Life is good

Life has been treating us really good lately (knock on wood)! I genuinely feel a great deal of joy in motherhood and excitement for life in general. That doesn't mean we haven't had a few little challenges along the way or even some big ones, but we are having a good time and we feel very blessed. Our life has really changed from what it was so I thought I'd record a general idea of what is going on in our life right now.

 

We still homeschool and have been loving it this year. In case anyone thinks that means I have it all together, I did throw a white board across the room the other day. :) We go on a lot of fieldtrips and adventures. One of our favorite things is doing an adventure pen pal exchange with other kids in other states. One historical place a month!! The kids write their own postcards and it's really good writing practice for them.

 

Our youngest little guy has decided that he is now independent, which mommy is actually very thankful for. He makes his own oatmeal now.

Mommy still is adored by all three of our children who want to spend time cuddling with her on a regular basis. What a wonderful perk to motherhood.

We have had our share of fun with our 3 little buddies who turn out to be dare devils and love rollercoasters.

We have thoroughly enjoyed being the proud owners of 12, now 11 chickens, who are all named and have been treated like little puppy dogs.

New skills have been developed.

 We have developed a family exercise routine, which involved swimming every other day during the summer, but which now includes running every other day. After 7 wks. our 3 yr. old can almost run a whole mile. Next week he will!!!

 

We celebrated our 9 year anniversary with our 3 little friends. We really enjoy hanging out with them. Took them to Texas Roadhouse and Bowling. We all made it on the Strike team!!!

This little kitty wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for this little guy. That's another story! But we've enjoyed playing with baby animals all year.

Brittney's brother Spencer got married to Jen!!!

We went to the Ogden temple open house, and attended the dedication with our 8 yr. old.

Grandpa got engaged to Rhonda. That wedding will happen in a couple weeks.

We attended the storytelling festival and the kids were able to do pottery.

We went to both the Arches National park and Canyonlands national park. We love hiking!!!

We attended an exhibit in the Leonardo museum that shows the insides of real animals perfectly preserved.

We went 4 wheeling.

Our 8 yr. old has really begun to love reading. She even finished her first chapter book.

We went to a new childrens discovery museum.

Our oldest was baptized!

Mommy got to take her to the Women's broadcast.

Life is good.

 Although it may not seem like it, we have in a way simplified our lives. We decided that when it comes to extra-curricular activities this year we want our kids to do what they really love. Our 8 yr. old is doing art and sewing class. Our 5 yr. old is doing Let's Play Music. Hubby works hard and often works from home. He is certified as a General Appraiser. We also have recently become service missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We teach the special needs institute class.

I for the first time in a long time feel genuinely happy about my life and motherhood. I'm not a perfect mother. My house is dirty frequently. I don't always get ready for the day. We only mowed our lawn 5 times this year. I don't always have dinner ready or laundry done and I'll be honest, hubby does the dishes. But life is good. After several years of major trials where life gets put on hold big time, we have been trying to embrace the happy moments we have. Our life is created by us. It's a "choose your own adventure" ordeal (with a few pleasant or unpleasant surprises thrown in every now and then). I don't know that anything huge has made the difference for us, but I have a testimony that there is a reason that there is opposition in all things. I don't know if I would thoroughly appreciate these regular every day kind of moments as much as I do if I hadn't experienced the difference. The irritating, impatient, depressing, exhausting,  frustrating, disheartening moments of motherhood. The sad, hopeless, dark, painful, lonely moments of trials and loss. Mainly time is a huge healing factor. Time: the thing that brings sadness when you look at how fast your children have grown. The fleeting moments of childhood that will never be repeated. Time: the thing that brings relief after a lengthy trial. When the rain outside starts to pour and you feel like you should go dance in it and laugh because of how silly you feel and then start crying because you realize that it feels blissful to laugh! We are only young once on earth. Go where you want to go, do what you want to do, and laugh with your whole soul. Don't turn your back on God, he will give you moments of peace along the way. Time is a gift from Him. Enjoy the time you have. Life can be good!

Where to re-begin?

We love our beautiful children! The journey of life we have been on in the last few years has brought so much learning, pain, joy, gratitude, perspective, and much more. It's really hard to play catch up, so we won't. When I figure out the things I feel I should put out there for the world to know and understand about us, then I will be sure to write it down. I'm still trying to figure that out. We've been living with a lot of deep and interesting moments in our lives. We are also trying to figure out how the past should or shouldn't impact our future lives and how we should use those experiences.

 

 

What I day dream about

I day dream about living on a farm with a beautiful flower garden, big trees, orchard, goats, sheep, chickens, and honey bees. I want to live off the land and be completely self reliant. I want to teach my kids the principle of hard work and I don't want to be distracted by all the craziness of life. I want to live a simple, quiet life with my little family. I want to live in a place where family, extended family, and friends want to gather to rest and relax and get away from the world. I want my home to feel like a safe haven and refuge from the storms of life.

My Mom's Testimony

My Mom's testimony:

I can't remember when I first had a testimony. I think I came with one and developed it more and more by living in a righteous home whose gospel was felt and lived. I have always wanted to choose the right. I am grateful to live in the winding up scenes of the world when the gospel is preached throughout the world. I am so thankful for a living prophet who speaks with power and conviction from the Lord. Sometimes what he has to say is not always popular but I am grateful to be blessed with an obedient spirit who wants to do what he says. I know the scriptures are true and am so grateful to be able to glean from its pages each time I read them. I have seen the power family scripture study and prayer can have on a family as they read each day. I am grateful for Faith and how I learned to accept the Lord's will in my behalf and trust in Him completely. I love the prophet Joseph Smith and am grateful for his courage and sacrifice as he restored the gospel in these latter-days. I am so thankful for the Savior in my life and the power of the atonement as I utilize its powers each day as I err and try to learn from my mistakes. I am so thankful to my Savior for allowing me to become perfected in him. As the windows of heaven are open to me as I study and pay the price to have hidden treasures of knowledge. The test always is to apply what you know and have learned. I am grateful for eternal families and the knowledge that I have to be resurrected on the morning of the first resurrection with the very elect and my family. I am excited to be able to create worlds of our own with my sweetheart. I am grateful for a testimony and hope I always remember those things to help my testimony grow; pray always, study the scriptures, attend the temple, and serve. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

My Mom, Belinda's feelings about the Savior and His Atonement:

I love the Savior and feel so grateful for his atonement in my life. I have so many imperfections and shortcomings. When I stop to recognize that the Savior has already suffered for all the pain I have endured, all the times I have sinned, when I have felt discouraged, for everything I have gone through it makes me feel extremely humble. I want to not take his suffering for granted and feel his love more in my life especially when I am going through hard times. I want to be more spiritually centered amidst the stressful days, the times when I feel fatigue, when I feel no one cares about me, when I feel alone. I want to feel his loving arms around me and feel the comfort that only the Savior can give to me. I look forward to the day when I can physically embrace my Savior and personally thank him for everything he has done for me. I don't think I need to thank him face to face for him to know. I just need to have the spirit of gratitude every day of my life. I have felt his love so many times throughout my life. Many of which were times of extreme hardship. I just hope I can live each day with the knowledge that I am on the path which leads to life eternal and that amidst my imperfections that I will make it along with all the friends and family that I hold dear. I wish that every day I will feel the pains of the atonement cleanse me from my sins and heal me from my afflictions. When I pass to the other side I will be embraced and the Savior will say to me "Well done, thou good and faithful daughter."

Picture of my mom at my grandfather's funeral in 2011.

Faith is a Choice

Faith is a choice you have to make. Life is hard. Even when you're doing everything you know is right, bad things still happen or things don't work out the way you think they should. Blessings don't always come right away. Sometimes we need to choose to still have faith even when we don't see any light at the end of the tunnel. If we choose faith, then we can know that we'll still be on the path to our Father in Heaven.

I miss her so much!

 

 I miss her so much!!! She was such a huge part of my life.