Consider the Lilies

It was a busy morning. Chris had a 7 am flight, Chloe needed to leave early for school, Olivia needed homework checked and Elle and Ava just needed lots of love and my signature whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes. We rushed around and then as I dropped Chloe off (still in my pajamas) I said, "Chloe, we didn't get time for Scriptures and family prayer this morning" I rushed her out of the car with a kiss and said "don't forget to say a prayer". She assured me she would.

Tonight after dinner I felt badly that we had missed it so I gathered them all around and we had such a sweet evening. We read the scriptures and then had a discussion about the purpose of our lives. Why we have trials and what a blessing they can be. Understanding that our Heavenly Father's purpose is to have us grow and return to him. I cherish seeing the wisdom of these young girls. They shared such powerful thoughts and perspective that many would never believe came from young teen and pre-teen girls. They talked about their talents and abilities and how the whole reason the Lord has blessed them with those talents is so that they can serve and build others up. They shared their love of the gospel and their Savior. Ava eventually fell asleep in my arms, we had a family prayer and they each went off to get ready for bed. I feel so blessed. I just love these girls and feel humbled to be their mother. They teach me so much.

I am grateful for the trials that we have had over the past couple of years. I believe that as the girls have watched us struggle and refuse to 'get down' they have learned powerful life lessons. I have a deep belief in being grateful and positive no matter what life throws at you. We have grown and become better people because of it. There have been many nights where Chris and I have been at a complete loss as to what to do and where to go next but each day a new understanding would come to us. "Consider the lilies of the field" That has been my mantra, I know that the Lord is aware of us and we are being guided. One day we will look back and see the divine purpose in it all. If only to give my girls a better understanding of life then it is all worth it.

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!!

I couldn't find the camera today so I went searching......I finally found it in Olivia's room. I hooked the camera up to the computer to download some pictures and here is what I found! Wow, It looks like they had a lot of fun. Glad no one broke anything.
Silly Girls!!

Want one of these? Yeah, me too!

Funny Story! when we moved the buyer of our old house backed out just before closing. We decided the only option was to rent out our old home. It went great and our first renters were a dream. They just moved out.

SOOOOO, We began advertising to rent it out again. Lo and behold a very nice man from the UK responded to our ad. He was moving here to work with an engineering firm, he gave us the company name and a reference at the company. He gave us all kinds of info about his move and his family. We exchanged emails regarding the house and room dimensions etc.

We finalized the deal and he agreed to send us the deposit and 2 months rent up front. The check arrived yesterday. Funny thing the check was for much more than we expected. Then came the email from him saying, "We are having furniture delivered to the home. The furniture company needs the money up front, I sent you extra funds, can you please wire that money to the furniture company for me today so they can go ahead and deliver the furniture.

My Spidey sense is tingling!

So I did what anyone would do, I contacted the authorities. Yes, it was a fraud and they were just hoping that I was dumb enough to wire the funds quickly before the bank figured out that the check was a fake. It would have been my loss. WOW can you believe people!!

An Elephant on My Chest

Chris is away, only 3 days but I miss him somethin' fierce even when it is short. Today as I was running my errands, Olivia getting her braces on and shopping at Sams, I just kept thinking of him and my heart just hurt. That sounds so dumb but I just felt this weight on my chest that was heavy and immovable. He is so much a part of me that I ache when he is away. He is just so good good good. Words are completely inadequate. That is why I am posting at 2:30 am, I don't even want my head to hit the pillow without him there.

I know that the greatest joy in life is marriage to someone completely imperfect who you choose to love and grow with until you don't see two anymore. Then all the imperfections just somehow become irrelevant and the icing on the cake is scrumptious children who come out of that love to fill up your life. I just don't know what there is in life that even comes remotely close to it in terms of sheer deep abiding joy.

All else is counterfeit.

He will be home tomorrow and fall break for the kids begins.

I think it will be an amazing weekend.

The honesty of children

In church I was holding and kissing on Ava when she pushed me back and this is how our conversation went

Ava: "Mom, you have really stinky breath"

Me: "NO I don't"

Ava: "I think you forgot to brush your teeth.....that is really gross"

Me: "Ava I didn't forget to brush my teeth and I used mouth wash and right now I am chewing gum.....I really don't think I have stinky breath"

She pushed back from me, eyes got wide, she plugged her nose and said "Well then, I guess you are chewing some really stinky gum!!"

Oh the sweet honesty of children, I just love it.

Those crazy Mormons

Growing up I often heard people say... "oh you are Mormon, so do you store food?" to which I would reply "yes". I would get many reactions from laughing to a roll of the eyes etc. It was always a little embarrassing until my friends came over and were hungry and I would open this room that looked like a mini store and we would engage in our search for some awesome snacks. Dried bananas, chocolate, sugar cubes (I have no idea why but we had a huge box of sugar cubes) and many other sundries.

Well, it doesn't seem so crazy to people anymore, in fact so many of our friends are coming to us and asking "How do you do this food storage thing and how do we get started". It makes sense when you see how fragile the economy is that having food on hand in case of emergency or loss of job is a wise strategy. Part of the reason we moved is to have a room for our food storage. We began organizing it today, yeah!!

Here is the before picture. Yes everyone needs FLAVOR ICE in their food storage! Chris working on the shelving, to the right is my friend Karen who had just put her shelves up the day before so, being a pro at it, she came early this morning to help us...so nice.

Shelves full of food. It is nice to have it organized as now we can see what we have and begin using it. Yeah for us!!!

On another note!!
After all our work Chris took Chloe to her "Young Women in Excellence" church activity tonight. As they were rushing out the door they just looked so cute together and so I screamed "stop!!".....I ran and got my camera and snapped a quick pic of them. As I looked at it I just can't believe that my daughter is growing up so fast. She was just a little pre-teen girl and now she just looks so mature. It is freaking me out. Not to mention she has such a cute sense of style!!

Important things

BRACES ARE OFF!!

There is a new sparkle in her eye, she is one happy girl!

Elle is almost never heard from anymore...She has always loved to read but lately it is an affair of the HEART!!
Ava is never without a purse or a lunch. She sees the girls take lunch to school everyday and she now has to pack one first thing in the morning.....She just loves something to carry and it is quite convenient if she gets hungry.

*Also of note is that Chloe got the lead in the school play. They are doing "Guys and Dolls" and she got the part of Sarah. She is so so so happy.

*Olivia was invited to the "Cougar Cafe" tomorrow. This is where the top 8 students in the 6th grade are invited to a special lunch with the teachers and principal. She was so proud. Good Job Olivia!!

The Best of Times!

Having this weekend come to an end was hard for me. Twice a year our church has a world wide conference and I look forward to it with eager anticipation. This one was incredible and filled my cup. When conference weekend comes around we make no plans for two days...it is family time and nothing takes precedence. To be able to spend 2 whole days together as a family just listening to the words of a prophet and apostles is such a treat. I am renewed and ready to make my life and that of my family's better.
For two days we don't get dressed, we make nummy food and we do lots of love and cuddling. Here are a few pictures of our family's weekend.

Here is the link if you would like to listen. Some of my favorites were
Sat Morn session: President Uchtdorf
Sat Afternoon: Elder Jeffry Holland
Sunday Morn: President Eyring
Sunday Morn: Our prophet, President Monson

Olivia somehow got her little sitters to rub her feet while she watched....lucky girl!!

Nice double chin I have!! ha ha

Elle and Ava did lots of eating!!

We ate endless Butternut Squash...our family's favorite!!

Olivia surprised us Sunday morning and made cinnamon rolls from scratch!!

We didn't ever get a picture of them cooked because when they came out warm and gooey they were iced and eaten too fast.

Ava grows up!

Every once in while children will say something that rocks you to your core. Such an announcement was made today by Ava. It was my fault really. Yesterday I was at Target and I saw a cute tan sweater and some little tennis shoes that I thought would look adorable on her. I bought them and took them home to one delighted little girl. I noticed very quickly that her delight was more intense than I expected. She put the shoes and sweater on and suddenly she walked with a new swagger. Her countenance changed and I could tell that this outfit made her FEEL different, more grown up.

At bed time she was reluctant to take the clothes off and when she came down this morning she was dressed in this outfit (this is uncharacteristc to be dressed so early). So as we came home from dropping the girls off at school she turned to me and with a sigh she dropped the bombshell. "Mom, I don't like princesses any more!" she said emphatically. "What?" I said. "Mom, I am growning up, I just don't think that I like princesses any more." Wow, what a difference a day and a sassy new outfit can make. Then later she added the hat. Oh my!!

Thoughts of the day!

All my thoughts of the day are posted on another blog of which I am a contributor. Jump there if you are interested.