245 Thankful Hands

The Odd Life of Timothy Green    I saw this by myself a few weeks ago and I have to say that it was a really sweet movie.  It really captured the magic of motherhood and parenthood.  I LOVE the last quote of the movie by the character Timothy.  And of course, I cannot find it online anywhere, but it will pop up and I will post it.  Basically, it depicts the imperfections of two people doing their best and succeeding because of the love they have for their child.  I came home that night and wrote letters to each of my children.  I have so many hopes for them.  I'm so grateful I get to be a mother and a parent.  It is the most rewarding and challenging job I have ever done.

244 Blessings To Smile About

Redecorating    I love touching up things to just give them a bit more of an edge.  I love making wreaths and adding to them each year, bit by bit.  I bought the fall wreath last year and I paid 90 cents and actually, I'm pretty sure I used ECB's.  Anyway . . . that wreath was needing some love.  Sparkles seem to always do the trick!  While it still needs more love, that's the most it will get this year.  Yay for acorns and sparkly pumpkins and pinecones!!

243 Thanks

When One Door Closes Another One Opens    Ryan felt sad to leave the boys at Westside, because he has loved working with the youth and their interactions.  Well, Heavenly Father apparently thought he needed to continue to work with them too, because Ryan got called to work in young men's in our ward.  He'll be a priest advisor over the 16, 17, and 18-year old boys.  He's so excited!!

242

Crafting    I finally started painting!  Oh course, I didn't just come up with the idea on my own.  I cheated and copied something I saw in Pinterest.  Actually, I completely two things from Pinterest, but the one just needs a few final touches.  Anyway . . . here is my first painting.  It was so much fun to paint!  I love mixing colors and non-technical strokes of the brush.  I really enjoyed this.

Crafting    I finally started painting!  Oh course, I didn't just come up with the idea on my own.  I cheated and copied something I saw in Pinterest.  Actually, I completely two things from Pinterest, but the one just needs a few final touches.  Anyway . . . here is my first painting.  It was so much fun to paint!  I love mixing colors and non-technical strokes of the brush.  I really enjoyed this.

241 Reasons I Feel Blessed

I Can Feel Others Praying For My Family    If you've talked to me lately, you know I'm on this kick.  I have felt so many individuals praying for my little family.  We've had so many answers and they've come quickly and timely and we've felt extra blessings and our family being watched out for.  I can't explain it, but I have felt it, and I'm grateful.

240 of My Greatest Gifts

My New Pot    This sounds really shallow, but I'm so excited about my new pot.  It was a TJ Maxx find and it's nothing too special.  It's just a simple non-stick, teflon 6-quart pot, but it makes me so happy.  Our old 9-quart pot is ruined from making popcorn over the stove and this one is its replacement.  Oh, the yumminess that is going to transpire from this pot!  It will be delicious indeed.  I am grateful I have access to products like this and that we have enough money to replace something that is broken or too worn down.

239 Wonderous Blessings In My Life

Moments of Spiritual Magic and Inspiration    So maybe magic is not the right word to use here, but I really feel like the feelings inside are magical.  They're happy and exciting and they open your eyes to new possibilities.  Possibilities that God could use you as an instrument and teach you things you don't know that you don't even know.

We had one such window-opening, unveiling in the temple just a few weeks ago.  On the way, we discussed various topics in our lives and worries and struggles and happenings.  When we finally got to the temple and then, waited in the chapel to go to our endowment session, we opened up the Book of Mormon to prepare.  As soon as I opened the book, the page was exactly the scripture I had related to Ryan in the car.  I looked over at him and we both had tears.  It was a really cool experience.

238 Things That Make Me Smile

Pinterest    Do I even need to elaborate here??  The funnest thing for me about Pinterest is that I can have this amazing list of ideas, all stored into one place, and I can go to it for inspiration or create a wish list.  Lets be honest:  I will never own a pair of Louboutin shoes.  First of all, I would not spend that much money on a pair of shoes; second of all, they're way out of my budget.  But it's really fun to look at them and see how pretty they are.  I LOVE that my online wardrobe is so fabulous and it helps people like me for the next time I go shopping.  I know what I like and have an idea of pieces I could buy that will coordinate well with other outfits and translate into multiple outfits.  Yay for Pinterest!!!

237 Ramblings of Gratitude

Doers    We all have those go-to friends that bless our lives abundantly.  I happen to have MANY of them in my life.  And I know I've posted so much about my friends, but seriously, they're amazing.  They call from thousands of miles away to tell me that they love me and care about me.  They show up and take children off my hands.  They bring by cookies or a meal, because they were just thinking of me and wanted to do something nice.  They keep kids last minute, so that I can focus on one child at the urgent care and actually show up at the urgent care to pick up said kids.  I want to be a doer.  Too many times, I tell people, "Call me if you need anything."  But we know how it is.  How often do people call when they need something?  Most of the time, we're too embarrassed or we worry what others will think and judge us about, and thus, we don't rely on each other as we should.  I'm grateful for the examples of doers in my life and I strive to be one!

236 Thank You's

Training    Well, for the first time, over the past 9, almost 10, weeks, I skipped my first Saturday run.  My back is out.  Boo.  I hate it, but what can you do?--except rest and lay down.  It's annoying more than anything.  It actually brings back so many pregnancy memories.  Ryan brought my lunch to me in bed and then, he took the boys to the football game tonight (his first from the stands).

Anyway, what a difference this training makes in my daily routine!  I LOVE it!!!  It gives me more energy and I sleep better when I train.  The running is such a mental game, and it's stretching me.  I like that.  I like that it improves my mood and my attitude.  I'm blessed to have a body that allows me to be physically active.

235 Blessings

Being In the Right Place    I love those experiences that are confirmed by the Holy Ghost, when you know that you are doing what's right and accomplishing part of your purpose here.  One such moment happened just a few days ago.  I had the opportunity to call back and forth with Ryan about 30 times in one day to try to get our benefits squared away.  Okay, so I think we were both a little sick of each other's calling by the end of the day.  Anyway, I ended up having to call the HR people over benefits for the company, because we needed more information.

The next day, their person called me and she began asking me a series of questions to try to figure out which plan would be best based on our needs.  I explained that we were concerned about the mental health benefits, because we needed weekly behavior therapy sessions, as well as our psych appts.  She provided me with such information and then, off the record, she began asking me questions, as a mom. She explained that she was the single parent of a borderline Asperger's / severely ADHD daughter.  We spoke for 38 minutes and she asked me for advice and help about resources I had used.  Some of the time, she just needed someone to listen.  She needed her feelings validated.  She needed understanding, to know that she wasn't alone, to know that she could do this.

When we hung up, I felt so refreshed to know that this is actually something in my patriarchal blessing. It specifically talks about how I will be a light to other women who are struggling and in the dark and that part of my job is to be a spokesperson for those truths.  It was such a moment of clarity and immediate gratitude for Heavenly Father helping me and providing me with that opportunity to be an instrument in His hands.  I'm really grateful I experienced that this week.

You can see it's not gorgeous yet, but it's going to get there.  I cut my Hibiscus really FAR back.  And once I get in my fresh vincas, I'll yank those others.  They are definitely life forms of survival.  The coleus were taking up so much space that they were covering everything up (even our fern and our hibiscus).  As a result, you can see how the vincas stretched really far to reach sunlight.  And they succeeded.  They brought bouts of joy to everyone who could see their vibrant colors.

234.0

Coupons and Price-Matching    This has saved our family's bacon so many times over the past couple of years!  School shopping is pricey.  Holy Cow!!!  I cannot believe how much things have gone up everywhere.  Thankfully, I clip and we SAVE big!  We got all of our notebooks, rulers, pencil sharpeners, and erasers for pennies.  We paid $.05 for crayons and our pens were free.  We seriously saved hundreds of dollars when everything was said and done.  I love coupons.  I'm grateful I get to use them and have access to the Sunday newspaper.  I'm grateful I have the grocery store products at my fingertips.  We are greatly blessed.

Okay, my wreath is a little lacking.  I will buy some clearanced pumpkins and acorns to add to it this year, but . . . I got it for $.90.  That's pretty awesome!!!

233 Thank You's

Going To Our New Neighborhood Park    I've had the opportunity to take my kids to the park several days the past couple of weeks.  We've taken kids that we've watched, we've gone in the morning, and many evenings.  It's been so fun to watch them get to play (something we can't do in the summer heat, because it's too hot to be outside) and hear their excitement.  Plus, it's only two blocks away!  What a blessing!!!

232 Gracias!

My New Pumpkins Are Out    This gives me such pleasure every year and I've needed it.  I think I've felt so much stress from starting school for the boys and Ryan's start to his new job that I've let it built up inside and I've been in a funk for the past several weeks.  Thus, I put out my decorations already and  it's so pleasing.  My newest pumpkin from last year is the glittery red-orange, rust-colored guord on the counter top and then, I already purchased this year's choice:  a large metallic and glittery green pumpkin.  It's going to be a glorious fall!!

Version 231

Christlike Parenting    I believe that Glenn Lathem wrote this book and I'm telling you, it is amazing.  I read it many years ago and decided to pick it back up to read.  I have learned so much, as I've experienced more since I last read it.  It's pretty amazing actually.  It's helped me to come up with new techniques and try different things with my kids.  Often times, I am so type A that I think parenting is either 100% right and only one way or it's no way at all.  I'm very afraid of messing up and mishandling situations.  Books like this, accompanied by the Bible and Book of Mormon give me courage and inspiration to try new things.  I'm blessed with so many tools at my fingertips.

230 Blessings In My Life

Technology and Modern Conveniences    I've had much time over the past several weeks to reconnect with long-time friends, because of phone, internet, cell phone, and other devices.  I'm so grateful that I have these blessings in my life.  I have needed to hear from these people and they've lifted me.  Without these conveniences that would not have been as possible or as timely as I needed it.

229 Hearts of Gratitude

Fall Gardening Season    It's here and I'm just tickled to get to plant green things again.  Our lives have been so crazy this past month.  I've been running all around getting scrips and talking to doctors and insurance people about how we are going to work this 30 days without insurance, until Robert Half picks us up.  Plus, we've had last minute summer things, school supplies, meeting the teachers, house cleaning, bronchitis, and oh, it's been a whirlwind!

Anyway, I'm excited to plant our broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, pumpkins, and anything else that will grow.  Of course, we can't plant for at least another two to three weeks, so that's a bit of a bummer.  But . . . we are prepping our soil plots.  And actually, we turned the sand box into a second garden and started composting in there.  Everything we've thrown in has seeded and started growing.  It's crazy!  I don't know if anything will come of all of the blossoms, but I'm really excited!

In the front flower bed, we pulled all of our coleus out.  They were seriously taking over and some were three feet high.  We trimmed them back first, but it looked terrible, so we yanked them and added two more salvia plants and a beautiful bright pink hibiscus to counter the brilliant reds already thriving.  And probably on Monday, I will need to pick up a dozen or so vincas to make the flower garden a little bit more lively, since I trimmed everything back so much.  Plus, how can you go wrong with black velvet mulch??  It just makes everything look shiny and refreshed.

228 Thank You's to Heavenly Father

Our New Insurance Plan    We are so blessed to have the opportunity to get insurance through Ryan's new job.  It's an HMO plan, which isn't very fun for the referrals part; however, the cost is AMAZING!!!  We have no deductible!!  We will pay $3,000 out-of-pocket at most!  We will pay $15,000 LESS than what we paid with HISD.  This is going to help our family tremendously!  Oh, I feel so grateful to Heavenly Father for answering this prayer and blessing us.

227 Thanks

Answered Prayers    I won't go into all of the details, but our little family has seen so many miracles over the past month.  It's pretty amazing when you consider how many people exist on our little planet and then, worlds without number.  One miracle is that we have a new job.  This came about because of specific prayers prayed.  He answered us in such a timely manner with exactly what we needed and asked for.  I know this doesn't always happen, but we knew ahead of time that we were praying with righteous desires in mind.  We're so blessed.  I've felt consumed lately with gratitude for how much our family has been watched over.

226 Reasons I Feel Blessed

One-on-One Time With This Guy    He has started getting so much personality and a LOT of two in him.  We've had a lot of fun hanging out together during the day.  I think he definitely misses his brothers, but we're trying to stay busy with potty training (pics to come), singing, colors, reading, and other fun learning.  He's very sweet.  I'm grateful I get to be a stay-at-home mom.

225 Things That Make Me Smile

Back to School    These were actually taken a few days into school, because I kept forgetting to bring my camera to the bus stop.  The boys wore their new Angry Birds shirts on the first day.  I feel grateful to live in a safe community, where my kids can get a good education.  David's teacher is going to be so wonderful for him.  She is patient and kind and her eyes are so loving.  I feel like she is just what he needed for his first year of full-day school.  Matthew's teacher is really soft-spoken and kind.  He likes her a lot.  We'll see where this year takes us.  I'm grateful for the boys to be back in school.

224 Ramblings of Gratitude

Creme Brulee    We tackled this delightful dessert beautifully!  Of course, it wasn't as creamy as we'd hoped, but it's a start.  We even bought a torch and everything!  So good!  I am grateful I can taste food!