Grateful

I was going to post this as a Facebook status, but then realized a) its too long and I don't like forever long FB statuses. b) I felt like it was journal worthy.

While I was doing hair today, a little old lady knocked on my door and asked if I cut hair. I told her I did and we scheduled a time for her to come back that night.

She is a cute old lady. I think she is Hispanic, and proudly told me she is 82. I could hardly understand a word that came out of her mouth, but she talked the whole 1/2 hour it took for me to cut her hair. I enjoyed listening to her. While she was a little hard to understand I did understand a few things. She was visiting her daughter? In our neighborhood while the daughter was working and the son-in-law was away working.

She kept telling me how she had 7 children, 2 have passed away, and she worked hard to raise them. She kept saying "I want them to go to college. I want them to get a good education" She kept telling me how proud she was that 3 of her grand kids are going college.

Through out all of the conversation, what stood out most, is how lovingly she took care of her kids. She worked every night she said so that they could go to school and what a privilege it is that they got to go to school. She would say "Now kids have to go, back then they didn't have to. I work so they can go" She told me she would work at night and be home in time to get the kids bathed and ready for school. What a woman.

I know many moms work outside of the home and I admire them for that. I think what stood out about this little lady and her stories was the fact that she would not trade any of it. She is so happy her kids have the things they do. It was a dose of humble pie.

I am so blessed to have the things I do. We don't want for much. Sure, I wish I had more money, better car, bigger house, but I have money, I have a car, I have a house. What a good feeling. I pray to appreciate the things I have and it never fails that when I pray, I receive my answer. This lady made me appreciate what I have and that even though Todd and I work hard for the things we have, I am SO blessed to be able to stay home with my children and have the opportunity to go back to school. Those are things I have always tried to not take advantage of, but it's nice to have the reminder every now and then also.

13 years?!

Todd and I had the chance to escape to Tampa Bay Florida for a couple of days. It was SO nice! Our hotel was right on a beach. We had a little (tiny: no sitting room) balcony, a little kitchenette, 3 swimming pools, a bar and restaurant (we only ordered non-alcoholic drink with our free vouchers and breakfast :) ) We only had one full day there. All we did was relax and do a little shopping. HEAVEN!!

Our view from the hotel:

There are a host of  sports cars that I wouldn't mind driving, but I settled with the Mustang Convertible that we were able to rent while there. On our way to the shopping center (with the top down of course)

Nice view :-)

It was a very fast trip, but it was fun. I wasn't quite ready to come home. I have learned over the years that love does have many shapes and sizes and is a constant change. I have been married to this wonderful man for 13 years. Our love has evolved and been shaped by our experiences. Though the road has been tough at times I wouldn't trade anything we have together or the way the experiences have brought us closer together.

I love you babe! I am so happy to have you as my eternal companion. You mean the world to me. You are the love of my life and that will never change. Thank you for all you do. Thank you for bringing out the best in me. Thank you for your never ending patients. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father. Thank you for being you!

Tid Bit Tuesday

It's official we are trampoline owners. I have been wanting to get one FOREVER! Ok...almost forever, for a long time anyway. Todd was out working in the yard and said "I think we should get a tramp." He didn't have to convince me. We looked on Craigslist and found this awesome deal! The kids love it. The nintendo has hardly been on today. The kids are outside, as I type this, playing on it.


I went into a store today and ended up standing in line behind a man with Cerebral Palsy (spling?). MAJOR flash back to my dad! I could hardly believe the flood of emotion that it brought just from standing behind this man. He even got out of a pick-up. It didn't look like the one my dad used to drive, but my dad used to drive one. He even sounded similar to my dad. It took everything in me to not have a huge break down right there in line. I only had a small break down in my car. It's been 13 years, but I still miss him.


I love my husband. He is folding clothes right now. Not many men I know are willing to do that. He cooks, he cleans, he watches the kids, he goes to work, and he rarely complains. I am so happy to have him as my eternal companion. He helps me make the hard decisions in life and that is something that is worth just as much as doing the dishes. He helps with the boys and is a great example to them. I am so glad to have him in my life!


We really live in a pretty place. I miss the mountains, but I really like the beauty that TX has to offer. The drive to pick up the tramp yesterday was beautiful! Todd and I are really happy to live here. We miss things about UT and our family in UT, but we really feel like we are where we are supposed to be.

Summer is coming! The weather has been wonderful for weeks! Only 10 days left of school. No alarms, late nights jumping on the tramp, and swinging on the hammock...lovely! I can't wait!! End of School Party? Maybe.

Jump on a plane anytime right?...

Last Friday the boys didn't have school. So I pretended that we could jump on a plane whenever we want and took the boys up to UT for a very fast trip! 

Todd's "little" brother's wife had their first baby a little over a week ago and I got to hold her as much as I wanted! I LOVED it! I love soaking in baby time since mine are getting so big. It's been so long since I have held a newborn. She is a doll. 

Here is the cute little family. Justin, Kaddie and baby Scarlet. 

Such a sweet little baby. 

A proud Auntie!

The other best part of the trip was being able to see Todd's and mine other cute niece and nephews. The kids had a BLAST being able to play with cousins (and aunts and uncles) for a whole day with out any worries. Kady, CJ and Jillynn loved that they got to skip school on Friday so that we could all visit. Even Heather, Tyler and Kim were around so we could say hi.

I was stressed to the max about going. The class I am in now is SO time consuming. I was super worried about getting my homework done. I had a couple of late nights when we got home on Saturday, but it was all worth it. It's been too long since we have seen several members of our immediate family. We will make a trip up in July to visit with all of our other wonderful family and friends. I am sorry we can't squeeze it all in every time we come up!