Out of the Ordinary

Today cannot be described in words and is much to personal to share with everyone. I am printing this blog as a journal so I am writing about this day only as a memory jogger so my children when they read this can ask what happened on Oct 30, 2007 and I can share my my feelings about this special day. I am so grateful. Thank-you Chris, I love you so much. Today was life changing.

A Sweet Day

Today was the Primary program. All I can say about it is that I sat there with tears in my eyes most of the time. I love the sweet, unfiltered testimonies of children. They shared such heartfelt stories of how they have been guided by the life and example of the Savior. It was such a special day. Elle has such a hard time speaking in front of people. It is so odd because all my girls are just fine in the spotlight but Elle from day one has never wanted to be the center of attention. At every practice for the program she has stood up at the podium but half way through her part she would burst into tears. Today we talked to her and worked with her to get her ready. As she walked up to the mic she looked confident and happy. She turned to begin...said the first line and then burst into tears. Chris was close by and he helped her get the last 2 sentences out and then she crumbled in his arms. She has such a tender spirit. I love love love her. She adds an important dimension to our family and I treasure her sensitive nature and sparkly clear blue eyes. We all adore her.

Cotillion

A couple of weeks ago Chloe had her first Cotillion school dance. The pictures just arrived so I wanted to post them. It was so huge for her. She was crazy excited but also pretty nervous. "Mom, what do I do if a boy asks me to dance? What if I don't want to dance with him? What if someone asks me and it is a slow song?" She was out of her mind worried. Coincidentally I was on the decorating committee and a chaperone. I am a smart Mom, I wasn't going to let this milestone go by without my involvement. (I know I will have to let go sometime) It was a Hip Hop theme and I hired a hip hop instructor to teach the kids some hip hop moves and they just had a blast. Chloe actually loved having me there and she and her Friend Meggie even asked us (Meggie's Mom was there also) to come and dance with them for the electric slide. I was sad to have to put them all to shame with my amazing dance moves!! Here are some pics of the event.

Chloe and Meggie with some friends

The moms got in on a picture!

I just love her!!

What a day!!

It was crazy hair day at school. We got up extra early to figure out what the masterpiece would be and this is what we ended up with. We started with Elle and then Olivia decided she liked it and wanted to do the same thing. They had such a great day at school. They came home with fun stories about all the crazy hair-do's especially the ones the teachers had.


Tonight Chloe had a Halloween party to go to. There was a dilemma because she is having a huge Halloween party at our house on Halloween night and didn't want to wear the same costume twice. We were rushing to and from piano lessons and were trying to think of something that would require very little effort and money. I had already spent $$ on her main costume and wasn't doing it again. With only 30 minutes to go we came up with this...I think she makes a pretty good Miss America.
It is sure a busy time of life. When they were little I remember thinking "this is the hard part. It will be so easy when they are bigger and more independent." That has proved to be very untrue. Life just gets busier and more demanding but the rewards are huge. I had so much fun today doing crazy hairdos and Miss America costumes. I am so lucky.

Tagged

I have been tagged by Sarah....I wouldn't do this for anyone else so Sarah I hope you know I love and respect you so much that I will proceed. OK Here are 6 things about myself.....these will be little known random things to make it interesting.

1. I am pretty sure my house is haunted. Before I breathed this to anyone at least 4 or 5 independent individuals have stayed here and told us the same. Nathan, Chelsey, Carol, Leslie...who else is there? This is a happy ghost though. We have never had bad feelings, no terrified kids just lights going off and on and doors opening and closing...the sound of footsteps when no one was there. Our house was brand new when we bought it but our back yard has a pretty large pond that used to be a watershed area for an old Saw Mill. We love to speculate what happend there and why this happy restless spirit remains. Anyone who has stayed here and can verify-- please post a comment so I don't appear to have lost my mind. C'mon guys back me up. The bummer about posting this is that due to where we live we rarely get visitors and now I have pretty much guaranteed that no one will come. dang!! I may have just lost the respect of most readers....all I can say is, you come and visit and see if I am crazy. I figured that was a great one to share at Halloween!!!


2. When I cook 10% of it ends up on the ceiling and walls. Dead serious. Chris has taken a mop to the ceiling more than once and the walls are on permanent wipe down. I do everything with a little too much gusto and cooking is an experience for me.

3. I love history and politics. I hate politicians, I really really do. I am so fed up with certain aspects of our government right now and the way too many leaders make every move based on polls and what will get them re-elected and not what is right for the country. I want Mr. Smith. I often fear for the direction the country is going but I have absolute faith that there is a higher plan and I have to believe that things will be OK. With as much vitriol that I feel about some current situations in the world I can't keep away. I listen, read and keep up with everything. The weird thing is I am Canadian and can't even vote but I believe I could take most Americans on both history and current political events.

4. I hope to raise smart, strong children who above all know who they are and where they are going. I want them to have a deep sense of who their Father is (Heavenly) and his purpose for them. I want to help them fulfull the measure of their creation. What more can I say.

5. This one could possibly be the most disturbing...........I don't scrapbook or do anything crafty at all. This could be worse than the fact that I think my house is haunted. All the women I know gather in little packs and cut and paste and create these beautiful treasures of family history. My friends all paint, do photography, make beautiful purses, jewlry and name boards for their childrens rooms. Me....No. Please understand that we are all different....tolerance please. What do I love to do? check out number 6.

6. We have created, written and produced a television show. Is it on air yet? No and I am not sure that is relevant. I am having a blast doing what I love and working side by side with my husband doing something creative and rewarding. Will we be on air by the end of the year? absolutely. If anyone is in Turkey, Poland or Norway in the spring check us out on the local stations. Ha ha.

Daddy's little girls

Each of our girls just adore me when they are little. Chris and I would often play a little back and forth game wtih the girls "come to me....no come to me....no I want you....no me!" But their cute little legs would always carry them in to my arms and we would look at Dad with a "girls gotta stick together" look as he feigned tears. They want me when they are sad or hurt or just needed a hug and I give it out in bushels but I have learned that it all changes. I am not sure exactly what the age is but there comes a point when Dad is everything. Quite often I catch my girls feeling bad about all the attention lavished on their Dad and they give me a little charity "Oh Mom, we love you too" but I want them to always remember that I am happiest when I see them loving him. I married him becasue I knew that he would be a great Dad. I married him because I knew that I could always rely on him to walk a steady path for them to follow and I picked him because I know that a large part of girl's self esteem and foundation comes from that one key relationship. I want them to know that there is a man that loves them sooooo deeply that they will feel no need to search aimlessly for male attention that can often be selfish and destructive. When I see their faces light up when he is proud, when I see them run into our room in the morning to wake him and scratch his back and treat him like a king, when I see that they are complete and happy when he is home, I am complete and happy. Girls, my time will come....when you become young mothers and wives and begin moving into independance I know I will become invaluable. My words and hugs and tears will help guide you, until then keep cherishing this amazing man who you are so lucky to call Dad.

Incidentals!

The best thing about trips is always the incidentals....It is the funny crazy unexpected things that happen along the way and our trip was full of them. It started off with our 7 hour drive which I loved because we got in some really good talk time. Chris and I had so much to talk about from the show to the whole crazy direction of our life right now. Well when we arrived we of course were hungry and my kids are just freaks of nature in that they really don't like fast food very much. We began perusing the streets for a good restaurant and then they spot Luby's and begin screaming....now at this point if you know what a Luby's is then you know that Chris and I were going to do everything in our power to get out of going there but the girls were so excited and determined that dinner was a "waitn for us there." I said ok girls I am just warning you that we will be the only people under the age of 70 or have all our teeth in our heads so if you are still game, we will go. I was hoping this would deter them but no.....they were still game and this is how it went.
Here we are in front of Luby's notice the elderly woman walking in the front door.

Here we are in line.....notice the other diners...was I right or what!!

Here is a little scan of the restaurant.

We also noticed that there were signs around the restaurant giving instructions on how to handle a choking or heart attack situation...something tells me those instructions have come in handy more than once.

The next day was Sea World day. We went with the Orgill family. The girls were so excited. All they could talk about was the big roller coasters and all the rides. We had a great day. Here are some pics of the fun!

Bray's and Orgills just before going on the Steel eel.

We came off of this one VERY wet!

Mom spent most of the day on the kiddie rides...and I loved every minute of it!!

We were all tuckered out from all the fun. Especially Dad and Chloe.

Dad lassos the moon for Olivia
The first day was kind of a bummer for Olivia because the biggest and best roller coaster "The Great White" had a height restriction and she barely missed it. All the kids including 2 that were younger than her were able to go. She put on a brave face but we knew she was sad. Chris wanted to cheer her up so he said "Hey, while they are on the ride, lets you and I go and play some games". This was huge for Chris because he is the typical dad who says "no" to all the carnival games because no one ever wins and they are a waste of money. We all remember our parents telling us that. Well she was so excited that he had acquiesced on this parental hold out that she went off happy to play games with her Dad. This is what we saw when they came back.

I am not sure if it shows in the pictures but I have never seen a girl so happy or in love with her Dad than Olivia that night at Sea World with a bear bigger than herself. You truly would have thought he had lassoed the moon for her. She was just beaming and couldn't stop holding his hand and telling him how much she loves him. As we went to bed Chris said to me..."I have ruined it for any other boy that comes along in her life...no one will ever live up to the life size bear that her Dad won for her when she was 10" These are the things that bind us as families and help girls always remember that their Dads will always love them best.
What was the game he played?....a simple toss the ball in the basket.
It looks easy but we went back the next day and the Orgill family spent $25.00 trying to win one for one of their kids who was green with envy at seeing Olivia but no such luck. I think there may have been a little divine intervention that night....I am always grateful for the Lords tender mercies in my life.

Ok, Last incidental....The whole trip was great!! We had fun, laughed a lot and loved being with our kids and the Orgill family. As we were leaving the Orgills suggested that we meet their Uncle who lives there for dinner at his favorite restraunt. It is called the Little Red Barn and it is truly out of the old west. No menus...the menu is on the walls and everything tastes like it was cooked over and open fire on the plains of Texas. We LOVED the food but the view was less than desireable. Right in front of us and in constant view as we ate our nummy food was this fine gentleman. This may not look too bad but I must say that I did take the picture when the view was least offensive. Chris and I laughed and laughed and in a strange way it made the experience much more authentic.

Sea World

Off to Sea World for the weekend. I am sure I will have pictures and stories when I get back!!

I definately have the dearest husband alive!!

Chris Bray is the best, kindest man I know. Tonight I hosted an Arbonne event at my home. Chris was gone all day and all night. He was scheduled to be home around 10 pm. The day was crazy for me. I was running all day from Dentist appointments for all the kids to getting artichoke hearts for my dip and getting ready for the event. I was harried and needed to get the house spotless for all my guests. Chris was very very busy also. Well at around 5:45 as I am frantically getting ready the phone rings and it is Chris he says "Hey, I have a quick dinner break do you want me to come home and mop and vacuum for you?" I said "Oh my goodness yes!" I just don't know how many husbands would have taken their 45 min dinner break to drive home to mop and vacuum for their wife. I just appreciate and love him so much. He saved me tonight.

Funny for the day!

This morning I was getting ready to go to the gym so I was in my closet putting on my workout clothes. I was in just my underwear when Ava came running in and stopped just short of crashing into me. She took 2 steps back, looked at me in horror and said emphatically. "MOM those are REEEAAALLY BIG Panties," she then she turned and ran out as fast as she could screaming the whole way. I have been laughing about it all day.

FHE

We had a fun Family Home Evening tonight. Elle and Olivia took care of the activity and did a fun charades type game on service and Ava just kept wanting to laugh about, and show us her armpits. She is armpit obessed. What is the deal with that? She is always telling me...."Mom whatever you do...don't look at my armpits." Not really what I was wanting to look at anyway sweetie!. She just cracks us up. We were trying so hard to be spiritual and then out of the blue she would raise both hands in the air and scream..."Do you want to see my armpits." Then we would all bust out laughing so hard and my lesson was a lost cause. What am I going to do about her? Oh well life is just never boring at our house. After the lesson we all made cupcakes together. I guess I must clarify, I don't bake. Chris is the resident sweets and treats maker in our home. We had an amazing turkey dinner with all the fixings including homeade fried oysters, yumm (a family favorite). I love to cook, but I have never been the desserts type of girl. Chris, on the other hand, is all about the desserts. He eats icecream all the time before bed (a huge bowl). Milkshakes at everystop and cookies whenever he can. It is a good thing he exercizes and runs every day because how he keeps his girlish figure is beyond me. The girls will have many happy memories making cookies and cakes with Dad, getting Sonic milkshakes with Dad, does anyone want a slurpee?....with Dad. They are very lucky.

The girls after licking the cake batter bowl!! I think most of it is self inflicted.

A Fun Day

What a fun day we had. First, I got up a little too early for a Saturday, 6:45am. I woke up and for some reason completely forgot it was Saturday and thought I had to get breakfast ready for kids getting off to school. I was so mad when I realized my mistake. I wanted to sleep in, a luxury I rarely get. Oh well once up I can never go back to sleep so I got in some good reading time. We got the house cleaned and then off to Tennis and Soccer. Elle did such a great job today. She scored 4 goals and was just beaming with pride. She just loves to play.
We then headed over to the Cordys parents for indoor swimming and 4 wheeling. The kids had a great time...We were sad that Chris couldn't make it. He had to fix a few things around the house. Tonight is date night, Yeah!!! I soooo look forward to Saturday night.

Gratitude!

Tonight I am just so grateful for:
#1 My Husband, besides the fact that he his hot and sexy beyond measure, I am so blessed to be married to such a good man. I am so lucky to be on this journey with a man who is truly my partner and best friend.
#2 My amazing children. They are good to the core. As their Mom I love them to death but I just really like them as people. I like to be around them. I find them to be interesting, funny, fun people who I really like and want to hang out with. The older ones challenge me intellectually and aren't afraid of a good debate. My younger ones are just plain scrumptious.
#3 My Sister Leslie, She is such a strength and guide to me. We laugh our heads off together (well mostly her laughing AT me...not with me) and she is just a great confidant and support. I just love her to death....no to mention that she is smokin hot, don'cha think!

Just my thoughts as I end this day!!

Chris is home!!

Chris got home from France late late lastnight. I was so happy to see him. He had the BEST time. One of the highlights was spending time with Alec and Corrine in Paris. They are friends of our friend Melinda and they were so good to him.
They made his trip much more enjoyable...look at they cakes they served him. No wonder he likes them so much!!

MipCom went very well. We have a lot of interest in our show and Chris made some great contacts. The hard work is ahead of us but we are not strangers to hard work and we are ready. We are so blessed to be doing something we love....we just need to start making money at it. Ha Ha.

A long 6 days

It has been six days that Chris has been gone and I miss him terribly...but contrary to my title it has actually gone so fast. We have been in constant contact through email and text messaging and since he is 7 hours ahead of me we have had some conversations at 2 and 3 in the morning. MipCom Jr. went amazingly well. There were some glitches but of course Chris made the best of everything and came out on top. Have I ever mentioned how much I adore him. I absolutely ADORE him. I am the luckiest woman in the world. I think I am lucky because I have such a deep respect and admiration for him. I didn't know it was possible for a man to be so good and dear. He is such a good and loving husband who treats me better than I deserve. He is constantly working at being better and growing.

FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE DAY:
It is better to have struggled and reached for a dream and lived in this unrealized state than to partake of unearned, unwanted, un-struggled for success. The joy is not the same. Chris Bray

See why I love him.

The girls have been so good and helpful while he has been gone. They are so sweet. Tonight Chloe and Olivia were sweeping and cleaning and singing at the same time and it was so beautiful, their harmonies and voices blend so perfectly it just took my breath away. They had a great day because the boys that they both have crushes on asked them to be their girlfriends today. Oh young love...they were both sooooo excited. What does that mean??? oh nothing but the right to say he is mine. It is so funny.

Elle scored a goal in her soccer game yesterday. She is the cutest thing out on that field. She is definitely the best player on her team. The team, unfortunately isn't very good but she loves it and does her best. I will post a picture of her right after her big score. She was beaming
Here is a pic of our favorite place to go after games "POPS" It is a store that carries every kind of soda pop known to man. It is so fun!!


OK, Ava is just a crack up. She says the craziest things and totally thinks she is 12years old. She has a HUGE crush on a boy named tyler (tylah as pronounced by her) She talks about him constantly and just beams and giggles when she sees him. He is 7 by the way, she is 3??? So she has already informed him that she is going to marry him. Well the other day she said "Mom, I just love Tylah", I said "Ava, what do you like about him?" She pondered for a minute and then said, with a coy little smile, "His kiss". I was shocked and laughed at the same time. Well tonight as I was putting her to bed she was giggling and said "Mom I am going to kiss Tylah" I said no, Ava you can't kiss him until you are a lot bigger. She looked very disturbed them jumped up on her bed and stood on her tippy toes and said "Mom look, I AM bigger now, Can I kiss him" Oh my we are in soooo much trouble with her....she is just 3 yrs old and in nursery. What about when she is a teenager. I am very very scared.

Canada trip

So, I have been in Canada spending time with my family. I got some much needed dental work done by my Bro. in Law. He is the best dentist I have ever gone to!! I must say that I had 11 teeth worked on, a few fillings and also replacing silver fillings with white, and I did it all with NO anesthetic. I have never done that before but as we began he said that the first filling was pretty small so I could probably do it without getting a shot. As he moved on he kept asking me if I wanted to have some anesthetic and I just never felt the need to. My last filling was very deep and large and I did it!! I know it sounds crazy but now I think I am pretty tough!!
It was so great to see my Mom and sisters. We didn't have a ton of time together but I loved the time we had. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family. I really enjoyed reconnecting with them.

Chris leaves for France tomorrow. I am sad to not be going with him. We have so much fun together and I would love to just sit on the 12 hour flight with him and hold hands and talk. It is killing me but that is how it goes when you have children....someone has to hold down the fort. It was great for him to have time alone with the girls while I was in Canada and I will love giving them all of my attention while he is gone.

I am proud of him, I have never known it possible for a person to work as hard as he does. It just amazes me what he accomplishes. He never quits when he believes in something. I never see him go to bed before 1 am. I never see him watch TV unless he is working the whole time and catching a glance every once in a while. He just never wastes a minute. Building this company together has been such a blessing and a joy. It has been the hardest thing we have ever done (we live on less than 4 hrs sleep every night) but oh it has been so worth it. I have grown more than I thought possible.