Rivers and streams

Today I am grateful for rivers and streams. This week is my little sister's spring break and so my parents took her to Sundance for their vacation. They invited me and the kids to come to their little cabin/condo place at the resort for the day today. It was gorgeous. Best of all was the river that ran down the mountain behind their place. I love the sound of rushing water. It is so beautiful and calming. My Grandpa Humpherys used to have a cabin up in Sundance when I was really little and that same river I listened to today ran right by it and I remember how it sounded. My old house used to have a stream running through the back of it and on rainy days it would sound so great. It would swell and rush down our yard and it just sounded so wonderful and relaxing. I love that sound. The steady white noise would bring a peace to your soul. I hope to someday have a stream in the yard of our permenant home. I am grateful for rivers and streams.

Mom

Today I am grateful for my mom. I look up to her so much. Not just because she is my mom, but because she is so much stronger than I am. She loves all of her children so much and tries to do everything she can to be fair and give them what they need. She has been dealt a difficult hand and she just keeps going on and doesn't give up. She has her hard days, but she still reads her scriptures and prays and tries not to get angry at God. I know she prays for each of us and worries about each of us. She is so proud of our accomplishments and who we have become. She loves each of her grandchildren so much and is so proud of their accomplishments. She beams when they are baptized. She is always telling me that a mom is a teacher and you have to be constantly looking for ways to teach your children. She knows so many little fun kids' songs. More than I every knew exsisted. Music and teaching kids is her passion. One of her favorite things to do with her grandkids is read to them. She has an amazing eye for interior design, even though she has never taken a class for it. She taught herself to cut her own hair (out of rebellion, but hey, if that is what it took). She can sew most anything. She truly studies the scriptures and the modern prophets' words and inspires me to be better at my personal scripture study. She has more patience than almost anyone I know. When I get glimpses into her life, I realize how much she truly sacrifices and endures for her children. I love her so much and hope that I can become more like her. I am grateful for my mom.

The Church

Today I am grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Today is April 6th, a historic day in our Church. It is the birthday of the organization of the Church, Christ's resurrection is believed to have happened on this day, also his birth is believed to be around this day, and many other special things have happened on or around this day in our Church's history. Add to that list the wonderful General Conference we just had, and therefore I felt today would be a good day to express my gratitude for it.

I grew up in the Church. I never really questioned it's truth. I have just always known. I have had my difficult times that have tried my testimony, but it has never diminished. It has given me my family, my beliefs, my strength, my endurance, my path, many of my friends, and so many other things. I know this is what everybody says, but I don't know where I would be without it. I know I would probably have a similar disposition and personality. But I know I would have the strength of character that I have now. Not that I am some amazingly strong person, but through the trails that I have gone through and how they taught me to turn to the Lord, I am much stronger than I would have been. I can even say it has saved my life and given me the reason to keep on truckin' on. It one of the reasons Matt and I survived the past few months. This Church is a huge part of my life and I am forever grateful for how it has blessed my life. I am grateful for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Here are the promised pictures of my new 'do. Enjoy!

Silliness

Today I am grateful for random times of silliness. Yesterday I found myself doing something that on any other day I probably would have gotten upset with Beckett for doing (and will probably live to regret showing Beckett how to do). A few days ago, Beckett had gotten a deck of cards in his Wendys' Kids meal. During General Conference, I wanted to keep the kids happy and occupied, so I got this crazy idea and started to throw the cards in the air and scattered them all across the room. Beckett had so much fun and giggled tons. Belle just kind of sat there, not knowing what to think. The crazy thing is that this was the best he has ever picked up his toys, but that was only because he would pick them up so I could throw them in the air again. Matt was shaking his head at me, but it was lots of fun.

While making dinner, I have been known to dance to show tunes. Beckett and I do kicks all around the kitchen. It is so fun and I love making Beckett and Anabelle laugh.

Today I was goofing off with my sisters a little and it just makes you feel so good inside to not care what people think and make them laugh. I am grateful for random times of silliness.

New Hair

Today I am grateful for pampering and a new hairdo. After over a year, I got my hair highlighted and cut tonight. Getting a new hairdo makes me feel like a new woman. I am excited to do it and to look good. Maybe next week, after the novelty has worn off, I wont have as much of a spring in my step, but for now, I am feelin' great. I have always loved getting my hair played with and to have someone message my scalp and then "play" with my hair while it is getting styled, felt so good and was really relaxing. I love the way it turned out and how I look. Up until about 5 years ago, I had never dyed my hair (and was really proud of the fact, not many girls my age could say that), and then I won a make-over and had it dyed for the first time. I was so scared. I liked the way it turned. I wouldn't say I am addicted to it, like some girls I know, but having a new look every once in a while really makes a difference on your outlook (at least for a little while). I am grateful for pampering and a new hairdo.

I was going to post pictures of my new 'do, but I couldn't get it to work and it is late. Tomorrow I will post them.

2 in 1

Sorry I missed yesterday. I am sure you were all waiting on pins and needles to see what I would write. Sorry to let you down.

Okay, this is what I was going to write yesterday. That I am grateful that Beckett really does learn what I am trying to teach him, especially when he surprises me out of now where with his knowledge. Yesterday I was getting Anabelle dressed for the day and all of a sudden, Beckett starts sing "Do as I'm Doing". Usually he just says, "Doing" and rolls his arms around each other (like "roll it and roll it" from patty-cake) and then expects us to sing the song while he just watches. But this time he sang most of the words and did the actions with out anybody singing or doing it with him. Out of now where. It totally made my day. The same happened with how he started counting and quoting his favorite book. I am so glad that I really am teaching able to teach him. I am grateful that Beckett really does learn what I teach him.

Today I am grateful for Supernanny. I started watching Supernanny on the internet about a month and a half ago. She is amazing. I have started to try out her naughty spot thing on Beckett and it totally works. If we say "Do you want to go on the naughty spot?", he will usually stop whatever naughty thing he was doing and start being a good boy. I am also working on how she helps out with picky eaters, but I haven't been as dedicated to that one as the naughty spot. Her tips really do help. Another thing I have noticed with watching the show, it is always the parents that need to be fixed, not really the kids. You see all of these "naughty" children, and you think "Man, those are some bad kids", but then Supernanny gets there and it is the parents that are bad. I have had a new realization to my responsibilities as a parent. I really enjoy seeing the things she teaches these parents about themselves and how to be a better parents. I am grateful for Supernanny.

I just want to put a disclaimer on these blogs. I am not an English major in any way. I still have a hard time with adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. So, please be forgiving of my poor writing skills.

March Update

Hey everybody. Sorry it has taken so long to update you all. Things have been crazy since we dropped Mom Jacob off at the airport. Anabelle had her first birthday last week. I can't believe it has already been one year. She is such a fun baby. She loves to cuddle all the time. I love to cuddle, but she seems to only want to do it when I have to make dinner or some other household chore. She is also a walking nut. She loves to walk. The first time we took her outside to walk, she loved it. And now whenever the door is open, she tries to go outside. She thinks it is a blast and that she is such a big girl. For her birthday, she got her first pair of shoes. The first time she wore them was at a park. It was also her second time walking on grass. She didn't move. She was really freaked out by the shoes and then by the uneven ground. It was really funny. She wouldn't even move when we held her hand. Here are some pictures of her eating her cake. I guess she didn't really eat her cake, she mostly smooshed it.

Beckett has grown up a little this past month. He is starting to enjoy books now. My mother lent us "One Fish, Two Fish" by Dr. Seuss and this book is what did it. He wants to read it almost every day before his naps and before going to bed. It is great. I was worried that he was never going to like books, but I have high hopes now. He has also started to become more mischievous. One day I was at my mother's house and I noticed that the kids weren't around and that it was kind of quiet. I started to search for them and started to hear giggling in the basement. I went down there thinking they were just playing in the little toy room under the stairs. No, they were in the bathroom splashing away in the toilet bowl. I thought I was going to die. YUCK! So gross. He also loves his new independence. He loves that he can get into the cupboards all by himself. He will get the cereal out or the crackers, and then after he has gotten his spoils, he will leave it on the floor. Belle will then proceed to dump them all out on the floor. I guess they have become partners in crime.

Matt got fired a little over a month ago for being an honest guy, and then last week got a better job that fits him perfectly. He takes pictures of cars for dealerships and then puts them on the Internet with the facts on each car. So it all turned out for the better. I just want to say thank you to everyone that helped us stretch our finances and for all of the prayers. We have been truly blessed.

So, during the month that Matt was out of work, we had a camping trip in our living room. We set up our tent in the living room, put in the mattress that goes on our hide-a-bed and some camping chairs, got out our camping lamp, and made smores bars (made from Golden Grahams). Christa, my sister, came up and spent the night with us. We watched "Kung Fu Panda", one of our family's new favorite movies. Then Matt, Beckett, and I slept in the tent that night. It wasn't that bad. I think Beckett only woke up once. It was really fun. A nice way to shake it up.

There hasn't been much new going on with me. I am reading the Chronicles of Narnia and am really enjoying the series so far. A friend's blog has inspired me to do something special this month. I have decided to blog each day this month about something I am grateful for. It is the month of Easter and I want to honor what our Savior did by showing my gratitude. Today I am grateful that Matt has a job. I already started talking about it, I just want to expound a little bit more on it. I am grateful for it because now we don't have to sell our home and move back in with my parents (which is what Matt and I had started talking about if Matt didn't get a job by the first part of April). I am grateful for it because I can go to the store and buy some non-necessities and not feel guilty. I can cook whatever I want because we now have an in-come, not just an out-go (pun). I can now go to the Treehouse Museum with my kids and feel okay spending the $5 it takes to get us in. I can pay our bills with confidence. It is amazing how easily I can breathe now that we have money coming in. What a blessing work can be! The children and I will miss having Matt around more, but as soon as school is out, we will see him more again. Plus he now has something we haven't had for a long time with Matt's jobs - paid vacation - so we can take advantage of that too. I am grateful for Matt's job.