Enrichment

"As Relief Society leaders and all of us as members catch the vision and the excitement of Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment meeting and act out of the resultant enthusiasm, we will grow in testimony and spiritual strength. We will come closer to our Savior and know how to build homes where He can dwell." -Virginia U. Jenson

Tonight we had our quarterly Relief Society Enrichment meeting.
I love getting together with other Sisters and chatting and relaxing, learning and growing together, and just having fun.
After we had cleaned up, there were a few of us in the kitchen talking and catching up with one another. I realized that enrichment is good for me because it gives me time to be a woman and a friend. Time to take a break and have a conversation without little hands tugging at my shirt or battling for my attention, and time to be rejuvinated and renewed.

I love Enrichment meetings.
If you haven't been to enrichment...I encourage you to go. Go and talk to someone you haven't seen in awhile. Go and serve. Go and grow.
You will love it!

A Happy Day

Today was a really good day.
We had music group, which is always a blast. Weston gets so excited when he knows kiddos are coming over to sing.
And then we had visitors.
Yup, visitors make our day. Especially these visitors:

Our sweet little niece Ava and my sister in law Amy.
Not only did they come and hang out for over 2 hours, but they came with a delicious treat, too! I am officially hooked to Kneaders mango smoothies. Mmmm...
I just cannot get enough of this little girl. We only have 6-7ish more weeks of time with these two (and James!) So you can bet they'll be seeing a lot of us!
We love you guys.
Thanks so much for making our day!!

What's cookin tonight.

Tonight Jeff and I got home around the same time. We took a much needed break and sat down by each other to catch up on the day. Both kiddos were *supposed* to be sleeping, so for a moment we just had each other.
I love those moments.
All too soon, though, the kiddos were both awake, dinner needed to be made and things cleaned up.

Since I had forgotten to buy the main ingredient for dinner when I was at the store yesterday , Jeff was going to go for me.
Until I suggested making grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.
Mmmm.... This is our default dinner: it's quick, easy and ALL 4 of us love it. Perfection.

Jeff walked into the kitchen and started getting things out and then said,
'Hey, I know it's easy, but I'll make dinner tonight.'

My first thought was: 'Yeah, it's easy so I want to make it. You can make dinner on a hard night.'

Then I realized how extremely lame that thought was. I mean, hello, my husband wanted to make dinner for me! It doesn't matter how easy it was: I didn't have to cook! A night off!
So I said thank you and ran up the stairs to take advantage of my cook-free night.

Jeff was happy, I was happy, and dinner was delicious.
Thanks babe!

Did you think to Pray?

(this photo is from 2006, i just found it recently. haven't changed much, have we?!)

As Jeff and I knelt by our bed tonight to say our prayer together Jeff asked me the date. I told him it was the 9th…which meant it was an ‘odd’ date and his turn to pray.
Are you sure?
Yup, you’re turn.
Really, it isn’t the 8th?
Nope, you’re turn.

For some reason we have this conversation all the time. I don’t know why, but we always like the other person to pray. It’s not as if I don’t like praying, in fact, I really really like it. But after hearing myself pray all day long, it’s nice to hear my husband. (am I alone in this?)

Oh. I think we forgot to pray last night, that’s why you think it’s my turn.
We forgot? Hmm…that’s not good, bummer.

But then we came to the conclusion that in 3.5 years of marriage, we can count on one hand the amount of times we have forgotten to pray together.
And that’s pretty darn good.

Thanks, babe for always helping me remember to pray. It is one of the best parts of the day.

Hair

Today was a momentous day. Well, not really. But something happened.
I found my first gray hair.
YIKES.
Honestly, I wasn't thrilled and I quickly pulled it out. Okay, not so quickly. The bugger wouldn't come out. But I got him in the end. Don't you worry.

But in honor of this blog, which is to recognize my blessings and the beauty around me, I realized that I could have had some kind of mid-life hair crisis because I had a gray hair. OR I could just be grateful that I have hair.
Because hair is a wonderful thing, and while many men look great without hair, I am not a man and I wouldn't. So I am glad I have hair. Even if there are some gray spots.
Which, by the way, is why we have dye.... another blessing. See, they are all around us if we look.

I-scream, you-scream

I decided to be honest on this blog.
Because I hope that one day my kiddos will read it and get to know their mom a little bit better.

Since Ice Cream happens to be a major part of my life, I figured it deserved it's own post.
Pathetic, I know.
I love ice cream. I heart ice cream. It is my weakness. The one dessert that I cannot pass by. Hence, the sole reason why I am still a few pounds away from pre-baby weight. (In my defense, I am only 4 lbs away from that goal, but still, those 4 lbs belong to ice cream)

When I was a kid I could pass up ice cream. Or maybe it was just that we didn't have it in the house that much, so I didn't think about it.
But I am an adult now. And the mom. And the grocery shopper. So that means I can buy ice cream whenever I want.
Add to this obsession the fact that my husband loves ice cream almost as much as I do and that's it: my hips never stood a chance.
Jeff doesn't even know that up there on my top 10 list for my husband-to-be was:
He must love ice cream.
Okay, okay, that was a lie. But it sure is a bonus that he does. :)

Here is why I love ice cream:
it is rich. it is creamy.
it tastes good.
it's cold-- which makes the partaker of ice cream snuggle up with a loved one while eating.
All of these things make it just about the most perfect dessert.

Since you all are dying to know
my favorite ice cream flavors are:
Moose tracks
Cookies n Cream
Mint n Chip
and
Plain Chocolate with caramel mixed in. You have to make this yourself. Dreyers used to-- but we cannot find it anywhere. So we make it now. Often.

And this is my ode to ice cream.
If you are hungry for some now, and don't have any, you can come to my house.
Our freezer is always well stocked.

Something funny ~ just for you

Weston says the funniest things.
Seriously, he makes me laugh every day. I don't know what I would do without this kid.

Me: washing dishes while Weston finished eating dinner
Weston: Mommy, let's swing by Target, okay.
Me: You want to swing by Target?
Weston: yeah, let's swing by Target.
Me: (a little baffled because we haven't talked about Target at all today. Much less swinging by.)
Umm...how about another day, okay buddy.
Weston: sure.

And another one of my favorite Westonisms that just makes me smile:
JUST FOR YOU
Yup, that's it. Everything lately is 'just for you.'

'Here mom, this paper is just for you.'
'I made this just for you.'
'I found this leaf, just for you.'
'This toy is just for you.'

It goes on and on and on like this all day. Isn't it so sweet.
No wonder I have such special days with my guys!

It's about Time

I've been working on our 2006 family year book. (Just a few years behind!) The project, however, has gotten me pretty nostalgic. As I have poured over pictures, the memories have come flooding back. My little baby is not a little baby anymore, and I now have a new baby who is growing even faster than the first. It has all got me wondering: where does the time go?
And more importantly, what did I do with that time?

I would like to think I am not alone in my struggle with motherhood:

On the one hand, I absolutely adore my children. They truly are my most valuable treasures. I love being a mom and feel so blessed to be able to be home with these boys every single day. The walks, the art projects, cookie making, coloring, story time, music time, and plethera of activities that fill our days brings joy to them and to me.
On the other hand, how long does it really take to mix up a batch of cookies, color a picture, sing a song, read a story, do an art project, and take a walk. If you could tag along with West & I one day you would see that these things would be completed with half the morning to spare. That leaves the other half of the morning and the rest of the afternoon to fill until dad gets home, if he gets to come home that day. Sometimes all that time is daunting.
And then there are days that just fly by. There is laundry and cooking, cleaning, and projecting, and a million other demands on my time.

So time really is a funny concept for a mom. I want time for myself, time to be a wife, time to be a woman and a friend, time to create, time to express myself, time to be a mom, to play, be silly, laugh, run, walk, and be with my kiddos. I want time to sit still so I can enjoy these ages and stages. Yet I want the day to go quickly so I can see Jeff.
Isn't it a funny thing: all this time.

It's taken me awhile to learn this, but I am realizing that
there is a time for everything.
In the grand scheme of life, raising my children is a brief moment. And these beautiful years with them at home, before school, homework, games, practice and life takes over, will go quickly.
So for now, my time is theirs.

I just need to remind myself every so often.
A quote that I am loving right now:

You will always be your child's favorite toy.
~Vicki Lansky