A couple funnies

There is always a funny or two to report. The first one is by my dear sweet Haylie. We had just watched something about Christmas then sat down for dinner where she was asked to say our dinner prayer. Amongst other things she said in her little sometimes still difficult to understand voice "We are thankful for Jesus" proud mommy moment followed promptly by "that he can come down the chimney and leave presents under the tree." At that I snickered as well as Miranda and Hannah, which resulted in a very upset and tearful Haylie. Poor girl, I apologized and gave her big hugs, then made her laugh through the alligator tears. I guess we are not doing as well in the whole separating Jesus and Santa area.

And going sort of along those lines...As kids we loved going through catalogs and finding the things that we wanted. In order to prepare for Black Friday, I had to get the list ready for Jeremy who planned on leaving at 11:30pm on Thursday, I let the kids look through the Thanksgiving day ads. I encouraged them to circle things they liked or were interested in. There were some good ideas, some that were laughable. Such as Hannah wanted some sort of Pokemon tube thing. The funniest I found was flipping through the Macy's ad. I was looking for good ideas and looked down and saw on the women's page an item that was circled. It was a nice fuzzy pair of green slippers, they did indeed look warm and comfortable. When I looked to see which of my girls circled it, I was entertainingly surprised to see it was Logan! If that wasn't funny enough I continued to flip and came to the jewelry page where to big circles appeared.

Clear as day it had Haylie's name in the circles. I showed Jeremy as I continued to chuckle, to which he responded "Boy, I sure hope she's not disappointed!" These kids!

Gratitude!

So this is the story of my life. I get these really great ideas and start out strong then get too distracted to follow through. Notice I said distracted not busy. So I should be on like "Gratitude 20" or something but I fell off the wagon...I have so much to be grateful for. The things I have chosen are probably the minor things but I am equally grateful for those as the big three, the Gospel, my family and my friends.

I am grateful for the Gospel in my life. It has brought me such peace and happiness. I have a more positive look on life. It may be because I can say with success or failures I know the my savior, Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, love me unconditionally. This isn't to say that I am perfect at reading my scriptures daily or saying my prayers on any sort of consistent basis because I am pretty lousy in both areas. None the less they both love me and care for me a great deal. I can tell by the little things that pop into my head that will either keep me and my family safe or maybe make my life a little easier. I am grateful for the atoning sacrifice of my Savior. Through him it is possible to be forgiven of all my mistakes...ALL of them! What a great time of year to focus on gratitude!

The next is my family. I am thankful for my beautiful children. I still love to stare at them in awe wondering what I did to deserve them. The put a smile on my face and make me laugh at least once a day. They, like me, are not perfect, but I would not even dream of trading them. I am grateful for my husband. He is a man that makes me want to be a better person even when I am feeling rebellious and don't want to progress towards goodness. Not that I want to be bad, just stagnant. He is a great example of one who follows what he is taught. He is willing to serve at the drop of a hat and he is willing to do so in such a way that sometimes allows little sleep for himself. He is still in school so he gets up while we all still sleep, then he exercises, followed by studying, then goes to work. He chooses this so he doesn't take time away from me or the kids. I love him so much. I could not think of a better example for our children!

Lastly, this seems kind of cliche but I am grateful for friends (family can fall into this category as well!). I have this group of amazing girlfriends that are always willing to hang out or do something fun. They typically are willing to go along with whatever crazy scheme I am up to (and Jeremy is usually willing to help me clean up the house and take the kids so I can do them!). They make me feel like I am doing an OK job at being a mom and wife by saying nice things. As the years have passed some have moved away and I miss having them close but know our friendship is still there.

And truly last! I am grateful to be alive! I know times are hard and you see people loosing so much, their jobs, their homes, their family...I know that there are trials that seem like they are too much to bear but I am grateful for them, they make one's testimony stronger! (Not that I am asking for one of those!) It is through those hard times that you can see the love of the Savior as well as those around you so much more clearer.

I hope you all have a fabulous day of gratitude and tell those that you love how much you appreciate them! Thanks for reading!

Gratitude 8

This morning my alarm went off at 5:15 just like it does every Monday and Thursday. Since Jeremy is on vacation, I totally contemplated turning off, but I didn't. I got up and went to exercise. A friend from church does a class on those mornings, warming up with aerobics for about 15 minutes then moving onto weights for about 40 minutes. I have not missed a class in a while and that was my motivation. It isn't as hard to get up as it was before. Today I am grateful for a healthy body that can get up and do a relatively hard work-out. I am grateful for a woman who is there no matter what to get us all motivated and encourage us the whole time to be fit. But mostly I am grateful to see the numbers on the scale go down! I am officially at pre-Jackson-Pregnancy weight, now just the 7-8lbs from each of the preceding pregnancies to go!

P.S. I don't use weights as heavy as those pictured! I don't want to give you a false idea of my capabilities. ; P

Gratitude 7

I am grateful for vacations. Jeremy is taking a week off starting today. Today was a holiday so technically it actually starts tomorrow. It was so wonderful to sleep in and not wake up to Jeremy already being gone, whether it is work running or serving. All the kids slept in and then we had a relaxing morning. Jeremy played some video games with the kids while I got to stay in bed and read. I got to go shopping and spent $2.00 for $25 worth of stuff AND get $4.00 in rewards back! He got to go to lunch with a friend. Then after two years of owning it, he got to play Battleground: Crossbows and Catapults with Logan. To top it off we had dinner and I get to go to book club. What a fabulous day!

Gratitude 6

Today Logan and Miranda were fighting at the computer. Logan went to immediate hysterics because he lost some of his game time and Miranda was playing his game time. Instead of yelling I told them to get their jammies on and get in bed. I sent them to bed and let them stay there as long as possible to make them think they were missing dinner. I went in and talked to them, left again and finally allowed them to come and eat dinner with the rest of us.

As Logan left his bedroom he looked at Miranda and said "I am sorry for getting us in trouble Miranda" to which Miranda responded, "No it was my fault that we got in trouble." "I forgive you Miranda" is how Logan responded. I could not have been more proud at how they handled that.

I am grateful for repentance. We are all imperfect, we all make mistakes and we all learn from them...eventually. I am grateful for the fact that if we own up to our mistakes, Heavenly Father will always say "I forgive you!" He loves us that much and it is unconditional. Isn't that something to be grateful for?

Funny!

I was desperately searching for for something I misplaced ( I only wish this was a rare occurrence). I was looking in Logan's room and saw the back of a check. I turned it over and saw this:I tried so hard to be stern with him but I couldn't help but be in awe that he thought it all out. And seriously doesn't everything cost $xx.99! He definitely was trying to get lunch money for a year.

Gratitude 5

Today we had Family Home Evening, we traveled out to Jeremy's sister's house, where we got to chat, laugh, eat, learn and more importantly enjoy the family relationships that we have. It is so much fun to watch the kids interact and see the fun new things that the kids do. I enjoy having a day set aside each week where we can have relaxing family time, not of the world. There are no pressures to be some where and full fill more responsibilities. Yes we do a small lesson and we travel a little bit, but it is a time dedicated to strengthening these bonds that we have. The cutest thing was watching Hunter not only want to sit with the kids while they ate but him and Lauren sat down and he stayed for a bit. A year ago there was no way he would even be that interested in food, now he couldn't wait to see his cousins and wanted to do everything they were doing. It was fun. My favorite quote was when Hunter was talking about being frustrated, kind of mimicking Grandma, then he finally said "I not frustrated, I happy" This conversation later turned into talking about his big picture day at school tomorrow and he will have to give a big smile. Now that was a face I hope gets on film, for Tamra's sake I hope not on picture day, but if it does it will be pretty dang cute! I am grateful for Family Home Evening and being able to get together with extended family and creating fabulous memories together.

Gratitude 4

Today at church it started out with a shock. A young husband and father passed away the night before. It is a heartbreaking situation. It tore at my heart. I wish there was a way to ease the pain and grief that fills their home right now. I am grateful for being married in the temple. It has been almost 10 years since my best friend and I were sealed together in the Oakland temple. When we were sealed, I made a promise to Jeremy and my Heavenly Father, He in turn made a promise that we would be together forever, even after we left this earth. With that promise came the continuation of our family. Our children will get to be there with us. There is so much comfort in knowing that forever families are a possibility. I love this family that Jeremy and I have created, the children that Heavenly Father has entrusted us with, to raise and teach them His principles so that we can all return to Him as his children. So my gratitude for today is the temple and the blessings and peace it can bring to our lives.

Gratitude 3

Today I was driving home from a church activity. I was able to drive Jeremy's car (that is me trying to count that as a blessing?!). One cool thing about it is the sun roof. The car was a little stuffy from sitting in the parking lot, so I opened the sunroof. As I was driving down the road I noticed a weird crinkling sound and amazingly enough it happened every time I passed a tree. It was the sound of the wind through the dried leaves. So today I am thankful for the leaves and the wind. What a fresh sound and feeling not to mention the color variation. Here in sunny California we have two seasons and colors, hot and brown and mildly cold and brown with a month of green. This is the rare time of year where we get some muted reds and oranges mixed in with the brown. Nature is fabulous. And I am thankful that Jeremy's car has a sunroof so I got to experience that blessing today!

Gratitude 2

Today I am thankful for coupons! I was able to go to the store and save over 50% on my purchases. I got some really great deals. Some I would have bought anyway and some I get to pack away. These deals are going to allow our kids to have a cool Christmas even with a tighter budget.

I know it is a superficial blessing but sometimes those are great to and not to be overlooked. A good friend not only introduced me to coupon clipping, she made me want to do it, as well as my local friends who are willing to coupon swap with me! So just sharing my gratitude about coupons I am also grateful for wonderful women who have blessed my life...and not just for coupons!

Gratitude

Psalm 100:1-5
1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with
singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we
ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to
all generations.

In our home this year we decided to do a gratitude jar. Each day we pick a paper and it says "I am thankful for...something" then it shares a way to show our gratitude. For example, "I am thankful for my legs. Go for a walk as a family and enjoy the outdoors." It has been fun so far, even though we started a day or two late.

I came across a blog and she had a great idea of posting something she is grateful for everyday. I am going to do the same.

I am grateful to a loving Father in heaven who has blessed my life in countless ways. The biggest thing that I am thankful for at this moment is being able to be a stay at home mom. Being a mom in general is tough, but having to be a mom and a full time employee must be difficult. To divide your time, attention and energy between those you love unconditionally and the job that you enjoy or need must be difficult. I am thankful that I do not need to add that challenge to my list. I get to focus on being a mom (supposed to be housekeeper, chef, chauffeur, entertainer, teacher...good example) I get to try everyday to be better, and more focused on my kids. It is not always a piece of cake, like today when I made Miranda cry because her hair wouldn't stay how she wanted it. I re-did it a new way, which she didn't like then was upset. At these moments I am grateful that I know her well enough to see her frustrations or give her a hug when it is needed over the things that don't really matter on the grand scale, but rock the world of a little 8 year old girl.

Pictures

We typically have taken "photo shoot" type pictures of the kids periodically, but it has been a while. For some reason they keep growing even when I don't have the camera in hand. Here are a few pictures of my clan.

Everyday after school Logan runs home and climbs this tree. (Mom please don't have a heart attack, ha-ha!)

Then of course after 15 tries I got this mediocre group shot. Not bad for no help.

Then I let the kids do a goofy one...

Followed by giving kisses. The only one that it wasn't gross to kiss was Jackson, and apparently he had no idea what was going on!

Speechless

It is birthday week, so that means the surprises never cease! We celebrated with family tonight, Jeremy cooked, since he had to work all day he actually stopped and got mexican food on the way home, and it was GREAT! As always I was spoiled and got everything on my list, mostly books and cake decorating stuff. I also got to go spend a little birthday money today. At dinner Jeremy and his mom were whispering about "has she seen it yet?" Jeremy said dessert was taken care of. I assumed that they had gotten a Dairy Queen ice cream cake, which I do love. I would never have imagined what was for dessert.

In case you are a little confused I am minorly obsessed with the Twilight series. There is the apple from the cover of Twilight, the white flower with red from New Moon, the red ribbon from Eclipse and the chess pieces from Breaking Dawn. Jeremy's co-worker made this cake for me. Can you believe she works at a credit union by day and is like super-hero cake lady by night? She does this for fun!

Truly all my gifts were my favorite but this takes the cake as making it one of the most memorable birthday moments. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by people who think I am worth it, from Jeremy making the celebration of me special, to phone calls, cards and $$$ to spend from those who can't celebrate here with me, to some one willing to watch 6 kids on top of her own so I can go on a date with Jer, being treated to ice cream and girl gab. The gifts and stuff is nice but I am extremely and abundantly grateful for all the fabulous people who surround me. Thank you, each and everyone of you who made this birthday special! And thank you Cindy for making this, I am truly speechless.