Day 59

Today I am grateful for good books!

 

For the past few months I have been busy with this and that and have not had the time to read much of anything so finally after sometime, I was able to finish the first book in the series, "The brothers." It is a church (LDS) book about the pre-existence and the following of two brother in this life. So far so good and now onto book two!

My friend warned me book one was a bit slow and yes, it was slow but like the work and the glory series from the 90's, early 2000's, where it could drag on sometimes, it was still really good because of that depth and detail. 

Day 58

Today I am grateful for the power of the priesthood.

Taylor is still really sick and not keeping anything down.

I am really worried about him getting too dehydrated with him not keeping anything down for three days and so Keith gave him a blessing tonight. What a blessing to have that assurance and power in your home when a child is sick, or you need a blessing of comfort from the Lord. 

Day 57

13 years ago I checked into Providence medical center in Portland, OR at 6am.

 

I was young, scared and had no clue what was in store for me in becoming a new mother.

 

Being so young, I was naïve, innocent in my understanding of what motherhood was all about. I read

 

any book I could get my hands onto, proving to everyone and myself, that I would be the best mother

 

I could be. Some people worried with how young I was that it was too soon and I will agree with

 

them...yes, I was too young. I became a mother at 18years old but what I did have and could give my

 

daughter 100%, was my heart. My love for her was unconditional before she was even born, so deep

 

 it was foreign to my heart, a feeling of a overwhelming zealousness to protect her from anything that

 

 could hurt her. I wanted to give her everything. I wanted to see her grow up intelligent, strong,

 

courageous and spiritually minded. I wanted her to know she was a daughter of God who loved her.

 

After a long day of ups and downs, an epidural that half worked and 3 hours of hard back labor,

 

Diana rose entered into this world beautiful just as her name describes her with thick black hair,

 

 brown eyes, pink cheeks. and dimples. A few minutes after she was born, the grandparents and Keith

 

 were talking amongst one another as I held this little piece of heaven in my arms. As I gazed at this

 

 angelic little girl, she opened her eyes, looked at me and smiled. As she smiled, dimples popped up

 

on her cute pink cheeks. I told everyone, "Come look! She has dimples." By the time they turned

 

 around, she was fast sleep smiling with the secret that only her and her mama knew; she had dimples!

 

It took another month before her dimples made another appearance and everyone believed me :).

 

Today, Diana is a beautiful young woman who makes me proud in every sense.

 

She is intelligent.

 

Strong.

 

Driven.

 

Thoughtful and sweet.

 

She has a testimony of the gospel and loves to serve.

 

She loves her brother and sisters.

 

She has a desire to learn.

 

She is funny.

 

But most of all....

 

She is my daughter.

 

You made ME a mother.

 

You changed me and made me want to be a better person. You showed me what it is to love another

 

human being so much, you would do anything for them. I love you Diana.

 

I am grateful for YOU today and that 13 years ago, you made me a mother ♥

 

 

 

 



Day 56

Can I just say this has not been our month for health and wellness.

Chloe and I came down with the stomach flu...

You're like, "AGAIN?!?"

I know...again. 

As soon as I am off of here and a little more coherent I am off the bleach everything in sight!

A wonderful lady from church dropped off some Popsicle's  and Gatorade's this morning to help out...it made a world of difference in how I felt by afternoon!

 My amazing husband helped clean up the whole house tonight after coaching a soccer game and making dinner!

Now to head off of here and sleep.

Day 55

For double nickle day (55), today, I am grateful for the ability to be brave enough to make a changes

in my life that I needed too. Change is hard but it also can be what was needed. 

You may question yourself a million times over on whether you should have done this or that but in 

the end, following your heart wins out because its there that you need to be true to yourself. 

♥

Day 54

  

Tonight we had "It's great to be 8" for those children in our ward who are being baptized. 

Chloe said the opening prayer and I was able to talk about Activity Days to the girls. 

I loved seeing the enthusiasm on all of their faces when they entered to look at the font. 

So pure. 

So precious

So ready and eager to learn. 

We all should be more like that!

Chloe will be our third child to be baptized and I know she is eager to be baptized by her father. I am grateful for Chloes desire to do so but also for a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder who can and wants to baptize his beautiful daughter. 

We love you Chloe and your father and I are so grateful we were blessed with your fiery spirit. 

♥ 

Day 53

So today I stepped back into time and put back on one of my old identities: being a Girl Scout leader. 

To be honest....

I was not really thrilled at first. 

But when I prayed about whether to do it or not, I had the overwhelming feeling this was something that would help Chloe with some personal things we are working on with her. 

So, this morning we got together with our cute little group of girls and got our bake on to make homemade waffles. 

I loved working with  them and am grateful for this fun opportunity to be a leader for my daughter.

Its such a cute bunch of young little brownies!

Day 52

Today I am grateful for old friends. 

I had the chance today to meet up with an old friend for lunch today who had moved away and I loved catching up with her. I miss seeing her beautiful face on a daily basis and our conversations!

I was contemplating after lunch how hard it is to keep in contact with everyone that you make friends with over the course of your life. Its sad when you see ties broken or that it has been THAT long since you last talked with them....but I think that is normal. Friends come and go and for whatever reason and the Lord puts them there at that time for specific reasons. Some stay in your life permanently, some come and go as the seasons but each one has a purpose in your life. Some have been put into my life to teach me lessons. Some have been put into my life as a support. Some have been put into my life to change it - ALL important and though we may not stay in touch, do know, I still love ya and am grateful our lives collided even if it was but for a brief second.  

Day 51

I love having the kids come home with exciting news!

Diana came home from swim practice that she had PR'ed, beating her own personal record and moving up to Novice 1. 

She also had made the honor roll at school, with the additional good news of having her literary project in social studies picked out as #1.

It's such a wonderful feeling to see your children work so hard and reap their rewards for their hard earned work!

Way to go baby girl!

Day 50

Today I am grateful for my co-worker, Debi. 

We have been teaching preschool for over 4 years now and every step of this journey has been a blessing in my life. 

Working with Debi is a treat because of her outlook on life. Her optimism is enlightening and 

teaches the best of us patience, love and to savor life for what it is. 

If there is ever a time when you need a lift, a smile, a positive spin on things; Debi is your go to gal.

 She has a talent for making people feel loved and needed. 

So Miss Debi B., you rock; not only because you are you but because you changed my life for the

 better. You were more than a friend in these past few years - you were a best friend and nothing can 

replace that!

Day 49

Today I am grateful for the amazing website, Pinterest. 

Seriously? 

What did we EVER do before Pinterest and Google?!?!

If you, my friend, do NOT have a Pinterest account - GO AND GET ONE!

www.pinterest.com

I find ideas for cooking, decorating, gardening, crafts, church, clothes....really the the list could go on. 

But what I really love about the whole website is how it organizes everything for me online.

You can organize your recipes, cleaning tips, crafts all under one roof and not have to literally bookmark 50 bazillion websites and try and remember where you found that one idea that you loved. 

So go and try it out....I will be using one idea I found from there for activity days tomorrow :). 

Day 48

Today I am grateful for my Saviors gift of grace that he has given me daily so I can reach for the stars  to be a better person for not only for myself but for my family, my friends and for Him. 

His grace has allowed me to be changed. 

His grace has given me opportunities I never would have seen. 

His grace has given me hope when there should have been fear. 

His grace has given me peace. 

His grace has given me eternal blessings beyond measure.

I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.

His atoning sacrifice gave me life, faith and the desire to doubt my doubts and not my faith. 

♥

Day 47

Last night Diana came up with her own FHE get to know you game for us.  A question would be asked such as, "What is your favorite book?", "What is your favorite church song?" etc. After that we would we would write down what we thought everyone's answer would be, then the person would respond with he/she's correct answer.

For each answer you answered correctly, you would put a check by their name. At the end of the game, whomever you put the least amount of checks by their name, Diana challenged us to get to know that family member better.

SO MUCH FUN and surprising on how well we knew somethings and not so well on other things....

I am grateful for family time but especially a daughter who took the time to make such a fun night of FHE for us all to help us in getting to know each other better in our likes and dislikes.

Day 46

Tonight I am grateful for honest friends.

 

Sometimes, the best of friends stop you and say what really needs to be said, even when

 

 it will probably not be what you want to hear.

 

 

The truth can set you free

 

give you wings

 

and allow you to be the person you want to be.

 

 

So here's to honesty and good friends who know what needs to be said.

 

♥

Day 45

I know some people do not like Valentines Day and I do agree with some of their reasons which are: flowers are ridiculously expensive, people are running everywhere spending WAY more money they should be on trinkets that really do not say I love you and the ridiculous crowds that can bring out the worst even in the best of people.

Now, those reasons aside, Valentines really is not that bad because...

I have fun making the kids lunches with little notes and a fun treat.

I love going heart attacking with my family.

Writing love notes to those I hold dear is a lot of fun.

I love spending time with my husband that evening.

Chocolate covered strawberries and fancy desserts.

And in all honesty, how bad can a day about love be?

It was a crazy day back at work with a fun Valentines Party with my class. I felt so loved by the kids. They had missed me when I was out sick and were happy to see me as I was them.

After work, it was onto a little shopping and getting things ready for the evening.

I decorated up the table with hearts, fancy dinner ware and we had fun with it.

The kids enjoy this tradition of a fancy dinner and I am grateful for a day where, yes it maybe commercialized, it is a time to smooch and smother those you love with a little love and chocolate!

♥





Day 44

Tonight we were able to celebrate my husbands birthday with Reece's Ice cream cake, presents and take out. 

I am grateful for these moments to celebrate each one of us. 

I sometimes think to myself on how appropriate Keith was born the day before Valentines Day. 

He has one of the BIGGEST hearts I know. 

He always puts others before himself. 

He loves to serve. 

He doesn't question on what needs to be done - he just does it because its right. 

He is very thoughtful in how he loves. 

He listens and he does everything 100%. 

I am grateful we got to serve you, even if it was for a brief moment, to celebrate the wonderful 

husband, father and person you are ♥.

Day 43

I am not much of a cake person. 

I know a lot of people love a good piece of chocolate cake but there is seriously nothing better to me 

than a warm home baked apple pie fresh from the oven. 

Top it with some good ol'vanilla bean ice cream and you have heaven on a plate. 

My husband stopped by the store for me today since I still was on the mend from the flu and brought 

home my favorite; apple pie and vanilla ice cream.

Not homemade but certainly still yummy and a ray of sunshine to my day. 

 

Day 42

Today I stayed home from work with the flu so in all honesty I was grateful for the warm bath, my robe, a good book, and the naps I was able to get in! 

Short and sweet and honestly what I was grateful for on a day where I did not feel so hot.

Day 41

A babies laugh is one of the purest sounds this life holds. 

This afternoon after doing a valentine craft with the kids, I sent them outside to get some fresh air and

 enjoy the rest of the snow while it is still here. After getting them out the door and into the 

backyard,  I was in the living room when I heard Miss C wake up and head into my bedroom to pick her up from her nap. 

I picked her up, pulled open the curtains

and took her to the window so she could see the snow and her siblings playing. 

While Charleigh watched her siblings, Taylor came up and threw a small snowball at the window. 

Charleigh LOVED it and laughed!

So, after a minute of Taylor doing that, Chloe and Diana jumped in and started throwing snow into 

the air and acting goofy to get Charleigh to smile. 

She thought they were hilarious and laughed for a good 5 minutes straight. 

Her and I got our abdominal workout for the day, right? :)

I love hearing pure laughter and seeing the delight her siblings get in making Miss C 

light up and laugh.

Day 40

Church was canceled today due to the roads. 

I honestly can not remember once when church was canceled in my life. 

Poor Diana had a talk she was supposed to give on temples but unfortunately, that will have to be 

rescheduled for another Sunday in the future. Although with all of us play ring a round the rosie with 

this chest cold we have been having, I don't think any of us would have been there anyway...

With no where to go, we assessed the damage outside in the backyard - we lost a few limbs on the trees but over all I think we escaped without too much damage. 

I read in the news of a few people who had lost cars, trees through their cars and homes, and had lost power...

None of those happened to us. 

A great blessing to feel watched over by the Lord.  Now to go work on the kids valentines today. 

We are hitting up the good old Pinterest and making some CUTE fishy themed valentines!

Day 39

The freezing rain hit and we pulled out the board games!

We officially have been baking up a storm with banana bread, french bread, brownies, ice cream sundaes....

So hopefully we will be able to fit into our pants when this is all said and done!

 I feel grateful for a stocked up home with food, blankets and provisions when many are in want. 

To be able to play board games and just chill in our pajamas to catch up on our episodes of "Chuck" on

Netflix has been awesome...now back to the board games and pajamas!

Day 38

So far today the snow has not stopped!

It looks majestic, clean, and has put our world to a halt and busy schedule.

Today, it was fun to watch the kids today play in the snow. 

In and out to warm up and head back out to work on their igloos. 

Each one built one in the backyard, creating a cool cubby hole for themselves inside their igloos. 

The used the shovel and small garden shovels to create their little areas. I loved 

watching each one of them going about it a different way, seeing the wheels turn as they worked 

tirelessly to make their snow creations. 

I remember being a kid playing in the snow for endless hours even after my brothers would have 

gone inside to warm up. There is something about gods beauty in the snow -

Something clean and calming.

So grateful my kids have been given the gift of these snow days since they do not happen where we 

live very often.

Day 37

(Taylor in his igloo he built in the backyard)

Life has been so busy lately. 

Today, the National weather service issued a warning for where we live for 8-12 inches of snow, combined with the popular duo of freezing rain, creating a skating rink that caused 20 car pile ups, interstate closures.....and of course school closures. 

At first, I was sad since the last time this happened in December we ended up missing 5 days of school in a row, leaving the kids to make up 3 more in June (Boo) but then I realized what a blessing to just be and soak in the family time. 

I was able to just relax and catch up on housework, read, and play with Miss C.

The kids were in and out playing in the snow making igloos in the backyard, going over to their friends for snowball fights and enjoying their time off their regular schedules. 

It was amazing - although the stress of waiting to have Keith come home from his 25 miles commute was stressful :). 

Tonight, we are supposed to get another 4-6....should be fun!

Day 36

I am NOT by any means the, "perfect housewife." 

I usually have a project sprawled out here or there....

messy dishes from cooking....

and yes, it has been a week since my bathroom was cleaned....

I read this article and LOVED every word of it because honestly, I needed to hear it. 

So many times I insist on having my house "perfect" before anyone comes over that I 

miss opportunities to socialize with someone that I would have had, had I not been so insistent on 

being OCD about my house being clean. 

So from here on out, come on over and sit down. 

Most likely there will be unfolded laundry on my couch 

and crumbs on my floor....

BUT 

I am here to be me and I would love to get to know YOU. 

So grateful I read this today:  http://dugansincahoots.com/2014/01/23/we-cant-be-friends/

Day 35

Today I am thankful for me time. 

I came home from work and was able to nurse and snuggle Miss C for an hour, then....

I was able to eat lunch and take a LONG nap in my warm bed. 

I am a person that rarely takes naps because it is really hard for me to wind down....

You have to know I am exhausted if it happens.  

Now time to tackle that to-do list refreshed!!

Day 34

Today I was thinking about how blessed I am. 

This blog has been such a blessing in my life because each day I am looking for what it is that I am grateful for that day. 

Sometimes it is hard to find something

Other days, I want to write about 50 things...

But such is life. 

Today, the good, was the few quiet minutes I was able to listen to the scriptures on my way to work. 

Even in my fast paced life, I was able to be spiritually fed and to contemplate the words of the Lord.

My day goes so much better when I am listening and want to learn for what he has to teach me. 

Day 33

Today I am grateful for a a great lesson that went well in Primary. 

I actually have never been a primary teacher before and was a little afraid I would not like

this calling when the Bishop (like a minister in the LDS church), gave me the opportunity to accept 

the new calling as the new Valiant 9 teacher. 

It is a class full of 6-7 busy little boys and three girls. 

I have LOVED it. 

The class has challenged me every Sunday with amazing questions and has been a lot of fun to teach. 

It is going to be a great year and I love those Sundays where we really connect. 

Day 32

Today I am grateful I was able to visit one of my happy places - My garden. 

I know some people loathe gardening but it truly is one of those things I could do all day long. 

I think that is where my brother Michael and I connect with the outdoors...granted I do not go out on

huge hikes, miles away from civilization like him, but I love being outside. 

It makes me especially happy when I get to swing in the beautiful cedar swing Keith built me, on a 

warm spring day with a good book, lemonade and the sound of the trees. 

 ♥