optimistic obsessions

welcome 2012

2012-01-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

up late typing with one hand, the other cradles my baby Collette. The days are going by so quickly. Collette is a round, bubbly, happy little girl who wants to be awake all hours so she doesn't miss the excitement that is always taking place within the walls of our home. I love that I never know what each day will bring..... what new story from Elizabeth, what new imaginary play from Reed and if Collette will finally let out that giggle I am so badly waiting to hear. We are busy, none the less, these three little ones don't quite clean up after themselves..... but they are so helpful in their own little ways. Miss Elizabeth usually performs some random dance for us every night and Reed usually joins in towards the end. She is showing more and more that she is just a kind hearted little girl. She is so sweet to her siblings and can be such a peacemaker when she wants to be. She told me tonight that when I get upset and yell at her then she won't tell me I'm her best friend but I really still am, best friends indeed we are, but her mother above all of course. Reed is saying all sorts of sentences these days but my favorite was when I walked into his room one night as I heard him crying and he said,''mommy, I NEED you..." You better believe that received an award and he slept in my bed that night.... and of course he now says it all the time. Love my mommas boy. As soon as daddy walks into the door Reed is right there ready to wrestle. Porter and Reed taunt each other by saying,"you want a piece of me" back and forth. And let's not forget itty bitty Collette with cheeks as round as the moon and a smile that lights up the room. She gets so much attention everywhere we go.... she is a doll. She is such a joy to have in our home and so different from Elizabeth and Reed. Everything I knew about babies with my first two has gone out the window with this little girl. She is more needy than the rest of them and gets fussier more often but she is so cute at the same time its no fuss at all. Really it just boils down to when she is awake she wants to have social interaction the whole time of else she grunts and it turns into crying. Elizabeth and Reed are AWESOME when it comes to this because they love to lay by her and give her all the attention she wants and needs. I love the sibling relationship, it is so cute and special. On another note.... the holidays came and went and were as wonderful as could be. I loved the extra time we had as a family at home and going around town. With all the fun in our home there of course is the fact that things are busy and hard at times. I feel like I have been a complainer lately and it is bugging me. Obviously 3 kids is work but I don't know why I feel like I need others to notice and mention that I am working hard. I know I work hard, and it really doesn't matter if other people notice or care now does it. I think as moms or at least me as a mom we don't see our hard work as an outcome like some things in life come out. We do the laundry and bam the basket is full again..... we do the dishes and next thing we know it's dinner time and the sink is full again..... we sweep we mop we dust and it comes back nothing to show but most importantly we play, we laugh, we tickle, we read, we watch, we love, we explain, we teach, we cry, we hug, we kiss, we cuddle, we enjoy our little ones and that is where our hard work is focused and no we do not see it like a finished essay or painting... our hard work we invest in our children is developing them little by little into great outcomes. With things so busy I have a hard time reaching goals from day to day and it weighs on me and makes me feel like I am not accomplishing much but I sit back and remember I am, I am tackling loving 3 kids 4 and under who are very needy and very appreciative of the love I give..... They soak it up like sponges, and I love the hair that needs braiding, the shoes that need tieing, and the diaper that needs changing. There really is no where I would rather be or anything else I would rather be doing so I don't know why I feel the need to complain from time to time. I am blessed, I know I am and I have kids who amaze me everyday and a husband who reminds me whenever we are together that June 3rd 2005 was the best decision I ever made.... so here is to no more complaining and continuing on in my motherhood journey with a better attitude this new year!
and here are my new years resolutions... now that they are written I can better be held accountable for them...... striving to hit 12 personal goals every day for 2012 in hopes of a more organized day.....
1. scriptures
2. morning and evening prayer
3. light exercise 6days a week
4. minimum of 15 minutes quiet time for each child individually
5. home made dinner all weekday nights
6. front room and kitchen tidy before bed
7. 30 minutes towards a personal project daily (journal, craft, sewing...)
8. one load of laundry a day, no less no more ( it could take over ones whole week!)
9. read something church based with Porter each night
10. drink minimum of 64oz water daily
11. minimum of 5 servings or fruits/veggies daily
12. actively search some way to serve someone daily

Happy Birthday.....

2011-12-12T23:02:00.000-08:00

My dear daughter is 4. I can hardly believe it. So sweet and special, so kind and lovable. This birthday was not our ideal celebration. We had originally planned to go to Disneyland to celelbrate but poor Reed came down with hand foot and mouth virus and then intantigo on top of it. It was a miserable week. Poor Reed just wanted to be held but of course Collette needed to be held and fed and that doesn't work so well when trying to keep germs from traveling. Elizabeths birthday started off with me holing Reed who was creaming and Porter holding crying Collette. I walked over to her bed and mouthed happy birthday because there was no way she was hearing it over the noise. We made the best of the situation. A new princess dress, tiara, and gloves.... a new barbie, power wheels jeep and art kit and krispy kreme breakfast, rainforest cafe lunch and a trip to her favorite place QT gas station to pick a treat. Oh yeah and Reed to the dr for a look at his rash and a prescription run. This entire week and weekend of complete chaos at our house taught me so much. I have been complaining a lot lately about how busy three kids are. I have failed to think how blessed we are that all three kids are healthy and well. I sometimes get overwhelmed having all three of them surrounding me to cuddle at the same time but with Reed sick and only being able to hold him or the others all I wanted was the three of them at once. This week of sickness I felt a lot of sadness and feelings of inadequacy as I could tend to either Reed or Colletee and Elizabeth in efforts to not get the girls sick. As I was holding Reed the girls were crying , as I was feeding Collette Reed was screaming for me to hold him hold him. The house was getting messier, the laundry was out of control as well. I realize I am taking for granted their health and the special times we have with our crazy family of 5. I need to stop complaining that things are hard because they really aren't when everyone is healthy. I am blessed beyond measure and am excited to get my healthy little 2 year old back. We have missed the snake hunting, gun shooting, loud laughing, frog jumping, entertaining, cuddling little two year old that makes out family all that it is. He hasn't been himself until today. And Collette misses her big brother holding her I'm sure, those two are buddies. Sweet Elizabeth, thank you for caring about your brother and being so understanding when we didn't go to Disneyland. Thank you for being so helpful all the time. You just got a new chore chart and you are doing amazing always asking if you can clear the table or clean up. We love and appreciate you our little princess. Thank you for being all that you are, you are amazing through and through. Oh and next time we have a mommy daughter lunch date please don't point and call a woman plump even if it sounds nicer than fat.

2011-11-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

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2011-11-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

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My little Reedy Boy

2011-11-07T00:15:00.000-08:00

My sweet Reed....
As I just went into your and Elizabeths bedroom to check on you I saw you about to fall off the end of your bed. I have no clue how you wiggled your way all the way to the end but I'm glad you did because I was able to pick you up and rock you in the rocking chair for a bit before I laid you back down. You are such a special little spirit in our family. I hope you know you are capable of any and everything and that your mommy and daddy love you so very much. Last night our family had a bond fire in the backyard. We all sat around the fire in lawn chairs cuddled up in the cold with our blankets and our smores. Towards the end the girls came inside and just you and your daddy stayed outside by that fire. It was a good 20 minutes just the two of you. I peeked outside and it was the sweetest site to see my boys out there cuddled together. You are such an outgoing, fun little guy we just can't get enough of you. Thanks for being the joy you are in our little family. Even though you won't remember these little memories with both your dad and I, I want you to be able to read you these stories over the years to remind you of a time when you were a little guy I could rock in a rocking chair in the middle of the night and I'm optimistic you will cherish these stories as much as we do. I sure do love you my little Reedy boy.
xoxoxo mommy

October 2011

2011-11-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

Halloween was a hoot! Collette was a peacock, Elizabeth a "pink Barbie cat" and Reedy boy a Chicago Cubs baseball player.... We went to a party in Tucson ( thanks to JAMIE!) a family party and of course trick or treating... this year with her fun cousins Jacob and Quinn.

It was so fun watching them get into the activity of going door to door! Reed would eat his candy as fast as he got it, while Elizabeth waited patiently until she was finished trick or treating, then counted them all, then began to eat them...

Reed didn't know what to do with so much candy so he would eat a piece of candy and spit it into the trash before he could even chew it enough to swallow it so he could move onto the next piece....
That's my boy!

We have been able to get away to the park a bit here and there for a few play dates and picnics. This one involved Reed laying on the ground and blowing the dirt. No wonder he never looks clean!

Miss Elizabeth had fun with daddy one afternoon blowing bubbles on the porch during the little ones nap time. These two butt heads quite a bit but when the two of them get along nothing is sweeter. They are such a pair this little girl and her daddy. Besides looking alike they just have this little bond that only a daddy and daughter can have...

Elizabeth was lucky enough to go to Tatum's birthday tea party. She loved it and had fun with all the little girls!

We have made some yummy fall treats this past month.... and Reed has really become my little buddy. Elizabeth is in preschool 3 mornings a week while Reed, Collette and I play at home. This little guy cuddles me all the day long. Elizabeth has become less attached with cuddles and Collette does the best not being held.... believe it or not. I think with her tummy troubles she is most comfortable on her back flat. Reed was the same way as an infant with his tummy troubles too. So Reed and I cuddle the day away. If you have seen me with Reed you know he has a hair fetish. I love this about this kid.... he sits and twirls my hair whenever he can. He dropped something while sitting in a chair at lunch today and as I bent down to get it he reached for my hair as quick as he could. It's a special thing a momma and her boy.

And miss coco Collette. She is joy. complete and utter joy. Like I said she doesn't cuddle as much as her momma wishes but I will lay back with her propped against my legs and she gives the sweetest smiles. she first started smiling on August 30th! She has pretty good control of her neck but not quite strong enough for a bumbo yet. She had her first 8 hour night this week on Tuesday, woo hoo! but went back to sleeping about 6 hours after that. This is my first baby who doesn't take binky's, actually prefers sleeping on her back and who doesn't nurse to sleep at night! She will during the day and in the middle of the night but not before her long stretch at night. Porter is a pro with her. This is the first baby that goes to bed better for him than me and I love it. I think it's hard for the husbands sometimes, or my husband because my kids cry for me whenever they are hurt or sick or sad. and the older two were really clingy as babies and still are really. This is our daddy's girl it seems and I love it. Each child is so different and Porter and I both have different ways of doing things. Some things work for some and some for the other. He really is the best team mate ever to have this parenting experience with and I am so grateful for him!

Welcome November.... can't wait to see what you bring!

A name and a blessing....

2011-10-10T00:34:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Collette received her baby blessing this week. How perfect the day was. We made it on time to our early church where we were surrounded by family and friends.

I'm so thankful for this little girl and the joy she is to our family...

Her dress was very special, it was made from my wedding dress and the lace from it as well.

I did an "our little pumpkin" theme to go with the season....

I am so thankful, and feel so blessed. Blessed to have the family I do. I am one lucky momma and love these sweet children so. They are amazing and I am so lucky to call them mine....

2011-09-29T01:43:00.000-07:00

It was so great waking up Saturday morning and starting the day off with a family bike ride to the park. The kids are starting to become better and better of friends. They laughed and played as daddy chased them around. They were so excited to be able to go to the park since it is not a million degrees anymore:)

I love to just sit and watch them play. I love to see their imaginations in full bloom. I love to hear their giggles and watch them work together as a team. I love to see how Reed copies almost everything Elizabeth does and how Elizabeth is becoming more and more like a second mom to her little brother.

I also love how the park allows me to sit and have some cuddle time with our sweet Collette....

I want to enjoy every second of this sweet time as I know they will all grow up so fast and the park will no longer be the coolest place to go for a day. I know I will miss these days outdoors with little ones playing in the sun.

But for now, while they are young we will be spending our Saturday mornings at the park..... and I love that it's just a bike ride away

Until next Saturday.....

2011-09-18T03:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Diary,

Taking three kids, 3 and under to the mall is going to get you some looks, especially if your youngest is 3 weeks old and you are in a clothing store where the majority of shoppers are teens & collage students. We had our fair share of stares as we juggled our children and stocked up on clothes for fall. Of course we had the occasional," you must be busy" or " how old are they?". Despite the typical behavior of a toddler and preschooler fighting over lip gloss, my kids were wonderful today. They endured moms need to shop a bit, their first circus show and then dinner with my family. I'm proud of my children and the individuals they are becoming. I'm thankful for the sweetness they bring into our home. I felt a little like an outcast in this store with my plethora of children but quickly realized that I am one lucky woman whose greatest blessing come in a triple stroller. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for each one of my children. I am so thankful for my son whose flat feet stir up a loud pitter padder as he runs on the hard floor from room to room. Thankful for my daughter who on her last visit to the potty (while pushing) said,"you are the greatest." and for baby Collette who lets me snuggle and kiss on her all day. Paired with my husband they are my greatest joy and I hope they know that. I hope the" I love you's" I give sink into their little hearts and that that love gives them the confidence to do anything. I really just want my children to know how proud I am of them.... especially my older two at this time with the transition of Collette coming into our family. They have been such helpers! I recently have had my parenting questioned. It has been the most offensive thing I have ever been told. I find it odd the source that it is coming from and their dealings with children but none the less the things said took a tole on my little heart. I may not be good at a lot of things but mothering is something I am more than passionate about. I thought about what was said for some time and how I needed to prove that they were wrong. I had different things come to mind that I would say or do if the comments were ever brought up again and then it hit me like a bullet ...... I don't care. I don't care! It's not about proving anyone wrong, or right for that matter. It's not about what others see you doing as a mother or don't see you doing as a mother. My mightiest mothering moments have taken place when I have a child one on one, most of the time we are alone and no one is there to see or congratulate or praise and that's OK because it's not about that. I am realizing that no one knows my children like I do therefore they have no idea what is best for these little ones and will not always understand the choices I make for my children but that's just fine because I don't make choices to please others or earn praise I make the choices I make because I love my children dearly and know what's best for them. I make certain decisions to keep them safe and make them know how loved they are. Mothering instincts are so real and so powerful. Not only can a mothers kiss instantly take away pain but a loving mothers heart can aid in the becoming of a beautiful individual. I believe we help shape and mould our children into who they will become and I can't say I would change a thing because my children amaze me more each and every day. I have an amazing husband who is a good example for these kids and I am so thankful to him for the example he sets in our home. I am thankful for mothers, mother figures and women all around me who are good examples and help me and support me in being the mother I am and strive to be. But most of all I am thankful to my own mother who in her short 53 years stayed home with us while we were young, made family dinners, helped out at school, sold girl scout cookies with me, slept with me in her arms after a bad nights dream, loved me when I wasn't so lovable, was always there for me, and taught me what the most sincere form of mothering was all about. When I think of my own mother and the mother I am striving to be to my children I think of this.....

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. ~Washington Irving

Freeze!

2011-09-08T00:20:00.000-07:00

Even with things being a little overwhelming over here, I still wish I could just pause this time and take in all it is offering. Three kids 3 and under is a bit much at times, but it is also so rewarding. It is tiring but it is so much fun at the same time. They are all so little still, so innocent and so lovable. Miss Elizabeth is so wanting to help and hold baby sister. Sweet Reed rubs his face on Collette and entertains us with his spiderman like actions. And miss Collette is perfect and precious as can be all bundled in my arms. I have felt so claustrophobic trying to feed Collette and entertain the older two with them right by my sides as I read them books but really I would not have it any other way. Today I seriously looked like a homeless woman, I don't know how my hair was doing what it was doing but it was bad, my clothes were a mess, I had been spit up on who knows how many times but still my husband was eager as ever to come home and welcome me into his arms and make me feel great. Family is just so amazing. I am thankful for these three children who keep me busy and help me feel loved. I keep thinking of the saying..... very tacky, but true," we may not have it all together, but together we have it all." So how I feel right now regardless of it's vinyl saying appearance.

2011-08-30T22:11:00.000-07:00

There is a special magic that creeps into a home when a newborn is present. It's magical and holds a perfect calmness that comes over everything and everyone. Time slows down and what is truly important becomes clearer than ever. Children draw close, husband and wife celebrate what their love has created and joy is all around. The hustle and bustle of life is almost in slow motion as our little family has spent hours in bed cuddled together, holding baby, and watching movies. We are so blessed. Oh how we are blessed. 2 AM has never had such a beautiful feeling as when I am cuddled feeding my new baby girl in her peaceful nursery, with her lights dim, just the two of us share this time. A time when everyone is asleep and the house is silent. I would not trade this time for anything. I better go cuddle that little peanut I love so dearly....

Meet Collette Anne Williams

2011-08-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

As you can see this little girl is being welcomed with opened arms. These are pictures that give a glimpse of the last 24 hrs since she has been born. I am in love with this little girl and her full head of hair. Little Collette was born weighing 7lbs 3oz. She is our tallest yet at 22 inches. We love and adore every little bit of her. I can not even believe how blessed I feel right now with this new little girl in our family. These pictures are completely out of order and I am a little out of it with being on pain killers, we will be going home tomorrow so we are sure to have more pictures soon. As for these......

Here is Elizabeth and Reed Meeting their little sister Collette. They both had their arms straight out and were so anxious to get a hold of their sibling

last picture pregnant with Collette...

Everything went really smooth and she is doing great. She looks just like Elizabeth did and I just adore her. I will write more later when I'm not so out of it.....

Summer 2011 continued.....

2011-08-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

We are just trying to soak up any last minute rays before baby sister comes and we are tucked inside our air conditioned home. My kids love water. Reed thinks he is invincible and Elizabeth tries some new mermaid move every time we are in the pool. They both love goggles and jumping off diving boards.

Summer 2011

2011-07-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

So this summer has been eventful. We moved from Tucson and were living with family for a few months and just last month we moved again into a cute house with room enough for our almost 3 kids. Living with family was great but I knew we needed our own space before this little girl gets here! The summer has treated us great so far. We have been swimming a lot and little miss can just about swim solo. Her favorite is to jump off diving boards and swim to the side. For some reason though she does a belly flop 9 out of 10 times. We have just about 4 weeks until we welcome our new baby girl into the family! We are so excited to meet her. Reed has grown into really liking little babies so I'm excited to see how he does with a little sister. We are just about settled in but I have a few more finishing touches I would like to add to baby girls room as well as pictures that need to be put in frames. Some highlights of this summer include Reed turning two.... him and I share a birthday month and we had fun celebrating with family and making him a choo choo train cake.....

this little guy is such a character and such a joy to have in our home (when he's in a good mood). He loves animals and making animal noises. He is a late bloomer when it comes to talking but he will call for momma, dadda, poppy (grandpa), doggy, book, drink, snack, cookie, duck, and plane are the words he says most..... He loves wrestling his dad, cousins, uncles, or grandpas and loves the water and swimming.

little miss Elizabeth had a dance recital over the summer and did great! She is such a doll and turning into my little buddy. She is so helpful and really is a sweet heart. She is so excited to have a sister and tries to help us get ready for her to come in any way she can!

Like I said I have a few things to add to the nursery but here is a picture of her crib and bedding..... I made the bed skirt and the bumper was from Elizabeth as a baby.

Elizabeths room is just about done as well. I want to dark purple tutu to add about her bed but other then that its good. I made her duvet cover..... it is straight but the bed was made crooked this morning :) She is in love with purple so with the move now was the time to change it!

Hopefully I can write more frequently before the baby comes and get in a better habit of posting!

oh my where does the time go.....

2011-05-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm behind on blogging. It makes me sad because this is really the way I keep a journal/ save pictures. My sweet kids have been making so many memories and I wish I would have kept track more but hey what can you do? So here is what has been going on over here.... sorry not the most exciting post

Reed..... My Reedy boy. He is just awesome. This little guy makes me laugh everyday. He doesn't talk a whole lot yet, I'm sure a big part of that is that he is very attached to his binky. He also had a lot of ear infections as a baby so his hearing could be affected by that but the dr. said we will wait until he is 2 to determine something like that. He does talk though..... words like momma, dada, hot dog, ball, choo choo, train, car, please, binky, quack quack, and dog just to name a few. He is all boy. He is just a little guy though, he is only in the 8% for his weight! He loves all his boy cousins that he gets to see more often now and is constantly trying to wrestle them. He has a good arm and plays catch with my dad (poppy) a lot. He got a haircut about two weeks ago and Porter buzzed it all away. Poor Reed hated it. He was creaming,"GO!" THE ENTIRE TIME (AS IN GO AWAY). He is a good sleeper and takes a good 2-3 hour nap daily. He LOVES hot dogs, orange juice and eggs to just name a few of his favorite foods. He has started to show a real interest in babies, that is a relief considering we will have new one here in 3 months. My little guy also loves swimming, Porter took him just this last weekend and we would pass him back and forth under water like a torpedo, he loved it! Last but not least he is a sweetheart.... if we are every pretend crying or sad or saying goodnight he will give us a kiss on both cheeks, like he is from Europe or something. So cute, he will never just kiss one cheek but always has to be both. How I love this little guy.

Rapunzel...... I mean Elizabeth. She is in love with Rapunzel. She watches it at least once everyday, she just got the dress at the Disney store and today has been carrying around a metal pan from her kitchen set. She is so darn sweet and has become a very good helper. She helps Reed be happy and picks up toys when asked. She is so smart and remembers everything I tell her or say. She is all girl and loves to have her hair curled and put make up on. She tells me at least ten times a day," I love you so much mom" and I am loving having a three year old little girl. She is going to be great as my helper when new baby is born. She loves to color and can sit and talk to your for hours. She loves swimming, her dance class and anything princess. Her new favorite color is dark purple.

And as for #3.... she is moving right along. This pregnancy has been flying by! I am 25 weeks now and we just had a 3D ultrasound, I saw a lot of Elizabeth in her. We have two names that we like right now but we will most likely decide for sure when we see her. Porter is doing good and working hard. We have loved the move so far and are so happy to be back around family, it has been the best thing we could have done. We have a few more things that we need to have fall into place before the baby comes that will make us a little, or lot more settled but we are trying to be patient and faithful.

I got a new computer for mothers day and as pathetic as it sounds I don't even know how to get my pictures onto my computer so pictures will have to happen next post ( and I thought a MAC would be easier for me to use). Go figure.

aaah ....... sigh of relief

2011-04-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

my ultra sound last week showed everything to be good, baby girl is good, my placenta is healed and I was taken off bed rest and told to resume all my normal activities I do during pregnancies. This came as such relief, and joy. Being down was driving my crazy.... not just crazy like I needed to get up but honestly crazy. I am such a worry wart, its awful, and sitting all day with nothing to do left me to sit and think about any and everything that could go wrong in life. It was ugly. Just this week I am beginning to feel like myself again. It kinda makes one depressed to be in a situation like such. My kids were thankfully being watched by loving family and friends but I missed them so much when I wasn't taking care of them. This whole experience taught me so much. It was so hard to see Reed just wanting me to stand and hold him but all I could do was have him cuddle as I was down. It was hard not being able to serve my family and prepair meals for them as well. I usually hate this scenario but all I wanted to do was cook dinner and hold Reed on my hip while trying to do so. I am so thankful my trial was so short for I know many who have had much harder situations that lasted for much longer. Of course there are still trials our family is facing at this time but I am so thankful to have the ability to stand and take part in them, and to be told our little girl is healthy and well. This time in my life really has been a roller coaster. We have a lot of things that are demanding our faith right and and it gets pretty hard sometimes but I can feel my strength and testimony growing inch by inch and I am so thankful for that.

2011-03-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

I woke up Monday with mild spotting. 15 weeks pregnant and spotting is like ice cream with pepperonies. Just not good. I basically stalked my way into the dr that day when they took forever to call me back. I called. Called some more. Went with a friend who randomly happened to have an appointment with the same dr just to have them call me back as I was in the waiting room with her. The dr saw me that day although he may have thought I was borderline crazy. When it comes to my family there isn't anything I wont to do make sure they are safe and sound. This my my first appointment with him mind you so his first impression of me may not be the best but hey I would rather be the crazy concerned mom rather then the whatever mom. Right? Right. So I tell him Im spotting and I lay back to have an ultra sound. Joy,relief and tears all came as I saw this little one wiggle and squirm inside. The dr explained that my placenta has a tear and it is bleeding. Baby is good but we need to have the placenta heal. He showed me a blood clot near my cervix. He said this is not normal but it is common. I was told bed rest was the only thing that could do the trick. More bleeding could have a bad result but that these usually heal on their own with rest. As all these concerns took over I thought to myself.....,"I could use some good news right about now." so I asked if he could see what I was having. That little one just then positioned perfectly and we saw what the gender was. I left feeling glad that my baby was safe but worried about the upcoming weeks and how I was going to manage bed rest with a three and one year old. I called porter on my way home....."Porter, I just went to the dr. the placenta has a tear, I was told bed rest but your little girl looks perfect and healthy."
If you read my previous posts you know I have already felt like I have been sick or out of sorts for weeks now. We just moved two weeks ago and I was already feeling a little overwhelmed with the changes. As of now I'm on bed rest until the end of the month and then we will see from there. I'm at a time in my life where I am striving to find out what my tasks are in is life. I am trying to exercise faith in hopes that it will grow stronger. I feel like I am currently being given many opportunities to learn of the faith I am capable of possessing but it is a hard hard thing to do. I know without a doubt if I can hold onto faith that I will come out a stronger, happier, more confident and hopeful person but getting there has it's challenges. I feel like for weeks, even months now I have been given the chance to build stronger faith and with that opportunity comes opposition. Just as I believe in a Father in heaven I also know of Satan who is present as well. I know he is there striving to take away from this faith building experience and he does that by instilling fear into my being, he presents doubt in front of me. It is my choice to choose faith or fear. I can feel the battle taking place and sometimes it is hard to not think of all that is wrong, or could go wrong. But I'm striving to be positive. To replace doubt with hope. The fear with faith. I'm learning the greater meaning of trusting in the Lord, trusting in His plan. Sometimes it is hard. Sometimes the entire world seems to be showing us all is lost or a bad outcome lerks ahead but if He whispered to me all will be well then the ball is now in my court to stand by Him, have faith in HIm and trust in HIm. I have so many things that have me wondering what is coming but I just need to remind myself that whatever does come its part of HIs plan. He is there through it all and most importantly HE wants me to be happy, to have joy sometimes it just takes us leaning a little bit more on HIm to find it.
Thank you to wonderful friends and family. For the help this week, the flowers, and the long talks. You have no idea the love I have for you.

Ready to run.....

2011-02-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

Right now I am surrounded by moving boxes, packing tape and sheets of bubble wrap. We're outta here shortly. I have to say I am feeling a roller coaster of emotions. These past two months have been a little dark for me. The self I feel confident about crawled into hiding and became distant from everything that has any importance to me. I felt so awful I didn't want my husband to touch me, I didn't want to nurture and spend time with my children and I didn't want to became closer to Christ by doing the day to day things that keep me going and give me true happiness. Like I said it has been a little dark. Rays of sunshine would pass by like a meal from a friend, a sweet moment with my children or a feeling of love from my Father in Heaven but ultimately I have been tucked away in this pocket of gloom. I've been facing anxiety attacks and just getting through the day to get through it not to enjoy it. It has been hard. Morning sickness limited me to the couch and left me just wanting to feel good for a brief moment so I could be happy. The fear of our move and the stresses that will come from this all took over. The unknowing in what the plan is for me and my family has been overwhelming and I have felt fearful instead of having faith.
Lately the morning sickness has now made improvement and is only there about half a day. I have found more joy feeling good at least half a day and enjoying this time with my family. Oh my sweet children and dear husband. I started packing today.... Loading and wrapping dish wear, I started to feel sad and fearful. Then it hit me, with the gloom that has been around me these past months what better time for change then now. A new place to refind joy in motherhood. A new city to go on dates with my love. A place to start fresh. All gloom can be left behind. This is a chance to start something new and make it a positive change, a change for the better. I'm excited to start a new routine and find how joy can be the captain of my new routine. I'm excited to be enlightened by old friends and familiar faces I have grown up with. I'm giddy to see what my home town will bring our family after being gone for 6 years. I am ready. Ready to say good bye to this chapter. Ready to welcome a new chapter. Ready to have stronger faith and a better me.

not what I had planned.....

2011-01-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

It's hard when you are at times in your life when nothing really seems predictable. Nothing seems certain, things don't seem as together as maybe you had wished or hoped. Maybe it's a time of change or a time you thought life was going to take you one way but it is going completely 180. We kinda feel like we are in that situation these days. My morning sickness has me feeling plain awful and the TV is on pretty much all day as my aid in raising my kids for the next couple weeks. The house is a mess. I miss getting up and ready and going on an outing with my sweet babies. On top of that our house just went up for sale and we have the feeling it's just time to go home.... to Mesa. Weather it sells or not we're still going, and do I have energy to pack up the house, heck no. The kids both have some crazy cough that has each of them up all hours of the night and I'm not even going to talk about our laundry mess. We have a lot of " what ifs" about this move and mr. husbands work and where we will be when new baby comes. I don't feel like I have control over anything on my plate. I don't feel like life is as pretty put together as I like it to usually be but guess what....... it will pass. I will get feeling better, we will move, figure things out and welcome a new addition into our arms because we are going through this little hiccup of morning sickness. My kids will get better and sleep better before I know it. The house will sell, or it wont, either way my family will be together and it will all work out. Doesn't it always? I am learning to just be content when things are not just as I would like them to be. There is still something to be learned, joy to be had and blessings to acknowledge. For example this time as a couch potato I have been able to just sit and watch my kids interact and play and it has been a beautiful thing. I have had more cuddle time and more time to listen to conference talks then in weeks past and I have learned to find joy in this change of pace. Not that any of these things are dramatic life happenings, they are still change and they can still be scary, but most of all they can be a time to grow if that is how I look at the situation. I just wanted to write and remind myself that change happens, uncertainties occur but we are in good hands, His hands and as long as that is never forgotten we will have joy.

Third time's a charm.......

2011-01-09T14:57:00.000-08:00

Well we are now on our way to welcoming another baby into our little family. ( it's not staying little for long it seems). We are happy to announce We are pregnant! BABY #3 is due in August and we could not be any more excited. Little Elizabeth will be about 3 1/2 and Reed will just be 2! It should be fun :) There is not a moment that goes by that I am not thankful for these two children I have been blessed with and I am thrilled to welcome our new baby later this year. I'm sure my excitement will be multiplied once I'm over this awful morning (all day) sickness. It's tough. But I've been through it twice before and know how worth it it is so that helps. My sweet children have been so great while I have been taking it easy on the couch. Reed and Elizabeth come up all day long and just lay and cuddle with me. Elizabeth has been helping Reed get down from chairs, open fruit snacks and she even picked up the living room without even being asked. I can't even describe how helpful my dear mr. husband is. He has been letting me take the naps I need and he has been so helpful and patient. I'm on medication but it doesn't seem to change how I feel at all. Every night before Elizabeth crawls into bed (after we have said a family prayer) we have taught her to kneel by her bed and say a little personal prayer. Last night I heard her pray that we could be safe and that mommy could feel better. It just melted my heart. She really is a sweet little girl and I am so thankful for her and her little brother to help keep me company while we hibernate for these next couple weeks while daddy goes to work.

Jesus wants me for a sunbeam....

2011-01-02T20:23:00.000-08:00

I'm off to bed, trying to get to sleep early but I quickly wanted to log today so I could remember it for years to come.....
In church today Elizabeth graduated from nursery class to now being a sunbeam. She is just barely three with the new year starting so she is one of then youngest in the class but I'm so excited for her. I dropped her off and sat her in the front row with all the other sunbeam three year olds and she gave me a kiss goodbye. She has been very excited to become a sunbeam and I have been excited for her too. As I watched from the back the tears came and kept coming, I could not help but think how big she is getting but even more that she is going to learn so much about the Savior and His love for her in primary over the years. I'm excited for her to grow and learn so much and this is the start of it all. I cried out of gratitude that I have found this church that it is just what I need in this life and also will be a guide and strength for my dear children. Elizabeth, I am proud of you and thankful you are my sweet daughter. I was proud to hear that you were a good listener and didn't even cry like some of the sunbeams did with all the changes. Keep being the sweet, silly, amazing little girl you are. Mommy loves you.

To my daughter on her birthday

2010-12-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

My sweet Elizabeth..... you have just turned three. What a special day. Not only is it special because we celebrate you being born but also this is the day I became a mother and your dad a father. It is a day we hold dear to our hearts and it is all because you came into our family. You are growing by leaps and bounds. You are fully potty trained when you are awake and love to talk all day long. Lately your favorite things to say have been," I have to tell you something mom..... I love you." Or you talk on and on about the candy you hope to have in your stocking Christmas morning. You are sweet as sweet can be. Every night before you go to bed I lay by you at your request. Sometimes for 5 minutes sometimes for an hour. We talk as mom and daughters do. I tell you stories off the top of my head and I love this time with you. Most nights this time leads us to talk about Jesus and His love for you. I love it because the world is still and you can feel the sweet peace that comes. I love you, oh how I love you my daughter. I wish I could bottle up all three years of you and keep them in my pocket to bring me happiness and joy because that is what you bring to our home. You are still so innocent and this song playing my Taylor Swift (never grow up) puts into words a small fraction of the emotions I feel as your mother. I know this year will bring more little girl giggles filling the rooms of our home, special times with our new 3 yr old and many memories made by a little girl who has the world in her hands. You are amazing Elizabeth and I'm so blessed you are mine.

Elizabeth's Party was tea party themed and we had the tables set up like this on both sides of the yard.....

I made personalized table settings for each child attending and made them each a party hat with their name.

I made my first birthday banner for my sweet daughter

I made the kids ham and cheese sandwiches, used a cookie cutter to make them snow flakes and then sprayed them a fun edible color

Here is the coconut cake I made her with fondant flowers on top.

we had face painting and a cotton candy machine

So I have so much more to write but I just want to focus on her today so I will be updating often. I miss my blogging friends and promise to stop by and visit you all more often!

and of course we cant forget about little brother who was thrilled to have cotton candy for the day!

2010-10-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

ELIZABETH…. You are at a time in your life where your watch every princess you love and try to emulate their kindness and beauty. I’ve met a lot of girls in my life. Some were as sweet as could be while others thought they were showing me they were better then me by being rude or bratty. Sweet Elizabeth I hope you never think rudeness is beauty.

I pray you go through out your life with your heart on your sleeve because such a beautiful heart you have. I hope you are an open book for all to read because you have so much to offer this big wide world. I hope you share everything that is dear to you with your friends and let them grow from your beauty. I hope you treat everyone like a sister or brother and give all that you have to others because that’s how you will find happiness. Go out of your way to make others feel happy or special or important. As your grandma Gina would say, “pretty is as pretty does.“ Sweet Elizabeth while I sit here as your momma hoping that you never grow up, at the same time I cant wait to see you grow and bloom into your full potential. I know great things wait for you, just please remember I am always here, and always on your side. XOXO my sweet baby girl

Halloween 2010.... halloween post will come later this week

Let's just pretend....

2010-10-21T23:36:00.000-07:00

Oh my Elizabeth. Her little imagination is in full bloom.One minute she is a princess with the evil stepmother after her and the next thing I know her and her best friend Bryson, who isnt even over, are playing in her room. She is amazing. I could eat her and her excitement about life up all day long.
      Last Tuesday I had someone stop by in my ward unannounced. To be honest I love these types of visits because I want to come across as someone who would welcome anyone at my door. I obviously would love if it occurred when I was ready for the day with my kids dressed and with the house in order but whatever, its life so that doesn't happen.....ever.
    When I answered the door last Tuesday at 11am I was in pjs, my son in a diaper, my daughter naked with a mess stuck to her bum cheeks, a dirty diaper in hand ( I realized later it wasn't even wrapped well so you could see all the inners) and my house a DISASTER! But I opened the door, and we chatted for a while.
     After she left I felt a little embarrassed about the way we must have appeared. I thought what I could have done differently that day to have things together a bit more when she stopped by. I thought about that morning how I sat with my children at the breakfast table all of us in our jammies. How we sat and read books, how we played in the backyard, watched butterflies, and I listened to Elizabeth play pretend. How I chased my rowdy son and tickled him until I heard that belly laugh of his that melts my heart and then it occurred to me that there was not one thing I would have changed in that day. It was a messy day, it was a lounging day, it was a perfect day. My children will not remember if I had make up on every day or not but I am sure they will remember the time their momma spent with them....

She is her mothers daughter.....

2010-10-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been going over the idea of putting Elizabeth in preschool. She will be three in December and is smart beyond her years. She also is starting to get bored around the house and trying to test me to see what she can get away with (more than usual). My thinking was that she would get some education, but more importantly she would be happy having some time with me not always saying no to the new adventures she thinks she is old enough to take part in... ( painting her fingernails by herself, putting in her own dvds, cooking with real food in her play kitchen....). I was at a loss and was thinking as soon as she starts preschool she is now not in the home and with mommy full time. So I just sat on it for a few days and then tonight mr. husband and I read a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry titled "Mothers Teaching Children in the Home". And voila here was my answer. This talk spoke about how we as mothers are our childrens greatest teachers and how teaching and learning in the home is most powerful. I sometimes forget that I am the most powerful influence on my children at this age. I was reminded by reading this that I only have this small window of time to have my sweet babies all to myself and under my little momma bird wing before they are off in school, sports, with friends. This is my chance to instill in them simple but essential things, like how special they are and not to doubt it no matter what, wrong from right, how hard work pays off, to be kind and loving, how to choose the right, manners, and so many small but important things. I have come to conclusion that I need to take this time for all it is worth and cherish it and use it to the best of my mommy ability. And that I need to remember that my example teaches her more than anything. I have found that this is not her time to start school but my time to put forth the extra effort to teach her while I still have her in our home full time. I will say it is rewarding when I see her caring for a baby doll the exact way she saw me caring for Reed. Or knowing all her knowledge in knowing letters, numbers, shapes has come from her parents hard work or more importantly seeing her grasp Gospel truths and concepts.Here is to another yr at home:)

to read this talk I was talking about in its fullness click HERE

as of late......

2010-10-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

I have not been much of a blogger unfortunately. I miss it. But more importantly I know years from now reading this I will most likely wish I had written down more. So I'm hopefully back to writing more frequently. Sometimes I feel like I'm going through a bit of a transition phase of life. That is kind of how I have been feeling these past few weeks. Sometimes when in those transitions periods of life when I am going from one big event to the next I tend to just go through the day to day things without really focusing on them. Having a list of things to do and accomplishing them just because it's part of the day. Or days where I try to cram as much into a day like cleaning, crafts, an outing with the kids, lunch with the hubby, homemade dinner, yadda yadda yadda, and those are the days that FLY BY so quickly I don't even remember much of what occurred that day. After listening to a general authority in our church council us to "slow down" and "simplify" our lives I have been trying to keep that in the front of my mind. But it's hard. I am one who trys to do a ton in a day. I think I need to always be picking up toys when let's face it I could just sit and join in the fun and pick them up at the end of the day. Or that I need to be doing 10 things at once while the kids are calmly distracted with their fishy crackers. And after listening to the talk last week I have decided to do things a little differently. I do not need to fit everything into one day. I can have a freezer dinner some nights and spend that extra time with my kids and that's okay, more than okay its wonderful. I can include them in folding the laundry even if it takes all day as long as they are involved. I think sometimes I worry too much about my duties as homemaker more than my duties as a mother and I obviously know what is more important. Another quote I heard that I loved was that "love is spelled T.I.M.E." and how true it is. Several times I have referred back to my writing on my blog to remind me of the things I have learned and the person I am striving to be. I guess this is one of these posts..... and speaking of slowing down, a little update on my children...

Reed: 15 months!

This boy is CRAZY. He is always trying to get into trouble or pester his sister. The only words he says is "momma" and "eeet"(light). He loves fruit and can be found usually walking throughout the house in just a diaper, eating a whole peach, plum, or pear. He is SO entertaining. He laughs at everything and will make the cutest faces all the time. If he falls off the couch he laughs, if he runs into something , he laughs, and there is nothing this boy is afraid of either. He is all boy and we love it!

Elizabeth: will be 3 in two months! She is my gem that girl. She can make or break my day, but usually makes it:) She is talking so much and loves to tell me everything that comes to her mind. She loves baby dolls, barbies and princesses right now and the color pink. She is pretty much potty trained except for when she sleeps and we are so proud of her. She tells me these days things like " I'm so excited" or " momma don't be mad" if I get after her. She is still my little cuddle bug and I pray she always is.

so I'm thinking about doing my hair chocolate brown? yes or no? not that anyone comments much these days but I thought I woulds throw it out there?

Days like today

2010-09-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Oh my sweet babies, it's days like today that I just can't get enough of your goodness. Nights like tonight that I just crawl into bed and talk with Elizabeth as she rubs my back and I run hers. I could just go pick up baby Reed right now and cuddle the night away. I spent nap time updating baby books for them and looking at baby pictures. It just reminded me what a blessing these little ones are to have. How I need to not take a minute of it for granted and how I need to document it all so I can go back and read about these little moments later when they are in those drive you crazy teenage years:) I wish my mom would have documented more, and now that she is gone I can't ask her about these stories but I just sit and imagine that my childhood possessed the same sweetness and perfect moments that I share now days with my little ones. This will go in my second printed blog book and I hope as my children read this one day they know what special moments they had with their parents in their early childhood. Like last night in the middle of Elizabeth finishing dinner, as she sat in unders only, asked her daddy for a hug and at the same time Reed came hugging daddy from behind as tight as he could. Or just a few afternoons ago when I looked outside to see an older sister with her arm around her younger brother just looking into the yard. Things that make a moms heart melt. The one that really got me this week was walking into the living room to see Elizabeth saying a prayer on her knees with her arms folded and eyes closed asking her Father in heaven to bless the members in our family. I am so thankful for these sweet babies of mine. Better go..... mr husband is home with a gallon of ice cream and a red box :)

This week....

2010-09-26T21:48:00.000-07:00

I love the weeks that leave me excited for the week ahead, the weeks that things are on the up and up and you feel like your head is on straight. Last week was good......

Since I have been having these darn health issues I just have been a little out of the sorts you could say. Last week my breathing was not nearly as labored as weeks previous and my energy was back to almost normal. I was getting so depressed that when the day was 1/2 was done I was spent and had no energy or motivation to accomplish anything. I felt so bad especially for my sweet babies. But not last week no, I was able to feel good and had fun making dinner, playing outside with the kids and finished Elizabeth's snow white costume. And the icing on the cake came Saturday night when I went to a church activity especially for women, or as I felt, especially for me. It's called Woman's broadcast and we hear from the Prophet and leaders of our church. I felt inspired, I felt important, and most of all my faith was strengthened. I loved hearing our prophet, Tomas S. Monson speak to us all on judgment. He told of a man who was not pleasing to look at and a particular trail he had in his life when he came to a town to receive medical treatment for the abnormalities on his face. He spoke of his difficulties finding somewhere to stay when he traveled for these treatments and that he even would have been happy to settle sleeping on a rocking chair on someones porch. There was one woman who was able to look past his outer appearance and see his inner greatness and was more than happy to let him stay at her inn as he traveled through this area. Our prophet then told of her going to a green house years later; there was the most beautiful flower planted in a rusty old pot. This woman asked her friend," Why do you have that beautiful flower in a rusty old pot?" the woman replied," I ran out of pots and knew this beautiful flower would not mind spending a little time in this pot." This flower stood taller and more beautiful then all the flowers around regardless of the pot. President Monson then told of how he could imagine this man being sent to Earth in his rusty old pot but our Father in heaven knowing of the beautiful flower that harbors inside regardless of the appearance of the pot. I loved this and needed to hear this.

After the broadcast ended there was some socializing and it was so nice to sit and talk with friends. I am learning how powerful we can be. How powerful our words are. I am realizing that we posses the opportunity to make or break someones day and that we can have a daily affect on someone if we just take the time to do so. Sometimes all someone needs is a little love, or help, or to feel accepted or to know someone cares. It is a wonderful feeling is it not? I don't think we can ever over do caring. The quote that was stressed that evening was "Charity NEVER faileth" and how true it is. Throughout this past week or two since I was MIA for a bit not feeling good I was amazed at how many women either called, texted, e mailed or came and asked how I was. I can't tell you how good it felt to have others care and want to know how I was. It has inspired me to reach out to others. See how they are. Sit by someone I don't know and get to know them or even do a little service for someone I care about. I am also learning not to forget to compliment or show I care to my friends and family. I think sometimes we get in the rut of things but friends love to hear when you think they have done something good, or that you care. Husbands need to be reminded you are their biggest fan and think the world of them and that they are amazing for fixing the toilet and of course our sweet children need to be praised daily for the wonderful little people they are. Just last week Elizabeth decided her name was going to be "Hannie". I have never heard this name neither has she, she just made it up! It was so cute and she would not let me call her anything else. Reed is growing like a weed and walking! He loves it and the two of them play a lot more now that he is walking. The weather is cooling down, life is falling a bit more into place and I am ready to take this week and focus more on my scriptures, my prayers, my family and my blessings....
a few other things I wanted to write so I can come back and read:
do not spend money for that which is of no worth, don't spend time on that which is unimportant and most of all there is no greater success then success in the home.
And I hope anyone reading this knows I am not giving advice but just documenting this for what I know I need to hear and come back to read and remind myself:)
And here is Elizabeths Snow white dress.... I still need to make the cape thingy she wears:)

oh my it's been too long.....

2010-09-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a time in your life that things would not just settle. Maybe you had a feeling off being a little frazzled, not yourself, or felt like life was just a little more complicated then you had imagined. That's been me as of late. The long absence of blogging has mainly been due to health problems I was experiencing. I suddenly had moments where I felt really tired and out of breath, those moments turned to hours days and after a week I went to the Dr. I had x rays, ct scans and blood work done. During this little scare I was able to ponder what it is that is really important to me. What it is I want out of life and what I need to do to be the happiest I can be. I will tell you this...... Money or material things were the farthest away from my thoughts or goals to reach this happiness. During this time all I could think was how can I make decisions that will lead my family to the best place we can be, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Let's take a few steps back real quick......
    About a month ago I suddenly became a little baby hungry. I started planning things and decided "I" thought it was time. I had been thinking about it a lot. I was also thinking about where we are going to live, you see Mr. Husband and I received a very strong impression it was time to "go home" as in Mesa. I keep trying to tell myself differently but this is what my heart is telling me and I can't deny it. That leaves us in a little sticky situation with our home and the market and I wont get into that but we are going over the options..... anyways so there are obviously some big decisions in front of us and as soon as it was coming up to baby making season this breathing thing kicked in..... or as I have come to understand it.... my sign it's not the season quite yet. And that's what I love about life and the plan for me. I love that there is a plan and it's Him who is guiding it and I love how one way or another I receive answers to life's most difficult questions such as should I have another baby. So there was my answer to that one. And now we are still figuring out things with the house.... I can't help but think of our life thus far.......
           2005 we were living in an apartment, we felt prompted it was time to buy a house. We went and signed to buy it only to realize things were going to be too tight. RIGHT before we moved in porter received a great raise and we had exactly the same left over each month as when we lived in our apartment.....
        2008 after we had Elizabeth, I felt prompted to stay home. I told porter I was going to tell my boss the next day that I only have 2 weeks left of my part time job. That next day Porter came home to tell me he was promoted and once again we had the same amount left over every month without me working now....

I have been given experiences in my life to teach me to trust in the Lord and the prompting I receive from Him and the blessings will come and I feel like this is another one of those moments. I feel we are being guided and directed and I will be the first to say it's hard not knowing exactly where were going to be living or how it will all work out but one thing I know for sure is that it WILL WORK OUT. So I guess with all of this going on I have been a little off. A little anxious, a little less on top of things and not quite myself. I am realizing just to take this experience as a time to show faith and to quit worrying. I need to enjoy this time and not worry about what's to come because I am in His watchful care. So here is to me washing my worries away, reminding myslef to trust in Him and enjoying the life I have been given.....

Giving away some mommy and me aprons....

2010-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE COOKING BLOG AND ENTER TO WIN!

seven years of plenty.....

2010-08-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I can't help but think how depressing it is to be at the time in our lives that we are starting our family, trying to prepare a good future for that family and trying to gain some sort of financial security or goals..... not to mention bask in the freedom we are just embarking on after living with our parents for 4/5ths of our lives thus far, only to be trampled on by this ugly economy. I will be the first to say that we are not sitting as pretty as we would like to but are still being blessed tremendously and my husbands work is wonderful..... We are at a time when some of our homes are not an asset of wealth but a burden. Some of us are living with parents once again when we just felt we left. Some don't even have jobs to provide for their families or money in the bank. This economic crisis hit as we were just getting started.... I have heard of 7 years of plenty comes seven years of famine but what if the famine hits first? I will tell you what I have gained from all of this......
Humility, Faith, Gratitude, to see that material things do not bring joy but people do, to hold on a little longer and pray a little harder and to realize things will always work out....they just do.
And when I really think about it I think how great it is that I have the chance to learn all these things right off the bat as our family is just starting, and that I can carry this throughout our life instead of wishing I had know this years ago. I am learning the importance of a savings account, to stay away from debt and that we are always in His watchful care... and if that doesn't lift my spirits kissing these cheeks always does....

I just got a $50 Gap giftcard for $25.....

2010-08-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of GROUPON?? Every day I get an e mail with a local buisness bargain for 50%-75% off. Elizabeth is getting private swim lessons for a STEAL and yes I just got today this Gap giftcard for $50 but only spent $25. I'm optimistic you will LOVE it as much as I do, plus I just like the suprise of what the deal is of the day CLICK HERE to sign up!

LIFE....

2010-08-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

Did you know I truly and honestly believe life is supposed to be a challenge...... to test us and try us....But I also know we can have complete and utter joy during this life as well....... And sometimes for a brief second we get a glimpse of heaven on earth....

and most of my glimpses of heaven include these two cuddled up close to me....

and all of my glimpses of heaven include Mr husband of course......

I.AM.BLESSED.....

P.S. I made my dress and Elizabeth's dress shown here and want to give some hand made dresses away very soon, stay tuned:)

2010-08-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

This is a GIVEAWAY I could really use........

pitty party for one....

2010-08-12T20:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was one of those days.... I could not even blog about it at the time. I was sick again, Reed was sick again and Elizabeth had far too much energy for me to keep up with. As Reed took a nice 2 hour morning nap yesterday I closed my eyes on the couch to try to feel a bit better myself. I took out everything needed for Elizabeth to create a beautiful picture as I closed my eyes... I woke up to one of our new kittens crossing the living room floor...this orange ish cat was now full on pink. I rushed to my feet to find a pink stamp pat at the scene of the crime..... already feeling like a neglectful mother I went to get Reed who had recently woken up....my head was pounding, my body aching and my glands in my neck swollen and throbbing. I felt defeated, I felt like this was all too much for me today, mothering, being sick, keeping things in order, caring for someone besides my sick self and little miss started a screaming fit right in the middle of my own melt down..... the tears just came streaming down my face but luckily at the same time so did my faith... I instantly turned to prayer.... not just asking but begging for comfort from feeling sick, pleading for desire and strength to comfort my children and care for them this day and help to make it through this day. It felt good just to cry and KNOW Someone was listening, He was listening. The events didn't change instantly but throughout the day things went smoother. I had a bit more energy, Reed was more content and calmed down as I held him and Elizabeth was calmer and more helpful. I listened to hymns and the peace that the spirit brings entered into our home and into my being and my burden was lightened. And today when I woke up I was excited to do the laundry because I felt good enough to do it...... amazing how trials put things into perspective for me and help me to once again remember the big picture:)

oh the things they say.......

2010-08-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today as little miss Elizabeth was telling me what to do I said," no Elizabeth I am the parent and you are the child." to which her reply was." No, I'm a child of God.... and momma's a child of God and Reed's a child of God and dadda's a child of God." All I could do was agree, give her a hug and forget about what it was I was disciplining her for....

Giveaway winner, "how to" and ANOTHER APRON GIVEAWAY...

2010-08-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

To enter to win one of my aprons along with a yr subscription to Martha Stewart Living Magazine click HERE!

As for the HOW TO I promised......

I'm OPTIMISTIC you can make this too.....

Trace a onesie or free hand the outline of a leotard onto cardboard (box of diapers)

Take selected fabric, wrap it around and glue it to the back using a hot glue gun.... Next you will cut some tulle (tutu fabric)..... about 6'' x 12'' (feel free to do several layers). With needle and thread and weave in and out to slightly gather the tulle, place a knot to secure the end and then glue it to the front the fabric. Next add the criss cross ribbons across the chest and then a thick ribbon across the mid section where you glued on the tulle (tutu fabric). Lastly glue a ribbon to the back for hanging as well as glue flowers or pearls or rine stones to the tutu part..... Feel free to e mail with questions...my next how to, "I'm optimistic you can do this" will be more detailed I promise:)

And the weekend giveaway winner goes to.....

Jenna said...
That is adorable! I just got my girls pink and black bedding for their new beds so this would match their room perfect! You are so crafty, I tried on my sisters apron she won from you and it is so cute. I want to try to make one! And I am already a follower!

PLEASE E MAIL ME YOUR SHIPPING INFO!

Last chance for Weekend Giveaway!!!

2010-08-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Up for grabs this weekend is a bow holder for your little princess (this would also make a great baby shower gift).... HOW TO WIN.....

1. LEAVE A COMMENT FOR 1 ENTRY

2. BECOME A FOLLOWER FOR 1 ADDITIONAL ENTRY....

giveaway ends Sunday night 9PM and there will be a tutorial on how to make these in case you didn't win!

Welcome to my kitchen...

2010-08-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Jenny & I spruced up our cooking blog and it has added features as well as easier navigation to find recipes...Check it out.... http://www.envymycooking.blogspot.com/ and if you have not e mailed us a recipe before now is a good time to add your recipes and join in on the fun!

2010-08-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

The times I get the most pessimistic are when...... I hear of a new virus going around or disease... I ALWAYS think we are going to catch it. Sometimes I even get to the point that I think something really awful and tragic could happen. I get really scared of loosing one of my children or even my husband. I think this all stems from loosing my sister at a young age and then my mom 3 yrs ago. I have been through the trials of death and know how much it sucks and how hard it is. Sometimes I think what if my husband never came home from work that day.... I pray everyday that he is safe and makes it home to us in safety but whenever the 4 of us are not together I always worry about whoever it is that is away. I always push the thought aside and focus on the good and the blessing we have but today as the quick thought passed through my mind I wondered if this incredible man really knows how much I love him?
If I am trying everyday to show him.....and if he knows how much joy he brings into my day, everyday. I want him to know that I am thankful for him and the nights we spend cuddled to a movie and a treat. That I adore him and would do anything for him. I want my kids to know how lucky they are to be raised by two people who still today are head over heels for one another... and I want to remind myself to cherish those little moments.... don't think about the dishes while we kiss and don't let a day pass by without reminding him how much you really love him....

2010-07-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my kids PLAY IN THE RAIN....

Sometimes THEY stay up way past their bedtime because they are just too cute to put to bed....

Sometimes my children swing wearing nothing but a smile....

Sometimes I let my kids eat cake batter with raw eggs as an ingredient.....

Sometimes I disagree with parenting magazines.....

Sometimes my daughters face is just to pretty to wash before bed.....

Don't ever let anyone make you feel like you are not doing things right just because you are doing things a little different. There is not just one right way to do something including mothering your children... I have learned the difference between me being a good mother and me being a great mother is.... not listening to others but listening to my heart:)

Can you spell that for me....

2010-07-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

When I was in the third grade my classmates and I were tested to see if we could be in an accelerated learning program. I did not pass the test. My two older sisters passed the test and were in the class as well as my older brother and a year later my younger brother. My mom had me take the test again thinking that something went wrong and I should surely be in there if my older siblings were.....

I have realized in my years of growing up that there are things I am just plain not good at...... spelling, math, waking up early, eating nutritiously instead of crud, getting out of PJ's before lunch, playing a music instrument (many more things).

Fast forwarding to present day..... I just finished a homemade quilt for my son, this weekend I made my nephew a Thomas the Train birthday cake, I have finished a sprint triathlon this year and I biked 38 miles this past Saturday on my road bike, I have made my daughter dresses and bows and I can cook well enough to make my families tummy happy. I have come to realize there are things that others may be good at or wonderful at and I need to be happy and support their greatness. I try to never be jealous of others accomplishments or talents but remember that I have talents and have had accomplishments of my own that make me who I am.

I learn as time goes by to focus in on the talents and skills I posses because that is what makes me happy. To not worry what others can do or if they are better at me at something and try to remember my own worth.

We will all be old someday...

2010-07-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

Mr. husband really is amazing inside and out. Amazing for instance when he stopped yesterday to help an elderly man who was broken down on the side of the road. The man had a flat and his spare tire was bad as well. This husband of mine took the tire off, took it to Discount tire, had a new tire put on the rim and returned to the elderly man and then placed the new tire on his car and sent him on his way. I can't tell you what joy this man had on his face and gratitude for my husband. I fell in love all over again with this husband of mine and his ability to help. And then I thought about many many years down the road.... when my Reed will one day become an elderly man. I hope and pray that if he is ever in this situation that a young man will come to his rescue. When I think about others and then think of them in a sense that they are someones child and that this mother would want their child taken care of just as I want my children taken care of I cant help but want to do something. I have had times where I try to avoid eye contact with the homeless on the corner, or the person taking 8 years to cross the road when I need to turn right at the light but then as soon as I think of them as someones child I cant help but have love towards them. And to sum it up I know they all are someones child and that is our Father in Heavens child....each and every one of us, even that nasty lady who made that nasty comment to you that one time (she was probably having a bad day and I'm sure didn't mean it).And if that doesn't do it for you to be nice....well I do believe in KARMA.

When I'm feeling blue....

2010-07-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have those days....you know the ones you can't even blog about because people may just see how imperfect you are... well I am very imperfect and have those days creep up on me from time time. Days I don't feel good enough, days I don't feel liked. Days when things just seem too hectic or overwhelming. Those are the days that I turn to one thing to help me get through it.... I have learned that service for others can do wonders. It doesn't matter if it is doing something special for your husband, best friend or even bringing dinner to a family in need, it just makes me feel good, makes me feel needed and even if I don't feel like anyone likes me I know my Father in Heaven does and I can feel that more as I serve. I challenge you next time on your cruddy day to do something special for someone..even if its your kids, some how it turns me from thinking..."wo is me" to what I can do for someone.... I promise it will make things brighter:)

2010-07-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

I read a post on a friends blog and it was just the dose of optimism that I needed.... click HERE to read it.....

optimistic about this week....

2010-07-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

I'm going into this upcoming week more focused and goal oriented. Nothing major, just a few things that I feel will help me get more out of my week and enjoy it more. I just sat down and wrote out each day...goals for that day,what to make for dinner and things planned. I wrote down different ideas for activities to do with the kids and chores/projects to accomplish during nap time. I want the TV off in our home and more learning and fun taking place. I hate going to make dinner and nothing comes to mind or I'm missing an ingredient. I hate having a day go by and not feeling like I planned it well enough to really enjoy the day and get the most out of it. I want to sit on the floor and play pretend with the kids because I have set time aside to do so and have balance between all the things that are on the agenda each day. I'm going into this week optimistic that it will be great, rewarding, more structured and less stressful, making me a happier me.

Faces that make me smile....

2010-07-17T23:40:00.000-07:00

Our recent California trip....

2010-07-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

The beach....

naps in the car.....

Disneyland...

Happy birthday to me...

2010-07-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

Today I turn 25.... with a husband I love, two kids, a house and a dog I feel blessed. Off to I hop to get cheesecake pancakes with the kids and mr. husband who took the day off work for me ....my idea of a perfect birthday.

live in the moment...

2010-07-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today I caught myself smiling as I was unloading sippy cups and baby bottles from the dishwasher. Although it is a mundane event in my day today I thought about how happy I was to be at this point in my life.....with a dishwasher full of sippies, hand prints on the sliding glass window and spaghetti on the floor. It is wonderful, all that it involves because it is my life, my day, my each and every second that I can either muscle through or enjoy and make the most of. I'm learning to bask in this time of life I'm in and take it for all its worth sippies to unload and all.
p.s. tomorrow I'm one year older and wiser too:)

2010-07-13T22:08:00.000-07:00

PLEASE tell me you have been taking advantage of all the new recipes being shared on jenny and my cooking blog at www.envymycooking.blogspot.com and we would love to post your favorite recipes! just e mail us at envy.my.cooking@gmail.com....

Mommy and me....

2010-07-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

Me, age two at disneyland....My daughter, age two disneyland....

I didn't see this coming....

2010-07-11T12:52:00.001-07:00

" Karla would you be a nursery teacher?"....... I replied yes when asked but thought about it that night and literally cried. It wasn't a hard cry like it was something horrible, just a disappointed cry. Disappointed that I would not be in relief society, baby free for an hour, be spiritually fed and able to meet new sisters in the ward.
I was really nervous to start in this class of 9 children ranging in ages 18 months to 3years, but today was my first day. I walked into this class and the children came in one by one. The toys were taken out and they began to play. I sat on the floor and watched them play as well as took part in some of the imaginary play going on. We had music time and it was joyful to see them sing about the Savior. Then it came time for snacks and after that was the lesson. I gave a lesson on being reverent and listening to the spirit. I told them that we need to be quiet.... as i whispered, and fold out our arms.... and listen and we could feel the spirit this way and Jesus' love. As I was telling them this I felt the spirit, I had to hold back crying for fear of scaring them, and I could not believe how wonderful this opportunity was to be a nursery teacher. Here I was disappointed when this is the most rewarding thing I feel I could be doing these two hours at church, how lucky I am to have this calling and feel the spirit and be spiritually fed. I feel so blessed to be able to teach these sweet children of Jesus and His love for them and feel that love as I teach. I had my testimony strengthened by these sweet children of God and their sweet spirits. I carried on the lesson by having us jump and wiggle and them I would say 1...2....3... be reverent and we would all stop the jumping and wiggling and be quiet and fold our arms and feel the peace that came in the reverence, they all did so well! And the last part of my lesson was having them all color ears that were strapped to a strip of construction paper and they could wear them as listening ears.... they were all so cute. I can't say how happy and excited I am about my new calling as well as the sister I was called to serve with, she is such an example to me as well. As I was in there I realized how I feel so much more at home and calmer being that I am surrounded by little children. Sometimes I feel in relief society with all the sister in there I get a little nervous and socially awkward but not in here. This left me excited to go home and share more of these moments with my own children, new ideas for play and learning about our Savior and so once again I am taught to trust in Him, and I know I truly will be led to happiness.

Friends.....

2010-07-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

A friend to me is a phone call that leaves you feeling whole.
A shoulder that always seems to be there when you need it.
Someone who loves you for who you are.
Somone who is not afriad to be silly with you. Someone who cries with you in the hard times, and laughs with you in the great times.
A friend is someone who just gets you.
A warm embrace.

Although I have had friendships that have lasted me years and some besties I have not talked to in ages.... once a friendship is formed and ties are made there is always something special about those friends. Thanks to all my friends over my years whom I still consider besties, from 1th grade to now, I adore you all:)

2010-07-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Reeds birthday cake....

2010-07-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

For my son Reed, I made him a birthday cake for his special day last Tuesday....

Now you see it....

Now you don't.....

Today....

2010-07-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today I did not leave the house,
Today I did not stress.
Today I did not have a play date or even turn my phone on.
Today I enjoyed my children and I smiled A LOT.
Today I felt I did the best I could as a mother.
Today I made dinner but only spent 20 minutes on it. ( crockpot!)
Today I took the nap I always turn down and cuddled next to my 2 yr old.
Today I gave her pink milk, pink eggs, pink apple sauce.
Today I tickled my ONE YR OLD son until he went silly.
Today we hid under tables and ran from room to room.
Today we laughed.
Today my son wore nothing but a dipaer.
And today was another grand and glorious day as a mother to two babies.
Nothing too fancy, no big accomplishment but perfect as could be.

Our 4th Of July....

2010-07-07T19:53:00.001-07:00

WAS BLISSFUL! We took the 4 hr. drive to Heber Arizona to enjoy the fireworks in cooler weather. Porters parents have a cabin in the area and there is nothing better then a small town firework show. We got there while the sun was still up and porter and I both ran into old friends and some of his family while there. We watched the cousins play, Elizabeth give aunt Christine "frog kisses" and ate at all the booths set up. Then the sun started to set. The weather dropped dramatically and we put our sweaters on and got bundled in our blankets. The show was starting and Porter and I lay side by side with baby Reed in the middle. Sweet Elizabeth was on the other side of me with her head on my chest. We were all bundled with blankets and the cold air on our cheeks. Our babies layed perfectly still while the colors burst in the air above. In that moment I could not help but think how PERFECT this moment was. I would not have changed a single thing about it. The fireworks were so close that we could see the ashes falling around us and feel each and every boom and burst. I thought in that moment of perfectness how grateful I am for these moments. How thankful I am for the not so perfect moments as well because it made this moment that much sweeter. Oh how I love my sweet family.

Happy Birthday to.....

2010-07-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

My Son. Today you turn one my sweet boy..... what a wonderful first year it has been. You are the perfect addition to our family. You have such a happy energy about you, and there are days I'm in a bad mood but can just watch you laugh and play and I can't help but be in a great mood. You make some of the cutest faces and several times a day you smile so big that your eyes shut. You love to clap, wave bye, sing and DANCE. You love music and wiggle and groove to anything. You often find a note and try to sing with songs and you sing along with sissy when she tries to sing like Ariel. You love to cuddle when it comes time to fall asleep and always have to hold onto my hair while falling asleep. When you wake up you always hold momma tight and give what seems to be a tight hug:) You rarely cry, unless you have another one of your ear infections, and you love dogs as well. When ever dad come home you get so excited and go right for him to wrestle and play. Dad does such a good job at getting all your energy out and making you laugh. You love your sissy, Elizabeth, too. The two of you have the cutest little games and activities you come up with. I love you my sweet son and and so thankful to be your momma.

Peace in trials....

2010-06-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

There is sickness in our home once again. Blah. I get so stressed out worrying about the health of my family. This time it is baby Reed again. Temperature since Friday that has reached 102.5 at times. Many showers to cool him down, a trip to the dr, a trip to urgent care, vomiting, prescriptions x2. Mom stressed, dad exhausted and big sissy now saying she is a sick baby, pretend crying saying waa waa, baby sick hold me. It could be so much worse, I know this but still struggle during each illness we seem to catch every month. I just spent the last hour with my sick son sleeping on my chest and hymns playing softly in the back round on the speakers. I am once again reminded to take the good from each situation. It has been nice to have a cuddly little boy vs. my little ball of anti cuddle energy, although I would much rather have him well I can't deny that he has been the sweetest little guy these past few days to cuddle with. I'm just working on him getting all better so he can fully enjoy his FIRST BIRTHDAY next week.

cheetos anyone?

2010-06-26T12:43:00.001-07:00

I usually dont talk too much about this.....

2010-06-24T13:45:00.000-07:00

I feel like maybe I didn't deal with my moms death the healthiest way...... I just didn't talk much about it. I still don't really. I don't like to cry, or bring things that make me sad into my thoughts too often, but it's something that happened and talking about it helps me remember her and feel closer to her as we are coming up on her being gone 3years next month. There are a few things I really want to document for my own children, especially little Elizabeth to read in case she ever feels she may not be important or have a purpose.....

I always thought babies were cute but never found myself "baby hungry" until one particular time in my life. As soon as the hunger struck I could not think about anything else except getting pregnant and having a baby. Luck would have it that one try led to a positive pregnancy test. I was sitting on our bed one night talking with Porter and I just started crying. I said," I know we are pregnant, I can just feel it, and I know it is a girl." A week later the pee stick confirmed this. We drove up to Mesa that weekend so we could tell the family. We told porters parents over dinner at Mattas along with some of his siblings. Then it came time to tell my parents. I was so excited, seeing that this was to be their FIRST grandchild. I called my mom and said,"We are coming over to see you guys before we head back home." She replied," Good, I will invite your brothers over too." We walked inside and everyone was around the dinner table. I was so excited to share the news I could barley contain myself. My parents right off the bat said they had something they needed to tell us. My dad said," mom has brain cancer, and lung cancer as well, it is stage 4 and inoperable." Instantly I felt as if a ton of bricks had hit me to say the least, like the air was knocked out of me, like any excited or good feeling was stolen right out of my being. I instantly started balling and turned to my mother on my left looking into her eyes I pleaded," You can't go anywhere, you are going to be a grandma." Her deep brown eyes turned so warm, comforting, and loving as she asked," Are you pregnant?" I could not even speak so I just nodded. My mom wrapped her arms around me but it wasn't the blissful congratulations I had dreamed about. It was a very bitter but still sweet moment. I then knew why this little one was due to come at this time in my life, in my entire families life. She was our hope, our light, the only thing that could Brighten the situation ( where her middle name came from Brighten). And she did just that. The days turned to weeks and the weeks into a few short months....my mom got sicker, weaker and less coherent. Her last x ray confirmed it had spread and we were told she had about 2 weeks. A few days after my dad had told me her weeks were few was when it was confirmed I was indeed going to have a daughter. We drove straight to my parents house to tell them the news and my mom was on many medications to give her comfort at this time. I remember her laying on the couch and telling her I was going to have a girl. She repeated,"its a girl" and that was the last time I really felt like she was focused enough to understand what I was saying. This was all on a Thursday and she passed that Sunday afternoon. I can remember having times where I would be driving in my car and have the deepest sorrow all around me. I can remember at that same time feeling complete comfort knowing I was not alone but indeed had this little girl right inside keeping me company. I remember questioning why my mom had to be taken before she could even meet this little one but also feeling grateful that Elizabeth was not here and didn't have to see me this sad or depressed. It gave me 4 months to heal and refocus on all that I have been blessed with instead of what I had lost. I learned in this time that our Father in Heaven will never give us a trial that we can not handle. You may need something or someone to help get you through but you will get through it. I have learned when times are hard that is when you must focus on what you have been given the most. I have learned to be grateful for all I have been given and not take for granted the people you love the most. I have learned to send that random card or e mail that says you care, and why, because you will never regret it, but only regret not doing so. And I have gained a testimony that these precious children do not just come on coincidence but come at an exact time with a definite purpose. This is just the beginning of my sweet Elizabeth's greatness I know and she has the most wonderful guardian angel to help her along:)

I came downstairs.....

2010-06-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

and found mr. husband asleep on the couch, and guess what I did..... yes layed right on top of him and he wrapped his all encompassing arms around me. I can honestly say this is the best my marriage has ever been, I am in L.O.V.E. and I don't say this to have anyone ooh or ahhh over it but simply to put into words for myself the things I have started to realize about marriage and myself. I have learned to loosen up and be easier on the person I love the most. I have learned that a little time to ourselves equals better time when we are together. I have learned to cuddle close at the end of the day instead of whisk off to myself time and I have learned to never stop giving my all to the person you are to love most.
Last night mr. husband decided to watch my favorite show with me after the kids were asleep. He thought the men on the show were so lame that he laughed out loud. He has this contagious laugh so I was L.O.L. too, this somehow turned into him saying there was something in his ice cream and he had a nice case of the randoms and we just laughed. It had been a while. I don't know if its that I'm not pregnant, not suffering from the loss of my mom as bad, or that I'm getting a full nights sleep finally but we are just clicking. Its only been 5yrs we have been married but it has sure had its challenges. Not to say they are over but I am starting to see the circle of a marriage.....happiness..... happiness is tested..... if you endure and work together in less happiness......more happiness is achieved..... and thus I am in most happiness as of now. Optimistic it will stay this way though.

Hope your day was......

2010-06-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Besides getting all the family laundry done today. We had such a good Family Home Evening tonight. I have been asked by several people to share my FHE ideas so I thought I would tell the details plus I know I will love to go back and read this years from now......

Our family home evening consisted of

Opening song: I am a child of God

Opening prayer: Momma

Lesson: mommy...... The lesson was on examples, Christs example and us being an example to others. I told Elizabeth that Christ is our greatest example and He was baptized to be an example. I told her He is happy and kind to everyone and that should be how we are too. I tried to explain that Reed looks up to her as an example and she should choose the right and listen to momma and daddy so Reed can learn to do it too. I shared my testimony with her and told her that I know Christ walked the earth and that He is our Savior and that Jesus loves Elizabeth very much. To which she replied," Jesus loves momma, Jesus loves Daddy, Jesus loves Reed." (I just about started balling.)

We then sang the song DO AS I'M DOING (FOLLOW FOLLOW ME). I would do actions and be the EXAMPLE and she would follow, then she got to be the EXAMPLE and dance to the song and I would follow. We all had a good laugh at the sweet moves a 2yr old can make.

Closing song: Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.

Closing prayer: Daddy

Game: Hungry Hungry Hippos

Dessert: vanilla ice cream

The night was filled with GIGGLES.... TEACHING... and the sweet spirit:)

Happy Fathers Day.....

2010-06-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Porter is the type of dad who makes it fun to brush your teeth.

The kind of dad who can take all the energy out of a rambunctious 11 month old,

and the kind of dad who knows how to make scary alligators, monsters, and monkey go away every nigh before bed. Thanks for being the dad you are Porter.

And Fathers Day isn't Fathers Day without the mention of my own father. He is kind, sweet, and I see a whole new side of him when he is with his grandchildren (that I love). He is a wonderful example to me. Love you dad

Why I should not watch TV

2010-06-15T23:01:00.000-07:00

so I like to watch the Bachelorette....It is one of my MANY imperfections..... but I love the show. Last night as I watched I thought to myself," I wish my husband was this cute to me, or did this, or said that." I get like that sometimes....you know ....stupid girl syndrome. Then today Elizabeth wanted to watch our wedding video. It just so happens we celebrated our 5 YR anniversary while on our recent Cali trip. So we put in the video and I cried for the 100th time watching it and I saw that sweet, innocent, new love that I saw in my lame show the previous night but I saw so much more. I saw an eternal love and today I see an evolved love. I see a man who may not surprise me with roses but a man who takes the kids early in the morning on the weekends so mom can sleep.( so much better then roses) A man who stays up late to have time with me even if he has to wake up with the sun the next day. A man who loves me with the 30 lbs I gain and TRY to loose each pregnancy, and a man who adores me thru and thru and who isn't afraid to show it. I forget that this marriage of mine is REAL not some TV show, and that although everyday may not have some blog worthy story it still adds to the pages of my love story that I am so lucky to be a part of. I am blessed.

Feeling a bit....

2010-06-09T15:26:00.001-07:00

Tired! We had a week long visit to California and went to Disneyland , the beach, San diego zoo and Sea World. Thus my lack of blogging but I'm optimistic you all missed me as much as I missed reading everyones blogs.....Here is just a glimpse of how worn out be became.... Picture is taken at Disneyland where Elizabeth is wearing her princess dress, tinkerbell wings and has her face painted. There was nothing sweeter then seeing a 2 yr old little girl have all her princess movies come to life. More pictures and details to come....when I'm not so tired!

arpon winner is.....

2010-05-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

ANDREA MOORE! I would say for this cute girl to e mail me but since you live a rock throw away I will be hand delivering this baby! Thanks for everyone who participated!

Apron Giveaway!!!!

2010-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

I made this for YOU, yes YOU and I am OPTIMISTIC that you will win it. You should be optimistic too. Since this blog is dedicated to turning myself into an optimistic wife and mother to two I made something for YOU. . . (scroll down on how to win) so fun, this apron has three pockets on the front to keep all your goodies...

1.I am doing a monthly give away, become a follower of my blog and you will instantly be entered into each drawing for one opportunity to win each give away every month!!! already a follower? You are already entered.

2.Leave a comment for an entry to win.

3.Place a post on your blog about my give away with the link and you will be rewarded 5 entries

4. Add my button to your blog for 5 entries.

This give away will end Friday night at 9pm!

one more suprise......

If you want a chance to win another one of my aprons go to jenny and my cooking blog by clicking HERE!

Help me sew....

2010-05-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned in my last post about my sister.....she will most likely be having a micro preemie here in the next couple weeks. As soon as I found out about this and she was admitted into the hospital I instantly felt a huge desire to serve her. I had a rush of ideas come to my mind and I became really excited to help.....

One thing I felt I was prompted to do was make a quilt for her new baby. I was not able to find time during the week until Thursday night and I was going to see her Friday. Thursday night I went and purchased some fabric and came home and got started after putting the kids to bed...Mr. husband put on a movie and I worked away. I did not think I would finish it but felt prompted to be OPTIMISTIC and trust in HIM. I started working on it and finished it so quickly I could not believe it. I really felt like I was helped all along the way. This project of service taught me that if He prompts you to do something He will give you the ability to accomplish whatever it is He desires for you to do, I learned I just need to be willing and be an instrument in His hands. It was not me making this quilt I felt, It was Him giving me the talent and desire to serve one of His children. I just wanted to document it because It was a learning experience for me and gave me a greater desire to serve more:)

p.s. join me here monday for another apron give away:)

Let's shop.....

2010-05-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

(Elizabeth checking Reeds diaper for poop....they really do watch and learn from us)

My sweet sister is in the hospital, 26 weeks pregnant and her cervix is thinning..... her dr. thinks she will deliver before she hits 28 weeks. I wanted to help by getting her some preemie clothes since her little guy is obviously going to be tiny. There is a lot of stress and concerns that are in the air right now and they won't know much until the baby is born and they will go from there. My sister is hanging in there and staying positive and being such a good mom to this baby already by obeying her doctors every command.....

So I really wanted to get her some preemie clothes but the store I wanted to go to is about 25 minutes away. I didn't want to take both my kids and deal with all the driving and shopping in the mall and any tantrums that would take place.... I debated about staying home or going. I thought it was going to be so much work to do this errand and I figured I could go some other time.....

We went today, Elizabeth, Reed and I and guess what....we had a wonderful time. The kids were good, Reed fell asleep and Elizabeth and I had lunch just the two of us. I found great deals like church shirts for reed for $4. And I enjoyed my kids and being out of the house. I wonder how many things I miss out on just by thinking the worst will happen. I need to quit that and just go for it like today because we really had a beautiful time!

My kids.....

2010-05-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

I always knew this was when I would be my happiest. Growing up this is what I would picture as perfection, my husband and my little children running around. Although it is filled with its hard times, in my eyes there is nothing more wonderful then these days as a mother and I will take all the hard times to enjoy the perfect times. . . .

Elizabeth is almost 2 1/2 years. She loves when she gets to play mom and loves pushing her baby brother in her doll stroller around the backyard. She loves anything princess and snow white and Ariel are her favorites and then comes Tinkerbell. Everything pink she assumes is hers, when she wears a dress she says ,"princess Aurora" (sleeping beauty) and has me call her momma all the time now unless she is in the bath and then its Ariel. She is learning so fast and knows her alphabet uppercase and is starting to learn her lowercase. She has a love for rice crispy treats and mac and cheese. Her favorite veggie is green beans and fruit is watermelon. She sings her own made up songs several times a day and is awesome at praying, even blesses the food and each person in our family and my brother, his g.f and my dad too. Elizabeth is silly and she and her baby brother sometimes just sit and laugh together....makes my heart melt. She is our princess.

Reed is 10 months. Nothing but smiles, this child is wild. Gets into everything, crawls just laughing to himself like,"this mom of mine has no idea what I have planned for her when I'm walking." I'm scared.... this is going to be an adventure raising this child. We are considering taking out an accident policy on AFLAC to cover the stitches and broken bones I just know are in the future. He climbs on things his sister would never even think of climbing. He never sits still. When I feed him food he sits still until I bring the spoon to his mouth and then times it perfectly to hit it out of my hand and watch the mess go everywhere. He is a joy and has control over my heart. My son loves carrots and bananas the most and hates texture of any kind when it comes to food. This little guy crawls so fast and gets into absolutely everything he can. He loves his sissy and smiles just to see her. He once grabbed her hair as she was walking past his high chair and slammed her head into the table. He didn't know what he did but he is just full of energy. He loves to suck on my chin and lick Mr husbands chin when he has facial hair. His eyes are as blue as blue can be. He fills our home with baby loving goodness.

Its 5:52pm....

2010-05-15T20:09:00.000-07:00

We are on our way home with our family of four from the Gila Valley Temple open house. Mr. Husband taking care of us as usual in the drivers seat, Elizabeth in the seat behind him, Reed next to her and then there's me by the window. The sun is on its way to setting, shining into the car, giving the most beautiful rays right onto our faces. Bringing beauty and light all around us. The spirit is here. . . . "I need thee every hour" from the album nearer is playing. How true the verse is, Oh how I know I need my Savior every hour, every second is more like it. My thoughts turn towards the four of us in the Celestral room....the peace,the beauty, the love. The promise I have to have this family of mine for the eternities. It would not be heaven without them. I'm writing this draft on a receipt....Life......it's real, it's short, it's purpose is to prove our love and obedience to our Father in Heaven. To serve. To follow Him and stand for His truth at all times. To learn, even to fall and to turn to Him for the strength to get up again. To raise these babies of mine and teach them of Him and let them feel of His love and others who I may come in contact with. (note to self) Remember this Karla the next time you worry about the small very unimportant things.Life is short, eternity is not, stay focused and live your life pleasing to Him. Remember this sweet spirit in the car with your family and do all in your power to keep this this spirit of Him near for there is nothing more beautiful.

We missed you today ...

2010-05-13T01:02:00.000-07:00

mr. husband, sometimes i wish you didn't have to work. days like today we would have had fun. You could have been included while we went grocery shopping at our favorite market. Im sure you would have stopped by the salt water taffy stand and picked youself a few to eat...
I know if you were as well behaved as Elizabeth you would have pleasantly suggested we get some candy from this same market. You would have enjoyed going right next door to our favorite bakery where they have the most delicious breads and baked goods. Would you have picked shortbread cookies with spinkles like I did? Or a happy face cookie like your daughter?
At home I know you would have enjoyed eating lunch outside with your girls...and watching your daughter play in the yard and pick flowers for her momma...

I know we would have shared some kisses under the sun.....or helped me tend the garden and sit and eat peas right from the vine.....You would have enjoyed spending quality time with your son reading books like I did I'm sure.

And I know you would have let your daughter paint your toes this morning as she did mine. . . are they beautiful or what?......

And I know you would have had fun helping me cook this for dinner (for the recipe click HERE)

But then again I am optimistic that is why everything seems so perfect in the evening because that is when we are all together and we appreciate that time all the more.

Todays talk. . . .

2010-05-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

This week consisted of. . . Baby Reed having croup, teething and an ear infection, me having a sprint triatholon and giving a talk in church today. So to fill you in on it all I am posting the talk I gave today in church......My talk was on my role as a daughter of God being a mother, enjoy and happy mothers day to everyone too!

All growing up my parents would ask me, ”Karla when you grow up how many kids do you want to have?” my reply was always the same, I would reply,” as many as I can get.” Just the other day when we were over at my dads house I had Elizabeth who was throwing a temper tantrum and reed at the same time spitting his baby food right at my implying he was finished. I looked over to my dad who had a big smile across his face as he said,” do you still want as many as you can get?”
This brings me to my talk today which is my role as a daughter of God being a mother.
Growing up I had this vision in my head that motherhood would be nothing but pure bliss. This vision included me with my children playing outside, the kids being sweet and well mannered and my of course having myself ready for the day and a home made dinner cooking inside. In this same vision my house was spotless, my sink empty and of course no laundry.
Two kids and a reality check later I find motherhood to be a very different reality. It is still blissful in moments but this is real life motherhood and it teaches me so much more then I could have ever imagined in some daydream years ago. My mothering experience has moments where I want to throw in the towel, but endure to the end and find strength I never knew I had. This motherhood story I’m living faces 6ft tall piles of laundry that give me the sense of accomplishment when finished. And this mothering experience challenged me last week with a sick baby that had me up all night, leaving me feeling tired, un showered and overwhelmed at times but led me to turn to my Father in Heaven for help, comfort, and guidance and in return I was able to grow closer to my Father in Heaven as I trusted and turned to Him.
During this past week as we were trying to get by with our Reed being sick, if you were to have stopped by you would have seen a messy house, a sink full of dishes and empty in and out burger wrappers on the table. One may have thought I was a bit of a lazy mother of that I wasn’t doing a great job of mothering as both my kids were crying in harmony. You would have not known that all my energy was being put towards what was most important and that was bringing comfort day and night to my sick baby and other things were put on hold this week.
Although I am not perfect at this, I find it so important not to judge mother to mother for we don’t know each others circumstances but we need to be loving, encourage and support on another. It is important we try our best day to be the best mothers we can be but knowing our best differs from others best.
Elder M. Russell Ballard said in his talk “ There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities and certainly different children. What matters most is that a mother loves her children deeply and in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else.” He also says that s mothers…”There are moments of great joy and incredible fulfillment but there are also moments of a sense of inadequacy and frustration. Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times but amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction” (close quote).
I for one have had my fair share of days where I feel a little inadequate as a mother. Days where I felt I had not taken enough time for my children during the day. I have also come to realize that as these moments of inadequacy come I have two options. I can be depressed about it or I can do something about it. I try to stop what I’m doing and put everything on hold while I sit and play with my kids, turn on some music and dance with them or just sit and cuddle a while. I try to take care of my children’s needs before any household obligations for I know they are at the age they need so much love and attention. Elder M Russell Ballard said,” I am impressed by countless mothers who have learned how important it is to focus on the things that can only be done in a particular season of life. It is crucial to focus on our children for the short time we have them with us and to seek with the help of the Lord to teach them all we can before they leave our homes. We need to remember that full time commitment of motherhood and of putting children first can be difficult. In this same talk Elder Ballard also guides us as he says,” Don’t overscheduled yourself or your children. If we are not careful, we will find every minute jammed with activities. Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen to laugh and to play together.” (close quote). It is also needed to be said that we sisters need some time to ourselves to charge the batteries as I like to say and as M Russell Ballard says,” sisters, find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life and make time for them. Water can not be drawn from an empty well and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even your children.” close quote just yesterday I finished a mini triathlon along with my sister in law. I took time each day to prepare for this by getting out and exercising. As I went about doing this I often turned to my Father in Heaven to direct me and help me find this time for myself as well as keep this time to myself within healthy limits for my family. Through Him I found a good balance. Each day as I would exercise I would find myself in a better mood, a more patient mother and a sense of accomplishment as well. Yesterday I swam the ½ mile swim and biked the 13 mile course and then ran 3 miles to the finish line where my children and husband saw me accomplishing a goal. My children, although very younger need to see examples of goals been met in life and hard work being essential to achieve these goals and who better to be an example of this then their mother. I have learned that moderation is key in so many things in life and that brings us to the next topic and which elder Ballard councils us to not allow ourselves to be caught up in the time wasting, mind numbing things like television, soap operas or surfing the internet.
This I have found to be true in my life. At nap time I like to pick up the house, get some sewing done or get dinner started. I could easily just sit and watch a show and relax a while and I have done just that some days. The days where I sit and watch TV or sit on the computer usually leave me with a feeling of being tired, lazy or sometimes even depressed a little. I have found If I work hard throughout the day and give it my all I feel so much more accomplished and it leaves more things getting done each day in return giving us more precious time as a family each night and on the weekends.
Another way to fulfill our roles as mothers the best we can is to pray, study and teach the gospel Pray deeply about your children and about your role as a mother. And for those who are not mothers I would like to say how essential you are to our creators plan as well. Sheri Dew said in a 2001 talk,” every one of us has an overarching obligation to model righteous womanhood because our youth may not see it anywhere else. Every sister in relief society which is the most significant community of women on this side of the veil is responsible to help our young women make a joyful transition into Relief Society. We are all mothers in Israel and our calling is to love and help lead the rising generation through dangerous streets of mortality.
Let me tell a quick story of my life. All growing up we had our aunt Katie, my dads sister who was unable to have children of her own. She was always there for every major event in our lives and we were always very close to her. 3 years ago when my sweet mother passed away from cancer Katie flew in for the funeral and was there for us. Although she is not my mother, she makes me feel the deep love and concern my mother had for me. My aunt Katie has the divine mothering ability instilled in her and shares this with me. I am so grateful for those women here on earth who do not have children but still fill this world with their beautiful mothering qualities.
I want to say in closing that I know times can be hard as mothers and I hope wee can all take time out to appreciate the sweet moments and draw from these moments when times are not so sweet. I hope we can remember this life is meant to test and try us but we have father in Heaven who is there when the weight gets to be too much, and I pray we turn to him always. I hope we as sisters can grow closer to one another while many of us are on similar paths of motherhood and that wee can draw strength from one another and encourage and support each other. I know I can gain knowledge from the sisters without children as well and I thank the sweet sisters who love and help me mother my children like my daughters sweet nursery teacher who keeps such a sweet spirit in her nursery classroom. I am grateful for an all knowing Father in Heaven who has a plan for me and for my family although it may not always be easy He is always near, loving me, and wanting me to succeed. I am thankful I was blessed with my mother on this earth and for her example to me for the 21 years of my life she was alive. I am so thankful for this church that helps me become the best mother I can be and better understand the mother my Father in heaven wants me to be. I am blessed with a husband who supports me in being a righteous mother and am amazed at when I follow the spirit I know I am on the path of motherhood that will best benefit me and my children. I have a testimony that our happiness is ours and no one can take that away from us, but we need to choose to be happy mothers and do all in our power each day to be this source of light, joy, and peace to our children by applying ourselves and striving to do all we can to have the spirit and to be the closest we can to our Father in Heaven. And above all I try to remind myself daily to have fun, cherish and find joy in my sweet children and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

I am optimistic that. . .

2010-05-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I will WIN this fun give away on this dear friends blog. . . GO HERE and be optimistic you will win too!

Meet Haze

2010-04-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

I am having one of those days. A day where I am trying to figure out who I am still. A day I may not be as confident as the previous day or the days ahead. A day that I can't complain about but a day that had me thinking. Where am I going with this life? What is this all about? Today for some reason I thought about something I witnessed and can not forget. . . .
About a year ago I was pregnant with baby boy and little miss was a year old. We decided it was time to have our backyard landscaped and cement poured. Mr husband found a nice man names Haze who was willing to do the work for a steal! He even traded us different things we had lying around the house for this work. It was almost finished when he said his last job never paid him and he now could not afford his rent and him, his wife and his three children would have to move to mesa to live with family until they could get back on their feet. We had already paid him for everything to be finished but he was not able to get it done before the move.
He drove up one day to finish what he had started. He was an honest man, a hard working man and a family man. His family all came with him. It was a hot day and I offered his wife and children to come inside and I would put on a movie but they said they would rather be outside. I repeated this gesture and continued to offer. Lunch time came around and I knew they had no income since they just moved and lost their home so I made a few pizzas and offered for them all to come inside for lunch. They said they preferred it outside and did not mind the heat but they would accept the pizza. I went outside to bring them some water and I will never forget what I saw once out there. I saw all five of them sitting together, close, some even cuddled together in a small section of shade eating their pizza and their faces showed complete and utter joy. They had no income, they had no residence of their own, their car was leaking gas in front of my house, but here they had each other and anyone could see they knew that was all they needed.
Too often do I find myself caring about things that really don't matter. Cute clothes yeah fun for 3 seconds, decorating my home. . . great until I'm sick of staring at the same color on the walls, my car. . . its nice but anything that keep us safe and takes us from point a to point be would work. As long as we have each other, the four of us, nothing else matters. I would much rather be the family in the shade with nothing but each other then the family that has their focus elsewhere. I guess this just reminded me when I don't feel like I fit in anywhere I fit in here. I fit in under an arm of the man who told me I was beautiful just as I stepped in the shower (stretch marks and all) tonight. I fit in when a little girl thinks I am beautiful Ariel after I take a shower and look my worst. I fit in when a little teething boy is comforted by me, not me with make up and a cute shirt or a small waistline, but me just the way I am and at the end of the day that is all I care about. I really do feel better after writing this. I can go to bed confident and feeling loved, because that's all we really want anyways, to feel loved and accepted. Well here is to a weekend full of family time outside in the shade, eating pizza and focusing on the best things in life.

You won't know until you try it!

2010-04-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

I guess all I can say from my lack of blogging these past two weeks is. . . I live my life and then blog about it, I don't live my life through blogging and lately there has just not been a moment to step away and blog. There was even a few days I didn't even turn on the computer and that is rare for me:) On my plate right now. . . .

1. Wanting to be the best mom I can be. More patient. More involved. More playful and silly. Last week in church we talked about what will help our children to be closer to the Savior and strengthen them for the years ahead. It really motivated me to focus even more on the little things each day that will teach my children the important things I want them to know and to help them be the happiest they can be!

2. Exercise! My wonderful sister in law has signed up to do a mini triathlon consisting of a 1/2 mile swim, 13 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run! It is coming up soon and I have been working hard these past 2 weeks to do this with her. Yes I know it is not adequate training for this event but I just want to finish it, not win it. I have been taking an hour each day to push myself for this thing. One day my sister in law and I rode our bikes 12 miles and then swam a quarter mile and Friday I was able to bike 5 miles, swim 1/2 mile and run a mile. I don't know why I didn't take time to work out my whole life. It makes me a calmer person, a happier person and I feel so great when I am done. I have had more energy with my kids and a stronger desire to push myself each day!

3. I really want to start sewing more and make more of my own clothes. I made this dress on Saturday night and wore it Sunday to church. It was rewarding to know I made this for less then $10 and It motivated me to develop this talent.

Trying new things like new exercise routines or new crafts like sewing takes a great deal of optimism in yourself and your abilities. I never knew I would enjoy these things until I tried them and applied myself more in life.

My Good Better Best. . . .

2010-04-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

Everyday it seems I am faced with different choices. Just today Miss priss crawled on my lap just as I was getting ready to go upstairs and do some laundry. I was at a crossroad between the two and it didn't make more then a second to realize what was the best thing to do at this exact moment and that was cuddling with a little girl who still wants to cuddle with her mamma for these few short years. I then knew this is what I would post about. . . .

I often think about a talk from the church I once heard titled"Good, Better, Best." in this talk it states:"We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives." (Dallin H. Oaks)

There are different opportunities all day long to make decisions and I often ask myself," What is the choice with the greatest importance, what is the best choice?" My decisions usually are geared towards the Gospel, family, personal growth, or service, most other things can take the back seat, wait until nap time or really years on certain things.

I am optimistic that as I continue to TRY to make the best decisions as they approach that I will not look back hoping things were different or regretting having my priorities in order. To read the rest of this talk. . . AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT CLICK........ HERE

7 days without blogging makes one weak.

2010-04-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

A week with out a post. Man. Where have I been? What have I been doing. A weekend out of town with a computer resulted in negligence on my part. The real adventure I was on this past weekend was running the 4.2 mile run for PATS RUN. I will start by saying I have never ran more then 2 miles at a time. My sister in law (the wonderful Christine!) said she was doing it and invited anyone who wanted to run it with her. I was leery but I was optimistic about being able to do it and I did. Without any walking! Nothing big for most but big for me:)It is a funny thing about running, its comparable to life in so many ways. Its hard, tiring. and sometimes you just want to give up, but when you put your heart into it, and give it your best, the feeling of enduring to the end is pure bliss.

Beautiful Tuesday

2010-04-13T20:13:00.000-07:00

I am at the close of this day and feeling. . . .good, optimistic, content.
Today I decided to give it my all.
I worked a little harder to get the house cleaned.
I played a little longer with my kids.
I relaxed a little less and had more energy.
I worked out a little harder and it felt great.
I ate a little healthier.
I prayed more sincerely.
I am now ready to cuddle a little later into the night and spend a little more time with this man of mine I miss so much all day long.
I woke up this day ready to give it my all, and I was optimistic I could live this day to the fullness of what I see to be focusing in on the most important things in my life. I know it was because I went into this day with the mind set that I was going to be in control of this day and make it the best it could be, and it was. . . a beautiful Tuesday.
AND ITS THE LAST 24 HOURS TO ENTER THE GIVE AWAY ON THIS BLOG:www.envymycooking.blogspot.com

2010-04-12T22:46:00.001-07:00

Why do I fight you?

Because I'm prideful

Because I am not perfect.

Because you are close to me and will always listen.

Because I PMS.

Because I am a girl.

Because I have hard days.

Because I know you will always make things better once I get this anger out!

Because you love me enough to fight me to reslove things. You never go to bed angry or walk away from anything that needs to be resolved. You will put your whole heart and soul into seeing that I am happy again. I don't fight you to see this passion from you but I sure do always appreciate it.

I hate when we fight, it is mostly on my end when it does happen, but I will say I love when we make up.

There is no excuse for my bickering with my best friend. I'm sorry my love. I will be better. Thank you for always being optimistic when I am not so optimistic. That is why this works, me and you, when one of us is down the other stands high to pull the other one up. It is wonderful in the sense that we learn to always rely on one another. Love you Mr husband.

hmmm.

2010-04-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying most of the locks in our house are on the outside of the door in order to keep children from going into rooms. Second lets embrace the fact I am one to like a good debate somethimes. Not with just anybody but with Porter that is:) Last night there was some arguement that came up. I mean discussion. It seems my husband has the oppisite ability then Edward Cullen, this husband of mine told me last night that he knows what I'm thinking 95% of the time, wow, I never knew this. All this time I thought he skipped bringing home those long stem roses due to the fact he just didn't know I wanted them but as it apprears he knew! So being the adorable, go with the flow wife I am I made note of this and danced around with this idea and different situations. Lets just say the discussion ended as I slipped out of the bathroom and locked the door, so he was locked in the bathroom, I then told him,"I too can read your mind 95% of the time, let me know telepathically when you are ready to come out." Best discussion we have had in a while:) Let's just clarify he later better explained himself by saying that my facial expressions tell it all I guess. He is right, I don't hide much. One can tell what mood I'm in or if I agree or disagree with any given subject just by looking at my face. Sad but true. I am thankful for these "heated discussions" that occur from time to time. It shows me that I have a husband who will fight to make things better, tell me the truth when I do something wrong for the sake of wanting me to be the best person I can and a husband who is comfortable enough to speak up when things are not progressing in our home in the right direction. This I am thankful for.

On the flip side mr husband and I had the opportunity to go on a date this weekend. There are some weeks that are full of stressful days, early bedtimes and discussions over finances. I sometimes have the weekend approach and am glad to just sit and talk or cuddle with mr husband. This was more then that, this was a date. A time that we both set apart to focus on eachother and the butterflies that brought us together. We went to a movie and just talked after for a while. We saw "Dear John" and it reminded me of that early relationship we had 5 years ago. I can remember as we lived two hours away I would sit on the curb waiting for him to pull up. I remember the butterflies that would take over as soon as I saw that man that would one day be my husband. I remember tickle fights, crying out of joy that I found my one and only, and the long days in between our time together. I am happy to say this is a relationship that has only gotten better over time. This is a man I can sit with and not say a word yet have the

Not Again!

2010-04-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

So I was sick AGAIN yesterday. Some sort of mild head cold that little miss must have passed along. I have found that with sickness there can still be good times and memoreies made. For example

Or And I can not avoid the fact that me getting sick occured on a Saturday and that was wonderful. Any weekday with this virus would have been horrible. I would have not been able to sleep for a second or get better as quickly and for this I am thankful! Being optimistic is starting to wear on me:)

Strength in numbers. . .

2010-04-10T16:20:00.000-07:00

There is the cutest little family in our ward. Their son was born with a complication that are leaving dr's clueless. They could really use all of your prayers and fasting as well. She is an optimist I truely admire, to read her blog click http://skadams.blogspot.com/.

P.S.

2010-04-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

We're doing a little give away on our blog!!! CHECK IT OUT!
www.envymycooking.blogspot.com

I spy. . .

2010-04-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

p.s. please tell me you have seen the yummy recipes being shared HERE

Take it, it's yours. . .

2010-04-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

One would think they had possession of their own heart but I know I don't.
My Heart belongs to a husband who takes good care of this heart of mine.
A son who melts it with every smile or giggle he gives
and a daughter who has a 103 temp and makes my heart very heavy at this moment.
I would gladly give this heart of mine for these darlings but hope this heart keeps beating so I can grow older alongside these three.
I know If I ever did go my heart would stay behind,
for it is not mine but theirs for the keeping and I'm optimistic this is why I was given a heart when I was created. . .for all of you.
I love you my darlings

STOP RIGHT THERE!

2010-04-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

Gladly! I'm OPTIMISTIC this won't be the last time mr. Husband sweeps me off my feet!

Don't forget to check for monsters. . .

2010-04-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Miss Priss was crying in the middle of the night. Mr. Husband went in her room to comfort our two year old who was crying. . . MONSTERS SCARE YOU. Poor girl had a nightmare about monsters I suppose. I can remember as a child having bad dreams. I also remember The comfort that came when a parent came to the rescue. I spent the remainder of the night by her side happy to comfort her and optimistic that this helped confirm her knowledge that her mamma and dada are here for her day and night.

Dear Diary. . .

2010-04-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

This weekend was most wonderful. Spending time with family, listening to leaders in the church give you council and direction that you oh so badly need as the world goes to crap, and remembering your dear Savior and the resurrection that took place that will give you the opportunity to live again as well. This weekend you also learned a lot about yourself and your happiness. You learned that hard times will come, challenges will come and people around you may try to interrupt the happiness you have. NO ONE can take your happiness away from you, it is something you choose to have. Others may try to lessen it or test your happiness but you choose what to make of each moment of each day. You choose to let the little things get to you and wear you down or to brush them off and realize they were not worth disrupting YOUR happiness. And most of all if things around you are wearing on your happiness, well then remove yourself from the situation and surround yourself with what makes you most happy for example. . . .

until next time diary, Karly girl

Say what. . . .

2010-04-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

I am optimistic someone can tell me what she is saying during our most recent trip to the zoo. . . The ONLY word I understand is hippopotomus. BE CREATIVE!

Weight a minute. . .

2010-03-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

I am not the biggest girl. I am not the smallest girl. I am me. I am a mom to two. A lover of sweets. A fanatic of Dr. pepper and I like my In & Out hamburger "monster style". I am the kind of mom who likes to sit and eat cookies with my toddler and enjoy the moment. I am the kind of wife that will order dessert with mr. husband on a date just to have 30 more minutes with him and a dessert with two spoons. I have so many fond memories spent with mr husband as we shared a bowl of ice cream and talked. Although I love sweets and sugary things I do for the most part these days take in what is best for my body with the exception of having "sweet times" and "sweet moments" that are that much sweeter with sweets. My focus is my family and my self worth, not my size or the number on the scale. I strive to exercise for the sake of feeling good and knowing it could lengthen my life here on earth. I have been either pregnant or breastfeeding for three straight years and not able to loose more then 5 lbs with my hormones always being CRAZY. I try to show my daughter a healthy way to live and treat your body, in addition to love yourself the way you are.

I am not the same size I was when I met mr. husband but I am not the same on the inside either. Over our 5 years of marriage I have learned to love deeper, be more patient, cook better, give more, appreciate more, live happier, and strengthen myself as a person and I know that is what is most important to him. I will be the first to admit that I have had times where I focused a little too much on my size and it seemed I just got bigger because I was always thinking about it. What a waist of time. I think as long as I am a normal healthy size for my age, height, and the fact I've had two babies that I should be happy. I am happy! I have noticed as I stopped focusing on it and started just focusing on what is best for me and my body that I actually have lost a little weight, and that is without really trying, just changing my focus to what matters and this happiness does wonders. I'm sure you have all heard that being too skinny or too much exercise can result in difficulty with pregnancy. I feel it is our Father in Heavens way to encourage us to be a healthy size and not over do working out like some do or starving yourself for the sake of being thin. And I do understand some girls have other issues that cause this and I am not considering this the same at all.

Sometimes the best thing for me is sitting and enjoying an ice cream cone with my miss priss who will only be two this once. I have noticed as I have stopped worrying about my weight that my cravings for the sweets has lessened and I have been craving salads, veggies and fruits. I know the comfort food was sounding so good because when we think about our weight all the time we will need some comfort, no one is flawless most are nowhere close. I hope if I ever start to get caught up putting too much focus on my weight that I can come back and read this. . . and remember that as I let the issue go that I was happier and that brought me to treat myself better and exercise and eat right and as I am healthy and treating myself right and enjoying life that is all that matters as far as my weight goes. What it comes down to is everything in moderation. Sweets in moderation, exercise in moderation, even carrotts in moderation (have you ever seen the palms of someone who has too many carrotts? they are orange!).I have also come to realize that you can still be beautiful and wonderful even if you have a little more junk in the trunk. It does not make you less of a person nor make anyone better then you if they are thinner. They may be better at choosing healthier food choices (or have a higher motabilism) and you may be a better cook for your husband ( or own a darn good cookbook). And let's not forget. . . our little ones don't want to cuddle up to skin and bones, they like a little padding.

P.S. for a meal idea that is on the healthier side visit jenny and my new blog by clicking HERE.

Sealed with a kiss

2010-03-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Today started off blissful. I somehow managed to fall asleep last night at 9pm instead of my usual 12 o'clock bedtime. Mr. Husband accidently slept in and so he was here when I woke up. It was nice to see his handsome face to start my day. He left by giving me a kiss. You know one of those kisses that gives you butterflies and makes you want to pounce em'. I started my day thinking about love, marriages in particular. I think how wonderful is it to have someone who is on your team, someone who you can conquer a challenge with, someone to always be there for a warm embrace or a good talk. Someone to cuddle and love on. Someone to pig out with or cry with when hard times come. Someone to share the stress of finances with. Someone to make big decisions with. Someone to make you laugh, or stay up late to watch movies with.Someone to just be there. The smile when you walk through the door. The sense that someone is always there to stand by you. The knowledge that someone loves you for who you are. I am thankful for this husband of mine.

( pictures are of little miss and her future husband )

Where does the time go. . .

2010-03-28T20:14:00.000-07:00

As I desperatly wanted to go get a pedicaure to get my toes in sandal wearing condition I realized this just wasn't going to happen anytime soon with how busy we are with these little ones. So I thought what would an optimist do in this situation. . . . I know my kids won't sit while I get a pedi but they do great in a shoping cart so I went and found some shoes to welcome spring and to cover these toes until they get the deserved attention they need. Thank you Target fot these. . .
And these. . . Both under $20 I might add. Happy Sunday!

Craving something sweet?

2010-03-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

Then try my homemade cookie recipe. I promise you won't be disappointed. To see my recipe visit http://www.envymycooking.blogspot.com/. I'm optimistic you will love these cookies as much as I do!

My mother your mother lived across the street. . .

2010-03-25T20:39:00.001-07:00

Last week in church as we started the Relief Society meeting one of the older sisters in our ward got up and thanked us for the daughter in laws we are to our mother in laws. She went on to tell about how when ever she travels to visit her sons their wives always give them a day alone just mother and son while the daughter in law tends the kids. I thought about that and how I would never do that. Later I really tought about that and how I would love to still have time with my little boy 30 years from now just the two of us and so I told mr. husband about the idea and he was really excited to get to spend time with just him and his mom. The two of them went out together in the afternoon. I didn't think too much about it and just knew they would have fun but when the two of them got home to see the smiles on their faces just melts my heart still. I could tell it was a good time for them both and I am so glad that Mr. Husband is the man he is and that to this day he still loves and respects his mom and appreciates the wonderful woman she is. I was of course a little reluctant to send him off to play instead of help me but I wish I would have taken more moments with my mom before she passed away and I'm so glad we have my mother in law in our lives and am thankful for the huge part she plays. WE LOVE YOU!

A new cookbook

2010-03-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

Do you make the same meals over and over? Do you feel like most cooking blogs have similar recipes because it is just one person with a certain taste doing all the posting. Want new ideas and to share your own cooking ideas while getting to meet new blogging friends at the same time and bring new friends to your blog? Well look no further. . . http://www.envymycooking.blogspot.com/. Check it out!

A new cookbook

2010-03-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

Do you make the same meals over and over? Do you feel like most cooking blogs have similar recipes because it is just one person with a certain taste doing all the posting. Want new ideas and to share your own cooking ideas while getting to meet new blogging friends at the same time and bring new friends to your blog? Well look no further. . .
http://www.envymycooking.blogspot.com/. Check it out!

Mommy Loves You. . .

2010-03-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Mommy loves little bits sweet blue eyes, your love for pink and toe nail polish. The excitement you have when you wear a dress because you think you are princess Aurora (sleeping beauty). The passion you have for everything in life. The emotion you show happy or sad. The cuddles you need every day. The way you still want to be held and right by my side. My sweet daughter mommy loves swinging spider style on the swing with you. Laughing by your side. I love always having a little helper in the kitchen and a little mommy to help me with brother. I love how animals are your best friend, You will cuddle and watch a movie with me as long as I will lay by your side. You are so sensitive and rub my cheeks. I love to hear when you wake up in the middle of the night that you call for me for comfort and loves. Mommy loves the person you are becoming. The artist you are on the walls. I love how you stop to smell every flower you see and then encourage me to do the same. I love that you remind me of my mom who I miss so dearly. I love how you twirl your hair to the point your finger gets stuck. I love that you are timid to try new things but I love even more the smile that comes to your face when you are confident enough to try it. Mommy loves the way you run with your arms moving more then your legs. I love that you told me good job mommy when I made you the lunch you asked for. I love that you ask for pancakes every morning dada is home just so you can cook with him. I love that you secretly like to be tickled but get a little mad about it at the same time just like mommy. I love that you give your brother loves and go straight to see him as soon as you wake up.I love you and love that you are my sweet daughter.

Little Brother, my sweet son. I love that you are crawling and exploring the world around you. I love that if I hold you, most of the time your legs are trying to climb up my side. I love that you never sit still and have energy to last for miles. I love those BIG blue eyes that always show happiness and joy. I love that your dad has big plans for the two of you as you grow up.Mommy loves that you are starting to stand and pull yourself up here and there and that you show no fear thus far. I love that you yell at the blender when It is being loud. Mommy adores that your only word is mama and that I am your favorite. I love that you love any and everyone especially other babies. Mommy loves your soft baby skin and little cute bum. Sweet boy I love that your legs are always in the air even if you are sleeping. I love the face you make when you look like an old man without his dentures in. I love that your head is bigger then any other babies your age. I love that you fall asleep every night in my arms and give me some cuddle time. I love that your favorite thing is being tossed in the air. I love that you are all boy, and especially that you are my boy.