Your Assignment...

YOU.

YES YOU.

Tell me something cool.

Saucy Pants Turns 3!

Sawyer, I love you "HO" much.
Happy Birthday my Sizzle, Fo Shizzle.
You Make me "HO" happy.
I adore you.
I love being your mother.
You are sweet, and good, and kind and loving.

Don't grow too quickly.

Don't  change too fast.

Stay small.

(Well, small for you my giant child.)

Happy Birthday.

How are you World?

1. I guess it is time to take the Christmas tree down when undies start replacing the ornaments.

2. Wiggles is going to be 1 next month. I can hardly believe it. He is still so tiny. I love it.

3. Scott took Kate to her Snowy Night activity at the Kindergarten center. I love it when she gets to do fun stuff with her dad.

4. I have such a hard time getting Sawyer to eat. Kate has more luck than I do because Sawyer worships her. What kid doesn't like mashed potatoes? Weirdo.

5. Scott, Dylan & Kate are Crazy about veggie platters. I think it is just an excuse to drink ranch dressing.

6. Yum!!!

7. Sawyer loves the nasty Acai berry juice that Scott bought at Costco. It is so gross, but he loves it. Look how thick it is. It leaves a huge mustache on him. I'm glad he likes something.

8. Returned my Dyson to Costco and purchased this baby. Oh Riccar how I love you. Oh Dyson how I now know I hated you. SO MUCH BETTER IT IS BEYOND WORDS!!!! Shawri, you were right!

 9. Wyatt is the EVER mess maker. Into EVERYTHING.

10. Made a Strap for my Camera. Super easy project. 

And now Scott is out of Town for the weekend and I've got to get our business books finished for 2011, the W-2's in the mail, taxes filed, and have a birthday party tomorrow for Sawyer he is turning 3!!!! I'm a wee bit BIZ-ay. Can't wait for my girl date tomorrow night with the kids. At least something good comes from the husbands being out of town and working. Can't wait.

Peace out World.

Hope you are doing excellent.

Are you?

Week 3 Report & Weight In: Oh Crap

Alright people it is time to get serious. I'm lost in limbo. My brain is mentally defeating me.

It is time to get serious and kick some butt because I have a long road ahead of me. I still need to lose 30 lbs.

30 lbs.

Yikes, that is a small person.
I've gone downhill the past few weeks. I've been feeling sorry for myself. I packed up all of my baby stuff and gave it away. {insert tears}

I am having a hard time adjusting to the fact that I am probably {most likely but will still have to fast and pray about it} done having babies.

I wanted 20 of them you know. {And so did Scott which makes it even harder to accept}

But my poor body has been through a lot. And I have 4 beautiful children that need a mom that can take care of them.

So while I might visit this thought in the future...for now I need to be content, and grateful, and happy with what I have. {even though I really wish I was trying for another baby}

So there have been a lot of tears. I'm pretty sad. {REALLY SAD!}

And when my friend showed up on Saturday 

and took away all my sweet baby things, 

I opened up my heart to a different plan. 

Not the one I had ever had in my mind.

The one where I don't get to see those pink lines on that stick.

I won't get to see my stomach roll when I lay in the tub.

I won't feel the tiny impressions of those first few kicks.

I won't watch in amazement at the ultrasound on the monitor.

I won't feed a new little one for the first time.

I have some really deep soul searching to do.
Some prayers that need to be answered and peace that needs to be found.

I have never wanted to do anything but be a mother.

On the other hand, I can barely keep up with the kids that I have. So I have a lot still to learn. I still have little ones to love and hold and kiss and snuggle with. I have plenty of laundry to wash, floors to clean, towels to fold, meals to make, and carpools to drive.

I just find so much joy and contentment and love in adding to our family.

I secretly want to adopt two little Ethiopian kids. 

A girl and a boy.

Lucy and Luther.

Ya, they have names in my mind.

And maybe I will find them. Maybe they will find me.

Or maybe I will just have to give my love to others through service. Lose myself in serving the Lord.

I have been given so much already. SO much.

So I am committing now to stop feeling sorry for myself.
I'm going to start feeling gratitude everyday.
I'm going to discover what else I have to offer the world.
I'm going to keep working towards my health and fitness goals.

I am going to get there.
And awesome things are going to happen along the way.

My New Neighbor: Cuppa Cuppa Cupcake Heaven

Sometimes it is just plain good to be me. And when your brand new neighbor shows up on your doorstep with homemade cupcakes, well it is REALLY good to be me.

*Image {Etsy}

I can't event tell you what they are called. 

Spice Cake

Caramel Center & Top

Cream Cheese Frosting

They were perfect.

Can you almost taste them or what?

Even my cake and frosting hating husband said....DIVINE!

He said DIVINE!!!

And they were divine.

Sometimes it is just plain easy to LOVE THY NEIGHBOR.

Blog Stalk Talk: Life Treasured (identical triplets, what?)

Please tell me that I am not the only one obsessed with babies.

And what I'm even more curious about is babies that come in sets. Check out Abbey and her brand new Identical Triplets! These babies have only been home for a month. After spending some time in the NICU they all made it home. Success!!! You should probably check out these little miracles because they are beautiful. And you should probably leave Abbey a note because she can probably use all the positive feedback and support she can get.

What Fighters these babies are.

Visit LIFE TREASURED {HERE}!!!

I myself am pretty new to her blog, but I plan to watch these beauties grow up. Aunt Erin sounds pretty good.

Seriously, how amazing is that?

I mean, WHAT ARE THE ODDS???

Seriously, if you know what the odds are, will you tell me? I'm wondering.

And what blogs do you love?

What are your favorites?

Which one's do you blog stalk?

J. Crew: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

Have You seen J. Crew's Chartreuse? 

It is bright, bold, and beautiful.

When my sister Jenna sent me this dress to wear to her wedding I started panicking. The dress came in a size 14 people and that is a lot of chartreuse!

I had to take the sides in and let out the hem and it was barely long enough for me to wear. (Sorry, modesty is the best policy.) But I wore it, and I liked it.  

And ever since the wedding, this poor J. Crew dress has been hanging in my closet. I tried it on recently and it was huge. I knew that I wouldn't be wearing it again so I decided to alter it into a skirt for Kate.

Kate was so excited to be able to help me make a skirt for her. I took out the zipper so that I would be able to use it on another project. Then I simply cut the length off the dress, including the amazing lining, and sewed an elastic in the waist.  

Kate put this outfit together all by herself. She is so independent.

It was such an easy project. And it was fun doing it with Kate.

Now the only problem I have is Jealousy.

I wish I had a skirt in that color!

(If you read this post on Tuesday I am sorry for the re-post. The entire content of the post disappeared. Now that is weird. So I tried to rewrite it.)

Christmas In January: A Re-do

Let the Record books show that I love my husband. I care for him deeply, I rely on him, I appreciate him and value him so highly. I try to express my love for him but sometimes I think I fall short. 

I have told the blogosphere here, here, here, here, and here the things I love and appreciate and admire about my husband and I have also shared a love letter that Scott wrote me here. 

But sometimes I find it easier to sincerely tell all of you how much I love him and appreciate him that it is to tell him and make him believe that I mean it. 

Do you ever find it hard to truly show appreciation for your spouse?

I find it hard sometimes to convince Scott that I truly appreciate all that he does for our family. It is easy to say the words, "thank you", or "you are awesome", or "I really appreciate that", but I have found it really difficult to show him how much I value him. 

Scott is a rare bread. He is a doer. He will do whatever job there is that needs to be done; whatever service that will lighten my burdens is his primary focus. I am starting to realize just how much I have taken him for granted. I don't try to. I don't mean to. 

I am a loving and a giving person, but I have grown accustomed to him doing more than his share of the load, more than he should, and I have started to just expect it.

EXPECT IT.

What does this say about me? (too scared to really know the answer to this one.)

I have become selfish. I have prioritized myself, my children, my interests, my needs....MY. (evil word)

One of my resolutions for 2012 is to start prioritizing the needs of my husband. I don't think this is going to be easy for me. I really have become selfish.

My first item on the agenda was to RE-DO Christmas. You see, when Christmas morning came I didn't have one thing to give Scott. Not a Card, Not a gift...Nothing. I had been so preoccupied with my surgery that I had failed to plan anything for him. 

Now Scott & I are never very conventional about giving gifts to each other. And Scott rarely has anything wrapped under the tree for me either. In September when I so selfishly told Scott that there was a camera that I wanted for Christmas, he told me to get in the car and he drove me straightaway to get it. That is just how he works. He hates depriving me of ANYTHING. 

Insert my beautiful camera! My Christmas present from Scott in September.

Oh, how I love this totally ridiculously expensive camera. 

It is not practical and I don't NEED it...but I love it. A lot.

Spoiled, right?

I decided that I wanted to do something for Scott.

Now, Scott doesn't really care that much about stuff. And the truth is he would rather have me NOT spend money on him and send the money straight to our savings account. But the problem is that he NEVER buys himself anything and I still wanted to do something nice for him.

So Monday the kids and I started to prepare. We decorated with Christmas lights, cooked a nice formal dinner, wrapped gifts, made treats and sent Scott funny Christmas-y texts throughout the day.

When he got home from work we shouted Merry Christmas and started the celebrations.

We had such a great time and it was really fun to be able to celebrate Scott together as a family.

Excuse me for a minute...

***Scott you sexy man you, I Love you.

I love you.

I.

Love.

You.

Never, have I loved anyone or anything more than I love you.

You.

Rock.

Let's smooch. ;)***

So now I'm off to plan the next thing that I can DO for my husband. Maybe I'll shower, brush my teeth and get out of my sweats. Now wouldn't that be a treat.

And Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Remember THIS post? Now that was fun.

And I am determined to not start bleeding to death like I did last Valentine's Day.

Thoughts?

Search Keywords: Weirdo's out there I tell you.

I am trying to censor my blog because I get the weirdest people (aka p.e.r.v.e.r.t.s) visiting my blog.

Popular things they are sent to my blog for are...

Ch...ub-B_Y LaD_Y

N.A._Ke.,D K-iD.s

N.u_de

I'm sick of it. I am trying to get rid of being associated with poor searches.

I have been erasing all my posts with my kids that might bring these searches.

Wish me LUCK!!!

P.S. I had a blog post that I posted last night completely disappear today.)

#whatisgoingon

I have a dream...

"Not by the color of their skin but by 
the content of their character."


                                                                            ---Martin Luther King Jr.

*Image Found {Here}

Sunday Thoughts: Sifting Souls

I rolled over in bed to make eye contact with Scott...

"Are you ready for this?", I said.

I had already pushed snooze every 5 five minutes for the last hour and a half. We were both clinging to the edges of our bed as Sawyer's head rested near Scott's chest and his feet were pushing on my thigh. I closed my eye's and reopened them to watch Scott rise. Somehow it always feels easier to get up when I am following behind Scott.

Thank the heaven's for Sunday Mornings.

~~~~

*Image found {Here}

My family gains so much from attending church on Sunday mornings. Some mornings run smoothly, and some are chaotic, but NEVER do I ever regret getting my family into that chapel. There is such a peace and comfort that I receive at church that fuels me for the coming week. Taking the sacrament and renewing my covenants each week helps to keep me focused on what really matters in life.

For the past few weeks I've been trying to prepare for next Sunday when Scott and I will be speaking to the Stake Single Adults at their monthly fireside.

I've decided to title my talk Sifting Souls. I was inspired by Kim over at Oh, Sweet Joy. Her post entitled Sift My Soul really moved me and got me thinking.

Who is Jesus Christ?

He is a Soul Sifter.

He reaches into us, moves around all that we are, and helps rid us of our impurities. It isn't always comfortable and sometimes we get jarred around quite a bit.

I've been thinking a lot about how he Sifts our Soul's. For me most recently it has been through injury, illness and infirmity. For some it is through loss. It can be through the Holy Ghost, the scriptures, a sermon at church, financial struggles, unemployment, or loneliness. The list can go on forever. The one thing that is certain is that we all need to be sifted. 


And I think that the Lord uses all of these opportunities to search our souls and to heal us.

On Christmas Eve, Ryan and Kelly Pack were traveling to their home in American Fork, UT, when a SUV crossed the median and hit their car head on. Their life was changed instantly. They sustained very critical injuries and on Christmas Day their sweet 18 month old son passed away.

I don't know this family, but I can grieve with them. I know that this will be a time of a great sifting in their lives. They will have to rely on their faith and on their Savior to survive.

I wanted to share with you a sweet video that was made of Colum's funeral. I warn you that it is very hard to watch and contains quite sensitive footage, but I assure you it is beautiful. I wonder if the Lord won't sift our souls as we watch it.


Colum Jacob Pack Funeral 6/29/2010 - 12/25/2011 from Kenny Bozich on Vimeo.

Please if you have any thoughts or feelings regarding this post will you please share them with me as I am preparing to speak on this subject next Sunday. I would really appreciate it.

And if you would like to donate to the Pack Family you can do so {HERE}.

Blog Stalk Talk: Mommy In Manhattan

It is time to introduce you to another one of my favorite blogs.

Jenna Blogs over at Mommy In Manhattan and she and I have been Cyber friends for 3 years now. I have been able to see them move from California, to Chicago and now they live in New York City.

Jenna likes to PLAY and she is always up to something crazy, like this trapeze class for instance. She teaches Pilates, does eyelash extensions, loves fitness and cruises around the Big Apple with three kids.

She is awesome and I hope you will love her too.

Check her out...

{Mommy In Manhattan}

Jenna, one of these days we are actually going to occupy the same space. Let's do lunch.

Wednesday: Did You Know?

1.  I took the kids swimming on Saturday night. I sat on the edge of the pool with some friends and watched the kids swim. The Blackfoot Pool is trying to come up with 200,000 dollars to make some renovations and I have mixed feelings about this. They sincerely need to renovate, but I wonder if the building is a lost cause. I'm not sure that it would be enough money to  really do what needs to be done. Let's just say that pieces of the ceiling  fall on you sometimes. You heard me right. My kids love it there, but it needs some SERIOUS work. 

 2. Dylan turns eight next month. He is so excited. He will be able to be baptized and he is really looking forward to it. He also can't wait to get the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

3. Wyatt is crazy. CRAZY. He is so busy I don't know what to do. He is all over the place and into EVERYTHING. I have a hard enough time keeping the messes to a minimum. Sheesh.

4. Dylan and Ryan are the same age and have the same teeth. Isn't this stage adorable. Oh my heavens those huge teeth in their little cute mouths crack me up. So Fun.

* Free Printable {Here}

5. I love Grey and Yellow and this free printable from Persnickety Prints is adorable. You can find it at the link above. Tell Chari that I sent you!!!

6. I need to get to the gym today. NEED TO.

7. I almost have sugar out of my system. I'm feeling so much better. Why couldn't I have just said NO to the Christmas goodies?

8. I am not too into politics, but I am behind Mitt Romney at this point. I like Newt Gingrich, have a crush on Rick Perry (the same one I have on George W. Bush. It must be that Texas Blood and slow accent.) I think Ron Paul is smart but crazy, and John Huntsman comes off so arrogant to me. JUST MY OPINIONS.

9. I am about ready to rip my hand-me-down couches out of my living room. I can't stand them anymore. Scott has told me about 10,000 times to go and buy new ones, but I don't know what I want. I am TOO Indecisive. 

10. I love my husband. He loves me. We have 4 crazy kids and I feel really busy all of a sudden. Why do I feel so busy? Oh ya, because this is my busy month for work. I do the accounting for our businesses and I need to get out all the w-2's, finish my year end taxes, and get the books ready for the professional accountants.

Bonus: Downton Abbey

I may have watched the entire first season and the newest episode in two days. SO GOOD. OH my starts I am a sucker for stuff like this. Love it!

Have you seen this Show?
Did you like it?
Are you busy this time of year?

Week 1 Report & Weigh-in

It is time to get back on track.

When I started this Journey of mine in September, I had no idea what the future would hold. I felt old, weak, slow, fat, out-of-shape, injured, sick and pretty disappointed in myself.

By the end of October I felt strong, awesome, powerful, healthy, fit, quick, in control, motivated, and excited about the future. I was PROUD of myself. All that in two months of being consistent. Quite the Profit.

In November I found out that I had to have a pretty intensive surgery and it sort of paralyzed my efforts. I was still working out like a machine, but I started eating my emotions and my fears a little bit. I fought it with everything that I had, but I was pretty scared and insecure about the future and it was defiantly playing a major roll in my weight loss. I was still proud of myself for continuing to workout...the old me would have quit.

And now December 15th has come and gone and I feel that it is a true miracle that I am doing so great. I feel great, I feel blessed, I feel FIXED.

So now what? I have NO more excuses. REALLY. None. I'm better than I could have ever hoped for. 

So here is to 2012.

A year of reaching my goals.

Pushing myself.

Being an example.

Overcoming my fear of failure.

Relying on the Lord for strength in moments of weakness.

Enjoying this body that I have.

Loving this body that I have.

Using this body that I have.

Today was my first day POST-OP in the gym. I took it easy. I tried to be smart. I felt like I wanted to fly.

It was hard not to do more. 

But, I felt strong. I felt awesome. I felt powerful and healthy and fit and quick and in control.

I am realizing just how much all that training did to help me prepare to recover from the surgery. When I found out about my surgery it felt like my efforts were wasted and I was going to have to start all over again.

But what really happened is that my training made ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

And while I gained a few pounds being idle and eating holiday treats, I didn't lose any muscle. And I didn't lose my vision.

So I'm back. And I could really use some company.

Do any of you want to join me?

This journey isn't just about losing weight. It is about getting FIT and LIVING LIFE.

What are your health and fitness goals this year?

I want to hear!!!!

(I'm not weighing in for another week or so. But I will soon. And I am being accountable.) 

My Best Advice...

I had the privilege of Serving as a Missionary for my Church in Seattle, Washington.

My companion, Sister Tazalaar, shared one of her mother's pearls of wisdom & I have never forgotten it.

*Free Printable {Here}

I think about this all the time.

The Mother yelling at her children in the middle of Target.
The rude customer service Representative.
The man that cuts you off and then the driver behind you who blares their horn.
The chain smoker sitting on the curb.
The Dr. that cuts open your bladder. ;)
The husband who forgets your anniversary.
The children that don't seem to appreciate you.

Sometimes the only thing we can do is to give people the BENEFIT of the Doubt.

Maybe people are doing their best. Maybe they aren't. But who am I to judge?

All I can do is show them Love.

I think about this all the time.
And I try to love EVERYBODY.
A lot.

And I do.

Love EVERYBODY.
A.
Lot.

(Sister Tazalaar's mother was also a professional packer, who taught people who traveled a lot how to pack their bags. You will never believe how amazing her packing skills were. This was a Missionary's dream. Maybe I feel a tutorial coming on. It would be my first ya know.)

*******Edited Correction: Audrey Merrill (Sister Tazalaar) just informed me that this quote did NOT come from her mother...she heard it at the MTC (Missionary Training Center). Well, regardless...I love it. And feel free to check out her website. She might just save you some SERIOUS cash. For Real.

Blog Stalk Talk: The Daybook

Some blog's you just can't keep your eye's off.

That is how I feel about  The Daybook

Syd feels like a little Sister and Ty's my bro. And I really wish that Aunt Erin could give that little Everett a smooch and a squeeze. He is so yummy. I'm not sure what attracts me to this blog more; Syd's writing and humor, her style sense, her sweet baby, or her photography. She makes me laugh and I love that.

Anyway, she is totally AWESOME & AWKWARD

Check Her Out.

Now tell me...

What blog's do you Stalk?

Tractors Is So Dumb

The kids were thrilled that Santa brought them these Mater Teeth Suckers. 

{What a Smart Santa} ;)

Now I need to be a smart mamma and make some SERIOUS Dentist appointments.  

Wednesday: Did You Know?

1. It is awesome to see the kids do things together and actually get along. I feel like I'm usually diffusing a bomb between them most of the time. You never know when the tension is going to explode. I know they love each other a bunch, but they also try to get each other in trouble and it drives me crazy.

2. Wiggles has been getting teeth the past week and trying to survive his first ear infection. Let's just say he is NOT happy and NOT sleeping. Poor Scott has been so awesome. This is a picture of him catching a few minutes of sleep before he left for work. He was up all night with Wyatt. What a great dad and awesome husband. 

3. I love taking pictures when I am in the car (I get bored driving) and Scott is a good sport.

4. Scott received a very generous Gift Certificate to Outback Steakhouse from one of his gym members. It was a Christmas Gift. The family had been unemployed for a few months during the year and Scott still let them use the gym even though they couldn't pay their memberships. (My Scotty is AWESOME) So the family gave Scott this nice gift as a gesture to say thank you. I couldn't believe how thoughtful they were to say thank you in such an extravagant way. We sure enjoyed using the Gift on New Year's Eve. Here is Scott coloring at the table. He is such a kid. But actually a REALLY great color-er. (is that a word?) 

5. This is not a super great photo, but I love Sawyer's cheeks in it. My little man. (I do not love my cheeks in it. Or my chin.)

6. Here is a picture of my little Farm Town at dusk. I love living here. There are only a handful of street lights and stores, but it is home to the best people in the WORLD. I love you Blackfoot.

7. Don't let this smirk fool you. He has been tears for a week. I'm so glad that he is finally feeling better. We missed our happy Wiggles.

8. I had a severe lapse in judgement after a phone call with Amber {my super awesome SIL} yesterday and decided I should try to potty train Sauce. He turns 3 in a few weeks and  you would think that he would be ready. In my head I knew I should wait a bit more, but then I thought...oh heck, just try. So I used up his last diaper, put him in undies and bought some pull-ups (PRINCESS ones dang it. I was in such a hurry I didn't even notice they were pink. He was not thrilled) After 6 pair of wet underwear this morning and one pair of poopy (gross) I gave up. I lasted about 15 hours. PATH-e-TIC.

9. Wyatt ate his first piece of pizza last night. The whole piece. 10 months old. Amazing. The Peterson's know how to eat!

10. Oh Kate. This girl is giving me a run for my money. I love her. I love her. I love her. {repeat to self before you explode} She is cute and naughty and messy and snotty. Heaven help me. Please?

Bonus:

Neighbor Cathy is really sick and that just makes me sad. I took her some soup and cough drops yesterday but she sounded terrible. I much prefer seeing her out in her garden that sick in bed. I told her that it would be a good break from swearing at her dogs. She mustered a small smile. I love you Cathy. Hope you feel better.

Bonus II:

I am doing awesome. I am so good. AMAZING. WONDERFUL. AMAZING. I feel great and feel NORMAL for the first time in a year. Can you believe that I was cut open three weeks ago today and I feel THIS awesome? I can't!

Scary Bonus:

Scott and I were asked to speak at a Stake Single Adult Fireside in a few weeks. I'm excited and nervous. I have to figure out what I should speak on. I'm really bad a narrowing things down. REALLY bad. Wish me luck.

Blog Design Bonus:

Don't judge the blog design. I love trying new things and well, I'm experimenting. I don't have much skill, but it sure is fun.

Any Potty Training Pointers?

Any Naughty Daughter tips or advice?

Any topic ideas for my talk?

Are you loving the NEW YEAR??? 

I AM!!!!