BYU GAME! GO BYU!

We had plans on Saturday to go watch the BYU game with my cousins Erika & Marie and thier families. Unfortunately Marie wasn't able to come,but we still had a lot of fun! Kaili and Kayleigh played together for 5 hours straight with no problems at all! Karson had fun eating all the food and following the girls around.

Cute Kayleigh Marie!

We had tons of yummy food, apples and dip, chips and dip, crackers and cheeseball, veggies and dip, sugar cookie bars, and candy!

Kars enjoying his apple! What an intense game that was!

I am thankful for.....

sweet little Kaili, although she isn't so little anymore. The above picture is from our wedding almost 4 years ago. Kaili turned 2 the following week. I have known her since she was 14 months old. What an experience being a step-mom has been for me. It is the most challenging, rewarding, fun, hard, joyful thing I have ever done. Kaili has grown up soo fast and it has been fun to watch her grow and experience life. Kaili has had a different life than most kids her age, she has grown up with basically two moms and two dads.

I never thought I would be a step-mom, but then again my life didn't go exactly how I thought it would any way. I was only 23 when Kaili came into my life, and so I have tried to learn as I go. Kaili is a smart, funny, beautiful, imaginitive girl, she has a lot on her plate to deal with. And although we have our challenges with her, I am thankful to be a part of her life, I only hope that I can forever be a good influence on her, and keep our good relationship that we have.

Kaili can make me laugh, and I love when she wants me to sing her to sleep. It is nice to know that my voice is a comfort to her. Our family would not be complete with out her, and I am thankful for her in my life.

I am thankful for....

I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained from dealing with the loss of a child at age 25. It's wierd to think that in July 2010 Easton will be 3 years old. Sometimes the loss doesn't feel real and sometimes it does feel very real. I miss him every day, but I am thankful for what I went through so that I can better relate and understand other people who have dealt with the same trajedy or worse.

I am thankful for the knowledge I have of knowing that I will see my son Easton again. I am thankful for this because it has strengthened my testimony and understanding of the Gospel.

I am thankful for my.....

IMAGINATION!

When I think of imagination Disneyland comes to my mind. I LOVE Disneyland. Always have, always will. I love thinking beyond the boring box of reality and letting my mind wander, I think that is a part of why I love books so much because it lets you see things, feel things, and experience things you can't in a normal world. Yes it's all pretend and make believe, but so what. Imagination lets us be creative, and unique and keeps us young. Disneyland is just that place that as soon as you see it, smell it, hear it, you are happy. Disneyland keeps you in that magical world of imagination, from the rides, to the charachters to the movies, it's all just fabulous!

Pictures of Karson

I took these of Karson the other day! I just love this kid, always so happy and smiley!

Karson is growing up so fast, he can say hot, football, granma, uh-oh, amen, night night, cheese, more, he knows where all the candy is, he loves balloons, we have to get one every time we go to Harmans, and he loves balls. He has memorized where all of the balls are in his books and we go through each book to find the balls and then move on. He loves to sing and dance. He is such a blessing in our lives!

Here he was mad at me because I wouldn't give him the camera!

Karson loves my dad so much. He is always looking for him at my parents house, and snuggles up to him, here they are eating popcorn together!

Kars reading some books on his chair. He loves his books so much, which makes me happy since I Love books too!

Today I am thankful for....

Probabaly about a year ago I came across an artilce in GLAMOUR magazine about a reporter who had gone to Africa to do a report on this special womens clinic there. There was a Dr. who helped African women, physically, emotionally and mentally. I wish I would have kept the magazine so I could refer back to it more accurately, however some of the stories have remained fresh in my mind.

One woman was raped and after she was raped she watched her two children be murdered. One woman was shot inside with a rifle, this woman is still alive today. Another woman watched her sons head be chopped off. There are many more stories similar to this. These women are survivors. Somehow they have found the will to live. They have no control over thier lives, thier loss is beyond meausre and yet they have found the will to fight. So today I am thankful for strength, the strength I have found within myself, and for the strength I see in so many women around the world.

I am thankful for the woman I have become

Although unbearable at times I am thankful for the trials

God has given me

because through them I have learned to fight

Fight for my happiness and smiles

because it shouldn't always be so easy

I am thankful for the politics I don't agree with

because it means I have the right to voice my opinion and my thoughts

I am thankful for the husband I argue with

because it means I am not alone

I am thankful because I got to say goodbye to my baby

when so many others lose thier children with out that chance

I am thankful that I survived

Because even at my darkest hour, when I felt the urge to quit

I held onto the dim light and saw through the sea of tears

A woman's work is never done, is what the people say

I am thankful that I am never done,

because it means I am alive

I am thankful for the strength I managed to find within myself

I dug deep, and pulled it out

and learned it's ok to ache it's ok to be sad

but it doesn't have to last forever

I am thankful to be a woman

because women are strong

Today I am thankful for....

I am thankful for books. I love to read! I always have. In 9th grade we had to read " To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee. For some reason this book had a profound impact on my life. I try to read it ever year, and I have two copies of it. One, my most treasured copy that is falling apart at the seams, I can't seem to get rid of. The second is just another copy of it for me to read. One day I would love to get it in a nice hard back, but for now my two little paperbacks suffice.

The book is based in a small southern town, it is about family, love, justice, racisim, creulty, unfairness, childhood memories and imagination. I love this book.

I enjoy reading all kinds of books and am fairly open to all styles of writing. I hope one day to publish my own book. That would be a dream come true for me.

Today I am thankful for books!