Introductions: Part 3

This is my son: Bubbers

Bubbers brightens my every day (sometimes a little too early, but that's okay). Here's a picture from today, where I got him to smile after a nap (I tell you what, there's nothin' in the world better than that).

Charming and I adore him to pieces. Every night we sneak into his room and whisper "Good night, Little Man" and "We love you, Bubbers" to him. Then we high-tail it out of there before we wake him up. (He's a trooper, though--didn't even budge when I used the flash one night to snap this one--it's all about the non-REM sleep).

He is my precious little buddy!

Here are few Bubbers tidbits:

• has his Dad's easygoing personality & rugged good-looks
  
• loves to eat
• very observant
• great sense of humor
• appears quite serious in public--rarely cracks a smile for strangers (which makes Mom and Dad feel special)
• enjoys the outdoors & new places
• large in stature & surprisingly strong
• fountain of never-ending spit-up
  
• incredible sucking instinct
• exceptional sleeper
• has the most wonderfully soft, chubby, kissable cheeks ever to grace this planet
  

Introductions: Part 2

This is me: Heidi (in my younger, blonder prime)

To know me is to know how much I love the land of my youth. This is the spectacular view I lived and breathed every day while growing up in the Carson Valley in Nevada. (And who says Nevada isn't pretty?)

Those years were made special because of my family. Here's my all-time favorite picture of my wonderfully large family. (I'm the second to the youngest--with the long brown hair).

Things got even bigger and better when we started adding in-laws! We're missing a sister-in-law here, but it's the most complete one we have of the adults... (We're also sans adorable children--of which there are 21 to date, and still counting!)

Here a few Heidi tidbits:

• adores children like nothing else
  
• sentimental
• easily emotional (times a million ever since I got pregnant with my son)
• (annoyingly?) loud guffaw laugh
• cheerful
  
• loves anything romantic
  
• very organized
• driven
• enjoys music
• optimistic
• aspires to be published someday
  

To be continued...

Introductions: Part 1

Before I go much further, I should probably make some introductions...

This is my husband: Prince Charming

He is a great sport about my addiction to pictures--especially considering he strongly dislikes getting his picture taken. Here is one of his coping mechanisms...

We met at college where he courted me like the wonderful gentleman that he is. I'll always remember him spontaneously helping me on with my jacket during our second date and how it melted my heart. Wow, I thought, No one's ever done that for me before.

Charming became my best friend and I soon realized that I never, ever wanted to be away from him...

So, one beautiful spring morning, we got married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple.

Here are a few Charming tidbits:

• funniest person I've ever met (he's got the best one-liners ever!)
• tall, dark & handsome
  
• loves a clean house
• avid reader
• always willing to serve
  
• loves to be with people
  
• enjoys a good meal
  
• sensitive & kind
• honest
  
• loves his baby son (favorites: holding him while he sleeps, making him laugh, getting him after a nap, pajama hugs, bath time, playing games, sneaking into his dark room to watch him while he sleeps)
  
• brilliant
• attentive
  
• easygoing
  
• the perfect husband for Heidi

To be continued....

What's in a Name?

Choosing names has always been difficult for me--especially under pressure. I sat there staring at the screen, my husband looking over my shoulder.

"What are you going to call it?" Charming asked.

"Uh...I'm not sure," I answered nervously.

I typed in a title. Delete. I tried another one. Delete.

Finally I just took a deep breath, typed it in, closed my eyes and clicked the button.

"Why did you choose that one?" Charming asked.

Uh-oh, I thought, Isn't it obvious?

See, I love making DVD movies. It combines my two great loves: family and home videos/pictures. (My nieces and nephews wouldn't recognize Aunt Heidi without a camera glued to her face).

I learned about video authoring a few years ago and it was like the heavens opened with an angelic choir singing and light poured down upon my upturned face.

This is my calling! I thought, and I've never looked back.

Mostly I make movies of family reunions. See, I have three brothers and four sisters. All but one of us are married with children and we're all scattered across the western half of the United States. But we love being together. So every year we pack up our children and car seats and trek to my parents' house in beautiful California. Then we live it up with Mom's delicious cooking, late-night Mafia games, music performances and tons of laughter!

So far I've made three movies. Fortunately, my family loves them. In fact, this last reunion they made me cry when my oldest brother gave me a check to buy a new computer! Secretly, the whole family pooled together money for me and my husband bought me this sweet new machine that's so fast! (Can you believe that? Am I lucky, or what?)

Anyhow, while making my second movie, I recruited my brilliant husband to make a Flash clip to be my new trademark: Heidi's Studio. I wanted something simple, classy and feminine. Of course, he did a great job--exactly what I wanted. (Like I said, he's just brilliant. And funny, too. And handsome).

That was a couple years ago, and now Heidi's Studio has taken on an entity all its own. (That doesn't mean I have to pay taxes on my family's gift money, does it?)

So, it was the natural choice for the name of my new blog.

(p.s. My current project is huge--kind of a biographical piece spanning from my parents' births to their children's marriages. My goal is to have it finished in time for their 40th wedding anniversary next year. Here's a link to the trailer I just made for it).

Taking the Plunge...

Last night I was looking at some friends' blogs and thought, "These are so neat. Too bad I'm not interesting enough to be able to do a blog." Then I said it out loud to my husband who was sitting on the floor of our bedroom working on some of his computer magic on our laptop.

"You should totally do a blog!" Charming replied, "I'm surprised you haven't already. I've always thought that would be your kind of thing."

"Really??" I smiled--and that was it.

I couldn't get the thought out of my head. While I brushed my teeth I started mentally composing entries. After we said our couple's prayer and I was supposed to be asleep, I was thinking about my blog. When my 4-month-old woke up at 4:00 a.m. for his feeding, I thought about my blog.

I did try to talk myself out of it. "It'll just be another thing you'll need to keep up on," I said, "You don't need another item on your to-do list." I didn't listen.

"Okay, so you do start a blog--what if it takes over your life and you don't do anything else?" I tried another approach, "Remember all your chores now that you're a homemaker? How are you going to do all that and a blog, hm?" Still, I didn't listen.

So, here I am writing my first entry on my new blog. And it feels deliciously right.