Random Shots

My Aunt Denise & Uncle Chris stopped by and saw us last week for a quick visit. My Aunt is such a wonderful woman who has raised and is still raising the best kids I know. (She is my dads sister.) I can't say enough how wonderful it is to be closer to family. I love that we can drop in and make it to special occasions now.


And this little picture here is a recent steal I had at Target. Please brace yourself for what you are about to read. I paid around 26-27 dollars for all this stuff, BUT I got back a $5 dollar gift card AND I will be submitting for a $15 dollar rebate. So all that stuff cost around $7 dollars. I think Target is my new favorite store!

My Very Own Vacation

I went and spent Friday evening till Monday night with my parents all by myself!!! It was so enjoyable. I missed Mike and the kids very much but this little time out was way over due. I was able to go and take care of only myself for a few blissful, wonderful days. My mom and I wanted to do some sewing and we have been talking about doing aprons for sometime and we finally did it. Below are some pictures of what an amazing craft room my mom has.




My mom has wanted me to be into sewing for a long time so I think she enjoyed helping me. I do have to say that when she helps me she really helps me. She didn't get invovled into her own project so she could stop and drop when I needed her. However, there is a down side to this...she wants to take over my project. We were able to work and play together without any major mishaps even with the little pocket situation.

My mom has five machines so it was fun to bounce around to the ones I needed. I am so lucky to have her to teach me these things. She has been sewing all her life so she is very good at what she does. Thank you mom!




Above are the two finished projects and I have to say I am so happy with myself. Marie Ricks, yes that lady again, says that every good home manager needs a good apron to wear when ordering your house. Now I am set with two!!

Thank you mom!

This is my brother Jake. I always have a lot of fun when he is around. He is the most sweet and funny guy you will ever meet. He has the best manners and is so fun to be around. He is getting ready to move a long ways away (sure Jake now that I am close!) and he will be missed!


My mom is in a photography class so she had me pose while I was there. She usually has to force Randy to pose for her and he can be impatient at times. So I think she was happy that I was willing to play along as long as she made me look decent. And I must say I was happy how they turned out. Its amazing what a little makeup and some extra time spent on yourself can do.





It was so nice to spend time with Mom, Randy, and Jake. They are such wonderful people. I loved my time away to be goofy, sew, and play with pictures. But I was so happy to get home Monday night and hug my family again!

Family Councils

So we have finally implemented family councils. Tonight made week three and I love doing them. They are patterned after Marie Rick's example which is done in three sessions on Sunday. The first is done before church where Mike and I go over the calendar for the week, problems to be talked about and such things that will make the following week work out. The theory is talk out next week so you don't have to fight it out during the week.

The second session is done after church with everyone. We cover the calendar again, problems/solutions that everyone has, chores that have been assigned and we report on how we all did and then everyone gives specific sincere compliments to everyone. This by far is the sweetest part of the whole thing. I have felt my love grow for my little family like nothing else.

Then the final part is after dinner me and Mike meet with each of the kids individually and let them talk about what they want to and we listen and express love. I have gotten so much out of this time together with the family. I truly cannot express enough how I love them. I hope when I read this at the end of the year we are still doing this. I truly feel that this will keep us strong as a family and the lines of communication open.

My Little Girl

This little girl has so much personality. She is so fun to watch when mad, happy, tired..basically anytime. She plays pretty good with the boys. They don't want her around sometimes but most of the time she is welcome. If she gets shut out of their room she will either yell at them or knock till they answer.



Morgan has the cutest little expressions. She is in the habit of sticking her tongue out and giving really great scowls. She also has a little adorable growl that she does when she is mad or she is trying to do something really tough.



I know this is going to sound crazy but for some reason I am really enjoying my kids lately....I know crazy but its true. Either I am experiencing some prolonged honeymoon phase with them or I am growing and getting better. I am leaning towards the honeymoon phase. Either way I really do enjoy being a mother good times/bad times. (I TOTALLY prefer the good times though.)

Perks of Living Close to Home

The kids and I made a quick trip to go visit grandparents and great grandparents a few weeks ago. The main point was to go play with Harley. She is my little niece. She is the same age as Carson. We had fun and we look forward to getting to spend time with our family more!

As a side note it was fun to watch my grandma wrestle around with the boys and Harley at her age. I hope I have as good as health as she does.

My Hero's

It goes without being said that my parents have had a profound effect on my life. I am in great part who I am because of how they raised me and I thank them for that. I find that as I am getting older and raising my own family I appreciate them even more. I am very blessed to have them.

Growing up I don't remember having any hero's to look to or try to emulate. However, I do now. There are 4 individuals who's thoughts on life have created such a huge paradigm shift for me that it has added a whole new dimension to my life.

I don't want this first person to sound cliche, because he is often referred to by millions upon millions of people, but he truly is on the top of my list as far as influencing my life in the most dramatic way.. Jesus Christ. Since reading His words and studying the scriptures I have found what this man taught to be so true and dead on. So much so that I was headed one way in life and after reading what he taught I found myself on a completely different path of life. For me this experience has been most powerful to date.

Stephen Covey would have to be my second. His books and his philosophy's are so inspirational and motivating they have forever left a mark upon me. Thanks to him I found my friend, my planner.

Cleon Skousen is the man...that's how I feel about him! It is rare indeed when you can take a smarty pants like he is and have him convey his knowledge to you in a way that not only you understand but it takes you to a whole new level of understanding. It helps that all these people have the same principals that I do.

And last but by NO means least, Marie Ricks. "Who?" you may ask. Only the most organized, spiritual, powerhouse that has ever lived!!!! (As far as I know.) This lady wrote the House of Order Handbook. This woman covers cleaning, goals, time management, family councils, finance, food storage and so much more. I am taking her 8 week FREE course and it has been phenomenal! I am so inspired by her. She has taught me that I can be the best home manager if I want to and she has taught me how to do it in a way that is fun and challenging.

I love having hero's and people to look up too. I love that I can read and have my understanding enlarged by someone else. I feel so blessed to live in a time when I have so much freedom and can choose to better myself in anyway that I want to. What I become is all up to me!!