Our Sweet Ipson Family

Not just today, but ALWAYS

2010-11-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Lately, I have been in an emotional fog. I am AMAZED at everything that I have in my life. I never understood all the great things that have been blessings in my life. And as this is the month for thanksgiving, (which I want you to know is not the reason I have been so thankful...I have been thinking about this for the last few months) I thought that I would share many of these things with my children.

It surprised me as I became more thankful for things and voiced how thankful I was, that my children became more thankful. During our family prayers, the things that my kids have been thankful for, I am in awe of. They have expressed that they are thankful for their beds, for a home, for friends, family, books...etc. I couldn't believe all the UN-selfish things that they are thankful for and how they have not ONCE mentioned anything selfish, even though they are more than welcome to be thankful for those things too.

I was thinking about this all last night and couldn't sleep because of this, so I feel like I need to document it. I was thinking about how grateful I was for my testimony. Through EVERYTHING that I have been through in my life, even though sometimes I fell and fell hard in life, I never once DOUBTED the gospel of my Savior. I questioned why this was. I had many opportunities to deny the gospel or to even fall away, but I couldn't, because I KNEW it was all true. I knew this because I knew that the only person that I could talk to during those awful times, someone that wouldn't judge me and would listen with all fullness of his heart, was my Heavenly Father.

I never worried about what he thought of me, because I knew he already knew everything that was going on in my life and that I didn't feel like there were secrets between him and I. I loved the feeling of KNOWING that he was there for me when others looked down on me. I could never doubt such a great knowledge. Even if I were not a member, and I was another religion, I know that as soon as someone told me that there was a father in Heaven that knew what I was going through and would always be there to answer my prayers, that I would have immediately embraced the chance to have that in my life.

I got the strong feeling that I needed to express this to my children so that they have a strong testimony of prayer and of our Heavenly Father. I have always told my children that they can tell me anything, but that even more, their Heavenly Father will hear them and answer their prayers. That if they have faith, Heavenly Father will always be there to answer your prayers. But, even if they are having difficulty in their lives and feel lost, that He is the first person you can turn to and he will listen and stand by you.

In life, I fell HARD when I was a teenager. I never felt like I fit in anywhere and that I had let everyone down in my life, but I knew that He had my back and I would do everything that I could to please him. I made BIG mistakes, but I knew I wouldn't stray far because of the testimony I had in HIM.

I can only hope that my children will learn this great part of the gospel, because to me, this is the greatest blessing that he could have given us, was the chance to have him every step of the way.

Boys....Boys....Boys

2010-05-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Have I told any of you how much I think my boys are going to be the death of me......in a GOOD way?

Lately, we have encountered the years of preschool, sports, piano, homework and friends. Every one of these, I remember doing. I also remember thinking how "UNCOOL" my parents were during this time. They didn't seem to do ANYTHING, yet they never had time to help me with the things that were important to me (that I noticed). Needless to say, I was a very SELFISH child that only thought of myself. I noticed how much time my dad had for my brother, and my mom for my sister and both my parents for my younger brother. But where did I fit in? I found out when I was older, that my parents were there for me and every one of my siblings every step of the way. Again, I was a selfish teenager, so this was normal.

I am not making this post out to be a pitty party, believe me, it is far from that!!! But, now that I am the mom, I am trying so hard to not be the "UNCOOL" mom that I remember growing up...but I am failing terribly.

My oldest, Broxon is already starting to notice that I am never there....BUT I AM I TELL YOU!!! I make school lunches every day, I have soccer practice 3 days during the week, including daily piano. I then have to read with each child and find time to get dinner done....this is where the friends come in. Then there are the 3 soccer games at times too close to each other at 2 different fields......(Can you hear the screams yet?). Once summer break comes, it is going to be a picnic every day.

By all means, I have always thought my whole life that I was "UNCOOL", so I am not trying to be the "COOL" parent now, but it would be nice for once to have the kids finally notice that I would never miss ANYTHING! Yes, sometimes I will only be at a game for 15 minutes, but I was there to support.

Today, I had the chance to watch my youngest, Corbin, in his very first preschool performance. Each of my kids has been in preschool at this age, so I was sure that I was going to see a great personality that I hadn't seen before. My first two were crazy. I could hear him singing away through the door. He was the loudest in the class, not missing a word. When I got into the classroom, he clammed up. I thought it was performing in front of me that was the issue, but after the performance he said "Mommy, everyone was looking at me."

The teacher then read a paper that she had the teacher ask questions about us on.

Apparently, I look my best on my wedding day :D, my favorite food is top ramen, I don't have ANY friends, I love him most when he puts his dishes in the dishwasher, I love to go shopping at the store for milk and he loves me the most when I do the dishes. I found this hysterical. The things that he observes about me. I have some fixing up to do.....I need friends...my "UNCOOL" self, I only love to do dishes and go grocery shopping...."MEAN MOM" and I don't know how to cook :D.

I am going to start taking many more pictures to show what my kids are up to starting on Saturday at their game.....I will show them one day how much I care :)

Yearly act of Service

2010-03-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the time for several months to write, but it seems that around this time of year, we really need to be thinking more about others than just ourselves. A friend from High School is encouraging people to write acts of service that others have done or you have done to others. To encourage people to share these special stories, she is doing a giveaway. I was more than happy to share my story that I will never forget, but the prize is and extra bonus. It is amazing how many acts of service can be shared just by a simple request. Thank you Janet for making this your Easter week request....I LOVE IT!!! If you want to participate in sharing your service story, go to http://www.fairlyhappy.com/2010/03/pay-it-forward.html to find out all the things that you need to do to share with others :)....

Have fun remembering acts of service.

It was December of 2003. I had 2 young children ages 8 months and a almost 2 year old. Things were very tight as they normally are when couples first are starting out with children in diapers and formula. My husband and I had gone over finances and discovered that we had no food for dinner, only 1 more diaper for my 2 year old and about 5 left for my 8 month old. We were almost out of formula and our financial records were screaming nearly to the red. We knew that we were going to have to go without dinner that night and probably a few nights in the future, but the kids needed their items. It wasn't fair to the kids to have to suffer for things that were not in their control.
My husband and I packed up the kids in their pajamas and drove to Smiths to pick up diapers and formula. As we were going up and down isles, wishing that things were different, a man approached me and told me that my children were beautiful. I graciously thanked the man for his kind thoughts and continued up and down the isles. I thought it odd that someone would just randomly approach someone just to tell them that there children were beautiful though. We continued going up and down isles writing down prices of things that we would get when we had more money.
As we went to check out, the same man that had approached us once before turned to us and said "Is that all you are getting?" We told him that it was all we needed. He then did something that we would never expect of anyone that just met us off the street. He told us that he wanted to buy our groceries for the month and that included all diapers, formula and even dessert (he wanted us to buy ourselves some Hagen Daas). We were very hesitant, but grateful for his kindness. As we went up and down the isles yet again picking up our menu items for the month, we knew that we wanted to do everything that we could to thank this man and pay him back when possible.
We got to the register and the man turned to the cashier and told them that he was paying for our stuff. We asked him where his items were, and he said that every year at Christmas time, he goes to a random grocery store and picks out a family that he feels is in need and gives of himself. We asked for his number, but he refused to give it. We asked for his address, but didn't want any thanks. He walked away, but we knew he had not gone out the exit. There was only one way out and we were taking it. I sat there watching for the man to come out the door so we could follow him home, but he never came out. We waited for 30 minutes, but to have nothing happen.
We left that night knowing that we had an angel help us that night. We never saw him again, but that night I went home and immediately wrote in my journal to remind me of that special night and that special man. I taped the receipt to the journal entry to show just what he did for us.
I will never forget his kindness and will continue to do what I can for others whenever I see a need.

Making Veterans Day Happy

2009-11-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

Today marks the 5th Anniversary of they day that my husband got hurt at work. The day that changed our lives forever. We have come so far since that day in our lives.

Here is the story of that crazy day. (Know in advance, it is long as I remember too many details :D)

On November 11, 2004, I went off to work at 1800Contacts at 6:00am. It was my first day of official work to make extra money for the holidays; the first day out of training. I finished the day feeling like I was really going to like my job. As soon as I walked into the house at 11:00am, Michael had to run out the door to go to work.

I was playing with my 1 and 2 year old, when I got a phone call from my brother in law telling me to hurry to Mt. Timpanogas Hospital. When he told me that Michael had hurt himself with the company table saw, I couldn't control myself. I looked out the window and saw that Michael left me with the BIG diesel truck with no kid car seats. With my mom over 45 minutes away, I didn't know who I was going to get to watch my kids. I started calling everyone that I knew crying uncontrollably. After my mom finally arrived, I was on my way to the hospital.

As I walked into the E.R. I see an xray of a hand with the fingers very much destroyed. I knew at that moment that it was my husband. They took me to a room where my husband lay surrounded by his parents. He was on heavy drugs and didn't know that much was going on, yet he had a great outlook. He knew that things were going to be okay. He told me that his hand was going to be fine and not to worry about him.

They had to Lifeflight him to University Hospital, but I couldn't ride with him. I had to drive an hour to be by his side. When I finally got to the hospital, Michael was no long coherrent. He couldn't remember anything. Doctor Fryer came in to tell me his thoughts on the matter. He told me the longer they were in surgery, the better it would be. That they would give me hourly updates and that more than likely it would be between 5-7 hours of surgery on each finger. He told me that he would have to go home during the surgery to get some sleep and that another surgeon would come take his place.

As hour after hour in the waiting room passed, I grew more and more hopeful. He had been in surgery for 22 hours when the doctor came out of the room. It was the SAME doctor. He told me that he didn't feel good leaving this surgery in somebody elses hands. He had officially been at work for 53 hours as he had to work his regular shift.

He told me that Michael lost his pointer finger and that his thumb was struggling. He said that he needed to go home for 5 hours to get some sleep and he would be back to continue surgery on his thumb at that time. They didn't want people visiting Michael for very long, but they let us go see him for a short time. Michael was awake with a LEECH on his finger...yes, you heard me a LEECH (they use leeches as a heavy duty blood thinner). After everyone left the room, I wanted to talk to Michael by myself. He broke down and started to cry that he had lost a finger. He was devistated. I assured him that everything would be okay.

I left the hospital to take my kids to another location and to hurry back to the hospital to see Michael before he went back in for surgery. I returned to the hospital 3 hours later, but found that Michael was already back in surgery. Doctor Fryer got called to tell him that Michael's thumb was failing, so he rushed back to continue the surgery after 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

Five hours later, Michael was out of surgery
and put in a room that had to stay at a very high
temperature. Michael had to stay under covers
and was sweating massively. He had to have a
new leech every hour to keep the currculation
going. For one week, he stayed in that room,
with over 4 people passing out because of how
warm it was in the room. Because I had my
children, I was only able to come see Michael
between 5:00am-10:00am, then after the kids
went to bed from 8:00pm-11:00pm. Michael
only wanted me to give him sponge baths and
there was a member of his family there 24/7.
The hospital bent the rules, because they were
not able to stay in the room all the time to keep
and eye on everything.

They finally moved him to a normal temperature room, where he started to show signs of improvement. Michael and I decided that it was time for me to bring to boys to see their daddy and have them see what was going on. When I showed up at the hospital, I found Michael breathing very irratically. He was struggling to breath and was not waking up when people tried to wake him. My grandmother took the kids immediately out of the room as I continued to shake Michael trying to wake him up. He then stopped breathing all together. We started yelling for a nurse and I started screaming and crying. After what seeming like and eternity, he started to breath, he opened up his eyes and was asking where he was. He had a look in his eyes that said that he had left us and returned unexpectedly. I ran out of the room bawling hysterically and my grandma rushed the boys home so they wouldn't see any of this.

My nephew Chris had been with Michael when this event happened, and he was determined not to have this happen again. He called into work and stayed the next 3 nights at Michael's side. Michael did this same thing 3 other times before the doctors found out that he was having a reaction to the massive amount of drugs he was being given. They stopped that drug and he was a whole different person.

Two more weeks in the hospital and 5 blood transfusions later, he was allowed to come home to his family. He was not allowed to go back to work for another 5 months and was not allowed to be around the children unattended, so I had to be put on FMLA (family medical leave of absence). I was not allowed to work for 2 months. There was no money coming in, we were being helped by the church. I don't know how we made it during that time, but it was a learning experience.

Anyway, through the years Michael had to have 2 other surgeries, all falling on the 11th of some month to reconstruct. Every year on this day we have had many things go wrong, but not today.

Today I am going to try a new tradition of making plans for this day to be the best day ever. I am going to send letters with Michael, text him notes, play fun games with the kids, have them help make fun things and maybe do something else fun. If we keep the day light and cheerful, we might be able to turn the awful day around.

Thank you to everyone that helped during this hard time and continues to be a wonderful part of our lives. We are better people because of you :)

Insight from above

2009-11-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday is one that helped me see the BIGGER picture in life. I have been complaining for MONTHS about struggling to have another baby. I tried to tell myself over and over again that it is my Heavenly Fathers decision when/if we have another baby, and that he already blessed me GREATLY with my 3 beautiful boys. What do I have to complain about? I have been feeling very depressed as my WANTS were not going noticed in the grand scheme of things. I was having pity parties for a cause that was not my own to decide upon.

I would tell people that I was content with what I was blessed with and was starting to become very comfortable with the idea of NOT having another baby, but that was just me still hoping that if I try to tell myself that I was okay with it that Heavenly Father would bless me.

On Saturday I went to a baby shower for my favorite niece on my husbands side....sorry to have a favorite, but she accepted me even before Michael and I got married and has been there for me MANY times. As I saw her belly and how she loved glowed with love for that child, it made me sadder than I had been in a very long time. I wanted so much for that to be me or to be pregnant right along side her.

As the party continued, people started to turn to me and ask me when I was going to have another baby. Bitterness fell into place again and a little resentment. My mother-in-law told me that she saw 1...maybe 2 more babies in my future, but I KNEW BETTER THAN THAT!!! I KNEW that she was getting my hopes up for a losing cause. I left the party really wanting to be the pregnant one that was having the baby shower.

The next day I felt a little better for myself, but was struck down with a sickness and made my body ache terribly. I then got a phone call from my mother-in-law telling me that my niece who was 8 months along miscarried her baby right after the shower. She was at the hospital delivering a baby that was only meant to come to her long enough to get a body.

I can not imagine the pain of carrying my child and having to deliver it knowing that it was not going to be returning home with me, but returning home to our Father in Heaven. That kind of heart ache I would never wish on anyone. I then realized how selfish I had been with my own wants an desires. All she had wanted was a healthy baby to love and hold. I have had that 3 times and still was not content and wanted more.

Our Heavenly Father has a purpose for all of us. How can I be so selfish to DEMAND a child on my timeline when it might not be something that is for us right now. I would rather pray for my niece to have comfort for her lost child and hope and pray for her to be comforted in this hard time. I know this is one of the hardest things that she is going to go through...having to bury a child, but I know her husband and her are strong and that they will be blessed 10 times more for their faithfulness and for accepting the plan of salvation.

The Lord with give and take as is needed for this mortal life. I may not know what is in store for me or for my niece, but I know that each of us will be blessed for living our lives worthily. I will focus more effort on always living worth enough to deserve such a wonderful blessing as another child, but if it is not to be for us, I will continue to live worthy enough for my children to be blessed with the same knowledge that I have had to learn...that the Lord is infinate, that he knows what is best for us in each or our lives, that he knows our wants and desires even though sometimes it feels like they might not be going answered. Those wants and desires may never go answered, but as we stay strong and faithful in the gospel our lives will be blessed abundantly.

GIVEAWAY!!!

2009-08-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like a giveaway? I know I do!!! My Aunt Launi has this great website called GRACIOUS RAIN (www.graciousrain.com). There are constantly great recipes, thoughts, food storage items of the week and GIVEAWAYS. I don't go to this website for the giveaways, but they do give an incentive to introduce this great site to other people. I know that you will love this site....CHECK IT OUT! Right now the giveaway is SCHOOL SUPPLIES....Who couldn't use school supplies? I am so excited for this. I am going to go school supply shopping this next week, and this would help. She even has some AMAZING childrens hats and some fun bags that she sells at her ETSY shop. CHECK IT OUT!

Giving Thanks

2009-03-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

For some reason, today has been a very reflective day for me. I am sure that a lot has to do with having the opportunity to go to church and feel of His spirit all around me, but also, sometimes I have the tendency to think "WHY ME" instead of enjoying the great things that are around me.

I have been a little bitter the last few months, because I was not understanding how I could be doing everything that I can to teach my children the gospel, going to the Temple, etc...and not feel stronger as an individual or that I was not feeling the blessings coming.

When things start going this way in my mind, I start seeing a pattern. I have never questioned my faith and never will, but I still sometimes feel overloaded and need to vent.

But today, I am not venting...I am giving THANKS...yea me!!!

My children are the greatest blessing that Heavenly Father has blessed my amazing husband and I with. Sometimes I am a little critical and too demanding of them, but my boys all know that I love them...I tell them HUNDREDS of times a day...they say it too with big hugs and kisses. They make me smile when I am down, make me laugh with the funniest things they have to say and amaze me with how grown up they are getting. I could never have asked for better children.

Dear sweet Michael...he puts up with so much from me. He loves me even when I am the most unreasonable. He makes me feel like a princess even when I look my worst and he makes me want to be a better person everyday to be worthy of such an incredible person as him.

Even though there are numerous things that we need right now, I really feel that they are not as necessary as happiness. As long as I have my family, my memories and my Savior in my life, I have everything I need and everything else will come in its own time.

Oh how I love my life. I have the messiest house, construction going on, children and toys all over the place and our little Jasmine (dog) that insists on getting a little too excited all the time, but I seriously LOVE my life.

A Blast of the past!

2009-02-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

I had an interesting night with my cousin Jillian yesterday. We got reminiscing about things that we remember while growing up. During the conversation she said..."I don't think that I have ever heard how you met Michael" I then continued to tell her the story that I feel I have told so many times....YES even to my husband, but for the first time I felt like I used to be very SHALLOW. Actually, I know now that I was SHALLOW.

I decided that it was time to document this story, so my children would know just how their parents met...Sorry kids, your mommy was not the nicest of people apparently, but we know where we are now and how much I love your father.... :0)

In February of 1999, I had every intention of going on a mission and serving the Lord. I had written off guys, because for some reason they all seemed to treat me really bad. I decided that it was time to get my Patriarchal Blessing. When the blessing was finished, I was actually ANGRY. I couldn't believe that all the Patriarch talked about was me getting married and starting a family. I knew what I wanted, and there was no way that my blessing was going to stand in my way.

I continued to save up for my mission which was ONLY one and a half years away....I know, very much a go getter.

Later that month, I started dating a guy that was just my type, handsome, charming, muscles....the works.....SHALLOW I KNOW. He then started treating me bad like all the rest. That night, I prayed to Heavenly Father and said..."Heavenly Father, I need to find a nice guy. I have been going off of looks for so long that I don't know how to find a nice guy. Heavenly Father, I need you to help me look inward and find an inward beauty...an outward beauty would be nice too, but not necessary."

March came around and I still hadn't met any nice guys, but I really wasn't looking for one. I was attending Singles Ward, not for the normal reasons that most people go. I was attending, because I felt very uncomfortable going to my parents Relief Society Meetings.

One Sunday in March, I was sitting with the usual group of girls, when a guy came up and said...."Hey, can I sit down?" The girl next to me said..."Sure, only if you tell us your name." (She was totally hitting on him.)

He sat next to me and talked only to me the whole meeting. He asked to borrow my scriptures, then started teaching me things that I never knew. At the end of the meeting, he asked me if he could ask me out sometime.....He really wasn't my TYPE, but for some reason the spirit told me to give him my number. I continued to give him a DETAILED list of times that he could reach me.....He has even saved it to this day....ugh.

When I got home, I had decided that even if he called, I would not accept. He didn't have any of the physical attributes that I liked in guys except a handsome face and the biceps. He had braces, 2 teeth missing and had this HUGE unicorn bump in the middle of his forehead. No, I would turn him down.

He called me on a Wednesday that same week, and asked me out for that Friday. I told him that I would have to get back to him. I tried to think up an excuse, but couldn't think of one. The spirit told me....SAY YES. So, I called him back and told him I would go out with him.

That Friday, he picked me up, opened my doors and took me ice skating. He started to show off by trying to do triple lutzes in the air and fell on his bottom. I was a little embarressed, but I had never laughed so hard. He then took me to Hollywood Connections for miniture golfing. After two activities, we decided that it was time to get something to eat. We went to Dees restaurant. He sat on the other side of the table from me, but out of nowhere said..."May I?" I was like..."May you what? He said " May I sit NEXT to you?" I said "Sure". He then started folding a paper napkin into a flower....I still have it to this day.

He asked me out again for the next following day, even after being SMITTEN, I said that I was going to my sisters dance competition, which I was planning on not attending, but since I told him that I was, I decided that I needed to attend. I got the the competition and immediately got the feeling that I needed to call him and leave.

He was at his brothers watching their dog. We played the card game Speed for hours while talking about ourselfs and things to get to know each other. He then asked something that I couldn't believe that he asked me after knowing me only 2 days. He asked me to go to a family Baby Blessing with him and meet his family. I get there and OH!!!! I had NO IDEA how big his family was. He introduced them to me....all 29 of them....there are now 48.

There was a Family Home Evening afterwards where his niece started to laugh at Michael. She was saying..."What the heck is that thing on your forehead?" He said..."I have no idea, it just appeared out of nowhere!" I then knew, the bump had appeared for me. I had asked the Lord to help me look inward instead of outward. He put the bump on his forehead to help me look past the bump and into his personality.

A couple weeks later, the bump was gone. He was and still is the most handsome man that I have ever met inside and out. He still makes me laugh like it was the first day we met. I am grateful for everyday that the Lord blessed me to have such a wonderful family man in my life.

I will always remember the day that I fell in love with him. I had looked at him and realized, the bump was not always there, the braces don't stay forever, but even if they did, he would still melt my heart. He had the best smile and laugh even with braces.

I know you are all thinking differently of me, but that is the day that changed my life for the better. I now look at everyone just a little differently. I try to see the best in everyone around me and smile and talk to those people that I would have originally walked right past. I realize that Heavenly Father made us all in his image. If we are all created in his image, then why do people look down on those that look differently than them. They are all created the same.

Now you know my story, but I am not ashamed of it. I actually enjoy telling it, because it has made me who I am today. I don't care who looks down on me, but I am so glad that Michael "Picked me" out of all the prettier girls that were out there. We laugh all the time that we tell our story because it really was a match made in Heaven.

Michael's side would have been....I went to Single's Ward to pick up girls. I saw this cute blonde girl sitting in the front. I picked up a cute one! Later he said..."You know, I have never dated a short hair girl before. I really like long hair girls, but I totally fell in love with someone that is the "OPPOSITE" of what I was looking for.

THE END.

"GreenWinkle BagBag"

2009-02-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I got talking with my Aunt Launi about her new product called the "GreenWinkle BagBag" I actually thought that this must have taken her a very long time to make. She told me that it only takes her 2 nights on the couch!!! Can you believe that 2 nights? Anyway, I saw one of her bags, and I couldn't believe it. I thought for sure that this bag would feel different than it looked.

The main thing that you need to know about this bag is that it is 100% recycled grocery bags....so when I say that I thought it would feel different then how it looked, I was mistaken. It didn't feel anything like grocery sacks. It felt like a hand woven bag that you buy at the stores.

Something else that I found interesting was that every time you go to the grocery store and they ask you for paper or plastic, that they are actually CHARGING you a fee for using plastic, so why not use the bags and make a purse....I love your idea Aunt Launi....make sure to get a PATON on it.

She is actually introducing her new product on her website called "Gracious Rain" at www.graciousrain.com. I hope that her business starts to boom and that everyone....my 5 readers go and check this out. She is having a drawing tomorrow for a free bag, so go enter the drawing....it should be fun.

The PAIN then the SURPRISE!!!

2008-12-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

So Christmas Eve just was not anything special. It didn't feel like Christmas at all. Earlier that day, I asked my mom if she had the Forgotten Carols for me to listen to, in order to get me in the holiday spirit, but she could not find it anywhere.

I woke up that morning and went grocery shopping. I got home and dropped the milk on the sidewalk and mild went everywhere!!! I was late for my dentist appointment to get a root canal so instead of being at the dentist 1 1/2 hours, I was there for 3. So needless to say, I was in pain all day.

Later, I had one more gift to get, and knowing the shops close early, I made sure to get to my destination by 4:30...the store closed at 4:00.

Nothing seemed to be going my way. When I thought matters couldn't get worse, my check engine light turned on in my vehicle and the battery died...ALL STORES WERE CLOSED. So with kids in toe, we hopped in my parents car and drove home to get ready for Santa.

Since things went so badly, we got home late and couldn't do the Christmas story, couldn't make cookies for Santa and couldn't take a bath. It just was not feeling like Christmas Eve.

My husband was not due to be home until 10:00pm from work delivering packages and I had not wrapped one present....can you say PROCRASTINATION....UGH!!!

Once I got the kids to bed, instead of getting to the wrapping, I cleaned my house, mopped my floors, scrubbed the bathrooms and waited patiently for my husband to come home to help.

As I was on the verge of tears, my husband came home with the best surprise ever.............A NEW BABY PUPPY. He walked in with a cute little Yorkshire Terrier which melted my heart right away, but the first thing that came out of my mouth was....I JUST MOPPED THE FLOORS and you want to let her walk on them?

We named her Jasmine, because it is the best princess name for a dog...and she sure is a princess. By the way, Michael came up with the name. Benjamin keeps calling her Mimzy and we have nicknamed her JAZZY.

She cried all night because of her first night away from her mother, but she did so well. Reminded me of Lady and the Tramp, except they never show the part where Lady uses the bathroom in odd places.

We have been very fortunate...she has not gone potty on the carpet, just the bathrooms and the laminate kitchen floor....WHICH I MOPPED :P.

She is such a beautiful puppy. I will post some pictures soon, but she really did make me feel like everything was much better and that things could be worse. She made me more grateful for everything that I have in my life. I will always love my husband for this wonderful gift. By the way, she loves me the most...Michael calls her our girl princess that is wrapped around Shannon's finger. Then he says..."Hey, you finally got your dark haired girl!!!" It made me laugh a little bit, but a dog will never replace my future child :). Merry Christmas everyone and know that the spirit of Christmas lies in the center of our hearts....Christ is and always will be the center of my heart and for that, I will never be able to show my gratitude. Keep Christ the center of your lives and never take the CHRIST out of CHRISTMAS...Love you all.

The love of a mom!

2008-12-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

I was going to do this one on Thanksgiving to tribute my mom...since it was her birthday, but I just have not had any time to even get to that point to write a blog for her. So, I hope that she doesn't mind this a week late.

My mom and I are the best of friends. I don't know how many people talk to their mothers every day, but I know there is not a day that goes by that I don't hear from my mom. We can tell each other everything about ourselves and feel okay. I never imagined that as I would become a mom that I would appreciate my mom the way that I do now.

When I was a teenager, I was the most ungrateful child you would ever see. I was mouthy and hateful. I hated almost everything and everyone, that was mainly because I didn't like myself. I continued to grow further and further away from my parents and would do many unmentionable things to get my parents angry with me...to this day, I will say that I deserved everything that was dished out to me.

I got married and was so excited for the space, but found that with space, I got more and more home sick. I grew out of that, but I rarely missed a phone call to my mom. People tell me all the time that I am like my mom in so many ways...I like to clean, and have things clean, I worry when company comes over, I LOVE Christmas decorating, and am starting to get into decorating for all the holidays. When people tell me that I am like her, I smile and say thank you. My husband loves that I am like her in those ways. He tells me that when we first got married, I was a mess. Nothing was ever clean, I still worried when company came over, but not as much. He is so glad that I am on top of most things now.

I love my mom and all the things that she has taught me. I may still be my stubborn self, but have so many reasons to say that I love who I am now, because I know that I got what I love from my best girlfriend. I believe that we will always be close and I wish this for all girls, to have the desire to be close to their mom's. Mom's are wonderful, especially mine!

The men!

2008-11-26T06:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I told everyone how I felt about a few people in my family. Today is the mens turn, although, I already told about my WONDERFUL husband, I decided he needed a little more light.

My Sweetheart brightens my day. Even when he comes in the grouchiest, I still can't help but be totally absorbed in his wonderful spirit. He has gone through some horrible things in the time we have been together, but has gone through it with grace and dignity. I thought that I was going to have difficulties with him and his faith, but he surprised us all by being even stronger than before. He is a wonderful Patriarch for our family. Even his extended family adores him and feels the need to be around him. As it is, we are having 15 guys at my house on Friday night because they want to hang out. I enjoy every minute of my time with him, and still after all this time, I still feel like I could see him every day and not grow tired of sitting next to him, having conversations that never get old and even watching us both get older...maybe not wiser, but still know that he is handsome to me. Thank you for making me smile baby!!!

My dad is an amazing person. Since I was little, I was a daddy's little girl. I remember pretending to be asleep so he would carry me to bed. I learned more about the gospel from him, just by watching his example. There was never a day that went by that I didn't see him reading his scriptures for almost a good 30 minutes and have his own personal prayers that I would often interrupt. Although, even when I interrupted these prayers, he was still diligent in finishing his prayer that lasted longer than a young child thought they should. I still am absorbed by his spirit, his teaching abilities and the ability to make all of us laugh with his funny, scratch that...HYSTERICAL jokes. He is my daddy...I still talk to him every day to make sure that is day is going great, and will continue to look up to him forever.

Stephen...oh what can I say about him??? :D . I have many wonderful thoughts that come into my head about him. Growing up, we got along as most brothers and sisters...trying to beat each other up and show who was stronger, I think that he won every competition...but that is because I let him!!! What he did know is that every day that went by, he became a great strength to me. Someone that I looked up to. When he was on him mission, I couldn't bear to write him, because it always made me cry to know that he was serving the Lord, but not here fighting with me. I missed him so much. He really is dedicated to his learning and is the reason that I have gone back to school to get my degree. He is a wonderful example to his family and in lots of ways I feel very inadequate as a mom, because of how good of a dad he is ( his wife too). When he was looking for a new job after graduation, he started looking in Texas. I was devastated that I might not get to see him but once or twice a year. I prayed that they would find a great job in Utah, and he did. This meant so much to me have him near...now he is within 7 minutes!!!! Oh, how I adore him!!! Don't let it go to your head, you know I could beat you up...ha ha, wait, you already have. Thank you for being my big brother and loving me even when I am a pain! I am trying to be better...PROMISE!

Jared is my little brother. He is always trying to prove to himself that he has grown up more than all the rest of us, but he will never outgrow any of us, he will forever be know as our little brother. Jared has ability to make me feel better when I am upset, and I hope that I do the same in return. He likes to play with my kids and takes them off my hands when I really need it. Thank you for always having encouraging things to say to me, for letting me boss you around and you never get tired of my relentless talking...man, I must be a stressed out person...so much aggression! Jared is the last one still living at home, so until he gets married, he will just have to deal with my feeling of needing to be needed. Nobody else in my family needs me now, but he does...says me, so I will be there as long as I can, then I will have no sense of purpose in my family! :P

My 3 boys! How they make me laugh and have their own personality. Broxon is my oldest and he turns 7 on Sunday. He is so sensitive. I have to watch how I say things to him, or he will go run off upset and sit in his room for about 30 minutes pouting. He hates when people are upset at him, and I think that is the thing that he gets from me. I hate when people are upset and will do everything I can to rectify any hurt feelings. Broxon is the biggest joker and can get me laughing without any effort...oh how he makes me laugh! Benjamin teaches me every day. He loves everything and everyone. He told me that he didn't like this girl in his class because she was mean to him, but 2 weeks later he couldn't stop talking about her and how fun she was (he also already has 3 girlfriends in the ward...oh I am in trouble with him). He can be the sadest and happiest boy in the world all at once. He can cry like the best of them (my dad says he gets that from me :P). When I look at him, it just makes me want to make him smile his infectious smile. And Corbin, he is my baby...always will be. Even if I have more kids, I can almost guarantee, that he is going to be the only one that makes me feel like he needs me. He has the best imagination for a 2 year old, is potty trained and can say a prayer by himself...wait, I guess he doesn't need me as much as I imagine he does...oh well, I will pretend he still does. He laughs at everything and sometimes snorts. He wakes me with a big kiss every morning and I melt. Such a great personality.

I hope this gives everyone a glimpse of the love that I have my family and will continue to post throughout the holiday season.

2008-11-25T08:10:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year that I start really appreciating my family and friends SOOOO much more!!! I need to do this more often (New Year's Resolution! :P). Last year around this time, I was finished with my Christmas shopping, was performing at least once a week in my singing group "The Sterling Singers", was babysitting a little one year old girl and was in school all at once. It doesn't seem like much, but at the time, I thought that everything was falling apart!

This year, I have had to have more babysitters than I have ever had before, and I appreciate all the help that everyone has given me. I have been so stressed out trying to figure out what I was going to do. I have not even started my Christmas shopping, I am at practices more often this year for my singing group, I am now baby sitting two children, am a room mom at my son Benjamin's school, and on top of that I am getting some much needed dental work done.

I have taken a semester break off of school so I can try to get my life back in order since our move to our wonderful new area in Saratoga Springs, and more homework with BOTH my boys than I ever saw in my first three years of elementry school.

I am taking everything in stride, but I have to say that I am MORE happy today and less stress than last year. Even though I have lots more going on, I am loving every minute of it...except the dentist part!!!

My favorite thing ever is moving to Saratoga Springs!!! I am so happy, but not because I am in a house, but because I have been given the great opportunity to get to know my WONDERFUL sister-in-law Karen better. She is amazing!!! I love her so much. I enjoy every time we talk, and consider her such a dear friend!

I don't appreciate the next person enough...my wonderful sister Alissa!!! She doesn't know it yet, but she is my strength! I look up to her in every way...(I am the older sister and she is 4 inches taller than me!). She is kind, considerate, everyone adores her, and she is my sister. We were not always close, but through the years, I think that we have grown up to really love being sisters....I am still wanting you to play with my hair and do my nails like you promised :D. I will never be able to really let her know how much she means to me.

I have made many new friends, but miss my old ones so much!!! It is difficult to try to keep in touch with the ones that don't just live around the corner. Three of my friends have had new babies and I have only seen two out of the three...one of them was born about 4 days ago...so I guess that I am doing pretty good considering I feel like such an awful friend.

That is why I am really grateful for this time of year...It gives me the opportunity to reflect on all the wonderful people who have entered my life and appreciate them. I am determined this year to do my holiday cooking and go visit each and every since one of my great friends. This will be difficult considering everything that I have going, but I will show my friends just how much they mean to me.

I will continue a list later of everyone that I appreciate, but I do need to mention one other person....MY SWEETHEART! Michael is such and inspiration and breath of fresh air. After being married for 9 years, I still can't get over how much he makes me laugh even when I am the most depressed. He is unlike any husband I know. He mops floors, vaccuums floors, does laundry, makes meals, cleans house, scrubs the shower and tub, and does many other chores (except the dishes...that is a never!). Many times, he doesn't need to do any of these things, but he helps out where needed. He also is a wonderful father...the kids love him and miss him during the holidays when he is away. They run to the door to see him when he gets home and does the night routine by himself 3 days out of the week, because I am off doing other things. Thank you my dear husband. You are AMAZING!!!

A NEW ME!

2008-10-21T13:28:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I have been going about everything all wrong. In my previous post, I explained how I was feeling about so many things going on in my life, that I didn't sit back and get the big picture. So, after venting all my frustrations and clearing the air, I then started thinking about WHY I actually felt the way I had.
General Conference gave me some new inspiration. In several talks, it spoke of callings and how they are to help build us and our testimonies. Wow, I had heard that, but never put it into a perspective that would include me. I found that I had a testimony of the gospel, but was unable to tell anyone what I actually believed because it was so weak.
I voiced my concerns to my husband, who then started giving us assignments...or a quest to find out more.
As the first day of nursery came, I was very nervous. I knew I was going to hate it, but I promised myself that I was going to go into this with and empty slate waiting to be filled. I was going to be the best nursery leader possible.
That same day, I found out what has been missing. In all of my other nurseries, they had so many other things going, that they never included a lesson for the children. They also didn't have anything for the leaders to prepare spiritually for. Basically, we had to just go with the flow instead of preparing ahead of time what we needed to have the children focus on while in nursery.
This made the biggest difference. I was able to feel the spirit for the first time ever in nursery and am enjoying every minute of it....amazing I know. These children are so smart and bright. Even though they don't show any interest in what is being taught to them, they still have such awesome spirits that show how close they are to the spirit.
In my opinion, nursery is for the adults benefit. Yes, we help the children in the early years learn about the gospel, but the children are so close to the spirit already that there is no way that you can't be affected for the better, unless you are LOOKING AT THINGS THE WRONG WAY!!! Like I had been.
Since then, I have notice how I am very eager to look at the lessons for the week and sing some of the songs to my children during the day.
Thank you for all the love and support that many of you have shown. I needed strength more than I could have imagined. It was the strength and testimonies from all of you that helped me move forward and start my healing process. I had been quarantined for who know how long, and am finally able to break free. I will continue to grow. THANK YOU!

THINGS NOT QUITE RIGHT!

2008-10-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

Everything has been going like clockwork for several months now. We start house hunting, we start building our home, the house was due to close the day our lease was up on our rental apartment, we live in a great area with wonderful people. Everything is perfect.

So why am I complaining??? Because sometimes things don't go as you plan them and you just need to tell someone how you feel. My own thoughts...this will make me feel better, and I can go on with my crazy life.

Ever since I have been married I have held ONE and only ONE calling in the 10 wards that I have moved to in the last 9 years of marriage. This calling to me is very important, but can get tiresome as time goes on; especially when that calling happens to be what you do on a DAILY basis. I am of course speaking of being called to the nursery. Every time I move to a new area, I am immediately put in this calling. This is a great calling don't get me wrong, but the problem I see is that I watch my 3 children and 2 other children in my area on a daily basis.

On Sunday, for the last 9 years I have only attended 6 Sunday School/Relief Society meetings. The spirit (as many of you that have been in nursery know) is not quite there. I have very few opportunities to feel it if ever. But what do you tell the counselor that is sent to give you a calling that you feel you have had enough of, that tells you that the Lord has issued you a call. You can't deny the Lord. He knows what is best for all of us.

My problem is that now, I am feeling like this is the only calling that I must be qualified for since I have not been in anything else.

So, yes, I need an attitude adjustment...I know. I have been crying all night and all day, because I feel like I am need of the spirit in my life more now than any other time in my whole life. So after I cried forever, I prayed an didn't feel any better.

Then to top it all off, since I am not feeling so great...still crying...my husband is due to go hunting with the guys for one week...starting tonight. What are the odds that everything in my life comes crashing down all at once? I hope the odds are now great!

I am trying to think more positive about things. Thinking that maybe there is something more to nursery that I haven't gotten in the last 9 years...give any suggestions if you have any...and possibly that is the reason for me continuing down this path that feels like it is a winding circle.

Home Sweet Home!!!

2008-09-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

On August 29, 2008, Michael and I closed on our first home. We were frightened and excited all at the same time. This is a big step that we have taken, but we are SOOO ready to be in a place we can call our own.

We have now been in the house almost a month, and it still hasn't hit me that this is our home. I feel like it is a loner.

We have done very few improvements on the house. I refuse to put holes in the wall until I am certain of how I want to decorate, so the only thing on our wall is a clock. We have unpacked most of the boxes and have organized quite a bit.

The next step is going to be sprinklers and grass in the front yard. Michael has graded the front yard and got up most of the rocks. He was riding around on a 4-wheeler with a hoe on the back to try to pull up some of the stubborn large rocks. It was pretty fun to see. Corbin had fun riding the 4-wheeler back and forth while Broxon and Benjamin just played in the dirt piles near our home.

Finally, before this winter hits, we need to frame, insulate, rewire electrical, sheetrock, mud, tape and paint the area for the furnace and water heater. Apparently we have been told that the cold air intake is going to freeze our basement and make our heating bill go up, so we have a lot of work to do before winter hits in 2 months.

It is hard work, but we are enjoying every minute of it.

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!!!

2008-05-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is our great trip to Oklahoma to visit Shannon's sister Alissa and her wonderful family James and Talon and soon to be Maylee. We had been looking forward to this trip for several months, and now that it is over, it makes us sad. Broxon, Benjamin and Corbin loved every minute on the four planes that we rode on in order to get to Oklahoma. Corbin's only problem, wanting to look out the window ALL the time, even when seat belts were required. Corbin ate everything in sight and Broxon and Benjamin enjoyed watching movies on the laptop. During our second flight, there was a problem that delayed us and hour. When the plane finally left, they gave us free TV service. That was a big highlight for the boys, even though they slept from takeoff!