a WeEkS wOrTh

So this time getting behind was intentional and I will continue to update a week at a time in hopes that my sad computer will make it until we can afford a new one. There is no hope for this one long term and we have to save up the money to get a new one as I do not classify a computer as a necessity.

April 15, 2013

Grateful for those moments in the day that you catch your kids doing something unexpected and "heart warming." I have had so many of those moments lately that I cannot help but be grateful for those moments and the joy I receive from them.

April 16, 2013

I am grateful for the time we spend in the morning reading our scriptures. There are many wonderful verses that I come upon during those morning reads. Not only that but I know that it starts out my children's morning on the right track as well as teaches them what to center their lives around.

April 17, 2013

I am so thankful that I can understand my sweet Owen bug. I do not always understand what he is saying but I do understand enough of what he says now that it isn't such a huge upset for him now. I didn't realize that I ought to be thankful for this until the other day when Owen was being tested and the lady turned to me and said, "can you understand him?"

April 18, 2013

I am so thankful that we were able to spend the whole day with mister Owen on his 3rd birthday. It is so fun to celebrate with my kids on their birthdays. He had a lot of fun and his cute little personality really showed through. I even got some super cute pics.

April 19, 2013

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to use my creativity recently. It has been so much fun to jump back into dance. I had given it up since I had Aiden and I wouldn't change that for the world, but I have really enjoyed creating these dance workouts. Not the same as I use to do but it is better than nothing. Now I just have to remember them as I teach them and start out left. : /

April 20, 2013

I am so thankful for the beautiful relaxing Saturday we had. I was able to go outside and play with my kids. Thanks to the weather for behaving like spring. :) Then we got to watch the Sandlot which of course meant smores. I love that we were able to share something so simple with our kids but it will be something that we can share with our kids regularly and create some really fun memories for them.

April 21, 2013

I am grateful for sunglasses. Odd maybe but someone with light sensitive does learn to appreciate something so simple. Without my sunglasses I would have ridiculous headaches all of the time. This at least makes it so they don't get so out of control.

Be grateful for the small things in life. Those are the blessings most often passed by.

hard getting done

April 12, 2013

I am so bad at getting on when the weekend comes around. We are always go go go busy. I don't mind though. I love soaking in all the family time. I love the uninterrupted time with my older school bound kids. Anyways I am grateful for the KCC cleanse I have begun and all the information that has come with it. I really do feel like I am starting to get such great life changing information for myself and my family. I love that this can become a new lifestyle. It will be a "fight" at first I am sure, but in the long run I think we will all end up loving the new food. Plus I know we will all feel so much better. :)

April 13, 2013

We had so much fun on Saturday. It was a new event for our family and to boot it was FREE. Who complains about free right. We went to the ladybug nursery at 9:30 in the morning for the free breakfast which was pretty good. The weather was a little chilly but at least it didn't rain or snow. Then all of the kids got to catch and keep all the ladybugs they could find. It was a lot of fun watching the boys try to catch all the ladybugs crawling around. It was so fun that I hope they do it every year so we can go.  One of the best things about the day aside from the family time was that Owen started saying bayeebug at the end of the time we were there. I love when he picks up new words. I love how hard he works to learn new things and pick up new skills. He is such an amazing little guy and such a huge light and joy to our family. Also our sweet little Dessa baby started pointed out ladybugs all over the place at the end of the time we were there and she also said bug bug bug. So cute. My kids are so much fun and I love every minute! Owen also got to see sheep with his brothers across the way from the ladybug nursery and he walked around going baa baa. So funny. All smiles that day and so thankful for our whole Saturday!  Honestly so grateful for all those beautiful moments I got to witness. They are small I am sure but I don't care because they were huge to me. :o)

April 14, 2013
For today I am grateful for the moments that my computer decides to be functional. It has been kind of a mess lately. I am thankful that I can still get on and get done what I need to on my computer. I am hoping that it will start behaving nicer! Guess we will see how long it will last and then if I stop posting we will know it died? Honestly I am sure it will last a while but it is pretty old.

Truth

I am grateful for honesty. I love when people can be honest. I know that many do not enjoy honesty anymore, but I really do. I wish people were more honest. That being said you do not have to be rude to be honest. Honesty to me is when you tell someone the truth in a way that is least likely to hurt anyone's feelings.  It is hard to do that sometimes and of course there are times where the truth may not always be the very best choice. Don't ever go telling people they look fat when they ask you but you could possibly offer up a different option with a line like "this might go together better." Always a nice way to be honest and who wants to go out looking horrible in an outfit. Unless you are the husband then I guess the rules might change? I would still want my hubby to be honest with me. I am so thankful for the fact that he is honest with me. He is always so strong for me and I love that. He is always honest while being so strong and yesterday was a little different then the normal for him. I love him even more for letting me know how he feels completely about Owen going to school even if it went against his idea of being "strong" for me. I love him so much and I am glad that our relationship is such a positive one that we can have one hundred percent honest conversations with each other and not worry about a judgement. We support and love one another and do our very best to help each other through the struggles life tosses our way. Both Aarron and I are struggling with Owen growing up. It has been so hard because he has grown up all at once on us and we have never had to consider putting any of our kids going to school before they were 5. For some reason it is so much harder for us. We are going to do what is best for Owen. We will pray about it and we will trust in the Lord. I still hope to be able to have Owen in school for just 6 weeks and then we can get him caught up so he doesn't have to go next year. I do feel we should put him in school even though neither of us love the idea, but we will pray about it to know we are doing the best thing for him. I love the honesty of the preschool worker who tested him yesterday as well. I enjoy when people trust me with the truth and allow me to know all the facts. So here is to a more honest world. : )

good day

I am thankful for my day. Yes there were moments where I was super flustered. My sweet Owen decided to get into chocolate syrup. Can you say HUGE mess?!  Anyways even with those moments it was a great day. We got to go to the preschool today to do a few more tests with Owen. It was great to see how far he has come. It was great that the lady who was doing the testing told me she noticed how far he has come and that she can tell we work with him. It did a lot ot ease my mind about sending Owen to preschool. I am still hoping to only have to send him for the next 6 weeks and then keep him home and working with me. I am not a preschool mommy, but I do know they can offer him things I cannot and that he will greatly benefit from going. So for now I will send him to school and cry like a big baby about it. I love my kids and I will do  anything and everything I can for them as will Aarron. After that we were able to come home and get dinner done and spend some time together as a family at the dinner table. I love that time of day. It is so nice to sit down with my sweet kids and hubby and get to have everyone talk to each other. Over all I am just so grateful for my day it was a beautiful one :)

Light in the Darkness!!!

Yesterday night the power went out. Not a huge deal for me because the kids had already gone to bed and I have batteries lights around the house. I don't love the dark, but I dislike my husband being late coming home even more. I will readily admit that I am a worry and that it doesn't take me a whole lot of time to start thinking about the worst. I felt like my husband was okay but he wasn't answering his phone and was 25 minutes late. By that time I am starting to stress even though I felt like he was okay. I finally just said a prayer that Aarron would call me so I knew for sure that he was okay. Within no more then 2 minutes I get a call from Aarron. It was such a small blessing from my heavenly father, but such a testimony builder. In that moment I could not help but be more grateful than words can express for a Heavenly Father who knows and loves me. I have no doubt that he answered my prayer knowing that I needed that call from Aarron. I am grateful for the knowledge of his love for me that I do have. I am grateful that I have no doubt that he does hear me and more importantly cares enough about me to bless my life. I am not sure there is anything more precious in this life. There are miracles all around us and we are so lucky to have so many amazing and precious blessings in our life!

done...uh huh

Today I am grateful to have managed to get my laundry washed and folded. Yay it is done. Hehe right. I will probably be doing more tomorrow and if not Wednesday for sure but I am totally okay with that. I love to get my wash done. It is so nice to have it completed and put away. Plus then you get a clean bed out of it and clean clothes no complaints here. I also cannot stand stinky or soggy washcloth and towels so another bonus right there. If I get it done on the day that I wash it I feel like it is so much less work. Totally thrilled today and feeling accomplished!

the weekend...

April 6, 2013
I am so grateful for the conference weekend we just had. There were so many great words shared. I very much so enjoyed Thomas S. Monson's talk. He is so funny and real. He has a way of just letting you know we all live and learn. We mess up along the way, but we all can learn and be better. I am grateful for our church and the prophet. I am also so grateful for the many other leaders of our church and the many leaders who have impacted my life so greatly!

April 7, 2013
I am not only super thrilled about this but so thankful for it. I am thankful for the announcement of a temple to be built here in Cedar City. We will be so lucky and blessed to have a temple so close. I am excited to be able to attend the temple regularly! It is hard to say okay lets spend the next 4-5 hours away from our kids and trust them to someone else. I am not good at that. I do not lie and as much as it sounds like or is an excuse I can't change the fact that I struggle greatly with it. I have come to the realization that I do suffer from  some anxiety issues especially when it has to do with my family. Crazy I know but it is how I am. All of that being said I love the temple and do have a real desire to attend it on a regular basis. I hope to make that a possibility on a monthly basis or at least every other month. I am excited for the temple to be so close. It will drastically lessen our time away from the kids on those days. I do have to say I feel kind of bad knowing so many others in our church sacrifice so much to make a trip to a temple so far away and I will pray that more temples are built around the world for so many of the other members of our church. It is such an amazing blessing and everyone should have the opportunity to attend the temple!

Oh Boy!!!

Today I am thankful for the end of the week. Sometimes I feel like I am always just going going going until I fall in bed at night. This was one of those weeks. Things have been crazy busy and my younger kids have been rather grumpy this week. Not a super combo but I can think of many worse ones. I am so glad that the weekend is rolling around and that we will have a few lazy days. We will also have a few days where we are not worrying about homework every night. It is so nice to catch a breather. I of course will have things to do this weekend but we do not have to worry about so much. I am also super excited to get in some great family outside time again. Love this time of year! So here is to the weekend...YAHOO! I hope everyone else gets to enjoy their weekend as well. :)

Visit

So since moving back to Cedar City I have been a lot happier. I do not enjoy the crazy busy rude city. I don't like feeling pushed through life by others. Those are some of the things I struggled with while we were up north. I am glad that we have a good place to live with some good friends. All of that being said I do miss the ease of visiting family. We by no means went and visited everyone on a super frequent basis, but the option was there to just swing by. I miss that. I think the only thing I really miss from up north is family.

Today I am so thankful that we got some time to visit with some family. It is nice to get to hear how they all are. It is beyond wonderful to be able to catch up with them and to hear about how all of our siblings are doing. I know it is a long trip for them to drive but I am glad that they did. It is funny to me that the relationship with my in-laws started out so rough. I am very glad that it is so much better now. I do enjoy spending time with them. So thank to them for making the trip down and spending time with us.

giving time

I am one of those people who LOVES holidays. I decorate for everyone that I possibly can. I always have to have things to do with the kids for the holidays. So today I am grateful to the many persons who work on the holidays helping families so that others can enjoy their holidays with their families. Some of those people are police officers, fire fighters, and nurses. I am sure there are many other people who fit into this category. I am not sure we take the time to appreciate the safety they work to create for us. The time they are away from those they love to take care of us or our loved ones. I also am not sure how often we take the time to realize that they do put their lives on the line for us. I don't want to go around forgetting to thank some of those people that I don't know who are there to help make and keep us all safe.

Readers :)

I am so thankful for the fun books we happen to own. I am also so grateful that my kids love to read. I love that they always want to read and that most of the time they treat books so nice. I am so glad that Aiden is such a great reader. Last night was an epic fail moment for me. I have been letting Aiden read for 20-30 minutes after everyone is in bed. He does such a great job reading that I have to make sure I get back there to take the book away so he can get to sleep and so the book will last more then one day. If I don't make it back there he will stay up and read until he is done with the book. So last night that was my big fail. He finished his whole chapter book which made it so that he didn't go to bed until almost 10. I felt so bad this morning waking him up but he had to get ready for school. Future reference I guess I will set a timer so I don't forget.

Reading is one of the best things we can encourage in our children for their future so I am so excited that my children really do have a love for books and reading. Each one of them really does try to read and improve on what they can already read. I am lucky that they want to so it is not a huge fight. I am grateful for my sweet self-motivating children!

HiLaRiOuS :o/

Okay so moving right along into what I am thankful for today...I am thankful for the hilariously embarrassing moments we get to watch together as a family for a long time now.

I am very grateful for the technology to be able to change our 8mm video camcorder tapes over to DVD's. I was very worried for awhile that we would lose all those wonderful memories that we had recorded especially when Aarron's video camera broke. What neither he nor I realized was how many funny (we should have recorded over this) moments were on there. Now those moments are stuck on the DVD but honestly I can't really complain about them. I am glad that those dorky moments are now on film for us. I am sure we will cherish them more in the future than we do now. Thank you to those who worked to get our tapes turned into DVD's. Words can't express the happiness it gives me to have those forever :)

Easter

I did not manage to get this post written before midnight rolled around but since I haven't fallen asleep yet it counts ;)

Today i am thankful for so many things today. I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the ressurection and the faith I have in it. I love that we were able to go to church and teach our primary kids about the ressurection. That is such a blessing to see such bright spirits latch onto the principles of our gospel with so much purety and assurity. They amaze me all the time and I love how much that can teach us as we teach them.

Today I am also thankful for my beautiful children. I know again...right? I honestly get to see so many moments that are just so sweet and special with them. I got a great picture today of my three sweet loving boys helping their baby sister walk to her daddy. It is so amazing to see a bond like that between your children and know that as they get older they will have one another as friends to lean on. I couldn't be happier about that. I also love that I know my boys care about their sister and want to keep her safe. She has three brothers to watch over her and protect her and a big daddy to as well. She is one lucky girl!

I am also very grateful for the working camera that we have that catches so many great moments of our kids. I do wish that our video camera was in working order so that we could catch all the moments inbetween what the camera catches but you can't complain when you can at least catch a good majority of them. Today is definately one of those days where you want to catch those moments. Some of those firsts and just the fun special holiday moments. We are lucky to have a camera and the access to get copies of those pictures.

Today well we were doing the Easter egg hunt we had the two older boys outside and the younger two kids inside. The Easter Bunny did it that was so it was fair. ;) So of course the two older boys did a great job finding eggs outside and only missed a few without help. Inside with the two young kids was such a special experience. I didn't at all expect what I say and I had to switch Aarron kids so he could share that experience as well. Owen is a sweet little guy and loves his siblings but he is also a really rough kid. He constantly runs over his sister just because he doesn't pay attention to what he is doing or who is around. He will just go up and hit his brothers (not that he gets away with behaving like that) but needless to say he is just a rough little guy. Our sweet experience today is such a perfect example of the little guy he really is. He is sweet and caring. He loves to share and he is loving! Today while he was easter egg hunting with his little sister he all of the sudden took a couple eggs out of his basket and put them in Dessa's basket. He saw that she only had 1 egg and wanted to share. After that as they were hunting in the bedrooms for eggs he would find an egg and put it in her basket and the next egg he found would go in his or vice versa. I think that is going to forever be such a priceless moment. I am glad that I got to share in that moment with my sweet kids and to witness the pure love they have for one another. I am blessed with such amazing children. They are stubborn and sometimes that makes my job as a mom so difficult, but these moments are the ones as a mom you live for. I couldn't imagine a more perfect show of love on such an amazing day.

A beautiful day with so much to be thankful for. :)

HAPPY EASTER!!!

hehehe

I am so thankful for the moments that my kids use their imagination. There was a time when Aiden would say "I hate my imagination." We have come far and oh boy does he come up with some of the most amazing ideas now. I also am thankful that I can hear those moments when my boys are playing off of each others imagination. I am also lucky enough to hear all the funny things my sweet kids say. Today while the boys were outside playing around with the rocks I hear Aiden say to Ian "These are my ugly rock collection and this pile of rocks is the one I like." I couldn't help but chuckle at that. Not only do you need a rock pile you like but lets have an ugly one as well. Not sure why he did that but I thought it was very cute and I am so grateful that I can enjoy all those fun and very sweet moments that my kids share!

Have you forgotten?

I think many times we get so wrapped up in our day to day lives that we forget those who have allowed us to do so. There are so many men and women who willingly serve our country and how often do we take the time to thank them? How often do you remember their constant service and the blessing it gives us without the reminder from an email or Veteran's Day? Those amazing people who serve now or have before had their lives change forever. They have seen things they should never have had to witness. They have made hard choices and they may have watched a loved "family" member die or be severely injured. Do we stop to think of that? Do we ever stop to realize their lives as they new them were destroyed and their is no going back for them? They wear such horrid wounds on a forever basis and I think we fail to remember those as well. I am grateful for those who have served bravely in the past and those who are currently serving. I am grateful to their families who have to live without them for the time they are deployed and for all the sacrifice their families make as well. I pray that all those who serve are safe and that they can come back home and find a way to cope with all those battle wounds. I do not envy them those hardships they carry and I don't know anyone who would want to take those from them and live with them. I do hope that they know there are many of us who do truly appreciate the freedoms and safety they allow us. We have lost to many service persons to those scares they carry and hope that we find a way to change that for those future men and women who come home. I want to shout a huge THANK YOU to each of those who kindly and bravely serve our country!

shath...?

This is one of those things that drives me absolutely crazy. I think it is so annoying when you get in the shower and the next thing you know there is a puddle starting in your shower and by the end of it you have ended up with a shower/bath or as I so recently renamed it a shath. I am so thankful that I do not have to deal with this because there is a solution. I love drano. It is fast and effective. Plus it is such a simple fix in my opinion. So come tomorrow morning I will be fixing my darling kids shath problem with a little drano. So glad it will be a simple and fast thing for me and then they will be back to have a more effective and less germy shower. :)

loud and wild :)

I am grateful for spring break. I love having my sweet kids home with me all the time. Yes it gets a little wild and extremely loud but I enjoy them being home and getting to share so much time together. I am so excited for the school year to be over and for summer to be here so that I can have so much time with my kids. I also can't wait to start enjoying all the fun outside activities again without freezing. I am also thankful for all the nice weather we have been having so we can soak up the much needed vitamin D. I have to say I have also really enjoyed seeing all the cute little birds and hearing all their chirps! Yay for what the season has to offer us :)

glimpse

Today was another special day. Honestly I feel that way more often then not but it was an exceptionally special day. I was lucky enough to go on a field trip with Ian. I did this with the last one as well. It is so much fun to get to see him interact with all of his little friends that he has made. It is also so nice to get to know some of the mom's of these boys so that I get a glimpse into these boys and if they are a good or bad influence on my little guy. I am thankful for the time I got to spend with him today during this field trip. He is a sweet little guy and I sometimes feel like I do not get enough time with him and that saddens me some, but in moments like this I feel like I am still getting that special time with my son and to grow the bond that we share. I love that I have the opportunity to create a strong bond with each of my children. They are my world and I would do anything I could for them.

the obvious

Okay so I again have to be thankful for my washer and dryer and will explain why in a little. I also am beyond grateful for walmart bags, baby wipes, and outside garbage cans!

So here comes the oh so fun story. :o)

Last night it was almost 10 p.m. and I was wanting to go to bed early since I went to bed late a couple times this week. Ten is not early for me at all but I was getting ready to get into bed because I knew I needed to get in bed A.S.A.P because it was a school night and I am the one who gets everyone in the family functioning and ready for the day. Just as I lay down I hear my sweet baby Owen starting to cry. I thought I bet he is having a bad dream (as he has done that a few times off and on in the last few months) and I will go pat his little back super quick and still get right back in bed. That is so not what happened. I head back toward his room and hear this choking sound which for most moms is an automatic link in our brains to my kid is sick. Sure enough I get the light on and he is covered in vomit and screaming now. I felt so bad for him. Thank heavens that my hubby was home we double teamed the mess. I was nice and gave him Owen to bath while I cleaned up all the yucky puke. So here is where the wipes come in. I am obviously grateful the obvious reason of diaper changing but I used wipes last night well trying to lessen the amount of puke on all the laundry I needed to throw into the washing machine. That leads right in to being so grateful I have a washing machine because it quickly got the laundry clean without me having to continue to smell it or touch it. Last I put all the nasty stuff into a walmart and Aarron took it right out and put it in the big garbage can. So thankful those things were available to help contain the mess and get rid of the smell in our house.

a rare thing

At this point in time it is a rare thing to be in a long term committed relationship let alone married. I am not saying it doesn't happen as it does, but it is thrust on us everywhere that it is okay to get married to get divorced or to avoid marriage altogether and just live with one another. I am not saying people who do that are horrible, but it does sadden me some. I love being married to my husband. I love being able to count on him coming home to me and only me. I love the example it gives to my children and what it shows them to expect from the person they choose to spend their life with. You should be able to expect unconditional love and respect. You should be able to be sure in the relationship you share that you are the one who matters and just you. I know that their our married people who cheat on their partners and it doesn't create a box of flawlessness but I do believe it gives you a better shot when those values and expectations are so clearly defined. All of that being said I am so grateful for the amazing example my parents have shown me with their marriage. They had a very rough start but instead of giving up and being done they fought through it and now have been married for 27 years and 1 day. :) How amazing is that to be shown that amount of love and commitment to one another even in the rough times? I am so glad I have been able to have such a great example in my life of a positive relationship. I hope that my kids can get so much positive from the example that Aarron and I set for what a marriage should be, and that we can keep the wonderful example going.

spring cleaning seems a fitting time

I am so thankful today for the happy little children who yelled "HOORAY" when I said it was time to do chores. They even continued doing them "the mom way" without complaining. I have made the decision to go over each specific chore in the house one chore each Saturday until we are through them all to teach my family how to do them "the mom way." I love that they all like to help me but they usually don't quite get it done and I want to teach them the right way to clean now so when they are grown they know how it should be cleaned. I won't lie it is hard for me to give up my control on getting the chores done to my standard, but in time they will be able to do them just as good as I do. I am sure when they get a little bigger they will not enjoy it but will do them the right way as that will be what was expected from the beginning. I love that for now they enjoy chores and helping mom out so much. I appreciate their pleasant attitudes so much more then I could tell them. :)

any better...?

Can it really get any better then this? I really feel like I have such a blessed life. There are rough patches for many different reasons along the way but even those become a blessing. Everytime I turn around I am amazed by the wonderful people who share my home. There is so much love in our home and I am astounded by it and so glad for it. I can't help but tell and show my family how much I love them on a daily basis. They all return that love so completely. I am thankful for the blessing of these beautiful people in my life. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with these sweet spirits. This was not really the original plan for my post but I honestly feel like the luckiest woman in the world so often that I can't help but share those feelings. It is a beautiful thing to be so happy and to know how amazing the people are who share your life with you on a daily basis!

I would also still like to share how thankful I am for our wonderful evening last night. I made a yummy dinner and we decided to go eat out on the lawn. It was so nice to be able to go outside and spend the time together as a family eating and talking. After dinner was over we got to pull out some of the outside toys and play with all our sweet kids outside. It was so much fun to play outside with them and to just watch them and soak up those moments. They will grow up so fast and I love to watch and see how much they have learned and grown already. Our children have always had lots of personality but it is fun to see how the older kids personalities are growing as they learn more things and have that time to search out their independant thoughts. I am thankful for the nice weather that allowed us to share that time last night before bedtime rolled around. Overall I am just grateful for this beautiful life I have been blessed with!

the CRAZY!!!!

I am thankful for the crazy that my children surround me in. I won't lie and say there are never moments that I want to lock myself in a quiet space but I have come to realize that these loud crazy moments won't last forever. I enjoy my kids everyday of course but to enjoy the noise is odd. I am a quiet person and I get headaches really bad so I always have enjoyed the quiet time. I now though look at that noise as a huge blessing. There are sweet moms all around the world who don't get to hear their children's sweet or crazy noise for so many reasons. Realizing that is huge and I would encourage many young moms to find a special joy in that blessing we have. I am sure there are many more moments where I will be a little frazzled by it but I hope I can always find a way to step back in those moments and love this crazy loud life that I live. I will soak it all in and hold my babies close and maybe even find a fun crazy and loud activity to add into a weekend routine every so often. :)

It's gonna be a...

I am thankful for the sun. I love light. I do not enjoy when all the windows in my house are closed because I feel like I am in a dungeon. I enjoy the feel of the sun shining down on me and how it warms you up. It seems to make everyone happier. I mean honestly how can we not be thankful for the beautiful sun that does so many things for us. I guess I should just say I am so excited for the spring :)

: /

So I was doing good for awhile but life sure does get busy.

I know I have been thankful for this before but over this last week I have again realized how much I appreciate this. Owen over the last week has had multiple accidents out of the middle of nowhere which wasn't fun but was more tolerable due to our washer and dryer. So today I am so thankful for the washer and dryer that we have for those moments!

I am thankful also for the continuing of my journey in bettering my health and for all the information I have learned over the last week or so to help keep all of us healthy.

Oops skipped

Saturday...because I am that on top of things ;)

I am thankful  for the manual I have to help me make a lesson for the cute little primary kids we teach. It is a handful sometimes to get a lesson planned, but I enjoy that time in my week that I spend focused on making that lesson. It has given me a very good reminder of the focus for the week. Even in the moments that my kids are being wild or fighting and driving me crazy I think it has helped me teach them about life in a better way with a better focus for the their future and spiritual well being.

Sunday...
I am thankful for all my cute primary kids and the faith that they have and are working to improve. They are so full of knowledge that it astounds me sometimes. I love getting to know the new little kids who join our class or the ones who have not come in a long time. I hope that I get to serve in this calling for a while because I know it is helping me to become a better person and it touches our lives with such pure faith and happiness.                            

just one of those days...

So I am one of those odd mommies who does not enjoy time away from my kids without Aarron being home at list. I love every moment I get with them. There are those moments where I need some me time but I don't enjoy being away from my kids. I am human and I do need time talking to other ladies who totally get how I am feeling but I go when my kids are asleep and Aarron is home so that I don't miss time with them. This is not because I am a crazy mom who does not let her kids go out into the world it is because I want to soak up every moment I can with my sweet babies before they grow up and no longer want to spend time with mom and dad so much. I already know that the time with my kids will go faster then I am ready for or then I want it to. I have always found it funny when older people try to convince me about the time going fast and to enjoy my kids. I of course agree but they usually seem to think that I am just being agreeable when in all reality I already know that and it saddens me. For all those people who wish I would let my kids come over to be watched by you I don't do that for the very reason that I am not willing to give up that so very precious time with my kids. All of that being said I have gone out with my husband and enjoyed the time. I am not saying it is horrible to go out and leave your kids with a babysitter. It is just my personal preference that we don't really spend a ton of time away from our kids.

So what started this days post was my search for something to get Owen for his 3rd birthday. It sent me into this little "depression" about my kids. They are all growing up on me and they are doing it so quickly. It blows my mind at every birthday that my kids are a year older. It seems like it can't really be possible and yet I know it is. Owen though has kind of been that exception for me. He has been highly delayed in his speech, self-help, and fine motor development. This at one time was very concerning to me and I spent a lot of time working with him to improve his skills after he got tubes as well as a person coming out to help him once a month. He slowly improved but I could always still see his delay and knew he was my baby. :O) All of the sudden though about 2 months ago he made leaps and bounds in his improvement. Now don't get me wrong this is a great thing, but this is where his birthday and me looking for a present all came into play. Like I said he has always been my baby boy but all of the sudden I realize he is turning three on me with a probability of preschool and he is now capable of doing things on his own. My baby boyjust grew up on me. He is not a baby boy anymore he is turning into my big boy. As happy as I am that he has come so far in this last year with his development being almost exactly on target I am sad that it happened all at once because it hit a little harder then it normally does.

Not only is he getting bigger and not needing mom as much my sweet baby girl is starting to not need mom so much anymore. When all you have done for the last 7 1/2 years starts to change what do you do with the knowledge that you are not needed so much anymore. I honestly love my kids but these next few years of growing up that will hit are going to be hard ones on me. I at some point over these next few years will have to learn how to let go and let my kids learn and grow in this scary world without me being there to catch them all the time. That will be very difficult for me. I have faith that my Heavenly Father will help guide me to help my children prepare for the future so they can succeed in life. I know there will be hard and scary times where I will want to jump in and can't because they will need those moments to mold them. In those scary and tought times I know I will turn to my husband in those moments and that he will be there to support me through the tough moments. He always has before. I also trust that he will know when we need to step in for our kids and when to let them be...if it were up to me I am sure I would always jump in even though I know that isn't what they need. Sheesh is parenting hard. I pray that my kids don't make choices that compromise their future and that if they do start to struggle that we can help them get their lives back in order.

So there are a few things I am thankful for...my amazing husband who has worked so hard to allow me to stay home to raise our sweet babies, for the love and support he has always showed me, for all of the sweet and tough moments I get to share with my babies, and for the bond we share with our children.

a view point

You know one of the things I love so much about having children at home you get to see the world again through a child's eyes. It is such a huge blessing. I am grateful that I get to have the opportunity to see the world through such pure and sweet eyes. Children find joy in such simple things that as adults we forget to take joy in now. Children are also so forgiving to everyone. They get upset and their feelings might get hurt, but after a little time passes they have moved on and forgiven that person. What a sweet blessing that is. I also love that a little time to get over something is actually a small amount of time where as adults we say a little time and that could mean a day or two. I am lucky to have such beautiful and pure examples in my life. I have taught my children many things and I plan to teach them many more, but they have taught me so many wonderful things as well and for that I will always be grateful to them!

thankful for...

As I read an article today about the boy scouts of america it did create some concerns but not for just one child but for children on both sides of this new choice that has arose.

Today I am thankful that I have been taught to have tolerance for others. Tolerance does not mean you have to agree with a persons opinions, but that you can civilly disagree. This is such an important thing for people to learn to have. I hope that I can teach my children to be tolerant of others while not swaying back and forth from everyone elses opinions. I think it is important to have your own opinions and beliefs and to find what they are yourself. After you have done that I think it is important that you are capable of standing behind your own beliefs without stepping all over someone elses.

BSA lifting homosexual ban...thoughts

I do not have a child who is 14 yet, but I am the mother of three boys. I would hope that my opinion would matter to them as my boys will likely be boy scouts. I understand that the current survey will go into effect way before my kids reach the age to start the program, but it will also more then likely have an effect on my children. So like I stated above I would like my thoughts and feelings to at least be heard. I am not sure if you can get this information to them or not though.



I think the Boy Scouts of America program is an amazing program for young boys and young men to take part in. I do not feel that a persons sexual gender should be something that disqualifies them from the program. It teaches so many important skills that I do believe it important they have the opportuity to learn these things just like any other male child. I also feel it should be in a positive environment where they are not made to feel bad about themselves. Every child is entitled to a high self-esteem! We as those people teaching children need to nuture those important qualities in children in a safe and positive way.



That leads me into the issues I do feel may arise from this. For one I think it may be possible that there will be those boy scouts if allowed into the program who maybe have a same gender preference will be belittled or bullied for that particular preference. I don't think that is fair for those children and if that happens what will be in place to fix the problem. Also how often will they check into these individual groups to make sure that the safety of all the children is still being upheld?



Also as a mom I want nothing more then to keep my children safe. I do have to wonder if a homosexual leader or fellow boy scout will be a danger to my heterosexual child. Overnight campouts would probably be a cause for more concern as if the other leader is a heavy sleeper then what if they do not wake up if a situation were to arise. I think the safety of all children need to be thought of and accounted for. This question could be worded in the exact opposite way. Would a heterosexual leader and child who do not agree with the childs preference be a danger to the homosexual child. I think these concerns need to be addressed and a safety guidline need to be in place. Those guidlines also need to be followed not just put on paper but they do need to be used and there needs to be someone who checks to make sure the safety of our children are the top priority.



This particular thought comes to me that if they cannot assure the safety of those children together all in one group it may be worth creating a group of each. This would in essence be segregation.That though saddens me at the thought that it would seem we may be sliding backwards in history and creating the inability to tolerate one anothers differences rather then moving forward and seeing what good those around us can contribute. All of this being said I feel very strongly that all the childrens safety should be our very first priority and that then we need to build these children self-worth and self-esteem up and not tear it down!



Brisha Po'uha

Tuesday is the day :)

Last year I was lucky enough to get to volunteer in Aiden's classroom every Monday for the reading folder exchange. I loved going in to see how my son was doing in class and how much he achieved each week. I also enjoyed meeting all his little classmates and getting to know his friends. I like that some of the friends he has now are the same ones I met back when he was in kindergarten with them. I also love that he still wants to introduce me to all his new friends at school. What a huge blessing it is to know the friends our children spend so much time with.

Today I am thankful to have the opportunity to volunteer in Ian's kindergarten class ever Tuesday. I now work in groups with his little classmates. It is fun to be involved in the activities that he is doing in class. I am also getting the same opportunity to meet the friends he is making in his class this year. I enjoy seeing how well he is doing in kindergarten. He has improved so much since we moved back to Cedar. I am so proud of all the work he has put in and how well he behaves in class.

This mama is sure a lucky lady and is grateful for all of lifes little blessings!

Love him

My naughty little (almost 3 year old) monster today decided he would be super funny. I however did not find it so funny. I am a weird mom and I always meet my kids outside when they get off the bus. Today the bus had passed our house as I was getting my shoes on so I knew I wouldn't make it all the way down to where the bus stops. At that point I decided to just meet Ian on the sidewalk right outside our house. In the whole 2 minutes it took him to run home from the bus stop to me and us to walk around the lawn to the front door Owen had locked the door. Then the little stinker wouldn't/couldn't unlock the door. I am grateful for Sam (the manager of our apartments) who so quickly gave me the extra key to be able to unlock the door and get back inside to my kids. I am also grateful to her little boy Ryder who took that key back to his mom so I didn't end up locked out again. I love my little Owen bug but I sure would love if he would not pull surprises like that.

Experiment :)

Today I am grateful that my thrown together recipe was a success. Dinner was full of hiccups and at one point I even wanted to just give up and make macaroni or ramen. I am glad that I did not as all of my kids ate dinner pretty good today. No complaining and not much left over. Dinners usually don't go quite that easy if it is not something the kids normally eat. I am grateful for that tiny little blessing tonight to not have to hear complaining while they ate dinner. Plus it was healthy and yummy...you really can't complain ;)

bitterSWEET!!

I am not sure if I have already been grateful for this, but I don't honestly think you can ever be to grateful for the many things in your life.

I am grateful for my sister. It may have taken us 24 years to get along, but I am grateful that we are friends now. I always wanted to be friends with my sister and was very sad that it never really happened. At one point I thought that it may never happen. Her moving to Kentucky was such a great choice for her. She is so much happier now then she has ever been before. It makes me so happy to know that her life is working out for her. She is with someone who makes her happy and treats her and Garrett so good. I could not ask more for my sister. I like Aric just because of who my sister is now that she is with him. I am grateful to him for being such a positive influence in her life. He brings the best out in her like any good relationship should be. I wish them all the luck in their lives together.
I
Since she has moved out to Kentucky though our relationship has improved so much as well. I am somewhat saddened that she is so far away now because our relationship is finally where I wanted it to be and now I cannot go over and see her. I wish selfishly that she lived closer so I could visit her. I want to share those happy life changing moments with her and I get to sort of but it just isn't quite the same. I am sad that my kids do not get to really know and play with Garrett. We have been the ones who always lived farther away from family so even earlier in their lives they did not get to play together as much. Now I just feel like they might not ever really get to play together again. I am grateful for the times that I have shared with my sweet nephew and the moments that my boys have spent with their cousin.

I have to say I am excited for the new little bundle of joy they will have joining their family before long. It will be such a fun time for the three of them. I know they will all love that baby so much. That though even makes me sad. I will not get to see my new little niece or nephew for probably a long time. Kentucky is far away and it is a spendy trip, but I do really hope that we can all make it out there for a visit sometime soon after the baby is born. Until I can actually visit them or they visit here I will be grateful for all the long phone calls we share. I love my sister and am glad that we have gotten to a point where we can talk on the phone for an hour or more and talk about anything. It is so nice to share our lives with each other even though we are far away and to have the ability to better our relationship. I honestly am so grateful to Aric for being so wonderful to two of the people who are so important to me.  Love ya sis :)

and go...

Feeling kind of like life is a whirlwind. I am so glad that the weekend is here. I really do feel like my whole family needs some down time before life picks back up and gets crazy again. So I guess that leads nicely into what I am grateful for. I am grateful for the lazy weekends we get to spend together as a family. It is so nice to have that time together especially since our kids are growing up and eventually they may not want to spend so much time with mom and dad. I hope that they are always close to us and that our family bond is a special one, but I can't count on that. What I can count on though is the time I can give to my wonderful babies right now. :)

everyday things

I am grateful for the fridge in my kitchen that works and keeps my food from going rotten. I am glad we have healthy food to eat and that we do not have to throw out the left overs that we have after meals. I hate to waste food so it really is a blessing to have a fridge. I also am grateful for my stove which allows me to cook the food that we do have. I love home cooked meals. That is not to say I am always happy about or in the mood to cook but I do like home cooked meals. I am so grateful to have these appliances in my home. They make our lives a lot simplier that is for sure. :)

Yay!!!

Okay so as I stated way earlier in this challenge that I was thankful for my car that was and is so true. I am grateful that our Durango continued to work for us while we had it. There were some hiccups along the way with that vehicle and it was definately going downhill, but I am very glad we did have a vehicle to get around to where we needed to.

I am also grateful for the many people who helped us get where we needed to during those times when our Durango was being a little ticky. Well today is the day where we say goodbye to that lovely dark blue durango that was struggling. I am glad that we no longer have to stress about what is going to break next or when the durango is going to break down in such a bad way that we would be in big trouble. That lovely durango is fixable and I am sure it will turn out to be a good car for somebody who is smarter then I am with cars. I guess if they fix it up all nice and sell it then they won't have to worry about it but either way that is not my stress anymore...

Now I get to stress about paying off a used vehicle. We are thrilled to have gotten a good vehicle from a great dealership. They worked so hard to get us into a good vehicle for our family. There were a few people who really put in a lot of effort for us and even put in a good word for us. I am so grateful for those people. I am glad that we have a vehicle that fits us all so nicely and that I feel like is safe for my family. Thanks to all you wonderful people who worked a small miracle for us!

little blessings...

So today was my sweet baby girl's check-up after her hospital stay. Happy today that she is doing great and they are happy with where she is at. We still have the option of getting her suctioned if need be, but we are all hoping that we don't need to. It is funny to me that the two doctors who have really dealt with our kids can tell when they are sick because they behave so differently. I have loud children full of so much personality that when they are not openly showing it we all know something is wrong. :) I am so glad that my kids are so sweet and have their own personalities. I am also so grateful that people see my children as well behaved. I work hard to have them behave and though they don't always behave at home (and somedays I feel absolutely crazy) they always behave well when we are out somewhere. I know that my children are growing into great young men and a great little girl.

On to what I was originally going to be thankful for today. I am thankful to Dr. Newman who took the time to look at Aiden today even though it was Dessa's appointment. I love the small town family doctors for that reason. They really do care about how you and your whole family are doing. I don't go in there everytime asking for him to look at someone else though we usually discuss a multitude of health concerns while there I do not usually have him check out someone else in the family. I am glad he was so willing to today though because my Mr. Aiden has an ear infection. He woke up in the middle of the night crying that his ear hurt and he couldn't go back to bed. I feel so bad that he is hurting so bad, but I am glad that we have the meds to get him on the mend as well as the essential oils to help him heal faster. We are so blessed in our lives by all the many kind people we know. I couldn't be happier! :)

liFE HAPpens

Okay so I missed a few days but life happens and I would way rather have been where I was worrying about what I was then stressing about my blog and challenge :)

March 2- I am so grateful for hospitals and the ability they have to treat little children with RSV so well. Was it fun to see Dessa get her nose suctioned no, but I am glad they did it and got all of that mucus out of her so she could heal. She is a completely different baby from Friday night. I am so thankful for Kenny (the respiratory therapist) and how good he is at his job. He in my opinion is a huge part of her fast recovery.

March 3- I am grateful to have such amazing people in our lives who cared to reach out and check on us. It is so amazing to be surround my such kind and caring people. I really appreciate each one of them who reached out to check on not just Dessa but for everyone in our family. I am also so grateful for all the offers to help us out as we were balancing the family from two different places. Makes me really grateful for my cell phone that allowed us to say good night to the boys and to be able to be involved in bed time prayer.

March 4- I am grateful to the many people with so much knowledge of cars and for the friends who willing at the drop of a hat came and saved me and my sweet son from our overly tired unworking vehicle :) Got to love those days right.

More then anything I love the life I have and the people I share it with. I am so grateful for the health of my sweet babies and my spouse. Our lives are full of so many blessings and miracles we just have to stop so we can see them when they take place!

hAhAhA...like I will keep up ;)

Okay so the life of a mommy is a beautiful and wonderful experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, but it is also a super busy one where you come last. I am okay with coming last but I obviously am so not staying caught up on my daily blogging.

My poor kids all got sick with something which didn't last long at all for my boys. My poor sweet princess on the other hand is having a very difficult time getting over this. She has had a pretty constant fever at about 100.8 for the last three days. I have gotten it down to 99 a few times but it won't stay down. At least it hasn't gotten any higher then 100.8. I have kept her oiled up and sleeping as much as possible and I even moved the diffuser into her room. My poor little thing though. It makes me sad :( You can even tell how yucky she feels. I am hoping by the weekend we can kick whatever it is. If not we are doctor bound because I am not going to put it off until things get really bad!

So onto being thankful. Yesterday the last day of February...I am thankful for the chance I had to go to subway and get a februany. To bad Subway doesn't carry it through March maddness right. Maybe we should suggest that to them. I love that Subway does the 5 dollar footlongs because it is pretty healthy and I can use it for two meals. You just really can't complain when you pay 2.50 for one meal in my opinion. Probably a funny thing to be grateful for but there is so much junk out there to choose from that I find it very nice to have a decent place to stop at when you are busy running around with 4 kids.

March 1- I am thankful for the movie I watched today. It was a great movie and it was nice to watch something that didn't disappoint. The Odd Life of Timothy Green is such a sweet movie. If you have not seen it I would suggest watching it. I really like finding movies that I would feel great about having my kids watch and this was one of them. I don't feel like there are a lot of movies like that anymore. It is kind of sad to say that, but in my opinion very true. A lot of people think I am so crazy to no want my kids to watch certain movies or certain video games. A constant statement "they are going to learn it eventually anyways" or "it is the world we live in." My reply to those people is one why is that an excuse to thrust it upon them at a young age and better yet should they really learn such poor behavior from their parents. I think it important to teach your children how to handle themselves in this world and to tell them of the dangers out there. I also find it important to teach them about nature and some of that is sad, but I think those things are important. I don't however feel my letting them watch crude television or games is in any way going to prepare them for those things. All it teaches is violence and poor standards. I want my kids to know how to protect themselves and stand up for themselves not how to start the problems. Sorry end of rant.

I am also thankful for my diffuser and all the oils I have available in my home. As I mentioned above my poor sweet girl is sick but having the diffuser in her room has made a world of difference. I am glad we also have so many oils to combat so many different things so that if one oil is not working I can choose another.

Why Hello :)

So grateful today that I got to see my Daddy! I may have only been able to see him for a little while, but it was so nice to get to chat with him about how life is going. I have missed my parents like crazy since we moved back to Cedar City. Don't get me wrong I love Cedar City, but I do miss all the people I love back in West Valley. It is hard to go from being close to family and seeing them whenever you want to moving 4 hours away again. I am a lucky girl to have such an amazing dad. He was always there for me and supported me always. I love watching one of my dance videos and you hear him yell "Go Bear!" Hearing that makes me smile everytime. I am lucky to know how much my dad loves me. I am also super lucky to have had a dad who was good to not only me but my mom as well. He showed me how a man should treat his wife and children and I have to say I chose someone who is great to us. I am so thankful that I had such a great example that has allowed me to have such a great life! I love you so much Daddy!

moving RIGHT along..

Okay so today I had an idea of what to right about and be thankful for and todays events have created more things to be thankful for. I was worried at one point along this challenge that I might have a day where I struggled with finding something to be thankful for and worried about repeating anything. Honestly though I could still possibly have that problem but I feel it is highly unlikely. For one, there are so many things to be thankful for. Two, can you ever really be to thankful for a person? Lastly, there are like a million reasons to be thankful for just one thing. At least that is how I am feeling now but we are only to the end of February and my challenge is running through October. I have enjoyed the "Attitude of Gratitude" this has always created. I think it is a positive head space to live in and I enjoy how it effects the rest of my life!

Okay so I was going to just write about how thankful I am to my husband. He is so romantic. Yesterday he just showed up with a dozen white roses just because he loves me. Is that not the sweetest thing ever? I am glad that he brings me flowers because he loves me and not because he feels like he needs to apologize or suck up. I love that he wants to surprise me and even more then that I love that he chose white roses. The reason for that is because the first high school dance we ever went to together he brought me a dozen beautiful white roses. I know cheesy right. I don't mind if people think that though. I love my husband so much and I could not be happier or luckier to have such a wonderful loving man in my life. Thank you Geoffs for just being you and loving me for me!

The other thing I was not expecting today was a blessing from our favorite doctor ever, Doctor Newman. In our house we love Dr. Newman. The boys look forward to seeing him and he is always so willing to listen to and explain whatever we need him to. We have been going to Dr. Newman since before Ian turned 1. Needless to say we all get along pretty well. He is also the doctor who took care of Owen and Dessa before they were ever born. We trust him and are so glad to have that amazing of a doctor! Today I had to go into the doctor. I am not currently uninsured, but I had no choice. He made sure that the visit was not to stressful on our family finances which I am beyond grateful for. Words cannot say how grateful I am to him for taking the time to care that much for our family. If everyone was lucky enough to have a doctor like him then kids would never hate the doctors office! Thank you Dr. Newman for being such an awesome doctor.

failed...

Just as I managed to get caught up I miss a day...go figure.

Okay so yesterday I had one of those moments that you can't help but be grateful for. As anyone who really reads my blog (which is like no one) knows I love my kids! They are my whole life and whole world. I wouldn't change my life at all. I gave up a lot of what I use to do and enjoy to take on being a mom, but it was well worth it. I eventually will get back into those things I know that so what is 18 or so years to enjoy such a sweet time raising such beautiful children for the world. I know they will move on and have their own lives and hopefully they are happy ones full of love and I pray that I will get to be a huge part of their life still, but I also know when they move on that I will be sad. I have no doubt that I will need something to do with all my time when that comes around.

Anyways sorry for the long introduction...There are so many sweet moments that I get to witness of my sweet babies alone and together. I am so grateful that I have a camera around to capture some of those beautiful moments. I really need to get pictures up on my blog but who knows when I will manage that. I am just so glad I can take pictures and get them printed. That I can share pictures with my family online and that I have them to hang on my walls!

Feb 25- I am so grateful that my little Owen bug is so willing to sit down and play fun educational games with me. Due to his delay in speech I put in a lot of time trying to help him catch up now that he can hear. Honestly thinking about the fact that it has only been a year come the 28th that he could really hear my little boy has made leaps and bounds. I know that is because he such a happy hard working little guy. He does enjoy the new games we make up to learn our colors and the fun little activities we pull out. I love that he is so willing to try. It is an amazing thing to watch a childs drive and determination. I am so lucky to have my sweet little boy!

iS iT oDd To Be GrAtEfUl

Have you ever had those days where life just didn't make a whole lot of sense. Well today is one of those. We went to a beautiful funeral today and listened to many people who cared for this man that passed away and heard how he had come so far in his life and was on the right path just to be taken from us all to soon. Isn't that just crazy!?

This week has been an interesting one as I have almost felt guilty to be happy, hungry, or grateful. How can I do all of those things when my friends lost their son. I have come to a realization where we must move forward in a positive way or we are wasting our lives which is not what anyone would want us all to do.

I am happy to say today that I am so grateful that my friends family is doing well. Yes they are heart broken and sad, but they are also in a way at peace because of their faith and they are full of love. The services today were a perfect send off to their precious son. It was such a wonderful thing to see them with a positive outlook even in a time of such pain. I love them all so very much and will continue to pray for them as they work to move forward in their own lives!

Not so Speedy Update

Okay so here it goes...
Since we moved Aiden has managed to read up to a fourth grade level and then he got switched to the Dual Immersion so he is now reading both English and Spanish. He loves the program and does come home and say some of the words he has learned. I love the most when I see him pull out the Spanish homework and he says "Mom, I know what to do." He is so confident and I love that. I hope that he gets to stay confident in both himself and school. He is such an amazing boy and a huge blessing. He is a great big brother as well. He has his moments, but then don't we all.

Ian up north was skating along in school. Since moving back to Cedar my sweet boy has been doing a lot better in school just in regards to class behavior. School work wise he came down into his class with no great handwriting. He has an amazing teacher who works with him at school and between her work and mine on pushing him to "do his best work" he has come so far in such a short amount of time. He has such a fun personality and though he still is clueless sometimes he is pushing himself to achieve more. I am so proud of my little guy and all that he has accomplished so far. He also has grown as a brother. He is a lot better at paying attention and playing careful. I have watched his love for his siblings grow as he has started to pay more attention to the world around him instead of being in his own bubble. I am so proud of him and I love him more then I could ever say. I will share one of my scary mom moments....

Ian rides the bus to and from school and has been doing so for about 2 months now. We have never had a problem until...
That one day :)
Ian gets off the bus with a little boy who lives across the street. I am a weird mom and I am usually outside when the bus drops them off but not quite to where the bus stops. So about 2 weeks ago Ryder gets off the bus and I wait for am minute and there is no Ian. I asked Ryder if Ian was on the bus at first he said "No." I thought okay he just stayed at the school and now we have to go pick him up. I hope he is okay and not freaking out. Then Ryder looks back up at me and says, "yes, he was." By then the bus had started to drive forward. I was freaked out a little but started to run after the bus. The bus had one more stop on our street so I started trying to wave the bus down when it stopped. I had no luck and the bus drove off. At that point I wanted to just sit down and cry as I couldn't catch the bus and who knew where my son was going to end up. I didn't because I wanted my son back so I ran to the top street hoping to catch the bus before it left our neighborhood. I did talk to the bus driver and he had said he dropped little kid off on our street and that the kid looked like he knew where he was going. So I started running back home. The bus driver had looped back around and dropped Ian off by our house. When I saw Ian I was so relieved and I did break down and cry and I think everyone here thought I was a little crazy, but I am so glad that my sweet Ian made it home to me. I have said a few times since then make sure you get off the bus with Ryder and so far we have not had any more problems. I hope it stays that way!

My little Owen bug. He is such a fun little guy, but oh boy is he a little spit fire. Part of me can't get made for him being a little wild, because it has been part of the development that he missed that first little while when he couldn't hear. I am so glad to see him grow and learn new things all the time. I am so glad that I stepped up and had him checked when he wasn't talking. He has been delayed by that, but now that he can hear he is catching up quickly. The only thing he is still  working on is self help skills which seem to improve on a weekly basis and his speech. The boy has caught me off guard a time or two because he will just all of the sudden say something so clearly that he couldn't say days ago. It is an amazing thing to watch him learn these skills and put them together so fast. In an odd way I am kind of glad he was delayed and that it is fixable. It is very interesting to watch a little bit older of a child pick up skills that such young "babies" have. It is amazing how the brain works honestly and the order things are suppose to fall in. I enjoy watching Owen bond with his sister and to learn not only how to talk and do all of those things, but how to become a big brother and a kind boy. I love him more then I could say. He is a spit fire and will give us a run for our money but the fun and loving moments will always be in more abundance!

Sweet little Dessa...
My little girl is still little, but she has grown a lot. It is funny to see such a tiny thing with such mature gestures and behaviors. I am in love with this little girl. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he sent her precious soul to our home. All of us love her and our family wouldn't have been complete without her. Little miss Dessa is not a big fan of the baby stuff and wants to be as big as she can be. We sit her at the table in her booster seat which is where she wants to be. She will hold her hands up for you to put the tray on and wait until it clicks before she puts them down. She doesn't like the walker at all, and loves to crawl back to the boys and play in the room with them. She will crawl on their beds and just sit and laugh with them or at them while they are being crazy. She still won't walk on her own, but she did take a step today all on her own so I think that is coming along! She is full of personality and has a cheesy little grin which isn't shocking because personality seems to be big around here. Then again would you really want it any other way? I know I wouldn't. As much personality as she has she has a sweet heart. She is still cuddling me. She is a mommy's girl big time and I am so not complaining. She is so calm and quiet most times and just wants to sit on you and cuddle. It is nice to have one calm one. I am not holding my breath that it will last though. Not with crazy brothers like hers. :)

We are so blessed to have such amazing children and our lives would be pretty dull if we didn't have them around. They are our greatest blessing and such special gift from God. I love being a Mom and I know nothing else in my life will give me as much joy as these sweet spirits do. That being said I am also beyond lucky to have such an amazing and loving husband.

Aarron is an awesome dad. They love him so much and you know that he loves them as well. He is kind and loving and so willing to help them learn. He is such a hardworker. He doesn't always love everything that goes along with his job but he does it anyway. He puts in the time when he doesn't want to and when I don't want him to either simply because it needs to be done. He is such a caring person and applies that to his job. I love to see the man that he is on a daily basis. He is still working at Chrysalis and already making a difference in the house. He is good at what he does and I believe it is because he cares about the people he works with and wants the best for him. I am so blessed to have such an amazing example in my life for my children and myself. We have grown a lot as a family and individuals in the past 7 years and I look forward to seeing how we have grown in the years to come.

If you read through this I hope you weren't bored to tears, but it is important to me to keep track of this journey we are on and to express my overwhelming love for the beautiful people who bless my life. I love them all if you couldn't tell...I love them more then I could ever say to them so I will do my very best to always show them how important they are to me :)

Jibberish??

I am so grateful today to have wonderful friends to talk with. It has been good over this last week and the trials it has put on so many of the people I care about to get out and talk through our feelings and about what is going on in each others lives. It is so nice to have people to share the good and the bad with. People who love you and understand and are right there with you. I can't really say I have understood everything that has come about or why it has had to but I do know with all my heart that Our Savior and Heavenly Father do love us unconditionally and that they are right there with you to touch your heart and heal it and to hold your hand and guide you through all those tough moments that life does present. I am grateful to have had those moments in the week where I know my testimony has been strengthened and where I have also had the opportunity to come to terms with my friends death. This year was especially hard as I just turned 25 and he died at 25. I also have a weird perception on time now because Aiden was born just weeks before my friend died so 7 years seems so fast when I think about Aiden, but then I think about Brian and 7 years seems so long. I know he is in a good place and that we will meet again.

All of that being said my friends did lose their son on Monday and he happens to be 25 and his younger brother just turned 17 which is how old I was when I lost my friend. It definately made me confront a lot of what I had not yet done after he died. I think I had not allowed myself more because I didn't know how to. I had just become a mom and I was in a whole new situation trying to figure out how our lives needed to go, and because Aiden was sick my focus was not on grieving. I am heartbroken for my friends and there loss. I wish they didn't have to hurt so much and that there was something I could do, but I cannot. I am glad to say I have walked away from this week healed from one hurt and that even in the midst of a new pain I know that we have a forever and that "it's all good." I am praying that my dear friends can heal now and I will continue to pray that they have the love of our Savior to help them through such a rough time. Honestly rough doesn't seem to cut it in my mind but it is the best I can do as I don't think words describe what they are going through.

kEePiNg Up

I am beyond grateful for the amazing and inspirational stories that we come across through talk shows or that we read about. I love that it shows the good people we have in the world still because sometimes it seems like there is so much bad around in the world. I hope that I raise my children the right way and that they will add to the number of good people in this world. I also hope that I number among the good ones and strive to better myself daily. So to all those people who will probably not read this Thank You for being such good hearted amazing people!!!

Just a little behind

So my lack of internet has put me just a little behind right...a little uh huh. Here comes my list which hopefully means I can stay caught up from here on out. I have come to really enjoy this challenge of mine. It just puts life in a better perspective.
Dec. 14th I am grateful for warm blankets in cold weather.
15- I am grateful for the beautiful snow and how it blankets the earth in such beauty.
16- For sweet words that loved ones exchange
17- For that strangers smile on the rough days
18- Having a home to set up for the holidays.
19- To have gotten into our apartment before Christmas
20- For the beautiful spirit of Christmas season
21- For being in control of how I feel and not letting anyone else decide
22- For the book that my Mom helped me get together for Christmas
23- For our wonderful Christmas traditions
24- For my really pretty brand new Christmas tree
25- For being able to be more of a kid then my kids sometimes and waking them up early for presents
26- I am grateful that I am able to clean my home after the crazy holidays
27- I am grateful for the fun sleep overs we get to have on the weekends with the kids.
28- I  am grateful for the beautiful sun the warms things up a little after the freezing cold
29- I am grateful for fluffy pillows to lay my head down on.
30- I am grateful for the food in my fridge
31- For having been taught to cook
Jan 1- For music
Jan 2- For the ability I have to dance
Jan 3- For creativity
Jan 4- For Books...I love books!
Jan 5- For video games to play as a family
Jan 6- For hygiene products. That might sound weird but I am glad we live where we do.
Jan 7- For my beautiful baby who came into this world 7 years ago today.
Jan 8- For movies especially Disney
Jan 9- For puzzles that help children develop needed skills
Jan 10- For Stephanie Carpenter who has helped my sweet Owen baby so much
Jan 11- For amazing doctors who we are lucky enough to have back
Jan 12- For alarms that help me stay on track on the days I am a complete scatter brain
Jan 13- For people smarter then me
Jan 14- For hair ties that keep my hair out of my face.
Jan 15- For money to pay bills with
Jan 16- For bills because it means I have a home
Jan 17- For the Dual Immersion program that Aiden was able to get into even though we are half way through the year
Jan 18- For my wedding ring because it is a constant reminder that my husband loved me enough to promise me forever
Jan 19- For the wisdom of others
Jan 20- For my own life lessons...even though sometimes life is hard
Jan 21- I am grateful for paper to write my random thoughts on so I can try to create something from them later
Jan 22- For lip stuff especially when my lips are super ouchy
Jan 23- For lotion for our skin
Jan 24- For boots in the cold snowy weather
Jan 25- For nice clothes and shoes to wear to church
Jan 26- I am grateful for girls night outs
Jan 27- I am grateful that those girls I spend time with that all of our spouses get along as well
Jan 28- I am grateful for wonderful examples in my life
Jan 29- For the moments my kids still want to snuggle with mom
Jan 30- For the sweet kisses my kids give me unexpectedly
Jan 31- For Aiden still wanting to hold my hand because I know sometime sooner then I want he will no longer want to do that.
Feb 1- For being here still to share my life and love with my family
Feb 2- For parents who taught me how I should learn to let my kids grow and make their mistakes and catch them when they fall.
Feb 3- For the patience I have and that others grant to me
Feb 4- For the people who sit behind desks answering telephones so that I can get an answer to my problem
Feb 5- For the art class I took when I was younger that I still happily remember
Feb 6- For Matheson Jr. High because it is where I met the love of my life in a 4th period choir class.
Feb 7- For the shows I watch on T.V. that I use to relax after a rough day.
Feb 8- For my mom teaching me to crochet
Feb 9- For the opportunity to meet new people all the time
Feb 10- For Insanity because even though it is a killer workout I know it is helping me get healthy
Feb 11- For the knowledge that I get to be a great example to my children
Feb 12- For the help of a loving Heavenly Father to help me succeed to be that good example.
Feb 13- For memories that live on long after life has moved along
Feb 14- For a husband who wants to do anything he can for me to be happy...I already am but I hope we both never stop doing those things for each other
Feb 15- For having known Brian Miller who was a shining light in my life
Feb 16- I am grateful for hair brushes because my hair sure does get crazy.
Feb 17- For the amazing primary class we get to teach now
Feb 18- For the ability to do something for my friends who are hurting even though it isn't enough
Feb 19- For the safety of my children and I wish I could grant the same to my friends
Feb 20- For a Heavenly Father and Savior who lovingly comfort those of us in need and I know he will do that for all of us!

Sorry this is so long but I really did need to get caught up funny enough I feel like I could just keep going on. It is so wonderful to be able to be grateful for so many things in our lives!