Turning 36 wasn't soooo bad!

I seriously have been dreading this birthday...not sure what it is...life is just going too dang fast and I would LOVE to be able to freeze time for a little while~my kids are all at fun ages and life just feels good. Busy-but good! I have to say I wasn't aware I needed a day to be loved by so many great friends-I am so blessed! I know I'm outgoing and crazy BUT being center of attention isn't my thing...HOWEVER...all the sweet simple things people did for me yesterday really meant a ton. Casey is so awesome and made the day great-roses & a dang funny card to start off the day, bbq steak & his "famous cheese fries" as the kids call them to finish it off. It really was a great day.

Jaycee, Sawyer & Madalyn licking the frosting off the candles!
My vote was 1 or 2 candles-Shay thought I needed all 36-I was grateful for all of the help to blow them out! ;)
My awesome little family-my life!!! (And cute Madalyn)

Define Popular!

Jaycee is sitting at our kitchen table eating a peanut butter sandwich WAY too close to dinner time....she says, "Mom, you know London on Zach & Cody? She is popular and she wears cute clothes."

Seriously? Never seen Zach & Cody-I guess it's time to check it out. How does my 4 year old know the word POPULAR??? I think this is the 3rd conversation we've had this week involving this word.

Happy Birthday Casey!

For Casey's birthday this year we had family over and just hung out-it was a great day! We had my parents out for Papa Murphys pizza and then Casey's family & Clint & Melinda and kids out for cake & ice cream. It was great to have a mellow day with family-we are so blessed to have eachother and to have so much support. At the end of the day Casey was grateful for such a fun birthday-I think he's awesome!

Cammi & Jaycee playing air hockey.
Hanging out and playing the wii.

I know we are missing 35 candles but 1 was much easier and who wants wax on your cake?
Shaylee and Nicalee
Silly faces-Sawyer, Jaycee, Carver & Madalyn

Company Christmas Party

Casey's company started doing their Christmas party in January-it's so much easier!!! This year it was at Wheeler Farm and they had a cowboy theme. It was catered by Goodwood (YUMMY!), we got our pics taken, and the entertainment was great. Casey works for and with great people so it's always fun to go to the party and be able to see everyone. This year Casey got Employee Of The Year....I am so proud of him! He totally deserves it (I am sure a few others deserve it also which makes it even cooler that Casey was chosen!)-he has been working long hours and going above and beyond what is expected. I miss having him around when the days get long but especially in this day I feel grateful that they are busy! I feel blessed that Casey is such a hard worker and great provider-he really takes care of our family.

Is hell REALLY that bad of a word???

I have to admit...Oh My Hell is probably my favorite thing to say. Maybe I am rebellious or something but it always makes me giggle. Can't believe I am admitting this....I've had moments when I've tried to not say it but I will probably still be saying it when I am 100. Maybe even on "the other side"....it's who I am and I think it's funny. Not sure why-can't remember when it started-not a great quality, I am sure. Joy=Coke Store and Hell...do you think this means something??

SO lastnight we were hanging out in the kitchen and Shaylee was tattling on Sawyer. Apparently on Saturday when her cute friend MaKenna was here playing (You might not want to read this Brian & Erin...sorry...you're taking your chances letting your kids play at my house! LOL) MaKenna asked Sawyer if he had ever played some game on the computer-his response was "What the hell is that?" I instantly started to laugh and couldn't stop-Sawyer put his head down and said, "It was on accident!"-and thank heavens Casey, the mature adult/dad was able to handle this...here is what he had to say:

"I wonder where you heard something like that!? Did you hear that from mom? I can just hear mom saying that all day long!"

It only made me laugh harder-Casey was laughing-I guess the teaching moment passed because our kids saw us laughing instead of taking the situation serious....Poor kids that were sent to this house to be taught and helped thru this life! Hopefully they will find examples of the right things to say in other people that are placed in their path! ;)

Family Night

I hate to admit that Family Night sometimes feels like a chore-not because it's not a good thing but because I am usually not prepared. It's the little few & far between moments in my kids lives (like when their primary teachers tell me they are surprised my kids knew the answer to something or they knew a scripture story)that I realize that even though they seem to be crazy and not listening-they really are-so it's worth it. My kids are off track and it's a brand new year ;) so I had Shaylee break out her Faith In God book-we of course are going to be better this year!!! LOL To pass off a goal she needed to learn about someone from the Book of Mormon that showed faith SO we got out our scriptures and read about the Brother of Jared. We read and talked about the story for about 30 minutes-my favorite scripture ever is Ether 2:25 so I had the opportunity to share with her why I love that scripture-then she was going to teach family night. I knew she would do a good job but I had no idea how amazed we would be....here are some pics of her lesson (she did this all on her own!)

The Brother of Jared-the "barge", the animals, and the clear stones (I didn't remember she got these on our vacation to Yellowstone!!!)
After the Lord touched the stones they were shining with light (My camera must have a good flash-you can't tell she had Jaycee turn off the light for this part-it really was cool!)......
AND Alyssa made some awesome brownies!!!

I think I LOVE family night now...can't wait for next week! ;) It's so nice to have these pinprick moments with my little family-to feel the Spirit, to see my kids' testimonies and to be taught my them. They truly are amazing!

Happy New Year!

I honestly think New Years Eve is my favorite holiday-good food, good friends, good laughs AND new beginnings-I love the opportunity to reflect on the year I've had and think of the year to come!! We hung out with our good friends Brian & Erin & their way fun friends Lance & Amy and had so much fun. The kids all got along great and Casey & I got our butts kicked at every game we played! Dang it! We played a game that told you how compatible you are-Casey & I get along great & have an awesome marriage but we are as opposite as you can get in every single way-so funny we TOTALLY lost that game-good times!

Jaycee & Easton-these 2 really are in love-best friends, they hold hands-so cute!
Silly string.....SURPRISE!!
In the January Ensign there is an AWESOME article by Elder Jeffrey R Holland called "The Best Is Yet To Be"-such a neat article!!! I wanted to share a quote from it that was so powerful to me as I think of 2010 and the rest of my life.....

"The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead and remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives."

Such an incredible quote from an incredible man!!! I love my life-I love who I have become and who I CAN become. I am grateful for every opportunity and person from my past-blessings I really do feel gratitude for. However it's mind boggling to think of what lies ahead...opportunities and people and experiences that will mold me into who I am supposed to be. We live in such uncertain times-it's reassuring to know that our Heavenly Father is still in charge and that we truly are prepared for what lies ahead...we are strong enough. That is faith......such a powerful tool & blessing!

Christmas 2009

I always love a picture of our complete Christmas BEFORE the kids get to it......
Our "family gift" this year was an air hockey table-it's been a ton of fun!!!
Shay got a new pet-she wanted a guinea pig-she got a turtle-way less maintenance, not so creepy if he escapes...guinea pigs really do remind me of a mouse-NO THANKS! ;) She's happy-his name is Max!