Dallin's 16!!!

Dallin turned 16 in October!

With everything that was going on with my mom, he really got shafted 

on his sweet 16.

He is an amazing young man!

He is funny, kind and loves his tuba!

He has had to deal with more then most adults ever will this year.

He has done it with courage and honesty.

Asking for help when needed, 

which for his strong will personality can be insanely hard for him.

Watching him this year has been humbling for this mama.

He loves the Lord and puts his trust in him.

He was also ordained a Priest by Justin.

I think my heart was about to burst listening to him bless the Sacrament!

Dallin isn't a fan of cake and so every year he gets a Birthday Pie!

We spent the day as a family and went to Smith and Edwards.

Dallin's happy place! :)

 No trip to S&W is complete without trying on hats.

Or embarrassing your children!

Pretending to be Elsa for Evie.

Then we headed over to another favorite place Pineview.

The kids loved throwing rocks!

And because no trip would be complete without a little sass!

On the Bright Side

Have you ever heard of Power of Mom's?

They're this great website celebrate woman in all of our roles.

I am a member of one of their learning circles.

I love that once a month I get to go and spend time with woman of faith

who are devoted to the calling of mother and wife.

Each month we have a new subject to focus on.

This month was being optimistic! 

I thought I would share some of the things that help keep me looking on the bright side.

Some are my original thoughts and other clicked at our last meeting.

1. Outlook!  

Being a mom is often thankless and the epitome of monotony. 

Everyday consists of dishes, laundry, vacuuming, kids fighting, etc...etc...

Realizing that all those everyday household duties is no small thing, in them we can

show an example of how it is important to care about someones temporal needs.

It is an act of service and love, just like teaching our children to read and pray.

2.  Parent the child you have, not the child you think you have!

This is huge!  We all have the dream of who our child will be and who they will become.

I never thought I would have a child who struggled with faith or one who struggled with mental illness.

I do and it is hard, but how much harder if I kept parenting them like they didn't have these trials in life.

Excepting who your children are not who you want them to be.

3. Speak up!

I was so mad at Justin for a couple of weeks,

 I had put the kids to bed by myself every night and I was tired of doing it.

I finally called him on it and was all like that's nice that you can read or whatever while I fight to get our

kids to bed!  He looked at me and said "I had no idea you were putting them to bed, I would come up and they would be asleep."  I was acting like a victim and was so focus on the injustice of it all that I failed to see

that all I had to do was ask him for help.  He was not ignoring me, because he was in his man room in the basement he had no idea   All it would have taken is me walking my victim butt down the stairs and to ask for help.

4. Optimism in Opposition!

One of my favorite things that Abraham Lincoln every said, 

  "It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!"

We all have bad days, no one can get away from this, but in those bad days knowing that they wont last

forever! well that's a blessing and something to hold onto.  Even in our darkest hours there can be joy.

Look for it and you'll see it, in a silly thing one of your kids say or a friend who is prompted to stop by.

"Men are, that they might have JOY"

5.  Exercise!

Oh man, I have been bad at this. 

I know how much it helps and I have set a goal to get back to the gym.

6. It's Okay!

It's okay if your child doesn't have a 4.0.  It's okay they didn't make the comp team.

It's okay if reading doesn't come naturally. It's okay if everything comes easy for your child.

It's okay if you don't bake and you hate to cook.  It's okay that the dishes are not done.

It's okay that the laundry may have somehow multiplied.

It's okay to say NO!
It's not okay to compare your hard to someones good.
Comparison robs us of optimism!

7. Time Out!

Plan a girls night, go see a show.

Take a hike or a walk.

Do something all pinteresty!

Just do something for you and recharge.

Also realize your kids and husband need to do this also!

8.  Clean!

The Lords house is a house of order.

I struggle with this one and have time periods when my house is spotless and moments

when it looks like we've been robbed by messy robbers!

I can say this, there are few things better than a clean house.

It makes me smile to walk into a kitchen that sparkles.

For me a clean home equals a clear mind.

9. If it's Broke Fix it!

Every so often look at your life and yourself and see what you need to work on.

If you can identify what's making you feel down or overwhelmed, take the steps to change it.

April Perry who wrote this months article wrote about  the steps she takes.

" When I (1) carefully examine my life, (2) identify what’s really wrong, (3) make a specific plan to improve it, and (4) think optimistically as I follow my plan, that is when I feel like dancing in the kitchen. Working 

toward our goals brings just as much satisfaction as achieving them. It’s sometimes painful, 

and it requires hard work, but action enables optimism."

10. Higher Purpose!

Probable the most important thing to stay optimistic in motherhood is to rely on the Lord!

He cares about every part of you life and wants to help.

If we open the windows of heaven in our life through scripture study, prayer, church attendance and 

enjoying the blessings of the temple, I know that our minds will be clear to receive revelation that will guide us and help us to see or own role and purpose.

Purpose equals optimism.

Like wise Satan is a big fat jerk and wants to wear us down, he wants to see us question are role as woman.

He wants to take away our optimism and joy, he wants us to doubt our role as mothers and see only

the hard everyday crap.  Rely on what you know is truth. 

"THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed."

The Family: A proclamation to the world

To read the entire proclamation click here

To find out more about Power of Mom's Learning Circles click here

If you want to come and see what a Learning Circles looks like email or message me, 

we would love to have you.

Silly Girls

Tonight I listened as Lauren taught Evie about pray and how it can help her life.

She talked to her about how if someone was being mean to her that she could pray and ask for help,

that she didn't need to fold her arms, she could just say it in her head.

Lauren told her how Heavenly Father would hear her and help her.

I love eavesdropping on their bedtime conversations.

I love seeing their sisterly bond.

I love that the 7 year age difference hasn't dampened their connection.

Lauren who has always been so mature and nurturing verse Evie's wild free spirit.

I am amazed at how they care and love each other.

You will hear Evie say almost daily that Lauren is her BFF,

I'm sure that once she gets a little more hip it'll change to Bae, you know like all the other 4 year old.

Lauren is so very patient with her little counterpart. 

She has her moments but when I remind her of how young Evie really is

and how would she handle the situation if Evie was someone she babysat and not her little sister,

she can get Evie to do things that no one else could.

I am so grateful to have my little ladies.

It's going to be fun to see them grow and help one another through life.

Side note of their different personalities.

Lauren and Evie both were whining to me.

I mimicked their behavior back at them.

Lauren stomped to her room and told me I was so rude,

and later apologizes.

Evie laughed, kissed me and told me how funny I was.

That could just be the difference between 4 and 11!

Dropped a Stitched or Two

One day you decide to make a hot pad to save a few dollars

 because somehow all of yours have disappeared!

You spend 3 evenings working on it while you watch Christmas movies on Netflix.

For which your children mock you because it's not even Thanksgiving.

At this moment you keep to yourself that you honestly would watch cheesy Christmas movies 

any time, any day.  You console yourself with the knowledge that you still wouldn't make

your kids watch the shows at amusement parks like all the other mom's out there.

Yup you can hang onto that amount of coolness and no one need ever know

that a little part of you wouldn't mind watching one.

As you're watching said Christmas shows you figure counting stitches really isn't important.

You notice that somehow your hot pad looks more like a trapezoid and less like a square.

You think not a big deal after all a trapezoid is Milo's favorite shape.

You think I'll just start adding a stitch and it will all be fine because no way your going to 

unwind it and start over, I mean you're already 11/2 Christmas movies in.

You finally finish, text a picture to your sister who is crocheting amazing hats for all your kids.

Laugh with your husband on your awesome talent and start crocheting another hot pad.

Yes you could have just gone to Dollar Tree but what's the fun in that.

I'm super glad that I learned how to make hot pads with my mom.

I am sure she is laughing at my epic fail, along with us.

Relationships go on, even if the person has passed on.

My silly hot pad was a nice reminder.

Love you always mom!

Even if you would make us stop and watch the amusement park shows! 

Great Pixie Update! Month 4!

Holy Cow! 4 months already!

For a little while I moved to Mulletown.  

I had a nice little home next to Billy Ray and John Stamos.

I never did get to meet Macgyver which broke my achy breaky heart.

(Sorry about that, I could restrain myself)

It was a bright sunny day when I left, hopefully never to return!

The trick to growing out a pixie is keeping out of Mulletown!

You can't just let it go because the hair in the back grows faster than the front.

You hair needs to be reshaped every so often to keep it fresh and healthy.

 My hair dresser Tracy chopped off the mullet and rounded everything up nicely!

 Not wanting to lose any length in the front she just trimmed the every edges to help freshen everything up.

This is a long process and I can't wait to have my hair long again.

Power Muffins

I thought I would share this muffin recipe I found on Pinterest!

I am on a hunt to eat more whole foodie, more word of wisdomie and to get some great recipes to replace

the box mixes I've been using for years.

This on is a winner!  My family loved it and I loved what went in it!

It has oats and greek yogurt!

I also Love that the batter is pretty versatile!  I am 99% sure you could easily

change the blueberry's for banana, zucchini, chocolate chip or whatever your fav muffin is!

These work great as an after school snack, or even as a sandwich replacement for school lunch.

Head over to fingerprickingood.com for the recipe!