Dear Mom and Dad

You know how when you were a kid and you thought your parents were unreasonable? How "they just didn't know"? How when you wanted to do something really stupid (but can't see that it's stupid at the time) and they tell you "NO!" so then you end up standing in the kitchen screaming at each other till your both in tears and just wanna run away?!

And then when you had kids all of the sudden you got it! You had you "Ah-Ha" moments?!

Well Thanks!

Thank you for being you!

Thank you for being awesome! 

Thank you for having the clarity of mind to see when I was doing something stupid and the being willing to stand up and say "NO!". 

Thank you for allowing me to express myself, no matter how....odd it may have been!

Thank you for looking the other way when I went to school dressed lookin like I was color, pattern, and fashion blind.

Thank you for taking me shopping for new clothes when I finally realized how ridiculous I looked!

Thank you for teaching me that hair is an accessory, meant to be changed. And that no matter how horrendous the hair cut is...there is always something you can do to make it better.

Thank you for teaching me what it means to do what's best for your kids, no matter what!

Thank you for keeping me safe.

Thank you for being in tune with your kids to an extent where you can come bail them out of a really bad situation before they even know they need it!

Thank you for being so understanding when I screwed up, no matter how bad it was!

Thanks for giving us "Mental health days"

Thank you for helping us be well-rounded people.

Thank you for being in love, and not being afraid to show it in front of your kids!

Thank you for teaching us how to handle hard times. How to work out disagreements and how to forgive.

Most of all, Thank you for teaching us the Gospel. For allowing us to ask questions, and teaching us how find answers. For showing us by example what it means to live the gospel, and stand up for what you believe in!

Thank you for being the parents we needed the most! For always being there for us!

Thank you for being you. Thanks for being Awesome!!!

Spring it Forward

Spring brings back lots of memories to me.

Spring means time change. Every time we "Spring Forward"  I always think of my parents. We would always change our clocks at 7pm. Promptly after which my parents would claim "Bed Time" and send us all to bed!!  This year, we did it to our kids! It felt awesome!

Spring is also a time for warmer weather which means "time to go outside" This was a phrase my mom said to us a lot. and now that we are in a house, as it gets to be nicer weather out I've been saying it to my boys! It's so nice to send the kids outside to play. It helps get dishes or laundry done, bathrooms clean, sweep and mop. or just some quiet time for Momma! It also wears them out!! They sleep so much better, and go to sleep so much faster! I love it!

Spring means flowers and flower beds!  I always loved going to the nursery and green houses with my parents to get flowers for our flower beds. They would always let us each pick out our own flowers to plant, weed and tend to. I always picked the Begonia.

 When I was little that was my nickname. I was their little begonia. Plus they are super pretty. Still to this day one of my favorite flowers!

Spring is definitely one of my favorite seasons. It's starting to warm up. The flowers and Trees are starting to bloom and get their color back. Grass is growing. It smells like fresh rain, daily if you live where we do.  Spring thunder storms. Car windows down. House windows open. Fresh air. Spring Cleaning. De-cluttering, Garage Sales......

But probably, by far, our family's most favorite thing about spring would have to be that it marks one of the best times of year .... Baseball!!!

Spring means Spring Training and this year we got to go!! It was amazing!

So welcome Spring!

Welcome flowers and trees and rain and fresh air and warm weather and playing outside and most importantly, Welcome Baseball!!!

In the Dark

 A funny thing happends the minute you loose power and everything goes dark.

There's a hint of panic at first. There you are minding your own business and then you are in the dark

Then Relief when you've made sure everyone is ok.

Then Excitement when you bring out the flashlights and go exploring

I love the look of your house as it's all lit with candles. A soft glow. A calming effect.

There is a very satisfying feeling you get as a parent as you show your children that there is nothing to be scared of.

"Take your flashlights and go see what you can find"

And then they do.

The best part is after the lights come back on, and they run around the house turning them back off.

CHRISTmas Time is....Over?!

As I read on Facebook about Christmas decorations coming down and people feeling relieved that they are happy to have their home back, it makes me sad.
I like my Christmas decorations. I think it makes it feel more like home. I always feel like something is missing when they come down. It makes me want to leave them up all the time.

I was talking to my mom about this on the phone this morning. We find it odd that when people take what reminds them of Christmas out of their house it feels more like home.

Christmas is all about remembering Christ. Remembering the love and the spirit that He brought to this earth. Isn't that something that we would want to keep in our homes? Isn't that something we would want to be constantly reminded of?

I'm OK with the Santa's and Snowmen going back into the boxes, I'm OK with the tree coming down, to me that's more winter, not Christmas. But to take down my nativity's, my more "religious" decorations makes me sad. I think every year of why I can't just leave them up. I think that this year I will. I will leave up my nativity. I want to keep that true Christmas spirit in my home this year.  I want to be constantly reminded of, and keep that spirit of love and life in my home all year long.

My mom suggested that I take down the colored lights in the kitchen window and exchange them for white, I like that idea. Lights are calming and peaceful. What I want our home to feel like.

Christmas Time is Here

This is our first Christmas in our new house! We decided to host it at our house. I am so excited. Everything is getting all Christmas...E. Christmasy...Christmasie...Christmasee...Huh?!  ANYWHO. Christmas is at our house and we are decking the halls, sidewalk, dining room, and all other places you can...deck...orate! =D
I have been thinking and thinking about Christmas traditions and what traditions I want our family to have. I've been thinking about my husbands family traditions, my families tradition, and friends family traditions.
What do you do when you have so much to choose from. Well here is what you do

I love that my Mother-in-Law makes goodies plates for her friends and family
I love that every year we read the Christmas story Christmas eve, Right before we opened up our new homemade Christmas pajamas (although the boys do not have homemade Jammie's, I hope that someday they will)
I love having toast and hot chocolate Christmas morning
I love having pizza or Hickory Farms crackers, cheese and meats for dinner Christmas eve
I love the oranges in the stockings (I love it even more that both my family and my husbands family does this)
Real Christmas trees. The fluffiness, the pine smell in your house. love it all.
Fake trees. weird, I know. To have them back to back like this. I love my Mother-in-Laws tree. It's fast, convenient and very low maintenance. It's easy, and simple. Our compromise, A real one when we're home to take care of it, a fake one when we're going somewhere else.
Movies. Christmas movies. We only got them out once a  year. We were not the ones watching Frosty the Snowman in the middle of summer. It was in the Christmas box. It came out the day after Thanksgiving and went back in sometime in the middle of January. I liked it that way. It made them special.
Christmas stories. A different one every night. and although we are not at a point where we can do one EVERY night, we do have a couple for Christmas eve.

There are a lot of traditions I wish we could do, but lets face it. You have to pick and choose the ones that you and your family like best.  So to you and yours. Merry Christmas and enjoy your family and it's many traditions, whatever they may be.

Something Magical

When I was little and it snowed, It was AWESOME!!!! Not that it's not awesome now, but when your little there is just something about snow that lights you up. Something magical.

It snowed every year where I grew up. It's notorious for being 102 in the summer and 10 in the winter. It truly is the best place on earth! Where the seasons actually change.

Spring is filled with April showers and May flowers.

Summer is filled with pool parties, sprinklers, Popsicles and water fights.

Fall is Burgundy, orange, and yellow leaves, rain, wind, and jackets

Winter is snow. snow. snow. Which means snowmen, snowball fights, sledding, and the one thing that rules it all...snow forts!

One year it snowed quite a bit. I'm talkin knee high quite a bit. now when your a grown up, knee high on a 6 yr old isn't that much, it's a lot, but not as much as your 6 yr old thinks it is. It was the perfect kind of snow. Just wet enough to stick together but not so wet that it was just a bunch of slush! It must have been my dad's day off, or he called in sick. I'm not sure which.

My parents always made sure that snow was a magical thing, and not this burdensome thing that most adults make it out to be. I never remember my parents complaining about driving in the snow. I never remember them having a negative attitude toward the snow. It has always been a magical, wonderful thing.

We woke up to snow that day. My mom and dad got us appropriately outfitted to go out and play in the snow. My dad in his flannel shirt and snow boots. us in our coats, hats and gloves. Out we went.

My dad, is awesome. That's it. He is THE. MAN. and when it comes to making stuff, especially out of snow?! Forget about it! He is KING of snow!

All I remember is him piling snow up in the front yard...tons of it. Shoveling it up and up and up. I remember trying to figure out what he was doing, and then I saw it. The greatest defense against any incoming snow balls. The biggest snow fort I had ever seen! It was as tall as I was! It was awesome and my dad had built it. Next came out the best idea my mom had ever had and she was the queen of all things snow related. 5 water bottles...not just water bottles, Squirt bottles filled with water...not just any water but Colored water!!! Colored Ice water so that we could Spray paint our new snow fort! In that moment my parents were the coolest people in the world.

Snow should be fun. Snow should be magical and wonderful. Snow should strike a certain feeling inside you, something I plan on passing on to our children!



Power anyone?!

Last night we had a pretty bad windstorm. Now there's something you need to know about me, I. LOVE. STORMS! Always have. Probably always will. I credit this to my parents, both of them!
I grew up in a valley. A place where you could watch the storm circle your town before it hits. We would hear thunder and run outside. We would stand in the back yard or sit on the front steps and watch my did predict where the lightning would strike. It has always amazed me how accurate he was! He would point, and then it would hit, right where he would point! I remember wishing and wishing that the power would go out. Most kids, I understand, are afraid of power outages, but that's where my parents ruled!!
We would stand out side with Dad watching the storm go around the mountains, circling our little piece of paradise and when it would start raining, we would wait a little longer, feeling the rumble of the thunder and counting the seconds between it and the strike of lightning. Predicting how far a way it was. We would stand outside until my mom stepped out and told us that our hot chocolate was ready. We then would go inside, put on dry clothes and sit in front of the fire, that my dad had now built and drink our homemade hot chocolate. Always made with milk, cream, real cocoa, vanilla and some cinnamon and nutmeg (for "nutmeg is the spice of love") Topped with real homemade real whipped cream!
When, and if the power went out my mom would light the candles that she had strategically placed around the house the minute the thunder started, and my dad would grab our flashlights. We would then sit by the fire and listen to our mom or dad tell us stories. Whether from a book or from their days growing up in Seattle.  We would play games. and sometimes just talk. We would talk about everything and anything!
It was a bummer of a time when the lights would come back on.
It is because of my parents turning something potentially scary into something fun and exciting that even as an adult I get all excited when the trees sway, rain pours, and lights flicker!