St. Patty's Day

I decided to actually put in some effort this year for St. Patrick's Day- nothing fancy like you see on pinterest, but tried to make it fun for the kiddies.  I had the kids come up with their own trap for the leprechaun.  It was interesting to see how they each took on the role of what their natural strength was.  Keia is the most creative and she came up with how to trap the leprechaun (she already knows that the little Irish guy has big curly hair and goes by mom).  Mattix built the maze with legos and Kalli, my little artist, drew the rainbow, pot of gold, and the shamrocks.  I loved watching them synergize and come up with the ideas together.

The note on the door says to pull the sword for more gold- then the white basket was to fall on him.

Last night the leprechaun drew green mustaches on their faces, peed green pee in our toilets, turned our milk green, but did leave some clues that led to lucky charm cereal and sour green gum.

As the kids were putting their trap together I asked how this was similar to how Satan traps us.  Sometimes we are drawn to "shiny" things and don't realize it can be a trap.  We become trapped and lose sight of what is really important or even lose our agency.  The kids seemed more interested in building the trap then my super insightful discussion, maybe they will really be interested when they are teenagers :0

Sunshine

The sun has come out in Utah!  Growing up in San Diego, I love the sun.  I literally felt so happy this week.  It has been in the 40's and 50's- so I took my kids to the park everyday this week and let the sun warm my face.

It is funny how our perspective can change.  In California if the weather was 60 degrees I forced my children to wear pants and warm jackets.  The first thing I would ask them when they got home was if they were cold at school.  Today Kori went to the park in shorts in 48 degree weather.  It was a good reminder that we can see things differently- that things are not always as they seem.  We can change. It also reminded me that two people could feel two different things in the same "weather."
Unless we value the differences in our perceptions, unless we value each other and give credence to the possibility that we're both right, that life is not always a dichotomous either/or, that there are almost always third alternatives, we will never be able to transcend the limits of that conditioning.
Stephan Covey

Don't these pictures just make you happy!  Thank you for coming back sun, please stay awhile.

Happy Valentine's Day

                                                                      To my Boo:

To my kiddies:

and

                                                                    To my friends:

                                                                         To YOU:

Love

I loved this quote, because at the end of my day taking care of 4 kiddies and running my household, I don't think my boo gets my best self most days.  I think that is why I look forward to our date nights every Friday, where it is just us two and we catch up from the busy week.  Matt and I have been asked to teach the Marriage class at our church- NOT because we are experts, but honestly probably because we have been married the longest in our ward (14 years).  Most members in our church where we live are college students, just freshly married and ready to conquer the world.  They sit so close together and have that twinkle in their eye.  It has been so fun to teach this class, basically we just tell them all the things we have done wrong and ask that they don't make the same mistakes.  I feel like the overall theme is just keep trying and put in the work.  Anything worth it takes our attention, and our spouse is worth it.  More quotes to come, because I love Valentine's day- not just because of my boo, but to celebrate all the people we love in our lives.

                                          This is us...

                                          but, this is really us.

Itchy legs

This is not my leg, but it is a nice one.  I picked up running again as part of my workouts.  Every time I start to run again, I get really bad itchy legs.  Apparently it is caused by our capillaries expanding from our rapid heart beat and faster blood flow- who knew?  Once I start running more often, the itchy legs go away.  But even if I miss for a week, then I will have them for that first run.  I'm itching myself just thinking about it.  Anywho- yesterday during my "itchy legs" run, which lasts about 5 mins, I wanted to scream and just run off the treadmill.  However, I know that once the itchiness goes away, then I feel a major runner's high and feel like I could run for miles.  How many of us are giving up when it starts to itch, without waiting it out for the awesome high afterwards?  I think about how many times I don't want to go out of my comfort zone, so I can avoid having "itchy legs", even if it only lasts 5 mins in a 30 min run.  The more we push ourselves out of our comfort, the greater the reward.  None of us on this Earth were meant to be mediocre, not when we were designed after God.  So...Push yourself and go get your legs itchy!

We bought a House!

This is a picture of the model home we are getting built here in Utah.  When Matt and I drove here to Utah from California, I was driving alone in Matt's car and feeling really scared about our move.  I started to see the mountains of Utah and the song "Home" came on by Phillip Phillips.  I felt like Heavenly Father was singing the song right to me, tears started streaming down my face and I knew in that moment that God would help Utah to feel like my home.  I don't know how long it will take, but I have faith it will happen.  Today the song came on again, the day we signed papers for our new home.  I hadn't heard it since the Summer while driving here.  Once again, I blasted it and let the tears fall down my face.  I know this new home is a step in the right direction.

Home

Hold on to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know that you are not alone,
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home.

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble- it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you're not alone
Cause I'm gonna make this place your home.

Proactive

As I mentioned before, I am re-reading the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  Other than the scriptures, this book has done more to change my life than any other book.  I just finished reading about being Proactive.  Here is just a little quotey quote:

"Highly Proactive people recognize responsibility.  They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior.  Their behavior is a product of their own values, rather than a product of their conditions, based on feeling."

This hit me hard.  I wanted to blame the cold Winter, moving from California, and other things for my lonely feelings.  I wasn't taking responsibility for doing something about it.  If I value my children being active and not sitting infront of screens all day, and it is 30 degrees outside, then I better start putting in some effort.  I decided to be proactive and find fun opportunities for my children.  The key to every success is our EFFORT.  You value something- put in the effort.  You value your spouse, put in the effort to make them feel your love.  Here are some pics of how I decided to kick Winter's butt and enjoy ourselves.

                                                   Funtopia

                                                   Choo Choo's

                                                   Building an igloo out of marshmallows and toothpicks

                                                   Indoor bounce houses

                                                   Playing with cousins

                                                   Dressing up with cousins

                                          Indoor roller skating

My Favorite Quote of All Time

Tattoo Mormon

Okay, love this girl.  I don't find many people "cool" and actually hate the word popular, but honestly I think Al (Fox) Carraway is so cool.  Love her style and love her passion.  I'm excited to read her new book, More Than the Tattooed Mormon.  I read an excerpt that she wrote which will be in her book and felt inspired by it, here is what stood out to me:

"...I knew that no matter what happens, if we put God first, our trials and losses, our lonely times will be made up to us.  And it would be not just okay but BETTER than what we ever had in mind- better than before the hard times had even started."

"...We need to trust that everything God does is to help us receive greater blessings in life. Our trials move us closer to where things are greater than they ever could have been before.... Fear not.  Forget not whose hands you are in.  You are not left alone or forgotten.  You are not being punished.  You are being led.  You are being guided and directed.  You are protected.  You will make it.  And it will be greater than you could even imagine."

I love that she said that all the really hard things that happen to us will be made up to us, not only that, they will be greater than we can imagine!  If that doesn't make your day, then I don't know what will.... so cool, so cool.

The Snicker Test

Keia has her fifth grade Science Experiment due this month.  She decided to see who had more self-control, boys or girls.  Keia was very confident that girls would win.  At the beginning of the day, she asked 3 girls and 3 boys (same ages, example: one 2nd grade girl and one 2nd grade boy) if they would like a small Snickers candy bar.  She told them that they could eat it anytime during the day or they could return it to her at the end of the day and she would give them a full-sized bar.  It turned out that boys had more self-control.  2 boys returned the small bar for a large one, and only 1 girl returned hers for a large one.  The other 3 kids didn't wait.
This experiment made me think, how do I teach self-control to my children.  Would they be one of the kids who waited or would they eat it right away?  The definition of self-control is: the ability to control one's emotions, behavior, and desires in the face of external demands, to function in society.  I have read way too many parenting books, but I still think the best way we can teach our children is to show self-control ourselves.  Show self-control while they are having a meltdown or tantrum, showing self-control in our eating, showing self-control in our conversations with our spouses etc.  I think this is something that will take our lifetimes to achieve.
Sooo, sneaking treats at night when my kids are in bed, does that count?  I wait until they are in bed!

Olaf

I was listening to Disney songs with Kalli while she was eating lunch today.  Olaf's song came on about his "dream" of being in Summer.  I started laughing because I must be like Olaf to Heavenly Father- I dream of things that I want for my life, but in reality they may not be the best thing for me.

Today I learned...

I love to learn.  I find random facts and information very interesting.  My favorite is to learn what Heavenly Father is teaching me, however I don't always pay attention.  Yesterday I was looking at old pictures and family videos with my kiddies while we waited for my boo to get home from work.  My heart ached remembering all the good times and having little, innocent children all at home.  Of course I mainly remember all the fun and good things about it, not the day to day difficult things.  I realized that no matter what stage of life we are in, there will always be difficult things about it and great things about it.  For years I kept waiting for this "perfect" time in my life when everything was flowing and we had no problems, but then it dawned on me, which I feel like I knew already deep down, that there will never be a "perfect" time in my life, just "perfect" moments.  Some moments I create and others just happen naturally and it is a feeling of contentment.  If we focus too much on what isn't going right in our lives, then we miss out on all the things that are going right.  This always brings me back to gratitude, even during this really difficult Winter.  I need to let go of the stormy, snowy clouds outside right now and focus on the rainbows happening all around me.