I just feel good

I just stepped out on my front porch and I am reminded of how things happen for a reason. Although at the time of some happenings we may not understand the reasons. For the past 2 years I was stressed with my home and the economy and so many other things. I did everything humanly possible to save my home but had no luck. I was an emotional wreck for months. Severely depressed and still having family issues to add to that. But tonight as I stood on my front porch I realized how happy I am now. How I absolutely love my new home and how grateful I am to be back in my hometown of Boulder City. It is so quiet outside, no cars, loud music, fighting people or sirens. Treyson loves going to preschool, I am close to my sisters, Tiffney and Courtney, and to my Uncle Randy. I see people I know when I go to the grocery store or to grab a soda. I can walk after dark and feel safe. I can be in the backyard playing with my kids while the front door is open to let the fresh air in and I have no worries. I just love it. I now know that all we went through in the past two years was for the better. It was definitely hard but so worth it. I am happy and relieved to be where I am now. I am growing as a person, wife, mother, and woman. I have learned many lessons from all my struggles in life. Not only the struggle with my house but with family and extended family and friends. I am feeling more than ever before. I know some of this is because I have opened my mind and heart a lot lately. My relationship with my Heavenly Father has grown and gotten so much stronger. My missionaries and I have began to read The Book of Mormon together. Slowly but surely we are getting through it. I want to make sure I understand every word. They are patient with me and I am so grateful for them. I look forward to Mondays when I know they will be here to see my family and I.
Anyhow, I just felt I needed to get this out. I love life.....all of it. I am so happy to be where I am and who I am.

Christmas at Our House

My precious two all snuggled up in their Christmas Jammie's before heading off to bed for some good rest so Santa could come.

Treyson was so excited to leave out cookies, milk and carrots.

The carrots were meant for the reindeer, but Jersey Girl got to them first.

1:30 AM and Santa has just left. Now only a few hours left until my angels will awake.

This is was only the beginning of an unforgettable day.

Joe had creatively left a few of my gifts around the house in the morning. He made coffee and told me to me to go make a cup. As I grabbed the coffee pot I was blinded by a beautiful bracelet on the top of the coffee maker. Then back int he living room hanging from some decorative berries I found a necklace and all of a sudden there was an extra ornament on the tree. This cute new bell and inside were my diamond earrings. Joe is not the most romantic man ever but he certainly has his moments and I love him dearly!

Babies, babies, babies was the theme for my baby this year. She has one with her at all times now. And since I am not sure that I will be blessed with another baby, we decided to name Jersey's babies after my sisters. This is Violet Michelle and the other is Taylor Dawn.

We always say we are rock stars and now with this awesome gift I got Joe we really can be! He was thrilled, can you tell. This is his big surprised smile!

Joe did good for me this year, as he always does. I now have another digital camera that is small and easy to take around with me. I must have a camera at all times, you never know when you are going to need to capture a moment.

Treyson had forgotten to tell Santa he wanted a trampoline, so I made a last minute phone call to The Big guy. We weren't sure if he would be able to bring such a big gift with such short notice....but he did! My son was beyond excited.....I loved it!

Of course anything Cars is always a big hit with my little man.

Jersey is such a snuggle buns. She adores her babies. This is her prayer baby which she loves!

All in all Christmas was so exciting this year. Joe and I had been looking forward to it for months. Treyson is at the fun age where he is excited about it all. He knows all bout Santa and the the North Pole, the elves and how they make all the toys. Christmas Eve started out great, the kids and I got the house all cleaned and toys put away so there would be room for all the new gift the would be receiving. We sang Christmas songs and waited anxiously for Daddy to come home from work. The missionaries came over for our weekly visit and we had a wonderful lesson. I love spending time with them! We made cookies for Santa and set them out with a glass of milk and some carrots for the reindeer. We all opened one gift from me.....all new Jammie's! It was so fun for the whole family to change into our new jams and talk about how much we are so grateful for our family and our lives together. The kids headed to bed and Joe and I got busy finishing up wrapping and putting together the big items. We did good and were done about 1Am. But as we settled into bed I couldn't sleep! I was so excited for the morning to come, it was the longest night ever. Joe and I woke up about 5:30 and snuggled in bed talking waiting for the sound of Treyson......we heard him get out of bed and all of a sudden he was running onto our room. He had peeked into the living room before coming to us. When he go to the bedside he could barely talk, he was so overwhelmed with excitement! He stuttered the words, "Mom, he came, he brought me lots and lots of presents!" We made it to the living room and it all began!

I can not even explain how I felt the entire morning. I found myself tearing up on a few occasions. Watching my children light up with happiness just filled my heart. I love my family and my babies so very much. There is nothing better than seeing them so happy! This was just another "motherly" experience I had. It makes me think of how my parents must have felt for so long. Its one of those feelings that you cant truly understand until you are a parent.

Anyhow, the day was awesome just being together and feeling the strong sense of the season.

Thanksgiving

So I am really behind on this, but the Holidays have me going crazy! I am having issues getting pictures up so for now I will just write about our food filled Thanksgiving. We had dinner at our new home in Boulder City and I was super excited to host this year. We had a major houseful and it was awesome. I was so happy to have family from Idaho drive all the way here to be with all of us. My Grams and Papa, Uncle Kelly, Aunt Sherri and cousin Kadin came from Idaho. My Mom came from San Diego. Joe, Treyson, Jersey and I. Tiffney, Scott and Alli. Raymond, Jessica and Lilee Jo. Courtney, Jeff, Andrew, Brayden, and Layken. Doug , Stacey and Kristy. I loved having so much of our family here together, we just keep growing. I am so grateful that we are all so close and accepting of each other. Jessica (Raymond's fiance) and her family are now part of our family too. So we spend lots of time together with her parents and sisters. I have missed my Uncle Kelly and Aunt Sherri terribly over the years. Joe and I lived with them in Idaho in 1999-2000. They taught us a lot and the four of us became very close. I wish Stetson could have made it, I miss him as we got to be extremely close over the years as well. Kadin and the other kids had a great time playing ping pong and boxing and just hanging out getting to know each other. It rained a lot but that didn't stop us. We watched football and ate lots of food.....we cooked 4 turkeys! I am blessed to have to family that I have. We laughed so hard and have a wonderful time just being together. I love you all with my whole heart. I want to make my "Thankful List" I will try not to have it be too long, but i am thankful for so many things....hopefully I can get some pictures up too!

I am SO THANKFUL for.....
1. My Husband. He is my rock, my best friend and I don't think I would even be able to breathe without him.
2. My miracle children. They keep me striving to be the best person I can be. I love them more that they will ever know.
3. My family, all of them! I am who I am because of them. My parents did an exceptional job of raising us and letting us become who we are. They are wise and strong people and I look up to them and am so proud to be their daughter. Courtney and I are getting to be so close again and I am excited to have our relationship back. Tiffney.....I could go on forever. She is amazing and my best friend. Some of my funnest and most memorable times have been with my dog! Pat, I love and miss him so very much. We have a special relationship and I am proud of who he is, I wish we were not living so far apart. Danny, I am so proud of the things you have done with your life. You are awesome and great things will happen to you!
4. My camera to capture the wonderful memories of my life.
5. Wax. I love that I can wax my eyebrows myself and I feel so cute afterwards.
6. Yard Sales. I love them, so far Arizona seems to have the best ones. A lot of my house is decorated my great things I have found at yard sales.
7. My computer. Email is how I keep in touch with so many friends and family since it is hard for me to be able to start and finish a phone conversation without interruption.
8. Paper plates!!!!
9. My church and the great people in it. I just went to our ward Christmas party and saw so many wonderful people I have known forever. It was an amazing feeling to be there again!
10. Life lessons. I have had a lot in the past year ans good things have been taught to me.
11. Crafts. I love making things with my own hands, my quilts and growth charts are only the beginning of what I love doing.
12. My Time. time I have alone to reflect on the day and to write in journals and have some peace.
13. Coupons. I am a coupon maniac. I love saving money and hunting for a bargain.
14. Walmart!!!!!!!!!!

Touched

Just yesterday my missionaries were here at my home and we watched a church video where all the members of the Quorum of the Twelve bore their testimony's. I am sad to see that the same day I was so inspired one of those great men has passed. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, the oldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I wish I was able to see his talk at the last conference, but thanks to Stephanie I am able to read it in its entirety. I am humbled by him and touched my his testimony. I can only imagine the glory he is in now.

Cruisin...

My girl is on a roll! We turned her spinner into the walker this evening and she took to it like a pro. She just cruises like she's been doing it all along! I almost cant keep her off it now. I am hopeful that this will help tire her and she may sleep through the night, Heaven knows Mama needs her rest! These moments with her put things into perspective. I forget the petty things in life and am reminded of what is truly important, my family! Her innocence and watching her learn something for the very first time is priceless. I wish I could stop time and hold these feelings forever. But that is where my baby journals come in. I have journals for each of my children that I write in daily. I love to look back and read my entries and remember these awesome times. I love knowing that my kids will have these journals when they are older and see what we did on a daily basis and all of their accomplishment throughout life.

First trip to the ER

Today was Treysons first trip to the emergency room. He managed to to last until he was 3 years and 8 months, not too bad. I was watching a girlfriends son, Gage, this morning. He and Treyson have played before and always have got along. Joe was in the kitchen replacing a few tiles, I was on the phone with my Mom making Thanksgiving plans, Jersey was playing near my feet and the boys were in the bedroom playing. Treyson started to cry, not a horrible cry, but a good one. He came out of the room and I pulled him near me. HE was saying Gage had hit him. I was thinking a little red mark would be there and not too much more. I pulled his hand off of is forehead and WHOOOO, blood galore rushing down his face. I immediately freaked out and told my Mom there was blood and I had to go. I rushed him to the bathroom to start cleaning him up and carefully trying to keep him seated to where he could not see himself in the mirror. I'm not sure if he would have freaked out because of the blood or thought it was cool and I wasn't taking any chances yet. We got him all cleaned up and decided he needed to go to the ER. You know those flags that you can roll up in the window of your car and have flowing while you drive? That is what he was hit with. He had a cut about a centimeter wide, not too big but it was pretty deep. I wasn't taking any chances of infection and so Joe took him in to the hospital. I promised him ice cream when he got home and told him he needed to be strong and I would be strong here at home for him. After they drove away it was like all of a sudden my adrenaline had worn off and I was sick! I don't do good with blood I started sweating and was very nauseated. I guess it was one of those instances that my Motherhood kicked in. I was fine taking care of him but as soon as it was all over I was a mess. I am so very glad that Joe was off today to be here with me and help. I cant imagine having no car and 3 kids in an emergency. Even little things like that remind me I have someone looking over me at all times. Anyway, they returned home about a half hour later and Trace was good as new, not even upset. He got a cool little flashlight and some stickers and when he got home of was ready for his treat I had promised.

First wound worthy of the ER!

Ice cream helps make everything better.

Breakfast of Champions!

So, last night Joe BBQ'd a fabulous dinner. Treyson ate 3 drumstick plus his veggies and potatoes which is more than he normally eats. Well, this morning I was wondering the house picking up clothes to do my laundry for the day and get my chores going. I went in the kitchen and found Treyson. HE had gotten into the fridge and had all the leftover BBQ from last night. I told him that was for lunch and he could have cereal or pancakes for breakfast. That was not what he wanted, as he desperately pleaded to me that he was "Soooooo hungry for Daddy's steak and chicken!" It was adorable, he loved Daddy's food so much it is all he has wanted all day. So I gave in and he got what he wanted, BBQ for breakfast!!