Hearts Hearts Everywhere

     Today was one of those days that never ends. Let me explain. The upside of the day is that it is Thursday because that is my night off from cooking dinner..woohoo. I ran all day because it is someones birthday this week and I wanted to have everything ready so when the kids came home from school we could work on Dads birthday surprises.  We worked quickly and then got ourselves all presentable for dinner and then ran to pack meeting.  From there we divided I took Julianna and Jensen home to bed while David and David went to the ShelterHouse to finish up a project that was left unfinished on Saturday(David was so excited to go back to the ShelterHouse to work I couldn't very well stop him from going to give his time to the community).  They returned home sometime around 9:45ish and then it was off again to drive to Sanford to drop off a truck we had been borrowing and then back home again.  By the time we returned home it was 11:15 and I was exhausted and I am sure David was too.  I explain this day because I am finding them very typical around here lately but something was different this day.  As we drug our exhausted bodies up the stairs and turned on the lights in our bedroom we were welcomed with a fabulous surprise...Hearts Hearts Everywhere!!!!  While we were away our children cut out hearts and put them all over our room.  Some were plain, some had writing on them, or pictures colored on them, but one wall was the best.  It had 2 big hearts on each side.  One said I love that you... and the other side said Love with all the kids names signed.  All the hearts in the middle had all the things we do or who we are.  It was one of  those days when the exhaustion was all worth it or efforts were recognized.  We love you our children, you are all wonderful..Christian, Kendra, David, Julianna, and Jensen!!!

End Of School Year 2011

Last Day of 2nd grade

They had fun at the fun zone just playing, eating pizza, and playing some fun group games.  Here I interrupted a fleeing of some sort of sea creature..I love boys and the adventures they take themselves on!!!

Last Day of 1st grade

They played too at on of their classmates homes.  They had sundaes to eat, played some fun games and had crafts and face painting too!!!

Teenagers are hard to run down for these types of things..he did have a last day of 11th grade and went to BDUBSs(Buffalo Wild Wings for those of you that don't have teens yet) and hung with his friends!!!

Articles of Faith

     We are currently working on memorizing the Articles of Faith and have a little chart set up for the kiddos to encourage them along the way.  This has been quite a motivator for my children, they are pulling out their scriptures all the time trying to memorize the next one.  The other afternnon I was working one on one with Julianna because she was stuck but Jensen also wanted my attention too.  I asked David if he could work with Jensen on his next one since he knew that Article of Faith so well  and they gladly worked together, so I could give Julianna the time she needed.

      Every morning we gather in our living room and we read the scriptures, or read a story, or sing a song and this morning was a bit different I gathered them around but I was not quite ready to go so I had asked them to grab their book and read quietly while I finished getting ready for the day and then from upstairs I started to  hear singing.  I quietly snuck down the stairs to see what was going on and I wish my camera was in my hand becasue what I saw next was inspiring.  David was sitting on the ottoman with Jensen and Julianna in front of him and he was teaching them a song to one of the Articles of Faith.  It is one of those moments as a parent that you treasure.

Mommmmmyyy!!!!

Even though I am not caught up on adding our summer adventures to my blog, I am also realizing I don't want to forget to add our moments that make our life sooo precious, the little things that we will want to remember when our children are gone creating their own lives and our memories are not what they used to be,  thanks for the reminder my friend. 

My youngest has started Kindergarten.  At the school he attends the Kindergartners have there own entrance and exit you pick them up from and you wait for them outside near the playground.  They have been back at school for roughly 3 weeks now and everyday as I stand waiting for him, I can't wait to see his smiling face make it to the front of the line. I have always felt that way with all my children but with him it is different because I can see him 3 or 4 children back in line and he is already scanning for me and after he gives his teacher the password for the day, the next thing you hear from his sweet little lips is, "Mooommmmyyyy!" and he runs to me with his arms wide open as open as they can be while trying to keep a backpack on your back and gives me a huge hug. 

I often reflect how overwhelmed I was when I felt like we should have another baby and even more when David confirmed that feeling and I still remember his words to me at that time, "This baby is going to change our lives!" and he was right!  Because his simple exclamation of Moooommmmyyyy has changed my life, a constant reminder of who I am....Mommy!

Our California Adventures #1

We had a true CA adventure and here is the 1st adventure I am going to share going to Disneyland and California Adventure:

Meeting the princesses and eating at Ariels Grotto.

Breakfast at Story Tellers Cafe with Chip and Dale and some other fun friends.

If you know Jensen then you know when we saw these green army men we were stopping every time we saw them!!!

Another funf riend from Story Tellers Cafe Terk from Tarzan!

Doing a fun dance at Story Tellers Cafe wrapping up a parade through the resturaunt...the kids loved this and we stayed long enough they did it twice!

I LOVE toontown and we were special guests one day and the kids loved going into Toontown early with out a lot of people around.

They even got to go on the rollercoaster several times in a row with out waiting in line!!!

They loved the teacups!!!

And look who we found while we were waiting for the parade to start!

It's a Bug Life!

We were waiting for Monsters Inc to come and snapped this quick pic.

Here we are in Pixie Hollow!

and in Mickeys House after we got to say hi to the mouse himself!!!

We have a ton of other pictures too these are some of the highlights!

There faves were D4 and D3 Tower of Terror they went of that while the rest of toured a Bugs Life and all their rides!

The New Star Tours was loved by all!!!

They loved the Aladdian show and any other Parade or show that were in the streets!

We had a fabulous time and they were just the right ages for it!

THE LAKE-memorial day weekend

THE DETROIT ZOO

GLIMMERS July 2011(camping)

A camping we a went and did we have SOOO much fun!!! We camped with my Aunts and some of my cousins and their children. Here are the GLIMMERS of our adventure:

*Lake Michigan had big waves and warm water for 2 days in a row and did the kids and adults have fun jumping over, under and into those waves. Some of them were so big they went right over your head!

*Unfortunately 2 days of big waves also means the lake turned and was oh so cold. 56 degrees to be exact and who do you think decided it was a good idea to go out and touch the bouy...ME...I honestly did not think I was going to make it, luckily I had my husband to push me through the pain literally..he pushed me from behind the last 50 yards..when I got back to shore I couldn't even feel the sand beneath my feet and had lost the feeling in my legs from about 3 inches above the knee down..it was great to be a kid again with my cousin with our kids cheering us on from the SHORE!!!

*We cooked every dinner over the fire for a week and we have a new favorite walking tacos..the kids were even trying to figure out how I could pack them in their lunches.

*The kids went to a class about snakes and even got to see one eat a frog!

*We went on a one hour hike down the creek always a kid favorite and it was so fun seeing the kids being so brave crossing fallen trees and jump off them into the water. They also were determined to catch a fish in their bug net which never did happen but boy did they try.

*We played Boochie at the open field and freeze tag..it is fun to run around and be a kid again.

*Jensen loved sleeping in the hammock..he was so cute you would look over and there he would be sleeping.

*We had lots of campfire hijinx..do you know what happens when you blow coffee creamer or baby powder over a fire? Stand back is all I can say!

*We had magical fires with our pine cones and my Aunt Carol gave all the kids magic fire packets which were so cool.

*A nature scavenger hunt occupied most of the cousins for an afternoon. It was so fun to see them and all of their collections when they came to pick up their treat for finishing it! Apparently the beetle was the hardest to find!

*One night we all ate together..boy was that a big circle and a Happy Birthday to Zachary!!!

*Playing Rummy with the teen until we were all delirously tired and boy when we get tired do we come up with some ridiculous stuff we could do! No we really wouldn't send our children around banging on a pot with a spoon and have them count down quiet every 15 minutes for the 2 hours leading up to quiet time but boy when tired it was a funny thought and we could not quit laughing this is when we knew we needed to goto bed to "curb our exuberance".

*Reading Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing around the fire every night!

*Building sandcastles, burying each other in the sand, and running up and down the dunes!

There is a glimmer into our week of CAMPING, next on our list MOVING!!!

*

GLIMMERS July 2011

I totally forgot that when I got busy I used to do GLIMMERS so I could journal quickly about the goings on in our life so here is a GLIMMER into our life:

*went to California and visited Disneyland, California Adventure, Legoland, SeaLife Aquarium, San Diego Zoo Safari Park and had FUN FUN FUN and now we are tired tired tired but there is no rest for the weary around here

*Got to hug on Ariel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Tinker Belle, Avidica, Lightning McQueen, Mater, Chip, Dale, Terk, the Bears from Brother Bear, Mickey, and Pluto and the actor from the Blindside did I have a happy teen!!!

*We were 1 foot away from a cheetah also made the teeneagers day!

*Picked out flooring for the new house and LOVE IT!!!

*Spent the 3rd and 4th at the lake. The kids went fishing and swimming and I was trying to get over jet lag and for some reason I went in reverse instead of wanting to sleep in I would stay up late and then get up ridiculously early...I was all out of whack but am feeling fine now and the kids are back on schedule

*Packing for camping...how I love camping and the beach!

*Prepped Pinecones for our magical fire while camping

*Jensen helped me make his birthday cakes(since we were in CA on his birthday)

*Christian toured SVSU and loves it now we will see if he impresses the coach there this weekend

*Painters come to new house tomorrow to fix and paint ceiling so I got a key to the new house today....it still seems a little surreal we are moving

*It is a busy time but I have this spirit of peace about myself and I am enjoying the calm I feel even though logically I think I should be running around like a nut

There is a quick glimmer into our lives!!!

Kids Say

Me: Jensen, are you too cute?

Jensen: Yes I am too cute for words (long dramatic pause) but not too cute for questions!!!!

Have you noticed:

I have been MIA lately, well it has been a bit of crazy around here and I will tell you that trend is probably going to continue. We leave on the 25th for CA for a week ...Disneyland, Legoland, Sealife and San Diego Wildlife Park here we come!!! We come back on the 2nd and leave on the 3rd for an overnight trip and come back on the 4th late. Then it is time to get ready for our next adventure: camping for a week, we leave on July 9th and return home the 16th. Take a breath(I am saying that to myself) that was all part of the plan because our oldest son has youth conference this weekend and my husband has a business trip starting July 23rd for the week and then High School sports start Aug 1st. This left us little time to go on vacation and so 2 trips virtually on top of each other was a must and now on to why it has been a bit of crazy around here and why it is going to continue is we are:

MOVING

This was not part of our plan this summer but here we are. Heavenly Father works in miraculous ways sometimes and this is one of those times. If you note the schedule above we close on the house July 20th!!! Thus the crazy and the deep breathes. It is going to be a great thing but the timing of it all is a bit stressful to be honest . Luckily for us we are in a position were we can buy, move, and then sell our current home which I am trying to refer to more and more of as the house. So this is why I have been MIA!!!

PROM 2011

Prom has arrived yet again and here is the most gorgeous couple..yes I am biased but Kendra and Christian are cuties!!!

They started off by going to the local gardens in one of the only times it was not raining that day(yahoo for timing)!!!

After the pictures they loaded onto a bus for untold adventures. A local church put together a clean prom which I am grateful for their efforts in providing a good wholesome time for my teen...thank you thank you!!!

Since I had no idea where or what they were doing this is the report I received when he arrived home. They first went to Bay City to Jacks and had a fabulous dinner of steak or chicken. Then piled back onto the bus and were driven to Frankenmuth to Barvarian Inn where there was a boat waiting for them on the river and this is where they had the dance portion of their night. After a couple of hours of dancing and having a good time they changed from their fancy clothes and returned to the bus. Once on the bus they were taken to Saginaw to a local arcade called Kokomos and they played laser tag as a group and then games. Then you guessed it back to the bus for their final destination back to the church where they played Sardines and other games wrapping up the night. They really did have a fun night and one more prom under my belt with untold amounts of future proms to look forward too!!!

I am FINE!!!

* don't read if you don't want to hear about feminine issues

Starting in July of 2009 I missed a period and then another month went by no period and not pregnant either. Then surprise right on my normal schedule it arrived and then October was the same. Then a no show again in November and December with an on time appearance in January and February. I was starting to sense a pattern and then by sudden surprise on the 1st day of Spring Break I passed possibly 2 of the largest and reddest blood clots I had ever seen. It was kind of scary to be honest but nothing more followed really a bit of spotting until a few days later when blood was dripping off my feet. Of course it was a Friday night and the on call doctor seemed less than concerned so the weekend was spent running to the bathroom with my more than helpful husband following behind cleaning up my trail of blood. It was frustrating but David kept it light and humorous with such comments as, "I hope no one gets murdered here because a CSI team is going to have a heck of a time figuring it all out." This continued through the next week and on Thursday I started to keep track of how many tampons and pads I went through in 12 hours(7-7). By noon I quit wearing tampons because they were falling out about every 10 minutes so by noon I went through roughly 25 tampons and 10 pads and that was 5 hours in. At 7pm I called and left a message for my doctors nurse saying how many tampons and pads I went through in 12 hours...25 tampons and 40 pads. I of course was called back first thing in the morning and was seen that day. I was sent to the lab so they could run a bunch of tests and was sent to get an ultrasound. I was put on some meds for 10 days to stop the bleeding(it never did but it wasn't as bad)and after the 10 days I was supposed to have what they call a withdrawal bleed and it wasn't so bad the first few days and then with blood dripping off my feet I called the doctor again and was seen immediately my test were not so great and so I was given some different medication and referred to a ob specialist and off for another ultrasound. By the time I had an appt with a specialist my gums and nails were almost completely white..not good! The new medicine along with an almost liver killing dose of ibuprofen the bleeding finally stopped after 37 days.... woohoo!!!

So my summer started out by meeting with the specialist and that went fine and I was sent for more tests and another ultrasound( a quick note ultrasounds are fun if you are looking at a baby). I came back a few weeks later so they were sure I was not pregnant and they did a biopsy(this was not too bad) and pap smear..all the results came back fine(it is not fun to wait for test results to see if you have cancer not fun at all) and I was scheduled for a 6 month follow up and a 4 month dose of a lovely drug that causes you to have a withdrawal bleed every month. Th's medicine is horrible!!! You take it for 10 days and then not for 14. I works like this you get addicted to it and then you quit taking it and the withdrawal from it causes you to bleed..sounds fun huh? This was taken over 4 months and that last month I honestly didn't think I would make it through..because every month before after 14 days I would take it again ahhhh drugs! The last month however was the end of the cycle so we are talking shakes, sweats, cramps..anything you have read about a drug addict getting clean this was me and it was Christmas time..I can say this our tree was up and eventually decorated!

I had my 6 month check up a few weeks ago and there was a spot!!! All my other tests had come back fine. I even after a year started my period all on my own with no drugs and now there is a SPOT GAK!!! It was decided to have it removed right then!!! I was ill prepared to have a surgery right then but it was happening. They don't put you out for this type of surgery nor do they numb you. I had no one there to hold my hand or drive me home so I was a bit taken aback but put on my game face and prepared in the roughly 15 minutes(this included prep time) I had for an operation. I go into a very happy place during medical procedures even when I am in labor and it is a very serene calm place and so I took a deep breath and went there. The prep was quick..but not quick enough and then I was ripped quite quickly out of my serene little world by the most incredible pain. They had accidental cut the entire length of my vaginal wall on their way up to remove the spot. Now the removal of the spot was painless but the cut of the vaginal wall not so painless. After that was all done...I went home and I went to bed and that is just were I stayed for the day! I have finally healed up from all of that mess and am feeling great I even started my second period on my very own YAHOO!!! My test results came in the mail yesterday and everything came back normal. I have a checkup in 3 months but I am free and clear from any type of biopsy or pap smear for a year and NO CANCER.

Why do I share all of this you ask? I think we too often go around and act like everything in our lives is perfect...I know even during this time I did...when someone would ask how I was doing the answer was always fine. I would sit in Ward Council and hear of the needs in the ward and say nothing because I was fine. Did I sit around and mope or cry during this time not one tear..there was some worry at first but no tears no fretting because I was fine. It wasn't until a few days after my last biopsy I realized I am not fine! Why did I keep doing everything I was doing? Why didn't I delegate more? Why didn't I take help that was offered? Why didn't I ask for help when I needed it? And why did I always say FINE? Why do I always say fine? Why do WE always say fine? Did you know the number one lie women tell is saying they are fine!!!

What I have learned through this experience is... I guess I want to start off by saying we should not start going around and complain all the time not at all...but when someone asks with sincerity how are you the answer does not have to be fine if it isn't. We can be honest without divulging our life story. We can ask for help when we need it and when we do ask for help be clear why you need help again you don't have to divulge your life story but sometimes when you need help it is necessary to say why or just might not get it(I have learned through experience). Take help that is offered EVERYTIME even if your house is a mess!!! Our lives for the most part are fine but when they aren't it is okay to slow your life down. Take a real look at your life and figure out what your priorities are and what makes you happiest and do those things with help, delegate what you can(it isn't going to fall apart if you don't do it, now it might not be done how you wanted but it got done and that is what is important),and it is okay to not be FINE because how many of us are fine all the time!

Picky Eater NO MORE

I have read so many times it is the parents that make picky eaters and I am here to say this is NOT true. Every other one of my children has been a picky eater...and I can say this is not a fun thing to deal with as a parent. You try to decide what road to take..do you insist they try everything or cater to their favorites, do you let them sit at the table until they fall asleep so they will just try something...... do you battle or not.

I decided to give my children one bite of everything and they had to eat the one bite and then they could eat more of whatever they wanted. This worked fabulously for my older picky eater but the younger one not so much but I am a persistent type so we kept pushing forward with the plan and somedays dinner would go untouched, I would be frustrated, he would be crying..you can picture the whole scene LOVE AT HOME right?!?

Well my persistence paid off..YAHOO! This week we had salad and he grabbed the salad tongs and grabbed himself some without me even asking him too. Today for lunch he ate celery, carrots, broccoli, raisins, strawberries, and a cheesestick. So for all you parents out there with picky eaters...the battle can end, just be persistant!

I FInished I Finished!!!!!

Currently I am the Primary President at church and I had challenged all the children to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I knew this would be difficult but a doable task and when they accomplished their goal they could write their name on the brass plates. I of course wanted to be a good example and have it read first so I came up with a 6 month plan to accomplish my reading surely finishing before any of the children.

2 weeks went by and I start hearing reports of children being in Jacob...AHHHHHHHHHH..I am still in 1Nephi I thought. I knew I needed to step up my game quite a bit. I started staying up late at night, getting up early in the morning, if all my children were at school I was reading. Somedays up to 6 hours.

This past Sunday I asked the children how they were doing on their scripture reading and then I made a huge mistake and didn't realize it until later. I told them I would have it read by the next Sunday(tomorrow)and I was in Alma chapter 20 to be exact. It is by far the hardest book for me to get through and roughly half way through the Book of Mormon. Now I could have went back to them and said I mispoke but that would not be me, I dug in staying up even later and getting up even earlier and on Thursday I decide I was going to finish it. I was up and read for 3 hours before getting the children ready for school. I came home and read for over 2 hours. I picked up Jensen from preschool and got him lunch and read. He went to Snoozeyville(this is what we call naptime, yes he loves to go to Snoozeyville not every day and he is going to be 6 in June)and I read. I read until the other children came home from school and picked up the teen and I read some more and 10 minutes after my David came home from work I had finished!!!! It felt great!

The spirit of the last few weeks has been a sweet experience I would not trade for anything. I however am now ready to go back to the more casual study of scriptures. I am grateful for the scriptures and the great blessing they are in our life!

Pinewood Derby 2011

Semester Break 2011

For semester break we(the teenager)drove to Great Wolf Lodge for a couple of days of rest. We had a blast staying in the Wolf Den and playing and playing and playing. I of course took no pictures of any of that but on our way out we always stop at the Bear Claw for a treat and I snapped a picture:



It was winterfest there and so it was all decorated like a winter wonderland and actually snowed a few times a day there in the lobby.


My children love Great Wolf Lodge and one of the things they love to do there is play Magiquest(look closely at the picture you can see magic wands in hand). They run around the hotel finding hidden treasure, talking with knights and fairies, and fighting dragons. David loves how much the kids love this activity and wish we had one closer to home!

Christmas Morning 2011

It was a great day and we stayed in these jammies all day, even for our Christmas Dinner...I am sensing a new tradition!

Our Littlest Chirstmas Tree

David's Play:

Making of a Gingerbread House

At my childrens school all of the 2nd graders gather inthe gym and make gingerbread houses. Her is david's creation:

Princess Cooking Class

Awhile ago I posted about Pirate cooking class well a month later there was a princess cooking class and her she is with her tiara, apron, and treats:

Rewind to Fall

We spend a lot of our fall watching this:




and this:



I have been a mom for 17 years now and 13 of it I have been watching my children play soccer. Christian and Julianna however love it and it has been a joy as a mom to watch them do something they love!

Here We Are Again

Two Sundays ago I left for a early morning meeting which was the start of one of my busiest Sundays I have encounterd in a long time. When I arrived home from the meeting 4 out of the 5 people were running fevers not just little fevers we are talking 103 so what I thought was going to be time home to take a rest ended up being a get things undercontrol before I leave for what ended up being 8.5 hours. By the time I arrived home all children were nestled snug in their beds and I was quite relieved that I would be able to sleep in in the morning due to illness of children. Then an hour passed and I started to lose my voice which is always a bad sign and I went to bed and there I stayed until I decided I would not be sick anymore and that was Thursday, I got up and went and did some things and soon after I realized this was a bad idea and back to bed I went until Sunday, with 2 ill counselors I knew I had to buck up and get ready for church. I made it almost through sacrament meeting feeling good and then it hit me I was still sick and feeling a bit dizzy and exhausted. I went to shake it off and short of almost losing my voice during Sharing Time I had been blessed with feeling perfect. I made it through Sunday and was excited for a new week to catch up on all things domestic and to be a contributing member of society again.
Monday was great! I did some catching up and with the impending snow storm we decided to make family home evening a prepare for the storm evening. The kids were great help and we had fun as a family. We tucked all the children in short of the homework finishing teenager and made our plan of attack to the store(which I had imagined would be a mad house, it wasn't). As we were putting our coats on I hear coughing from one of the bedrooms which had been typical since the fever instances of this one child and then I hear it again and I realize it is not a cough cough it is a vomit cough and vomit there was..... dad grabs and runs said child to the bathroom there was a trail to prove it! Off go the coats and the shower and washer and steam cleaner are all in use. Over a hour later we are now putting our coats back on and are off to the store now exhausted and knowing it needs to happen tonight even if it is 11:30 at night because I am going to be at home with sick children all week. One by one they fell and so did the snow. We spent our snow days with puke pails and vomit vats. I was quite glad there was no school because by the time I was ill I was not driving anywhere. A Primary activity was delegated from my bedroom with me shaking and delirious from a fever and it went fabulous(thanks ladies) and today I woke up and was already to attend church and then there was this little voice that said you stay home and REST!!! and that is what I did. I stayed home and I snuggled my kiddos and we napped. With Super Bowl approaching I quickly whipped up some food for my teen who loves this Sunday(the only Sunday he watches football all year unless we are at Grandpas)and the only Sunday I make some of the yummiest(junk) food.

Here we are again 2 weeks since it all started. We still have one sick child and Monday is ahead to "catchup" and do you know what I learned during this last 2 weeks..I will always be catching up on something that is how life is, somedays you just need to stay home and rest, I don't have to do everything, and food that is whipped up at the last minute from food storage tastes just as good as food that was planned out and researched and fret over and surprisingly enough I came up with a new recipe in it all. So to all that have had a week and you say Here We Go Again...pay attention you just might learn something!

Introducing.....

my new project blog. It is called Sweet Serendipity. Jewels of a Child will still be here for all of our family hijinx but for all of my projects go to:

sweetserendipity23.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Julia

SLEDDING 2011

Who knew you could snowboard down a hill on a saucer...Christian apparently.



David getting ready to go again!



Jensen having so much fun! He never had been sledding before so it was so fun to see our typically hesitant boy to grab his sled and fly down the hill. I am not saying it didn't take him some time to go down again, it did but eventually there was no stopping him.



Dad and Julianna worn out.....



and here she is having fun again!

Like Him or Not.....

these were inspired words by our President:

"These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, all around us, just waiting to be summoned"

"As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let’s use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together."

"After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose somebody in our family -– especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken out of our routines. We’re forced to look inward. We reflect on the past: Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices that they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in a while but every single day?"

"So sudden loss causes us to look backward -– but it also forces us to look forward; to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us."

"We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we're doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order."

"We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -– but rather, how well we have loved and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. "

"And that process -- that process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions –- that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires.
And I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. "

check, check, and check

Airplane Tickets-check

Hotel Reservations-check

Fun Planned-definately check

Days Like This

On days like this I am grateful for my husband who every Wednesday morning lets me sleep in and makes chocolately cereal for the children.

On days like this feeling appreciated without even realizing you are is an unexpected surprise.

On days like this getting a surprise leaves you in tears of sadness because you weren't prepared for it.

On days like this relief from a trial makes your day and leaves you wondering what was I supposed to learn from it so I can become a better person.

On days like this you love your children more than you can describe.

On days like this you try to let someone down gently and hope they can understand.

On days like this you are grateful you are inclined to rely on the Lord more than yourself.

On days like this you are happy to be in service of your fellow man.

On days like this you are glad you have a box of tissues and chocolate available and pass on the chocolate because it feels that bad.

On days like this you are grateful for words of warning which reemphasizes decisions already made.

On days like this you are grateful for friends with a listening ear and sympathetic heart.

On days like this you are glad you can make someones day becasue it is the bright spot in yours.

On days like this your heart sinks because what you felt was true but didn't want to be was actually true and to see your child feel betrayed and feel like they can never trust again is enough to break your heart.

On days like this you want to climb under the covers and never come out.

On days like this you realize there is another day ahead of you and are grateful for it on DAYS LIKE THIS!!!

Of the Things that Matter Most

Every year at this time I have a "new year resolution" but it isn't really a resolution it is a thought or feeling I keep with myself all year. This years thought comes from a talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf called Of the Things that Matter Most(you can read it here ) and the quote that has stuck with me from the moment I heard it was this.... "In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e"
I always feel like it can be more time but I can't add hours to the day but I can take time in the moments with them. To look them in the eyes and say I love you, to read them just one more story, to sit down and eat breakfast with them instead of running around getting ready to head out myself,to turn the music off in the car and talk. We can't build relationships with anyone without taking the time and so for this year time is what I am giving to the Lord, my family, and my friends.