Our Future

This morning in the car...

Tate,  "Mom, Taylor Rose talks a lot."

Me, "I know, most girls do."

Tate, "No Mom, I mean A LOT!"

Congrats Trace

Trace made the American Fork Jr. High Lacrosse A-team! 

Too bad I have no idea how to play or what the rules are, time to do some studying...

Look what I did...

BUT NOT TOO CLOSELY!

Much to my astonishment (and that of Bill & Kids) I was able to reupholster my dining room chairs yesterday! They aren't perfect, but I think they're pretty good. Just a few more touches and the living & dining rooms will be officially decorated. Next is the master bedroom.

Lessons from Gracie

My heart is heavy as I post tonight.  My every thought is with Gracie and her family.  I cannot begin to imagine how they must feel having said goodbye for the last time.  It has been my privilege to love and serve them throughout this journey.  

My family has been strengthened through sharing this experience.  As I came home from bootcamp early yesterday morning I found Trace and Taylor in the office anxiously reading Gracie's blog. Their hearts were touched as they read the loving words posted  by her mother.  Later that day while driving home from school,  Tate turned to me and said, "I know Heavenly Father is so proud of Gracie for trying so hard to live here on earth.  She must be so happy to be in heaven now."

  As for me, Gracie has taught me so many things, if I were to list them all my post would never end.  Most of all she has taught me to enjoy the journey.  As a mother I find that I choose to spend so much of my time trying to erase the fact the my children exist.  I am constantly cleaning, straightening, checking things of the 'to do' list, trying so hard to control life.  Instead I need to appreciate the fact that if my house is filled with happy chaos, if there are crumbs on the floor, and sticky spots on my counter, it means that my children are here.  That instead of running around picking up after them, I need to put down my Windex and run with them. 

Thank you Gracie for reminding me what is most important.  May you and your family be encircled about eternally in the arms of His love. 2 Nephi 1:15

Just call me a liar...

  You know the contests you see on T.V. where, when you buy a specific product, you may have a chance at winning a fabulous prize.  The popular tag line is "MANY will enter, only ONE will win!"  I have always told my kids that they are nothing but schemes.  Wednesday I had to run to Target and just happened to see that there was a new sour yogo fruit snack on sale so I picked up a couple of boxes. (my family loves anything sour) Tate had been seeing the commercials for a contest they were running and quickly ripped the boxes open.  The first revealed the usual "Sorry, you are not a winner."  The second revealed a $5.oo Discover card!  Apparently there are 43,000 $5.oo cards and we managed to find one -which split between 3 kids is $1.67 each.    I am afraid this will only encourage contest purchases in the future!

Prayers Needed

Little Gracie has had a rough week and has an unimaginable road ahead.  Please keep her in your prayers.  For an update click on her blog to the left.

Happy Heart Day!

Goodies for my Valentines

Science Fair, Braces, & Influenza

Thursday was a busy day. It was the 5th grade Science Fair. Taylor did her project on what can help stinky feet (which she unfortunately inherited from my Dad). It turns out that rubbing your feet with lemon juice is the best remedy. Then Taylor went to Dr. Gee and got her braces. She LOVES them, it helps that a few of her friends have them. She has pink and green bands and is so excited to switch her colors every month. She also has a widening device on her lower jaw. Her mouth is full of contraptions! The influenza comes from Tate. He complained of a headache, which became severe and then had a fever of 103. I took him to the after hours clinic and they swabbed his nose and tested for the actual FLU. It was positive. He cannot go to school for a week and needs lots of liquids and rest. He is still running a small fever even with medication. He is feeling pretty miserable, but fortunately for me, is not a big complainer. Now all I have to do is continually wipe down my house with anti-bac stuff in hopes no one else gets infected. We will be getting our FLU shots next year!

What?

Sleeping has never been an issue for me, eating on the other hand....

Who knew?

After our long day at Sundance

Apparently we are a skiing family.  This past Monday the kids had the day off from school so I decided it was the perfect opportunity for them to take a skiing lesson.  Yes, it is the first time our kids have been skiing.  Yes, I am a terrible mother.  Anyway, the weather was gorgeous and everyone loved it!  We skied for 6 hours.  Taylor even says she wants to be an Olympic Skier.  Needless to say we were all exhausted when we got home, but the kids can't wait to go again.