch dressing, but will try others - like raspberry vinegarette.

I realized that I've never documented this -- and it's pretty monumental considering Jakob and Joshy both gag at the thought of eating salad! I don't know where Drew's love for salad or salad dressing came from, but I am thankful for it!

Also, he recently discovered all of the bibs in the back of our towel drawer and has been wearing them around. I don't normally put a bib on him, but after he wanted to wear one to eat his salad, I thought, "that's not such a bad idea! who cares if he's 3 1/2?????"

Just look at this sweet boy...makes me want to eat him up!

jakob's 1st pinewood derby

Yesterday was Jakob's first Pinewood Derby. He was very proud of his car! Here are a few pics...

He got the award for "Most Decals"  -- LOL

All the cute derby racers...

The scouting world still seems very foreign to me...but I am slowly learning how things work!  One thing I've learned so far is that sewing patches on those shirts is not fun.  But, hopefully will get easier over time! 

I can remember my mom having den meetings at our house when she helped out with my little brothers, and I remember my dad going on campouts, especially when he went on the Mountain Man Rendevous when we lived in Colorado.  I don't think I will ever forget the smell of the animal hides he cured in our garage.  But his raccoon hat was pretty sweet!  Not sure if Brad will ever do something like that, but I look forward to seeing more bonding experiences between father and son through scouting!

I absolutely love that Jakob is so enthusiastic about it all...it's definitely a blessing for him and I am so thankful for the leaders who work so hard to make it all work!  

let's hear it for the boy!

Some of you may know that Brad, my studly husband, has been taking classes since last summer.  A bit over-due you say?  Nah...it's NEVER too late to go to school!  I am so proud of him and have really enjoyed seeing him work hard and succeed in all of his classes.  I think he's learning that he's smarter than he gives himself credit for, and also that learning is actually kind of fun!

Well, I'm pretty sure most of you know that Brad prepares taxes for a living, and that means that he's extremely busy for the first few months of the year.  He did something crazy and registered for 6 classes this past semester!  Even though he was super busy and tired, he pulled it off with flying colors!  He got all of his final grades yesterday and came away with 5 As and 1 B!!!!!!  He is amazing.  :)

I wanted to include a clip from A Christmas Story that shows Ralphie daydreaming about getting an A+ on his theme, but none of them allow embedding.  :(  So, if you don't know what I'm talking about (and even if you do!) click HERE to watch a classic scene from one of my favorite movies!

Way to go Brad!  Keep up the hard work babe!