Sometime All You Need Is Sunshine and A Great Friend

Like I've mentioned in previous posts I have been struggling a little with feeling alone and sad. Over the weekend Matt had to travel to Orlando for a conference so that left us with the entire weekend just us girls. But I'm determined to not let the loneliness get the best of me so I called Erin and asked if we could come visit. She was thrilled so we loaded up the car and headed to Logan. We did some shopping at my favorite place...Wicked Cute Boutique, grabbed some lunch and then headed back to her house for the kids to play. We walked to a park not far from her house. The kids had a ball playing together and that gave Erin and I some time to visit and catch up. A good friend and sunshine was just what I needed. We talked about everything from everyday catch up stuff to how great it is that our friendship hasn't changed much since she moved to Logan. I love this girl and although we were raised, live, and believe very different we genuinely love and care about the other one. I'm grateful Erin was sent into my life and I hope she also feels the same

Lice Times Two

Frustrated is the word of the week. Monday I worked and was completely exhausted. Tuesday morning while getting Hallie ready for school I found lice in her hair. Last time I had a complete come apart but this time I felt like I knew just what I needed to do and so I just got to work. I washed Hallie's hair and by then Gracie was awake so I treated her as well. I combed thru Gracie's hair first and found nothing so I sent her to preschool while I got all 8 loads of laundry done and rand an additional 4 loads thru the dryer. While the laundry ran I checked Hallie and found two more dead bugs and about 10 nits. I was a little unnerved by what I had found but knew I had done what I needed to . When Em woke up I went thru her hair but found nothing. I worked my way from one side of the house to the other cleaning, sanitizing, and vacuuming. Its rather frustrating that this is the 2nd time in 5 months we have had this but I'm grateful for the homework I did last time so I knew what to do this time. Because we had been in the car the day before I pulled all the car seats and the car apart so it was all sanitized before I went to pick up preschool. Here is a picture of some of the laundry I left it on the table until everything was clean and vacuumed and then put them on the floor. 

My laundry room was buried in laundry

Later last night when Matt got home her checked my hair and found 3 nits so I treated my head as well and will watch it. It took 2 hours to go thru my hair I felt so bad for Matt but was grateful for the help. Today although my head is itchy I'm feeling good. I sent Hallie to school this morning after finding nothing in her hair. I also rechecked the other 2 girls and they are still good as well. Now if my head is clear when Matt checks tonight I hope we are on the mend until we treat again in seven days. I hate those little bugs but I'm grateful they don't cause disease or something worse. Hopefully we can get this under control and move on with our lives

Brinley's Baptism & Realizing I'm not Alone

Last weekend we were able to attend my cousin Marisha's little girl, Brinley's baptism. What a great day it ended up being. Lately, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I have felt very alone and a little lost. A day with family that has loved me from the day I was born was just what I needed to remind me that family is God's way of physically showing his love for us. We had to be there by nine so it was a very early morning for us. They had a program and the baptism. Grandma Harris was there so it was fun to catch up with her. We were the only ones there from our family so I was also really glad we had gone for that reason as well. After the baptism the bishop asked Marisha and Taylor(her parents) to bear their testimonies. As Marisha bore her testimony she talked about being surrounded in the room that day by some of the people that love her and helped her get where she was. I was reminded that I stood in that very same room surrounded by some of the same people several years ago on the day I decided to be baptized. At that moment I could feel God's love for me and was reminded that I'm never alone. Afterwards we were able to visit with Kelly and Julie as well as several of my cousins and their spouses and see their kids. As I did I became more and more grateful that I had been raised in such a tight knit family where we got together regularly so when we got together it was like we were never apart. I miss those days and at time find myself wishing life was like that again. I wish my parents had never moved so I had a place to go home to. To show my kids where I grew up and had such a great childhood but unfortunately that is not how life has worked out but the memories are still there for which Im so so grateful for. While we were helping cleaning up in the kitchen  the kids took the initiative to help clean the gym. My Uncle Kelly took all these pictures and said he was mopping and Gracie came up and asked to help and told him she is a really good helper and a good cleaner. He said he was very impressed with how we were raising the girls to work and how polite they were. Its nice for others to notice all Matt and I's hard work

We really had such a great time and I wish we got together more often then not. I live my family and the memories we have and are still currently being made.

Our Sweet Emy

This little girl is a light in our lives and I couldn't imagine our lives without her. She is crazy and super busy. She loves Mickey Mouse, eggs, cottage cheese, peaches, string cheese, and anything juice wise to drink. She is still very attached to her sippy and binki. She is a great sleeper both for naps and at night. She recently has gotten enough hair for pig tails. 

When I say busy I mean I went to vacuum and she helped herself to the the jam and yogurt...she drank it

She loves hair bows and when we saw them at kid to kid she was so excited

She loves accessories, purses, and chap stick of any kind...its about the cutest/annoying thing every since she tries to eat it and puts it all over her face

She loves her blanky and I recently found a couple more of the same fabric and she likes to haul them everywhere

She loves cuddles although she prefers me she loves to cuddle and watch shows

Just as we were getting everyone to bed I went downstairs to check the pumps and she followed me and just as we got to Hallie's room she tripped and hit the nightstand and broke the knob off. She hit her cheek bone and her eye with the knob then the screw hit her forehead. She cried so hard and so did I. I wasn't sure how bad things were because she wouldn't open her eye so I yelled for Matt and by the time he got to us she had opened her eye and it was already starting to swell. I immediately thought to put lavender on it both to help the swelling and slow the bleeding. Once it stopped I was able to tell it was just superficial and just needed lots of cuddles. I have been so impressed with how quickly it has healed. Thanks heavens for natural remedies

I love this girl more than she will ever know. She is my sunshine after the storm. When Matt and I decided to have a 3rd baby I had wanted one for several months then after the miscarriage I was worried that maybe I would never get another chance. Then she came along with her sweet spunky personality and it didn't take long to win us all over. I worried my entire pregnancy about his sweet girl and she nearly gave me a heart attack the day she was born. Words can express how much I love and needed this little girl in my life just when she came. I have wanted to be a mom my while life and so far it hasn't disappointed. It has made me a better person in so many ways I my life would be so empty without her. Love you Emy 

Sharing My Passion...Nursing

I was asked by the Young Women's Presidency to come and speak to the young women in our ward about what I do at my job. At first I was a little nervous since I'm not a public speaker but it turned out so amazing. I was asked to talk about how I decided to be a nurse, what it took to become one, what drew me to the nicu, ect. Matt is wonderful and so supportive in so many ways. On this particular night he came with me to watch the kids and be my tech support since I had a power point and multiple videos to share. When the night was over I felt so wonderful I had no idea I would feel so amazing and accomplished sharing the job that I love. I think some days I forget what an amazing job I have both at home and at the hospital. I'm so glad that I made the decision at such a young age to get my education and to become a nurse. It has bettered my life in so many ways. I feel becoming a nurse has allowed me to also be an amazing mom to our 3 sweet girls. I honestly hope I have more opportunities in the future to share my love for nursing and how it has enriched mine and my families lives.

Top Dog

Our awesome Hallie made top dog. Each quarter they name all the kids that have met the requirements with grades, attendance, and citizenship. We are super proud of her accomplishment but not surprised in the least

Gracie keeps us laughing! Her wearing Matt's hat and glasses while eating her favorite greek yogurt with jam and granola

With all the water and run off it has created some crazy water issues but also some very beautiful sites. This is the waterfall at the bottom of the canyon

Chris's Birthday Party

About a week before Chris's birthday I was talking to Krissy about what their plans were and she mentioned she would like to do something but they don't have the space for everyone. I happy offered our house..after all that's why we built this house. I always wanted a gathering place where I could have my whole family under one roof...its a little crazy but at times my favorite. Krissy brought everything and got here about 30 minutes before everyone else. She decided to do cake mix waffles which is basically a cake shaped like a waffle. I asked if she wanted to make it into a waffle bar or something more "food" like  but she wanted to do simple and just do waffles so I just fed our family before everyone else got here. I thought the kids might find they didn't feel well if they just had cake for dinner. I made some waffle batter for me so I didn't have to just watch everyone eat...it worked well. The waffles were a hit

Of coarse there was some dress up that occured

Im grateful for this girl and our friendship in navigating life with in laws

Matt loves his drone and couldn't wait to show anyone interested at the party. 

They took it for a spin outside and then when it was time for everyone to leave instead of our usual selfie stick we used the drone it was pretty awesome.

I like to check in with Chris and Krissy quite a bit with everything going on with their fertility stuff just to see how their doing. Just thru that Krissy and I have found a pretty great friendship. Something this family I married into is lacking realizing how important it is to be part of each others daily lives. To truly have a relationship outside of just the couple of times we see each other a year we really need to make an effort, In Matt's family they seem to view success as how busy they are. When we get together I feel like we are on the clock and just going thru the motions. I found out during the party that the Brower girls have been planning a girls weekend away and have been including everyone but me and although my feeling were hurt momentarily I then realized that I probably wouldn't make the arrangements to go anyways. The older I have gotten I have realized that life is to short to do things you don't want to. I have moved past the point where I don't do things because I'm expected to but because I want to and I feel like it will help and up lift me then I don't do it. I prefer to spend my time with up lifting a positive people that take a true interest in my life and my families lives. With that being said I'm so blessed to have many of those people in my life.