Hands full and loving it (mostly)

Handsfullmom: I'm a runner, a photographer, a reader, a friend, and most importantly, a wife and the mother of eleven children: seven girls and four boys, with one set of twins. I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and I love writing about my faith and my family. I started this blog in 2005 when blogs were new and an exciting way to connect with others. My posts have been about family, faith and the ins and outs of managing life in a large family. Over time, I migrated to sharing more often on other platforms, but I still stop in here occasionally. In 2019, I dove into the New Testament and posted my weekly insights. I followed that up with video playlists for the next year's study. Welcome to my little corner of the internet! ~ Christina

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I Belong

My cute family in 2018

Hands Full Photos

My Photography

Words to Live By

No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse. ~ Jeffrey R. Holland
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Sharing blesses the giver and the receiver. For the giver, the effort may sometimes feel like jogging uphill feels to me. Even the slightest incline requires so much effort. But once I have made that effort and I’m on the downward slope, I say over and over to myself, “now let the road carry you.” When we are in the midst of a personal challenge, if we can make that huge uphill effort to think of others in need and serve them, then that very act will carry us over our hills of discouragement. And the road can carry us the rest of the way toward renewed purpose and hope. ~ Susan Tanner
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When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. ~ Neal A. Maxwell
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Our Father also gifted us with the nature to nurture, keen sensitivity to the Spirit, selflessness, discernment, and heroic faith. No wonder our Father placed us at the heart of the family and thus at the center of the plan of salvation. We are the Lord's secret weapon. ~ Sheri Dew
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Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. ~ Margaret D. Nadald
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The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. ~ Neal A. Maxwell