Well Hello Again

 

 

(order on Etsy here )

This little quote came to mind when I thought this was a fine time to pick back up with my blog! I have missed it! Blogging has been such a fun hobby for so many reasons.  First, I love the opportunity to write--to try and  record my thoughts and life.   Next I LOVE to  connect with others.  I seriously enjoy the comments, emails, and getting to "meet" other women that I never would have been able to with out blogging.  In fact, I got the sweetest email just yesterday from someone all the way across the country who has read this little blog for years!  It made my day and inspired me to get back to it!  Last, this is my place to focus on the good and happy things in life.  I will be the first to admit that life is hard--  it is not all sunshine and roses but one of my favorite quotes is:

 

“Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend … when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”   

^{(Comes from this awesome talk here )}

So I will start back with some of the little happy moments that I have tucked away in my heart recently.

 

Last week was our Fall break and we took off for just a couple of days to one of our favorite spots here in the South...Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. 

After 6 hours in the car the boys wasted no time hitting the waves!

They dove in with such pure joyful reckless abandon--I loved it!

 

 

 

Although I miss my boy so much, I LOVE that he is so happy serving in his first area...way out in the boonies, in a tiny little town in Alabama.  He is spending his days serving others in anyway he can, sharing with them the love of God, testifying of Jesus Christ and teaching those who want to listen.

Just look at that genuine smile on a recent baptism day:

 

 

Last for now...I will never forget the first few days of Fall Break when I decided to plant 250 bulbs.  Yes, I am not kidding-- I got a little carried away one evening shopping online!

 

I  was really questioning my judgement ordering all those tulips when it came time to plant them. It was so hot and humid! I was exhausted after the first 50--but luckily my cute boys came to the rescue.  All of them were out digging and helping me get it done.  I just hope my yard doesn't look ridiculous come Spring.  HAha!

 

 

Well it is good to be back!  I am already thinking about a 'Friday Favorites' tomorrow--just for fun!

Oh and I need to start posting my weekly menu again.  That was so helpful for ME!

I go in spurts with menu planning--but life is so much better when I do them:)

xoxoxo

Big Day

Coleman was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last week.  I am so impressed with this boy and his friends who work so hard in school!

I sure do love this sweet boy!

   He has had a very busy year so far with football in the fall, basketball this winter and currently running track but has still been very disciplined to keep his grades up!

 

He is growing up so fast and I couldn't be happier with the young man he is becoming.

I love you Coleman Keith!  

Where in the world Will Connor Go?

 

Guess what?  We got an email on Tuesday night from our Stake President saying that Connor's mission papers had been submitted!!

This boy is SO excited to serve the Lord for 2 years on an LDS mission!

He is spending extra time everyday studying the scriptures and the Preach My Gospel manual.

It truly warms my heart.  I am so happy for him and this experience that will change his life. 

 

 

So we have a couple of weeks to make guesses as to where we thin he is going to be called

Where do you think?

 

 

I sure do love this boy so much! What a gift to be his Mother!

Happy Monday

We had a solid week of gray skies and rain last week so you can imagine how a glorious blue sky and sunshine is appreciated today!  It is a great way to start out the week!

 

We had a nice weekend--Cannon got to try a egg mcmuffin for the first time. We are not big Mcdonalds fans around here--but still I pretty surprised when he told me that  he had NEVER had one before.  Saturday morning everyone was gone except for the two of us and that is what he wanted for breakfast when I told him we could go somewhere for breakfast.  Silly boy!

Verdict:  It was "pretty good" but he likes my pancakes better:)

 

My boys were thrilled to see our BYU Cougars in the March Madness brackets!

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago in the wee hours of the morning when BYU made history beating Gonzago at home ending their 4 year winning streak.  Let me tell you it is hard to be a true blue BYU fan when you live on the East Coast.  Most games end up being in the middle of night for us--ugh!!  It never stops these super fans though:)

Connor finished his big Capstone Senior Project last week--phew!  That was hanging over his head all year!  He did a great job so we celebrated with a lunch at Cheddars!  I am going to really miss this boy next year!  He had his interview with the Stake President yesterday and his mission papers should be in by the end of the week!  He is SO excited to get his mission call!

 

Bridger has found a friend that shares his obsession for Hockey!  These two boys are living in the wrong place to play hockey (there are no leagues here to join) so they created their own! They play at our house ...

and at his house.  Pretty much anytime they get a chance:)  Bridger now has all the Hockey games televised set to record!  Some of his brothers that are trying to record basketball games  complain that hockey is taking over the DVR!

Last weekend we took the boys to see McFarland (the cross country team running movie with Kevin Costner)

It was a good movie!  The boys liked it but I was excited with this preview: 

 

 The boys all swore that there was NO way they were going to that movie and that I would have to go by myself!  Then my very sweet husband surprised me by coming home early Friday night with tickets!!  What a guy!  It was super fun!

It reminded me of another Cinderella movie Ever After...have you seen it? It came out a long TIME AGO-- but I remember that  I loved it!  Now I may have to find the DVD on Amazon:)  Won't my boys be thrilled with that purchase?!  Haha:)

 

 

I hope you have a wonderful week! 

 

 

Unexpected Thanksgiving Blessings

On Thanksgiving I was happily working away in the kitchen making buttermilk rolls and apple pies for our feast when my husband helped my son Connor in looking like he came off the set of some kind of horror movie looking all bloody and dazed.

He was totally "out" of it.  As I turned around to get some ice for his poor beat up face, his eyes rolled back in his head and he started to have a small seizure, and passed out. He came to, but was not talking and responding. It was AWFUL!

My husband and I were so scared!  I started to call 911 but Brad and TJ were getting him into the car and racing tot he hospital before I could even get out our address. 

 

I found out later that someone in our neighborhood found him unconscious in the middle of the road.  He had been on his longboard going down a big hill.  They were about to call 911 when he came to.  They said he got up, grabbed his skateboard, saying he was fine and would just walk home.  Thankfully this good Samaritan insisted on driving him home and told us later that Connor was worried about getting blood on his car and kept saying thank you!  Connor has no memory of this at all.

After they left I immediately went in my room and knelt in prayer asking Heavenly Father to help my son and then I called my Mom who contacted our family requesting prayers.

It means so much to me to know that I have family and friends  who love me and my children and will exercise their faith on our behalf.  We have a might army of "prayer warriors" (as they say here in the South) and I am SO grateful!!

 

He spent a few hours getting Xrays and CT scans at the hospital.

Brad said he was confused and not able to answer questions right.  Although the one question he did answer correctly was who the current president is--he said "Unfortunately, Obama"  We were big Mitt Romney supporters:) He did ask Brad for a blessing and our Bishop and good friend came and helped Brad fulfill that request.  There was a big improvement in his behavior after that. 

They found a brain bleed and decided that he should be transferred to a bigger hospital downtown that has  trauma unit and neurologist there.

The brain bleed even though small was a worry and they take that very seriously, especially since he had experienced some small seizures and loss of consciousness. 

Thankfully, there were no broken bones (just lots of road rash)!

 

My boys were all so worried and honestly I hope this experience helps remind them to NEVER skateboard without their helmets! They all had tears in their eyes--especially Bridger.  I am sure this brought back lots of scary memories for him of being in the ICU a couple of years ago.

 

Connor and I spent the night in the hospital and when they ran another CTscan the brain bleed was gone!!  I know it was a HUGE blessing!

 

We were able to go home the next day with anti seizure and severe headache medication and the orders to take it easy!

 

 I can't tell you how thankful we are!! I know it could have been a lot worse!!

 

He has been in a lot of pain, dizzy and tired but he will heal completely.

Thank you so much for all the thoughts, faith and prayers for our boy!

 We have the best friends and family ever!
 

 He has been showered with love and concern.

Some of our friends brought him over cookies looking like this:

Good thing Connor has such a great sense of humor!

 

We spent the rest of the Thanksgiving weekend together at home.

One night we made Connor a bed on the couch and watched a Christmas movie together.  My heart was full to the brim!  I sure love this wild and crazy band of boys I have.  Nothing brings me more happiness or is more important to me than my family.  I love them so much.

 

Hopefully next year Thanksgiving will be far less eventful!

Fall Break in Pictures -- Part 3 The Beach

  We drove to the gulf side to what we had heard was a great beach Fort Desoto (close to Tampa)

It was a bit wild for me--but the boys loved it!!

 We have some good friends that moved to Tampa and they met us as the beach!  It was so much fun

  Back to the resort--

and some more pool football:)

Ended the night with pizza and a movie.

Bedtime Goals and Dreams

First day of school pictures

 

 It seemed like summer zipped by this year and all of a sudden it was time to go back to school!  This year I have 3 boys that are at the Middle High School (it's combined) and only two left at the Elementary School.

 

 

I now have 3 different start times again.  Connor and TJ leave for seminary (a 6am scripture study class for high school students that meets at our church before school), Coleman by 6th grader leaves at 6:45am and then my little boys Bridger and Cannon leave at 8:15am.

That is 3 breakfasts, 3 family prayers and 3 (hopefully loving) send offs a morning.

Not to mention packing 5 lunches a day!

So as you can see, I really need to bring my A game every morning and be on my toes!

 

With such an early start time and such busy mornings--I have found that we all need a good nights sleep--which brings me to a serious predicament.

 

Most nights my boys seem to fight sleep and do anything in their power to avoid their beds and starting around 8:45 I begin to feel frustrated....and turn into a nagging cranky tired Momma.

So I have set a new goal for myself to not rush bedtime anymore, to be FIRM, but remain happy and loving. 

 

 

  I know that bedtime can be a special bonding opportunity where kids open up and talk about things that are on their minds.. A time when they are ready to talk and to listen.  When things can sink deep in their hearts  Something about a cozy bed, the presence of a loving parent and dimmed lights--is magical.  I know this and I want it--but man it is going to take some serious effort on my part. 

 

The only time I have successful bedtimes with my boys like that is when I start early (or I don't care how late it is--which late nights is not an option during the school year if I want happy mornings:)...so I am recommitting to having my dinners planned so I am not stressed and scrambling. This will set the stage, I hope:)  Then I will have plenty of time for the whole evening routine of checking homework, family scriptures, PJs, teeth brushing, reading etc EARLY--so we can feel relaxed and not rushed when it is finally time to get the boys tucked into bed.  And that is just the little ones.

 I have found that my teenagers need time to decompress before I rush them off to bed too.  Why is it that around the time they should be headed to their rooms for the night, they  become chatty and so fun to be around?!   I am realizing that this is a precious time that I don't want to miss.  Hopefully starting early will allow me to enjoy them and not feel annoyed that it is too late. 

Wish me luck!

 

If only I could work this bedtime magic like Mary Poppins--remember this?!  he he--I love it!
 

Here is to happy bedtimes for all!

What are your secrets to bedtime success??

 

A series of Unfortunate Events

This week we had some strangely familiar troubles and heartbreaks come our way..

 Starting off with Connor breaking his thumb on the growth plate, in the same spot as he did 5 years ago.  Remember his season ending football injury here.  We see a hand specialist this week and are hoping it won't affect his upcoming wrestling season!

Next up, the most anticipated football games of the season. 

 First our high school team played our BIGGEST rival on Friday night.  Our school is only 4 years old and we have never beat this team.  This year we went into the game, undefeated and projected to win. The boys were so excited--our whole family was decked out in school colors and some of us even went a little crazy with hair color and markers (they got into the Halloween stuff--silly boys).  It was a nail biter, down to the line but in the end... we LOST by 2 points!

  Heart breaker!!

 At least the cheerleaders were darling!

 Then bright and early Coleman was preparing for the BIG BYU vs Utah game.  He was all decked out about 12 hours before the game started!

He even decorated the house:)

Don't you love the hashtag--everytime I see that it makes me laugh!

I love this boy--11 going on 16-:)

The game didn't start until 10:30pm our time, so it was  LONG wait!  It is hard to be a BYU fan living on the East coast.  I have tried to get them to pick a SEC team to cheer for, but they can't --they are true blue loyal Cougar fans.  

Brad and I went to a movie Saturday evening and I think Coleman called us 13 times with updates on he preparations for the big game.  He was so excited!

He had prepared bowls of candy , popcorn, drinks, blankets and pillows for the family in our upstairs media room.  Poor little Cannon was out minutes after kickoff.

I worked on getting photo albums caught up.  (I will post about that soon)

This game was another HUGE disappointment.

The cougars broke their hearts,  losing for the 4th year in a row to the University of Utah!

ugh!

Such sad sad boys, again!

It felt like deja vu 

Not worth staying up until 2am for!!!

I have to say we still had a lot of fun together all weekend--through all the "blows" LOL

Lucky for me these boys realize that IT IS JUST a game, getting over it pretty quick,

and they still fiercely love their Cougars:) 

We are hoping for a better days ahead!