More happy thoughts...

On the days when I am the most tired, least patient, and completely overwhelmed with everything on my to-do list...
I just have to sit back and think about all of the beauty that surrounds me.
Those happy little moments throughout the day that put things in perspective:

Tave's pats on my back when I pick him up.
Weston's laugh when I say something funny.
Weston saying something funny.
Seeing Tave SO proud of himself because he climbed ALL of the stairs.
The gorgeous weather we've been having.
How the second shopping trip of the day was surprisingly smooth considering the time of day (dinner time) and I found a very cute shirt for tomorrow's photo shoot.
A visit from a friend.
Hanging out with my sister and niece while the guys worked on the shop.
Feeling the baby in Shar's tummy turn just a little.
Jamba Juice and pretzel bites.
and, of course, that sweet kiss from my hubby at the end of the day.

I'd say it was a pretty good day, afterall.

Good thing...

We were up at least 5 times last night with our stuffy nosed sweety of a 2 year old.
He hates stuffy/runny noses. One minute it's running all over the place and the next you go to blow and nothing will come out. Quite annoying. I can understand why he was so miserable and frustrated.
As I lay back on my pillow for what felt like the millionth time last night, I thought to myself: "Self, it's a pretty darn good thing you went to bed as early as you did or you would be ever more tired than you are right now."

So it pays to go to bed early.

Also, Jeff and I read along as we watched this talk by Elder Holland again. It's incredible. We try to read it every couple of months as a reminder. (Here are some of my previous thoughts on it)
And wow. I have so much to work on.
But it helped. It helped me be more patient and kind in my speaking today. It helped me keep my mouth closed when I wanted to say something I shouldn't. It helped me turn a possibly-could-have-been-not-so-nice way of saying things into a postive-uplifting-was-very-nice comment instead.

So it's a good thing I read that too.

It's amazing how some very small choices made a huge difference in my day.

Sleepy-head

We are going to bed before 10 o'clock tonight.
And I am so thrilled. The idea of so much sleep is making me all cozy and happy.
Because I don't think we've gone to bed that early since before we had children.
Not because of our children, welllll.... maybe in a way it is because of them...
Our kiddos are in bed by 730, 8 tops.
That means we have the rest of our evening to ourselves. And I sure like to jam pack my evening full of conversations, crafting, emailing, blogging, cleaning and everything that I might try to do during the day but only happens half-way, or a quarter-way, or no way.
Which usually means I am up until midnight. Pretty much every night. And if I get some reading in after all of this, well it's even later than that.

So even though I have lots of new items to post in my shop
and a great book calling my name
and a quilt that wants to be made
and lots and lots of blogs to catch up on
and a house that's begging to be cleaned...

I am going to sleep.

Good night!

Snail Mail

We live in the days of computers, iphones, emails, and pretty much instantaneous access to whomever or whatever we would like.
No wonder our children are not developing patience.
(but that is another day's post)
Getting actual mail from the mailbox may take a little longer, but it sure is a treat and something special!
So how surprised was I when today I received not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 different items of mail that made my day. (and NONE of them were bills!)

Mail #1:
A 1 year old birthday announcement for my cousins darling little girl, Abby. Abbers, we sure love and miss you. We cannot wait to meet you very very soon!
Mail #2: A lovely invitation to Jeff's cousin's bridal shower. Erin, Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! I so wish I could be there. We are thrilled for you and Luke and can't wait to see and hear about all of the details of your perfect day!!
Mail #3: A package of earrings that I got for a steal of a deal on etsy. Oh how I love etsy. Thanks, Emily. They are gorgeous and I can't wait to wear them!
Mail #4: My sweet mom surprised me with a package full of some vintage buttons. Mom, your sweet, fun little package made my day. Thank you! I am already imagining the possibilities. I'm thinking some really cool necklaces are about to be made...

What a happy-making day!

Have you gotten anything exciting via snail mail lately?

Summer means...

Campouts and bonfires-
Holding hands with my hubby as we stroll down the gravel path to our campsite.
Good company and scrumptious smores around the campfire before bed.
Birds chirping ever so loudly while I am trying to get a little extra snoozing in the morning.
Rock-climbing and hiking and enjoying all the beauty of nature.
Bright, sun-shiny days.

Backyard barbeques-
Yummy, delicious hamburgers with all the fixins.
Barefeet in the grass.
The sound of my children playing and squealing with their friends.
Laughter and light-hearted conversation with our own dear friends.

Summer is officially here and I am in heaven!!

A camping we will go...

We are headed off to a fabulous evening of bbq-ing, smores, camfires, and tents.
It has been WAY too long since
A. we went camping and
B. Jeff and I got a night alone.
This will take care of both of those!!
I am so excited!!

Conversation

I am a talker. Anyone who knows me well knows this.
(Well, I am a person to person talker. Talking in front of people, not so much.)
I think I've passed this lovely trait on to Weston. This boy loves to talk. And boy oh boy does he have a lot to say.
It's so fun having a little friend to talk to all day long. It makes the fact that he's growing up not quite so hard. Mostly. ;)

Here's a conversation with West from last night:
Background - Weston fell off the playground at the park. From pretty high. He hit his head, landed on his arm/shoulder, and scraped his shin really bad. Yeah, not my proudest mommy-moment. I feel absolutely horrible.

So here's what Weston told Jeff about it:

J- What did you do today?
W - I go to the park. I falled down from really really high.
J - Oh no! Did it hurt?
W - Yes.
J - Are you okay?
W - Yes. I okay. I falled and hurt my guns. But my guns okay, they are strong.
See my strong guns. GRRRRRRR!!! (while flexing his arms and shaking them)

Oh I love hearing what this kiddo comes up with...and that he's okay after all!

Dear Self,

I just thought I would let you know that you are doing a pretty good job. Sometimes, okay, a lot times, you don't think so. And a lot of the time you worry unnecessarily and stress yourself out. But I am here to tell you that things usually turn out for the best. Life is really good and yours is pretty darn great. You just need to remember that every so often.
Play with your boys. Give your hubby a kiss. Call someone you love. Read your scriptures. Find someone to serve.

Love,
Me

Quilt Giveaway

Enter here for an incredible quilt giveaway from Liz of Pigtails and Snails. It's an original quilt design and oh so darling. I LOVE her quilts!!

Also, Dana, of Old Red Barn Co. is doing a 6 week quilt along. I am trying to follow along as best as I can...but having a 3 week vacation in the middle means my quilt *probably* won't be done on time. But at least I'll be trying! I am SO thrilled to start my first quilt ever!!!

I am already so addicted to fabrics stores, fabric, and sewing. (All thanks to my wonderfully crafty mom!!) So this is the perfect jump into quilting for anyone who has ever had a desire to quilt but doesn't know where to start.
Good luck!

It's all in the name

What is it about names that gets me going?
I LOVE to think about names, to come up with lists of possible children's names, to pair them with middle names, to mix and match, to hear other people's name ideas, to go type in names on nymbler.com and see some fun options I hadn't thought of, to read baby name books, to read about celebrity baby names, I could go on and on.
Maybe my husband will finally have a sane wife when we're done having children. Maybe.
I'm not expecting. Really I'm not. But it is just so much fun.

The best, most awesome moments are when a name just magically fits together and you know it is one you could really hear yourself calling a child. Or when you give a suggestion that someone actually really likes and wants to use. And even better, still, is when you and your husband actually agree on a name waaaay ahead of time so you know there won't be much discussion at all.
Umm, yeah, that last one will only happen for us if we have a girl.

So. Does anyone else have this name obsession...I mean quirk.
It's a quirk. That's all.
Is anyone else quirky like me?! ;)

A good day

Today was a really really good day.
Nothing outstanding or fabulous to make it good, just one of those days.
The kids did really well together, got over frustrations quickly, said sorry, listened when they were asked, K & W actually stayed in the backyard when we played outside., you know- just little things like this all day long that made it great.

Here are a few of the memorable moments:

We played hide and seek. It was hilarious. They just wanted to look for me. So I hid over and over and over again. The last time I hid they started looking and then got sidetracked and played instead. So I was stuck until I said "hey, where's mommy? Come find me, please!!" Then they laughed and giggled and thought it was so funny that I was still hiding. What a hoot.

Music time. I said 'Hey, let's do music time' and no joke, Tave started patting his legs and said hello. (Our music time always starts with the 'Hello' song and tapping our legs.) So I have a musical genious. ;) Not really, but it was seriously cool that he recognized what I was talking about. That or a really really really big coincidence.

When Shar got home from work we had about a half hour to chat, hang out, and check out the amazing deals she got at Kohls. I love my sister. And I love the time we get together. I also love when she tells me about fabulous sales...see below

We went to Kohls and got a screaming deal on Tave's birthday present. (his party is tomorrow so it's okay that we didn't shop yet!) Most toys at Kohls are 40% off right now and then I had a 30% off your entire purchase coupon on top of that. Like I said, awesome awesome deal. I love it when that happens!!

We also got Weston some underwear. He's kind of been showing interest in potty training. We'll see what happens..I'm not pushing. I was planning on giving him underwear for his b-day in June, and then starting once we got back from Texas. So we'll see. It was so cute to see him in little boys' underpants. To say he was excited would be an understatement! It was one of those I-can't-believe-my-baby-is-such-a-big-boy-now moments.

Weston & Tave's favorite thing to do with Jeff is be thrown in the lovesack. It's a nightly ritual and it always gets us all laughing. Wouldn't you know- West decided Mommy had to be thrown in too. So Jeff did. And it was pretty darn fun.

And last, but not least, my dear sweet hubby did the dishes and clean up for the night and then he even made the cupcakes for Tave's party. I don't know what else to say besides: I love you, Babe, you're the best!!

After all that, I'd say the day wasn't just good-- it was absolutely, positively fantastic!!

Flowers

These were delivered to our door today.

We loved sticking our noses right in the middle and breathing in the lovely spring scent.
We gazed at the gorgeous blooms and talked about our favorite colors.
We gave the little bear a squeeze and tickled his tummy.

I think it's safe to say we LOVE them.
Thank you, thank you David.
This was a wonderful surprise and we feel so spoiled!

Scattergories

I LOVE games. Love them.
It is always so fun to sit down with family and friends to play games.
I love the laughter, the funny stories, and just being together.
Scattergories is one of my all-time favorites. So when my friend, Amanda, sent me this email version of Scattergories I thought it'd work great as a post as well. So, here ya go!
If you want to 'Play' just do a post of your own but you have to come up with words that start with the first letter of YOUR name!! If you want to get really into it...you can time yourself like the official Scattergories...
Have fun!!

1. What is your name: Nicole
2. A 4 letter word: Nice
3. A boy’s name: Nathaniel
4. A girl’s name: Nya (our girl when we get one!)
5. An occupation: Nurse
6. Color: Navy blue (did you know that there are only 2, YES 2 colors that start with N?? I looked it up in Wikipedia because I was curious...I could only think of Navy blue. Interesting. Here is the complete list of colors with their color swatch. Cool, huh. PS apparently Nude is not a color;)
7. Something you wear: Nylons
8. A beverage: Nestle Quick
9. Food: Nectarine
10. Something found in the bathroom: Nose cleaner outer thingy (for babies)
11. A place: Norway
12. A reason for being late: Nodded off
13. Something you shout: NO! (especially if you're my 2 year old!)

Let's take a picture

One of my favorite parts of any day are Weston's phrases.
2 1/2 (almost 3) year olds say THE greatest things.

I sat down on Jeff's lap and Weston looked at us, gave a little giggle, and then said "Oh, I take a picture!"

Love it!

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

My Mother's Day was perfect.
Enjoyed a wonderful dinner out with my guys on Saturday night. (Chilis...mmm)
Slept in.
Ate a scrumptious breakfast made by my hubby.
Played with the boys.
Opened some very sweet gifts from my guys. (A pearl necklace from the boys and a gift card to go shopping from Jeff: absolutely perfect!)
Was spiritually enlightened and filled at Church.
Came home and enjoyed some quiet time while the boys napped and Jeff made dinner.
Ate a delicious dinner.
Played some more and had a fabulous evening with my guys.
Thank You, Jeff.
You always know how to make my day!!

This cute cute picture was taken by Weston. He LOVES being photographer. While we could have taken one ourselves that didn't have fingerprints on the lens and was centered and...well...better, I am so in love with this shot. I love my little 3 year old and his excitement over trying new things!! I had to leave it unedited so you could fully appreciate it. ;)

"When they placed you in my arms you slipped into my heart"

These boys give me the happiest moments of my life. They have filled my heart more than I ever knew possible. I am a better wife, better mother, and a better person because they are mine.
Thank you, Heavenly Father, for knowing exactly who I needed in my life.

I am trying to be the mom they deserve.

Two moments...

that absolutely made my day.

1. Tave figured out how to snort.
He got the biggest kick out of it and kept doing it over and over and over again. It was fun to see him so pleased with himself.
Kapria & I could not stop laughing.

2. Weston and I were driving home and had this conversation:
Me: Hey, bud, how're you doing back there?
West: I fine.
Me: I'm so glad you're fine. I am so tired.
West: Mommy not tired, you're pretty. I am tired.
Me: Awww thanks, bud, that is so sweet!

I don't want to forget these beautiful little moments that make up my life.
Oh how I love my boys.

It was late...

I wrote last night's post really late.
I swear I wrote where he was going. But, ooops, I guess not!
So for those of you waiting in suspense...

Mckenon is called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Portugal.

So awesome.

Here's a link that tells a little about missionary work.

And here are a couple awesome talks about missionary work:

What I want my son to know before he leaves on his mission by President James E. Faust
Missionary Service by Elder Earl C. Tingey

And of course, the powerful and inspired Preach my Gospel.

Congrats, bud, we are so thrilled for you!!

Service

"...when ye are in the service of your fellowbeings, ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2:17

My brother opened his mission call today.
We anxiously waited while he read the words that would tell him where he will be living and serving for the next 2 years of his life.

I thought of the missionaries from long ago who were called to serve for months, years, and even their lifetime.
I thought of how I have been asked to serve our Heavenly Father in my little space of the world. The way in which I serve may vary over the months and years but I can know that, if I am willing, I will serve him my entire lifetime.

Jeff and I have been talking about what sets certain people apart from the rest. In the lesson in his Priesthood class on Sunday they talked about what time we choose to give. Everyone is busy. But are we serving only when we have time, or are we taking the time to serve? Are we giving that extra little push we have at the end of the day to the Lord?

I think that is what sets people apart.

Mckenon will be giving every day for the next 2 years to serving our Heavenly Father and His children. He will be a full-time missionary. That is his call.

What is mine? My 'call' is to keep my covenants. To give of my time and my talents. To love and serve. Every single day.

Priceless

We chose to have our kiddos pretty quickly after getting married. It was something we both felt very strongly about. We knew we were supposed to start our family. And what do you know, Heavenly Father felt pretty strongly about that, too, because along came Weston and then along came Tave.

Having our kiddos right away meant we still had a lot of school to get through.
I had a job that I loved and could have been very happy working there to get us through school and save up quite a bit of extra money.
But we decided that where I was needed most was right at home with our little ones.

Sometimes it can be hard to see the things that other people have, the trips they take, the places they see, and the things they can buy...

But I wouldn't trade these precious years for anything.
I know we made the right choice.

Little Luxuries

Somehow my days are filled to the brim with things I 'have' to get done-- which leaves little, if any, time for myself.
But I was thinking tonight about some of the little luxuries that brighten my day.

Here's a few that I just love:

Lotion- My own delicious smelling lotion. A big 'aaaaah' always escapes the moment I sit down and rub it into my hands.

My hubby's hugs- Jeff comes home and immediately gives me a hug. But his hugs are not just any hugs...they come complete with a mini backrub. I sink into him and feel the pressures of the day slowly fade. I love those hugs.

Snuggles and slobbery kisses - my boys know exactly when I need an extra bit of love. Tave gives the sweetest slobbery kisses and West loves to run into my arms and give me a great big squeeze.

Reading a book - this has been extremely rare lately, but whenever I get a second to read a few pages (which usually turns into chapters) I am in heaven. I love the escape that a good book provides.

Singing time - my little guys love to sing with me. They laugh and dance to the music and we have the best time!

Phone calls - no matter the time, it is always so wonderful to get a 'hi, how are you' phone call. Often they are short, due to little kiddies, but they always make my day!!

Bedtime - This isn't really a little luxury, it's a big one. I LOVE crawling into bed at night. The pillow just swallows me up and I drift off to dream land with the love of my life beside me.

Life just can't get any better.

Happiness is...

Holding hands with my hubby.
Having a long, uninterrupted conversation over a delicious meal (that I did not cook!)
Meeting up with family and friends for a fun birthday celebration.
Snuggling next to my sweet hubby at the movies. I love those double seats!
Sharing a piece of absolutely scrumptious chocolate cake.
Holding hands again as we drive home.

Knowing I get to be with this guy forever.