Gratitude

Dinner time

What do you do when there's so much play dough in the kitchen that there's no room to eat dinner?

You make some quick sandwiches

Hand out sodas with straws

and have Caleb for desert!

It was our favorite meal of the week!

Mitchell's "Brave stuff"

The formula for bravery:
Put on great big boots and a Winter hat

Wear one over sized glove

Stuff a pin wheel down your pants

Walla, You are very BRAVE

and you can conquer anything!

as soon as you find the vacuum attachment swords...

Love in the sky

This is what I see first thing in the morning
before the sun has completely decided to wake up.
How can I doubt God's love when he paints it in the sky?

"Now that was a great bath!"

I Am

The man who saved millions

It seems like to so much media coverage is spent covering Hollywood drama,when we really should be learning from men like this:

Labor day

On labor day we didn't labor.

We didn't hurry

We enjoyed being together

We spent the evening at the park

And we stayed until the sun set.

9/11

As if...

The other day I caught Josh walking down the hall and said,
"Josh, I LOVE YOU!"
His response had me smiling for the rest of the day:
"Sheesh, as if I didn't already know...!"
I took it as the ultimate compliment.

25 words

Today in Relief Society we had the opportunity to listen to President Monson's talk "Joy in the Journey." This is one of my favorites talks. I love how he taught that we should never let a problem to be solved be more important than a person to be loved. I love how he said that we should focus less on what is missing and instead realize the abundance that surrounds us. I loved his council to make memories, to cherish those around us, and to find joy in our journey now! Today, however, I learned another truth from his inspired words.

Lately, I have been thinking about what I would want my children to hear from me if I knew my time with them was limited. If I only had a few words left, what would I want them to be? President Monson spoke of a man who was a prisoner of war for 2 years and was finally allowed to write a letter to his family. His letter was limited to 25 words or less. That story was so tender to me. I thought about what I would want my 25 words to be. There have been times when my heart has been in agony as I've watched Caleb struggle. I've worried about what I would want my last words to be if I had to say good bye.

As I continued to listen to president Monson's talk, I heard him teach us that the most important thing we can do is to create a legacy of love. It brought my heart peace. I realized I didn't need to worry so much about last words. I needed to create a legacy of love now. And maybe then, if time was short,words wouldn't be so necessary because those who I cherish would already know.

Here is President Monson's talk in it's entirety. It's worth watching again and again.

Rise and SHOUT!

The big day arrived... BYU vs Oklahoma!
We got our game faces on

Put on the right attire

and scored a victory for the record books!

RISE AND SHOUT!

YEAH!!!

Corn in the morn

I came home from the rec center bright and early one morning and guess who I found in my bed? Mitchell!

"Hi Mommy!"

"I'm eating corn!"

"See!!!"

Good bye

Good bye Nana and Poppa
We're glad you came to play
Some day we'll talk you into
coming here to STAY!
We sure loved having you and can't wait to see you again!

Have fun PLEASE!

I love my boys all the way to infinity and beyond! I do, I really do. But I'll tell you what, sometimes it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work to teach them the gospel, to teach them to be responsible, to teach them manners, and to teach them to be studious. However, I never thought it could be hard to teach them to HAVE FUN. One of my boys is sometimes an over-thinker, a slow to adjust-er, and a worry wart at heart. Sometimes the other boys pick up on his hesitancy. This can be a challenge for a mom who is an up for anything- sure I'll try it sort of gal. For example, when we went to a water park earlier this summer, this son had to debate all during dinner whether or not he'd get wet, but once he did, he had the time of his life! He went on way scarier slides than I ever would ever have expected! He can't wait to go back!

This weekend, another one of my boys about had a heart attack when he saw the trailer being pulled around my parents field without him in it. "Just run out there and wave to grandpa, and he'll pick you up!" I say. But instead of running he had an episode of P.A.N.I.C. You know- the I don't know where to run, I don't know what to do, so I'll just stand here and have a melt down sort of moment. I was trying to reason with him and give him choices... then my brother ran over, scooped him up, and ran with him kicking and screaming to the trailer and dumped him in. This little boy of mine spent the first few minutes trying not to smile, then he finally gave in. When the ride was over, he was the one begging for more.

"I never knew it would be so so much work to get them to HAVE FUN." I told my mom.
As I've been thinking about this the past few days, I've wondered how many times Heavenly Father must shake his head and wonder about the very same question. He provides us with so many opportunities to have joy in this life, but I'll bet all too often we panic, we don't know where to run or what to do, and we get stuck in a melt down. I'm thankful that sometimes He scoops us up and plops us in places where we can experience joy- even when we might go kicking and screaming. Then, when we can get over our pride, and look around and smile, the real fun begins!