He Loves Me......

Each of us have our things that make us happy...the older I get the simpler my "happiness" is~life is busy and I really am so blessed. This may look like a cheap tip ;) from my hubby-it's not-he knows this brings the biggest smile to my face. Coins ARE NOT money in my book-they don't count-so.....

THIS is technically free! LOL
This is always the beginning of happiness in the day for me and peace for my family. Casey is a smart generous man-so grateful for his change from his lunch....

Maybe in 2010 the coins will go into a savings fund for a super simple vacation-probably not but I say that every year. New Years Resolutions are always a great thing-nothing like setting goals-and nothing like breaking the same goal year after year after year after year after year. Oh well....go get yourself a diet coke with crushed ice and enjoy your day!

Cinnamon Milk

This is so yummy! My awesome friend gave me the recipe-we love it so much I wanted to share it with all of you! It's a great way to rotate your powdered milk in your food storage. Enjoy...it's like hot chocolate only WAY better! ;)

Mix 1/3 cup with 8 oz hot water.

2 T Cinnamon

1 1/2-2 c Sugar

1 c Coffemate French Vanilla Creamer (Powder!)

4 c Morning Moos Powdered Milk (Or cannery powdered milk if you dare! LOL)

Mix and store in an airtight container.

Traditions

My very favorite part of Christmas is the traditions. I think my kids look forward to the traditions that we do even more than they look forward to Santa! Funny how that works. With Casey's family they love to play Bingo on Christmas Eve to exchange our gifts, with my family they love to decorate their candy house. At our house we do simple traditions also. Casey & I NEVER label their gifts to them-we always do something tricky-makes it more fun and they leave the presents under the tree alone! We usually buy them each their own roll of wrapping paper-on Christmas morning they open a gift that contains a piece of their paper so they finally know which paper is theirs. Last year they were characters from High School Musical-we wrapped their name and gave it to them on Christmas...I think Sawyer was Gabriella and it was pretty funny! ;) This year they are candy bars-we have Hershey's Cookies & Cream, Reeses, Rolo & Snickers. We'll wrap their candy bar for them so they know which gifts are theirs. Fun. They also "draw names" to exchange gifts with eachother which they love. Each year they get a new ornament-they love to look at them and talk about each one. Then there's the Christmas Eve Jammies-my fave.

Last year a friend in my ward told me about a tradition she does for her kids and I loved it! We are doing it this year. She hangs a cute drawstring sack on her railing for each day in December before Christmas (we are only doing 12!) and puts a cute something in it each day. She said it's funny to watch them peak in the sacks because they just can't wait! My kids are all so excited every morning to see what's in the sack-even Alyssa. Tomorrow they get to make jingle bell necklaces-I know they will just love them ;)-Jaycee won't stop shaking the sack. Makes me giggle every time.

Any traditions you want to share? Someone told me last year they wrap all of their Christmas books and put them under the tree-each night they unwrap a book and read it as a family. Sounds so fun, I'm a little bummed I forgot about that one until yesterday...December came too fast this year!

Incase you want to do this-these cute sacks were at Hobby Lobby-6 in a package for $3.50!

Decorating for Christmas (FINALLY!)

Casey has been working super hard the last few months to finish our family room in the basement. We were lucky enough to have him finish it for Christmas and we're so excited to celebrate AND have the Christmas "mess" in the basement! He did such a great job-we love the extra space to hang out in! There's still lots of minor details to finish-can light trims, grout in the tile for the someday kitchen, window sills, door knobs etc BUT we absolutely love it!!! Things have been so crazy that it took us awhile to get the decorations out and up-the kids are so happy that we FINALLY did it-I'm a little bummed that in a few weeks it all has to come down-seems like a waste to not decorate the day after Thanksgiving like we usually do! Oh well!

The kids in front of the Christmas tree
Santa came to visit us-we LOVE it when he comes to us so we don't have to go to him! ;)
Sawyer took this picture-dogpile on mom & dad while we are trying to relax!!! (PS! LOVE LOVE LOVE new carpet-hate that strands of it get all over everything-our brown blanket is NOT dirty and gross-just attracts the loose carpet strands!)
Sawyer LOVES to decorate-he begged me to let him set up our nativity all by himself. He did a really good job and he's super proud of it!

Kids Say The Funniest Things!

Tonight as we were decorating our tree (FINALLY!!!) Jaycee kept chatting with me...she is such a crack up! Here's what she said:

Jaycee: "Mommy, are you liking having 4 kids?"

Me: "Yes-I love all of you so much. How many kids are you going to have when you are a mommy, Jaycee?"

Jaycee: "I don't know. I want cute kids."

Live Nativity

I attended Draper's Live Nativity with our youth Wednesday night and thought it was the coolest thing ever so I took Casey & the kids back lastnight. Alyssa came Wednesday also and thought it was too cold so she sat this one out-we missed her but had a great time!!! What a neat way to start of the Christmas season-to catch a glimpse of Bethlehem and to have such a powerful reminder of the humble circumstances our Savior was born in...He truly is the most precious gift our Heavenly Father could have ever given us. I am grateful for the work & sacrifice all of the people in the Draper Stake make to make this experience possible for so many, they do such an incredible job.

Sawyer, Shay, Casey, Jaycee & a camel.
Sawyer was super excited to pet the camel-we had the hardest time getting the silly camel to let him pet him. We moved to a different spot several times and the camel would move away. This sweet man that owned the camel picked Sawyer up and helped him-Sawyer was so thrilled! I never thought I'd be excited to pet a camel but they are awesome!
Shaylee with the cows...isn't she cute? Love this girl!

Me, Jaycee, Shaylee & Sawyer with the shepherds.
Sawyer & Shaylee

Real Life

So...today I got a little bit of a late start on my busy day. Dang it! After I got the kids off to school I read my scriptures, walked on the treadmill and showered-caught a glimpse of the clock and decided to just have a pony tail day-no time to get ready! I fed Sawyer his lunch and took him to school. Jaycee & I went to The Coke Store ;), the credit union and Lowes then came home to spackle the floor boards & casing Casey hung in the basement lastnight. I made dough for rolls to go with dinner before I went downstairs. Picked the kids up from school, rolled out the rolls, made dinner, helped them with their homework & put the 4th load of laundry for the day in the dryer and started the 5th load. Casey came home and we sat down for dinner before Alyssa had to go babysitting. Here's our conversation:

Me: "Do you hate it when you come home and your wife looks like this?"

Casey: "Nope-you look relaxed."

I am totally thinking-wow-I really am so lucky to have a husband who defines his scroungy wife as looking relaxed. No expectations here. He totally gets it.

BUT THEN after a short pause he adds:

"I love days like that!"

LOSER!!! He realized what he said and started to laugh-sort of a nice way of saying, "Honey-my day was super busy-what did you do all day?"

Here's to pony tail days! Glad he doesn't have one! That is a pony tail OR a pony tail day! ;)

The Bully

Yesterday I went to pick Shaylee & Sawyer up from school expecting the same crazy experience. After school at our elementary school-just like every other elementary school-is chaos. Tons of kids, teachers, safety patrol, moms, cars...everyone trying to get home at the same time. It can be nuts. There are 2 lanes in the pick up zone-the inside lane is where you pull next to the curb and your kids jump into your car, the outside lane is obviously to help you get to the curb and get out of there!

As I was sitting in the outside lane waiting to get a "curb spot" I caught a glimpse of something that made my heart completely break. Sawyer was standing next to a bench with a group of kids, a boy that was atleast a head taller than him shoved him. I could see Sawyer say something to him and he shoved him again. Then he shoved him a 3rd time. My Sawyer never fought back but I obviously couldn't hear what was being said. Time sort of stood still as I sat in my car and watched this all unfold. I felt so completely helpless-Jaycee was in the back seat strapped into her booster and I couldn't leave my car until it was parked to go help him. I knew that by the time I could get to him it would be too late, the boy would be gone and the situation would be over. Completely helpless. The thing that made me totally sad is that there had to be atleast 75 people within 25 feet of him and none of them saw anything happening...they were completely distracted...but I saw because Sawyer is my son.

I thought about this all night last night. Sawyer was fine-not a scratch-but I couldn't get over how I felt. The helplessness. Then I realized something that has been so powerful to me. We experience hard things every single day-some days harder than others-these experiences are kind of like bullies. We are surrounded by so many people who love us and care about us but they are usually distracted because life is so busy for all of us, they usually don't notice what we are going thru. BUT someone does notice. It's our Heavenly Father-because we are His sons and His daughters. Our Savior who has felt every single thing we have felt through the miraculous Atonement also notices. I am sure the helplessness I felt yesterday watching Sawyer is a very familiar feeling to them. They watch as each of us struggle to make it thru this life and hope someone will pay attention-to see what is happening to us-to reach out and help. They can't physically be here to stop our "bullies" but they can prompt those around us to be there...the Holy Ghost is such a precious powerful gift.

I've had some awesome experiences with the Spirit. They are precious and powerful. They have molded me into who I am. The most powerful experience of my life was being prompted to ask Chick Fil A to donate a gift card for a family who could use it rather than buying it myself. Long story. Miraculous story. I had NO IDEA why I was supposed to ask but I did. It unfolded into the most amazing experience of my life. The awesome thing is Heavenly Father knew all of the details that I didn't know. He makes miracles happen. It's always through us. What a blessing to be an instrument in His hands. To do things for Him that He just can't do. I'm sure I've missed just as many opportunities if not more than I have taken to follow the promptings of the Spirit-because I am busy and don't pay attention, because I don't understand the "why" so I just don't wanna, or because I feel stupid. I hope you've all heard President Monson's story about rescuing a child from a river when he was only 12ish? Can't remember for sure. He said he hoped the Lord knew that if He needed an errand to be run that Tom Monson would do it. I think we all feel the same way. We want Him to know that He can count on us. (He shared that story during A Brand New Year last New Years...find it if you haven't heard it!)

This week I'm going to pay closer attention to the Spirit. I'm going to reread Elder Scott's talk "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance" again-so awesome. And I think for family night we might just reenact the David & Goliath story just for fun. I won't tell Sawyer to kick the bully but a little sling shot might not be a bad idea. ;)

My Boys

I am a very lucky girl-I married my best friend and he's awesome! It's still breath taking to see him be a dad to our kids...he makes me laugh and teaches me a ton. Sawyer wants to be just like his dad-he totally worships him. He wants to hunt like him. Play baseball like him. Anything Casey does is awesome to Sawyer. Tonight Sawyer wanted to help Casey in the basement so he had his first lesson on mudding. He mudded all the screw holes in the closet and did a pretty good job. He has no idea that the closet is where the inexperienced mudders probably work ;) he was just happy to be helping his dad. When he was putting his pajamas on he said, "Mom, don't wash my mudding pants. I'll just wear them again tomorrow when I help dad." Too funny. I'm grateful that Casey sets such an awesome example in all areas of his life for Sawyer to follow-Casey truly lives what he believes and is such a selfless person-Sawyer can't go wrong watching him! I'm already proud of the person Sawyer is-it will be awesome to see who he becomes throughout his life.

Time Out For Women

I am a huge Hilary Weeks fan-love her. She is amazing and talented and seems so down to earth...love her testimony-love her voice-we always have her cds playing & I love her blog. You'd think we are best friends-we totally are not-I wish she thought I was as cool as I think she is. It'd be cool if she knew my name and called to borrow a cup of sugar! ;) My kids even know and love her music. Sheri Dew is also incredible-I have all of her books and they are completely marked up. She is so awesome-I quote her all of the time to my Young Women, I have a quote from her hanging in our bathroom...she's amazing & her words are so powerful. It says (because I know you are wondering what it could possibly say!):

"Each experience with the Savior leads to greater faith, and as our faith increases, our vision of and confidence about who we are grows clearer."

My fav-totally Sheri Dew. Powerful. Simple. So true. SO Time Out For Women has always been a dream of mine-they just never do it in Salt Lake. This year they did and a bunch of us went. It was life changing for me-I love the moments when you can listen and learn and be prompted by the Spirit to become something better. I love to be among women-there is power when women stand together. A very real tangible power. I love it. The contrast of my weekend with the gloomy times we live in was overwhelming. Sheri Dew & Hilary my bff were incredible...of course!!! But today we heard from a woman named Kris Belcher. AMAZING!!! Wish I could describe this incredible spiritual giant-she's my new hero. Incredible trials-incredible story-incredible testimony. Funniest. Lady. Ever. FOR REALS! Heavenly Father has a plan for her and she has no idea that it was to be an inspiration to me and so many. Google her name-buy her book at Deseret Book-attend Time Out For Women next year....you'll never regret it! Personally I'd love to go to lunch with her and have her for my friend also-or atleast be able to give her a hug. Spiritual Giant. LOVE HER! She makes me feel like I can tackle any trial that comes my way-and makes me realize that even though I've had some tough things happen in my life I don't have a clue what a trial is.

I laughed that they referred to my favorite part of life-that we all have a story. I guess I'm not so crazy BRIAN & ERIN!!! Kidding-sort of. I love the stories of people. I love that we are all in this journey together. That we have free agency. We have the Spirit to guide us. We have trials to mold us. Heavenly Father places people in our paths to help us learn who we are and help us find our way. We eventually CAN become someone amazing if we have the Savior by our side. I love the glimpses we get of eternity with the pinpricks of the Spirit-I love to be an instrument in my Heavenly Father's hands. I know He can do a lot more with my life than I ever can-I wish that I always remembered that and never lost my vision...it gets so confusing! ;) I truly love my life and am grateful for every precious experience-I'm truly grateful for the momentum this weekend provided-I'm ready to conquer once again!

BTW-all 4 of you that venture to our little blog should really buy Hilary Weeks amazing new Christmas cd Christmas Once Again...you will love it! I also LOVE "God Bless Your Way"-the book but especially the song with the same title. Best Christmas song ever-LOVE IT! Ask my kids-they loved it the first 1000 times they heard it-they'll be glad we have the new cd to give some variety because I replay "God Bless Your Way" quite a few times a day...check it out!

www.deseretbook.com/hilaryweeks

Spelling lessons

Jaycee is starting to sound out words-she loves to repeat the first sound of a word and try to figure out which letter it begins with. This morning she was saying, "C-c-c-coke. Coke begins with c." Casey is such a cute dad and was talking to her about this. He said, "You know what is funny?

C-c-c-cat begins with K. It sounds the same, huh?" Casey & I looked at eachother and we both busted up laughing. He KNEW that cat didn't begin with a K, he just sort of forgot for a minute.

My Unique Jaycee

Her choice of PJ's a couple of nights ago....she really wanted to be warm and cute!?
I really did send her to school like this today. Humiliating? Good mom? Not sure I care what anyone thinks anymore! I understand the phrase, "Pick your battles!" with Jaycee! After she got herself dressed she informed me, "Curly hair really does go with this outfit but I think I'll take 2 braids today." All I said was, "Huh!" She thinks she's going to be the next Taylor Swift-she has enough attitude and determination....we'll have to wait and see if she has any musical talent!

Birthday Lunch

My favorite thing to do on our kids' birthdays is to take them lunch at school and eat with them in the cafeteria. Since Shay was sick all last week we had to wait until this week. Here's Shay with some of her cute friends-silly girls! Sad Shay's birthday was such a let down for her~she gets so excited about it every year! Last year she made her own Happy Birthday Banner (pathetic!) so this year I had crepe paper and a banner ready to go-she didn't really get to enjoy them. Dang it! Hopefully next year!

Happy Birthday Shayders!!!!

I absolutely LOVE the first few minutes with each of my babies....most precious memories of my life. It's always like catching a little glimpse of heaven~they were just there. This is one of my favorite pictures ever-I remember sweet Shay just staring at me...time just stood still for a few minutes. Shaylee was a beautiful baby and is a beautiful girl-I have no doubt she will grow up to be a beautiful woman. She's always been so awesome.
We took this picture last week at Utah Lake for her county report on Utah County. This is so her-simple, pony tail, just Shay. Love it.

Our awesome Shaylee is 10 today-so hard to believe she's reached DOUBLE DIGITS!!!! We are so grateful to have her in our family~she is such a great example to me and to each of us. I honestly don't think I've ever met someone who is naturally more loving and selfless. She is amazing! I have to admit she is ALL farts and burps-makes me crazy & can be embarassing sometimes but she makes us laugh! She looks so sweet and innocent-she's not-such a tom boy! (Love you Shay!) Soccer defines her-she loves it-and she's a good soccer player. It's been so fun for her to play competition this year-it's a little more intense than her mom can handle but it's been neat to see her learn and progress. Shay is super giggly most of the time...sadly she is sick today and laying on the couch dealing with a lame fever. She's pretty bummed that she's sick on her birthday AGAIN (happened last year, also!) but we will celebrate her special day when she feels better. It will give our indecisive girl a few extra days to decide what she wants me to make for her dinner-she can't decide between hawaiian haystacks, enchiladas or french dip sandwiches. If she was smart she'd simply request to have her dinner cooked by someone other than me...it'd taste a whole lot better! hahaha We sure love this girl!

Great Advice For Riding a Broom....

This morning-completely out of the blue-Jaycee informed me,

"Mom, if you ever ride a broom you have to hold on tight, tight, tight or else you might fall off."

Thought I'd pass on her advice to the rest of you.

(COMPLETELY cracks me up that she doesn't have a clue that maybe, JUST MAYBE, the whole riding a broom thing can't really happen.)

Best Snowy Day Ever!

We woke up to snow today and although I was bummed the kids were thrilled! Sawyer & Jaycee threw on their snow pants, coats, gloves & hats and went out back to play. I just looked outside and realized it's not so bad-the snow only stuck to the grass! I could handle snowy days if they were like this every time! Who likes to shovel and drive in the mess? Only crazies!!! For just today I think the snow is beautiful.....

Big Gates & Small Hinges

So....nothing gets me in a worse mood than seeing orange cones appear on the side of the road knowing I am coming into construction. I am ALWAYS late and this is a sign that I'm just going to be later. Nice. Sometimes I'm grateful for a good excuse for why I'm late this time! ;) The worst part is the crusty construction worker sign holder guys (Nice title-not sure what they are called)-they give me crusty looks and signal me to slow down as they hold their "slow down" sign and I give them crusty looks because "Hello! You're sorta ruining my day." Never thought twice about it-I don't like them & they don't like me-feeling is mutual. It's all good. AND every flippin road in South Jordan is under construction. Lame! Can't get anywhere without frustration.

Yesterday I took Shaylee to take some pictures for her 4th grade report on Utah County. We drove down Redwood to take a picture by the Utah County sign that's by Camp Williams-then went to Utah Lake to get pictures of it & Mt Timpanogas-then stopped at a gas station to get some post cards for her poster. As I drove into Saratoga Springs I saw orange cones and immediately felt ticked. However, the first "slow down" sign holder did the weirdest thing-she smiled and waved at me. Strange. I smiled & waved back and was actually ok with this construction zone. Same thing happened as I drove thru South Jordan to come home-the guy smiled and waved. NEVER happened before-EVER-in my life. I waited til he turned his back so I could take a quick picture of him-didn't want him to think I was a weird construction worker stalker or anything!

Made me think about something President Uchtdorf said in the First Presidency Message in the September Ensign.

"Big gates move on small hinges. Sisters, your example in seemingly small things will make a big difference in the lives of our young people."

I hope you see the connection I see. These guys HAVE to hold signs-it's their job. They have to encourage us to slow down and I'm sure it's frustrating to hold that sign day after day and deal with people like me who hate them. It'd be way easier for them to be grumpy and just do their job-but a simple smile and wave for me made a huge difference. In my life I have the opportunity to make a big difference in other's lives also-my family, my friends, my young women, strangers, etc. I hope I can be "delightful" (I love that word) and help other's on their journey of life. I love the thought of the big gate moving on a small hinge~I don't do anything spectacular in my life but I hope the little things I do somehow make a difference.

Next time I see a crusty construction sign holder guy telling me to slow down I'll try smiling and waving. It might just make his day a little brighter and change his attitude about his job....might even feel a little happier myself! ;)

San Francisco

The people in San Francisco totally intrigued me. I LOVED watching them-they are nuts-I loved visiting with everyone I could! This guy jumped out at people from behind his bush and when they screamed he'd hold out his cup and say, "Now pay me for your thrill." Cracked me up. I love the song "For Good" from Wicked-LOVE IT. Total definition of what life is all about for me. When I see people like this I want to sit and visit with them-I want to know what happened-who has been in their life-I want to know their story. I'd love the opportunity to have them open up and share some of their journey with me. I know we are not sent here to fail-that Heavenly Father has a plan for each one of us-I'd love to see each choice/each person in their lives and be able to sort of understand what happened. I have no doubt that even though life is so hard sometimes and that I am so sheltered here in Utah that someone was in their path to help them choose better at some point...It's overwhelming to me to see them.....anyhow-great trip. Awesome people!
I layed on the ground on the bridge and took this picture of Casey-made me laugh....he's hilarious and so is this picture!
Casey & I in front of The Golden Gate Bridge...it was breathtaking to me...I totally loved it!

San Francisco

This moment was so flippin funny-we'd walked up and down hills so much that I got a HUGE charlie horse in my butt/leg when I tried to jump up on the wall for this picture...you just had to be there. Alcatraz was incredible-to visit and to see from a distance...spooky it's covered in fog a lot of the time.
Brian & Erin riding the trolleys-dang fun! We loved it! Riding on the OUTSIDE of the trolley was a little freaky to me-the hills are so steep and the cars & other trolleys cruise by so fast. I asked the driver if anyone's ever got hurt when they fall off-he told me they hit their head and die. I laughed-he didn't-must be true. Trolley drivers were of course fun to visit with-cool guys-hard work to drive those.
Alcatraz tour-so worth it! I'd love to do the night tour next time.
Erin & I on Alctraz-the view of The Golden Gate Bridge. The prisoners that were recorded for the tour talked about how hard it was to see the city and hear their laughter and music while they were in prison with no freedom. Amazing to see the beautiful view of San Francisco from Alctraz.

I've always wanted to go to San Francisco-We had such a great time & are so grateful for Brian & Erin...they have always been such great friends to us...Brian was one awesome Maid of Honor (You're welcome Brian-I know you love it when I tell everyone that-all 3 people who read my blog now know you were a Maid of Honor!)

We had so much fun with them & hope they will be willing to travel with us again someday~even if I prefer Subway over crab or sushi. Nasty.

Happy 14th Anniversary To Us!

This is a wall quilt my mom made for us with pictures from our wedding day-it's awesome! I love to see it every day and remember that incredible day of our lives...and to reflect on the "journey" of the last 14 years. It's gone SO fast! Our trials have been so small compared to those of others but I am grateful for them-we have truly been molded and become so much closer as a couple & as a family. I am so grateful for Casey-he's seriously the most selfless person I have ever met. Anything he has or is able to do he will share with anyone he knows. "Stuff" just doesn't matter to him and I love that! He is such a hard worker-he's completely dedicated to Evco and loves his job & those he works for and with. He is an incredible dad to our 4 kids-they really are so lucky and I tell them that all the time. He loves them more than life and is such a great example-he's so patient. I love his crazy sense of humor-what a nut! He makes me laugh every single day. I love that he loves me-just because I am me. And I love that he calls me Bunches. Makes me giggle. Pretty sure there's not another wife on the planet that gets called that! ;) I am so blessed!

Dang Kids!

Sawyer: "How much do you weigh, mom?"

Me: "More than I used to!"

Sawyer: "You should go on The Biggest Loser!"

(We've never even seen that show!)

Fun times with Shaylee...

I was asked to help plant flowers at the beautiful Oquirrh Mountain Temple this morning...it's always such a neat experience to be involved with anything at the temple. With my calling & life I feel like I've been away from my kids a ton lately so I took Shay with to help. It was fun for me to spend some time with her and neat for her to help with something with the temple! She's just awesome!

Sawyer being Santa???

What a funny kid-he can always keep himself entertained! ;)

Unusual Pet Show

Sawyer & Grandma Nordahl
Casey & Sawyer worked so hard all week on his alligator-what a funny thing to choose to make! When Sawyer told me it's what he wanted I was super grateful we had Casey-he's way more artistic than me!!!
This is in the wrong order-AFTER the kids sang A Tootie Ta the parents had to do it-the kids were laughing so hard! It was hilarious!
Mrs Karren & friends singing A Tootie Ta.....

Today was Sawyer's Unusual Pet Show in kindergarten. It was so much fun!!! The kids really worked hard and made some creative "pets"-I should have taken more pictures of the pets they made! As parents & grandparents we got to walk around the room and ask them about the pet they made-they were so cute and excited to tell you all about their pet and how they made them! They sang some fun songs for us and we all had a great time! I'm so grateful Sawyer loves kindergarten so much-who wouldn't? His teacher is amazing. I am pretty sure I've said that before. He's making so many fun friends and learning so much.

Twins???

Can you tell which one is Shaylee? One is Shay & one is her cute friend Kylie. They have been friends since they were 1-when we lived in Herriman their house was in our back yard. They look so much alike that I've caught myself getting mad at Kylie and had to apologize when I realize she's not Shaylee! Kylie's mom has done the same thing. Hilarious. They are looking less alike as they get older BUT they still look like they could be twins-they even have twinner names! We love Kylie and are grateful these 2 are still such close friends. We still live pretty close but it's definitely not as convenient to get together now that we aren't neighbors. I'm glad distance hasn't taken a toll on this cute friendship or our friendship with their awesome family!

Sawyer & Jaycee Sittin In a Tree ;)

Sawyer has the neatest kindergarten teacher-her name is Mrs Karren. She inspires me. I want to be like her or possibly take her home. She is amazing and loves my kids. She was Shaylee's kindergarten teacher also-and she still loves Shay. I LOVE MRS KARREN! I helped in her class last week-it was so much fun! I love to hang out in kindergarten! She called yesterday and asked if there was any way I could come help in class-I jumped at the chance. We love it there. Without me even asking she told me to bring Jaycee-Jaycee loves to be there and feel included.

As I was sitting at the center I was in charge of I watched my awesome Sawyer with Jaycee and seriously had to choke back the tears. They seriously just love each other and Sawyer was totally watching out for her. He helped her put on her headphones for the listening center-he then pushed in her chair and explained what she needed to do as he handed her a book. Only after she was settled did he sit down to enjoy his own book-he kept watching her to make sure she was ok. When the bell dinged to change centers he held her hand and helped her find a costume in the Vet Center-that's where they get to wear doctor costumes and check all of the animals to see why they are sick and record the information in the animal's chart. Sawyer made sure all of his friends included Jaycee and helped her write when it was her turn. When the bell dinged again and it was time to listen to each other share stories they had written he held her hand and walked her to the carpet-then held her ON HIS LAP while they listened to stories. I was shocked. He gives me rocks when I drop him off for school-there's no way he'll kiss me or hug me because that's not cool. I'm pretty sure holding your little sister on your lap can't be cool, either. But she mattered to him enough that he wasn't worried about it. I wish I had my camera so I could've taken a picture-it would be so fun to share that!

Last night after dinner I was trying to get Sawyer to tell Casey about his day. I finally told Casey about our experience in kindergarten and shared how grateful I was that Sawyer is such an incredible big brother. Sawyer said, "Well-I love her. She is my sister." I smiled and he quickly said, "I don't LOVE HER love her-like I'm gonna marry her. But I love her." Made me laugh! It's such a blessing to have experiences like this-it honestly makes it all worth while and somehow drowns out the stress and memories of all of my kids fighting and arguing...being a mom is so worth it! Please remind me of that next time you see me ready to crack! ;)

Soccer Saturdays

Sawyer scoring a goal....he's such an awesome little soccer player!!! His games are so dang fun to watch because he plays with all of his buddies from our neighborhood-it's a blast to sit with my friends and watch him play with his friends! ;)
Shaylee doing what she does best-being the goalie. It COMPLETELY stresses me out but she seriously is so good at it. I love it! She's playing competition and getting older so the games are getting more intense-I sorta miss the "fun games" but she is happy and learning tons.

Every Saturday is spent at soccer games for us. My favorite thing to do on a Saturday-sadly-is to sleep in! Once I get myself out of bed it is so fun to go watch my kids! ;) I love watching them grow and progress and find their talents. Soccer is really such a fun sport!!

Homemade Strawberry Milk

Have you ever had a time in your life when you feel completely overwhelmed? You know-like you are drowning and no matter how hard you try you just can't get your head above water? That's been my last couple of weeks. I love my life-wouldn't trade it for anything. I love my husband and each one of our children. They are all such a blessing to me. HOWEVER I am one person-there are 5 of them. My job is to take care of them-their laundry, their meals, help with homework, find time for each of them, make sure we read scriptures and say prayers, try to keep our house clean. I drive my kids to school, activity days, soccer, dance, young womens-trying to keep the car clean is almost impossible!! In the midst of all of the responsibility I want "fun" time with each one of these awesome 5 people, too. Date night with Casey and atleast a good conversation or reading a book with each one of the kids is a must. I am in the Young Womens Presidency of our ward-love my girls and the women I serve with-this takes some time even though I love it. Lots of work but seriously the best calling in the world! I am a visiting teacher. Then to squeeze in "me" time-scriptures, reading a good book, time at the temple, down time. It can be crazy!

Yesterday I decided it's a new week so I ran to Costco to get some milk and fresh fruit-strawberries, grapes, peaches, pineapple-we all love it and it sure makes good snacks for us while we are home and to send with Casey to work. I also got a good start on the laundry, swept & mopped the tile, cleaned the bathrooms, glanced at my lesson for Sunday and made some phone calls that needed to be made. I am telling you this for a reason...

Today Alyssa needed to go to dance immediately after school. Shay wanted to stay home and hang out with friends. I cut up some strawberries & grapes and left them in a bowl for them to have a snack while we were gone. When I came home there were 3 giggling girls in my kitchen. They were THRILLED-I knew I would not be from the looks on their faces. (REMEMBER-I BOUGHT FRUIT & MILK TO LAST THE WEEK SO I'D BE PREPARED & I HAD MOPPED THE FLOOR!!!!) The cute girls decided to make homemade strawberry milk. Instead of using the Quick syrup they got out the strainer, mashed a ton of strawberries, mixed them with quite a bit of milk and sweetened the concoction with sugar-lots of it. As they were pouring and measuring and stirring they had a few spills. So trying to be helpful they used about 7 washcloths and 4 dishrags-some soaked in water, some not. The counters were smeared with trying to be cleaned up yummies, my feet are sticking to the floor. My blood is boiling-I can't say anything because I am trying not to cry. I calmly talked them thru why this probably wasn't a great idea-they excitedly explained why it was and tried to give me the glass they saved just for me.

Thankfully Casey walked thru the door right when I wanted to crack. He smiled, then he laughed, then he tasted their awesome drink and said it might need to go in the blender with some ice-he'd help them fix it. Such a relief to have him home to downplay the situation before I flipped. I am so grateful for him-he is so much calmer than me! I have so much to learn from him. I think he's chilled me out a ton-I obviously still have a long way to go. I think tomorrow I'll go back to Costco for more strawberries and milk and then I'll invite these cute girls back over to replay the afternoon-this time I'll enjoy their creativity, their yummy recipes & their smiles and giggles. I will for sure wait to re-mop the floor til they leave! ;)

Scripture Time At Our House

I have mentioned before we have "scripture treats" at our house after we read scriptures. It has been so awesome! The little bribe has made it a way more spiritual experience for us~WAY less chaos when we can earn a piece of candy. I love it. My cute kids even ask to read scriptures before bed. I always have a little hope that it's because they love the scriptures and not just for the candy. I know either way they are learning to recognize the Spirit we feel when we read them as a family and their testimonies are being strengthened. It's awesome!

Tonight during Sawyer's turn his verse had the word "hell" in it. It's always such a confusing moment for him-WHAT IS HE SUPPOSED TO DO? That is a swear word and he gets in trouble when he says it. I always remind him it's ok-it's teaching us about a place in the scriptures so he can read the word. So he hesitated a little-gave me a quick glance to seek approval-and read it. He giggled a little. When he finished the verse he asked me, "Mom, what kind of language do they speak in hell?" I am pretty sure it wasn't a real question-just an opportunity to say that fun little word one last time tonight. ;)

Jaycee is the only person in the family that can't read. It really bugs her. We used to whisper the verse in her ear but she is so beyond that now. She can read. She is just sure of it! So when we are done we let her "read" us one last verse. It's always hilarious to hear what she comes up with. Never fails the verse she reads always begins with "Behold"...funny she has caught onto that. Pretty common word in the scriptures, huh? So tonight it was, "Behold, we can only say bad words when they are in scriptures. And not potty words unless they are in scriptures." She rambled on a little more then her closing words were "Chapter 14 verse 32." She just makes that part up, too. Cracks us all up.

In all seriousness I am so grateful for these simple moments with my sweet family. I wanted to be a wife and a mom more than anything in life~it has been better than I could have ever imagined to grow and learn with these awesome people I have been blessed with. I thought I would be "the teacher" and it felt like so much pressure. Pressure because I love them so much and want them to live lives of peace & happiness that only the gospel can bring. It's interesting to see that it's the experiences we have as a family that teach us together-we are growing so much and becoming so much. I learn so much more from Casey & our kids than they will ever learn from me. They are just awesome!!!

The Healing Fields

We have driven past this every year and never taken the time to walk thru it....I of course spent a lot of time yesterday reflecting on the sad, scary memory of September 11, 2001. I love our country-always have. But somehow that day brought a deeper love and appreciation for the blessings we enjoy-for the peace & safety we all cherish in this country. It's amazing how "back to normal" everyone has gotten since that day-for a long time it felt like life just stood still. I'm grateful for the awesome music that is played on the radio every September 11th-really makes it such a special & sacred day. It's so good for all of us to be reminded! I love to see the flags in everyone's yards-NEXT YEAR we will have one for sure. It made me sad to wake up Friday and not have one flying in our yard. Alyssa & Shaylee both came home from school yesterday rattling off stories their teachers shared with them at school...my first thought was The Healing Field that I've never taken them to. SO we went tonight as a family. Sawyer & Jaycee just thought it was fun to run thru the flags, but Alyssa & Shaylee "got it". I'm so grateful for that! Now I think I'll reread "Let's Roll" by Lisa Beamer-amazing book. We all remember that story. If anyone wants to borrow my copy you are so welcome to it! ;)

Kids School Pictures

Jaycee's 4 year old pics....
Sawyer Kindergarten.....
Shaylee-4th grade---LOSERS didn't send her cd so I just took a picture of it with my camera-not high tech enough to have a scanner! LOL She's super cute!
Alyssa's 7th grade picture...

Yikes! They are all getting so big and are such good, cute kids! Love them all so much & am so grateful to be their mom!

My friend from Sudan.....

I had an experience today that is still haunting/inspiring me...I just wanted to share! Read if you want-don't if you don't-it's all good! I had to drop off some food donations and boxes we decorated for our YW/YM combined activity this week at the food bank. I had cute Jaycee with me and thought it would just be a routine errand. I backed into the dock and got out to unload-a few men were hanging out waiting to help. The man that came to help me was the blackest man I have ever seen-can I say that? Don't know how to say that "correctly". He had an accent when he spoke-was very polite. Honestly it was his shirt that intrigued me. I wish I had a picture-it was OBVIOUS that it was from Africa. It was a black shirt with a very colorful/busy yellow design. The collar was sort of v neck and crocheted around the edges. Pretty fancy and casual all at the same time. I wondered about this man as I looked into his eyes-don't eyes always share a story?? I really wondered what those eyes had seen-what his life had been like. I just wanted to see what he has seen and know his story. His journey was for sure so different from mine! SO....I asked about his awesome shirt. He told me his mom had brought it back for him. That led to him telling me he was here from Sudan-that they were political refugees. Ohhhh-I wanted to know more. I wanted hours to listen-maybe a photo album to see. He spoke of guns and being shot at. Of blood and unrest. We started to talk of the blessings of America-I shared with him that I had never experienced what he had, that I've always been blessed to be here. That it made me sad that although I am a good person and pretty humble ;) I felt like we as Americans never have enough. He shared his perspective...SO INTERESTING...he said "People are hungry. They get food-they want better food. 1st thing I wanted when I came here was a tv. I got my tv-now I want a big flat screen. We are all the same. We are human."

Take that. Interesting we are all very much the same. I will always remember this special man from Sudan...grateful for a moment to be humble and realize how alike we really are just as humans. I hope this sweet man continues to work hard-that he makes a good life here and contributes something to society that nobody else can-and that someday I will see him again so I can buy him lunch and listen more. Funny that sometimes we are blessed to meet people that will mold us-he touched my life and I will never be the same. Weird who ends up in our path on this journey of life-I don't at all believe that anything that happens is ever a coiincidence-I'm grateful for all the little lessons I learn from everyone I meet. People are amazing! I'm even more grateful tonight to be in my safe home-with my family-in this awesome country.

My Crazy Sawyer

Tonight he was shooting our dang wasp nests with a dollar store squirt gun....I told him it wasn't smart but he thought it was hilarious. Good thing he can run fast and they didn't get him!
These paintings from kindergarten were in his backpack today. The flower I totally understood-so sweet-he loves his mom and made it for me. Love that boy. The other painting I needed an explanation. Ready for this??? The blue is the sky-then blood, then dirt, then blood, then dirt, then yellow ink & then grass. Yikes. He's all boy. What a funny kid! He cracks me up.

Hello!!!!

Alyssa's first day of Jr High.....
Sawyer's first day of Kindergarten.....
Jaycee's first day of preschool.....

Wow! We have been crazy busy-probably just like the rest of you!!! Angie-saw your comment-yes I do live in my car! It's nuts! One kid in jr high, one in elementary all day, one in kindergarten & one in preschool. PLUS everything else they do-seriously...how does everyone do this? ;) Between busy and my camera breaking at girls camp (that ticked me off...but I love my new camera!) the blog has been a little neglected. Oh well! The kids are all in school and they love it. It's fun to see them grow and learn and become. It's awesome! Shay started school before everyone and her cute pic is on the card from the old camera-dang it! I'll have to get that put on a disc and post it. She's a cutie!