That's My Girl!

(Tynli with her soccer trophy from Fall season)

At the beginning of the month Tynli tells me after school that she has won an award. As my mommy pride begins to set in I asked what kind of award. "Hmmm," she says, "Something that rhymes with ridiclioush." Hmmmm, now I think, what could that possibly be? So I tuck it in the back of my mind and figure I'll find out once we reach home and I look through her school folder.

Now let me back up a bit. My kids attend a Catholic school. The school's theme for the year is something about being a TEAM. Of course there is a scripture to go with it and if I weren't so lazy I'd look it up and post it here. The school also has a virtue that they focus on for each month. A few students from each class are chosen for exemplifying the virtue. They have an MVP (Most Virtuous Player) form they fill out and they are all displayed on a bulletin board. They are also recognized at the last school Mass of the month. So here I am thinking hard, what could the virtue of November be, what rhymes with ridiclioush?

A few days later I ask her if she found out what the virtue of the month. "Um grenarious?" "Um, No." Of course I laugh and conclude that the principal will surely mention it in her weekly newsletter. Nope, no such luck.

A few more days go by and Tynli comes home so excited, they have a new girl in her class and she got to teach her all about the virtue of the month. "Great, what is it?" "Hmm, grayious?" So if she can't remember the virtue, does she really exemplify it?

A few days later an entire school newsletter comes in the mail, the virtues for the school year are listed. I quickly glance to November. My sweet, precious, needs help with vocabulary, daughter is GENEROUS! I couldn't be prouder.

Halloween

Hope you had a great one! Love from Scooby, Shaggy, Velma and Daphne (who loved having long hair by the way).

Back to Blogging

Have you ever checked your New Year's Resolutions in November? Well I thought I should, just so I won't feel like a total failure on December 31. One of them was to blog more often. No I haven't done such a great job, doesn't mean I can't start right? So here I am giving it a go, if not for anything other than for my kids to have a few of my thoughts recorded somewhere that are more current than their scrapbooks. This post may not have anything informative, except a statement that there will be more to come!

First Day of School (3 weeks ago)

Tynli started 2nd grade and this is Porter's last year of preschool.

I can dress myself Mommy!

My Little Man

A few things have happened in my life recently that have helped give me a new outlook. So I am just trying to enjoy each day and embrace each moment. One little person helps me with this and doesn't even know it. Porter has got to be the sweetest little man ever. He calls me sweetie pie and tells me how wonderful I am! How can you not love that? He is always so grateful, saying thank you for everything and never forgets to say I wuv you Mommy. He is so precious and I am so blessed to be his Mommy or Mayday as he likes to call me.

Job, not Job like employment, but JOB, the man. . .

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. Job 19:25

And if only this, but all of this, I know is true. My heart may ache or be filled with joy. Some days I experience both, but my Redeemer lives and on the last day I will see.

So the ecomomy has affected everyone in one way or another. So I say I am grateful that my husband has a job, like employment. But my heart is full because I can read JOB, the book in the bible and know that my Redeemer lives.

I am repetitive I know, not for your sake, but for mine. In a time of a lot of uncertainty all I need to be certain of is this.

ups and DOWNS . . .

Has life ever thrown so much at you that you don't know how much more you can handle? There are all these little things and some are big things affecting my life right now. It's one of those times where it's hard to keep my head up, my spirits high, a smile on my face. And then I read blogs. Odd? Not to me. I started reading the NieNie dialogues when she was on Oprah or else KSL news, not sure which. But she was in a plane crash and has burns over 80% of her body. Yet she gets up every day, she is a mom everyday. She is still recoverying and has surgeries and treatments ahead of her and she still gets up. While reading that blog I have stumbled upon others. One is by a woman named Molly. Her 2 year old daughter died after choking on an apple, at church! She too gets up, she too is still a mother, she still chooses to live. So in my dark time, when my heart is hurting, when my burdens feel extra heavy, I too will get out of bed. I too will be a mother, I too will live each day.

A Tale of Three Houses

This is my house in Arizona. A strange picture I know, because it only snows maybe if your really lucky like once a year. Which is why I took the picture in the first place. Alas this is my house, a house I love, a house I brought my infant son home to, a house made of dreams and of dreams come true. But now it is time to move on. We have been in Utah almost 9 months and this house is just that a house. No longer our home.
House #2


This is our house in Orem. Oh what a beautiful house it is, only remember we only lived in the basement. I loved driving down the private driveway and parking behind the garage. (The upstairs tenants got the garage along with an amazing professioal gas stove with double ovens and a pantry the size of a Master bedroom-it is Utah afterall). Although it was a basement, it was very nice. The cabinets were gorgeous, the granite was granite and the bathtub had jets. We also had a gas log fireplace that we turned on even in June (it was a rainy month and we are from Arizona). It also had this great fluffy carpet that felt so nice between my toes and never showed one ounce of dirt. Loved that carpet. Living with folks above us didn't turn out to be so fun though and alas we had to move on again.


House #3


Now, where we sleep is here. This house is not my dream home. I am not fond of the carpet in the dining room and master bath. Nor do I like the vinyl flooring in the kitchen. I have learned that big bedrooms are over rated and square footage is lost in stairs. But I do like having our own space, not sharing a home with strangers. I love that my family is reunited and we are living each day together. I love that we have grass and a lot of it and I love the view of the mountains:



It is beautiful! I recently found a sticker in a scrapbook store: "It's not the HOME I love, but it's the LIFE that's LIVED there."--Elise de Wolf. No this home doesn't have all the beautiful details I added to the house in Arizona, but it is HOME and I will treasure the life that we live here together.

Another week

So now that I've decided to blog again, I keep waiting for inspiration about something cute, funny or even amazing to share. And I guess I must keep waiting because it was just another week, just as usual, just as simple. Maybe for all of this I should be extra grateful. So I will post a picture of my darling daughter Tynli. She is 6 and three quarters and yes that three quarters is very important. She is good a math, and loves to create things. She is a sweet big sister, a helpful daughter and a loving pet owner. She's a good friend as long as you do what she says. (not really, well at least not all the time). She is not perfect, but I am blessed to be her mother, and for this I am truly grateful.

New Year's Resolutions

Okay, so it's been a while. Not sure if anyone even noticed. But I used to enjoy blogging, so I thought I would add it to my list of New Year's Resolutions. Maybe a funny thing on that list of typicals: Lose weight, be a better mom and wife, organize, etc. Blogging is a way for me to document our lives, which become our memories. So I guess even if no one else reads, we still have here to enjoy.