New Pics

So happy with our new photos! Merry Christmas early to a proud mama of her adorable kids!
Also think my husband is pretty cute too!
How can you not smile when you look at these sweet girls!:)

Thankful

Today I am so thankful for these 2 great people! They are my wonderful parents who are young and spunky and love us a lot! They are great at keeping us together and are so involved in all of our lives. We are able to have SUNDAY DINNER every week and be together and enjoy each other and catch up once a week in our busy lives.
They are some of the most spiritual and knowledgeable people I know also. They frequently have gospel discussions and teach us still as adults.
I am so grateful they love to be grandparents and like our kids! My kids are gleaming when they get to go to Bobba and Papa's. They love to go in their car, walk with them, be with them. They will have some great memories forever of days at Bobba's.
I believe no one is perfect, but we are always trying. We are a close family due to these great parents. Love you both!

Soccer

So Jaxson just finished soccer and here he is having a last game celebration that the city put on. The kids loved it and thought ice cream sandwiches and jump slides and mazes made a perfect Saturday.
Here is my happy boy in line and Yikes the boy behind him must have a problem:)
Trophies for all. They did so great this year and had an awesome defensive team. They improved so much throughout the season.
Here is his cheer team. The girls loved to go and set up their chairs and grandpa was a frequent visitor with doughnut holes. They sure are lucky kids!
Here he is in action getting the ball away and heading up the field!
Another adorable cheerleader! She loved to watch and also loved the treats too! We are on now with baseball and games in the evening when it has been quite cold. Jaxson is doing well with kid pitch and he loves to play. So thankful he loves anything he plays.

Mom's retreat

SO I had the best 2 days learning from some great moms just like me on how to enjoy and love being a mom and do good at it! Take a look at powerofmoms.com to get some great pick me ups.

Let’s take a look at some of these mythical moms.

First we have Picture-Perfect Mom. Despite giving birth to six children she is a firm and muscular size 2. This mother’s make-up never wears off and her hair doesn’t frizz. Her children are always well groomed, even stylish. She has a professionally manicured lawn and her home is beautifully decorated, annoyingly clean. She can find any household item in 15 seconds flat because “there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.” Her mini-van smells like vanilla.

Next is Practice-Makes-Perfect Mom. All her children play several instruments and excel at sports. Her family can organize a string quartet or a basketball team at the drop of a hat. This mother can’t see out the back window of her car from all the “student of the month” bumper stickers. Scholarships dot the horizon. This mom is currently taking classes in French and fencing while getting her masters degree in child psychology.

Then there is Perfect-Timing Mom. Her household is on a very tight schedule. She exercises, does laundry and starts dinner before the kids leave for school. She never misses an appointment, is always on time and lives by her planner. She has trained her children to dutifully check off their chore charts and complete all required after-school responsibilities before they engage in “free time”. Calendaring is a weekly family activity.

Last but not least is Practically-Perfect-in-Every-Way Mom otherwise known as The Perfect 10. This mother possesses all the aforementioned skills, traits and talents and then kicks it up a notch: she’s a Betty Homemaker! She cooks, sews, gardens and cans. She clips coupons and cuts her children’s hair. She can get chocolate out of cashmere while balancing her checkbook. This mom has endless patience and wisdom. She is everyone’s best friend. Her children come to her with their problems and she lives without regrets.

What do all these mothers have in common? They aren’t real! (Isn’t that a relief?)

mom's

As long as a home is healthy
who cares if it looks lived in!

I went to a great retreat today for mom's and learned a bunch of organizational ways to run our chaos. We loaded up and drove to Gilbert, but it was so worth it. I am ready to clear my mind and have a place for bills, papers, dreams, projects, events, and tasks. I hope to get a jump start to getting organized and being a better mom! Here is to a great week of new starts.

Letters

Letters are so meaningful and today my sweet sister wrote this to Mya for her birthday.......


Mya is a special girl
She loves to dance she loves to twirl
I can't believe she's six years old
Hew sweet, sweet smile is as good as gold
Mya, you are loved by everyone you meet
You make others feel happy when you pass by their street
I love your hugs and compliments
Your laughter, your jokes and your fashion sense
Your family wouldn't be the same without you
This is something your heavenly father knew
You were sent to make the world a better place
You are special and it is written all over your face
Another year older, let's celebrate
I'm taking you on a special date
Your mom can't come, and Jaxson too
This is a date for me and YOU!

I was so touched by this sweet letter and how it truly tells of her genuine great qualities. I am so thankful for my sweet girl and for my sister also. I am grateful that we have the opportunity to have special bonds with our nieces and nephews as we see them often. I am so blessed to have a sister who is like me and loves my kids almost as much as I do! What a great gift!

Sweet Mya

Today this big girl is 6! Where has the time gone? I can't believe how much she has matured and grown over the last year. She was a little gal in a special preschool last year. Now she is a independent girl who gets up in the morning and only needs some help with tying her shoes. She does her hair, gets dressed and puts her backpack by the door. She is quite a student also! She is learning to read and she writes great!!!! She is such a kind gentle person also. Her teacher said that she is always quick to comfort anyone who is hurt or sad and that she picked the one child who is usually picked last for her partner last week first! I sure do admire how quick she is to forgive and love unconditionally! She still loves her purses and things, but usually they are filled now with books and scissors and stickers to make everyone and invitation to something! She is a great eater and always is willing to try something new. She is a tall thin thing! She wears size 7 pants but only if they can cinch up a lot! She is a great sister to Whit and Jaxson and loves to play with them. She still has a great musical talent and will dance and sing whenever anything is on the radio. She also loves to swing and will be out on the swing set for hours if she can. She is a light in our lives! Tonight we went to paint pottery at "HArry Potter" as she called it and she enjoyed every second. Once again though she observed the lady who was working and wrapping the pieces and offered to help so she got the tape ready and placed in on each piece of wrapping. She would have stayed all night if I would have let her. We love her to pieces and she is a beautiful child inside and out! Hope you had the best day ever Laines!

Thankful

So with thanksgiving and all I thought about some things I am so blessed with.
-a beautiful family I love more than anything
-a healthy body and healthy kids
-good friends
-a great job that can be so rewarding and yet really hard some days
-a wonderful home and bed to sleep in
-great music to fill my soul and give me peace
-church and the way I feel renewed each Sunday
-cold weather and the ability to snuggle with my kids to keep warm at a baseball game
-a great cup of peppermint hot chocolate
-sweet prayers from my kids and 10 were said by our 3 year old tonight love them:)
-bedtime the chance to rest and reflect on the day and how to do better tomorrow