A Mothers Day Post

Mothers Day 2013. I have so many conflicting feelings today. 

First of all, it's worth mentioning that I am stuck in bed.....literally. Thursday evening my L4-L5 disk slipped again, pressing firmly on my sciatic nerve with more determination than it ever has before. The pain is at a 10, but alongside the pain, my feet keep falling asleep, and the pain made me feel lightheaded, like I'm going to pass out. A finger touch on my skin anywhere from my hips down HURTS! Lol....I finally caved @ my Spine Dr's and accepted a Rx for a small # of Percocet. 4 years ago I could take SO many of those and feel nothing. Now? I take 1 and it knocks me out. ***It feels GOOD to feel my Spirit stronger and in more control of my body....rather than the other way around.*** That IS one of our tasks while on this earth you know. To overcome the natural man/woman. When we moved to Ogden almost 6 years ago, I had no idea that the move would trigger my "refiners fire" but it did. And I am so grateful for the lessons that have begun to pour out as steadily as the rain has poured over the past several years.

........So, back to Mothers Day. It's here and I LOVE it! For me, it's become the day that I focus on the HUGEST blessing that I've been given. That of being a Mother. These kids are my LIFE! In hundreds of ways. More than I can count. Let's just say, I never knew my heart could love so many little people so much. ❤❤❤❤

Pretty much perfect....don't you agree?

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

All time Low

When your 4 year old tells you that she can't do something you're asking because she's "too shaky" - take that as a very bad sign.

Little hands so soft and sweet.
Stop poking them!!

Lily hit her all-time low about 45 minuets ago. 31 is a no-good-very-bad-number for diabetics, or anyone for that matter. The ironic thing is that this past week we went to her appointment and were instructed on how and when to give her a 'mini-glucogen' shot. Glucogen is what your liver dumps into your blood-stream when your in danger of, well, dying for lack of energy.

Princess's DON'T need SHOTS!

She's been resisting her shots more the past couple of weeks. It's horrible! As a Mom, All I want to do is protect my babies and give them what they need to be healthy and happy. Quite frankly, when a parent uses the term, "it's for your own good", or "this is harder for me than it is for you", most people chuckle and think about how many time their parents said that and, "gasp!!!, I can't believe I just said what I SWORE I would never say to my kids!!" So as I get her shots ready I FEEL myself saying what I used to just hear my parents say. And my words come out more like "Please honey! I'm sorry!! I KNOW it hurts, but we just have to be brave."

Don't be fooled by the age of our children.
They are young, but they are WISE.
AND, they learn (remember) quickly.

Sometimes when she asks the question, "Mommy, WHY haven't they found a cure yet?!?" I am able and prompted to seize the moment and to teach her the gospel principles behind our mortality. I tell her about the cure that will come when she's resurrected, and given a perfectly perfect body, that NEVER gets sick. But mostly, I just tell her that I don't know why because Mommy can't see eternity. Then I tell her that I love our Heavenly Father SOOO much, and that HE loves her even more than that, and that this trial is her test to show her Heavenly Father how brave she can be.

I've been so blessed, countless times, to feel the words given to me to be able to explain to my children at the youngest of ages, the most beautiful and profound principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To tell a four year old that Type 1 diabetes is part of her test in this life may trip us up as adults. We stop ourselves and think that this child is too young to understand such abstract principles. but that is where the mistake is made. Because the principles are not abstract at all, in fact, they are quite the opposite, they are what lies at the very center of our existence. 'God's plan of Happiness', or 'The Plan of Salvation' is the glue that formed our beings into something strong enough to place faith in an older brother (Jesus Christ) and then to take that leap of faith into the darkness of this world. Because we KNEW that we could get home again.

"Jesus KNOWS that those shots hurt honey.
He will help you be brave."

So, when a teaching moment comes - and they will come as often as we are ready for them - we can explain, "with the tongue of angels" that the reason this little girl is getting shots many times a day is because she wanted the chance to show her Heavenly Father how brave she could be, and also how much faith she could have. Knowing most four year olds, that teaching moment will most likely last as long as the questions flow. In my case, it came when Lily asked what faith meant. "You can have faith honey when you choose to believe that Jesus KNOWS what it feels like to have lots of shots. And when you choose to close your eyes and take his hand and let him help you be brave. Because he can, and he will!"

Pray Always

Don't be fooled by the fact that the end of this conversation was the last sentence above. "Careful the things you say.....children will listen..." are the words in a much loved broadway musical. They listen when the spirit of God is present.......why else would it be so hard to be patient as a parent? We all know what happens when Mom or Dad, or Grandma, Grandpa, etc. loose their patience - the teaching Spirit flies away and little devils come to play. Ooooooo! I surely, DOn't like those mean little guys. Do you?

When have you had the chance to teach a VeRy young child a gospel principle that one might initially think is over their heads? Please share!

Forgiveness.....

Last night was family night.

Sometimes it's great

Sometimes it's a battle - like it was last night.

We ended up writing letters

to

Santa.

Because Santa wants to have Christmas ready early this year.

:)

Everyone went right to work

Except for my oldest,

Eden.

Who got tears in her eyes

and wouldn't write anything down

but asked if she could 

"talk to me alone for a minute"

I motioned for her to come whisper it in my ear

She shook her head no, and told me it wasn't that kind of

talking.

Uh-oh.

I looked at Hottie Husband

with terror in my eyes.

And 20 minuets later when the rest of us were finished

and I was headed

upstairs

to talk.

I pulled him aside and told him

that I was worried!!!

Worried that

SHE

KNEW.

NO!!!!

NO!!!!!

This was the third time that the subject Santa Clause

had come up and

it was the third time that Eden had left the room

in TEARS.

And now..............

She was going to ask me

F L A T  -  O U T

"What am I going to tell her??????"

He calmly says,

(with a smile on his face)

"Just tell her the truth!"

MOAN, UGH, NOOOOOOO!!!!

I can handle having the final portion of

"the talk"

in regards to how the sperm gets to the egg.

I can handle buying the first bra.

I'm handling the estrogen-fed hormonal reactions pretty well.

BUT

I am NOT ready to admit how those stockings get filled on

Christmas Eve.

We sat on my bed

like we had many, many, MaNY times before

and I braced myself.

"Mom,"

she started....with tears following close behind

"Mom, I....I....I don't think I can ask Santa for anything this year because I've been doing a LOT of things that I should do, and I mean a LOT. And I haven't told you any of them - so I've been naughty and I deserve a lump of coal.....sob!!!"

Silence.

JOY!!!!!!!

Relief!

JOY!

Ahem......Nico-le.....come back to earth please.....

Oh,

right.

!!!

So I took my firstborn angel into my arms

and let her tell me all about it.

And she was right.

It WAS bad.

Horrible, actually.

She had an actual hiding place for her candy

so she could eat it in the basement.

Food is not allowed out of the kitchen in our home.

:)

30 minuets later we said goodnight

and she headed off to the room that she shared with her sister

to apologize

for not being nicer.

And to put into practice her first big lesson

about

repentance,

and forgiveness,

and about that yucky feeling that comes

from the spirit

when we've made a bad choice,

or 2 or 3.

That "Yucky Feeling"

It was a beautiful teaching moment.

My prayers that night were filled with gratitude.

Grateful that THAT day, 

I had been in tune enough with the Spirit

to be able to teach

instead of rolling my eyes.

Grateful that She had been sent to our family

first. to bless me. to bless her siblings.

And grateful that She

Believes.

In HIM

And yes -

In Santa too - who celebrates HIS birth by giving.

Greg Olsen art.

Forgiveness.

It's not always easy

or clear cut.

The scriptures teach us a lot about forgiveness

But through most of our life, we learn about forgiveness

throughout each day.

As we extend forgiveness freely

to those who may never ask for it, 

and to those, whose tender innocence really never needed it.

We learn about forgiveness

as others allow Christ's mercy to flow through their hearts

and into ours.

And we learn

so painfully

that being left alone to suffer

because of someones refusal to forgive

is akin to

being left alone in a room full of

mirrors.

Each one distorted into some

unrecognizable shape.

So we close our eyes

and look inward

to our heart.

And we keep our eyes closed.

closed to those who may hate us

or judge us

or simply misunderstand us

And our HEART

becomes our EYES

that set our sight inwards and upwards

towards

Our Savior.

Because 

HE FORGIVES.

******

"Forgiveness has nothing to do with them. It has to do with who we are and who we may become."

Richard Paul Evans in 'The Timepiece'

*******

We must forgive those who hurt us. The reason is simple: Bitterness and unforgiveness are claws that set their hooks deep in our hearts; they are chains that keep us held captive to the wounds and the messages of those wounds. Until you forgive, you remain their prisoner. Paul warns us that unforgiveness and bitterness can wreck our lives and the lives of others (Eph. 4:31; Heb. 12:15). We have to let them go.

Forgive as Christ has forgiven you. (Col 3:13)

Now - listen carefully. Forgiveness is a choice. It is not a feeling - don't try and feel forgiving. It is an act of the will. "Don't wait to forgive until you feel like forgiving," wrote Neil Anderson. "You will never get there. Feelings take time to heal after the choice to forgive is made . . ." We allow God to bring the hurt up from our past, for "if your forgiveness doesn't visit the emotional core of your life, it will be incomplete." We acknowledge that it hurt, that it mattered, and we choose to extend forgiveness to our father, our mother, those who hurt us. This is not saying, "It didn't really matter"; it is not saying, "I probably deserved part of it anyway." Forgiveness says, "It was wrong. Very wrong. It mattered, hurt me deeply. And I release you. I give you to God."

It might help to remember that those who hurt you were also deeply wounded themselves. They were broken hearts, broken when they were young, and they fell captive to the Enemy. They were in fact pawns in his hands. This doesn't absolve them of the choices they made, the things they did. It just helps us to let them go - to realize that they were shattered souls themselves, used by our true Enemy in his war against femininity. 

Stasi and John Eldredge in  'Captivating'

************

Hypocrite, shmypocrite.....

Seriously?

SERIOUSLY?

I LOVE how our entire perspective of 

LIFE

and

LOVE

and 

LIARS

can change from one day to the next.

What a joke.

What a FREAKING joke.

Good Family Living

What is it?

Well,

for us

it was living for 9 years

thinking one side of the family

was "functional"

and the other side,

"disfunctional"

Then,

KA-POW!!!!!

Let's just switch things up a bit,

try that one on for size.

R    I     G    H   T.

Judge here

Don't judge here

Forgive here

Don't forgive here

Love here

but

Don't love here

Learn from THIS situation

but not this one.

Be patient tonight,

but not tomorrow night.

Like I said.

One

Really

BIG

Joke.

Just don't forget

whilst living this humongous

JOKE

that

Laughter is the best medicine.

Ha

Ha

Ha

PS. My firstborn princess is having her tonsils out tomorrow. She's really excited about all of the ice-cream and popsicles she gets to eat. And I feel like I'm going to cry and throw-up at the same time.

*Pray that she'll be brave and not have any complications.

*Pray that her complicated Mother will be brave too.

Please.

Thanks.

Happy Monday....TGIM!

Call me crazy,

but

I LOVE Mondays.

Something about getting back to the

routine.

School Days especially bring

structure and

consistency

That my kids crave as much as I do.

This morning the oldest 2 kids were late

because (I think) they thought

I was joking when I said to get dressed.

But then,

my two babies

(2 1/2 and 4 1/2 lol)

and I went to run some errands.

They were blissful

because they always want to 

GO

in the morning.....

"NO! go home Mommy!"

So,

we hit the Dr's office

to pick up a prescription

then we watched

Krispy Kreme MAKE their doughnuts

(we've never actually seen the 'HOT' sign on)

And my princess was singing the whole time

and telling me that I'm the bestest Mommy

in the EVER world :)

I vacillated between

'Kid to Kid',

'D.I.'

or 'Savers' to look for size 7slim

jeans for my oldest boy.

We went to 'Savers'

It was my first, and last time in their store.

Ugh.

But the good news was that they sold

Silly Bands for only $2.00

The man in front of us had $300.00 worth of STUFF

in his cart. 

We waited for 20 minutes for our turn

and my baby boy spent the whole time

moving the silly bands from

one display hanger to the other.

I was quite impressed with his amazing dexterity!

That little hole in the top of the package was 

no big deal.

Call me crazy,

but I'm head over heels in love with

these kids.

And their Dad.

And now, I'm off to pick up the big kids from school

I won't be the bestest Mommy anymore

because I'll make them do 

HOMEWORK.

But that's okay too,

I'm still gaga over them.

Even when I feel like sending them 

BACK

to school, tonight around, say - 

7 pm.

:)

YOU are Beautiful!!!

If there was one thing that I took away from my "Heart of the Woman" retreat, it was a newly expanded, life changing understanding of WHO Eve is, and how we, as her daughters are BEAUTIFUL. 

Watch and Listen. Forget the world. Ignore the voice of the adversary that is telling you today that you aren't good enough, fast enough, productive enough, pretty enough, thin enough, tough enough or tender enough. You are EVERYTHING. So, as the scripture says,

Matt 11:28-30

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you rest.

  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; 

for I am meek and lowly in heart: 

and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Life is hard, and we make it harder for ourselves and for our families when we try to DO IT BY OURSELVES. But when we take even 5 minuets to sit and pray and read HIS words in the scripture, we are more likely to believe the message that is in this song-and our eyes turn in the direction of our Savior. He becomes our light for the day and will show us what our priorities need to be. Laundry? Maybe. Holding a child? Probably. Calling about that med. bill? Returning the Library books? Calling that friend whose name keeps coming to mind? Who knows.

HE does. So join me in giving the day to our Savior.

It is then that we become a tool in His Hand

and OUR burden becomes light.

The Caboose

"Life is what happens when you make plans." You've heard that one before, right? Me too. But I'm only just now learning about that crazy little think we call LIFE.

Life is not a cake-walk, or a slice of pie, a piece of cake or a joy-ride. Haha!

We are all SO good at allowing our lives to play out along the scripted page. And by scripted - I mean, literally, the spoken word. You know, say the right thing, keep the eternal perspective - or maybe just give out one of those seminary answers - "Pray, read the scriptures, go to church or follow the prophet."

My question, the one I will be answering in my next few posts is this:

If we are here on this earth to "prove ourselves" to God, if we are living this life and making choices that - we believe - will help us return to our heavenly home, and if we are supposed to have JOY during the process. How, in the name of reality, is that even possible? Especially if we are following the scripted page.

Is it possible? Is it really, really possible to find joy in our journey AND stay in the drama club that consists of our friends and families. (Oh! THAT Drama! LOL )

I believe that it IS possible. To an extent. And so this is the thought that I'll leave for any random readers (or future grandchildren :) to ponder, until the next time I'm alert enough to put my thoughts down in type AND the kids are ALL asleep .

".....letting your PAST run your LIFE is like letting a CABOOSE run a train."

PS. If you haven't already joined the GOOD fight to support a local SLC cookie shop, click the link below and use a few of those 'precious' internet moments for a bit of good :)

Save "My Dough Girl" from the Dough boy BULLY!!

Keeping My Eye On the Goal

Sometimes I wonder about this whole life thing. In fact, I've wondered a lot about it lately. It's so easy for the mist of darkness to make me forget what it is I am here for. For the past couple of weeks my prayers have centered around efforts to remember who I am - who I really am. The person that I've been even before being born into this world is more than just the outward personae and yet I've really had to dig past all of those aspects of 'me' to find myself.

While teaching my Relief Society lesson last Sunday I ended with my testimony of the need that we each have to constantly nourish our spirits. I shared the realization that I've come to that it doesn't matter how spiritually strong I was at 16, or 20, or 25. Today is today and the light that I need to find my way in this world can only be found today. I've failed to keep my lamp full for a while now and it has turned my life into a sort of dingy in the middle of the ocean. Tossed to and fro with little direction and little control.

This Saturday is my "girls night out" with my daughters. We've been planning on attending a party at Deseret Book to celebrate the release of a new book/parable by Jenny Phillips called 'The Parable of the Golden Pathway'. I bought the book a couple of weeks ago and we read it for family night. It's a beautiful parable and so poignant that I was completely overwhelmed with the spirit during the part of the story that tells of how Sara crosses the river and makes it up the mountain. I couldn't speak, literally - and my daughter, who has always been keenly aware of others' feelings, picked up where I had stopped and read until I could begin again.

It was easy to identify with most of the characters in the story, and I was left to ponder on where I wanted to end up and which of the characters I wanted to be like. My first instinct was a fervent desire to be like Sara. Eden (my oldest) expressed the same sentiment, "I want to be Sara. Mom, can I dress up like Sara for the party?" I can honestly say that Sara is the character that I've most wanted to be like during my life, and the person I've wanted to be. But recently I've felt more like Tabitha - ready to give up and be done with it. Life is hard. Much, MUCH harder than I ever thought it could be. And this parable has helped me to think through my choices with more clarity than I've had in a while. I could give up, but giving up would mean more than just quiting. It would mean breaking the covenants that I've made with God. Giving up would mean choosing to NOT be like the Savior. It would mean choosing to NOT "always remember Him" as I promised when I was baptised. It would mean turning my back to the promises I made when I entered his temple and it would mean believing the worst of myself instead of fighting to hold on to who I have always believed I am and who I have always wanted to become.

The visual gift that a parable brings into a persons life has the potential to be life changing. Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind, often taught in parables. The gift that Jenny Phillips' book has given to me is the ability to look through the darkness of the world and strengthen the tunnel-vision that is needed to make it through this life the way I set out to. I'm sure that most passionate people have, at one point or another, felt the burning determination to accomplish some great goal. Be it establishing a world-wide charity, or be it returning home to our Heavenly Father free from sin, it's not something that can happen without a daily, consistent effort. In 'The Parable of the Golden Pathway' hiding your shield behind you or stepping off of the path, even for a moment, resulted in a loss of strength and light. If I can capture the full meaning of the visual gift contained in this book I just might make it through this world with some amount of dignity left - with some remote chance of hearing those much longed for words: "Well done, though good and faithful servant." And if I'm really blessed, and truly the person that I've hoped to be, I may be able to teach my children the same things to make it through on their own.

April Fool's Life?!

So, April Fools Day came and went this week without so much as a nod from me. I spent the day in bed, recovering from the previous 3 days, during which I played 'Mommy at Full Speed'. (you know, no farming out the kids to various locations, meals delivered, etc.) It killed me. But it was so fun. I LOVE being a Mom. And I LOVE being married to this man of mine. I'm pretty sure that he has a tumor living in the part of his brain that controls his craziness, because as far as I can see, he is crazy for being crazy in love with me. Why on earth has this guy stuck around for so long? What is WRONG with him? How can he still look at me with those lovey-dovey eyes and kiss me and tell me that he's crazy in love with me? CrAzY is the word I'd use.

We've been married for 9 1/2 years now. Three weeks after our wedding I went in for knee surgery, followed by several weeks of physical therapy. A Few months later I was preggo with baby #1 and SICK, sick, sick, all day and night for 5 months. Then came 8 years of pregnancies in all their barfy glory, post-partum depression, therapy dealing with emotional issues from my childhood, miscariages, endometriosis, family drama (thanks Rucker!), surgery in December to diagnose and "fix" the endometriosis (didn't work), and then a full, abdominal hysterectomy three weeks ago.

I've thought a lot over the years about what force of nature decided to dump on me right after we got married. It seems almost cruel. Like April Fools LIFE Kurt! Haha....I got you!!!! LOL!   N - O - T.

I've learned to be a lot tougher than I was in the beginning. I've learned to work through a whole day with a smile on my face even though I was crying inside. I've learned that one of the main reasons we are on this earth is to TEACH our spirits to be stronger than our bodies. As spirits, we've always existed - we came to this Earth to be given a body, and to learn to master it.

In the past, I've heard a quote that goes something like this;

We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience

rather,

We are spiritual beings having a physical experience.

Keeping this doctrine in mind brings purpose and strength to each day. It doesn't explain to me why my husband keeps sticking around, but it does remind me that this life is a TEST. It's our time to PROVE to God that we want to be with Him, more than we want anything else. All of the time that I've spent laying in bed, away from the people that I love most, has helped me focus a bit. I've watched the news, seen the disasters all over the world, seen the wickedness that is being labeled as 'human rights'. I've also seen so much good - people turning to Christ and fullfilling prophecy (even if they didn't know it.:)

I've gained this intense sense of URGENCY! Urgency to prepare for natural and spiritual disasters alike. Urgency to push aside the things that don't matter and hyper-focus on the things that do, like preparing my children for natural and spiritual disasters.

And now, this post has become l o n g. And I've probably lost some of you. So I'm going to wrap it up with something I read in a book given to me by a dear friend. The book, "All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience" by Neal A. Maxwell.

There is an attitudinal and behavioral bridge that we need to build in order for us

to draw closer to Him (Jesus Christ),

and thus be ready to return Home

 - cum laude or summa cum laude -

to recieve of His loving fullness.

We must want to do this more than we want to do anything else.

 Otherwise, even if we avoid wickedness,

our journey will end in the suburbs,

 somewhere short of the City of God.

Um, yeah. I understand the suburbs.

This is a test....this is only a test.....life that is :)

Can 'The Naked Chef' make us better parents?

Wahoo! Today is my first day back as an 'on my own while Dad is at work' Mom! I went to sleep last night so excited for today. Prince Charming came in at 6:30 to wake me with a kiss and a Diet Dr. Pepper so that I could be fully awake and functional by the time he left at 6:50. I took my morning meds, my pain meds, and spent the next several minutes praying for the help that I would need.
The morning went pretty well. The kids were so excited when I told them I would be taking them to school, and the three youngest were thrilled to learn that they would be going to friends houses to play this morning while Mom came home to rest.

One of the things that we believe and hold strong to as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the doctrine of personal revelation. We believe that God speaks to ALL of his children through the voice of the spirit - first at the Light of Christ, which is given to EVERY person born on the earth, - and then through the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is recieved after baptism. That voice can be heard in many ways, often as a simple thought, or some kind of feeling. Warm, peaceful feelings tell us that what we are doing, or thinking of doing, is in line with our Heavenly Fathers approval. Dark, confused, unhappy feelings are the spirits way of tellling us that something is wrong. Like a parent who has sent a child off to college, our Father in Heaven wants to be able to communicate with us and help us during our time on this earth. He hasn't sent us here to walk alone in confusion!

I am so grateful for the countless friends who have felt, and listened to that spirit and then blessed my life. I look at every phone call, note in the mail, email, blog comment, or act of service as a gift from our Father in Heaven, because I know that he is blessing me, through you! Thank YOU!

LOL! Last night Prince Charming and I caught the "sneek peek" of this new show:

After the first 15 minutes, we both looked at each other and commented that a nice little pit had settled into our stomaches. Part of me wanted to turn off the TV and go to bed - I think it was the prideful part of me. The rest of me knew that what this young Dad is doing is a miracle that our country needs.

It was amazing to watch the lunch ladies - er, cooks - lash out at Jamie. Actually, all of the adults, even though they had agreed to have him come, acted put out, offended and pessimistic.

It's easy to see where they are coming from.

I think that the general mentality in America is that cooking healthy is 'too hard'.

The USDA has complicated everything for everyone.

Jamie is determined to undo the damage that's been taking place for decades.

So Prince Charming and I have decided to hop on board.

We've signed his petition.

We will be watching each week WITH our kids.

Want to join me?

Click Here to sign the Petition and find out more.

Click Here to learn about Jamie Oliver

Click Here to find your local TV Listings for the time.

What do you think?

Crazy or Lazy Days?

10 days post-op and what do I find? The hardest part of this whole surgery thing is missing my kids! Who would have thought. I'm the same as every other Mom - I've had lots of Mom days when I wish the craziness would just stop and be over. But I miss it. All of it. I miss picking up the baby and breaking up the kids bickering. I miss taking them to school and bringing them home. I can hear the kids running around downstairs doing all of the normal things - with the addition of some outrageous things (thanks to the 'norm' being tossed out the window) and I miss being a part of it all.
It's so true what they say, the grass is always greener on the other side - hopefully I will be able to live out each day MORE grateful for what is going on in the present. How often have you been told "This too shall pass."? The bad will pass away, and so will the good.
Short post. I was so pleased to look in my in-box and see so many comments from friends! New friends from SITS (I can't wait to check out your blogs when I can sit up to the comp. for longer than 20 minutes) and old friends! THANKS!

Spring is HERE!!!

Happy Birthday Baby!

My baby girl turns 8 today.

She is my first born, the joy of my life and a

vein of kindness that runs through the heartbeat of our home.

I can't believe it!

3 Months ♥

When she was born she was 3 weeks early.

This would end up being normal for my pregnancies.

She weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.

She was bald, and beautiful.

I was a Mom.

She cried for the first three months until we realized

she was lactose-intolerant like her Mom.

So we gave her a bottle with Soy formula and she stopped crying

and turned into the happiest baby ever.

4 Years ♥

Her hair grew LONG and THICK.

Her heart grew bigger and her spirit did too.

She was like a 21 year old walking around in a little girls body.

She never went through the 'terrible two's"

and to this day, rarely throws a fit.

I would give her the world and I'm so blessed to be her Mom.

8 Years ♥

Happy Birthday Munchkin.

♥ We love you!!! ♥

No Kidding Hon....

Last week three out of my four kids had some kind of cold

and PINK-EYE.

And on Sunday, 'Bug', the 3rd threw up 5 times - poor girl.

The last time she threw up was after all of the kids had been tucked in for the night.

She was in her bed so I held her on the couch while Prince Charming changed the sheets and

made a princess bed on the floor by my bed using the cushion from her window bench.

While I was holding her she looked at me with her beautiful, huge, black eyes and said,

"Mommy, let's talk some more, okay?"

"Okay honey."

"You know Mom, it's not that easy being me today. Sigh "

No kidding sweet girl. It hurts a mommy's heart to see one of her babies so sick.

But I sure love holding them.

It's the perfect excuse to do nothing but soak in a snuggle,

and let everything else go.

I would gladly take it from her and carry a barf bowl around instead.

She was so proud of herself for making it to the sink or in a bowl 3/5 times.

She's only 3 1/2 years old.

Prince Charming and I always tell the kids that if their stomach feels funny

AND their jaw starts to hurt, then it's time to make a run for the sink.

She remembered and did it.

She saved me from barfing right along with her.

I love that little girl so much.

Being a Mom is the best.