True friends .......

are like JEWELS. . .

I love my friends.  Some friends are just special.  Holli is a friend that I have had since I was in grade school, she remained my friend all through Jr high and High school.  She was in my ward as a child. I loved her, but after high school we went our own ways and lost touch, with the exception of seeing her around town, we didn't have a lot of contact.

About two years ago we "reconnected" and I am so glad that we did.  She is absolutely amazing.  We sort of just picked up where we left off.  Around Valentine's day I posted a picture on Facebook of a Bracelet that I really wanted, but that I knew I'd never get. 

On Saturday, Holli and a few other really good friends from the old ward got together for Breakfast.  Holli was late.  She said she forgot something and had to go back home for it.  As we were sitting there talking she pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to me..

It was the BRACELET that I had posted a picture of.  

My sweet friend had created and made the perfect bracelet for me.  I can't tell you how much that meant to me.  I absolutely LOVE my bracelet, but more importantly I love my friend :).  

She is simply amazing, and I want her to know that!  

Thanks Holli, you're the best friend a girl could ask for :)

A very L~U~C~K~Y DAY

We love to celebrate holidays @ our house.  Any reason for a party (or at least cupcakes)...right? Actually we celebrate St Patrick's day for Casey.....who is 100% IRISH!!! 

Notice the sign above him it says "KISS me I'm IRISH"

 We had Fettucini Alfredo,  not very Irish, but so yummy, a salad, french bread with green sesame seeds :)

I cut up green peepers and noticed they looked like 'shamrocks' , I thought it was a cute little touch. and of course, CUPCAKES....a desert for every occasion!!!

Our Irish puppy is wondering where his special dinner is. . . .oops!!

*** for anyone wondering~ we found gold at the end of our rainbow :)

Sleep Deprived?

This is a story to which every mother can relate…”An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard. I could tell from her collar and well-fed belly that she had a home and was well taken care of. She calmly came over to me, I gave her a few pats on the head; she then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in a corner and fell asleep.
An hour later, she went to the door and I let her out.
The next day she was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed her spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.
Curious, I pinned a note to her collar: ‘I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful, sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.’
The next day she arrived for her nap, with a different note pinned to her collar: ‘She lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3.  She’s trying to catch up on sleep. Can I come tomorrow?’ ”

Such a funny story.....I know there were?are  days that I sure felt/feel  like that!! 

~~SNOW DAY in MARCH?!?!?~~~

The weather has been so beautiful for the last couple of weeks, I was starting to get my hopes up that the snow was gone and that Spring time was really coming!  WELL, last night we were pounded with a snow storm that threw us for a loop!!  We woke up to

THIS!!!!  

When we opened the Garage door to take Jake to Early Morning Seminary, this is what we saw!

YIKES!!!

This was the view from the other direction. The snow was so wet and heavy that the branches couldn't handle the weight of it.  Multiple trees of ours and our neighbors were split in half  blocking the driveway completely..

 The only way for us to remove the  branches  off of the driveway was for Don to use a chainsaw and saw the branches to make them small enough to lift....THEY WERE HUGE!!!!! When he went to turn on the saw, he noticed that it was not working at all.( of course, Murphy's law). So we waited for time to pass so we could call someone to take him to the hardware store to buy a  new one.... It was only 6:00 a.m.  He finally got to Home Depot and started the cleanup!! After a lot of work from Don, James and Jake amd a new chainsaw

 the branches were gone, but there was a power line down at the end of the driveway.  So we declared it a "SNOW DAY" .But  around 11:00 the power line was fixed,  the kids were off to school and Don was off to work!! 

We still have a ton of work cleaning up all of the smaller branches.  Springtime cleanup should be LOADS of fun!!

Welcome March:)

Well it looks like March is coming in like a lamb.  It has been such a beautiful day.  Sun is shinin' and I think I even heard some birds singing.....Could it be that the "groundhog" was right and that Spring is right around the corner?  I really hope so because I have a bad case of "the fever".....Spring fever, that is:)!!!

My new hair cut....&.... Glitter toes:)!

I love my new hair. . .and.....

 of course my glitter toes.   These are two things that make me very happy:)! 

I am really looking forward to warmer weather and flip flops. 

L*O*V*E

I really do love Valentine's day, I usually go all out, however this year with me being  sick right before, and having to work around conflicting schedule's, our celebration was small... I have actually  been planning for a good month now all of the treats I would love to make .  When it came time I really didn't have any (TIME) or motivation to do much!! I  However, did manage to pull something together!!!   The kids loved the heart shaped pizzas and the "Red Velvet" cupcakes with "fruit roll up" roses on top. I love all of my not so little Valentines:)!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

***Honor Roll***

Ashlee has worked so hard her 7th grade year.  All A's and a few B's.  This last quarter she made Honor Roll!  We are so proud of her,,,,not only is she a sweet and beautiful girl...She is also SMART!!

***LOVE MY GIRL***

Finding inner peace.

Last week I was able to attend a Stake Relief Society meeting,  The topic was finding inner peace.  In a crazy world with SO many distractions, this meeting was truly a blessing to me.  The questions were posed, "What are the things that keep you from feeling the spirit" or "distract you from becoming closer to your Heavenly Father".  I was thinking that I was actually doing pretty good, but soon realized, I have A LOT of work to do.  I know in my life right now, things seem so hectic and crazy, and I have a hard time turning off all of the thoughts and worries that occupy my mind!

My goal is to simply just make time to ponder and think, and thank my Heavenly Father for all of the blessings in my life.  I have been blessed so abundantly.  I know that he is very mindful of me, and my family
and he wants me to be happy.  I see his hand in every aspect of my life, and I do know it is because of him, that my life is so full.

I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who loves me and who is there for me no matter what.  I have also realized, that life is a gift and that the time I have is unpredictable and precious and shouldn't be cluttered with all of the negative thoughts that many times creep in!

I am determined to do better and to make time to count my blessings, and leave those things alone that are unimportant and  distract me from being a better person, and to really focus on what is really important!

Things to look forward to in 2011

Christmas has come and gone and since January IS  the most depressing month of the year.  I was thinking about how many fun things I have  to look forward to this year.
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1~I am a spring/summer kind of gal so that is always something I look forward to and LOVE!

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2~ The U2 concert that I got tickets to LAST Valentine's day is May 24th.

3~James will Enter the Missionary Training Center to serve a mission. in the Summer.

.4~New York City in September.

5~ "Wicked" the musical in New York City in September.

6~Honolulu, Hawaii in October.

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2011 is looking better already:)!

The 70"s called, and wants it's hair back!

No words needed:)

Christmas 2010

Christmas has come and gone and once again, we ended up spending WAY too much on our kids!!  I am pretty sure that they get much more than they should.  The problem really is me, they would be happy with HALF of what they get, I always shop on the impulsive, so I buy a movie here and a video game there and before you know it I've spent a heck of a lot of money:)!!
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We had a wonderful Christmas this year.  This will be the last Christmas with James before he leaves for his mission.  We have spent so much time together and it has been so nice to just be able to relax, play games, watch movies, and DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!  Here is what we spent our money on this year.......
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JAMES

~Snowboarding Pants

~Snowboarding Jacket

~Watch

~The Patriot

~Mario Kart

~Gift Cards

~Money

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JAKE

~Halo Reach

~Super Smash Brothers WII

~Unleashed II

~Inception

~Hoodies

~Lots of Jeans

~Gift Cards

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ASHLEE

~Black Pea Coat

~School Pants

~Jeans

~Carrie Underwood C.D's

~David Archuleta C.D

~Super Mario Bros Game for WII

~More Clothes

~I-Tunes Gift Card

~Panda Express Gift Card

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~Family~

~WII

~WII Fit

~Games

~WII Accessories

~WII Games

~Movies, Movies, Movies

There you have it.....PROOF that Santa came to our house:)!!

Traditions:)!

Christmas Eve at Grandma Smith's is one of our very favorite traditions!  We love the time that we can spend with our Smith cousins......Grandma is such a gracious host and she feeds us way too much!!!  

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 ~Every year since I was little my mom would buy us Christmas pajamas. We were allowed to open one gift Christmas Eve, our pajamas.  It was so fun to wear brand new jammies, so when we had kids that was something we wanted to continue for them,. They LOVE it!

Christmas past:)

~~First, let me say that I believed in Santa Claus way longer than I probably should have!  

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When I was putting stockings together for my kids, I was remembering  when I was a little girl.   I remember year after year , the excitement and wonder I felt as I walked down the  stairs on Christmas morning, KNOWING that Santa would bring me exactly what I had asked for......AND.....seriously I never felt sad or disappointed
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@ 7 years old  

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My MOM was the best Santa ever!!

One Christmas I remember asking for a Barbie and Ken doll, seems like a pretty simple request,  I'm sure my mom must have looked everywhere., BUT  she couldn't find the one's  that I wanted, obviously they were also on lot's of other little girls  Christmas lists too......so like most parents she bought something similar, hoping that it would be appreciated!!. As if that wasn't bad enough (changing your mind on Santa a.k.a mom is never a good idea), a  few days before Christmas, I saw a commercial for the Sunshine family. It was even better than Barbie and Ken!!!  PLUS, they had a baby!  So I told Santa that was what I wanted instead. I mentioned it to my mom also.  Christmas morning sitting in my Barbie Townhouse was the Sunshine family!!!  I knew that morning that there was a SANTA!!

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Years later, as an adult, I was told by my mom that she had bought the Sunshine Family dolls  days before I changed my mind.  I think about that Christmas often and smile... I had such fun memories growing up.  Christmas was always a favorite.....and still is thanks to my mom  I still wonder how she did it, she had 10 kids, had to be Santa all alone, and still  made each one of us happy!! 

I am GRATEFUL.....
to have had such a blessed childhood:)!