Moment of Silence

The past couple days have been rather crazy so I haven't been able to blog.  Today is finally a slowed down day.  And that I am very grateful for.  Right now I am sitting here enjoying the peace and quiet while my kids sleep.  The only sound I hear is the clock ticking and the refrigerator running.  I am able to hear myself think for once, but am trying to not let myself think too much or that will just completely ruin the silence! :)

It's these moments as a mom of 3, that I rarely get during the day.  So I am going to soak it up the best that I can.  Enjoy this little miracle, because I know it won't last long!

You Are My Sunshine

I could barely wake up this morning.  My eyes seriously could hardly open.  But my daughter needed to go to her Softball practice and my husband is at work.  So I reluctantly got out of bed and got J up and ready.  I groggily got ready too.

Then we headed out to the car.  The sun was shining.  The air smelled fresh.  It was so refreshing that I immediately forgot that I was too tired to go about my day and that I was feeling grumpy from lack of sleep.  It was a great pick-me-up.  With how much it rains here, it truly was a blessing to wake up to some sunshine.  What a beautiful day God made for us.

A Day Long Awaited

My husband was in a car accident 3 years ago.  His car was totaled and he was hurt.  Even had to have knee surgery.  Due to the pain he was in, he was out from his 2 jobs for 5 months before the doctor said he could go back to work.  But when he returned to work, he was in so much pain that he wasn't able to work.  This was when they ended up doing the knee surgery.  He was then out of work for several more months, resulting in an entire year of not working. He even had to quit working the job that was going to be his career (Government job that would pay well and give great benefits) because of the pain.  He still has pain in his back and knee from the accident. 

After the accident, the insurance of the guy who hit him only paid to replace the car (and a couple thousand less than the car was worth) and nothing else.  They have been fighting us for 3 years.  We were supposed to go to court 2 times, but it was pushed to a new date both times.  So when they gave us the date for the next one, we had doubted for the past 9 months that it would really happen.  But today we got the call that it will happen for sure now.  I have been thanking God all day for answering our prayers.  Hopefully it all goes well, but at least we are finally getting our day in court.

Love My Pets

I went to check on the kids when they were sleeping (it was after midnight, so it counts for today, right? haha) and found the cutest sight...

I adore our dog and cat.  I think of them as one of my kids.  Seeing them like this makes me smile :)

Tape Measure Miracle

I have been struggling to lose weight for the past 3 years.  I gained a lot of weight due to my thyroid.  I was always thin so it was real hard on me to be over 200 lbs.  I finally was doing well at eating right and exercising daily and was able to lose 35 lbs.  But then I got pregnant.  I only gained 15 lbs and ate whatever I wanted.  Since I was able to eat a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream each night and whatever else I wanted during the day and barely gained weight, it was really hard to break that after giving birth 2 months ago.

I start doing good at counting my calories and exercising, but then not seeing very quick results and all the stress I have been under, quickly makes me go back to my best friend....chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate!  So needless to say, I have been struggling to lose weight.  I have been gaining 4 lbs then losing 3 or 4...back and forth with that.

Yesterday and today I did real well with taking time to exercise.  Today I decided to measure myself and compare to last month.  The results made me feel so good about myself.  I lost 2 inches off my belly, 1.75 inches off my hips and 2 inches off my thighs.  I have been feeling so bad about my looks (mainly my weight) lately, so this gave me that little boost I needed to feel good about myself at least a little.  To see that there is progress and I am not stuck in a rut like I thought I was.

Kids Are Full of Surprises

I decided that since school is out for the summer, we needed to make a schedule.  That way it wasn't just everything chaotic each day with all 3 kids home.  I made up a schedule and we presented it to the kids last night.  They were actually quite excited by it.  That took me by surprise!  The part they were most excited about was doing worksheets to keep their minds fresh for next school year and about getting to exercise together.

We had a late night so I didn't follow the schedule fully this morning... My plan is to get up at 7:30 each morning so I can have a moment to myself to say my morning prayer, take a shower and be ready for the day.  Then wake up the kids, make/eat breakfast, followed by exercising as a family.  Since we had a late night and I showered last night, I slept in.  I meant to get up at 8:30, but slept through until 9:15.

To my surprise, the girls had gotten up, made their beds, got dressed and had breakfast.  All the things that were on the schedule.  Then they were waiting for us to have family scripture and prayer together.  How great of them to follow it happily and without being reminded!!  They were real excited about exercising together too.  After doing stretches, we took a 40 minute walk.  E loved it so much that she thanked Heavenly Father in her bedtime prayer that we got to "exercise as a family."  So sweet!

A Difficult Day

Some days are just hard days.  It doesn't have to even be big things to happen to make it a hard day.  Just a bunch of small things strung throughout the day can do it.  Today is one of those days.  The two older kids keep arguing with each other and arguing with us.  And this is just the first day of summer vacation!  It can be difficult to find good in days like this.  Then I look at my 10 week old baby and I feel happiness.

She has the most beautiful smile that is contagious.  Just one smile from her can brighten my day.  Then add in the cute coos, babbling, and excited squeals and that makes it even better.  She doesn't talk rude, she doesn't complain, she doesn't argue with her sisters... Holding her and seeing her smile gives me that much needed lift to get me through the rest of the day.

Don't get me wrong, my other two kids bring me happiness too.  I love them all very much.  Just on days like today when they are causing much stress, I have to take solace in holding my baby.  It not only makes me happier by seeing her, but it reminds me of my older two when they were this age. 

Just now, while typing this, E (my 4 year old) came in.  She smiled sweetly at me and said, "I love you.  I love you SOOO much!"  Hearing those words from my child melt away the stress even more. 

Father's Day

Being Father's Day my mind has been filled with so much appreciation for my dad and my husband.  I am so very blessed for these two men in my life.

First I will start off with my dad.  I have looked up to him since I was old enough to look up to someone.  He has always been such a hard worker, honest, loving, kind, and service oriented.  I went through a very difficult time as a teenager and young adult.  My dad NEVER gave up on me.  He easily could have because I seemed like such a lost cause for many years.  But he never did.  He loved me unconditionally.  He helped me whenever I needed help.  He was always a shoulder to lean on (him and my mom).  I am truly blessed to have him as my dad.

My husband is just as amazing of a man in my eyes.  Of course we had our hard times, but those times are in the past.  I love him more than I thought imaginable and our love grows deeper daily.  He is such an amazing husband and father to our 3 kids.  He completes me.  I know that tends to be thought of as a cheesy movie line, but really he does complete me.  I can't imagine my life without him.

My life is so blessed.  Looking from the outside people may wonder how I can feel so blessed since we are living with my parents right now due to not being able to afford our own place.  We struggle financially.  But those things aren't what matters most.  We have a loving home that we get to live in with people who love us.  My husband works very hard to support us and still go to school full time and find time for the kids and me.  Yes, I am truly blessed.  And I thank Heavenly Father every day for all that I have in my life, especially for my husband and parents.

A Day at the Beach

So often I resent memories.  There are so many bad memories that often flood my mind that it is hard to think of memories as a good thing.  But today we took a trip to the city where I lived when I was little.  Where I lived on the same road as my Grandpa, Grandma, Great Aunt, Uncle and Aunt.  From my Grandpa's old house you can go down to the beach on the inlet. 

It was great to get to show my husband and kids where I used to live and all the houses where relatives used to live.  Even the house my dad lived in as a kid is still there (pretty run down and looks abandoned, but it's still there).  While walking on the beach I was flooded with so many good memories. 

I remember one time we were on the beach with all the family.  The beach isn't a sandy one.  It is filled with rocks, shells and barnacles.  I was quite young (maybe 3 or 4) and I tripped on a rock and fell.  I fell onto rocks covered in barnacles, which scraped up my bare legs.  I started crying.  My grandma asked me what was wrong and I told her that the barnacles bit me.  She gave me a hug and helped me up the hill to her house where she cleaned up the cuts and bandaged me up. 

On the drive down the road, I had memory after memory come into my mind.  I saw the old cherry tee that my friend and I used to climb up to sit in, eat cherries and talk.  I saw the pine tree that I climbed when I was little that got sap in my hair.  It was so hard to get out that my mom had to cut a patch of my hair all the way down to my scalp.  I could still see my siblings and I riding our bikes to the mail boxes to get our grandparent's mail and then ride it down to their house to give it to them.  Then in return our grandma would give us homemade ice cream or cookies.  Sometimes she would give me her home canned prunes, which were my favorite.

After today I am happy to have memories.  Some memories may be sad or upsetting, but the happy memories are able to overpower the bad memories if we let them. 

Oh, To Be Tested

Today I took all 3 kids to the grocery store by myself.  I rushed through my shopping so we could get home with plenty of time to put things away and relax before J's softball practice.  We went through the checkout, paid, then went outside.  Walked across the parking lot to the car.  Got all the girls loaded in and the groceries loaded into the trunk.  It was so hot out that first thing E asked for was for me to turn the AC on.  As I put the last of the groceries into the trunk I saw a bag of tomatoes laying in the cart.  I realized I hadn't paid for them. 

I was exhausted, it was hot, the kids were loaded into the car... How tempting it could have been to just say, "It's only less than $2 worth of tomatoes...they won't notice."  But I didn't.  As inconvenient as it was to get the baby back out (lugging the car seat) and the other 2 kids out and walk back across the parking lot in the heat, back into the store, food melting in the hot trunk of the car... I still did it.  I went in and paid for the tomatoes. 

I didn't even think twice about going back in to pay.  But it made me think about how good it is to have these moments of temptation in our lives so that we can rise above them and do the right thing.  How much character it builds.  And let's not forget the lesson I hope it taught my children.  That is the most priceless part about it.

It's Such a Beautiful World Right Now

Tonight, out of the blue, my 4 year old looked outside and said, "Wow, it's such a beautiful world right now!"  They way she said it was so heartfelt.  It caused me to pause and take a moment to look around at the world and see just how right she was.  It really is a beautiful world right now.  The sun was shining, the air felt clean and warm.  I breathed in and it sent a wonderful, serene feeling throughout me.  It took a 4 year old to get me to stop and take the time to even notice it all.  I am so glad that she did.

I tend to go through each day in a rush.  I am constantly thinking of all the things I need to get done.  My mind rarely takes a rest.  But today, thanks to my wonderful daughter, I let my mind rest for that moment.  Let my mind take in the beautiful world that surrounds us.

Praiseworthy Day

Here it is 1 in the morning and I am just now getting time to sit down to the computer and write my blog.  My day was rather busy, but partly I was also afraid to sit down and try to think of a miracle or blessing that occurred today.  Looking back on the day I see it as a good day.  We got to hang out with good friends this morning then go with a Realtor to look at houses.  I got to spend time with my niece who is so good at making me laugh.  But looking back, what I see as my miracle today is a conversation I had with my oldest  daughter (J) and the affect it had.

I have 3 kids.  My oldest 2 are almost 6 years apart so they tend to argue a lot.  J gets tired of the younger one (E) tagging along and wanting her non-stop attention.  E gets tired of being shoved aside and ignored due to being younger.  Tonight they were arguing again.  I took J aside and explained to her the meaning of the phrase, "You reap what you sow."  It was a real good conversation and she seemed to really take it in.  A little bit after that we were tucking the kids into bed.  E jumped into J's bed and was claiming to be stuck so was unable to go to her own bed.  Normally J would get mad and yell at her for even just being on her bed.  This time she made a game of it.  "Oh no you're stuck!  I better pull you out!"  They were both giggling non-stop.  Every time J would get her "unstuck" then E would "get stuck" again.  It was so wonderful to see her change her attitude about it tonight.  It was so nice that it was hard to make them go to bed!  We praised J and then tucked them into their own beds.

I think that definitely is worth being grateful for.


"Life is not measured by
the number of breaths we take,
but by the moments that take our breath away."

Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord

Life is hard. Every day seems to bring challenges. Our economy is such that many people are struggling financially and I am one of them. So often it is easy to just look at all the negative things around us and forget to look for the blessings. So often the daily miracles go unnoticed. I think each day would be much easier to make it through if I would notice those everyday miracles and make sure to be grateful for them and thank God for those miracles and blessings.

My challenge to myself is to post a daily blog about the miracles/blessings that I have in my life. It will help me to see the positive and actively open my eyes to see the positive things each day. I know how much I love reading peoples experiences about inspirational things that have happened in their lives and hope others will feel the same about mine. I don't expect there to be big, extravagant miracles going on each day, but even the small and simple miracles are meaningful.

A song that has been one of my favorites for several years is, "Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord." Some of the lyrics are, "Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see you." If I open my eyes and see all my blessings and all the miracles in my life, then I will see (and feel) God stronger in my life. This realization is one of my blessings today.