I am Thankful for my Eternal Family

This weekend marks 5 years since Josh and I were sealed as eternal companions and as an eternal family! J.D. was only 4-months old and he was so darling all dressed in white. We had been married for 15 months. It's amazing, because there was so much turmoil in Josh's family and this was such a time of joy in our lives. It's amazing how far we've come in the past five years!

What an experience it was for us. I never thought I would be able to have this blessing in my life because of choices I had made when I was a teenager. I am so grateful for second chances and for a loving Heavenly Father. I am so grateful to have married my best-friend and for my beautiful children. I am truly blessed and I am GRATEFUL!

I love you Josh! You are an amazing husband and an amazing father! I APPRECIATE how hard you work so that I may stay home with our amazing and crazy children!! I am so grateful for your love and I am so lucky that I married my best-friend. I love you!!!

I Need Some Spiritual Enlightenment

Feeling a little down today!! Nothing major. Yesterday was a crummy day. The election made me upset and then my brother-in-law was in an accident at work. I'm worried about him and my sister. He's okay, but he is in the hospital, but it could have been so much worse. So I woke up and went surfing for some spiritual enlightenment this morning. I found two quotes I want to share with you!!

"Let me say again that the family is the main target of evil’s attack and must therefore be the main point of our protection and defense. As I said once before, when you stop and think about it from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense to Satan. When he wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn’t poison the world’s peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church’s missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn’t send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn’t legislate against green Jell-O and casseroles. When evil wants to strike out and disrupt the essence of God’s work, it attacks the family. It does so by attempting to disregard the law of chastity, to confuse gender, to desensitize violence, to make crude and blasphemous language the norm, and to make immoral and deviant behavior seem like the rule rather than the exception.

We need to remember Edmund Burke’s statement: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

M. Russell Ballard

“We have a greater challenge than we realize. … 'Do the best you can.’ But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. … We are capable of doing so much better. … “… We must get on our knees and plead with the Lord for help and strength and direction. We must then stand on our feet and move forward."

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I'm doing the best I can! Now I am going to say a prayer and get up and move forward. I'm off to play with my kids. Have a great day!!!

What Does Joy Mean to You?

I love this word. I have thought about it quite a bit ever since I went to Time Out For Women.

What does the word Joy mean to me? I think everyone has a different definition of the word joy. To some it may be living in a spotless house or maybe to some it may be driving a nice car and living in a nice neighborhood. What does the word Joy mean to you?

Joy is my family. Each and every one of them bring me joy in their own individual way.Joy is knowing that I have an eternal companion who is my best friend. Joy is knowing that I have a home to go to and a place where I can escape the world and it's influences. Joy is knowing the purpose of my journey here on this earth. Joy is knowing that Heavenly Father LOVES me. That I am his daughter and he hears my prayers. It is in knowing that I don't have to be perfect, because I have an Brother who suffered for me.

Joy is knowing that I should have Joy in my journey. I loved President Monson's talk at conference about finding Joy in the Journey.

"In all living, hauve much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." I love this quote by President Hinckley. Heavenly Father would have never sent us to this earth if we weren't to experience Joy. We experience sorrow so that we may know Joy!

It is a joyful time to be alive. I have been trying to find Joy in the small and simple things in my life. The scripture that was the theme of Time Out For Women was Acts 2:28 "Thou hast made known to me the WAYS OF LIFE; thou shalt make me FULL OF JOY..."

Things I Love ~ Just random ramblings

I used to be good at keeping journals. I also used to scrapbook, quite a bit. I really enjoyed doing those things, but the time just isn't there anymore, but oh my goodness, I always can find time to blog!! How is that? I just want to jot down a few things that I like for journaling purposes.

I love Josh. I love him a lot!! I think he's pretty hot and he is also one of the kindest guy's I know. He's never home and it drives me CRAZY, but he's always helping somebody fix a car or helping with this or that. I shouldn't complain. He's amazing. One of the most charitable people I know. I am glad he fixes my car, because I am not mechanical. Ask him and he'll tell you. He thinks it's FUNNY that I can't change my own tire! I like the way he laughs at me, because I am kinda silly and I love the way he hugs me! I LOVE hugs from him. I love him for how hard he works to provide for our family and all the things he does to make sure that we are happy. I love the way he loves me and I love the way he loves my kids. He is the best daddy ever! I love to watch him play with them and love to see their faces light up when he walks in the room. I Love you 5 lbs. babe!!

I love J.D. because he is my first baby. I love that he still loves to snuggle and that he shares my love of books. I love that he always tells me that I am the best mom ever and how he never forgets to tell me I love you at least a dozen times a day. I love his crazy hair and his obsession with cowboys. I love that he is compassionate. He is so tenderhearted. Such an amazing kid.

I love Tyson. The kid melts my heart with his blond hair and butterscotch colored eyes. He is my joy and my heart. I love how he comes and finds me first thing every morning and gives me a great big Tootie Squeeze and tells me he loves me. I love that he is so independent and very much his own person. I love that he is adventurous, but also scared of the dark and of monsters. I love how he climbs EVERYTHING and is a sugar junkie, like his momma! He makes me want to do a happy dance.

And Piper. What to say about Piper? The girls is outrageous and wild and I love everything about her. I love the way she throws tantrums and how much of a tom boy she is . I love her cute little cheeks, her cute little legs, her buddah belly and her toosh!! I love how she carry's around her babydolls and how she loves her brothers. Nothing makes me happier than to see her hugging the boys around the waist with those cute little arms and how she kisses them on the cheek. I also love to see her hold her own with Tyson and how she fights back. She will be strong!

I love good friends. I am fortunate to have some great ones, some crazy ones, and even some weird ones and I love each and every one of you. I love that I can be a stay at home mom and spend my days playing with my kids. I love to read am grateful for people who have the imaginations to write good books. I love to learn and I love to craft. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and I love to give service to others. I love to bake and cook and I love good food. That's why I am a chunky monkey, but oh well. I love the smell of cookies and homemade bread. I love Marysvale and want to return to live there someday as dysfunctional as it may be. I love a good game of basketball and I loved coaching my young women this year. It was fun. I love my calling in young women. The girls make me feel young, but they also have a way of making me realize that I am getting older.

Thanks for listening to the ramblings of a crazy mom. I haven't had much by the way of adult conversation today, so just lots of thoughts. I am grateful for the life I have and I just want to make sure that my family knows I love them. Good night everyone and thanks again!

Reflections at 28

Happy Birthday to me!!! Hard to believe it's been 28 glorious years. J.D. told me yesterday that he was sad that he now had an old mom. Made me feel great about myself! Good thing I luv him.
Am I happy with the past 28 years? Most defiently. The last 8 years being fabulous and wonderful. I never wanted a career for say, unless you count the career path I am on, that of being a wife and a mother. I hope that I am successful in my career choice, the consequences for failure are unthinkable. I love being where I am right now. I love Josh more and more everyday and my kids are the frosting in my world. They bring me so much joy and happiness.

I have a book that I bought for Piper before she was born. It's called Someday. It talks about all things that a mom would wish for her daughter. It's amazing the things you want your kids to go through, to learn, and to grow from. It's amazing how grateful I am for all that I have been through, cried from,laughed my way through and learned from. Amazing that I have made it to where I am. Thankful that I have made it to where I am.

I am truly thankful for every year and every lesson learned. I am thankful for my mom and all the ways in which she has endured me and loved me as her child. The women is a saint. I am thankful for my brothers and my sis. For the friends that they have become. I am thankful for all of the good friends I have and thankful that every now and then life throws me an occassion to have a cold Pepsi!!

I am thankful that I have love in my life and that 3 little people call me Mom and one good lookin' guy calls me honey. He is all that I ever dreamed of and more. I am thankful for all of you who have touched my life. I am especially thankful for Heavenly Father and his love and the evidence of all the ways he has touched my life. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.