What a wonderful world...

Remember this card? Well I finally found the website I got the cute bird template... just in case anyone wanted make one. :) Bird Pattern And another vinyl project I've been working on, I'm going to hang it right above the oven.So when it's crazy and hectic at dinner time I can remember that making dinner is really important for my little family. So anyway... you know what I'm LOVING right now?? These jalepeno cheetos are SO good. Wish I had some right this very minute. Oh and do you know why I love blogging so much? Because of little things like this If you don't remember Hilarie won the big give away on my last drawing. I sent her a little something, and then she sent me back this cute card and bows that she had made! Thanks so much Hilarie. It totally brightened my day. :) and this... I won Marci's 100th post give-away! :) I'm so excited to try out some of these great recipes! Sometimes when I really think about the state that our world is in, I panic. I feel major anxiety concerning the crime rate around the world, the peer-pressure that my kids will have to face in their teen age years, global warming, food shortages, etc. etc. It's easy to fall into a bit of depression or gloomy way of thinking and then I look at all the amazing people I've met through blogging, and I think, just look at all the good that there really is in the world! Perfect strangers showing each other kindess that often gets over-looked by so many of us. So thanks to ALL of you for lifting me up and helping me see past the bad. So many of you have touched my life in one way or another for good. One of my favorite quotes is "Walk towards the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you!" Have a great weekend!

Blog Questions...

Okay I've also been getting alot of questions about a couple things on my blog. So, I thought it might be helpful to just post it on my blog. Many of you have asked me about how I did my "label cloud" under my love those labels link on my side bar. THIS is the best tutorial that I found for it. It's a fun way to display all your labels, and doesn't take as much room on your side bar. (It will also update your labels as you add them.) Okay another question I get quite often is how do you put the small picture icon next to your "about me section", for example I have the pink flowers next to mine. This is super simple. Just do a google image search for example search orange flower icon you can download a pic. to your desktop, just go to "Edit Profile" and you can upload it there. I know there are more questions out there. I'm not really very computer savvy, I just play around with things until I figure it out. So feel free to e-mail me with other ?s and I'll do my best to help you out, or at least point you in the right direction. Oh if any of you do not have Bloglines... check out my earlier post, I thought EVERYONE knew about it, but recently I've learned many of my cute blogging buddies had no idea what I was talking about. See THIS POST or check it out under my All Time Faves links. It is a HUGE time saver for me in terms of blogging that is. :)

10 Items Picture Tag...

I was tagged by Calise... So here we go, First item on the list, Item #2, and no, I did not organize it before I took the picture. This is my fridge 9x out of 10 it looks like this, I'm OCD I tell you! It's pretty much a curse. Ugh. I'm almost embarassed my fridge isn't messy and normal looking!! Item #3 Sorry, I'm a shoe girl! I couldn't pick just one, I love em' all! Item #4 I know, another OCD... I have to have all white hangers in all of my closets and I like my closet sorted by colors. (Zach has the top half, and he won't comply with my OCD expectations) lol. Item #5 My darks pile. Item #6 What my kids are doing... RIGHT now... Brooklyn's eating some Dora Yogurt, and Braxton is sound asleep. (His little bassinet is getting pretty small... time to move him into his crib! It's hard to believe he's already getting SO big. #7 Favorite Room in the House. I really don't have one, but I do love my red wall in the kitchen. I'd better love it, it took about 7 coats of paint on that baby! #8 Never thought I'd take a picture of that. #9 Fantasy Vacation #10 Okay there you go... I'm tagging Amberlee, Bekah,Genessa,Judy,Natalie,Pam,Christal,Shannon,Nichelle,Brianne, Lynn and of course anyone and everyone who really wants to do this!

I Would Die For That...

I was browsing blogs, and came upon this you tube video, I didn't have a clue it would hit me so hard. I know I've been sharing ALOT about adoption lately, maybe it's because Mother's Day is coming up, I've really been thinking about how blessed I am to be apart of such a miracle! Enjoy.

Steve & Christine...

This is Steve & Christine. They are such a sweet family! We have gotten to know them through FSA (Families Supporting Adoption), they have been on the board with us, so we have gotten to know them fairly well. They have recently put their adoption papers in for a second time. As I said before when highlighting our last adoptive couple, we know that the chance of them getting a baby increases if we get the word out. You can visit their blog and click on their adoption profile for more information.

I am also LOVING

The R House, it is linked up under my adoption section. It is an incredible blog! She had a beautiful birth mom write her feelings about adoption. It brought tears to my eyes. Completely AMAZING!! At the end of her post, she shares a beautiful song. I have added Gavin's Song to my playlist. The words are perfect for such a situation.

Not so bad...

Hi Friends! I'm back, well sort of. I'm doing pretty dang good, I think. My mouth still hurts and I still have puffy chipmunk cheeks but I did get some pasta down me today for lunch. Mmmm... so nice to have something other than jello in my tummy! It wasn't as bad as I was anticipating and I can't believe I'm actually going to post this no-makeup puffy faced pic of myself, but hey... I'm no super model and this is just real life right?! :) I hope you all had a great weekend! And a HUGE thank you to my momma! She's so good to me! She's been taking really good care of me and my kids this weekend since Zach has had to work! Mom's just know how to make it all better, she's pretty much waited on me hand and foot, so so sweet. How am I ever going to adjust going back to real life. lol. I love you mom! Thanks to so many sweet friends who have been checking up on me!

My Man Tag...

I was tagged by Nichelle... A-ATV of choice? Prob. a 4-wheeler, that's all he really ever uses. B-Born on? July 3 C-Cookies or Candy? Both... sour candies or snickerdoodle cookies D-Date of Choice when you go out? Anything outdoorsy E-Essential Item? Cell Phone or ipod F-Favorite Foods? Steak medium rare G-Gas or Diesel vehicle? Which one? one of each H-Hobbies? FIshing, hunting, camping, learning & trying anything new, riding horses, roping (he makes a pretty darn cute cowboy!) :) He's usually up for about anything! I-Ice Cream Flavor? Rocky Road and lately A&W rootbeer float. J-Job? Financial Planner and we recently started our own transport business (oh and we are hiring! E-mail me if you need a job) :) K-Kids? Brooklyn 2 1/2 Braxton 2 1/2 months L-Last Vacation as a couple? We went to Denver and Las Vegas last Fall M-Morning person or night owl? Not really either. He likes to go to bed early and sleep in! lol. He requires alot of sleep. :) N-Number of Siblings? 3 brothers 2 sistas O-OCD or sloppy? He's pretty clean for the most part, but he likes to let things go until they get pretty bad (like his car) and then clean it out. P-Pet Peeves? My indecisiveness and my OCD of a clean house... he often says it looks like no one even lives at our house. oops. I need to work on that don't I sweetie?! :) Q-Quiet or Loud? Loud, he's not shy at all. R-Restaurant? Sizzler, Texas Road House and Chinese S-Sports? Rodeo T-Tight wad or spender? It depends on what we are talking about. U-Unknown Fact about him? Zach likes to get into new hobbies ALL the time...he is ALWAYS finding something new to learn but once he has mastered it, he's on to the next thing. I often tease him about this... he gets bored extremely easily. V-Vegetables? He loves veggies I'm gonna say corn on the cob, sweet potatoes or carrots and anything steamed. W-Worst Habit? Forgetting to lock the door at night... but don't worry, I ALWAYS lock it. :) X-Xtra Curricular activities in high school? Rodeo Y-Your favorite things about him? His sense of humor and love for his family he would do anything for us! Z-Zodiac Sign? Not sure, and I'm being too lazy to look it up. lol. I LOVE YOU Zach!!! I tag- everyone that wants to do this!

Indulge...Life is sweet!

Last night I got to go get some girl time in! A few girls I've met through blogging, and some fun girls I have known for years, got together for dinner, each of us were assigned a dessert, salad, main dish, drink, appetizer etc. to bring. It came together so well and we had so much fun. We've decided to try and meet once a month. The food was amazing and it was great just to have some girl-talk! Thanks Janeal, Amberlee,Nichelle, Hanna,Natalie,Sueann, & Katie for the great night! Can't wait until next month! Wish me luck, I'm off to make something REALLY good for dinner tonight, who knows when I'll be able to get anything other than Jamaba juices down me in the next few days! I don't know how long it'll take me to recover from my wisdom teeth removal. But hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll be feeling like myself again. Have a great weekend!

Tyson & Janeal...

We have been so incredibly blessed in our own life through the miracle of adoption. I have many friends and even family who have also had the beautiful experience of adopting or are in the process of adopting. This is my friend Janeal and her cute little family. They are hoping to adopt another child. We know that the chance of them getting a baby increases if we get the word out. She made up this cute pass along card. If you know of anyone who may be considering placing their baby for adoption please pass along their information. You can visit their blog and click on their adoption profile for more information. They are a wonderful family and any baby would be blessed to be a part of such a great home. Thanks for your help! I have added a new set of links about adoption on my sidebar. I'm always looking for new information regarding adoption. So if you have any please feel free to e-mail me or leave a comment letting me know! In the next little while I will be posting a few more friends information as well so you can all get to know them too. And last, I found this great site for birthmother's, I don't think we always get to see their point of view, so realistically. This can be a very sensitive subject. I am truly grateful for Brooklyn and Braxton's birth mother's. It is only through them that I had the opportunity to become a mother. They are both beautiful women, with much strength, courage and wisdom beyond their years.

Broken Bones & pedicures...

So, my week has gotten more and more out of control. lol. First I'll post what I did last weekend.

Friday, I cleaned out my scrapbook room and got ready for Activity Days, I used this cute idea... got my visiting teaching done and also made Brooklyn these new bows. On Saturday we watched General Conference... sooo good! I have seen so many posts about Elder Ballard's amazing talk,about young mother's, I loved it too! Then while all the guys were at the Priesthood session, my cute mom had all of us girls over and both of my grandma's for a little girl time! It was so much fun. First off look how cute she set her table... (she always has a beautiful table setting whenever we are over for dinner!) We used to tease her about it, but now, I want my table to look just like hers it's so fun! We ate this delicious Cornbread Salad, it was light but very filling, and for dessert we had Chocolate Chip Torte you can find both recipes Right Here I love the colored sugar on the glasses too... this is so fun whenever you are hosting little dinner parties etc. All you have to do is spread a little Karo Syrup on a flat surface, dip the top of the glass in it lightly, fill a bowl with sugar and add desired color of food coloring into it, mix well and dip the glass in it. Fun! Okay, I'd better stop giving tutorials, or we are never going to get through girls night... after dinner, my mom had bought everything to do pedicures, we all soaked our feet in peppermint & pomagranat oil, and used pumice stones to get the dry skin off our feet, then we painted each other's toe nails, can you believe my grandma is going to be 81 this year and she has never once painted her toe nails!? It was SO much fun for us to pamper her a little!! It was so much fun to spend some time with my favorite girls, thanks mom!! (and as I'm uploading these pics, I just realized there's not a single on of my mom! She'll be glad, but I'll get her on here soon enough!)

Wednesday & Thurday...

I decided to combine yesterday & today's posts into one, it's been kind of crazy here and blogging every day just isn't fitting into my schedule as well as I had hoped. :) So anways last Wednesday, I went to the doctor and did the dreaded yearly exam. Ugh. SO nice to have over with though. That's all I'll say about that subject. lol. I did my grocery shopping, and mostly just a bunch of errands in town then on Thursday, we had Card Club at Kayla's house here are some more of the cute cards that the other girls made: I also have some fun finds to share with you... have any of you ever heard of Piggies & Paws? I hosted a party a while ago and all I have to say is WOW! These are the sweetest little keepsakes ever, they take your children's handprints and footprints and make the cutest little art work pages out of them. My friend Pam designs for them, and she does great work, so if any of you are in the Logan area, and want to host a party or get your child printed, let me know, and I can get you in touch with her! She might even come up here if we can get enough people ahead of time to be printed. Anways check out there website, really her work is fabulous! I ordered a bunch of Brooklyn, and can't wait to get Braxton's done. Here are my two favorites that I got for Brooklyn. PS Pam also designs cute digi scrapping stuff, so head on over, she has some fun freebies too! :) Okay and the next one, I was on Lisa'sblog and saw This Fun Site! If you love jewlery check them out! Their jewlery is SO stinkin' cute and fabulously priced!! When we lived in Texas, I loved this store, but I had no idea you could order online! This could be good or really bad. :) Okay and one more fun little find... I've seen so many cute blog headers and scrapbook-looking blogs around, I came across this siteand thought they had some really cute and unique blog backgrounds, so if you are interested check her out. Has anyone seen I am legend? We just rented it, (at Zach's request), it was a bit too tense for me, and we didn't like the ending, but it was pretty creative writing.

Tuesday...

So last Tuesday, I did a little more scrap booking here are a few pages I got done... I have decided to to my family album using digital scrap booking and the kids albums I am going to continue to do using paper and traditional embellishments, I enjoy both kinds, however a reminder that I am super simple, I'm not one to fuss about a page looking just right and my main goal is to stay caught up and preserve the memories for myself (so to most of you these pages will be fairly boring) I also got caught up with our laundry, as boring as it may sound, this is a huge accomplishment for me as Braxton is a spitter-upper! So we do allot of laundry throughout the week! haha. :) There's nothing like an empty laundry basket to make me happy! Next on the list was to wipe out and organize the kitchen cabinets... that's nice to have done. I also downloaded and watched lesson 3 of the New Earth Class I'm taking online... anyone else taking it as well?? I'm way behind in it, but I am really finding it fascinating! I also had some work to do for our Families Supporting Adoption group, if you are in the area and want to get to know others who have adopted... let me know! It's a great group of people and we get together monthly for activities etc. :) We have met some great friends through FSA. Braxton had a height and weight appointment, he's a little chunk! He's at that perfect little bag of sugar stage, where they just fit so well right in your arms and are SO much fun to cuddle with and hold! He now weighs 11 lbs. 15 oz. and is 27 inches tall. I take a picture of him by this bear each month, so here are a few pics to compare...it's so fun to see how much they grow each month.

We also played a little outside, it didn't last too long, since it was pretty chilly, but it was nice to be outdoors getting some fresh air!

Zach & I are taking the kids swimming tonight, Brooklyn is so very excited! :) She's been asking to put on her swimming suit since daddy told her that we were going! Wouldn't it be fun to be 2 again?!

Refreshing...

So I'm feeling great, totally renewed and rejuvenated! Wasn't conference amazing?! And I am so excited about all your comments! I am feeling much better about who is viewing my blog, I have decided not to go private as of yet. However I do have a couple of changes I want to make to the blog, I've been reading up on the subject and I also want you all to be aware of what I've found out. First off I think EVERYONE should have some sort of site meter on their blogs, for your own protection. Two of the best meters I have seen are Site Meter and Blog Patrol they are both free and it just lets you check to see how many hits you are getting and where they are coming from. I use site meter. I also saw on a few of my other friends blogs, that they had put copyright notices on their pictures and also posted a notice on their blogs. (I'm not really worried about you guys peaking in at my life, though I feel pretty boring, and I can't believe so many of you are interested in it. haha. :) but even if you aren't a professional photographer... (like me) you just need to keep the pics of your kids safe, I just don't want anyone to be able to download them and use them for anything they want. If you go to Chantri's Blog, she has a great tutorial on how to put a copyright on your photos and why it's so important! Check it out for sure! Okay now on to the FUN stuff! I've been up to ALOT this week, with my media fast, I did pretty dang good, I'm not going to lie, I did watch the Dancing With the Stars Episode and also the Barbra Walters Special on how to live to be 150 year old! But I REALLY cut back and had pretty much no computer time, I got alot done and I also noticed that our home was more peaceful, I was more attentive and focused on what I needed to get done last week. I missed blogging alot, but it was definitely what I needed last week! So I'll be posting what we did last week little by little as the week goes on. :) As for the winner.... I had no idea I'd get that many comments, I seriously thought I'd get 3 or 4, I'm overwhelmed and excited! I hope you don't mind but, I've added all you new-comers to my bloglines account, so I can check back with you! :) I'm so excited to get new ideas and get to know you all! FUN! Okay... I used a random number drawing this time, the number that it chose was 24... which would be Hilarie!Hilarie! So e-mail me at sunshineinmysoul_33(at)yahoo(dot)com with your address so I can get it mailed to you! To tell you the truth, I don't even know what I'm going to send you yet, so maybe I'll give you a couple of options! :) I'll leave you with a few of the things I got done last Monday...

• deep cleaned my closet, moved winter shoes and clothes to the back (hope I didn't jinx myself) I bet I took 3 trash bags to the idea from my house this week! :) That always feels good.
• Scheduled dentist appointments... can you believe in a few weeks I have to get my wisdom teeth out?! I'm pretty nervous, since I've never even had stitches or a broken bone Ugh... any tips for a speedy recovery welcome!
• Did a little scrapbooking
• took Brooklyn outside to play
• Finished my card club cards... all the girls did such cute ones, I'll have to post their ideas later too!! Here are mine. Hope you have a great day!

General Conference Activity Books...

Hello ALL my new and old blogging friends! It's been a long week! I'm just settling in to watch General Conference, but I HAD to share these with you! I can't stand not to share a good find on my blog, I really debated, since I have been SO good this week, not to use the computer, but I think so many of you could use this today and especially tomorrow. These are activity books for your kids to do while watching General Conference. You can go HERE, for younger children activity books, or RIGHT OVER HERE, for the books I printed out, I also ran some over to my visiting teaching girls for their kids too. I'm so excited about all the comments you guys are leaving me! I won't read them until Monday, can't wait to get to know you! Happy Saturday!