Thanks In Giving

This has not been an easy year for me. It hasn't been the worst either. When I consider the year as a whole, I realize that although some things have not come to fruition for me, especially one thing in particular, I have much to be thankful for.

I have a beautiful home in a safe and quiet neighborhood full of really good neighbors. I have two beautiful children who are healthy and happy and thriving. I have a sweet husband who, after nearly 16 years of marriage, still loves all of my craziness. I have three of the most amazing sisters on the planet and two kind and loving parents who still continue to teach me what it means to be a good parent myself. I have security, good health, a good job, great friends and Eric and I are able to provide for the needs of our children-such wonderful blessings from the Lord!

I have wonderful parents-in-law who treat me with love and respect. I am very grateful to have them in my life.

Overall, I am one blessed girl! I have had to deal with many personal challenges this year and come to grips with the reality that having more children is probably no longer an option for me. It has been heartbreakingly painful to watch that dream begin to fade. I have not always been the nicest person to be around as I've struggled to understand and work through the torrent of emotions that have seemed never-ending at times. This is a trial that has tested the very foundation of my faith at times. I am so thankful to be able to say that it has undoubtedly strengthened not only my testimony, but also my relationship with my Heavenly Father. There is nothing I love more than being a mother and I cannot express how much fulfillment and contentment I have experienced as I raise my two daughters. I cherish every moment I have with them and I do not take any of it for granted because I know how hard I fought to get them here.

My blessings are numerous and in a time where so many have so little, my cup truly runneth over. How grateful I am for the trials and tribulations I have been given by a loving Heavenly Father who has shown me kindness and compassion and provided me with multiple opportunities to build and strengthen my testimony, my character and my faith.

Beautiful Butterflies!

Well, I'm not exactly sure what kind of butterfly Mikaela is trying to channel-frankly, I'm not sure I want to know. She's looking a little crazy.
We went downtown to the Farmer's Market with my parents one fine Saturday morning in August where my girls swiftly convinced my mom and dad to buy them magnets (or "maganets" as Mikaela calls them) and facepaintings. Now, my dad has always been a bit of a softie when it comes to his girls, but ever since the grandkids came along there's NOTHING he would refuse them. Any and all resolve completely melts the moment the grandkids run through the door. He's the kind of grandpa everyone wishes they had. I am beyond blessed to have such a completely kind and generous man who will drop anything he's doing if I ever call on him to help me with my girls. There are no words to describe how much I appreciate and rely on my wonderful father. There are not many men who are so completely devoted to their grandchildren and actually WANT to be around them for any extended length of time-I count my lucky stars that I not only know such a man, but was also raised by him too!
My girls love going to their house and watch my mother when she's cooking. They love helping her and want to do everything she does-teach them well mom, so I can hand over the keys to the kitchen! They especially love having her show them how to stitch and crochet. She's the perfect teacher for it too! I don't have half the skill she does when it comes to teaching those kinds of things.
I'm so grateful for such loving and generous parents. You are truly a blessing to me and my family and we sure do love you!

Sleeping Out!

Sorry, I know we're a mile past summertime, but I'm just getting around to working on all the summer fun me and the girls had! This is where we spent the majority of our summer evenings-sleeping out on the back deck watching movies!
The girls loved it and I actually enjoyed the cool night air. Too bad there were so many mosquitoes! Those things are seriously my living nightmare during the summer months. Oh well, what's a few mosquito bites compared to a full summer of memories? The girls sure didn't complain-for once-and I am just grateful that I was able to spend the time with them.

A Few of My Favorite Quotes About Kids

The only thing worth stealing is a kiss from a sleeping child. ~Joe Houldsworth

Anyone who thinks the art of conversation is dead ought to tell a child to go to bed. ~Robert Gallagher

Any kid will run any errand for you if you ask at bedtime. ~Red Skelton

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howe

If you haven't time to respond to a tug at your pants leg, your schedule is too crowded. ~Robert Brault

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million. ~Walt Streightiff

A rose can say "I love you",
orchids can enthrall,
but a weed bouquet in a chubby fist,
yes, that says it all.
~Author Unknown

A child seldom needs a good talking to as a good listening to. ~Robert Brault

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt

An Observation

I ran into an old friend whom I haven't seen for several years the other day. After catching up for a moment or two she began her lament about the summer flying by and not having had any time to spend with her children (she doesn't work, by the way) and began listing all of the things she needed to do ending with, "I still need to go home and clean my house, it's been neglected for three whole days now." Wow!
I chose not to say anything, but if she came to my house she would soon realize that my house comes AFTER everything else! Sometimes it can take me a couple of weeks before I decide it really is time to clean. But here's the thing: my house will NEVER be Buckingham Palace. As long as small children roam my house there will always be fingerprint smudges on the glass (right after I do clean it, of course); there will always be tiny shoes scattered across my kitchen floor; my carpets will never again have that "just vacuumed" look to them; there will most likely be Barbie shoes, tiaras, play dresses, and pom poms mixed in with my laundry baskets and there will ALWAYS be a place on my refrigerator for original works of art compliments of my little girls. It will never pass a white glove test, but you know what? I'm okay with it.
My children have one childhood. I have one chance to spend their childhood with them. If I have the choice between going to the park or cleaning out my pantry, the park will win every time. Being a mother is the most important job I will ever have and I enjoy every crazy, funny, stressful, hair-pulling, tear-jerking, wacky, loving moment of it. As Pres. David O. McKay once said, "No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home." To me, that speaks volumes. I could not imagine my life without my children, it's up to me to make sure they grow up knowing just how much they are loved and cared for. I'm just grateful that I have the opportunity to do just that. The housework can wait!

Backyard Fun!

Sprinklers and a trampoline...pure magic to kids!

Why Can't Flowers Last Longer????

Aren't these beautiful? They're from my mom and dad's backyard. Haylie and Mikaela persuaded my dad to give them some and he ended up giving all three of us pretty bouquets! I stuffed them all into this vase and just love how summer-y they make the house feel. I just wish they lasted a lot longer!

Just Dance!

Feelin' Hot, hot, hot! My little flamenco dancer! Isn't she cute?

Stuck like glue! Haylie's adorable costume!

Haylie's dance group. They all looked so cute for their dance recital. I love these costumes-they are the perfect color for these little gals!

Mikaela's dance group. This outfit was for their dance to the Tangled soundtrack. Haylie also had another costume for Tangled as well, but I forgot to download those photos. They both did such a good job and they are learning so much. I love watching them perform.

My little dancers. They sure love posing for pictures!

Clucker's Cove...or The Poultry Palace...or the Eggs-Caliber...whatever!

So, Eric decided one fine April day in 2010 that he wanted to try his hand at raising chickens. I was a little unsure about the whole ordeal, but thought, "What the heck, it's not like we don't have the room, and we like eggs." I told him I was all for it. The next day, I come home from work and Eric has five little chicks in a box and he's begun work on what I now refer to as the Poultry Palace. It took him four solid weeks of work, every night, to get this thing finished. It also required the help of four solid men to help Eric move this monster into the back yard.
We now have fresh eggs every day, to the delight of our daughters and our dogs, hours of entertainment chasing the chickens around the garden. I love the fact that they keep the bugs down and they are fairly easy to maintain. Eric asked a store clerk if we needed to give them shots or anything like that. The clerk's answer, "Nope, just food and water. If you see one laying dead in the dirt, don't eat it." Truly a wise man. :)
We have had them for over a year and a half now and have added two more to our brood. It would have been four more, but one of our older chickens is into bird murder and ended up offing two of them. That was fun, oh wait, no it wasn't!
If you ever want to try some of our eggs, give us a call- we'll hook you up!

Easter 2011

Easter was fast and furious around our house this year. We didn't even make it to the candy hunt at the city park! Oh well, the girls didn't seem too upset by it so I wasn't going to rock the boat. We stored up a bunch of our chicken eggs (clarification: Eric and I bought some chickens a year ago and built a chicken "palace" in the back yard-see the next blog for more details), and went to work. I was a little skeptical at first about how well the eggs would actually color since our eggs are all brown, tan, green and blue. But they held the colors surprisingly well.

The girls colored all of the eggs this year. I was given the position of spectator/supervisor this year.

They turned out pretty darn good. Especially considering this was our first year using brown and blue eggs.

Luckily, the Easter Bunny didn't hide the eggs too well. Haylie likes her hunts to be quick and easy. She's not into "hunting".

Mikaela, on the other hand, loves the hunt and kept yelling at Haylie to quit pointing all of them out to her. Silly girls!

Mikaela Turns 5!

I'm still trying to figure out how this rambunctious little ball of energy is already five years old. I'm sure by the time I figure it out, she'll be turning six. She has the most generous, kind, outgoing spirit of any little girl I know. She is sassy and sweet, sugar and spice, fire and ice all wrapped up in a pretty little package. I love her playful nature and spunky personality. She is my little helper. She is always looking to please others and I love her for that. Anyone who meets her is immediately taken with her beautiful green eyes and her angelic smile. Anyone who knows her also knows how fast she can flip her little switch to, as I like to call it, "demon mode". No matter, she captures hearts and keeps them and she has mine and her daddy's forever! We love you, Cricket! Happy Birthday!




She wanted a blue butterfly birthday cake. Since I'm definitely NOT Martha Stewart, this is my sad attempt at a butterfly. Just wanted to clear that up if you were wondering what the heck it was!

Las Vegas NASCAR!

Well, although I swore it would never happen, somehow Eric got me to come to the NASCAR races in Vegas. I'm still not sure how that happened. Here we are at the top of the stadium. Behind us is just a very small portion of the RVs, trailers, and cars that fill up the surrounding areas of the speedway. It's like an ocean of vehicles.

Here are a few pictures of the racetrack. I wish my camera was sophisticated enough to get a panoramic view of the track-it's quite impressive. I've been told there are several tracks that are so big it's impossible to see the whole thing. We could see all of the track here, but it's still pretty darn big.

This is the front of the track and the view we had of the race. Not bad, huh?

Our awesome friends, Kaycie (in the wheelchair after surgery-poor kid), Stacie and KJ (seated) and Abbie (standing). They made the whole trip so much fun. We love them!


There was so much to see and do outside of the racetrack. They had trailers for all of the drivers set up to hock their merchandise. I bought a Danica Patrick hat and earrings (go #7!). They had contests and food, all sorts of cars set up to look at, BMX stunt riders showing off their skills and all sorts of alcohol (as I'm sure you can only imagine). Here is my cute dad with the Boost Mobile girls-doesn't he look just like "Weekend at Bernie's"? I love it! He's so funny. Abbie, Kaycie and Whitney dubbed him "Grandpa Jim" and were constantly making sure he was always taken care of. I'm so glad he was there with us.
So, here I am, after all the protesting and promising that I would never be seen at one of these things and I have to admit...not only was it better than I had expected, but I told Eric I'm definitely going again next year. Guess there is a little redneck in me after all.

St. George 2010

Every February for the past six or seven years the girls and I have tagged along with Eric down to St. George for his annual building code conference. It's nice to get away from the snow for a few days and pretend it's spring. Sometimes the weather cooperates, sometimes it doesn't, but we don't care because there's NO SNOW! That's the best part ever!

The one thing that seems to work out, however is the outdoor swimming. My girls love to swim and they wouldn't care if it was 10 below with arctic winds blowing in. As long as the pool is heated, they're going in. This year was no exception and luckily for us, the weather wasn't too bad. I think the highest temp was around 66 degrees, but it felt like heaven to us.

We usually do a little shopping at the outlet mall, or go to a movie, but this year was all about the swimming. Every moment they could squeeze in was spent at the pool. It gave me time to work on my non-existent tan (I repel the sun), and catch up on my reading list.

Now, if only I could figure out a way to get one of these in my yard...

Haylie Turns 7!

It is really hard to believe I have a seven-year-old. Every time I look at her it blows my mind how much she has grown. I love watching her grow and discover and learn, but I also remember how sweet and small she was as a baby and I truly miss those days.

She is so smart and inquisitive. She loves to read and I am amazed at how well she does. She is a very creative child with lots of energy and imagination. Just playing with her makes me feel like I'm seven years old again.

She is such a beautiful little girl and she has such a sweet personality. Eric and I love her very much and are so proud of her accomplishments. She brings so much joy and contentment to our lives and to her sister. She may keep on growing...but she'll always be my baby! Happy Birthday, Haylie. Mommy and Daddy love you!

Hoop Lake 2010

Beautiful Hoop Lake!

Eric proves he's still got the skills!

Haylie's becoming quite the little fisherwoman!

Mikaela is right behind her sister when it comes to reelin' 'em in!

This is the road that heads in to our campsite. Eric and I let the girls ride their bikes all over the campground, but we always tell them they cannot ride on this road without us because on one side of the road is the dam, on the other side is a steep embankment that leads down to the dam outlet.
Bet you can't guess what Mikaela decided to do...

Yes, this is where Mikaela attempted to turn her bike around after straying too far away from us. She turned the wheel too close to the edge and ended up doing bike acrobatics down the side of the embankment. First, let me just say thank heavens it was Mikaela and not Haylie. Mikaela is one tough little cookie and although it scared the tar out of her, she walked away with just a couple of scrapes and bruises and had her crying over with in about ten minutes. If this had happened to Haylie she would STILL be crying about it, bless her little drama queen heart. Second, I will personally endorse the use of helments when bike riding for the rest of my life. Had she not been wearing it, she most certainly would have had a different outcome. When Eric and I did our little assessment of the whole situation, we realized that her bike put her right in the path of a huge rock that Mikaela actually ended up hitting with her head. Her helmet ended up with a nice gash in it and her beautiful little head remained perfectly round and intact. Tender mercies from the Lord!
Now for those of you keeping track of my personal quest for "Mother of Year" award, I'd say I'm safely out of the running!

Other than Mikaela's turn at becoming a stunt woman-the trip was fun and uneventful, which is just fine with Eric and me!

tHriLLs and ChILLs!

Speaking of yearly rituals...here's another one of them-the annual jaunt to Salt Lake to watch "Thriller". Haylie was so excited to go back and see the zombies. She had a ball with her aunts and grandma. I'm sure glad she likes it because I have no intention of stopping this tradition.

Another fun performance and great girls night out fun with Aunts Erin, Darby and Dallin, Grandma Sue and "Auntie" Cher along for the ride. Next year Mikaela has made it known she will not be left behind. I'm thinking she'll be ready for it!