Best Friends

Webster's Dictionary defines friend this way:

A. one attached to another by affection or esteem

B: one that favors or promotes something (as a charity)

C: a favored companion

I was able to talk to an old friend today,
and it brought back a lot of memories.
I lived so much of the formative years of my life
with her by my side.
I hadn't talked to her in over 12 years,
and really spent any time with her in well over 16
(wow that makes me feel so old).
It was so great to hear that she was doing well!

When we are kids,
we do a lot of things that don't make any sense.
We fight with our friends over things that don't matter.
Blame it on the raging hormones,
the inexperience,
or the naivete.
It doesn't really matter why,
but it is how we grow
and hopefully learn how to not make the same mistakes again.

To my dear Friend.
I miss you.
I hope that you know
that you will ALWAYS hold
a special place in my heart.
I know that we both did and said things
that we wished we could take back.
I could never and did never
hate you;
Much the opposite actually.
I want to make it VERY clear
that your were such a blessing in my life.
When I think of our friendship,
I am not filled with regret,
I am filled with
Gratitude.

Thank you for being my Friend.

Libby Lou

Liberty turned 6 on
March 4th
I know that was 2 1/2 months ago
but we have had a lot going on
so here is her "un-birthday" post.

For those who may not know her
Liberty is Amazing!
She has always
looked
talked
and acted
beyond her years.
She is heads and shoulders above her peers
she has a huge vocabulary
and she understands fairly complex ideas.
She is incredibly thoughtful
She has such a fun loving spirit
She is always running around
looking for something to entertain her.

She is our little actress too
She usually tells you things as if
she is performing for the audience
often looking at "the audience"
rather than you
for effect.
I have a hard time getting candid pictures of her
because she poses the second she sees the camera.
We always knew she loved to dance
Since she was very young she had a way of
interpreting the music through the way she moved
This year we found out that she really has a talent
She is in Ballet and Tap and she is a naturalShe is an amazing help to me around the house
especially with Brett gone
it would definitely be a lot harder
without her help.
She is an amazing big sister
just ask her little sister and brothers
They want to go everywhere she goes
and do everything she does
It annoys her sometimes
but most times she is happy to be their friend.
I am so thankful for my
not-so-little-anymore girl
We tried so hard to get her here
and I have been grateful to have her
since the moment she finally came.
Happy 6th (un)birthday
Our sweet Liberty.

Home, Sweet Home

Brett and I recently moved

I know
We were only in our last house
for 8 months
But Madison was lucky enough to get a spot
in an amazing autism center
and it was a half hour drive from our last house.
I guess it didn't seem like much in theory
but after 6 months of being in the car
for 2 1/2 hours a day
5 days a week
I called Brett and said
"Either we need to move closer
or we have to take her out of therapy."
Well, the clinic she is in is doing
AMAZING things for her
so it was kind of an easy choice for us.
After only 3 days of scouring the area for a
house we could rent
we found our dream house.
It is wonderful.
It's about 4 miles from Madison's autism center
and less than five miles from
anything we could want
Our church
Costco
Walmart
The Mall
REI
Carraba's
Safeway
We are pretty far from post now but that's alright with us
We both have said in the past couple weeks that
we feel like we belong here.
We have both felt a little unsettled since moving to CO
(we loved FT Carson and our ward and friends and home,
but we just felt out of place)
but now that feeling is gone.
I know that the Lord had a hand in this all, and I am so grateful for all our blessings here.
Madison's therapy, our warm and inviting ward,
the beauty that is surrounding us.
It's good to be home.


Here's the backyard
The kids LOVE it,
and every morning we see deer
(usually big bucks)
walking through
They think that's pretty amazing
I think the snow is really pretty, but
I can't wait until summer to let them loose!

Yum

Tonight we had the Elders over for dinner.

There are transfers on Wednesday
and we are moving, so we wanted to say goodbye.
These Elders have renewed my faith
in 19-21 year old boys.
We love them.
Whenever we have the Elders over
I like to make them something nice.
Not just Mac and Cheese, ya know?

So I made broccoli cheddar soup
from scratch
with sourdough bread-bowls
(as it turns out, one of the Elders' mom always made soup
and bread-bowls on Superbowl Sunday growing up. smile)
and chicken wings with a tequila-lime glaze
(no, not actually tequila, I substituted agave nectar)
and Martinelli's to drink
and then we had these.....
Red Velvet Cake Cookies with
Cream Cheese and Vanilla Bean frosting.
From scratch, too.
They were so moist and delicious
I almost shed a tear when we sent the leftovers
home with the Elders.
It's for a good cause though, right?
And those good boys did leave us this
on our bathroom mirror
before they left:

Great Elders
and
Great Food
Love it!

Happy Birthday and Funny Hats

My Baby is 1!

Our baby jack turned 1 year old on January 13

He is getting so big so fast!

Fastest cake I ever frosted! And the coconut tasted so good!

He had so much fun. Here's the before picture.

During

And afterOpening presents

We went and got his 1 year pictures done at the Picture People (love them)
and he was so stinkin' cute that they had us sign a release
so they could use his pictures as a model for the store!Pretty cool.

We love our Baby Jack. It is hard to believe that more than a year has gone by since he joined our family. He has the amazing ability to make everyone in our family happy in even the grumpiest of situations. It was quite a surprise to find out that number 4 was on the way when our oldest had barely turned 4, but he could not have come at a better time. He has made my trials easier and the burden I feel sometimes as Brett is gone lighter. I'm not sure where the blond hair and blue eyes (greener every day) came from, but they melt my heart in a second. I love your kisses, however wet they may be; the way you love your little stuffed puppy and reflexively stop and cuddle with anything soft; the way you take anything and turn it into a car and push it along the floor. Thank you, Jack, for coming into our family when you did. Our family is completed by you. I love you with all the love a mother can have. My sweet Baby Jack.

Funny Hats

When we went to the mall to get Jack's pictures done we went to a toy store and tried on funny hats.

When I saw this one, I thought I would just have her try it on because it was so crazy, but it so fit her personality that I couldn't pass it up.

FREE CANNIE! I mean - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I just have to love Halloween

great weather
cute kids
so little work, and yet a great result!
Love it!

Liberty was Aurora this year
She is becoming such a beautiful Young Lady

Little Madison was Belle
For those of you who don't know Madison all that well
This is quite often the face we get for pictures
She was ready for the Candy
Pictures - not so much.

Handsome Man was a Pirate - Argh!
He eventually caught on that he should wait to get more "cannie"
instead of trying to eat every piece as he went.

And sweet Baby Jack was a Monkey for his first Halloween!
Don't you just want to squeeze him!?

Brett took them all out Trick-or-Treating while I passed out Candy

It was beautiful weather - cool and clear.Here are the Pumpkins the we carved for FHE

And here is the whole family at the ward Trunk-or-Treat on Friday night.

It was a pretty great holiday! I was very happy that Brett was here to take the kids.
We had previously thought that he would not be, so it was a pleasant surprise.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone!

Life's Billows

When upon life's billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings; name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does your cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly
and you will be singing as the days go by.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
do not be discouraged, God is over all.
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey's end.

Count your blessings; name them one by one
Count your blessings; see what God hath done.
Count your blessings; name them one by one.
Count your many blessings see what God hath done.

1. My Savior
2.Brett - the man who stands by me, supports me
and loves me and who I love with all that I am.

3. Libby Lou - so full of life
4. Maddy girl - so happy
5. Spencer - my handsome man....so loving a helpful and kind
6. My sweet baby Jack - so so sweet
7. My Mom and Dad - so understanding and generous
8. My brothers - so supportive
9. My brothers families
10. My husbands family
11. My friends
12. My Testimony
13. Being a mother
14. being an American Citizen
15. My home
16. My talents
17. Prayer
18. Chocolate
19. Steak
20. good health care
21. Cool, overcast days
22. Sunny warm days
23. Seeing the shoreline of Monterey
24. Being married in the temple
25. My righteous heritage
26. Forgiveness
27. cell phones
28. Digital cameras
29. Safety and protection
30. Good entertainment
31. My car
32. my children's laughter
These aren't neccesarily in order of importance, nor is it even close to a completed list. I just needed to take a little time to think about all I have been given.
Indeed, I am truly blessed.
Now for that "Help and Comfort".