Our River…

I feel like the days rush by like a crazy wild river.  A river that is filled to the brim and bubbling with things like going to the zoo a few more times before summer says goodbye.

 

Decorating for Halloween.

Here is a little 4x6 printable for you.

A little spider to decorate Miss Brooklyn’s hair. You can get the pattern for yourself HERE.

Go HERE to learn how to curl ribbon (for the spider legs)

Or leave a comment- and I’ll draw a random winner in a few days for one that I made. :)

cute young women

These glasses went with a handout that says

Here are a few handouts I’ve made in the last little while. Nothing spectacular- just super simple.

Temple Marriage Manual 3 Lesson 36

{atatched to a white hanger}

Dating Decisions Manual 3 Lesson 35  

 

new recipes from my sweet friend Jodene

{click on the picture for the recipe}

 

Inspiring Books

 

Sunshine to my Soul

Watched the Relief Society Broadcast- to read President Uchtdorf’s uplifting words go HERE.

 

Words of Wisdom

“Every one of us is either a plus or a minus in people’s lives” John C. Maxwell   What are you?

 

Christmas Shopping- call me crazy but I think I’m about finished!

Looking forward to Conference this weekend!

Speaking of Conference I like to put a little something together for the girls I get to visit with.

It says:

Conference Listening Kit:

notebook & pen: to take notes during conference

kleenex: for those emotional talks

highlighter: to highlight memorable talks in the ensign

popcorn & m&ms: because conference should be just as good as a movie (if not better)

My dad goes in this Sunday night for his second round of Chemo. Thank you to all who have been so kind and keep him in your prayers. We appreciate it more than you will ever know. Those prayers give us strength.

 

Have a great week!

Five on Friday…

Well I won’t even tell you how long “blogging” has been on my to do list. Today I have had more on my plate then I can handle… but sometimes that is when you get the most done. Don’t you think? How five things on friday.

1. New pictures of my kids, ordered and hung on my walls! I LOVE them! Thank you Natalie @ Excursion Photography

             

2. We have been busy busy working on adoption paperwork- yes we are wanting to add another little miracle to our home. We have started praying every night for our sweet birth mom. We have already had some beautiful experiences.  :) We won’t officially be up and running for a month or so.

 

 

3. I have been changing this cute tray out with each new season/holiday. I love it.

4. Found this Forever Family burlap picture @ Real Deals. Makes me very happy. (I still need to do some rearranging on the shelf and actually hang it up, but you get the idea)

5. Summer time with the kids… more trips to the zoo. water park. lots of hat days cuz we don’t want to fix our hair! :)

 

 

We are gearing up for family reunion galore this week! It will be non-stop fun! Hope you are taking time to enjoy your summer too!

My Thought Train, want to ride it with me?

Here is some randomness for you. These are some of the thoughts going through my mind right now.

This WIND is driving me CRAZY!!!! Absolutely insane. :o/

Does it make me weird if I vacuum at least once a day? It honestly makes me feel like my whole house is clean if I have vacuum lines in my carpet! :) From the looks I got I can tell that yes, yes it does make me a little psycho.

 

I’m starving and I can’t wait to try this for dinner:

{EDIT: It was completely AMAZING!!! This is my new FAVORITE sandwich! YUM YUM YUM} Recipe HERE.

I seriously love trying new recipes it’s almost like going on vacation- it’s something new & out of the ordinary- it makes cooking dinner not such a chore!

Mmm… those Poppy seed pancakes last week were pretty amazing too! Recipe HERE.

 

 

Do I have all the stuff ready to go for YW tonight? Pop bottles check, glue dots, check, scissors check, treat- oh no I didn’t even think about a treat- it would probably make their hands too messy anyway. Right?! We are making these for a Father’s day gift for the men at church: but we changed the quote on them to say

“Some People don’t believe in Heroes but they haven’t met my “POP” 

If you want a copy of our ties- e-mail me at sunshineinmysoul_33(at)yahoo

Wonder what my sisters are doing right now, I sure miss them. Wish they were here to do a craft with me or just sit around and talk, and laugh, and laugh some more!

thinking about family. my little family. Mmm. Sure do LOVE them.

lol.

great reminder- LOVE that mom that jumps in the rain with her kids! That is the kind of mom I want to be!!

 

Do you ever feel like this? Sometimes I have to grit my teeth so I don’t hurt them! ha! ;)

Zach dies laughing at my thought trains that run through my head.  I am a complex person I guess. Haha, NOT! My brain literally jumps from one thing to the next constantly. He calls it Randomnimity. Do you have it too? Please tell me I’m not the only one. :) Happy Thursday!

Become…

With all the rain we have been getting I am trying to remember this: :)

So lets take a look at life. This week I’m preparing a Young women lesson (lesson 22 manual 3) on Eternal Perspective! Such a great topic. Do you know how fantastic the youth is today? I’m so impressed. I’m also in the presidency with the most amazing women. Seriously. Learning so much from all of them. Feeling so inadequate. The Lord lifts up those he calls right?! Praying for that.

I am using this as my handout just in case any of you want handout ideas too:

 

It’s from Rebecca Cooper, I’m going to print it at Walmart and then either make these cookies, click on the pic for the recipe.

or do something with the Rainbow Twizzlers.

Haven’t decided yet.

Do you know what else I want more of in my life right now?

 

 

LESS of me. More of God. Truly, the closer I get to Him, the better everything else is in my life becomes. I am amazed at His love for each of us. Do you know what I am talking about? I want that love for everyone! It is so incredible. I am realizing that we are constantly becoming. Becoming more like Him, or becoming more like the world. Sometimes we don’t even realize what we are becoming, we can get so caught up in comparing, in wanting, in needing approval from the world and just going about our days lost in the race. Well I’m here to say I DON’T want that. I DON’T want to be like the world, I don’t want my self esteem or my daughter’s or my son’s or anyone around me for that matter to have to feel like their self esteem has to come from approval from the world. Does it really matter what I wore yesterday? Does it matter if I don’t wear make up today? Does it really matter if I don’t look like a super model every time I walk out of the house? Is that what God wants? People to look and stare and need approval from each other? Absolutely not. By the way I’m not saying we don’t need to take care of ourselves, we most definitely do! I’m not saying don’t brush your hair and be beautiful. We should. We just shouldn’t obsess or compare. Which is such a horrible trap we sometimes fall into.

I feel like I am on this journey because I very much struggle with approval from those around me. I struggle with insecurities of every kind. I am finding that it is normal! I am on this journey, a journey that is taking me to places I have never been before. I am seeing things in myself that I despise. Things that aren’t right with my heart. I have some dark and ugly pieces to my soul that I want to get rid of, but I am also seeing parts of me that I love, reasons to let God take over my life and live through Him. I want nothing more than to be content in Him. I am learning. It hasn’t been easy, but I feel like He is slowly peeling back those ugly layers and making something more out of me, something I could never do on my own. Today I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who loves me. Who loves all of us. I am so blessed to know what I do. Do you want to know more about what I know? Go HERE. Or feel free to e-mail me, I’d love to hear from you. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better than you were the day before.

What if Your Blessings Come from Raindrops...

Heard this song on the radio today. LOVED it! Wow! The chorus is my favorite! Isn't that true?! I have had so many of my friends & family on my mind today, and when this song came on I thought, this applies to us all! Praying for each of you in your trials that seem like mountains, God is with you. ♥

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise


 

Serving Others & Emergency Preparedness Idea...

Over the last day or so, I have had a huge awakening. I realized how selfish I’ve become. I am surrounded I mean literally surrounded by good deserving people. People who need more. I want to do more to help! There are little and big opportunities surrounding all of us. Here are a few things that have inspired me this week-

The other night Zach & I were out to dinner, Zach noticed a sweet  (okay maybe she was a little crabby, she was 80 years old for crying out loud!) who had just finished her dinner and was having a hard time getting out to her car. He jumped up to help. My heart swelled with love for him. In that crowded little corner resteraunt he had taken in his surroundings and noticed someone in need. Do we sit back and wait for opportunities of convinient service to come to us or are we pro active and seeking out what good we can render to our neighbors, our brothers and sisters in need?

These are wonderful people! We have known them for years. Are you an organ donor? It’s a simple way to help.

Can you spare a prayer? A dollar or two?

adopt rinah from VsTheBrain on Vimeo.

God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore it is vital that we serve each other. So often, our acts of service consist of simple encouragement or of giving mundane help with mundane tasks-- but what glorious consequences can flow from mundane acts and from small but deliberate deeds."

--Spencer W. Kimball

Just thinking that in the grand scheme of things I have eternity to do the things I want to do. Wow, then with everything that is happening over in Japan, my heart aches for those people, who must be just terrified right now. Wondering how I can help. Sometimes all you can do is pray. And really that is good enough.

The Lord can do much more than I can anyway.

I also checked an item off my to do list for the month! Yay! I wanted to get Emergency Car Kits completed for both of our vehicles. I can tell you these have saved me more than once. It’s usually not a huge emergency, but they sure make my life easier. We’ve had kids throwing up in the car or wet underwear, and immediately we can change them into a new outfit. Have you ever ran into town and realized you forgot the diaper bag? Well no need to worry, diapers and wipes are already packed. Needed an extra snack in town? Taken care of. These Car Kits are so easy to put together, and I am betting you have most of the items on hand! I did! I got my list of what to put in mine HERE.

Emergency Car Kit List

A box to hold everything

Water

Snacks

Flashlight & batteries

Wet wipes

Toilet paper roll

Basic first aid kit

Blanket/towels

Change of clothes

Diapers

Feminine products

Umbrella

Scriptures, or a book

Jumper cables

Hand sanitizer

Pen & paper

Pocket knife

$5-20 cash (and change)

 Next Project to Tackle our 72 Hour Kits! What are your Spring Projects going to be? Have you started on them already?

Calling All Angels 2011...

This is very personal to me. Most of you have heard me talk about my sweet angel nephew Jayden. My sister & brother in law are incredible people, just watch the video you will see what I mean! I am honored to be apart of this service project. Will you join me? If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to contact me.

YES…

For some reason, last week was crazy. Crazy not in a good /great kind of way. I didn’t have much patience by the end of the week with anyone in my little family. Today I’m feeling really badly about some of the things I said & did. Does that ever happen to anyone else or is it just me? It’s a good thing kids & husbands are so forgiving! I really am SO blessed beyond measure! I am so thankful for my little family who loves me despite my weakness & shortcomings.

I did read this quote just when I needed it:

“it’s not the fingerprints on the wall that need my attention, but the people who put them there.”

Don’t you love that?! Tender mercy. A message for me straight from my Heavenly Father. ♥ wow. miracles. How does He do that?!

Well in order not to repeat such a week as last, here are a few of my goals.

This week I say yes to 6:30am.

I say yes to good thoughts that energize, uplift and encourage me.

I say yes to getting on the elliptical and exercising, & filling our meals with healthy ingredients!

I will say yes to God, & sincere prayer. Yes to reading my scriptures every single day.

I say yes to getting out of my house and into the sunshine!

I say yes to getting things DONE.  To staying with a job, until I’ve seen it through to completion.

I say yes to learning about things that make me joyful.  Yes to a good book!

I say yes yes yes to gratitude. YES to saying THANKS.

I say yes to encouraging others and being a supportive wife and friend.

I say yes to LIFE.

Yes to ME.

Yes to the people and things that energize, inspire and fill my soul with JOY.

I say yes to that trip to the library with the kids, Yes it is still on my to do list. ;)

Yes to listening to the soft promptings of the Spirit.

Yes to serving those around me!

I say yes to more organization in my life.

I say yes to having a really FANTASTIC week!!!

What do YOU say yes to this week?!

 

{I saw this list HERE, and it resonated so much with me I added and subtracted what I needed to make it my own.}

And you know what? I have not for the life of me been able to pick my ONE WORD for this year!!! It has been driving me crazy for the last month and a half! I think the problem was I had TOO many options, too many things I need to work on!!! Well when I read this

post I realized YES is my word! Yes to ALL of this and

whatever other adventure this year might take me on. Yes to being more disciplined, Yes to being healthy! Yes to building my confidence level, YES to nourishing my life with things that I love and what matters most to me! YES to the awesome  possibilities this year has to offer me!

Calling All Angels...

Last year, my sister Angie went into premature labor, their sweet son Jayden did not survive. They put together a service project, close to Jayden's year mark. I know a few of my sweet blog readers sent me blankets to help out, & I wanted to make sure you knew just how much we appreciated the blankets you sent. Thank you. You made this possible. This is a beautiful video Neal & Angie made, to say thank you. They are such incredible people. It's no wonder they were sent such a beautiful little boy to be apart of their eternal family.You can read more about Jayden's story here.

I LOVE today…

Just emptied my trash bin on the desk top… does that make you feel like you  just accomplished something awesome?  I’m a freak. yep.

This is funny.

Pumpkin spice kisses… need I say more? Hello fall! Yummm.

1st day of Preschool for my baby girl. 

How did you get so big? You were SO very excited to go to school today! It’s been so quiet here at our house without you. Braxton & I have both missed having you around. I’m excited for you to learn and grow. Dad likes to tease you and tell  you that you can’t grow up, but I’m afraid you are doing just that. I couldn’t help but tear up as we drove away. We sure love you little girl!

Do you not LOVE the cute Twinkle Toe Shoes that are out right now? I think they are darling. We picked some up for Brooklyn and she swears they  make her run SO much faster! :)

Also loving the Silly Bandz @ our house right now! !

It’s starting to feel like fall. So when there is a nice day with no wind and all sunny skies we jump on it! we had a great time at the park, sharing cookies and basking in the sun! I love today!!

What are you loving today?