Count Your Blessings!

So, I was inspired yesterday to focus more on all of the blessings that I have in my life. I know that it will make me happier and I know that by focusing on all of the good, more good will come my way. So for this past week, here they are:

1. I'm thankful for cold medicine. Jame was kind enough to share his cold with the rest of us, but thankfully we are getting over it and we are all beginning to feel better. He was only sick on his days off which was good because he didn't miss any work.

2. I'm thankful that I got my first cupcake order and that I was able to fill it and that the customer loved them.

3. I'm thankful for my fun family and the joy that I have from being with them and talking to them. I only wish that I was closer to my parents and my brother, maybe someday :)

4. I'm thankful that my brother found a beautiful, caring, genuine woman that he gets to spend the rest of his life with and that he truly loves. I hear the happiness in his voice ever time I speak with him. We love Jess, she's so great and perfect for him.

5. I'm thankful that Addy has taken it upon herself to sleep all night for the past two nights. Especially since I think that it's helped me mend faster.

6. I'm thankful that I have the scriptures to read everyday and the time to study them. I love reading the scriptures and learning new things and trying harder to be more obedient to the Lord's commandments. The scriptures truly inspire me everyday.

7. I'm thankful that I get to stay at home and raise my children. I love that Breckin will give Addy kisses on her nose and say what a cute baby she is. I love that Ashlyn will dance with the Wiggles and put everything into it. I love that Addy wakes up and is so happy and smiley. I would hate to miss out on these small moments.

8. I'm thankful for the warm weather that we have been enjoying lately and for some of the rain that we have recieved. I just bought some galloshes, and I just want some more rain so that I can go and jump in some puddles. I do however, like the sunshine and playing outside with the kids.

9. I'm thankful that Jame has a really good job that enables us to afford for me to stay at home and that doesn't cause him a lot of stress. I'm thankful that he goes to work and does shift work so that we can have a roof over our head and food in our bellies.

10. I'm thankful for Zumba! It has been so much fun going to Zumba classes with Calli and being able to workout without really feeling like I am. It's just dancing and the time goes by so fast. I do, however, feel it the next morning though. It's a good kind of sore :)

There you have it, the things that I am most thankful for this week. Hopefully I can locate our good camera and post some pictures of the things that I'm thankful for each week. Here are just a few final thoughts to ponder:

"This is a wonderful time to be living here on earth. Our opportunities are limitless. While there are some things wrong in the world today, there are many things right, such as teachers who teach, ministers who minister, marriages that make it, parents who sacrifice, and friends who help.

"We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues" (Thomas S. Monson, "An Attitude of Gratitude," Ensign, May 1992, 54).

"As with all commandments, gratitude is a description of a successful mode of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. President J. Reuben Clark, formerly a First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: 'Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them' (Church News, 14 June 1969, 2)" (James E. Faust, "Gratitude As a Saving Principle," Ensign, Dec 1996, 2).

A Few Life Changes

So, for those of you that don't know me terribly well, I'll give you the run-down. I have to be going a million miles an hour or I get idle and bored. That's simply how it is. The only time that I can actually justify relaxing is when I'm pregnant, other than that I have to be constantly on the go. I don't feel badly about it because my kids and my husband have learned to tolerate it and even try to keep up with me. So in the spirit of moving fast I have decided to make a few life changes.

I've been thinking about changing my college major for a long time. I love children and I love being around them and the fact that I would have time off in the summer and on the holidays would be nice. However, the more education classes thst I take the more I have realized that I don't agree with the policies that are in place and I don't know if I could handle the politics that are involved in teaching in a small community. So I have decided to change my major to psychology and I plan on getting my master's degree in early childhood mental health. After the work that I have done in the daycares that I have worked in I have learned that early intervention is key to a child's success in life and I want to be able to be an important part of that intervention.

The next change that I want to make is really getting more in tune with myself on a spiritiual level. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, is not an easy task, but has always been worth it for me. I hope to be able to devote myself more fully to serving in the church and learning what I can about what I believe. I know what I believe, but there are still somethings that I don't fully understand. I know that somethings aren't meant to be learned in this life, but I hope that I can learn as much as is requisite for me so that I can be a better example to my children. I also want to be able to become more devoted to my scripture study and prayers everyday. I know that in making this committment, Satan may try to deter my success because he doesn't want me to be happy, but I hope to be able to overcome the obstacles that come my way and move forward in faith. I also know that by recommitting myself spiritually, I will become a better wife and mother.

Finally, I have decided that I want to run across America, hypothetically speaking. From Los Angeles, California to New York, New York it is 2444.44 miles. I hope that before the first of this year I will be able to complete that mileage. It's not going to be easy. I used to be a runner and I enjoyed it because it was a stress relief, but I hope to be able to post my stats every week so that you can all know where in America I'm at. I also want to get prepared for the 5K that I'm putting on this June for my cousin's daughter who just recieved a liver transplant and is still going through chemotherapy and radiation. I'm giving myself until January to finish so hopefully in the next, 10 months I'll be able to accomplish what I set out to do.

So, here are just a few things I'm working on this year and throughout my life. I'm excited to get started and to get to work on what I want to do. Maybe I'll even go out for a run when Jame gets home tonight. Untill then, I'll keep everyone updated on my status.

What I Wore Wednesday

So, in an attempt to polish myself and be more professional for my new business, I have decided to follow the example of many of my fellow blogging women and try to get out of the rut of wearing sweatpants or my pajamas all day, every day. So Welcome to What I Wore Wednesday, say that 3 times fast :) Anyway, the purpose of these posts is to show you that I actually do attempt to get dressed in the morning and look cute even if I do spend some days at home all day with the kids and even though I have 3 kids including a newborn that only likes to sleep for 5 hours at a time at night at the most. I have every intention of completing these assignments and hopefully by requiring myself to post pictures of what I wore, I'll be more motivated to loose the rest of my baby weight. So, here's to the beginning of What I Wore Wednesday, may I find the strength and energy to get out of my pajamas everyday :)

I Have A Messy House :)

So, this weekend has just flown by. We went to Billings on Friday and ended up staying the night, just for fun, and then we got home about noon on Saturday. From home we dropped off all of our stuff and then the kids and I went to my aunt and uncle's house to visit my cousin, his wife and their kids. After that, the kids and I went and ran some errands that we need to get done and came home. By the time we got home, I looked at our house in all of it's dissary and threw my hands up in the air. There is stuff EVERYWHERE. I am not a messy person and that kind of environment makes me anxious. Howevere, it was now approaching 7:00 at night and kids needed baths and parents needed showers, so the mess was going to have to remain. And remain it has. This morning I was up at 7:15 with every intention to get some things put away, just so that I felt a little better, but Addy decided that she needed to have mommmy RIGHT THERE all morning long, so nothing got done and we barely all got dressed. We made it to church, 10 minutes late and we went and sat in the 2nd row. Little did I know that Breckin had packed the loud, talking "Ebil Doctor Powkchop" with us. He went off right in the middle of the sacrament prayer and so he was quickly taken away and put out of reach. This created a ruckus that EVERYONE could here because of our proximity to the podeum. Thankfully, Bishop George grabbed Breckin and put him in his lap and settled him down. The rest of sacrament meeting was reasonably cheerful. Afterwards, Breckin's Primary teacher asked me to come to opening exercises with him so that he would feel a little more comfortable. I did and he behaved as he usually does when he has to sit for too long. His class was the last class dismissed, they are also the youngest. Who's idea was that? Anyway, after church we got home, and the house was still a mess. I decided that since I hadn't had time to get lunch in the crockpot before we left, heck, I barely got my shirt on, that we would have waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. Everyone seemed happy about that. After lunch, Addy was still feeling pretty clingy so, I decided we needed to cuddle up and have a nap and relax, so we did. It is now 7:14 on Sunday evening and I have just completed two quizzes and I am now thinking of all of the things that I HAVE to get done this week. Guess what, my house is still a mess! I don't know how long it will stay that way, if only there were more hours in the day. So Lynette-don't come over unannounced anytime soon because I would be so ashamed for you to see my house in the condition that it is in, I know how you think of me as some kind of super cleaner, that's my mom, I just inherited a few of her tendencies. I have finally come to terms with my messy house, I don't like it, but I feel that it can stay that way, at least for tonight, we'll see what happens tomorrow :)