Happy New Year!!

A new year is so exciting to me. A time to start fresh and celebrate the potential we see within ourselves. This year my list of resolutions grows with each day. Here are a few I'll share:

• Eat cookies on the weekends only
• Pay cash for groceries (when it's gone, it's gone)
• Run a 10k this spring
• Attend the temple at least monthly
• Learn to cook five good meals
• Go on a hike with my children each month
• Study my scriptures sitting up at my desk each day (so I don't fall asleep)
• Go on a date with my handsome husband each month
• Spend more time reflecting on the blessings from above
• Take new pictures of my kiddos and update this blog!

Perhaps I'm a bit ambitious as this is just a few that I'm planning on working through this year. But just for today I'm going to move full steam ahead and then tomorrow I'll do it and then the next and hopefully in a few weeks, then months I'll be more of where I need to be. Hooray for the possibilities of change!!

The Christmas Spirit

My sister tuned me into this a few days ago and I finally sat down for three minutes and watched it with my little ones this morning. It's a simple youtube video from lds.org that reminded me what a spiritual time of year this can be.

The Christmas Spirit

Our Life...

In Pictures.

These six little cousins spent a perfect day at the beach in Galveston. They still had energy to play hard at the hotel (though my sister and I were both pretty beat).

Camping on the beach is amazing and a great perk of living along the Gulf Coast.
Thanks Petty's for inviting us along.

Belle and "woof woof" showing you their version of a scary face.

Grandma Nae Nae came to visit (really to babysit the children)and so a trip to the aquarium was in order. Sierra loved riding the shark train.

Ahhh paradise! We are smiling only because this was after Hurricane Ida made us all very familiar with sea sickness. The Svetz were wonderful to vacation with.

A beautiful beach in Cozumel that I could have spent the entire day at. Instead I spent the majority of it asleep in the back of a taxi with the flu.

Feeling better and zip lining in Jamaica.

Playing Tarzan in Jamaica.

The pictures of Grand Cayman are on the water camera. Unfortunately due to all the storms, there wasn't time to scuba dive so we ended up snorkeling along the shore- still amazing and a place we definitely want to return to.

After nearly nine years it's wonderful to spend a week alone with the one you love.

Happy Thankgsiving!!

Full Hearts

Our lives are brimming with happiness and wonderful things. There just seems to be abundant blessings pouring from the heavens to fill our hearts and home. Peace has been the biggest blessing of late- that simple contentedness that so often eludes us. Another is Holy Places where the spirit of the Lord can touch our hearts. I am so grateful for a kind and merciful Father in Heaven that I know has absolute knowledge of me. I am truly a child of God!

Craig starts a new job tomorrow! He will be a finance manager for an oil servicing company here in Houston. He is sooo excited for this position as it's one he's looked forward to for many years. I'm excited that there is practically zero travel. The job is on the other side of town so we are looking for a place to call home closer to his work. Hopefully soon I can post that we have a home of our own.

Sierra started going to preschool. She goes Friday mornings for an hour and a half with two other little girls. They rotate homes, so once a month I get to teach the little darlings. I still do preschool with her everyday at home and love the opportunity to incorporate gospel teaching into the curriculum. I love that part of my "job" and am considering starting a preschool once we have a place of our own.

Gideon just turned two! What a happy boy he was blowing out his candles and opening up presents. I love this age of discovery and excitement over everything. The emotions are so pure- two years old is one of my favorite ages! Though his cognitive and motor skills are at 30 months, his speech is just at 12 months, so he starts speech therapy next week. He tries so hard to speak but it just isn't working for him.

I am getting so anxious for the fall weather and the upcoming holidays. I love that feeling of change in the air when you can begin to anticipate wonderful things coming your way.

Good Friends

I've kind of taken a summer time break from the blogging world and just now read through blogs I haven't read in a long time. There are so many wonderful things going on all over the world! What a great reminder to me of how blessed I have been throughout my life to be surrounded by inspiring people who are doing such amazing things with their lives. The Lord has blessed my abundantly with friends in the right places at the right times. I want to be like all of you!

Craig has been traveling all month and is finally home for a few weeks. Yeah!! During this time, we've really come to appreciate the time we do get to spend together as a family. I've become even more grateful for the support of friends and family that has gotten me through some long days. With him home I can start running again in the morning. I decided that I can't push a 50 pound stroller and 60 pounds worth of kids when it's 100 degrees. I can do one or the other but not both.

Craig aka the family barber cut the children's hair. It was Sierra's first hair cut and I admit I was a bit anxious over losing her baby hair. It was scraggly and she disliked anything but a headband in her hair, so it was time. It's adorable now and so much easier to comb. Gideon also got his hair cut- rather buzzed. He now looks like a big boy. Now if we could just get him to talk like a big boy. I've started teaching him a lot of sign language, which is helping lower our frustration levels. Any advice on how to deal with temper tantrums would be greatly appreciated. I stop counting how many he has if it's over a dozen and we haven't even had lunch. Thankfully, he makes us laugh just as much. Families are just like that- quite a challenge but oh so wonderful and something you wouldn't trade for the world.

Here are pictures of the children with their new hair cuts.

Oh What Do You Do In The Summertime

Here's what we do in the summertime...

Search for flitty floating butterflies at the butterfly garden.

Watch plays and listen to concerts at the outdoor theater.

Turn our cream leather couch into a canvas with an ink pen- oh no, that's not really what you should do, but it happens and it does come off .

Make sure the goats at the petting zoo are well groomed.

Throw Princess Parties! We spent our preschool time one week learning about fairy tales and the associated brave knights and pretty princesses. It was fitting to cap it off with a royal ball.

Visit local community helpers. The kids were both very hesitant with the fire station visit, though I found it fascinating. (Yes, my hair seems to match the fire truck. Another thing you shouldn't do in the summertime is go crazy with hair dye, semi-permanent or not.)

Have a family 4th! We hosted a 4th of July party with my sister and her four children and my cousin and her five children (yes that makes 11 children when you add my two). It was crazy and fun and unforgettable.

Splash in whatever water you can.

Enjoy the beautiful flowers in full bloom.

Spend an afternoon at a museum. This is the Museum of Health Science and their 4D movie about cells.

Play at parks...but only at 8am.

As you can see, we are having a wonderful summer as we attempt to make the most of this sweltering time of year. We hope you are also enjoying the joys that come during this season.

Heavenly Homes

Well we just signed a six month lease extension for this tiny apartment. If it weren't for the guidance of a loving Heavenly Father reassuring me this is the best thing for our family right now, I'd lose my mind thinking about staying here longer. I'm often frustrated over the lack of space for our stuff and especially that the children really have no place to play. Last weekend, Craig and I went through all our closets yet again to organize and attempt to create a semblance of order. Because of our small space and my desire to make the best of it, I've been intrigued with the idea of creating a haven in my home. A little piece of heaven to retreat to. As I've pondered and prayed about this desire, ideas that really work have come to my mind. Slowly but surely we are building our eternal home albeit a small one.

"Actually, a home is much more than a house. A house may be constructed of lumber, brick, and stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. A house can be a home, and a home can be a heaven when it shelters a family." Thomas S. Monson