Listening to my HEART today.

I decided to catch up on my blog reading today.  I'm so glad I did because I was able to read this message from Kristin Armstrong's Blog (she received this enlightenment from a yoga instructor after a 20 mile run preparing for "The Boston") -

"It's time to start listening to your heart. Most of the time we listen to our heads. That's where all the noise and chatter reside. The heart speaks in a quiet whisper, yet it says the things we most need to hear. It's time to start getting quiet, and practice listening for the still, small voice of the heart. What is your heart saying to you?"

My heart tells me I can run, its always my head that messes me up.  I needed this today.  Ever since the  Pancreatic Cancer 5k run for my mom I have been on a running hiatus.  I'm sure its where I'm at in this whole dang grieving process.  It totally stinks to have to grieve when she is still here, especially when you find yourself conquering some of those levels of grief,  just to realize when she is gone you will be going through them all again.  Running has been the best medicine for me, hence why I need to get back at it!  So here I come open roads, or treadmill! lol Turning off my head and just listening to the HEART today, along with praying that mom will be ok at chemo today.  Chemo weeks are such a love/hate thing with me. 

4th of JULY!

Memorial Day.

We started off with a 5k fun run/walk. Ethan came with me and did SO great. I must say, I ended up walking more than running. :( Last year at this time I was running 7 miles. I wish I had NEVER stopped. Looks like I'm back to square one. After the run the Mechams took Ethan with them to Mt. Charleston. We (Marc and I) finally decided it would be fun to join them. I'm so glad we did. I LOVE the mountains! We had a great day, EVEN though we weren't in St. George, which is our usual tradition. Thank you military people, and loved ones that have passed on. I'm SO grateful to live in this FREE country, and SO grateful for ALL that have sacrificed SO much for it and me.

i LOVE this cowboy!

He works in the field (backyard) every morning. He rides his tractor (sit and ride fire truck) and plows the fields. He likes shoveling the manure (picking up dog poop) and talking a little dirty (butt, toots, and poop). He LOVES this. Too bad great-grandpa Wally isn't here to play cowboys with him. I'm sure Aidan would have thought he was stronger than superman! :) Thank you Papa Eric for the NEW hat, and keeping the cowboy spirit alive! :)

Sewing and Taco Soup warms my soul, literally.

Last night I hung out with some of my crafty friends, and NOW I feel SO inspired! I'm ready to start sewing and cooking again! My sweet friend Missy won 2nd prize at drawing that Quiltique was having. It was a huge basket filled with sewing supplies. Awesome. It was fun going through it with her. AND then this morning I found out I won my VERY first blog giveaway! I won the Red Blossom necklace! Missy and I are feeling pretty lucky, and we just might hit the Kentucky Derby this year! LOL Don't worry, we will sew our own outfits and hats. :)

Amy Butler...

is basically everything I want to be. Well, at least creatively! I do not know her personally, but I would imagine she is practically perfect in every way. I need to learn how to post links in my personal posts. So, that with one click you could learn ALL there is to know about this amazing textile designer. Nevermind, I think I did it! :) lol http://amybutler.com/

The start of a great November!

One day I will keep this BLOG up to date! Anyhoo, here is how WE spent my birthday and Anniversary this past November!
It started off with a little Neiman Marcus bag from my brother and SIL. Bobby Brown cosmetics! Needles to say, she is awesome! :)
Then Marc and I dropped off our dudes to the Grandparents and away we went! It was WONDERFUL! AND, now we know we can leave the dudes behind from time to time. Sidenote: we thought it was hilarious that we chose Disneyland, well, mostly I chose Dland. Marc would have rather gone to Hawaii, but I'm not bathing suit ready! lol When we checked into the Dland Hotel, and they realized it was our anniversary they felt so bad they no longer had King size beds! LOL They kept explaining to us that this is more of a "family hotel" and therefore the don't have as many. We didn't care nor ask, BUT it was hilarious how bad they felt and their explanation! LOL We have been married for 14 years!!! 2 beds is a treat! hahahaha

We were also able to take in a hockey game! That was my first NHL game! It was AWESOME! :)

Aidan went as...

AIDAN! He is my favorite STINKER! He is quite true to himself. On Halloween we were able to get him to wear his skunk hat for about 15 minutes. He is quite funny to watch. He is SO little, but he struts when he walks. He means business. He went with 9 year old children trick or treating, and besides the height factor, you would have no idea he wasn't 9! :)

Cupcakes for the partay!

Yes, I made these bad boys! LOL Red velvet cupcakes. I SO wanted to look for severed legs and arms to garnish them with , but alas, I remembered these were for little tater tots. Probably too gruesome. So, as you can see I went with candy corn kisses. :)

Ethan as Blue Man.

He said this has been his MOST favorite costume yet! Success!

Outdoor Trunk or Treating.

Pretty much speaks for itself. Fun night. Happy Halloween!

The indoor games and chili cook off...

were amazing! A HUGE personal thanks to Sista Meeks. She is awesome!

There was a cupcake walk, a haunted nursery room, and another fun game room. We had about 30 different chili's to try along with some pretty tasty cornbread, Yummy. After all this, it was time to move outside and start Trunk or Treating. Fun, fun, fun!

Pre-Halloween fun with the EE playgroup.

Delicious food, fun crafts, AND hanging with some of the best ladies I know! :)

Gymnastics

I can NOT believe the workout I get from this class! Mommy and me is rough! LOL My poor friend Nicole is 7 months pregnant, and I'm sure her unborn child is NOT a fan of mommy and me gymnastics! His big sister has loads of energy. It is SO funny to watch myself and the other parents be completely exhausted, and sweaty after this class. :)

Life is Good.

Whenever we go see Grandma Lucy, life is good. :) This was just another spur of the moment trip (about a month ago) to check in on Grandma. She is looking good for 79! I love Aidan's stoned face in this photo! After our visit we headed over to The Pizza Factory! So yummy! This is where we took these fun photos on the "Life is Good" fire engine. :)

I went from this...

Awesome Assistant Bear Leader!

to THIS...

in the matter of 2 weeks. A BLUR! I WAS the Assistant Bear Leader for 2 months. I LOVED that calling! Only to have it ripped away from me like an old bandaid on a hairy arm. :( My heart is screaming OUCH! I am NOW the Second Counselor in the Primary! DOUBLE OUCH! I really DO love these little ones, BUT I have INTENSE fears of public speaking and teaching. I KNOW I DO not need to be a master of that skill to have this calling, but Oh, how I wish I did. I went from 2 things on the calendar for this month to 7!! I think I have taken Ethan's leaders for granted ALL of these years. :( My month to do sharing time is fastly approaching. It needs to be on Service. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! I conduct this month. I did pretty good in Junior, but BOMBED senior! LOL I guess announcements shouldn't take 10 minutes! Yikes! LOL Good news is everyone survived, even me, and the Church is still TRUE. :)

J's Birthday at Brio...

was DEElicious! This was a really fun night. I LOVE hanging out with J (my beautiful sister in-law) and our mom's. I wish we lived closer! I meant to ask the waiter to take a picture of all of us. Oh well, there will be next year. :)

Nothing beats falling asleep with a good book.

This is how I found Aidan when I went in to wake him up from his nap. We have a small little table between the bed and his crib. I guess that is where Ethan has been laying his scriptures to rest. Aidan must have slipped his skinny little arm through the bars and picked up some light reading before he fell asleep. :) How funny and sweet. Too bad he can't read yet!