Because I Had Children

As you can tell from the last family picture above, I don't like to do things too ordinary.  I like to live life big...huge even.  So, this is my request to you, my beloved readers.  I need to get my graduation picture done soon so it can be included in my Christmas/New Years/Valentine card (depending on when I actually get around to mailing it).  I need your thoughts and suggestions because this needs to be epic.  The photo shoot could include just me or me, Ben and the kids, or me and my family and my parents.  Lots of options.  We will all be wearing maroon/gold and I will be in my cap and gown.  I would like it to be on ASU's campus somewhere so that it is obvious where we are.  Think about props, poses, location, etc. Ready?  Go.   I'm waiting.  Literally. I'm sitting at my computer right now waiting to hear what you have to say about this.  Think of something and get back to me. Note:  I do not want to ever en...

I know I just blogged recently about setting goals, but since I found this contest and wanted to enter, I figure I'll share some of my bucket list items with you.  I have tons, but here are my top 15: 1.  Graduate College.  I know, I've already talked about this one, but I can't wait to cross it off my list!  7 weeks and counting... 2.  Serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints .  I have the potential to send off 7 more missionaries before I can go, but I will do it.  It will be awesome to serve with Ben. 3.  Hike the Grand Canyon.  We keep planning a summer trip, but babies, missionaries, time constraints and money have kept us from our goal.  I want to do it soon so that I can helicopter my dad and mom in to stay with us then helicopter them out. 4.  Learn to play the harp.  I really want to take lessons, but buying the harp is the expensive part.  Guitar is my second choice and I might ...

It bothers me when people don't know when I am being sarcastic or not.  When I'm talking to you face to face, it should be fairly obvious by my facial expression, hand gestures, tone of voice, etc.  I struggle with the written word and how to use sarcasm appropriately when I write.  So, a few months/years ago (I have no idea when), I invented the sarcasm meter for Facebook.  Yes, I did.  I wish I would have patented it or sold my idea to Mark Zuckerberg because maybe I would be rich today, but oh well. Here is how it works.  If you are saying something extremely sarcastic, you should put a (5) at the end of said statement.  If you are completely serious but are concerned that your comment may be taken sarcastically, then you put a (0) at the end.  Obviously, if you are somewhere in the middle, you can choose numbers 1-4 to show your level of sarcasm. While I find that I am pretty good at sarcasm, I realize that sometimes it can be taken wrong ...

My dad, Drew and Skylar Several of my friends confirmed it today on Facebook so it must be true.  Now I wish I had a picture of me being the cool mom so I had proof.  I will let the sunburn on my arms and neck be my witness to those that see me. I went golfing today with two of my boys and their Grandpa.  Poor hubs had to work today and well, someone had to do it.  I'm just happy they asked me.  Maybe I have always been cool to them and I just didn't know it. Ben asked me to go golfing with him when Drew was just a baby.  I went and fell in love with the game that very day.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that lots of people think Ben looks just like Phil Mickelson and I think he is a hottie.  But, I knew (hoped) that ahead of me were many long years of pregnancies and nursing babies.  I told him that I had so much fun, I knew it would be an activity we could do together after I was done with kids so I could actually spend some time enjoyi...

Sometimes I get so frustrated with my parenting that I wish I could have a do-over.  Lately I feel that way a lot.  I think is is part of my senior-itis kicking with my graduation only 8 weeks and 4 days away (but who is counting?).  I feel a little consumed by my two classes but at the same time I have this "who cares" type of attitude.  There is nothing stable about my parenting (or my emotional status) lately.  I'm all up in their grills one day and my house is spotless and homework turned in on time and then the next week my house is trashed, my homework is late or not done at all and the worst part is I don't even notice. It doesn't help that I have tons of external things to blame it on...Jenny's funeral, the pneumonia, the weather, potty training issues (the three year old, not me), etc.  But, the reality is, I am not very consistent.  There you have it people, I have a weakness, it is consistency.  I can do really great one day/week/mont...

I saw the Disney movie Secretariat at the movie theater when it first came out months ago, I even paid full price.  If you know how cheap I am, you’ll know how much I wanted to watch this movie.  I was hoping it would uplift and inspire me.  Secretariat was that kind of movie. If you are not familiar, it is the story of a woman who takes over the business of running her father’s horse breeding/racing farm due to the death of her parents.  She does what she needs in order to succeed, even in the most difficult of circumstances.   What I loved most was seeing the determination and at the same time, the uncertainty in Penny as she had to choose between living this dream or not.  After two years of living a dual life, late one night, her husband questions her ability to keep up such a tremendous pace.  Her response stuck with me when she replied, “When I went off to college, I felt like that colt, full of promise, full of adventure, like I could make...

I'm so blessed to have a stake calling in my church that allows me to work with LDS Family Services .  Each month, we are inspired and uplifted with information regarding our calling.  Today was not unlike any other meeting, but this topic has been weighing on my mind as I wonder who in our area could benefit from my services.  Each stake (geographical boundary that include 8-12 congregations/wards) has an agency representative assigned to them so the information I am presenting is available to all, members and non-members alike.  This post might be a little long, but it barely scratches the surface of all there is to say about this topic so I hope to include more later. I wanted to give a little background on my experience with adoption and why I feel so blessed by it.  My husband was adopted, as well as his 6 siblings, I had the sweet experience of watching someone very close to me place her baby for adoption (and that is a fabulous story in itself ), and I r...