So many things...

I have so many things to blog about but haven't been able to find the perfect occasion to sit down and embrace it so here's a quick, completely random, unimportant update -

*Got my car detailed.

I do this once a year and it truly brings pure joy into my life. Plus, we eat less fast food for about two weeks afterward while I'm pretending that we'll never eat in the car again because I am bound to keep it in this fresh, beautiful condition.

I love cleanliness. Makes me fall in love with my sexy gold van all over again.

*Read the book, Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson.

Wow.

I read it in one day- her words leading me to re-dedicate myself to being a more attentive, loving, patient mother and wife - but then felt torn because I had been ignoring my children all day, basking in this great book which led me to not being attentive in the least.

Tomorrow we'll start anew.

My cousin recommended this book so I have to throw out a thank you to her! She's already on the ball, being one of the best mother's I know.

One of my favorite excerpts from this book was in the epilogue:

"... our hearts matter most. Your heart matters most, so be gentler and more patient with yourself, and their hearts matter most, too, so be kinder and more compassionate to others. It's a beautiful heart, not a perfect body, that leads to a beautiful life."

Don't you just want to be Stephanie Nielson's best friend? She's perfectly delightful.

*Date night

The Beloved and I hit the town for a little dinner and a movie but after the dinner/before the movie part we saw an almost identical truck to The Beloved's in the wide spread parking lot.

We had a ton of boxes stacked into the back of our truck and I thought it would be funny if we parked next to this stranger's identical truck and maybe the owner would get confused, seeing our truck first, and begin wondering as to where all these boxes had come from and why were they in the back of his truck? Is my plan making sense?

So, The Beloved humored me and we ran into the Dollar store, peaking through the windows to see my plan unfold.

And they fell for it.

Confusion embraced the little family of three we saw strolling toward our vehicle.

When they realized it wasn't their truck the owner took out his phone to capture this coincidental moment forever.

Loved it.

Anyway, farewell for now.... promise more blogging updates to come! You should update too...

remember, I'm the gal who doesn't have Facebook so I am depending upon you for an outlet. Do it. :)



Brave

Loved the movie Brave - Loved IT!

But, if I hear my kids say, "Feast Your Eyes..." in a Scottish accent one more time while sticking their (covered) bummies out -

 I'm going to have a break down.

In the Genes

Lou is an aspiring little artist - all inherited from The Beloved's gene pool.

(papers are a little crinkled from much love)

Phineas from Phineas and Ferb



Hiccup riding atop Toothless fleeing from the other dragons.

Seriously impressive talent - my little four year old Lou dog!

Taking Care of Your Plant

Yesterday Ruckus was helping me prepare the visual aid for my Young Womens Lesson on How Can I Gain a Testimony?

He planted a seed in a cup with soil and sat it down, staring at it.

"Mom, It's not growing," he said sounding a little taken a back.

"Sweetheart, it takes time."

Deep exhale from the three year old, and then more staring ensues.

"Mom, It's still not growing!"

Being taken a back - has now turned to utter devastation.

"Buddy, all we have is a seed, we have to wait for it to grow. It takes water and sunlight and checking in on it everyday. Be patient. If we do our part it will grow."

His response was perfect in comparison to Alma 32 where Alma asks the people to try an experiment -all it requires is just a particle of faith. Just a tiny bit. And then he asks the people to use that tiny particle to help them discover if the "word" (gospel) is true.

He compares the "word" to a seed and if what they are hearing feels good - will they be willing to hear more in order to allow that seed to grow?

Alma uses the adjective delicious.

Once we feel the delicious-ness of the Holy Ghost confirming the gospel is true what happens next?

Well, it takes time -

we have to continue studying, praying, and checking in on that tiny seed of a testimony everyday so it will continue to grow.

We have to be patient. 

We have to take care of our plant.

Everyday.

We can't only rely on spiritual confirmings of the past.

Or, our plant will die.

And everything we felt that allowed the little seed to grow in the first place will be forgotten.

I asked the girls I was teaching to think about if they had a testimony?

If so, how did you plan on keeping it?

If not,-

do you want one -

and how will you get it?

I encouraged them to bear their testimonies to someone this week.

Sometimes that's all it takes to remind you, you have one.

I have a testimony of the gospel. What this means is that the Holy Ghost has confirmed to me, many times, by a pure feeling of deliciousness that it is true. That Heavenly Father knows and loves us and his son Jesus Christ is my brother; that he died for my sins and yours. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and we have a living prophet on earth today who leads and directs us. I love our sweet men who lead this church.

That's the foundation of my testimony my friends.

My testimony started out with a sliver of hope and has grown impeccably -

with a little work everyday -

I'm taking care of my plant.

Father's Day/Birthday 2012

A list of things you may or may not know about The Beloved are listed throughout His Father's Day/B-day blog post - Enjoy!

Father's Day:

The Beloved is NOT a morning person- definitely a night person- you will find him prowling around the house as late as 3 a.m. 

(last night he was lifting weights in the garage at 2 o'clock in the morning.)

His new watch he received for Father's day with a picture of the SLC temple on it.

 After church every Sunday The Beloved makes lunch for everyone in the family.

The Beloved's 33rd B-day

Playing a game on his phone during his B-day party - He's grounded!

 He takes turns taking the boys out for late night goody runs... like at 11:00 at night. The boys get so excited when it is there turn! When we lived in IL The Beloved and Lou would go on their goody run and then watch the raccoons play in the garbage can outside the convenient store.

You'll notice a girl in the picture... that's Little C's good friend who's our new surrogate daughter :) or so we say.

 The Beloved HATES going to bed. He'll sleep in our bed about three times a week and on the other nights I have to go on a hunt in the morning to see where he fell asleep the night before :).

Itunes gift cards so he can purchase things while playing his "super cool" fantasy game on his phone :).

 He is great at everything he does unless you have to attach something other than shoes to his feet. (skiing, rollerblading, ice-skating are out of the question). He received used golf clubs for his b-day and has been aggressively trying to develop that new found talent. This is a good and bad thing for his spouse. :)



The Beloved received Bop Its -so he can BOP our kids softly and safely when they're driving him nuts!

 He is a handy man. If something goes wrong around the house e.g. - sprinkler system, rotted floor board, disposal, etc. -

he'll fix it.

This usually takes a phone call or two to his father who relays an experienced crash course on how to solve the issue.

These men are amazing!

 He is a great cook!

When The Beloved has time he is quite the gourmet chef extraordinaire!

I am way more ornery than him.

The Beloved is pretty laid back and chill unless we are packing up the car for a trip.

Scary things happen.

:)

 He has all of these sports stats in his head that would amaze you.

College, professional - it's almost unnerving.

If you need to be updated on Football, basketball, baseball -

he's your man.

 The Beloved would rather hang out with his family then have a guys night any day of the week.

He loves being at home, hanging out with his kids and wifey.

 He loves Broadway musicals. We have seen Phantom once, Wicked twice, and are scheduled to see Les Miserables in the fall.

We had a little s'mores b-day party in the backyard - I only snapped a couple pictures -they kind of make The Beloved look like a serious polygamist. It just so happens that most of our friends have daughters :).  Next time I'll capture more of the male support. :)

 The Beloved has a wonderful testimony of the gospel.

 He gets emotional when he shares his love for the atonement and our Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's Beautiful.

 The only thing that can put The Beloved to sleep early is when I get chatty while we're laying in bed.

I put him right to sleep.

Hmmm... don't know how I feel about that.



The Beloved and our not so happy Baby sitting around the s'mores B-day fire.

Still so many things to share -

*He doesn't truly have a favorite food because he is the variety man. He loves it all.. except -

* He doesn't like, ranch, mayo or any cold salads like - potato or macaroni salad.

*He possibly may be addicted to energy drinks.

*He has been blessed with a huge talent of being an incredibly skilled artist.

*He's SUPER smart. Too smart sometimes. I'm usually on the losing side of the who's right/who's wrong debate. Good thing I'm so humble :). Right.

*He's a jump into life sort of fellow - not really a planner.

*He's usually going to like you. Unless you're a loud chewer. Drives him NUTS. :)

*I think he's addicted to school.

*Calls his wife Dear

*He is fluent in American Sign Language.

*He's a romantic and a spoiler!

* He is FAST. I mean FAST. He still holds state records in UT for the 100 meter dash.

*Loves to go on dates with his eternal companion.

*Movie guy - for sure.

*If he can help you out - he will. He's the guy behind you who will pay for the rest of your groceries if you're short on change.

*When he grows up he wants to design and own an amusement park.

...there are many, many more things about The Beloved that are not listed...

but at least this gives you a little brief view into the world that's- The Beloved.

We love you dog! Thanks for being ours!