Be ever so thankful....

I often read a friend's blog from highschool. (Chris & Gale's family is so inspirational!) Anyway, I was reading it today and it directed me to another bolg, one of a family with 4 small girls who tragically lost the youngest (one year old) a few days ago to a drowning. As I was reading I felt so sorry for this family, I can't imagine the pain they must be feeling, and the what if's. Here's a link to their family's blog. http://www.adailyscoop.blogspot.com/

I have always tried to look at my girls and burn the images of them in my mind, to hold on to every last bit of their baby smell, the sounds of their small voices, the softness of their skin. I wonder if this is a mother thing, or maybe I'm just aware of how fleeting these days can be, and how quickly lives can change.

I'm not the wealthiest, most beautiful, or smartest person I know, but I really do feel I'm one of the happiest, luckiest people in the world. If I ask for nothing else of this life, I have felt the emotions I wanted to feel, experienced the love I wanted to feel, and saw the sights I wanted to see. Seeing my children is like seeing a piece of heaven! For that I will always be ever so grateful and thankful.

The worm farm...

Matt and I are working on our back yard this weekend. Mostly we're digging up rocks and weeds so we can plant flowers to list our house. (lots and lots of rocks!) As I'm digging I see a few worms here and there. I'm thinking Carlie might want to look at them. At first she didn't want anything to do with them, but then she saw me pick one up. After making sure they don't bite, and are the nice variety, she holds one. The next thing I know she's gotten the tupperware out and is making a worm compound. She followed me around the yard, just inches from me, letting me know every 5 seconds if I see any more worms be sure to tell her. She has a worm family - which because of Maggie wanting to eat them, she keeps on the kitchen table! At least she's having fun!

Carlie's outfits

Carlie has a definite sense of what she wants to wear each day. She's really into princesses right now, and rarely goes out without a dress, but here are some pictures from the past that show what a great sense of style and individuality she has! She's never boring. I could listen to her all day!

Just Bob and the goats....

I was talking with my dad the other day, and I'm so impressed with what he's accomplished in the last couple of years! He's pretty much self sufficient on his place in Torrey now, especially with his recent acquisition of the goats. He's figgured out how to make Goat cheese! He has milk from the goats too! He has a 66 x 48 foot garden, chickens (with a chicken coop that the chickens haven't quite figgured out yet), a stream in the back of his property for fish, well water, woodburner for heat, and I could go on! I admire him for all the hard work he's put into that place. I'd like to do something similar when we move to Hawaii - except in an eco tent. I'm having a hard time convincing the rest of the family what a great idea this is! How nice would it be to have no bills, no heat, electric, own your tent free and clear! Ahhh, that would be the life!

Hawaii here we come!

OK, I have to add an entry just to get the pictures of the poo off the top of my blog! Margaret and Rita got an offer on their house! They're presenting the offer tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be great, and they'll be moving to Hawaii soon! While I'm happy, it also makes me a little nervous. It's all becoming a reality. Ack! Matt and I are reving it into high gear to get our house ready to list in the next few weeks. We have so much work to do, but it'll all be worth it when we're sitting on a beach watching the kids play in the sand. I'm excited!

It's all about what you do with it...

Crap happens, everyday, to everyone, all around us.

It happens to us, them, everybody! It's unavoidable.

It isn't the crap that happens that makes us who we are, it's how we handle the crap that happens.

It shapes our character, who we are, how we live, and who we will be.

If we take control of the crap, own it, make it ours so we can mold it into something not so crappy, and maybe even laugh at it, it really helps!(especially if it's not your crap to begin with!)

Just a thought.

Celebrity sightings!

Alex loves Basketball! So, it was a special event when she got to have dinner with J.R. Smith from the Denver Nuggets last week. It turns out that he lives in the same building as Scott. Pretty cool! Now Scott has connections for great seats to all the games.
They had dress like a celebrity day at school last week, and of course Alex was J.R. Smith. She practices any chance she gets. She's turned out to be quite a leader on her team for the YMCA. Every game they've played she's led the board in points. Scott is the coach, and he's doing really well with the kids. I'm proud of both of them!

Innocence....

To tell this story you have to have the background... Carlie has been asking for a baby sister for about a year now. I always tell her it's okay with me, but she has to ask / convince her dad. The other day she asked me "why does daddy have to say okay?"
I told her that daddy would have to help me make the baby. She then said she could help me, and we don't need daddy to help. So I told her it takes a boy and a girl to make a baby- a mommy and a daddy. She thought for a second and her little face lit up and she said with great enthusiasm that Uncle Ryan could help me make a baby!! Ah, what it's like to be young again! I explained that it's better to be married to make the baby.
Later that day we had some friends over for dinner. They have a little boy (Eric) about 2 years older than Carlie. Carlie and Eric were playing on the trampoline, Carlie looked like she was definitely the boss of whatever game it was they were playing. I asked them if they were having a good time playing with the babies (they had the dolls with them). Carlie yelled back "we're not playing with the babies, we're married!"
I guess you really have to pay attention to everything you say!