Is Forever Enough?

One of those moments

2012-02-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

With all of the stuff that happens everyday, the good moments sometimes feel like they are few and far between. Well this post is about one of those good moments, so so good.

At the beginning of November, Eden, along with all the other 3rd graders in her school, had an assignment to write an essay on... "What it means to be an American..."

The morning it was due she was frazzled because she couldn't find the piece of paper that entered her essay into a VFW contest. I was annoyed that she brought it up the morning it was due. We couldn't find it, so she went to school empty handed. Later that morning I found the paper and ran it over to the school. I knew it would make her happy, but sadly I didn't think she would win any contest. I mean how many third graders entered this thing??

Well a few weeks ago we got a call telling us that she won third place at our local VFW Post. I was so dang proud of her!

This is Eden reading her essay...

What is an American?

What is an American? Three things come to mind to when I think of an American, the military, Fourth of July and Patriots.

When I think of the military, I think of my uncle when he served three tours in Iraq as a Marine. I think of other people who serve in the military fighting for our freedom. A military person, is someone who is brave, loving and willing to serve our country.

When I think of Fourth of July, I think of the flag blowing in the air. I think of red white and blue at the parade. I also think of fire works exploding in the sky.

When I think of a patriot, I think of someone who is proud of being an American. Someone who says the Pledge of Allegiance. A patriot is someone who respects the flag.

I am proud of being American. I am proud of my uncle for serving in the military. I love celebrating the Fourth of July. I’m glad to be a patriot. That makes me a good American.

This was all Eden. These are her words. I only reminded her what a conclusion was. It came from her tender little heart.

It was so neat to watch her beam with pride over her accomplishment. Can you tell I'm just a tiny bit proud of this kid??

Well if that wasn't enough, we found out she also placed at the District level which is out of 14 posts in Eastern Washington! We didn't know what place until the ceremony.

She placed second only to her buddy Jack, who got first in the whole state of Washington. It was so fun for them to share their accomplishments together.

I loved everything about the ceremony. It was humble, it was genuine, it was almost spiritual. I felt so much gratitude for these veterans and the women that put this program together. It's a national program, you should check it out in your state. I got all teared up as I heard the essays read and saw the pride and gratitude that the veterans showed.

I felt like such a loser for being annoyed with Eden because I had to look for her entrance letter. I will tell you right now that she will be entering that essay contest every stinkin' year! Not just in hopes that she will win again, but because of how it made my family feel to be able to support such a neat organization. It's easy to show pride and gratitude on the Fourth of July or Veterans Day, but it's how we live everyday that really shows how we feel about our country, our constitution and the people who fought for it.

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other" ~ John Adams

"To preserve our independence we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt...I am for a government rigorously frugal and simple." ~ Thomas Jefferson

It's Time

2012-01-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

Time is a strange thing. No matter what is happening, good or bad, it just keeps marching on. I have always thought of how unfair it is that as one person's world is crashing, everyone else's keeps going on.
I love the custom that was practiced in the "olden days" of how when someone died they stopped the clock. They covered it with a dark cloth. They pulled the curtains down. It was a perfect way to say, "Hey my world has stopped!" It symbolizes perfectly how it feels when someone you love dies or something tragic has happened or is happening to you.

Sadly I can't pull my shades, or stop time. There are moments that I want to shout from the rooftops "LEAVE US ALONE! WE ARE GRIEVING!" I was so mad that Aric was having to take phone calls and deal with people from work on the day GK died. He would answer his calls, solve the problems and no one on the other end had a clue that his world had stopped. On the other hand there are moments where I want to scream "CALL ME, STOP BY, BRING ME A MEAL! I NEED SOME LOVE!"

Thankfully we have the most incredible support system on the planet. We did have friends constantly calling, texting, and stopping by to offer their love and support.

We had homemade cinnamon rolls, cookies and bread show up which was exactly the thing our souls needed to be soothed.

Another night it was a five pound bag of gummy bears.

We had meals offered and brought over.

Whenever we needed a blessing we were able to ask wonderful friends and family to offer them.

We had many friends offer to take our kids so that Aric and I could have some quiet time to talk and grieve together.

My mom came up and dropped everything so that she could help with the kids and the house while A and I tried to process what had just happened.

When we needed to get out of the house and have a good laugh all we had to do was run across the street to have that need met. (Gotta love having good friends live that close by)

When we needed some space and didn't show up at a function we never had to explain.

When it was time to hit the road for our long trek to ND for the funeral, we had road trip survival bags dropped off.

Honestly the love was overwhelming.

The most amazing thing was the prayers we felt/feel over and over again. There were many days where my patience was non-existent and instead of flying off the handle I was calm...so not normal. Having extra patience with my children and have energy to keep up with life and not freak out, was a direct result of the prayers that were being said on my/our behalf.

I have been reminded once again, how prayer is sometimes the only thing we can do, but the best thing to do. I will listen and follow through with promptings I get from the spirit, as random as they can be, because now I know how much comfort can come from a plate of cinnamon rolls. I will always be humbled when I look back on this time and remember all of the love and support that we have been given and do my best to pay it forward.

I have learned that grief can suck the life out of you. During a normal day we all spend emotional and mental energy to not react to the things that annoy us. But when grief enters our life, then all that energy is now used to just keep going and not turn into a hot mess. So sadly, there is no energy left to be patient and slow to anger. At least this has been my experience. I have discovered that there is this thing that I call a "grief filter". Which is actually an oxymoron because in my everyday life I have a filter that keeps things from flying out of my mouth that shouldn't, well with my grief filter, pretty much if I think it, it comes out. I have realized that I have some pretty forgiving friends because my grief filter was in full effect for a few weeks but now, thankfully, I think I have it under control. I'm sure there are people that keep it all balled up inside and still manage to not have a grief filter, I am not one of those people.

*I make no promises that my grief filter is really gone, so be nice. Don't be annoying but be forgiving*

Please feel free to keep sending some our way because it's only been three weeks since GK passed away. It's still something I am trying to wrap my head around but I know it's time to start living our life again...our new normal has begun. It's weird. It's not normal at all. We go through the motions, we get up everyday and do our regular stuff, get kids off to school, go to work, clean, carpool, do callings (church) but it's different now. There is an underlying grief that is attached to everything we do. Some moments we forget that GK is gone. Eden says "It's like a dream, like it didn't really happen." Some days it feels like that. Other days it's like her absence is everywhere.

Yesterday I was driving Eden to piano and I saw someone drive by who looked like GK with her big sunglasses on, all of the sudden I was sad realizing I will never see her wearing those big ol' glasses again. I'm pretty sure there is no need for sunglasses in heaven...so there it was again, reality, the reality that we will not see her again in this life. I felt sad but then Camden started break dancing and it was gone, mostly gone. I thought about her a lot yesterday as I was on day 2 of my 3 day detox. Eating only fruit and water sucks but it sure does make me appreciate that normally I get to eat what I want, when I want and GK didn't have that luxury at the end of her life and thinking about that made me sad. It also made me want to eat a giant turkey sandwich with chips and a soda in honor of her...but I didn't.

I know that she is aware of those she loves and that makes me happy. I know that she is rejoicing and she wants us to live our lives to the fullest, so that is what we will do. Time did not stop for us, the world just kept going on and now I think we are finally ready to start to catching up with it.

So here's to "Time"...you really should be a bit more sensitive to those of us who need you to stop or at the very least slow down. But since you aren't capable of that, here's to the people that God sends to make the unbearable, bearable while you keep flying by.

To all of those who have prayed, offered and given service, given us hugs, or checked in on us...Thank You, with all of my heart, I thank you. Each of you are a blessing in my life.

For GK...A Tribute

2012-01-04T00:35:00.000-08:00

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

That is exactly how my mother in law, Kathy, lived her life.

I keep waiting to do this post because I just don't feel ready to do it. I'm afraid I'll never be ready so here it goes...

Kathy, died on Friday December 30. She has battled cancer for five years. She fought like a warrior. But she did it with such humility, giving the glory of every success to God. There were many times I wanted to blog in more depth about her fight but she was a very private person. I had to respect that, but I felt like the world was missing out on knowing such an amazing woman. Those who knew her closely and knew how hard she fought, could only be inspired by her. So today I paint you the picture of who she was so that you to can be inspired by a woman who truly shaped me and blessed my life.

She loved country music. She loved shopping and finding the best deals. She loved cooking for her family. She loved books. She loved the color red and hated the color yellow. She loved to exercise. She saw the beauty in nature and enjoyed being outside...when it was warm. She loved going to concerts. She stayed true to her beloved Minnesota Vikings even though they didn't deserve her devotion. She loved football. She loved playing cards and games. She loved her sons, Aric is oldest and his brother Micah is four years younger.

She adored her grandchildren Maya, Eden, Camden and Kohen who is 8 months old. She loved feeling the sunshine...spending almost all of her life in North Dakota she truly appreciated that warmth when it came.

I have loved her for over 13 years. We got to know each other quickly. Shortly after Aric and I were engaged I actually lived with Aric's parents during our engagement. I know this sounds weird, it was weird! But when we found the apartment would live in after we got married, we decided that it would be better for Aric to live there alone instead of me. So to save money I lived with his parents.

After we were married, Kathy and I taught at the same school. She taught first grade and I worked with Special Ed students.

I spent most of my time in her classroom with one of her students who was autistic. I got to see her teach first hand. Besides her children/grandchildren, teaching was her passion. It was her gift. For thirty years she taught children how to read and that was a great legacy she left.

When I got pregnant with Maya she was so thrilled. I remember her crying when I told her. I had a very strict birth plan in place when Maya was born...no one in the room but me, Aric and my mom. Well that plan was pretty much shot to hell when Maya decided to come out of me. Thankfully I had a big birthing room because my grandparents, along with my mother and father in law, ended up joining the three of us. Like I said it was a big room and people were respectful and didn't go where they needn't go. What I remember most vividly was Kathy, standing a respectful distance behind me, praying out loud and then sobbing uncontrollably when I finally got Maya out. We named our baby girl Maya Kathryn, and I knew from that moment that part of that child wouldn't belong to me, because Grandma Kathy had claimed her too.

Watching Kathy with my children was like peeking into her soul. She loved children. Just under the surface her inner child was always waiting to come out and it did every time she was around her grandchildren. She has four grandchildren, three of them were mine so I got to witness her love for them over and over again. She lived and breathed for them. There will never be a question of the place they held in her heart. They know they are loved by her, from the moment she found out that they existed, even when they were only the size of a peanut in my belly or in my heart, she loved them too.

When Camden was born she was undergoing chemo in Florida but she insisted on driving 24 hours round trip just to be with us for a day so that she could get her hands on that baby boy that she had been praying for. She loved him instantly and was so so happy to finally have a grandson. Her love and support during that time was tangible. Her grandmother prayers reached a part of heaven that no one else could touch.

Her childhood was hard. She was definitely scarred by her experiences but she was bound and determined to rise above her situation...and she did. She was the only one in her family that graduated from college and made something of her life. She made a decision to not let her dysfunctional and abusive family define her. In fact, it pushed her to become a better person. She was more than a survivor, she was a warrior.

That warrior instinct came in handy when she got diagnosed with cancer. She had a five pound tumor on her uterus removed the weekend Maya was blessed. That tumor traveled the world as doctors tried to give it an official diagnosis. We never got one. A few years later a tumor the size of a 2 liter bottle was discovered in her left chest cavity. It had completely crushed her left lung. The doctors were baffled at how she could possibly be living a normal life...even going to Curves three times a week with that in her body. She was sent to the U of W to have the very intensive surgery where we were told she had a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery. Thankfully she did. At that point she was given an official diagnosis. Some abdominal cancer that is in only 1% of the cancer population. It doesn't ever go away. It just keeps coming back.

Sure enough another tumor grew, this time it grew into her ribs and back. After a horrific two week round of chemo it still grew. She ended up at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota where a specialist there very reluctantly did the surgery that took out six of her ribs along with that tumor. After all three of these very invasive surgeries she recovered in record time. She continued on with her Curves, Bible Study, and she also volunteered during the week in a first grade classroom, teaching kids how to read.

The past two years have been the most trying. She had three tumors, one her stomach, one by her liver and the other by her heart. There was nothing left for her to do but start a trial drug. It was only offered in Florida and Post Falls, ID, a small town fifteen minutes from our house. So every four weeks she would come to our house and receive her treatment. Which was basically her getting hooked up to a bag of chemo that she wore for 24 hours and then when she was unhooked she had maybe a day before she would start puking and being sick. Sometimes she would have to have a cat scan which meant she had to drink nasty stuff that made her sick too. Her sickness after treatments would last a good week. For seven months she would come here for that, the other five months she would do it in Florida. My in-laws have two houses...one in North Dakota and one in Florida. So while in North Dakota my father in law would usually drive the 18-20 hours ONE WAY for her treatment. It was so awful for her, but a great blessing for us. We got to host her and love her while she was here.

Over the years of treatment...(treatment means: needles, barium, nausea, puking, aches, special diets, pains, fatigue, etc..) She was always an attentive grandma. She would play on the floor with Camden. She would play countless hours of cards and sorry with the girls. She would read book after book or listen to the girls read book after book. She would go on walks with them. The girls knew their grandma had cancer but they had know idea how sick she really was, because GK never let it on.

She was able to speak at Eden's baptism. She gave the spotlight on Eden, she did a great job. It is such a special memory that we will always cherish.

Kathy loved God. She loved him wholly and trusted him. We didn't practice the same religion, but our faith in God as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as our Savior was the same. She never doubted. She put her trust in him and held his hand every minute of every day. That is the legacy she wanted to leave for me, Aric, our children, and all those that knew her...her faith. She didn't want the world to know her as a victim of cancer. Although she knew she was a fighter, she was very humble about it. She would shrug her shoulders, put her hands in the air and say "All I can do is pray and trust God, so that's what I do."

I love Kathy. I have always had a hard time figuring out what to call her. Just plain Kathy wasn't endearing enough but I had a hard time calling her mom because she wasn't my mom. She was the mother who raised an incredible son who I get to have as my husband. I felt like she belonged to Aric and Micah. She was their mom. I just wasn't sure that I was a daughter to her. She wasn't one for words, but if she loved you, you knew it. I knew that she loved me, and that was enough. She was the perfect grandmother to my children, she was my sister in faith. She was someone I admired and wanted approval from. So after awhile I ended up calling her GK...(Grandma Kathy). It sounds more like a street name than an affectionate name but that's what I came up with. I know now that she loved me like a daughter. I just wish I would have picked up on that sooner but I know we will see each other again and we will enjoy that relationship in a way we didn't while she was here.

I hope I have sufficiently painted the portrait of GK that she deserves. Because of this beautiful person I do not take my health for granted. I take my faith more seriously. I try harder not to let the little moments get lost in the busy-ness of my life. I love deeper and cherish more. I fight harder for what's right and don't waste my life, I use it. That is how she lived and that is how I want my children to know me, so that someday my legacy mirrors hers.

"Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it." -Harold S. Kushner

The world is a better place because you were in it GK...Especially my world. xoxo

The Quiet Christmas

2011-12-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

After Pendleton, we got together with the Stockies (my sister's family) the night before Christmas Eve. The cousins did their exchange and of course Ev and Aric did their traditional gift exchange. I forgot my camera so I am waiting to get some pictures from them.

On Christmas Eve we took the kids downtown to see a movie, Arthur Christmas, we loved it! It was such a cute movie. Camden was so excited when he saw these giant Chimpunks! He went and game them each a hug.

We had a good time hanging out at Riverfront. The tree itself is magical!

The kids showing off their holiday shirts...

After the movie we went to see Santa. As a family we decided to forgo individual gifts and ask for a family gift...an xbox 360 kinect.

Then we came home and had our traditional beef stroganoff dinner. It's a tradition that we have from Aric's mom.

After dinner we did our Christmas deliveries...dropped off banana bread and music cd's.

Then the kids each opened one gift.

We did the reindeer oats.

Eden is taking her throw very seriously...

And last but not least we left Santa some banana bread...

Christmas morning...

Sleepy kids

Present opening

Kinect playing

Church going

(Maya and I were in the choir this year. Maya sang in a small group number, it was so precious!)

We had chicken fajitas for dinner (no special tradition just what we had ingredients for) and spent the rest of the night just being together.

Maya had a special Family Home Evening lesson. Eden was her assistant. Camden was clearly not a very good listener.

Look at Maya in this next picture...so awesome.

We had to say goodbye to Paxton, our elf, but we know he will be back next year ;)

The best gift this year was from Grandma Kathy. At Hallmark I had seen those books that can record you reading a book, so I asked her to make a book for each of the kids. They are hands down the kids most favorite gift.

These books will be treasured forever. To hear her voice brings tears to my eyes. She is still hanging on, but we know that her time is short. This has been an especially meaningful Christmas as we have focused on what Christ's life really means to us and most importantly what his resurrection means. It has been a very bitter/sweet holiday season.

Christmas-ing in Pendleton

2011-12-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

So this year we decided to have a quiet Christmas at home but not seeing any family would be just too sad so we decided to go to Pendleton for a little before Christmas partying.

We celebrated Joe's birthday...

Going back to my home town is always a treat. I love spending time with my grandma and other extended family. This time the kids took turns having sleepovers at my grandma's with their cousins Aby and Pochito. The girls one night, the boys the other.

Pochito and Camden can't get enough of each other! When Pochito first saw Camden he said "Hey Camden is five now because he is as big as me!" Pochito is five, Camden is three...They had a great time together, they went on a journey looking for dinosaurs.

They also helped Joe do some outdoor decorating...

The girls made cookies with Joe...

We took the kids to see the Christmas lights which was fun especially when we would hit a dead end and almost went down a cliff.

I was able to have dinner with some of my childhood friends. I loved reconnecting with these wonderful ladies. Even though we are all old now, it's so neat to talk to people who knew me way back when...when I was becoming who I was going to be ;)

One of my favorite memories of growing up was eating Peanut Butter Butterflies from "Up With Donuts" or "Up Your Donut" which is what I remember calling it. Anyway, I took Aric on a little date there, he was impressed not only with the size but the yummy-ness!

Whenever I am in town I love to see what project my brother Ben is working on (he builds houses). He is currently building a 3800 sqft house. It is beautiful, he has some skills, that baby brother of mine :)

I was able to go on a couple of long runs. It was lonely but fun to run around my old stomping ground seeing it through grown up eyes.

Another cool Pendleton attraction is the food vendors that roll into town. From the first moment Aric laid eyes on this truck he couldn't wait to eat there...

Well he had to wait a few days but he got his foot long corn dog...

The best part was when he paid for it with a ten dollar bill, this is the change he got back...

$2 bills, Silver dollars and fifty cent pieces.
SERIOUSLY??

The night before we left, we had a fun family Christmas party. It was so great to hang out with my extended family, I love these people!!!

Me and Tia Lucy

Eden got to play Santa...

Camden rocking out with his sweet new guitar...

The girls loved their Aeropostale gear that they got...

Every year I try to do some homemade gifts. This year it was my Tia Ines's turn to get a homemade goodie from me. She has never had a real church bag to hold her scriptures and manuals in so I made her this special one.

She loves roses so I found this rosey fabric for her and the most special part of this bag is the button. When my Abuelita Tina died, all I wanted was her sewing basket. At the bottom of the basket were some buttons that she had saved from clothes she had worn. I found this button and thought it was perfect for this special bag.

I love taking a bunch of fabric and ribbon...

...and turning it into something pretty and practical.

And that my friends is how you secure your spot as the most favorite niece.

One of the things that happens in Pendleton, that cannot be avoided, is running into someone you know everywhere you go. Knowing this fact, I sent Aric into Walmart as we were rolling out of town. It needed to be a quick stop so I stayed in the car with the kids....until I saw my friend Jenny coming out of Walmart with some of her family! She had just gotten into town from Utah. So I jumped out of my car screaming her name, it was a fun reunion in the parking lot.

It was a very pleasant trip to Pendleton. It was the perfect way to kick off Christmas! This is my favorite picture from the trip...

C with my Tia Lucy...LOVE IT!

Christmas Awesomeness...

2011-12-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

The past twelve days have been jam packed with Holiday Awesomeness...

Nothing starts the holidays off better than a visit from my awesome friend Cynthia.

Then it was Maya's orchestra concert...

This picture is awful but it's documented right??

Aric got death glares from people because he saved a whole bench for us and the Romney's.

Camden was making friends right and left and was definitely not using his concert etiquette.

I was in charge of our ward/congregation party that also included women and children from a local battered women's shelter. We had close to 300 people in attendance. This is what my car looked like on the way to decorate.

We also adopted eight families from the shelter. This is what my front room looked like after collecting all the gifts at the party. I have been working with this women's shelter for seven years now, it is hands down the best part of my Christmas.

We delivered the gifts on Monday for Family Night. I wanted a picture of Eden sandwiched between all the gifts...

But then Maya and Camden wanted to be in the picture, this is how those turned out...

We invited our friends the Young's to join us. It's so awesome to see the generosity of so many people. It's a ton of work to coordinate it all, but to be on the Lord's errand is such a blessing that the work doesn't feel like work at all.

We live in the coolest town ever...Santa comes to your neighborhood with his musical truck to check in on the kids, they run out and say hello to him. He reminds them to be good and gives them a candy cane.

Then we had Eden's 3rd grade Christmas concert. The poor girl was on the risers in the corner that had no light so I didn't get any good action shots, but here she is after the concert with some of her buddies and her teacher.

I have been busy making homemade Christmas gifts so I kept the kids busy with Aric making a gingerbread house...good thing I took this picture right when it was finished because unfortunately C was left alone with it this morning and let's just say some candy is missing...

I had "Muffins and Moms" with Maya before school this morning...

Then I made a ton of sugar cookies...these were the ones left over...

All for Eden's Christmas party in the afternoon...This party was a piece of cake compared to the ward party I had to plan!

Camden was AWFUL!!! Eating the candy off of kids cookies they had just decorated. Crawling on the floor like an animal because he said he was an animal. Knocking plates off of desks, on accident of course. He got snapped at by the teacher because he was snooping by her desk. He had all the boys acting crazy during musical chairs that there were injuries happening during every round. Seriously, he will NEVER be invited to another school party again!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks but it's all part of the holiday season and I really do love it. I only wish there were more hours in the day...we are headed to Oregon in the morning for a few days. We'll be back just in time for a quiet Christmas at home just our family of five. We've never done that before. It will be interesting ;)

Stay tuned, there will be more awesomeness to post soon ;)

C is Three

2011-12-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

This boy is three and it's breaking my heart a little tiny bit...

He had a little party with his play group a few days before his birthday. Having your birthday Thanksgiving weekend is tricky. He wanted a motorcycle party...

On his birthday he got to have a family party.

This picture he is showing us how old he is...

These are the motorcycles he got from his sisters...

These are the Mr. Potato Heads he got from Grandma Kathy and Papa Ron...

C wanted to go to McDonald's for his birthday dessert and Papa Joe and Abuelita were able to join us...

C wanted a chocolate shake instead of cake so that is what he got...

I love this kid more than words can say. He completes our family, he completes me. He says the funniest things all the time. He loves people. He loves to be funny. He loves to dance and sing. He loves Buzz and Woody. He loves the movie Cars 2. He likes to draw faces. He likes to talk in different voices/accents. He makes me crazy most days but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Happy Birthday to my little man!

Giving some Thanks...

2011-11-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

This time of year is always a tender time for me. Three years ago my idea of Thanksgiving changed forever. That was the morning we got the call my boy was born...but it really was so much more than that. Camden's birthday will always be special just for the fact that he was born and he is on this earth spreading joy and love wherever he goes. But it is so much more than that because it was the end of a long personal journey for me that was filled with some of the darkest days I've ever known. It was also the beginning of another long, hard journey as I fought the fight of my life to get Camden legally adopted and sealed to us. I can't help but reflect on all the things I learned and the love that I felt. It truly is a special time for me. With that said...my Thanksgiving day looked pretty traditional and normal on the outside...

I started my day with a traditional Thanksgiving morning Turkey Trot...

After a gorgeous run by the lake with some great friends, I had a quiet day with my kids, my parents and Aric while we had a Harry Potter movie marathon. Oh and I made a pumpkin chocolate cheesecake! Yes...me...I made something that tricky and yummy! I can't believe I didn't take a picture.

Later that night we had dinner at my sister's house. Aric, Andy and Joe made sure the house didn't burn down. Although Aric did lose some knuckle hair and escaped near death as the turkey was too big for the fryer and almost made the oil overflow...Yikes!

The turkey turned out delicious and we all got full...

(seriously...I hate blogger. I can't get this picture to load right, but you get the idea)

Camden and Andy decided to take a rest after dinner to get ready for dessert...

We celebrated Camden's and Olivia's birthday with my mom and Joe. Ev got Camden this very appropriate shirt...(Trouble is My Middle Name)

Before we left Camden and Max decided to give us all a muscle show...

After the kids and grandparents were sleeping, Aric and I decided to brave the midnight shopping crowds...it was crazy but we got some great deals so it was worth it.

And that, my friends, is what our Thanksgiving looked like. Pretty traditional, but underneath all the turkey, rolls, pie and shopping, my heart is full. Full of gratitude for what this season means to me now, and how it will always remind me of the Lord's tender mercies and how great God's plan is.

A Little Bit of Calm...

2011-11-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

Aric let me tag along on a work trip to Kona, Hawaii last week. It was so nice...so so nice.

We went on a tour of a Botanical Garden...

We saw some crazy huge/ugly spiders...

We had the most amazing and informative tour guide named Daniel...

These are a just a FEW nuggets of information we learned from him:

There are no snakes in Hawaii, just weird little salamanders that don't have legs or eyes the size of an inch worm.

Sugar cane is no longer the main crop in Hawaii. Corn is.

The Hawaiian language only has 13 letters in it's alphabet.

Every word in the Hawaiian language ends with a vowel.

Cashews come from a poisonous plant.

White sand is coral that fish eat then poop out.

The last earthquake moved Hawaii 8 inches closer to Japan.

There are 3000 different kind of palm trees.

This is actually a giant cactus, I was too busy taking this funny picture of Aric to listen to what Daniel was saying about it.

This is just a sampling of what we learned from him...we spent six hours with the guy. Our brains are still trying to process it all!

We had lunch at this beautiful beach...

We went exploring...

And then we went zip lining...

I was so proud of Aric, my scaredy cat husband didn't let his fear of heights get to him at all.

I made up my own pose called the Peter Pan. The tour guides were impressed and now they are going to start doing it.

We ate these super yummy donut things called Malasadas...

We saw random things that made us laugh...like lizards on everything...

And plants growing out of rocks...

Mostly we spent our days doing this...

We played ping pong and I actually beat Aric! It was the first time I beat him...it was awesome. No pictures of the momentous occasion but this picture was taken right before it happened.

We ate some amazing food. We ate right next to these sea turtles...

I was able to go running a few times. It felt so good to be hot instead of freezing. This was the trail just outside our window.

Here are some cool fire tricks...one of these guys came up to Aric and screamed in his face while sticking his tongue out..so hilarious. Couldn't pull my camera out fast enough.

One of my favorite memories was Aric getting called out of the crowd to go up and dance with one of the hula girls. My camera was on the wrong setting so these pictures stink. I did get video of it though.

****

As I sat there enjoying the peace and the sun, I couldn't help but feel like this was the calm before the storm. The pattern of my life has been more storm than calm so I don't take this calm for granted, not for one little second. I took in every glorious minute of every glorious day.

Go away Mr. Storm....Please. Pretty please...I'm not sure I've had enough calm yet.

I'm feeling it in my bones...

2011-11-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

In my college days, I had a little incident where I fell 50 feet while hiking in the snow in Provo Canyon. I miraculously survived with only bruises and some permanent nerve damage in my elbows. Every change of season my elbows ache. It reminds me of what happened.

Right now my elbows are aching, a new season is here.

Another kind of season is upon me and I'm feeling it in my bones...I'm no longer a "young" mom. I don't know when that season officially passed me by, but I am now a mid-30 something mom with school aged and middle school aged children...I'm a "middle" mom. I'm okay with it, for the most part, but I just wish I could hold onto this season and not let it speed by so fast.

For example:

I can't wrap my head around the fact that it's already been a year since we took this picture...

...And now we look like this!

A whole ridiculous year...365 days.

Three hundred sixty five days filled with what?

laundry, school, soccer, piano, tutoring, church, birthdays, family visits, dishes, lunches, running, projects, traveling...the list goes on and on and on.

Somehow we managed to fill our days so much that I didn't even realize how my children were growing and changing right before my eyes!

I'm intensely aware of it now. In fact so aware that not a day goes by that I don't feel an ache over noticing a change in one of my kids.

Camden is now potty trained and the sight of his little buns in his big boy undies gives me aches. His verbal skills are a little insane. It's crazy. His new favorite phrase "What the H is going on here?"

Eden is the sweetest space case on this planet. She recognizes that she is and really wants to change. She wants to be more independent and grown up. She is always asking to help whether it's loading the dishwasher, cutting apples or peeling carrots. If only she was that excited to clean her room or do her homework.

Maya is truly blossoming every minute of everyday. She is such a responsible kid. She amazes me with her desire to do the right things and do them on her own. She is a deep thinker and has an understanding of things beyond her years. She is becoming my friend, not just my daughter. I have been waiting for this time to come, as awesome as it is, it's still giving me some achey aches.

Overall, it's not a bad thing. In fact, it's been so good for me to stop and be more present. I want to enjoy this season for all it's worth.

Feeling SO MUCH Love!

2011-11-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

I love celebrating other people, LOVE IT! But when it comes to being the one celebrated, it's kind of hard for me. My birthday was filled with a ton of love and fun...this is what it looked like:

Birthday Lunch with Aric

My lovely friend Cami took C so that I could have a nice LONG lunch with Aric. It's funny how excited I was to go out to eat for lunch and not be rushed. We went to Mustard Seed, one of my favorite places to eat. My most favorite thing to order...

Green Beans...YUMM-O!

I got a complimentary dessert...chocolate molten cake, it was as amazing as it looks.

Birthday Dinner

For dinner that night we had pizza. Aric also got me a chocolate cake with fudge filling.

This is me with my birthday loot...

I got an apple pie caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, running socks, warm running shirt, slippers and a new Red Sox hat. Maybe that hat will bring us some better luck next season...

My friend Rachel dropped off some Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake to add to my dessert-fest.

Girls Night Out

The next night my girlfriends took me out for a night on the town. We went to Olive Garden for dinner...

...and then to a dueling piano bar for dancing and fun.

And Oh The Fun We Had!!!

One of my beloveds put in a request and made sure that the piano guys knew it was birthday celebration. So they had me come up on stage and then onto the piano and had the whole bar singing to me! It was hilarious and slightly embarrassing...

Cami was able to get her hands on a cowbell and we had so much fun with it.

We had a few ladies in the bar who really wanted to be part of our fun group.

There were a couple of other memorable moments...

When someone was talking very loudly about the "Stupid Sober Girls" and when after my very rowdy cowbell playing session, a girl who was dancing near me grabbed me and screamed, "That was so awesome! You played the sh*# out of that cowbell!!!!"

...And according to this picture it looks like I did! So ridiculous, but I'm pretty sure Aric would have been proud.

The next couple days I had a couple other special birthday goodie deliveries. I love that calories don't count on birthdays and holidays!

I had such a great birthday. I got some phone calls, some facebook and text love as well. Even though it's uncomfortable to be the one showered with all the love, it sure feels good when I get to look back and think about all the amazing people I have in my life who I get to call family and friends.

Thank You Loves....

HaLLoWeeN!

2011-11-03T23:40:00.000-07:00

OuR FuN HaLLoWeeN...

FirSt We PaR-Tay'd.

First at our ward (congregation) party...

I absolutely love it when my friends dress up! Unfortunately, I have been known to be the only adult dressed up for Halloween parties...LAME!

Me and Anders. One of my Nursery buddies...I love him so! He calls me "Mister A" instead of "Sister A".

I love this picture of me and Seth. Seth is my little boyfriend. We have been together pretty much since he was a baby. Aric isn't threatened by him, but he does get a little jealous when Seth gets handsy with his hugs.

Eden with her buddy Maci...they are "punky" witches.

This is my all time favorite Halloween game! I do it every year as part of the kids classroom parties.

There was a bounce house at the party, so C didn't last long in his robot costume...

Here's Maya with her friend Elise.

And here is M with her most amazing Sunday School teacher Sister Jeppson. Seriously, every child needs a teacher like her in their life at least once. Maya absolutely adores her!

AnD We pArtIed SomE MoRe at a HaLloWeen DanCe...

Aric dressed up as Jean Finkel from the "more cowbell" skit on Saturday Night Live. I was one of Charlie's Angels...Kate Jackson to be exact.

Jaquelin Smith and I were waiting and waiting for Farrah to show up. She had a sick baby so Darth Vader stood in for her during our photo op.

Thankfully she did show up so we could be a complete costume. Until she showed up, people thought that I was a Relief Society president circa 1982 and they thought Jessica R didn't even dress up. We needed Melissa to pull it off.

We had to get a picture of the three Jessica's. It is still so weird to me to have two friends with my name, when my whole life I never met anyone my age with my name until five years ago.

I know, I know, the pose is so overdone but I had to include this picture with Randi. She and her husband hosted our super fun dance party. We danced for 2+ hours! There are no pictures of the dancing but it was pretty much awesome...I only sat out three songs and that was only so that I could make more punch!

CaRVing PumPkiNs...

(one of my least favorite things of ALL time to do)

EdeN's ClaSS ParTy...

Oh how I love being the room mom! This is my seventh year...seriously, I just can't say "NO!"

DiNNer WitH tHe HaLLs...

Rachel made a delicious dinner in a pumpkin and homemade rolls to die for!

Then off to Trick or Treating...

This picture of Beckett is hilarious so I had to throw it in here...

Camden was impossible. He could hardly walk up and down stairs in his costume and he had this crazy desire to go to the scary houses, but once we got close to the scary houses he would scream and freak out. It was cold, not bitter cold but cold enough for me to be done after fifteen minutes but we went strong for two hours...A took C home after an hour.

Last but not least, the kids sorted through their candy and got to keep 30 pieces and then they donated the rest to a local dentist where they got nine bucks to split for turning it in. Pretty Awesome~

It was a fun year. I am glad we lived it up, and I am SO glad it is over.

Proud Mamma

2011-10-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

Remember how I told you about my super shy kid who had to go to the first ever shy kids class at her school when she was in first grade...this is the same kid who I lost sleep over starting junior high because I thought she would get eaten alive. Well, I'm so happy to tell you that I have completely and totally underestimated her.

She has completely blossomed as a sixth grader. She has been nailing her classes and she just finished running cross country. She went from running the mile in 9:20 to 7:42! The best part of all is that she got nominated as Student of the Month!!!! Teachers and faculty vote on who gets it. She was one of six sixth graders that got it.

I am so proud of this kid...So. Stinking. Proud.

What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Stronger

2011-10-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I was asked by my neighbor to be a guest speaker in one of her classes that she teaches at a downtown Jr. High. She wanted me to talk about my book and how I decided to become an author. I accepted the invitation but made sure she new I wasn't a "real" author. Let's face it, I'm no Stephanie Meyers and I wanted to make sure she realized that I wasn't anything special. She still really wanted me to come so we set a date.

I was under the impression that there was going to be another speaker that day so I didn't have a ton prepared. The night before I ran into my neighbor at Home Depot where she told me that I was the only speaker planned for that day. I had the whole time! Yikes!

As we discussed in my last post, I am a talker. But I still didn't know how I was going to take up a whole 50 minutes just talking about my tiny little book. My neighbor had explained that most of the kids in her class are kids who are what you might call "at risk". Most come from broken homes where parents are lucky if they have a high school diploma. She really wants to motivate them to stay in school and have the goal now to go to college.

Now at this point I am going to stop this part of my story and move on to the back story...this is when I might get a little "too real".

I come from a pretty dysfunctional background. It looks a little something like this...

- born to teenage mom
- bio-dad (whom I like to refer to as Sperm Donor) takes off when I'm a baby never to return, leaving my mom pregnant with a toddler and a baby.
- raised by a mean, abusive step dad
- watched that marriage disintegrate
- got married too young to a guy that had serious issues
- divorced by age 21

Who wouldn't be screwed up coming from that! (And that was the short version) Thankfully my mom was strong and chose to rise above the tragedies that plagued her own life. At the age of eighteen she found the gospel of Jesus Christ and joined the LDS Church. She did her best to raise her children according to his teachings.

I was blessed that those teachings stuck with me and helped me rise above the trials that came into my life. I was blessed to find Aric and we have created a wonderful life together. But our "happily ever after" has had some rough patches. Infertility, adoption, my mother in law's cancer...those have given us some pretty dark times. Our faith and love has gotten us through those times but boy do I have some scars.

So every now and then (like maybe once a year) I get frustrated about where I came from. I see people in my life who seem to have had it so easy. They grow up in a family that is intact. They grow up, go to college, meet a great person and get married. They decide to start a family and ta da! They have how ever many babies they want, when they want them. Not that they haven't had their struggles but when I compare them to what I have gone through it seems like I was dealt a way more crappy hand.

I found myself really feeling bad and mad. I was distancing myself from God because I was mad at him for giving me such a hard life. I just couldn't understand why he would make my path so thorny and give someone else such an easy one. I was jealous of my friends. I just couldn't shake the self pity feelings. I finally started to pray about it. I asked for some specific things and I just wasn't feeling heard. About eight weeks went by and I was getting really worried that I wasn't going to be able to shake it. That is when my neighbor had asked me to speak in her class.

Back to the other part of this story...

So as I sat there thinking about what to share with this classroom full of at risk teenagers my mind started racing. I totally felt the spirit guide my thoughts. My great grandma came to my mind, how she left everything in Honduras to come to the United States to provide a better life for her only son and his family. She sacrificed so much. Her life was hard. My grandparents lives were hard. My mom's life was hard. But every generation got a little better. Everything they did was to ensure that my life (and the lives of their other children) was better than theirs. And though my life was challenging it has brought me to this moment. This moment where I am married to a great guy. I am a mom with three beautiful children, who are growing up in a loving home. They have parents who are committed to each other and God. My children are growing up with the life I always wanted. I made the choice to rise above my circumstances. And ultimately that is why I wrote my book.

My book was not written for the world, it was written for my cousin. I wrote it for her, in hopes that she would learn from my mistakes and keep her on a life path that would allow her to look back with little or no regrets. That she too, would learn how to rise above what ever difficult times she would be faced with.

That is why I wrote the book. That is why I became an author.

I nailed my presentation. I showed them pictures of my family. I showed them pictures of me at their age, through high school, college days and now. I talked to them about my book but mostly I told them about me. They had lots of questions and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. The time flew by.

It didn't hit me until I was driving home, when a voice came into my mind and hit my heart like a ton of bricks...

"This is why I gave you the struggles. This is why it was so hard. So you can go and do what you just did. This is who I need you to be, and you are who you are because of what you've overcome."

The dark, ugly feelings that I had been feeling for all those weeks literally poured out of me through the tears. It was such a clear revelation. It was what I had been praying for and waiting for. I knew my answer had come. What I didn't realize was how much I just wanted to know that Heavenly Father was aware of me. I'm so dang needy that even though He has shown me his love over and over, sometimes I just need it spelled out for me and in this moment he totally delivered.

The other interesting thing that happened was how much compassion I instantly felt for everyone around me. It's like I was so blinded by my feelings of self pity that I could not see the needs of those around me. I felt so guilty for being so self absorbed. Of course everyone has faced their own battles. No one's life is free from trials and pain. There are people with way harder lives and challenges. I just let Satan get into my heart and mess with my head. There are many ways to destroy a person's soul, attacking their self worth is the first step.

I am so grateful for this experience. I learned so much from it, which is why I wanted it documented. It may be a little too personal. In fact I've waited a few weeks to write about it. I thought about writing it in my real journal but I feel compelled to put it out here, maybe someone else needs to hear this too.

Somebody Talks Too Much...

2011-10-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

So the other day Aric and I were having a conversation. I'm not sure what prompted his openness and honesty but he told me that sometimes I talk too much and I tend to tell more information than necessary.

What?? Who me???

Like this was shocking information. The only shocking thing was that I didn't punch him in the gut for saying it to me!

It's got me thinking a lot though. I know that I am a talker. I quite enjoy a good conversation. I don't even mind a good debate from time to time. The part that got me was that I might possibly share too much.

So I've had something I've wanted to blog about, but now I'm afraid that it will fall in the category of "telling more than is necessary".

What is necessary? I mean I definitely have a thermometer of what is appropriate or not, because I know when someone crosses that line I feel weird...I think it more has to do with sharing too much of myself or my feelings.

I haven't always been that way. For the first 23 years of my life I was very cautious about what I shared, how I shared it, and who I shared it with. I would go as far as being dishonest about something just to avoid sharing too much. It was a horrible way to live. Don't get me wrong, I was always feisty and if I saw an injustice being done or was in anyway being wronged, I had no problem saying something about it. In fact I was kind of known for my loud mouth, but that is different. It was more the deep feelings stuff. The stuff that might get people judging me, and where I came from.

At some point I decided that living that way was just too exhausting and it was way healthier for me to put myself out there and deal with the judgements and whatever else might come my way because of opening my big mouth.

What I have learned along the way is that I like being real. I like real people, who have real feelings. I like to think that because I am willing to put myself out there, other people are willing to put themselves out there too. There is always the fear of judgement or mockery, but in the end the love and support that comes from being so real makes it worth the risk. Just the idea that my openness might actually help someone else is also a huge part of me being willing to share so much.

In the end, this little blog of mine is for me and my posterity. The books that I make out of my blog are for my peeps to read. My hope is that they will get to know me, learn from my life's lessons and maybe even be inspired.

So if I talk too much...or share too much...well, I'm not going to apologize for it. It's who I am. Aric's comment does make me pause to make sure I'm not embarrassing him or my family too much, but honestly, he had a pretty darn good idea about who he was marrying when he married me. He just didn't realize my big mouth would have such a large audience one day!

Geez, now that I have talked so much about talking so much, I am going to have to wait to do that post another time...

*Let me give a little shout out to John Mayer for pretty much writing this song just for me...Don't worry John, I always say what I need to say...

Take a Peek

2011-10-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that every season of life is busy. Things never seem to slow down. I keep waiting for the magical month that things will calm down but I have finally accepted that it will never happen so here is a peek into our crazy busy life...

Traveling

I went to Utah by myself to meet with BYU again about my book and go to the General Woman's Broadcast. (I will do a post on it) Then I surprised Aric with a trip to Utah by himself the very next
weekend! (I will post that one too)

Grandma Kathy Visit

We were so excited to have her come for a visit last month. It was so great because she didn't have to get chemo so she wasn't sick! We loved every minute we had with her.

Camden Starting Play Group

As soon as Camden was born, I knew I would be starting a play group co-op for him the fall he turned three. How we got here so freaking fast is a mystery...but here is my little play group guy. He absolutely loves his Wednesday mornings. There are five of us in the group. We have a theme and a schedule and we take turns doing it at our homes. It's so weird to have 2 1/2 hours alone every week. It makes errand running so much more enjoyable!

Chicken Cutting

This is so gross but I want it documented. I get a great deal on chicken breast but we have to buy it in bulk...40lbs worth. I split it with my friend Cami, it's only $1.49 and comes fresh from local farms. So we suck it up and spend an hour-ish cutting up nasty chicken. It's so worth it when I get to put all of this in my freezer.

Home Improving

Yes we are at it again. This time we are tackling our master bathroom and the kids bathroom. I spent Friday demo-ing, and Saturday installing four sink faucets. Only four trips to Home Depot and Lowe's...I hate plumbing! Especially when I've spent hours under these four sinks and on the last one, I drop a stinking wrench on my ear!

Mom Celebrating

We celebrated my Mom's birthday while she was here for a visit. She likes carrot cake but no one else does so I got her, her own special mini cake.

Middle School Adjusting

It didn't take Maya long to become an independent middle schooler. I walked her to the bus stop twice. The third day she had me walk with her until the bus stop was in sight and then she stopped and told me that was good enough. Then the next day she had found a walking buddy and she didn't want me at all. I cried...both tears of joy and sadness. Ahhhh...growing pains. We just got Maya's grades...one B+ and the rest A's! She even got an A in math, she has never gotten an A in math! We are so proud of her...

Soccer Saturdays

Both girls are playing this year. It's been so busy! They each have two practices a week plus games on Saturday. The past three weekends we have had 3-4 games each Saturday! Maya decided that after a two year break that she wanted to play again. She has become quite the player. It is so fun to watch her, she is aggressive and she really understands the game.

Eden has also grown so much. This year she has discovered that she loves playing goalie and defender. This is her fourth season with her coach, the team has changed some over the years but this year has been the best so far because she has three of her buddies on her team. I absolutely love watching them play. It does make for a busy eight weeks but as long as the weather cooperates I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

Trying New Things...Roll Making

So tonight I decided to tap into my inner Domestic Goddess and make rolls for the first time ever in my whole life. They turned out pretty good. Aric was so proud of me, this is so not my thing. I would love to say that I felt all euphoric as I served up my homemade rolls with my homemade chicken noodle soup but it wasn't really like that. I felt satisfied for sure, but I am so not Betty Crocker. I did pull out Aric's grandma's Kitchenaid, I'm sure Grandma Audrey would have been proud of me too.

There is so much more I still need to document and I will try to do better about it getting up on here. For now this little peek will have to do.

Life Lessons Learned While Potty Training

2011-10-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Back story...I started potty training the second week in September. The girls had just started school and I decided to dedicate all my attention to it. Well the first two days pretty much sucked like I expected they would, we had some success but Camden pretty much decided he wanted to be in control of the situation. He totally knew what he was doing it was so frustrating!

Well my dear friend, Cami, who has the patience of Job, and loves C, and wanted him to live to see his birthday next month, decided to offer the service of all service and take him for two days to re-jump start our potty training. She worked so hard with him and it paid off. I took over on day three and it was still hairy for the next four days, but here we are a week later and my kid is in undies! We have only had two days accident free, but we have entered the Only-Diapers-At-Night phase of life...WHOO HOO! It truly is a miracle. One more experience that has strengthened my kids' testimony of prayer.

So here is what I learned while potty training...

1. Embrace the inevitable...there are times in life that you know that something hard is coming. You see it, you hear it, you feel it deep in your bones. You pretend it isn't going happen, you hope that if you just don't think about it or talk about it, it will just go away. But eventually you have to acknowledge that it is happening and you just have to face it head on.

2. Having high expectations is the fastest way to get disappointed...keep expectations low people.

3. Recognize when you need help, and accept it when it's offered...I hate realizing that I need help, even more I hate asking for help. But sometimes it is necessary to humble ourselves and accept the loving service when it is offered.

4. Accidents happen...things we don't expect or want to happen, will happen without our control. Getting mad just makes people sad and uncomfortable. Learn to go with the flow.

5. Let yourself not just enjoy the little moments but celebrate them...dancing and singing at the top of your lungs is a great way to make an ordinary day pretty awesome.

6. When you make a mess clean it up right away...u have to take responsibility for your mess and don't just do a half way job cleaning it up. Do a thorough, deep clean.

7. Acknowledge your successes...it's so easy to go through an entire day and feel like you have done nothing of real worth, but there are so many little triumphs everyday that are so easily overlooked.

8. Find what motivates you...we all lack motivation from time to time. It's important to find out what will push you and keep you moving forward. From exercise to scripture study, I need motivation. It changes depending on what is going on in my life. (Found out today that Aric and I are taking a trip to Hawaii next month so that will be motivating my exercise!)

9. Patience is a virtue worth developing...this will be a life long quest for me. For me being patient means I am giving up control over something. I like having control of my life and relationships. I don't like waiting for things. What I have learned is that being patient will always be hard for me, but when I can be it is so much better.

10. Don't ever give up!...It's so easy to throw in the towel and say "FORGET IT!" But you have to remember all the hard work you've done and the waste that it would be to let it all go. Just the idea of starting over should be enough to stay focused on the goal.

(One of C's prizes for going potty were these "super hero" wrist bands. Thank you Dollar Store for having such fantastic treasures!)

I am beyond happy that my boy is potty trained. When Aric and I decided to adopt, one of the first things that went through my mind was "Oh Crap! I have to potty train another human!" To say I have been dreading this task is an understatement. But now it is done. It truly is a bittersweet moment. I am grateful that I won't have to do this again, but in the exact same moment there is a sadness realizing that I will never have a baby again...until C poops his pants and then I remember that it really is a good thing.

Hoarders

2011-10-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what you can find on TV these days. One of my guilty pleasures is Hoarders. It's a show about people who hoard animals, food and other stuff. It's actually kind of disturbing and puts my OCD in overdrive, but I can't help myself. The best part is that my cousins enjoy it as much as I do, so when they were here for a visit we made sure to bond over Hoarders and dip.

Here is a good shot of us being disgusted/disturbed.

I have to admit it's hard to eat when watching that show. I have to close my eyes sometimes, but it's like a car wreck, you have to look, you just can't help yourself! I do feel really bad for those people. Clearly they have an illness. I have actually made Eden watch an episode or two to show her what her house will look like someday if she keeps everything she ever makes, draws or writes. This year she gave more stuff to Goodwill than she ever has before. See Hoarders is changing people's lives one mini hoarder at a time.

*This song is hilarious. How could I NOT use it!

Bush Concert

2011-09-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Aric is a huge Bush fan...me, well, I don't mind them. I love a good live show so when Aric told me he wanted to get tickets I was happy to be his date.

The opening band was Dead Sara, who I actually LOVED! They might have been my favorite part of the night...

Here are some fun pictures of the show...it was a pretty small venue so we were way close.

This is hands down the best picture I have ever taken at a concert...

There were some interesting people at that show. I was worried about being old, but we were far from being the old ones there. I should have taken more pictures of the characters we saw...

Who does this??? Tattooed eyes on the back of a bald head!?

Still trying to figure out who was with who....

Actually, the very best part of the night was that I caught the drumstick that the Dead Sara drummer tossed out to the crowd. See, I am still cool.

Utah...Part 4 The Final Chapter

2011-09-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

So the real reason we even started talking about going to Utah this summer was so that we could help our Friends of Friends, the Sampson's, tile their basement bathroom. Which we did. There was a lot of love put in that bathroom...

But we have a philosophy around here...

"If You Work Hard, You Play Harder!"

This is how the Samp-Brechts play...

We have un-birthday parties where we celebrate everyone...

We play football...

We have lots of treats...

This is what it looks like when the kids go to bed...The grown ups get to play! We eat lots of snacks while we watch good shows/movies.

Ames and I went and played/shopped in Park City one day and Aric and Mike went golfing but there are no pictures to document those fun times. Even when we were working we were having fun. We feel so blessed to have the Samps in our lives. There's a whole lot of love between us...

...most of the time.

Utah-Part 3...Gateway and Boondocks

2011-09-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry this must be getting old for my faithful readers but I must get it all documented.

One day Ames and I took the kiddos...minus Aidan, he was at school, so sad...to Gateway for some shopping and water playing.

Camden and Jack were hilarious to watch.

It was such a fun way to spend the afternoon!

I love this picture of my kiddies...

BOoNDocKs...

Another super fun way to spend an afternoon.

This is pretty much the only time Camden held his golf club.

This what he looked like the rest of golfing because he threw two balls in the water...

This is Mike rescuing Aric from falling in the water while he was trying to get one of Camden's balls...

I think the adults had more fun than the kids. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Amy getting a hole in one. Her reaction was priceless...fist pumping, knee jumping awesomeness.

Then the kids enjoyed some racing on the race track...

Aric and Mike took the little guys around the track but really it was all about them...

After the race track we took the kids in for some arcade fun...

Our favorite game was the jump rope one. Everyone took a shot at it...

Even Amy and I tried it...

Maya won the Jumping Jackpot!

This picture just cracks me up...

This picture is hilarious too...Ames is a little disgusted by this game.

We really wanted this day to about the kids, but honestly it was a fun afternoon for everyone.

Utah-Part 2 Friends and Family

2011-09-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

After the marathon we spent the day with our friends the Jenkins. We have been friends for 8 years and they moved away from us almost two years ago. Cynthia and I didn't get a picture together during the race so we took a post race picture...

We went to a church fair and then Pat and Cynthia took us on a tour of Logan.

Patrick showed us his new office and we took advantage of another photo opportunity...

Maya and Hannah have been friends since they were three. They loved spending time together.

Here are some other fun pics with the Jenkins...

(Easton and Camden)

(Ava, Eden and Kennedy)

We also got to spend some time with my friend Jen. We've been friends since high school and our kids just so happen to be the same age...except now she has a number 4! Baby Ella was only four weeks old.

We spent a day making some freezer meals so Jen won't be so stressed out at dinner time. No pictures of that, but here are some fun pictures of the kids. The girls also got to go back for a sleepover later in the week. They had such a great time!

We spent an afternoon in Orem with my cousins Monica and Leah. We had lunch at Monica's and then played at the park.

Monica (AKA: Mahkimah) and Camden are pretty tight.

Here is Mahkimah explaining to Camden that she is rolling up his shorts so he won't get them wet in the water...

Yeah...he pretty much didn't listen.

It's amazing how many people I that I love live in Utah! It's impossible to see everyone I want to in a single visit. I'm just grateful that it worked out that we got to spend time with these loved ones.

Still lots more to come...

Utah-Part 1 Top of Utah Half Marathon

2011-09-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

We spent ten amazing days in Utah. Our first stop was Logan so that I could run the Top of Utah half marathon with my lovely friend Mike. His amazing wife, Amy, who also happens to be one of my besties, couldn't run it so I got to take her spot.

We had to take a shuttle to the starting line. It left at 5:30am! The race didn't start until 7am. It was brutal to get up that early but we got to see the sun rise in the canyon. The time went by quickly because we got to visit with my friend Cynthia who also ran the race. No photos but it was so fun to hang out with her.

It was Mike's first half but he ran like a pro. I felt confident in my training but I had no idea what the altitude was going to do to me. I didn't want to hold Mike back from running his best, but he stayed with me the whole race. I was able to keep up with his pace for the first nine miles but once I hit ten, I hit a wall. It was hot, it was uphill and the altitude became a beast. It was like I could never fill my lungs completely. In the end we finished in 2:01. I wanted to be under 2 but I am still happy with that time, I felt bad that Mike slowed down for me. He could have totally finished way under 2 hours, I told him to go on but he wouldn't. We finished together and it was awesome. I can't wait to do it again!

We had the best fans ever! They even made signs for us...

There is nothing like running a good race. It feels so great to cross the finish line knowing that you have accomplished a goal. Every mile of training has paid off and it feel so, so good. In the past five years that I have been running, I have ran one marathon, three half's, and a handful of smaller races. I have learned so much during the hundreds and hundreds of miles I have logged. I have learned that your body can do way more than you think it can. I have learned that good friends make for the best running partners. And most importantly I have learned that there will always be someone faster and that's okay. In the end I run for me and what it does for me. I loved every minute of this race, even the brutal tenth mile.

Thanks Mike for pushing me and sticking with me...it was the best way to start my vacation!

Growing Pains...Middle School and Third Grade

2011-09-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

There has been far too much going on these days...I am so far behind on posting stuff. I have Family Fun Time 2011, Top of Utah Half Marathon and other randomness that needs to be documented. But while it is fresh in my mind I have to blog about the First Day of School...

Here is Maya on her first day of middle school.

Converse and Aeropostale is all the rage these days at her middle school. She was prepared with her wardrobe...notice it's still t-shirt and jeans. I wonder if she will ever break away from her uniform...

This has been quite the emotional week for us...by us I mean me and Maya. We had the same amount of anxiety and stress over it. I tried my hardest to not let her see my freaked out side. I did really, really well until the night before. I was watching her relieve her nervous energy by organizing all of her drawers and cleaning the bathroom at 8:30 at night! We had to make her stop. Aric gave the girl's blessings and after Maya's was done she crawled practically on my lap and started to cry. She blurted out through her tears..."WHY CAN'T I JUST STAY WITH YOU! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST COME WITH ME!" I completely lost it at that point and we wept together.

I did a carpool with one of Maya's besties so that she had someone to walk into school with everyday. Today was day four and she was still pretty nervous heading out the door but when she comes home she has a smile on her face and that's all that matters.

Here is Eden on her first and second day of Third Grade...

She was so ridiculous about her hair. She wanted it to be crimped so badly. She picked out her outfit from head to toe. She thought she looked like a rock star, so how could I dare give her any imput.

She has some good friends that made it real easy for her to say goodbye to me.

Second day outfit...because she wanted me to document it.

She handled it like a pro. She had no nerves whatsoever. The only emotional moment she had was when she verbalized how much she was going to miss seeing Maya everyday at school.

Camden is so sad. He asks about the girls all day, everyday. He is one sad little brother...

This is actually a picture of him looking at the garbage truck because he love them, but it's pretty much represents his longing for them now that they are gone all day.

Truly, Madly, Deeply

2011-08-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

We bought these chairs year and a half ago. I loved the look and scale of them but I just didn't love the fabric. They went well with the sofa that we had and I knew that I could reupholster them "someday".

Well when I found the couch of my dreams I knew that "someday" had come. Aric couldn't believe that I was going to mess with these chairs. He was actually going to let me sell them on craigslist and buy new ones. I was game but I still couldn't find any chairs that I loved and in the end it just felt like a waste of money. So I went and found some fabulous houndstooth fabric and took on these beasts.

Forty dollars and about ten hours later I now had the chairs of my dreams to match the couch of my dreams....

I am so happy to finally have this room put together. Yay!

Paused...

2011-08-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

What I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it is NEVER changing. His law, is THE law. Obeying God's commandments is the only way to have real joy and peace in this life. And when we do what he asks the blessings we get are so far greater than we ever deserve...

Clearly I'm not so great at being perfect. (just go read my post from a couple of weeks ago...btw, thanks for all the love on that one:p) Thankfully God doesn't expect us to be. He just wants us to be making our best efforts to do his will by keeping his commandments. (see I am learning)

One of the commandments that I work really hard at is keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Besides going to church, I make every effort to treat this day differently from any other day of the week. I don't go shopping. I work on family history. I watch programs that are geared towards Christ and family (thank you BYU channel for making this easy for me and my kids). I try to read only material that is focused on Christ and His teachings. I also will only play music that is uplifting and Christ centered. These things aren't hard for me (unless the Red Sox are playing and then I will sneak a peek at the score after the kids are in bed). The sweet spirit that comes into my home because I make those efforts is worth the worldly sacrifices.

I don't judge anyone else who doesn't do these things, I just know that this works for me. I need this day every week to really check in with my Heavenly Father. The other six days are so busy that just getting my daily prayers and scripture study in takes a huge amount of effort. So Sunday I give it to Him.

Most Sundays aren't super reverent by any means. Getting three kids ready for church and then sitting with them for an hour during our family service can be anything but reverent. Then after that service I get to teach the 18mos to 3yr olds for two hours. (I am the Nursery Leader in my ward. I have 30 children and 3 classes with 9 adults that I am responsible for) This is not play time people. This is teaching time. It is work and requires lots of love and patience. Not a ton of reverence but lots of blessings.

So here is where this post is going...

This Sunday I am all alone. Aric is in Oregon with the kids at my mom's for "Grandparents Week O' Fun" (aka: "fun for kids and that's about it" week). I was supposed to go but I was really feeling overwhelmed with life (tutoring all summer, lots of company, two big trips back to back, school starting two days after we get back, Maya going to middle school, Camden...need I say more...actually yes, I do need to say more, but I am saving that for the next post, Eden being swallowed up by the middle child syndrome, my lack of acceptance that I really am in the next stage of life...parent of pre-teenager, etc...)So Aric lovingly rearranged his schedule and took my place (my sister and I take turns staying there for half the week to keep the chaos somewhat in control).

When he first told me he would go I was in shock. I was in the middle of loading the washer when he casually said he would do it. I literally started to cry over my agitating washer. I was a little startled by my own reaction. Why in the world was I crying about this?

At first it was because I was so happy and then it was because I felt so guilty for feeling so happy. Then I felt so loved by Aric for doing this for me that all of the sudden I felt totally undeserving. Then I was scared because maybe he wasn't being serious and I was still going to have to go!

He told me this the night before I was supposed to leave. After the kids went to bed I sat him down and asked him if he was really being serious and he told me that he could rearrange his schedule and that he knew I needed this so it wasn't a big deal.

WASN'T A BIG DEAL!!!!!!

This was a dream come true for me! The greatest Mother's Day, Birthday, Christmas, Anniversary gift he could ever give me. Six days in my house without the kids.

*Not because I don't adore each of my children. They literally are my life...24/7...12 months a year. No day care to take them to. No office to escape to. My home is my office. I mean no disrespect to working mom's, that is a whole different kind of stress. I'm only trying to paint a nice picture of why this break was so precious to me.*

Aric and I have gone on vacations and I have a weekend every year that I get away for a little retreat, but to be in my house to get all the things done that I can never get around to doing is awesome! But even more than that is that, I have some serious time to reflect and get myself back on track. I had been running on fumes and now my tank is full and it's only been two days alone! My house is eerily still and a little too quiet for my liking, but I am using every moment thoughtfully. In fact right after they left on Friday afternoon I made a list of all the things I wanted to do while I had the house to myself (BTW..Aric gets home Monday night).

Here is a sampling of that list:

Organize Guest Closet

Revamp the basement playing area

Paint kids bathroom and vanity

Reupholster two chairs

Get school shopping done

Organize my closet

Make garage functional again

Organize junk drawer #2 that used to hold Camden's bottles and such

Go through kids clothes

Make Maya a new scripture bag

Mend the stuff in the "mend pile"

You get the picture. Lots of random stuff that I just can't find the time to do on any given day. Well, I have to admit it was tempting to use today as a "get-a-ton-of-stuff-accomplished" day. But then I realized how many "soul projects" I could do instead. And being that it is the Sabbath and all, I decided to use today as the perfect opportunity to dejunk my soul and really have a reverent Sunday.

I had already made arrangements for a sub for my class so I went to my sister's church service. I got up listened to my church music, watched a morning devotional on the BYU channel, got ready for church, got to church early, and sat there in peace. As I watched the families filing in, I missed Aric and my kids. Although, it was amazing how much I got out of the meeting since I wasn't refereeing the girl's or dealing with C.

Afterwards I went to the adult Sunday School class which was awesome. The lesson was on tithing and it made me think about all the blessings I have in my life because Aric and I tithe. I got to bear my testimony of it with grown ups and it felt great. Then I went to the women's class which was interesting. I liked the subject (temples), but I have to admit I was missing my crazy little class.

My nursery class may not be the optimal place you would want to be to ponder or meditate, but I can promise you that the Spirit of God is in that class in abundance! He loves those little people and he wants them to be taught his gospel. Even if our lessons are only five minutes long those children are feeling the spirit and they are being taught. Our music time is my favorite and I feel the spirit every week when I teach the children songs about Heavenly Father and Jesus. Today I missed that :(

When I got home I did some family history research and then checked in with A and the kids. Which brings me to this moment, to this post.

I needed this pause in my daily grind for many reasons, but the most important reason was that I need some alone time with God. I needed to spend some quality time with reacquainting myself with my Savior. I needed to keep the Sabbath Day holy and not give into my projecting impulse. Because I chose to honor the Sabbath...I have been shown my weaknesses. I have been called to repentance. I have been shown who to serve and how to serve them. I have been shown a better way to run my household. I have felt forgiveness and love. I know I wouldn't have had this experience, to this magnitude, had I not been observing the Sabbath so fully.

I know this feeling won't last. I will have to push the un-pause button in a few days, but I know how better to find it when I start losing it again. I'm so grateful for Aric recognizing how desperately I needed this. I know the spirit nudged him and thankfully he responded to the prompting. This is the first time I have ever been alone in my house for any real length of time. I know that this is not something I can ask for every year. But I do know now that I do need this, and even if it's for only a day or two I will ask for it and I will use that time wisely and make sure to give a chunk of it to God.

So now I am going to go for a walk, do some more reflecting and get myself geared up for tomorrow and all the projects that await me.

I had to post a picture of this dress I got yesterday for $12 at Macy's! I hate taking a picture of myself with a self timer so this is as good as it gets.

Don't Mess With My Kid

2011-08-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to Manito Park while we had family in town for Eden's Baptism. I love this park, it's one of my favorite places to go with my kids.

We started out with a picnic lunch. Here are Aric and Leah bonding over Mello Yello.

The Japanese Garden

Monica was a great tour guide for Camden. She was even more excited about the koi pond then he was!

My step-dad Joe was showing off and jumping over the koi fish. Thank heavens he didn't fall and get us kicked out!

The Rose Garden

We took a couple of grandma pictures while we were there...the girls and my mom.

Here is one with Grandma Kathy, Aric's mom.

The best part about the rose garden was Leah telling the girls what would happen if you smelled each variety of rose...ex: if you smelled the Carribean rose you would someday go on a cruise. If you smelled the Spanish rose you would start speaking Spanish. Oh I wish I could remember them all, she was hilarious!

The English Garden

It was so hot! It felt good to sit by the spray.

The Splash Pad

This was the last stop on our park adventure. This is my cute little cousin Aby. She got to stay an extra day and hang out with us. She had no fear, she loved getting sprayed.

My girls got a little wet but they were more interested in the swings.

Camden loved running around watching everybody else get wet but he didn't like getting sprayed.

This is C, just standing there staring at the big kid waiting for the bucket to fall...

There were two water guns. The red one was lame, but the blue one could spray far and hard. There were two little boys who hogged it the whole time and they would spray anyone who would get close to them. They even sprayed my mom!

I was so annoyed because they kept spraying C. He wanted it so bad. I was waiting for some parents to intervene but no one stepped up. So after a while I took matters into my own hands.

I kindly asked them to let C have a turn. They weren't super excited at first but I strongly/nicely suggested that they give someone else a turn since they had been monopolizing it the whole time. They very reluctantly agreed that C should have a turn. As soon as I got my hands on that gun I let them have it!

I didn't realize that Aric was taking pictures! I love that he captured us giving those little turkey's a taste of their own medicine.

Confessions of an imperfect perfectionist

2011-08-07T23:01:00.000-07:00

Being a perfectionist while being totally imperfect sucks. I hate being a perfectionist. I'm not sure when I became one. All I know is that I have been trying to let go of this part of my personality and it is not easy. I'm not even sure it is possible.

I don't expect other people to be perfect, just myself. Certain people in my life I do have high expectations of, but in the end I am forgiving of their short comings. I'm not so kind with myself.

(Just to keep things real. Here is a very imperfect picture of me. I didn't even do a mother's day post because all the pictures of me were hideous. But since I'm working on overcoming my perfectionism, I am throwing this one out there.)

My house is not perfect. There is always something that needs to be cleaned or organized. I go to sleep every night thinking about what I didn't get done that day and what I need to do the next day. I hate that it takes my kids 30 seconds to destroy a days worth of work for me. Everyday I struggle with letting go of my anger about the piano books on the floor and the milk being left out on the counter.

My body is not perfect. This is a battle that I have been waging since I was in seventh grade. SEVENTH GRADE! I am so over letting my body issues dictate my mood. Some days I am great at accepting this body of mine. Thick thighs and all. Other days not so much and I have to work very hard to be at peace with it. Being swim suit season is making it harder than usual.

My parenting is not perfect. Sometimes I'm too hard and sometimes I'm too lenient. Everyday I am seeking a balance. Each child is at a different developmental stage so the expectations have to be different. Keeping up with their needs is exhausting.

My wife skills are lacking. I expect a lot from Aric and I try not to get annoyed with his lack of cleaning and organizing skills but he is great at so many other things I need to chill. He is the only one that is allowed to see all of my imperfections and yet I have a hard time looking over his weaknesses.

My personal relationship with God is a roller coaster. I get lazy and don't do my scripture study everyday. My morning prayers are hit and miss. I try to serve others but sometimes I'm picky about who and what I do.

My projects, painting, sewing, upholstering, jewelry making, writing, etc...take longer than necessary because they have to be perfect. Even when I feel like I have done my best it is still so hard to look at the finished product and be satisfied. I know where a seam is crooked, or where a brush stroke isn't straight and it drives me nuts!

Literally, every conversation, weighs on me because I want to make sure it is "perfect". I want to make sure my words truthfully match how I feel. I want to be authentic. I hate being fake. I truly can't do it. It's tricky because in some situations it would be better if I could be fake. I worry that this makes me a bad friend sometimes because my close friends hear my thoughts and opinions unfiltered.

It's so ridiculous because on one hand I want the world to know that I am imperfect. I don't want anyone to think bad about themselves because they are comparing themselves to me. I hate feeling less than perfect and I don't want anyone to beat themselves up the way I do.

I've already seen these perfectionist tendencies in Eden and it worries me. I'm trying my best to teach her how to let things go. How to do her best and be happy with that. There will always be someone smarter, more talented, prettier, skinner, more organized, etc...if I can get her to realize that, then she will be a much happier person the rest of her life.

Great advice huh. So now I am trying to practice what I preach. It's Not Easy. I had a moment last week that gave me some perspective.

Eden and I were clashing...seriously clashing. Like bumper cars crashing. My patience was already thin due to the messy house and company that was coming. I erupted and yelled...I felt the spirit try to hold me back. I literally heard the words in my mind, "don't leave this room" (I was in the laundry room, Eden was on the stairs complaining and fitting), I chose to ignore them and went after her. She got a talking to like no other. No swearing or name calling just yelling. Ugly face yelling.

When it was over she was in her room crying. I stormed back to the laundry room and started to cry myself. I went up and talked to her. I told her I was sorry and explained why I was so angry, part of it was her but mostly it was me. We had a good talk and she quickly forgave me.

Later that night I had a conversation with Heavenly Father. I told him about how I hate failing as a parent and that I am not cut out for this job. It was just one more thing that I wasn't perfect at.

The next day while I was running, I heard Him speak to my heart through the spirit. I know that this may sound strange to some people but I know that God speaks to us. We can receive personal revelation. We just have to be open to hear His voice. I poured out my heart and he answered. He told me that he gave me the children I was supposed to have. As badly as I wanted more children and have my children closer in age, he knew me better. He knew that he didn't give the skills and patience needed to have more children and that was okay. My skills lie elsewhere.

This revelation was bittersweet for me. Yay that Heavenly Father knows me and took time to speak to me. Nay that I don't have the skills that other women have to mother more children. Yay that Heavenly Father accepts and loves me and doesn't expect me to be perfect. He knew what he made when he made me.

The spirit also helped me realize that being imperfect doesn't mean that I am failing. There are a few grades between A and F, and thankfully we are graded on overall performance.

Today's grades looked like this...

House...B-. I was going to give myself an A because it's the Sabbath so I don't stress about it as long as the dishes get done it's all good. But then I remembered getting after my girls because there were SIX wet towels on the floor in their bathroom. SIX. I was firm but not mean.

Body...A. I didn't even wear my spanx. I just wanted to be comfortable.

Parenting...B-. I made sure we were all ready for church in plenty of time so there was no stress. We had enough time that we could leisurely walk to the chapel instead of speed walk. We had good conversation and everyone was good at church. I took Eden with me to take dinner to a family who just had a baby and we had got lost but enjoyed our time together. I didn't watch shark week with them instead I worked on this blog post. That wasn't so good.

Wifey Responsibilities...C. I started dinner but Aric did most of it. We haven't had a chance to talk much today. I had him get up and get C breakfast so I could stay in bed. I am still working on this post instead of hanging out with him.

Spiritual Stuff...B. I didn't do my morning prayers but I made sure to listen to hymns as I got ready. I gave my lesson about how Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us to my nursery kiddos. I will read my scriptures and pray before I go to bed.

So all in all, today I give myself a B- and I'm okay with that.

I could pick my day apart even more and find the little things that I could have done better but I'm not. Instead I am going to end this post and go help Aric with the dishes.

Eden's Baptism

2011-08-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

Eden has been waiting for this day for three years. Ever since Maya got baptized, Eden has be anxiously waiting her special day. She got to wear the dress I made for Maya, we just changed the sash to Eden's favorite color and added a flower.

Getting baptized is a big deal. Something we don't take lightly in our family. It's so important for my children to understand what it means to be baptized and make sure they are making the decision because of their own testimony of Christ not just because it's what you do when you turn eight.

I like to think that we have been preparing Eden her whole life by going to church, reading scriptures, praying and teaching her the doctrines of Christ's church. The past couple of months we have focused our scripture study and Family Home Evenings around preparing Eden for the covenants she was going to make.

I have no doubt that she was ready to make the commitment to become a follower of Christ.

One of the things I love about these special moments in life, is that is when our family really comes together.

My grandma isn't a member of my church but she won't miss a baptism or baby blessing. This means the world to me.

We decided to take this opportunity to take a four generation picture.

Tia Ines, Felipe and Manuel drove three hours to be here for only 24 hours! Yeah, they are awesome.

My brother Eric flew out from Portland.

Aric's parents and brother came out from North Dakota. It was the first time we got to meet baby Kohen.

Mom and Joe are always present at these special occasions. My mom made the dress Eden was baptized in. My niece Olivia also wore it.

Edee with my sister and her family.

My cousins Monica and Leah came out from Utah. They actually stayed for almost a week. I LOVE THESE GIRLS!!!

My niece Zoe, flew out from Portland.

My Tio Marco and his family got off a plane from Argentina and then less than 24 hours later they were here with us.

Eden has been blessed with some very sweet friends. I was only able to get pictures with two of her friends that came...

Eden and Kate

Eden and Kaylee

This was the program...

Eden and I have been clashing a lot lately. Her eight year old complaining ways have been driving me crazy! It was so good for me to stop and focus on all of the reasons why I love her. She has such a compassionate heart. She wants to do the right things. I never catch her deliberately disobeying, in fact she is such a rule keeper she honestly doesn't know how to be sneaky. If we could just get the complaining thing under control she would be the perfect kid.

Eden loves Jesus. She believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God. She knows that she is a child of God. She knows that Heavenly Father and Jesus love her. She knows that keeping God's commandments will keep her safe and bring her peace and happiness. She knows that she can repent and live with God again.

Her testimony is simple, but it is hers. As the years go on she will understand more fully what the gospel of Jesus Christ means to her and she will have experiences that will strengthen her testimony even more. This is just the beginning of her spiritual journey. I am excited for her. I hope she remembers the spirit she felt that day. I hope she remembers the special moment we shared right before she went into the font. I know I will cherish it always.

I am so proud of you Eden Elisabeth!

Eden turned Eight

2011-08-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

Eden wanted to go to IHOP for breakfast instead of going out for dinner.

Eden wanted a camping themed birthday party this year. I hate camping but I thought it would be a fun theme. I had grand plans of a tent shaped birthday cake and super cute invitations but life got a little nuts when Aric informed me that we were having all of the carpet replaced a four days before the party. Thankfully Eden's expectations were not as lofty as mine.

She thought the lame invitations were cool...

She had no idea how awesome the tent cake was in my mind, she thought these sleeping bag cupcakes were awesome...

She had a blast playing Chubby Bunny with her friends...

Making s'mores...

Getting her face painted...

Having three legged races...

And opening her gifts, of course...

Summer birthday parties are tricky because so many people take off for vacations. Last year we only had five girls able to make it. This year we had ten! We sang camp songs and made camp t-shirts, I channeled my old camp counselor days, it was awesome. I couldn't have pulled it off without Maya and two of her friends helping me run the show and my sister helping out with Camden. The party was a success!

That night she got to open her gifts from us...

Thank you Target for having American Girl knock off stuff on clearance last month!

Catching Up

2011-07-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

Honestly how is it the end of July? Especially when it's only felt like summer for maybe seven days! My days have been ridiculously full. Mainly full of preparing for house projects, doing house projects and cleaning up after house projects all while keeping up with regular life tasks. It's been exhausting but worth it.

So here is some stuff that we have done in between all the house projecting...

Father's Day

Aric is a fabulous dad and he certainly deserved to be celebrated.

He got lots of homemade cards and lots of love.

We had our friends, the Hall's, over for a yummy dinner. Garrett and Aric are toasting with their favorite beverage Mello Yello...Rachel found a special edition version "Mello Yello Dark"

Trip to Pendleton, Oregon...My Hometown

My mom and Joe took our kids for a few days so that Aric and I could tile the laundry room. One of our many, many projects.

This is the chapel that I grew up going to church every single Sunday with my family.

It was built by the LDS members there a long time ago. Isn't it the coolest chapel ever! It reminds me of the Harvard chapel.

My girls are growing up so stinkin' fast I couldn't help myself and took a couple of close ups of them.

We celebrated a belated Father's Day with my step-dad Joe.

We celebrated an early birthday for my baby brother Ben.

We love you Tio Benny!

We also got to spend some quality time with my Abuelita H.

Fourth Of July

I love celebrating the Fourth in my little town...

We rode our bikes down to the local 20 minute parade.

Here are the cutey boys...

Here are the cutey girls + C...

And here are the cutey momma's...

Camden and Faith still haven't quite figured out the whole candy gathering part of the parade. Camden cried whenever someone sprayed him with a water gun and Faith would run out and get piece of candy then run it back to Jessica and eat it. Yeah, those two kiddos need to be schooled in the ways of parade etiquette.

I love this picture of the kids waiting and watching.

This was the most elaborate float we had. I'm telling you this is small town America where we live.

They let anyone into the parade...even these yahoo's.

I love seeing our friends in the parade.

Emma bit Aric while fighting over a piece of candy. Aric pretty much brings out the best and the worst of people.

Later that day we had our poor friend Garrett over since he was homeless and family-less.

The kids enjoyed their five minutes of pop its...it took them longer to clean them up than it took for them to throw them.

That night we went to our most gracious friends, the Shenneman's, lake house for the fireworks show.

It was a long day, but it was a lovely day. The weather was perfect which was all I could ask for.

Swimming

So far we have only been able to go twice...stupid, stupid weather. But I did manage to take pictures one day...

I love watching my kids in the water. This particular day it was just us at the pool. Maya and Eden played so good together.

Camden preferred to watch for the first hour. The last 30 minutes he finally decided to get in.

Okay this post is way longer than I wanted it to be so this will have to do for now. I will have to do another catch up post another day. Eden's birthday is in two days and her baptism in six days. I'm a little busy these days but how can I even complain? It's all good stuff.

GOOD STUFF!

This is what a full day looks like...

2011-07-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

First of all...
You know it's going to be a good day when a box of fruit shows up on your doorstep!

The Fun Run

Our morning started out with the annual summer race our city puts on.

I ran first. It's a four mile run...mostly uphill. It's a killer! My friend Jess S. and I started in the front of the pack, we didn't mean to we just found a spot before the whistle blew and it happened to be at the front.

I forgot my ipod so I just got in a zone and stayed there. I ran the fastest I've ever ran...four miles in 33 minutes!

C.R.A.Z.Y.

The funnest part was that during the medal ceremony I heard my friend Cami's name called for third place in our age bracket and I knew I was a few seconds ahead of her, so I got second and my other friend Jessica got first! We had no idea that we placed, so fun! My friend Laura also placed in her age bracket.

After my run it was Camden's turn. He was with the six and under crew.

Here he is doing his stretches...

He took off and ran hard for about 50 yards and then decided he was done.

He needed a little help to finish it up...

Yay for Camden!

Then Eden was up. She had made a goal back in January to finish the race without stopping and get a ribbon.

I ran with her and she ran like a champ. I had told her to start slow and find a good pace. She kept seeing these boys sprint pass her and then walk but at the very end of her race she passed them. It was awesome!

Here she is finishing her race. I was so proud of her. It was not easy for her but she did it.

Yay Eden!

Last but not least was Maya's race. There was only one other girl and she was the youngest in her bracket. She had made a goal to get first place for the girls because last year she got second.

Well she took off too fast in the beginning trying to keep up with all the sprinting boys. She got burned out and really struggled, so I ran with her. She did a great job pushing through her disappointment and finished strong.

I was so proud of her. She still got her second place ribbon and in the end that made her happy.

I love sharing the love of running with my kids...

My brother Ben showed up at the medal ceremony to spend the weekend with us since he won't be able to be here for Eden's baptism that will be in a few weeks.

(Notice the matching t-shirts...)

Sewing Project

I finished these cushions for our patio furniture.

The Shock Game

Then we went to the first ever outdoor Shock game. We took the kids and it was so much fun!

The Shock spanked the Blaze...WHOO HOO!

Camden was making friends right and left with his silliness.

It was not a lazy Saturday by any means, but we made some awesome memories!

Yay Summer!

Maya's Dance Recital

2011-07-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

Okay this happened a month ago but I have to blog about it or Maya would be sad...

She took a modern dance class and LOVED it.

I was in charge of costumes again because I refuse to pay over $25 dollars for an outfit that will be worn for 3 minutes.

So this is what I came up with...my adorable little birds.

The black tank top Old Navy $5

The black capri leggings Old Navy $7

The tule JoAnne's $2 (crazy sale)

The boa JoAnne's $6 (with coupon)

The mask $2 + $1 for rinestones

(I glued feathers from the boa onto it and added cute rhinestones that you can't see)

Grand total $23

If you minus the tank top and capris that can be worn outside of the costume it was only $11!

Maya's has been dancing with Holland and Elsa for five years now. They are her oldest and dearest friends. She has be friends with Elsa since she was two years old!

We love that we live close enough to my sister that she can come to these special events. Funny how there are no pictures of me and my girl but that's okay because Maya loves her Tia Evelynne! And we don't have many of them together.

Every June I curse the weeks leading up to the recital...the extra rehearsals and the costume making is enough to do me in! But as I watch my girls dance and see my creations on the stage it makes my heart melt. It is all worth it and that's why I do it every single year.

I'm not sure how to upload the video without my windows livewriter so until then...this is the song they danced too. I LOVE it and is now on my "faves playlist".

Best Date Ever!

2011-07-04T00:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard of Groupon? Well if not you really need to get signed up...last month there was a Groupon for Adventure Dyanmics. It was $25 for a 3-hour adventure (normally $50). I had heard about it from one of my running buddies she had texted about maybe getting it for her husband for Father's Day. I thought that I should talk to Aric about it before I bought it because he is afraid of heights...REALLY afraid of heights. He said he would do it so we bought two of groupons.

After Father's Day I realized that six of my friends had bought the Groupon too! After an entire day of trying to schedule it (there was only certain dates and times Adventure Dynamics takes Groupon groups) I had given up that we would be able to go together. There was only one night that we could all go so I called the head guy and he opened up a session for us! Yee Haw!!!

So last night we headed into the wilderness, it was a good hour away. We didn't realize that is was going to be such a trek so we were a little late...

In the end we only had about 2 hour 15 minutes but we crammed that time in with some CRAZY stuff.

Here are some of the highlights...

The Harnesses...Mark and George looking a little confused. I may or may not have put Aric's on backwards...whoops!

The Course...SOOOO high!

Mark and Cami listening very carefully to the instructions.

The Romney's are the only ones who tackled this ladder course.

Me and Aric on the tire/beam course...

You had to really trust your friends who were keeping you safe...scary huh.

Kevin and Melissa "committing to doing the course together"

Meg and Adam on the ropes...

Me and Aric on the ropes...my helmet fell in front of my eyes and I couldn't stop laughing...

Aric being ridiculous...so what else is new.

Jess and Ryan doing the other course...

Mark and Cami on the ropes. Notice that when you start the ropes, you are close together...

Now look how far apart they are! I love that you can see

Adam and Meg behind them on a different course.

Meg and Adam at the top.

Randi and George bonding on their course...

Last event of the night...the zip line.

My favorite picture of Randi...she was also afraid of heights.

I wish we would've had more time, Aric and I totally want to go again. There was so much stuff we didn't get to do. So if you are up for going on the funnest date ever, let me know me and Will (the head guy) we are tight. I can hook you up.

I just realized it is officially the Fourth of July...

HaPPy FouRtH!!!

Yay for Freedom!

Yay for soldiers that fight for freedom!

I Am Grateful.