God's Kisses

Rare are the kisses that land on your cheeks
Directly blown from a Heavenly hand
They float undispersed until silently beckoned
And then, self-display as a friend.

She'll open your heart to the beauty within
A voyager with whom you'll discover
A world unexplored, unearthed, unborn
Dimensions of you, never known, she'll uncover

No matter how long or how short the encounter
Time's tapestry will make it's mend
And blessed is that moment or blink of this journey
You were strengthened and kissed with a friend.

JLDS

He's sooo close!!

Grateful to be in Arkansas

Ahhhhhhh.... wide open spaces, fresh air, country roads and fishing poles, yes, we are LOVING Arkansas. I am always, always overwhelmed with gratitude for family when we come home. It's easy to forget how good for the soul it is to be surrounded by those who love you most. Boy do I need this right now.

Relishing every minute - pictures to come...

Hey, Look How Fast I Can Wink!!

(The chin really quickens the eyelids, you know.)

These are a Few of my Favorite Things...

"Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles"

When Daddy comes home...




Sweaters...


...and boots


Curious baby piggies...


My winter blanket. This thing weighs close to 15 pounds...


Avery's drawings...




Pizza cutter on double duty...



It really is the simple things in life.

Magic Moments

You know those moments that just capture you? The ones that remove you from all the clutter that is blowing around in your much too crowded woman-head, and silence you for a deep breath? I love those moments; they seem to come at just the right time and are so full of magic you'd expect fairy dust to sprinkle upon them.

Date Night!

Danny told me a week ago to book a sitter for six hours for Saturday night... he was taking me on a surprise date. I was so excited!

When Saturday finally arrived we had a last minute change in plans when he learned that one of his co-workers was getting baptized that same evening. So we postponed the date for an hour to go to that - totally worth it. Leaving the baptism Danny said he needed to run into a store really fast. Why? For earplugs... I thought I nailed it when I guessed Monster Truck Rally. Pretty close.

How about THE BULLRING at Las Vegas Motor Speedway!!

I guess we've seen "Cars" way too many times because we were totally expecting the racecars to start talking to us. We were looking all over for Lightning McQueen. Ka-CHOW!



IT WAS AWESOME!!

Danny's work catered a big shindig complete with burgers, dogs, beer (and sprite... phew!), tats, and rat-tails... if the shoe fits, right?


Speaking of shoes, check out these babies, and the matching belt.


Yes, it was a little awkward taking these pictures.


Vision Airlines sponsors two of the drivers. The "boys" were nice enough to let me take a picture with them. Here's Justin Johnson on my left and Dusty Ash on my right. Don't they look so little??? Am I getting old or something?!?


We were about ten feet away from the track at turn 4. Here's the aftermath of a crash that happened right in front of us. Towards the end of the video notice the girl at the front bumper with her ponytail coming out of her helmet... classic.



Anyway, even after extending the babysitting an extra hour and a half we still had to leave before the race ended. We were soooo bummed! When we left one of our drivers had moved up from 9th to 5th place... then, what do we find out:


Here's our driver Justin Johnson with the 1st place trophy in Victory Lane! Danny's signature is on the front of that car!! I can't believe we missed it!!! WAY TO GO JUSTIN!!!


Thanks for the rockin' date, babe. Luvs ya later.

"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable."

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

To all of you who shed your light on my path...
I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU.

What's That Sound??

Apparently my day didn't get the memo that Halloween is over. It was dressed up like a beautiful, fun-filled, stress free day... then, sometime mid-morning it took it's costume off.

If I were to describe my day to you with sound effects it would sound something like this (go ahead, read it out loud):

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh.... yawn.... stretch
brush, brush, brush
humdee dum dum dum
kachink, bonk, diggy-diggy (sorting toys)
bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz- POP! (the toaster)
munch munch gulp gulp
"Aw, crap!!" (remembering I have guests for dinner tonight)
clean clean clean
spray spray spray
wipe wipe wipe
shhhhhh, kachink, krink, shhhhhh, pang, (loading dishwasher)

ring-ring, "Hello? Sure, no problem."
ding-dong "Hi, come on in."

"Mommy! We need some help."
zzzip! (dress up dress)
scrub scrub scrub
swirl swirl swirl
dust dust dust
tappity tap tap, "Aw, dang." (computer keys... I realize my library books are due today)
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh.." (shower)
sweep sweep sweep
"Aw, man... good try, buddy." (Seeing fresh pee on the bathroom rug and floor)
chigga chigga chigga (washing machine washing pee-rug)

ring-ring, "Okay, not a big deal."

"Mommy, we're hungry!"
chomp chomp chomp
giggle giggle giggle
wiggle wiggle wiggle
chomp giggle
ding-dong "Thanks, bye!"

................... (47 seconds of silence while I watch the sweetness of Avery and Gage dancing together in the kitchen). *DAY BOOSTER MOMENT*

.................... (the blissful sound of Quiet Time)

mop mop mop
wipe wipe wipe
"Mommy, I'm awake now!"

Click click click click click click click click click click (Seatbelts buckled!)
vroom vroom
"Argh!" (Realizing I forgot to put the stroller back in the trunk after cleaning out the Trunk or Treat decorations)
sniff sniff sniff
"Oh man!" (Realizing Gage just pooped and I forgot the diaper bag)
sniff sniff, grunt grunt (carrying my stinky baby, two bags full of books, and my purse with two little ducklings into the library)
grrrrrrrrrrrr, grumble grumble (the noises coming from everyone in the forming line behind me while I return my 37 items on an unbelievably slow conveyor belt)
twirl, twirl, crash (the sound of movies falling to the floor as my kids spin the movie holder)

click click click click click click click click click click
vroom vroom
"Are you kiddin' me?" (The one time Wal-Mart doesn't have carts all over the parking lot)
sniff sniff sniff (carrying my poopy baby to the carts by the door)
shop shop shop
"Mom, can we buy...?" "No."
"We really need..." "No."
brrrrriiiiing... a magic wand sound (a friendly face at the store gives me a reason to smile)

click click click click click click click click click click
vroom
rinse rinse rinse (the salad)
chop chop chop chop
stir stir stir
shred shred shred (the chicken)

ding-dong "Hi, come on in!"
ha ha ha ha ha
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" (Gage burning his hand on the chicken sauce)
munch munch chomp chomp
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" (Gage still crying)
ha ha ha ha ha
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"Nite Nite."

"Woohoo!!" (Avery excited for Family Night with the missionaries)
aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh..... the sweet calm of the Spirit.
lick lick lick (the ice cream)
"Thanks! Bye!"

kiss kiss, hug hug
brush brush brush
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So it turns out that it really was a good day. It didn't take a "great day" costume off, it put a "terrible day" costume on for a couple of hours. Ha ha, good trick.

Happy Halloween!!

THE FESTIVITIES:

Makin' Cookies












Family Dance!




Family Costume Picnic
















Trunk Or Treat (with neighbor's kids)








Cutest Trick Or Treaters in the Neighborhood!

I am a Great Mom

It's happened. We've crossed that line. We've reached the point of no return. The timeless words were released from the sweetest of lips... "Mom, you're ruining my life!"

I wasn't expecting this at least until the tweens. What I was expecting after sending her to her room was, oh, I don't know, maybe the usual, "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm sorry I was sassy." Or even the occasional, "Mom, you hurt my feelings when you told me I couldn't...(fill in the blank)." But no, she made a calm and determined walk down the stairs, stopping on the last step to let me know how she felt... "Mom, you're ruining my life!" I could tell she was really trying to say in angrily.

I don't think she was going for the reaction I gave her - a short burst of laughter followed by a sheepish attempt to be somber and respect her frustration. I think I uttered something along the lines of, "I'm sorry you're mad... go back to your room until you're feeling better."

I love having a girl... the fun is always "just beginning" and I have just been given the Great Mom Award.

A Day at Red Rock Canyon

We figured we better be taking more advantage of Danny's unprecedented time off and the few days of B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. weather we have, so we headed up to Red Rock for a quick family getaway... We had so much fun, it was just what we needed. And we took way too many pictures... enjoy!























We ran into this little guy along the trail. The kids named him "Footsteps" because of the little prints he left in the sand.