Caregivers

I love the talk "The Caregiver" by President Henry B. Eyring. In it President Eyring reminds us what Lucy Mack Smith said about our role as Relief Society sisters. That "we must cherish one another, watch over one another, comfort one another and gain instruction, that we may all sit down in heaven together."
I'm so grateful for all the people throughout my life, beyond just Relief Society sisters, that have cherished, watched over, comforted, and taught me. All my leaders as a youth, my friends, my siblings and especially my parents.
My wise, humble, happy to please, fun-loving Dad.

 And my sweet, kind, giving, loving Mom.

And of course all my current church leaders, home teachers, visiting teachers friends, family, and my children and husband who constantly care for me.

Kade is such a sweetheart. He will randomly say, "Mom, I love you!" to me all the time and it always melts my heart! He makes me feel so loved.

Little Tenley miss is so big and independent. Lately I feel like she has been teaching me about patience. I love her so much and I'm grateful for her fun personality and how she'll share her smile with anyone.

And of course, my husband. I know he is busy with school, but I have never felt neglected by him. He is so good at balancing his studies with being a good husband and father. He is my best friend and I feel safe with him because I know he'll watch over and take care of me and our children. He cherishes me by making me feel special all the time and showing appreciation for the things that I do. He comforts me whenever I have a bad day, and he teaches me through his example to be a hard worker and to never give up.

I wish I could go through and list all of the people individually who have taken and do take such good care of me. I'm so lucky to be surrounded by such great people who are so willing serve. I pray that I can follow their examples and show great care and comfort to those around me.

President Eyring adds "I testify that the Lord will be with you and that your way will be prepared and marked for you by Him in your service to those He loves in their needs and trials."

Google TV

I love having Google TV. It is so nice and convenient to be able to access the internet, Netflix, our computer files and more all while sitting on the couch. I guess you could say that it makes us pretty lazy. But we enjoy it!

It also makes our dance parties really sweet! Being able to access YouTube or our music files on the computer mixed with Brad's new sound system makes for some really fun dance parties! Our neighbors will probably start hating us soon...

Kade loves to dance on the couch

Tenley has even been adding her arms into it lately! Her favorite song to bust a move to is this one.

Subway

As a young dating/married couple Brad and I often went out to dinner at Subway. My husband is really frugal so splitting a $5 foot long sub at Subway was one of the cheapest ways to eat out. And to save even more money, instead of getting chips and a drink to go with it, we would buy chips and drinks at the store and then pick up Subway. It makes me laugh now to think about it.
We haven't been to Subway in a long time, probably since Kade has been old enough to eat and he'd rather eat somewhere other than Subway, but with their FebruANY deal going on, we decided to bring back our old tradition!

And it was delicious!

Brownie Batter

Today I made Ghirardelli chocolate chip brownies for a youth fundraiser. It is my favorite brownie mix. They really are so delicious! Tenley and I got to enjoy eating some of the batter.

She is so cute when she's messy! As long as she is in her high chair and not about to wipe her messy face all over my shirt or the couch!
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We experienced driving in an ice storm tonight. It was scary! But luckily we made it home before it got too crazy.

Water Filters

When we moved into this new home a few years ago we were never very fond of the way the water tasted. Water shouldn't have a taste, right? So the fact that it did, and that it wasn't a good taste made it so I didn't drink a whole lot of water.
And then, Brad bought us a fancy Brita water filter online and it is always stocked with cold water sitting in our fridge. I LOVE it. It is so yummy. I even have a few friends who are always so excited to drink it when they come over to visit.

You can even see the difference looking at the two filled glasses of water side by side! 

The filtered water is on the right.

New Recipes

I love trying new recipes, but I especially love them when they are something we like and are willing to have again and again. This is one of those recipes.

I made these yummy Southwest Chicken Wraps for the first time a few months ago and it is now one of my favorite quick, go-to meals!

By the way...Tenley is feeling great! She was happy and smiley all day long. She especially loved watching Kade and his friends play superheros all afternoon. They loved dancing around to the Superman theme music. It was adorable.

Staples

We had a fun night as a family tonight. We had yummy chicken pesto pizza for dinner, learned about missionaries, and video chatted with Brad's parents. And then after the kids were ready for bed and we had said prayers, we had an incident...
Poor little Tenley miss fell off of our bed and hit her head on the dresser. And it wasn't just a little bump. She was bleeding so I took her to the ER (luckily a friend came with me so Brad could stay with Kade and I could console/keep Tenley awake in the backseat) and she received 2 staples.
She was such a trooper through it all! I was impressed. I felt horrible the whole time, but she should be fine and hopefully she won't ever remember.
I'm so grateful for friends who are willing to instantly drop what they're doing to help others. I'm so grateful for nurses and doctors who are so helpful and friendly and were so sweet to my little girl. I'm so grateful for staples now, in a weird way, and that they will help my daughters head heal back.

Church

I'm so grateful for my membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I'm so grateful that my husband and children and I attend on a regular basis, even if we don't feel like it once in a while. I'm glad I was raised going to church on a regular basis. I think it is so important to go even if you're having a bad day because it usually ends up that those are the times that you are the most spiritually fed!

I was very uplifted today. There were so many good talks and comments in all of the meetings. In the first meeting one of the speakers was talking about the Atonement of Christ and he said,

"Christ willingly suffered and died for us because he knew that it wouldn't be for nothing. He trusted us enough to know that we would use that gift." 

I have never thought about the Atonement that way. I have always known that we trusted the Savior's plan, that is why we are here on Earth. We trusted that he would be able to come to Earth, withstand all temptation, and suffer and die for us. We also need to now trust in Him that if we repent we will be forgiven and can still have the opportunity to live with our Heavenly Father again.
But I have never thought about Christ trusting in me to use the Atonement. I like that thought. I need to use the Atonement in my life not only because I want to, but also because Christ trusts that I will and of all people I do not want to let Him down. I need to repent and keep trying to be a better person! I'm so grateful that we have the Atonement so that I'm able to do just that.

I love my Savior and I know that He lives!

Hair Dye

The other day Kade and I had an interesting conversation:
Kade "Mom, what color is my hair?"
Me, "Blonde. What color is Tenley's hair?"
Kade, "Blonde."
Me, "What color is Daddy's hair?"
Kade, "Brown."
Me, "What color is my hair?"
Kade, "Blonde. (long pause) And brown!"
Me, "Really, where is it brown?"
Kade, "Right here!" (as he pats the top of my head).
I guess if my 3 year old is noticing my roots then it is time to color my hair again!
I've been putting blonde highlights in my hair since I was in high school. Sometimes I am tempted to just dye my hair back to it's natural color, but I really like being blonde. Ever since we've been in dental school and our budget has been tighter I've been coloring it myself. So, this morning I got my color out and fixed my roots!

Hopefully now I'll just be blonde!

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We had a fun day today! This morning Brad played church basketball and Kade enjoyed running around the church with his friends. And I heard my new favorite song on the radio twice while driving in the car!

Then later we took the kids to The Incredible Pizza Co. It has a pizza and salad buffet and a lot of arcade games, bowling, mini golf, go-kart, and laser tag. It was really busy and a little bit of sensory overload, but I think the kids had fun!

And then after the kids were in bed we had some friends over to play cards and eat yummy chocolate cake to celebrate Joe's birthday!

It was a fun Saturday especially because we got to spend so much time with Brad! It feels like it has been a long time since we've had him around so much and we are loving it!

Surprises

Brad has been saving his pennies and looking for a good deal on a sound system since before Christmas time. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not we really need a sound system, especially since we have such a tiny living room space, but he saved the money for it so I can't really argue.
He has ordered each piece one at a time and the last piece arrived today! Brad was pretty excited. As he and Kade opened the box in the living room I was in the kitchen when Kade walked in and said "Happy Valentines Day Mommy!" and he handed me the book Heaven is Here by Stephanie Nielson! I have been wanting the book and did not expect Brad to get it for me. It was such a nice surprise!
I'm so excited to read this book again!

I'll probably have a lot of time to read while Brad enjoys his new sound system.

In other news: we just switched Tenley to a forward facing car seat! Our kids are getting so big! It is so weird to think that when Kade was Tenley's age I was already pregnant with Tenley. I kind of feel guilty to admit that I haven't even thought about baby #3. Life is crazy, but we love it so much!

Valentine's Day

Even though my husband and I don't go all out on Valentine's Day with gifts and fancy dates, we still enjoy having a nice dinner together at home. This year I made chicken cordon bleu, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, orange rolls, and chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate covered Oreos for dessert. It was delicious! I am overly full now. We also watched Madagascar 3 tonight as a family. It was a funny movie.
Today was extra fun because it was Kade's friend Matthew's birthday! We got to celebrate with him at the bowling alley. Kade had a blast!

Kade doesn't really like to smile for pictures...

Brad in his fancy 'just went running' clothes.

Celebrations

I love celebrating every little accomplishment I can think of, so ever since we have been in dental school we have celebrated every test that Brad has finished, and the end of every semester.
Today called for a huge celebration because Brad took part 1 boards. What a crazy long test! He has been studying so much for it and I am so glad it is over! We won't get his scores back for 3 to 4 weeks, but we are happy he is done taking it. He spent 7 hours at the testing center and he is exhausted. Luckily he wasn't too tired to party a little bit with us! He brought me home roses to thank me for suffering for the last few months with him (so thoughtful!), we went for a walk, played at a park, and went out to Orange Leaf after dinner. It was a fun night, and I have more celebration plans for the weekend! I can't wait.

Packages

We love going to check our mail. It makes us happy when we get a nice note or card, but our kids get really excited when we get a package! Luckily for them their aunt Heidi spoils them with lots of packages.
The other day Tenley got some new pajamas and Kade got some squirt guns! The squirt guns were meant for the bathtub, but the boys had to try hem out in the living room and get Tenley and me soaked! It wasn't cool and Tenley now screams like crazy whenever one is pointed at her. I don't blame her.
Tenley and I will have to find a way to get the boys back!

Trust

Have you ever let yourself fall backwards fulling trusting that the person behind you would catch you?
I've heard of people doing it before, but I have never been daring enough to do it.
Until tonight.
I guess when you are trying to teach your kids a lesson, you can't teach them any better than by getting up and showing them. So, I let myself fall back, having faith and trust in my husband that he would catch me. And he did! I was a little nervous for a second that he might not, or I was at least wondering at what point he would finally catch me, because he loves to tease me. But it wasn't bad at all!
Then each of our kids tried it. It was hilarious to watch their faces wince as they started to fall and then see the relief once they realized their Dad caught them.
My faith and trust in the Lord is one of the most important things to me. I know He loves me, I know He hears my prayers, I know He wants me to be happy, I know I lived with Him before I came to Earth, and I know I can live with Him again. I have full faith and trust in that knowledge.
This video has got me thinking a lot about all the trust my children have in me to take care of them. I had that same trust in my own parents. And it is amazing the blessing that will come into our lives when we have that kind of trust in our Heavenly Father and in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Service

I am committed this year to make service a way of life rather than something I put on my to do list. I often feel that I don't serve enough and I want to do more, but a lot of times I don't know what I can do, or what people need. But I think if I am just constantly thinking of others I will better know what I might be able to do to serve them. President Monson said,

"We are surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support, our comfort, our kindness. . . We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us."

If I am surrounded by people in need that probably means that everyone around me is in need of some type of service in one way or another. My children, my husband, my neighbors and friends. That gives me a lot of opportunity for service! I know that my children need my attention and comfort, and I know that my husband needs my encouragement and support, and I'm sure my neighbors and friends could use some kindness from me. This quote really helps me to understand that service can be small simple acts, it doesn't always have to be something big. 

I also think that as we remember the golden rule, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them," we will find many ways to serve others.

Sweet Notes

I like to write inspirational quotes/thoughts on my mirror. It makes it so I have to look at them everyday and they remind me to be a better person.

The other day I noticed something new written by someone else that said, "Your husband loves you!"

It made my day! It was the best thing to see such a sweet and simple note from my husband who has been so  busy studying, and to know that he's still thinking of me and that he took the time to write that even though I know he is stressed to the max right now.

I have such a good, hard-working, sweet husband! I feel so lucky.

Girl Parties

I got to have a girl party with my friend tonight while our husbands studied. We talked, ate ice cream, and watched Once Upon a Time.
It is so nice to have a good friend to go through these long, busy, and stressful years of graduate school with.
A girls night was just what I needed!

Sunshine

Today was the most beautiful day that we've had out here in a long time. The sun was shining brightly all day long and it was over 50 degrees! I loved it and I can't wait until it is like this for good. We played outside as much as we could. We loved it!

Home

I'm so grateful for our warm and comfortable home. I can't imagine being without a home, or without heat, in this cold winter weather! We are lucky to have such nice living conditions.
I love it when Brad comes home. The sounds of his key unlocking the door is the best sound in the world. The kids always run to see him and want to give him hugs. It reminds me of the primary song "Daddy's Homecoming":

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, glad as I can be;

Clap my hands and shout for joy, then climb up on his knee,

Put my arms around his neck, hug him tight like this,

Pat his cheeks and give him what? A great big kiss."

That pretty much sums up what happens when Dad comes home! I love it!

Elderly People

Today my cute kids and I went grocery shopping and I was surprised at how many elderly people stopped to say "hi" to my kids and tell me how cute they are. It was so nice! Most people don't take the time to say nice things like that to perfect strangers. Elderly people must have their priorities straight!
While at the store Kade grew fond of this tomato:

He carried it with him everywhere for the rest of the day. He even gave it a hug and a kiss goodnight before he went to bed. Should I be worried??
And I decided to spoil myself by getting my favorite kinds of ice cream.

One little scoop of each is so yummy! It has been a favorite of mine and Brads since as long as I can remember. I don't even know why we started eating them together, but it is our favorite treat! I think I'll have a little bowl tonight while I watch Once Upon a Time. My friend got me into this series and I'm addicted! I so wish my husband could join me, but he is studying hard every night this week for boards. 8 more days and it will be over!! I can't wait.
Until then, I'll just keep partying by myself!

Love

Tonight as a family we learned about the importance of loving everyone. Not just our family and friends but everyone! We talked about different ways we can show our love i.e. helping clean up toys, sharing, and saying nice words. We also took turn pretending to be sad and then someone else would cheer us up by giving us a hug and saying, "I love you." Kade loved that game and played it all night long even after the lesson was over.
I feel like I've been reminded a lot lately how important it is to love everyone, even our enemies, even those that hate us. I think it is so easy to look at people and immediately start judging them in one way or another. We, as people, do that with most everything it seems. There is always a reason to hate something or like something. When we are buying a new car we are judging each make and model trying to determine what is best. When we are deciding which restaurant to go to for dinner, we judge the food, the ambiance, the location, the staff. When we are searching for a radio station in our car we judge the music and the d.j. There are so many reviews to be read on so many different products that are filled with peoples' judgments.  Maybe our brains are just wired that way, to judge and to form opinions about different things.
But we shouldn't do that with people. We should be looking for the good in everyone. We should be seeing them the way that the Lord sees them. And the Lord loves all of us.
It is so nice to be loved and I'm grateful for a husband and cute kids who are constantly showing me how much they love me. And I love showing my love for them.
Speaking of love, I loved today. It was cold again today, so we were stuck inside most of the day and we did nothing but dance. I don't think I've danced that much since college! Kade's favorite songs to dance to were this one and this one. We had a blast.
I have a confession, though. I think I'm obsessed with boy bands. Obviously I was a huge fan of 'N Sync when I was in middle school, but that is kind of normal, right? I'm a little too old to like One Direction so much aren't I? My 12 year old niece loves One Direction. I kind of feel like I should be over the boy band phase in life, but I just love One Direction!
Maybe I love them so much because Kade and Tenley loves the music and they love to dance to it. Whenever their song "What Makes You Beautiful" comes on we have to turn it up super loud because Kade says it's Tenley's song. It's funny!
But whatever the reason, I do love their music. It is fun to dance to and it has been brightening up the cold winter days lately!

Prayer

I'm so grateful for prayer. I know that our Heavenly Father hears us when we pray to Him. I know that He cares about what we have to say. I know He wants us to be happy and He will bless us as much as He can.
But sometimes we will still have trials. Sometimes life will be hard and we will feel like our Heavenly Father isn't listening, or doesn't care what we have to say, or doesn't even want us to be happy. But I know that that is never true.
President Eyring said, "God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible. Our feelings of separation from God will diminish as we become more childlike before Him."
"Jesus Christ lives, knows us, watches over us, and cares for us. In moments of pain, loneliness, or confusion, we do not need to see Jesus Christ to know that His mission is to bless."
"For any of you who now feel that He is hard to reach, I testify that the day will come that we all will see Him face to face. Just as there is nothing now to obscure His view of us, there will be nothing to obscure our view of Him. We will all stand before Him, in person."
I know that if we ever feel distant from The Lord we can remove that "pavilion" by becoming humble and submissive like a child, submitting our will to His, and serving Him by serving others.

Examples

When I was growing up I remember my Dad telling me that I should take the time to talk to my grandparents more about their life because there was a lot I could learn from them. That is such good advice and I've been learning that it shouldn't just apply to family members or grandparents. There are so many people all around me that I could learn good things from if I would just take the time to talk to them more.
That's one of the reasons I'm so grateful to be a part of such a great church community. There are so many people that I've met from church, and learned great things from, that I might not have otherwise taken the time to get to know. One of the sisters in my church has given me such great advice on how to be a better teacher. A few others have helped me learn a lot about playing the organ. The list goes on. And I even learn a lot just by watching others great examples of service, kindness, and a positive attitude.
What makes me sad is that as I look back on my life there were so many people I knew that had such great talents and qualities that I could have learned so much from, but for some reason or another, I didn't take the time to get to know them. It makes me feel like I lost out on some great opportunities for growth.
But I know I shouldn't look back with regret. I need to learn from that and not let fear, or even pride for that matter, affect me from getting to know someone better and learn from their good example.

True Friends

I've always loved having close girlfriends. It is so nice to talk to girlfriends about things, because they usually see things the same way I do and understand why I feel the way I do.
Don't get me wrong, my husband is my best friend and I am grateful that he will listen to me ramble or rant about anything and he always has great advice that I know I need to hear, but sometimes don't want to hear.
But sometimes I just need to talk to a girl! Unfortunately, good, true, girlfriends are hard to come by.
I had a really close best friend through all of middle school and high school. We did everything together and it was hard when we went off to different colleges and, inevitably, lost touch. Now the only time we really talk is through Facebook or blogs.
But then, I made some really great friends in college. My really close (and true!) friend ended up marrying Brad's best friend and we were all inseparable, until Brad and I moved to Idaho. We've stayed in touch with them too and always visit when we are in town, but not living close makes it hard to be as close of friends as we used to be.
In Idaho we were close to family, and my sister-in-law was such a great friend to me! She helped me through some tough times and was such a good listener and so good at giving me advice. We went on so many walks and had so many good talks. They were therapeutic.
And then we moved away again! And here we are in dental school trying to form friendships with new people.
It is so hard to keep getting constantly uprooted from friends, neighbors, and even family and having to start all over again on making friends.
That is why today was so refreshing! I had a friend over and we had such a good conversation! Even with our kids running around and yelling! For some reason it is so easy to be open and honest with her. She is such a good person and I really appreciate hearing her perspective and thoughts on different things. And she is so down to earth and real that I don't ever feel like I have to be someone I'm not with her. It's been a long time since I've had such a good friend to talk to.
I'm so grateful for her and the friend that she is.