~: November 2012

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

What a wonderful holiday to have...an entire day devoted to giving thanks. Something that feels so good, and really fills our lives with goodness and blessings.

This year I started a Gratitude Journal that has been left out on the kitchen table for the last month or so... anyone can write in it whenever they want to so it can be fun for us to sit down and read together today, on Thanksgiving Day.

This is quite a large journal, so my hope is that we can bring it out every year and write in it until it's pages are full...just like our blessings are full.

We also had a great start to our Holiday season last night by going to see the production of

"The Savior of the World" at the Conference Center. We took Kierra, Carew, and Dallin and let each of them bring a friend too which made it that much more special for them.

We went out to dinner first and then headed to Salt Lake for the play.

It was amazing...I loved how powerfully the Spirit touched our hearts at the message that was given...

My favorite part was when the angels sang out loud to the shepherds of the Good News

of the birth of Baby Jesus... it was beautiful and inspiring.

Then, as tradition on Thanksgiving morning, I went on a little run and visited with my sweet friend Natalie. Every Thanksgiving morning is so peaceful to go out because the world is so still. I love it.

This morning was kind of funny though as I ran into a little bunny on my run...

I joked with Natalie that the Easter Bunny was visiting me for Thanksgiving :)

...and then I saw these little guys...

I think everyone is happy that they are not turkeys today ;)

With all of their honking I really think they were trying to tell me "Happy Thanksgiving!"

So as this Thanksgiving Day begins, I have lots of gratitude in my heart...but I really hope that Heavenly Father knows that that gratitude is there every single day and not just on Thanksgiving.

I feel His love and blessings around me all of the time and I am always amazed at the amount of love and goodness that He gives...

Alma 34:38 "...live in thanksgiving daily,

for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

D&C 78:19 "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."

3 Nephi 24:10 "...I will open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there

shall not be room enough to receive it."

This is truly what I believe and how I feel.

If we live with thankfulness and gratitude daily, then our lives will be blessed beyond measure...beyond our capacity to comprehend.

~ And the blessings will continually flow... and if we take the time to notice them...count them...and thank Heavenly Father for them, then the blessings will continually come. We will receive more gifts than we even have room to receive.

I am thankful today for so many things, so I would like to give my heart to the Savior that he might read and know what is forever there... Happy Thanksgiving!

The Temples at Christmas Time

There are many things in this life that are beautiful...
But to me, the temple is one of the greatest depictions of beauty on earth.
When I was out on a date with Clint the other day and saw these beautiful paintings, I immediately fell in love...
I literally stopped dead in my tracks completely mesmerized by what I was seeing...
I LOVE the temple and I LOVE Christmas...so put the 2 together and I am...well...in LOVE!!! :)

Thank you so much sweetie for this precious gift...

Sealed to you here...for time and all eternity...

I'm so thankful...
Words can't express...

Monday, November 12, 2012

Our snow~girlfriend "Sassy!"

I sat peacefully on the couch enjoying a quiet MOMENT...watching the big snowflakes fall and STICK! It was officially our first snow of the year!

I love the snow and all of the magic that seems to drift through the air right along with it...

As quickly as that quiet MOMENT had come, it was fleeting with some major EXCITEMENT...

I heard Kambriella's door to her bedroom open...baby steps coming down the stairs...

then just as the front room windows came into her view...

"IT'S SNOWING MOM!!!! PLEASE CAN I BUILD A SNOWMAN!!!????"

Now, as excited as I get for the snow... I tried every diversion I could think of for the next 5 minutes to try to at least blaze through a couple of items at the top of my "To Do" list

before we ventured out into the snow...

"Kambriella...we really need to have breakfast before we go out in the snow..."

"Kambriella...I really need to get in the shower!"

"Kambriella...I am just going to put some laundry in, OK?"

"Kambriella...How about we run to the grocery store first and then when we come back there will be even MORE snow to play in?"

I could very plainly see that the sweet little heart of my little 3 year old girl was going to get the best of me...I was NOT going to get to ANYTHING else on my "list" until we checked off the very most important one... BUILD A SNOWMAN!

I knew that this was one of those times where I needed to be a "Mother Who Knows," and that I needed to set aside these trivial little tasks for something of much greater worth...

An opportunity to see my little girl giggle and smile and laugh...and to know that her mama loves her and cares so much about what is important to her...because after all, the things that are important to my children really are important to me. Just like I know that Heavenly Father knows what is in my heart, and He cares about the things that are important to me too.

So, in all of my early morning beauty ;) ... I threw on a snow cap, bundled up little Miss Kambriella, put on my mittens and ran aimlessly out into the snow with my little girl! First I pulled her around in giant doughnuts on the sled, then we had our very first lesson on making the snowball and rolling it bigger and bigger until it's just the right size for your snowman!

It was so much fun and I really don't know who got more enjoyment out of it...Kambriella for having made her very own "snow~girlfriend"...or me, for watching the magic and excitement of a little child experiencing one of the most simple but precious joys of life...

So here we have it! Kambriella and her snow~girlfriend "Sassy!"(Named by Kambriella herself! ;)

It was so fun to watch Kambriella as she played around her snow girl...she kept on talking to her, hugging her, and calling her "sista!" I watched her tell her stories and ask her if she was going to melt away when the sunshine came out... and then I just grinned when she told her "not to be afraid!" This little angel is too much for me! She keeps tugging on my heartstrings every single day!!!

After about an hour outside (which is honestly longer than I thought she would make it!) I told Kambriella that mommy was freezing and that I thought we should go inside...

this was NOT what Kambriella wanted to hear! (Surprise surprise!)

So now it was her turn to find the diversions!!!

"Mommy watch me do this trick!"

"Mommy you have GOT to try this snow!!! It's so yummy...it tastes like WATER!!!"

I finally decided to go inside figuring that she would finally give in and follow right behind...

But oh no...she is VERY independent! :)

After all, she was just having some "girl time" with her "Sassy sista!"

Finally the little princess came in because she said she was Freezing! So naturally, I did what every good mother would do...

I took off all of her wet clothes, plopped her little bottom down right on top of the warm heater vent and made her some hot chocolate! :)

I am so glad that our little ones remind us of our priorities and how to have fun in life! After all, who wants to stay inside and do laundry anyway?

NOT me!!! :)

Thanks for the fun Kambriella! I love you!

Friday, November 2, 2012

Happy Halloween Fun!

Let the Halloween celebration begin!!!

On Halloween Eve, we took a ride on our brooms to Gardener Village to do the

"Which Witch Scavenger Hunt"...where we saw many silly witches smashed into buildings and crashed landing into trees...but this one was one of our favorites!

The witch riding her bike out in front of the pale moonlight!

...Then it was home to carve our pumpkins!

Clint and I died laughing at silly Kambriella!!! She couldn't stand the smell of the pumpkins...

but she still wanted to make her own Jack-o-lantern sooo bad!!!

This silly little girl kept her nose plugged the entire time! :) Too funny!!!

Gavin looks like he pulled a few good "slimy" faces too!!! ;)

From left to right... Dallin's ~ Gavin's ~ Kambriella's ~ and ~ Carew's Jack -o-lanterns :)

Then we were off to bed before we became pumpkins ourselves!!! ;)

( Isn't that what happens when you go to bed at midnight? ;)

Then quickly came Halloween morning! And everyone had NO trouble jumping out of their beds!

All of the children were so excited for all of the fun that lay in store for the day...

~ First stop: Morning Car pool...Autumn Holt's house! A.k.a.. Me Pirate Matey :)

Dallin and 2 of his good friends from our neighborhood all dressed up like pirates together...so cute!

~ 2nd stop: Rosamond Elementary School for the Halloween Costume Parade

Me and Miss Kitty stopped for a quick picture before heading into the school and then

waited for all the kids to come parading in...

Kitty Kambriella was a Pro at "meowing" and "licking" everyone she saw...seriously!!!

At the Parade with some of our good friends :)

Then on to an exciting night of Trick or Treating and Party fun!

Carew decided to hang with a dozen or so of his friends and go trick or treating, catch a hot dog from the Well's home, and hot chocolate at the bonfire at the Sorenson's home. They had a blast!

Kierra finally deemed herself "too old" for Trick or Treating and had a party at our house with about 15 of her friends from school...

they had all kinds of yummy party foods and watched the movie "The Mummy."

It was so fun for me to get to see her with all of her cute friends from school...

What a good group of kids! Thanks for choosing good friends guys! ;)