Merry Christmas!

things i never knew ♥

Before I was married I observed many marriages, honorable and less than honorable. I thought about all of the ways my life would change and thought I had a good grasp on the commitment and lifestyle it entailed. After meeting and dating Matt I felt I could picture that life even more, and I couldn't wait to start it.

Looking back now I see how little I actually knew...

I never knew that after two years of our married life I would be more excited
about you coming home at the end of the day than I was for the very first time,

I never knew how much I would want to serve a mission with you,

I never knew I would be understood so well,

I never knew my heart could feel so much of what you were going through,

I never knew I would have to wear earplugs to bed, ba hah!:)

I never knew that I could feel so encouraged to create and dream,

I never knew I would be more attracted to you now than the day we were married,

I never knew how much I would like hearing you sing in the shower,

I never knew that during pillow talk that I would laugh until
I cried so often and feel so completely lost in happiness,

I never knew how able you would be to
help me deal with emotional and physical pain,

I never knew just how happy your laugh could make me, ha ha,

I never knew that you had an ability to
lift and strengthen people the way you do,

I never knew that I had married a man who so
diligently flossed his teeth...such a pleasant surprise!;)

I never knew just how much difficulty, pain, joy,
and wonderment we would experience in two years,

I never knew how much our relationship would be
strengthened by miss grace coming into our home,

I never knew how much success excitement, happiness, fulfillment
you would get from law school and how fun that would be for me to watch.

I never knew that our experience of bringing Grace into this world
would deepen our love and respect for each other so greatly,

I never knew that I would never be able to beat you at checkers, EVER!!!

I never knew that because of you and Grace I would feel more 
of a home in a different state than I have felt since I was a child,

I never knew how much I loved talking to you and
how hard it would make it to get to sleep by a decent hour,

I never knew how many times I would feel I didn't deserve you,

I never knew I would want to ever talk about BYU football,
and most especially that I would actually enjoy it :),

I never knew that my love for Joseph Smith and church history
would grow so much because of your example and love for it,

I never knew that you were so brave,

I never knew donuts could make someone so happy!:)

I never knew how much our daughter would resemble you
love you, connect with you, and how happy that would make me,

I never knew I could feel so one with someone,

I never knew how unbelievably happy and fulfilled I could be.

I l♥ve you Matt! Happy Anniversary and thank you for making

 this the best two years I have experienced yet! :)

jackson and brooklyn...:)

I had way too much fun during this session.  Check it out! suzbushmanphotography.blogspot.com

mister max

suzbushmanphotography.blogspot.com

where shepherds lately knelt

This is one of my very favorite Christmas songs!
It's refreshing to have such stirring and thought provoking lyrics.  
 I put the video on if you haven't ever heard it.

Yay for Christmas songs!  They pretty much all make me happy.:)

Where shepherds lately knelt and kept the angel’s word,
I come in half-belief, a pilgrim strangely stirred;
But there is room and welcome there for me,
But there is room and welcome there for me.

 In that unlikely place I find him as they said:
Sweet newborn Babe, how frail! And in a manger bed,
A still small voice to cry one day for me,
A still small voice to cry one day for me.

 How should I not have known Isaiah would be there,
His prophecies fulfilled? With pounding heart I stare:
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me,
A child, a son, the Prince of Peace for me.

Can I, will I, forget how Love was born, and burned
It’s way into my heart unasked, unforced, unearned?
To die, to live, and not alone for me,
To die, to live, and not alone for me.

do your best on the test...:)

Matt sporting my old shirt from when I taught at Franklin Elementary, and making me laugh really hard too.

(we are dorks, I know)

Good luck to all that are taking finals this week,
and don't forget to do your best on the test!

healing grace

I love the month of December, not only because of the fun excitement of the holiday but because there seem to be reminders everywhere of our Savior Jesus Christ.  This year I have felt a deep yearning to draw nearer to Him.This month has not been particularly easy for our family, and through our experiences we have felt much of the healing power of Jesus Christ and also of his great love and awareness of us and our circumstance.  In turn, thankfully we have been blessed with a greater meaning and depth of what we are truly celebrating this season.  A couple of days ago a dear friend of mine gave me this willow tree, healing grace.  This gift is so meaningful to me and has caused me to ponder in a deeper way the healing that I have experienced myself, and also for many others that I know.  Most specifically my mother.  How thankful I am that He was willing to do this for me and everyone that I love!  The healing power that comes through the atonement is one of the most precious gifts I have ever received and has made some terribly difficult experiences very sacred and strengthening.  I love Him and rejoice in the joy and perspective that come as I think about His life and mission.  The knowledge of His character makes everything better, I hope you and your family feel of His power and love this season as we have!

family pictures

  I thought she captured such fun and sweet natural moments. 

I left off some of my favorites for the Christmas card.:) 

One great perk of being a photographer is that you get lovely trades such as this...

thanks Lindsey (you are amazing)!  

Have I ever mentioned that I love having a girl?  Well, I do!

you need to click on this one because it's pretty cute. I feel it fully captures miss Grace at the moment!:)

myleigh and morgan post

suzbushmanphotography.blogspot.com

christmas in the park

The day after Thanksgiving we were really getting into the Christmas spirit!:)

{Christmas in the Park}

The lights at this enormous park put temple square to shame.  They were incredible and the best part is that admission is free.  I can't imagine considering what they must pay to keep the thing going, but we were grateful.  We drove around the park first and then got out and walked some of it.  A big thanks to laura for the pictures. I still can't believe I forgot my camera! :)

Grace continually fascinated by the lights this evening as you will see below.

Mckay and Jefferson riding the train. :) So cute!

Bryan and Ashley

I love this pictures, Talmage and Grace checking out the lights.

Talmage, Ben, Laura, Madelyn, and Jefferson.

Hooray for Christmas in the Park, we had an excellent time!

After we came back to the house and Ben and Laura bought donuts (a bushman favorite:) and four kinds of hot chocolate.  We were in heaven.  A perfect way to start out the season right.

This was a cute moment at the table.  Grace kept kissing Talmage over and over.  It was so cute, the expression on his face was priceless-very confused. Ha ha! Suddenly, he decided to lay a big wet one on her! It was adorable.  Glad I was able to capture it.:)

We turned on the fireplace (it was finally cold enough to use it that day, just perfect!) watched The Polar Express and put up our tree.  It was a magical night of coziness, talking, and laughter.  By far my favorite night of the break!  I guess that's the magic of Christmas. :)

Neil helping out with the tree

Ben and Matt putting up the lights on the tree.  They did it proud...can't wait to show off the finished product!  It's amazing how cozy the tree can make a home.

More of Grace loving the lights, she was cracking me up.

This is my quite possibly most favoritest picture. Ever. 

On to celebrating the most beloved holiday of all!:)

giving thanks

What a memorable and heartwarming thanksgiving we had this year. 

We were lucky to celebrate it with so much family and our dearest friends Brian and Cathy. 

What more could you ask for than a full house of people you love? The food was just an added bonus.

Grace really gets in to praying these days. :)

Grace with Matt in the pantry sneaking food before dinner.

Love Laura! Isn't she the cutest? 

I am so thankful everyone pitched in so well with the meal. 

We had SO much food, and it everything was absolutely delicious.

Good thing too because there were 11 adults and 6 kids this year at the table. 

I LOVED it. Luckily we had two ovens!

Jefferson helping Matt prepare the salad.  They have such a sweet relationship.:)

Madelynny!

Preparing dinner to some sweet tunes.

Christa had this fantastic idea for the kids to do before dinner.  Ok, so she and Laura did most of them but they turned out beautifully, don't you think?

Jefferson and Luke.  First time meeting and it was like they were joined at the hip the entire day. 

They were my helpers gathering sticks for the centerpieces.:)

Cathy keeping the girls entertained with Cinderella.

Time with Grandpa.  I loved watching this. :)

Ben carving the turkey!  He and Laura brought ham too, it was really fun to have both!

{playing after the meal}

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving and the only thing that could have made it better was having all of our family there.  We missed you so much! 

Thanks to everyone who made it so special!