You Flip, I Flip....We all went to Flips!

Happy Birthday Aaliyah!

Best way to celebrate is to pay someone a little money and have them do the party for you!

Relaxing and Fun! Ice Cream, Cake, PreSenTs, Flips, Tumblings, Friends, and Music!

We love you Aaliyah! 

 Happy 7th Birthday!

April 13, 2004...Happy Birthday Aaliyah

Seven years ago on this day,
my life would never be the same.

 

    I held my first baby girl in my arms for the first time. 

Today, I was a Mother. 

Up to this time, I was a step-mother to the best girls Abbie and Shelby. 
I had help raise them for six years before this day, I love them so much. 

Everything I do is for my girls, everything.  They are my life.  And I'm more than ok with that. 

I love it. 

I hope that I can teach each of them even the smallest thing so that it helps them become better mothers themselves one day. 

Never in a million years did I expect to feel the feelings I was having.  I wondered how much more love can my heart take? 

I was in awe of the enormous amount of love I felt for one little soul. 

She is my big brown eyed, red headed fire cracker.

Each of my children have special qualities I love about them. 

Sensitivity is one of Aaliyah's. 

She wears her heart on her sleave, like her mother.  We cry at Disney movies together.  She loves to watch old home videos and cries everytime, like her mother.  Every year she loves me to tell her about the day she was born, and everytime she cries, like her mother. 

She is sweet, kind, and thoughtful. 

I'm so glad she is mine.  I am blessed because she is my daughter. 

      Happy 7th Birthday Aaliyah

Graditude....

1.  Beautiful daughters

2.  Daughters with righteous desires

3.  Daughters who teach me daily through their example

4.  Knowing everything I do is for my girls...and I'm ok with that...in fact I LOVE IT!  

5.  Opportunity to be a Mother. 

Spring Break!!

We don't have any one BIG PLAN this year for Spring Break because our schedules right now are not permitting it....BUT...if you know me, you know I can't just sit around.

We have plans for the movies, picnics, parks, bowling, swimming, out to dinner...and just lots of fun things here around town.

I have most of Spring Break off work so I'm really looking forward to spending time with my girls!!!

I hope everyone enjoyed conference.  I sure did!

I hope you all have a fabulous break and lots of sunny weather!

Graditude....

1.  Time off work.

2.  Sleeping in.

3.  Doing What I Want, When I Want :)

Tangled

I don't know who is in heaven more....my girls or me. 

I can't watch it an not cry. 

Since we bought it yesterday it's been playing
NON-Stop. 

                                            

I'm sure most of you have seen it, but if not....GO GET IT !!!

I love this movie. 

Graditude....

1.  Fabulous Disney Movies

2.  Days off Work

3.  Laundry Caught UP!!!!

Where Everyone Knows Your Name

You know that home away from home feeling? 

The place where you walk in and everyone says....

 "Hey....insert your name here" 

There are three places I spend most of my time....

Four Pillar Fitness, Work, USA Gymnastics 

I drag my kids along with me as much as possible so I can see them all the time. 

I think they like it...at least they don't complain about it :)

I've joined a Biggest Loser Competition at Four Pillar Fitness.  It felt like the right time to do something about the BULGE. 

And there is a $1000.00 reward. 

Money never hurts anything. 

 So 5-6 days a week that is where you can find me, so the trainers and I are pretty tight...:)   

 Im in the lead right now, but there is  1 1/2 months left, so anything can happen.

I like being a good example of healthiness to my kids.

Work. No comment.

Last but not least USA Gymnastics. 

Shelby spends 4 hours a week there. 

I love being there. 

I love the energy, the excitment, the smell of sweat and chalk...you get the idea. 

But what I mostly love is watching Shelby. 

Watching her excell in something that she loves.  When this girl puts her mind to something it gets done.  Period.  She wants to make cheerleader at CJH or the competition team at USA Gymnastics. 

 So constantly she is practicing whether at home, store, outside, or at the gym....there are high kicks, round offs, hand stands, and back handspring attemps EVERYWHERE. 

 I'm so proud of her! 

It's kind of nice when people know your name :)   

Graditude....

1. A healthy body to be able to excerise and move

2. Healthy competition

3. Daughters who are energetic about life...LOVE MY GIRLS!

The Waiting Game...

I hate waiting. 

For anything. 

Layne finally heard back about his job.  He got a great job with an Engineering company in SLC as a Field Tester.  He is so excited. 

I applied for a great research opportunity a couple weeks ago...3 interviews later I'm still waiting on the reference checks to go through. 

I hate waiting....and waiting....and waiting.....

Graditude......

1.  Employment

2.  A very nice weekend

3. My girls being happy

I am the bread of life....

I teach the 16-17 year olds in Sunday School. I love it. I thought I would hate it. Really.

They are the best group of kids. So smart, so spirtual, so attentive.

Today my lesson is on Christ being the 'bread of life'.

I came across a quote from Pres. Howard W. Hunter. I know he was a prophet for such a short period of time, but I loved him!

"We must know Christ bettter than we know him, we must remember him more than we remember him, we must serve him more valiantly than we serve him. Then we will drink water springing up unto eternal life and will eat the bread of life." Pres. Howard W. Hunter

I know that Christ is the bread of life and that he has the words of eternal life.

GRADITUDE

1. Sunday..I love everything about them

2. Good quotes

3. Knowing its only one week until General Confrence....LOVE GC!

New Year, New Day, New Life....Hope

It's been one year since I've blogged.

Many things have happened in this past year. Most things not on a positive note.

All blogs are positive, only showing good things right? Who blogs about heartache, separation, and hopelessness?

I chose to stop blogging.

There was nothing good to blog about. Our lives were turned upside down by choices made by someone else. A black cloud perched a tent over our family. Without going into specifics, which as this point don't matter, life was just not good. Lots of uncertainty, lots of tears, lots of thoughts of giving up.

We did the best we could with what we had to work with.

Things have turned around. New jobs, new attitudes, new outlooks, and a new hope.

Hope.

Something I have not had in a long time. Thanks to lots of hard work, lots of time spent on my knees, a lot of patience, a fabulous councelor, patience, love from family and friends, patience, and most important love for each other the cloud is lifting.

It could not happen at a better time. I love spring. It signifies new beginning for everything. And this year its a new beginning for my family and I.

I'm so far behind in scrapbooking Ive decided to use blogging as my scrapbook. Its easier, cheaper, quicker and to me...more fun.

I look forward to catching up with all my old friends and family and sharing some of our family experiences with you and for our family to look back and see how far we have come.

Beautiful Blessings Times 2

So again, I have really slacked in the blogging area.

What can I say, life is crazy right now.

I will spare you all the details of our last two months, because all that it really consisted of was moving.

Moving twice.

That's right, not once, but twice.

It was really worth the second move. We live in a beautiful home in East Centerville now. I hope we can be here forever!

Ill post pictures of the home later, but for now I want to blog about Chloe and Ellie. They are my beautiful nieces.

Heidi and Tyler's girls. They are almost 3 months old.

They were blessed today.

They are beautiful blessings to the family. Its fun to have "newborns" around. Since our life has been so crazy the past couple months I feel like the last time I saw them they were these two little helpless babies I could hardly tell apart.

And now, they are chunky, spunky little monkeys who have personality of their own and look completely different than each other!

So it is a little late, but welcome to the family Chloe and Ellie...

Be patient with your Mom...we are ;)

Graditude....

Baby Blessings

Reasons to come together as a family

Indoor smores

And then she was 4!

Happy Birthday to our baby girl!

It's hard to believe she is now 4! The time has flown by!

To celebrate we had a Circus of all Circus parties!

It turned out to be so much fun!

~Face painting, fish ponds, pin the nose on the clown, and lots more~

My two fantastic ringleader helper babes!

Emily showed us her SICK ( I learned that is a good thing ) face painting skillllzzzz!

We love Ashlyn and her spunky attitude!

I told her next year she has to turn 4 again. No more growing up :)

Thankfulness.....

Kids birthday parties!

Resting afterwards

Friends and Family