A Haircut

Combined, we lost well over a foot of hair tonight and we both feel great.  I'm so proud of my sweet girl who was so excited to cut it all off and donate it.  Aside from a couple little trims, Shelby has not had her hair cut in over three years.  And I've been growing mine out and haven't been this short in about the same length of time.  Both of us can't get over how light our heads feel and Shelby keeps bouncing all over.

 The last picture of her long locks.

 The big cut!

Now you can read the back of her shirt.

I can't believe how old she looks now but I really am going to love how easy short hair is and I think she will too.

So Blessed

I would be really disappointed in myself if I didn't write down how grateful I am for this past weekend.  This weekend was wonderful.  
We had Thanksgiving dinner with Ben's parents and older sister and her family.  The food was good, the kids were well behaved and the conversation was even better.  Then we moved to my parent's house to have dessert with my whole family.  Once again, it was so  good!  I'm so incredibly grateful for our families.  I feel so lucky with how awesome my in-laws are and love that we get to spend so much time with both sets of grandparents.  I'm so grateful for my parents and all that they do for me and my family.  And life would be so boring without my sisters and little brother.
Friday was super lazy yet super great.  It was just so nice to be in pjs all day and hang out as a family.  No black Friday shopping in stores for me but I did snag a few deals online and I'm super grateful for the means to give my family a good Christmas.
Saturday was busy and productive.  The Christmas decorations started going up.  We bought our first tree since the one my parents bought us several years ago finally bit the dust.  Our new tree is different and beautiful and I promise to post pictures of it soon.  We bought the last of the supplies needed for Ben's family stocking stuffers.  All in all, it was an exhausting day but so much was accomplished.  
Sunday, our cute little family of 5 sang in Sacrament Meeting.  We sang the Primary song "Love is Spoken Here".  Now it wasn't perfect but it sure was beautiful and so special to us.  It was something we'd been practicing together for a couple weeks and to have it all sound so amazing was truly a blessing.  Stryder had been fighting a cold and just about lost his voice Thursday and Friday but sounded awesome come Sunday and I managed to make it through the whole song without crying.  Prayers were definitely answered that day.  I'm so grateful for the talents my family has been blessed with and for the opportunity to share them.  Later that day, we sang for my extended family at my Grandpa Waters' house.  It was another sweet moment for us as the Spirit was so strong in that little room full of some of my most very favorite people.  I could even feel those that I couldn't see.  How grateful I am for my knowledge of eternal families.  That evening, we finished decorating and putting things away.  My mantle and fireplace wall are now the best part of my house.  Pictures coming soon of that too.  
Then as I kissed my babies goodnight, I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  It was so nice having Ben home for 4 days and I'm so grateful for all the time we got to spend together as a family.  I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father who found me worthy to take care of these sweet little ones.  I'm grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for His atoning sacrifice, so that I can return to live with Him one day.  And extremely grateful to be sealed to my family for all of eternity.  This was a Thanksgiving weekend I will never forget.

Color Us Rad

 A few months ago, I was feeling super ambitious and convinced my dad and sister that we should run the Color Me Rad 5k race.  Well the date of the race inched closer and closer and it just wasn't happening, for any of us.  So I thought up an even better idea.  I went and picked up the race packets for everyone, grabbed some extra color packs and planned a super fun color fight with my family.  We headed to the park Saturday and enjoyed a picnic, playtime, and an awesome color fight.  You can't really tell from the boys' faces in this picture but they all really loved it and had a great time.  Pictures courtesy of my camera propped up on my bag and a 10 sec. self timer.

I'm so grateful for the memories we made together that day.  There was lots of laughter and smiles and brightly colored hands.  It was a great day!  This probably tops my gratitude list for the week but I was also grateful for...
- a new chore/reward chart that is making things a lot happier around here
- my calling, I love those Beehives so much and so grateful I get to teach them and spend time with them both at church and away
- my Shelby and what an amazing girl she is
- extended family on both sides and any chance we get to spend together

Eight is Truly Great

This beauty is 8!!  Yesterday, the 15th, was her birthday.  The details from her birth are so crystal clear to me that it's hard to believe it was 8 years ago.  Shelby is my one and only girl and I love her so.  She is spunky and out spoken and loves to read.  Her birthday was full of fun starting with her Daddy taking a couple hours off to take her and the boys to Dads and Doughnuts at the school.  Then she had a yummy treat and a teacher that spoils her at school.  For dinner she picked Panda Express and I made her a chocolate pie for dessert.  The next picture is of her reaction at getting a camera for her present...

Can you say excited?!?!  She was the most excited over this present than any other I've seen.  She has already taken over 50 pictures with it.  Like mother like daughter maybe? :)

Shelby is one special girl and this birthday is a pretty important one.  With turning 8, she is choosing to be baptized and we will be doing that in Dec. with her cousin Olivia.  We are so excited for her and so proud of what an amazing young lady she is becoming.  And just to brag...she's rocking straight A's still and reading at an almost 5th grade level, in second grade.  She's a smarty pants!  I can't keep her stocked in enough paper for all her drawings, stories, and songs she writes.  Her radio can be heard playing Taylor Swift most often and her voice is gorgeous (if you ask me).  I don't know what I would do without this little girl in my life and so grateful she's part of our family.  Happy Birthday to my Shelby Rae!

My Grateful List

The week looks a lot different when you know you have to type up what you are grateful for at the end.  I've been trying to really love and appreciate what I have instead of longing for what I want.  Some days I admit it, I fail.  While other days are huge successes.  Here's my grateful list for this week.
I'm grateful for...
- My Young Women and leaders and the sweet spirit that was there for our Night of Excellence.  The speakers were amazing and the food was good and not setting the desert on fire was an added bonus.
- Being able to go to the temple and being a part of something truly wonderful with so many ward members.
- Random days off in the middle of the week.
- Pictures like this from Shelby.  I like to think I may have done something right when I get precious pictures like this one.

- Ben starting up great conversation around the dinner table that had everyone taking turns saying "I love you because..." and giving reasons to every member of the family.

- Date nights with the hubby.  Even if it was just a dinner out, it was nice to spend some time together.

- My talents and being able to use them.  I love taking pictures and especially love it when it's my cute niece or nephew.

- The weather finally getting cold enough to pull out winter clothes and box up summer clothes.

- Hand-me-Downs...my kids would have hardly any clothes without them.

- Soren being an awesome kid and earning Diamond of the Week at school.  I was so worried about him at the beginning of the school year and now it's so rewarding to see him thrive and enjoy kindergarten and his new friends so much. 

Being Grateful

I am trying to remember this for the month of November.  I want to find gratitude in the little, every day things.  I'm trying to focus on what I have instead of what I want.  I've already noticed a difference as I've re-evaluated my thoughts and words.  So for at least the month of November, maybe longer, I'm going to have a weekly gratitude list.

This week I was grateful for...

-my kids teachers

-Disney movies that we can enjoy together as a family (We loved Wreck it Ralph)

-a dentist that knows what he is doing and seeing it work already for Shelby

-my mom and sisters for always being there to help me out

-getting gratitude back from Stryder

-an extra hour with time change tonight