HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday! She is currently in Martin's Cove, Wyoming serving a mission for our church. She and my Dad are amazing to me. This is the 3rd summer they have been at Martin's Cove serving. They work so hard and never seem to get tired! They are 20+ years older than me and they can work circles around me!

In honor of Mom's birthday and Mother's Day this weekend I want to share 10 things I love about my Mom. I could share more, but let's keep it reasonable!! Now let's see if I can do this without crying. . .

1. I LOVE how devoted my Mom is to her family and to her husband. There has never been any question that she loves us. She has always put us first in her life.

2. I LOVE that she taught me to "eat what we store, store what we eat". Because of her example our cupboards are full and our freezers have plenty. It has been such a blessing to not have to worry about how I am going to feed my family at times. Vaughan and I bought our first bag of wheat BEFORE we were married!

3. I LOVE being able to call her (even while on her mission!) and get advise, council and "how to" instructions for everything from gardening, canning, recipe's, what to do with my kids, job perspectives and a listening ear.

4. I LOVE her for worrying about all of us, even though I wish she didn't.

5. I LOVE her for setting such an amazing example of Christ like love. All my life I heard things like, "Well, maybe she didn't mean it that way." And loving words of advise about thinking the best of people and giving them the benefit of the doubt. This has served me well - even though I forget sometimes.

6. I LOVE the example BOTH of my parents have set in serving others. No matter what church calling they have had they put their whole heart into it and do it well. They have taught responsibility and dedication through serving others. Whether it is a church calling, a sick Uncle, a Grandmother or visiting teaching or home teaching families and of course each of their children.


7. I LOVE to watch my Mom with her Grandchildren. They LOVE her. I look forward to following her example in love with each of my Grandchildren someday.


8. I LOVE my Mom for trusting me. Through this trust I learned to be obedient. I never wanted to disappoint her or my Dad.

9. I LOVE my Mom for words of affirmation! My Mom has always built me up and encouraged me in anything I wanted to do. She is one of the most positive people I know. She is my personal cheerleader. I always know that whenever I need a "pick me up" that a call or afternoon with Mom will do the trick!


10. I LOVE my Mom for being my Mom! That may sound trite, but if you think about it she could have chosen not to be a Mom at all. She could have done so many things and been so many things, but she chose to be a wife and mother and later a grandmother. She has never shirked this responsibility in any way.

My patriarchal blessing says "you have been blessed to have been sent to a home to parents who love you, and have DONE THEIR BEST TO RAISE YOU IN RIGHTEOUSNESS." I always thought that to be Heavenly Father's "stamp of approval". I hope someday that I can achieve half as much as my Mother!

Thank you Mom for always being there for me and for doing your very best. I love you more than words can tell. Happy Birthday and Happy Mother's Day all in one!

Kudos to my Family

I have the most amazing family. I'm talking about my brothers and sister - and of course Mom and Dad. We don't always see eye to eye. We don't always get along. I'm often the odd man out. Most people can't believe I am even related to my siblings! I can't tell you how many times I've heard "Oh my gosh, you're (fill in the blank with Mike, Cindi, Brian, Marc or Randy)'s sister? You are NOTHING like them!" Yeah - I know.

I don't like sports - I tolerate it. Although, I was almost always there with one or more of my kids in tow, at Marc and Randy's football and wrestling events.

I have all girls - Most of my siblings have boys - which means boy stuff. I really don't get most of it. I mean - seriously, why would anyone willingly put their kids in all those sporting events on purpose????

You will find me at dance recitals or musical concerts (happily) and they do not occur or take half the time as sporting events!

I really don't care for the outdoors - at least not if it means I'm going to sweat! If you can drive there and take a chair out of the back of the car I'm all for it. It isn't because I'm lazy. I'm not. I just have never enjoyed hiking, biking, or anything that is dirty, hot or sweaty.

All my siblings LOVE animals. I do not. I like them. I am kind to them. But please don't ask me to pet them or care for them. We have a rabbit. We had fish. I have to say they have been my favorite pets. They are quiet. They are clean. And they have never required me to take care of them! (Yes, we had a dog... for 16 years. RIP)

But despite ALL these differences there is one thing we have in common. LOVE. When push comes to shove we put all these things aside and are there for each other.

My family has a unique grapevine that travels through the family. I have become aware that some of them are concerned about our family. Today I had a brother call to offer a side job to me - Laundry. He owns a Restoration company and needed some laundry done for a customer. It is hard work and I am tired. But it has reminded me of the love and concern that my family shows me. I have felt sad and worried this week. And today is the first day I have hope again. Maybe we will be able to meet some obligations that need to be met before Friday. I am grateful to be reminded that I am not alone. That FAMILY is so important. My brothers and parents have been there so much these past few months. Giving advise and providing us with work. I have sent many prayers of thanks heavenward!

And I can't forget the most AMAZING sister in laws! I love each one! I am so blessed. I truly think having them has kept me sane! Thanks for all the phone calls and words of advise! I love you so much. Both for marring my brothers :) and for putting up with me! I know if I need anything - all I have to do is call!

They may never see this - but I want them to know how much I am grateful for such an amazing family. That despite it all and when it is most important we do come together. There is so much comfort in this! Thank you really isn't enough!

DANCING IN COLOR!

We just finished our Dance Recital weekend! It was awesome as always!

My kids dance at the Dance Barn with Kristin Adams. She does such an amazing job and the girls just love her! The recital was amazing and so fun! I am exhausted - I don't know how the girls do it! It has been so much fun to watch them grow and improve in their dance skills through the years. They are so talented.

This year Heidi had nine costume changes and 9 dances! Whew! But so fun! Holli and Hope had four costume changes and 4 dances! It was fun to watch each style of dance and all the talent each group displayed! They really did a wonderful job!

We love dance at our house. There is always someone twirling or stretching or striking some pose! It's kinda funny I guess, but I've gotten use to it! I love to see the girls graceful moves and creative steps. They are all three so good in three very different ways!

I will try to post some pictures soon! I have to rely on Hillary 'cause my camera isn't working. (boo hoo) Until then - think wirling and twirling! So fun!

Happy Easter Everyone!

We had the very best Easter! It started out with a wonderful sacrament meeting. The music was beautiful and the talks were wonderful! They were beautiful talks about the Savior and the spirit there was so strong. Heidi gave one of the talks. She always amazes me. She's kind of a private kid, so it's fun to get a glimpse into her head and what she is thinking! Her talk was on the Atonement. It was a very special talk to me with some "behind the word" meanings that no one else probably understood, but me. I was in awe listening to her speak and was touched by her words! The second speaker was a returned missionary. All I can say is WOW! I enjoyed his talk and his enthusiasm for the gospel. His love for the Savior was evident. The future of the church is in good hands!

I got to help in the nursery for the next two hours. My friend Caroline is the nursery leader and is understaffed. It was fun to go in there and be with her and my friend Krista. We worked together in Young Womens so it is fun to work together still - although the children we are with are quite a bit younger! :)

Our girls had beautiful Easter dresses! Holli made her dress and was the inspiration for the color we went with! I already had my dress and so we all had aqua on! Vaughan was even sporting an aqua and black tie! He's such a good sport! I bought jewelry from Theresa. She does such a wonderful job, and it all looked amazing!


After church I came home and got our Easter feast ready! The Bitter family came over and shared it with us! It was so yummy! We were pretty traditional - ham, cheesy potatoes, homemade rolls, caesar salad and chineese chicken salad. For dessert Hillary made this yummy frozen stuff! I don't even know what it was called! But think oreo crust, chocolate icecream, chocolate fudge with toffee bits and then whipped cream! YUMMMMM! It was to die for!

Then some of the family played games and Theresa and I scrap booked! Well, that is, created with paper! It was such a fun and relaxing day!

I've always loved Easter - the time to spend with family and friends, a time to reflect on the infinite love the Savior has shown me and continues to every day! I'm so grateful for a loving Savior and for the atonement and what it means to me. It brings so much peace when we really allow the atonement and the love of the Savior into our lives! He lives! And He loves us!

Easter Project Update

I am loving Easter this year! I've had so much fun. Here is an update on a couple of projects I finished!

I SO WISH I had taken a "before" picture. This was one 80's looking Easter egg. Cute in it's day, but it definitely needed updating. I was actually going to throw it away... but then all the inspiration I received from some blogs searching I did came to fruition and wha la - modge podge came to mind... and the rest is history! I am so happy how it turned out! I used the same papers I used in the other crafts I did and it really looks cute! I think I'm going to add some ribbons to it still!



The next idea is not mine. But I found it on Tip Junkie, who found it on http://creativeholidaygiftideas.blogspot.com/2008/03/easter-bunny-smores.html. I knew when I saw this idea I was going to make them for my Visiting Teaching sisters! They were SO FUN! And turned out so cute! I only hope they taste good, as I didn't sample!



The tag WAS my idea with the help of Heidi - who drew the bunny peep for me! I traced the peep on this cute hot pink glittery paper I had and glued the instructions for making the Bunny S'more's on the back.



It was very fun and I think they turned out so cute! Excuse the pictures. My camera is acting up and I'm trying to figure out what is wrong! I want to chuck the think the garbage, but I know I can't replace it right now... SO, I'm stuck with inferior pictures until I get it fixed!

What's YOUR Favorite Easter Candy?

Yummy! These are my favorite's hands down!

But you might catch me sneaking one of these 'cause I have to admit at Easter I'm in love!



I also L O V E these - but they are hard to find! I've given up for this year! I found one bag of white ones and those are going to be carefully savored all month! I used to love giving these to the baby of the family at Easter! The colored drool would get all over and of course we took pictures! I have a picture of each of my girls with cute Easter egg drool!



SO - what's your favorite! Chocolate marshmallow bunnies or eggs? Jelly Beans? OR those cute little Peeps? Whatever it is, it's really all about memories -
SWEET MEMORIES!

Spring Happenings

This past week I finally got excited to decorate my house with my Easter decorations. I actually started it last weekend - but I wasn't *blogging* last week so I'm finally sharing!

We had my parents over for FHE to share some mission stories and experiences. It was really fun and a special memory that I will cherish for the next 6 months while they are gone again! So, I decided to get my house clean and Easter-y for them!

My Easter decorations have really gotten old! Some of them didn't thrill me! BUT, I found some of the coolest ideas online and some ideas about renewing old things that inspired me. So I re-did some of my old decorations! I'm so happy how they turned out! I also made something new - wood blocks that spell out Easter. I already had everything so it didn't cost me a cent!


I have one more project that I want to finish. I am making a simple Easter album with pictures of my girls in their Easter dresses each year! It's been a slow process just gathering the pictures! I'm still not done! I don't expect to have it done by Easter, but it will be fun to work on for the next month or so!

While online I kept seeing these cute green moss bunnies on a stick! Well, I went Easter shopping on Friday and I walked into Pier I just for fun and guess what I saw? These cute bunnies! They are only $2 and so a bought 4. The idea was I was going to share them... but I ended up being selfish! Check out these pictures and you will see why!






Aren't they the cutest?

I have another cute project I'm going to do for my VT sisters and friends. I will post that when I get them done!

You may be wondering "How does she have time to do this stuff?" Well - I've finally got "my groove on". I've been making lists and getting my *work* done so I can play in the afternoon! Sometimes, if I don't have time, I stay up late! (Shhhh! don't tell!)

It's been so long since I've taken the time to be creative! I'm probably going overboard! But my house is finally getting clean and things are getting done! I've learned that by rewarding myself with some fun, life is more enjoyable! I'm re-learning to prioritize and organize my time! I feel like I'm finally breathing again! I have a LONG way to go, but I have hope!