Happy Birthday to you

It's your birthday tomorrow. 

What a great time we had celebrating a month ago in Boston!

We saw so many awesome things, 

But I can honestly say the best part was just simply being with you. 

I hope you know how much I love you.

I hope you know you mean the world to me.

I hope you know that I appreciate you and all that you do for our family. 

I hope you know that I appreciate the father that you are to our kids. 

How you love them and take them 

To do fun things. 

How you make sure they have shoes and mits for softball and baseball. 

Basketball shoes, etc. 

I hope you know that I appreciate how you love me.

I love you and I love us. 

I love that each day is a new day to love more, to try harder, to grow together. 

I hope you have a Happy happy Birthday and feel and know how loved you are. ❤️

 

 
 

 

 

Messy hair, stickers, beautiful Autumn weather, and Christmas music.

Oh yes, I did. 

 

The little things

With the recent horrific Las Vegas tragedy my heart has been so heavy this last week. Things like that really shake you and make you realize the things that matter most. 

I've been so thankful the last few days for the little things in life. 

Because really they are the big things. 

Hugs and kisses from those I love.

Smiles and giggles. 

Kids playing Legos

Hearing them play outside in beautiful fall weather.

Tomatoes from the garden

Baking bread with the window open

Warm chocolate chip cookies

Reading scriptures together 

Family prayer

Dinner together 

Reading together 

Snuggles 

I hope I can appreciate more fully each day I'm given and to appreciate the little things more. ❤️

 

Today

Ran 5 miles

Made lunches

Brushed heads of hair

And teeth

2 bowls of oatmeal for the little princess

Strawberry shortcake (the movie)

Grocery shopping with the little princess 

Corn dogs for lunch

Kids are home from school (early out)

Cleaned up some throw-up,with some accidental help from Tali🤣

Poor Sadie

Feeling better-SEP for Sadie

Finished a pillow order 

Legos with Mason and Ty

Dinner- Hawaiian haystacks 

Clean up and pumpkin cookies 

Showers

Homework 

Turning retainers

Brushing teeth

Scriptures

Prayers 

Stories

Hugs and kisses 

Goodnight😴

 

Dear Sadie...

Last spring sometime a story came on the news about a Children's Justice center in Salt Lake that was trying to raise money to improve the center to make it feel more comfortable for the children who went there. It was a touching story and I got a little emotional watching. 

You quickly wanted to know more about the Children's Justice center. Asking what it is, do we have one in Cedar City, etc. 

As I told you what it was, my heart broke as I watched the sadness develop in your usually sparkling blue eyes. 

One of the first moments of you realizing that there are people who because of many different reasons sometimes hurt innocent children. It was heartbreaking telling you this. 

You were upset for awhile and then the day went on, but your wheels in your head kept turning and you came up with the idea of making stuffed owls- girl owls and boy owls for the kids that went there so they could have something to comfort them while they told the details of such a terrible experience for them. 

So you went to work. 

Over the next couple of months you learned to front stitch, back stitch, stuff, cut and glue. You did it all, except for sewing up the bottoms, that was my job. 

Last Saturday we had an owl day and finished things up so we had 10 boy owls and 10 girl owls. 

We also put in some snacks for them as well. 

Last Monday we delivered them. You were beaming and I was beaming because I was so proud of you and inspired by your example of goodness. 

When we delivered them, the office manager gave us a tour of the center and explained a lot about what goes on. My heart was touched and broken a bit by the whole experience. Broken thinking about all the sweet children who go there and have to relive horrific details. But also touched that there is such a place for them to go and the efforts that have been made to make it so less horrific for them. 

I hope that you will continue on being a light in this world, looking for ways to help and love. The world needs it now more than ever.  

For that is where you find true happiness. 

I love you my Sadie and I'm so proud to be your Mom.

 

 

Over the weekend...

Date night hunting. Yep, that's right I went hunting! After all these years Jake talked me into going. It was fun to see what all the fuss is about and it was great to be with Jake. He only had to tell me to be quiet a few times.😉

We had a regional broadcast this morning for church so it left us with a half of a day. We took a drive up to Brian Head to see the damage from the fire. Really sad to see the toll it took, but also neet to see the new growth already rising from the ashes. 

Mckay came too! He was just asleep in the car. 
 

 

 

Colds and green smoothies

And so it begins. The kids are full force back in school and the germs are too. Poor little pookie's not feeling too great. 

Mckay, Sadie and myself seem to be coming down with something as well. But yay for Friday!