{{{{{{Me Thinks...}}}}}}

{Thank you Holly for the design you are the best!!}
Yes as in pretty much next week!! We are thrilled beyond anything. We met with two amazing birth parents in our face to face who impressed us so much with their thought provoking questions and obvious great love for this beautiful baby boy, and the waiting to hear what was going to happen just about killed us.
I found this quote the other day and I love it because it is profoundly true:
"You cannot go through an adoption without realizing that Heavenly Father loves you and is aware of the tiniest details of your life.
There are no coincidences in adoption."

I have felt it each time, I know our prayers and pleadings, fasting had and have been heard. We feel very blessed to be able to have our children all through adoption and know the Lord's hand has been in each of our adoptions to be apart of our Eternal family.
We have awesome families who love each one of them like there is no difference, because there truly is no difference.
I am overwhelmed by the love all of our birth mothers/father have of these beautiful children they want the very best for them and we try our very hardest to give them the best we can. To teach them, love them and give them every opportunity there is for them and most of all to be sealed to our family forever and have a gospel filled, loving life.
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We found out this morning and told our kids they were so excited I should say the boys were , Lauren sobbed for an hour and half cause she wanted a sister. I felt so sad for her she fell asleep crying and when she woke up she was very happy to be a big sister
"even if it is a boy".
So if you have room for some extra prayers our way for the birth parents, baby and us that would be awesome! Just pray that all goes great and that he is a healthy baby!
Did I mention we are so excited to have another little boy in our home!!

Hope you all have a great week!!
{this is totally unrelated but funny!}

{ Why? & Thankful Thursday..}

Why do my pictures always look so blurry when I download them onto my blog even if you click on them they are clearer?

Why does waiting sometimes drive a person insane and its all you can think about?
patience maybe? dunno?
Why do kids who don't get enough sleep act like bears the whole next day??
Why can't people accept others for who they are instead of feeling like they aren't good enough to be around them?
Why do crows wake up so early in the morning and caa in your window at 4 am? or dive bomb you when your running? scary! {right there with you LB its happened to me too before.}
Why didn't they put air conditioning in this house when they built it?
Why are some people so dishonest and then sit in church like nothing is wrong?
Why did I cry when I read Kolt's report card ?
well I know the answer to that one he has had such an amazing year and i was just

so darn proud of him! Why is he growing up so fast? where did My baby go.
Why do some people assume the worse ? When you weren't even thinking what they think you were thinking? Make sense?
Why when you do the best you can it isn't good enough sometimes?
Why can we never find the other shoe in this house??
Why does the wind have to blow like a hurricane on an otherwise perfect day?
Why is no news good news?? ever thought of that? Doesn't apply all the time.

Why did I write this post??
BECAUSE

sometimes in life there are so many why's so many unanswered questions
so many things I want to know but haven't got a clue about ?
so many tests or trials that take patience, understanding, and hard work to get them or get through them.
Too much to think about sometimes.
There are so many people suffering in big ways, little ways and unseen ways and so many people who are angels who come right at the right time when you need them most. There are a few people in this life, in my life, that are constants who see a need and act on it.
i am so thankful for those people.
I am thankful for strength, health and happiness
I am thankful
for eyes that see
arms that fold
knees that bend
ears that hear
and prayers that are answered
not always the way we think or want
but the calmness, the tiny reassurance that all is well
To say one and feel that peace.
I am thankful for that feeling.
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I am thankful for QUOTES like this one

"Whatever lies behind us and whatever lies in front of us are but tiny matters in comparison to what lies within us."

I love quotes that make me think and makes me what to do better and be better.
we are powerful girls--
we have the power to change any situation that comes to us.
we have choices. we have feelings. we have strength we have determination.
sometimes its hard to dig it up and out, but its actually overwhelming to think what we really can do in any given situation. how we can change any situation
its all in how we take it, use it and apply it.
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So I guess some things aren't worth wondering why
they just are.
but it still doesn't help things
- does it.
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What do you wonder why??

Have a great weekend
Make it count.

Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we want them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come.

~Joseph F. Smith {thanks holly!}

{ Me thinks Monday..}

What a weekend the rain is following us everywhere we left for Utah on Thursday for my sil's wedding in SLC it was a beautiful day for her wedding. The rest of the days were spitting and down pouring so we were blessed for the day considering it snowed up here 2 weeks ago for her reception! The kids traveled great and grandpa came with us there and back so the kids loved that.
So we got in some shopping, a trip to cabala's, a long wedding day, family fun, trip to show the kids temple square and the conference center the kids loved it. Especially kolten he had a big smile on his face and said "the prophet comes here right mom"! And lauren was loving her cousins she was happy just to look and see. Masen wanted to go in the temple he kept looking way up and saying its big! It was cute! I love this shot I got of the temple its so pretty down there with all the rain they've had lately too everything is so so green usually this time of year things are looking pretty brown.

D and I loved taking the kids around and showing them I just love temple square. I love the feel of it, the history of it and the spirit of dedication it took to build it all to where it is today.
I love doing things together as a family we met up with D's brother and his wife and kids so it was nice to have somebody with us too.
It was a nice weekend.{ here are some sneak peeks from alleys wedding photographer}
and some of ours:: {some are kind of dark lightening wasn't the greatest but ...}

The conference centerChristus pictureI love these cute girls!!running on the roof of the conference center it is so beautiful up there~!squinter D The happy bride and groom coming out the doors!The family on "the" stairsMy favorite picture jumpin on the trampoline!! Alley is the funnest girl ever!!
We are excited for her and to have a new uncle/bil Brady!
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Me Thinks
thoughts...

I found this paragraph in
Sheri Dew's book::

If life were Easy, it Wouldn't be Hard.
I've used this before but I thought a lot about it this weekend

It says:

Why do we compete with each other? If we all had the capacity to work at our peak everyday to build the kingdom, which none of us have, there would still be more to do , more to accomplish, more to get done, more people to influence.

Why do we not therefore cheer for each other's gifts, contributions, and sincere efforts to make a difference in the world?

Why do we make comparisons that are never fair? Why do we have an insatiable urge to label and categorize everyone when no one can be defined by one dimensional category?
We are not supposed to be alike. We weren't given the same gifts. None of us were given all the gifts of God, we were each given at least one spiritual gift. And the reason seems obvious: The Lord needs a full spectrum of talent consecrated to His work. He also wants us to work together, rejoice in each other's strengths and together compensating for each other's weaknesses. That is why comparing, competing, and categorizing - traps we seem to fall into naturally and repeatedly- are deadly.

--

I guess I thought a lot about this, this weekend with endless billboards offering this or that and houses and people that have the bigger and better disease,

or how high up the mountain can we go?

It just got me thinking how so often its like we aren't good enough on our own who we are, who we were meant to be. Without all these added things that "supposedly" will make our lives better if we have them or do this or that.

I think we are who we are and the things we go through make us stronger and more understanding towards others if we use it in the right way we can enrich those around us with our attitudes, our empathy, and our life experience.

We have to think what we take with us when this life is done it has more to do with our family's, our relationship with others, how much we serve and make a difference in others lives.

I love this quote:

Serving others need not come from spectacular events. Often it is the simple daily act that gives comfort, uplifts, encourages, sustains, and brings a smile to others.

Just a thought.

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Have a great week....

{its kolt's last week of first grade wow!!!} time to work on the yard and landscaping and all that fun stuff, a nice family project though that we can all help with beats painting ha ha!}

{Thankful Thursday..}

...A little early since we are heading.... .. but I am so thankful for another week its been so nice weather wise, we got to the park, some bike rides, played on the trampoline, had a friend over for the kids which they loved, we went to grandmas for a bbq and enjoyed that, the kids had fun with their cousins and playing with g&g, and best of all its been a slower week as far as no soccer and baseball just had an ending party for Kolt. He has loved soccer but baseball not as much. He learned a ton this year so it was good for him.

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I'm thankful for moments like this....

This morning I got up early to go running/walking.
Kolt has wanted to go running with me forever so i thought maybe I'll see if he wants to go today so I got him up, and we went it was so fun just talking. He kept up pretty good he told me to slow down a couple of times and halfway through he sat down said he needed to catch his breath. So we walked slower and talked it was fun, at the end he had to go to the bathroom really bad.
So I said next time you need to go to the bathroom just before we leave eh!
He says "um mom there won't be a next time" ha ha!
I thought it was so funny.
I laughed... he said "thanks though it was fun walking with you." sweet kid!

But I enjoyed his company and listening to what he had to say he is such a good kid!

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Another story when we were at grandma's this week. We had the keys locked in the suburban and were waiting for the locksmith guy..anyway Masen went running full tilt towards those metal railings that are at about a toddlers height, he didn't see it or something and ran full into it, like it wasn't even there and landed flat on his back. I felt so bad for him and you know it hurt if he came running to me he's usually the toughest kid no matter what.
But it left a good bruise on his chin.
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I'm thankful for family we are all going to be together again this weekend. I'm excited to see D's little sister get married

she is so happy and ready here are a few pics of the reception and everything but the actual wedding from a couple of weeks ago.
Crazy only 2 more weddings for our families both our youngest brothers.
Weird to see everybody grow up sometimes but that is life fun times!

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I'm thankful for life. the ups and the downs. the many blessings we have been given. the strength and testimonies of others that helps me to be a better person, a better mother, a better wife. I'm thankful for the trials we've had to learn and grow from to help others or to go through things that might be hard at the time, but I look back on them and they make me and us who we are today.

Do you ever watch others go through things that you think you could never handle or do when sometimes we go through things to help others and learn greater lessons then we ever thought possible? And we see the blessings of service through others more in our lives when we or they needed it most.

I have friends who are going through some tough stuff right now that is really hard, so many health problems and it always makes me thankful for the blessings of the gospel and the peace and assurance that the Gospel brings into our lives.

Grateful for that.
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Have a great weekend !!

Make it count.

{Me thinks Monday..}

Saturday night we {fIvE} went here and did thisand this

{ I love the tenderness of this picture he's putting a flower in her hair incase you can't see the flower}some chatting.... a little of this then of course some of thissome of thisa little sling shooting or rock skipping {this picture makes me laugh cause I look like a psycho or a cupid shooting an arrow ha ha lol}always running full speed..


and ended with this...
me thinks....
perfect..peaceful..priceless..

family time... everybody needs it especially in this busy life we live

makes me want to move to the mountains all by ourselves sometimes

and live like hermits and protect them from everything bad..

live like the 1800's or something wouldn't that be fun {for awhile eh}

The kids love just

running

exploring

discovering

dreaming

and I love watching them ...

wondering what they will become

what choices they'll make

what they will be like

how they will grow

where we will be in 5 years 10 years...

wondering if they will be happy

make good choices

be examples to others

and live a life they will be proud and happy with.

To always have the zest for life and the gospel that they do now.

I love my children with all my heart

and can't imagine a day without them

we are so blessed

with good kids, fun kids and kids that bring us

joy.

We all know they have their days and so do we

none of us is perfect that's for sure,

but I'm learning each day that if we take what matters most

make a big deal out of that, I think all the little things fall into place.

Life is so short and we have very little time with our little kids to help them to grow up

healthy strong and independent and happy

in mind body and spirit

spiritually physically and mentally.

I have fears sometimes that I'm doing it all wrong and spend a lot of hours on my knees hoping and praying that our family can be strong and that it will always be a haven apart from the world and all that's in it. That there will always be love and Harmony in it.

What will our kids,{ families friends} remember the most?

What kind of example's are we setting?

What are we showing by our actions that are the most important things in our lives?

What do they hear us say about others? or how do we treat others?

Ever thought of that?

WHAT MATTERS MOST?

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While we try to teach our children all about life,Our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt

Have an awesome week!

Make it count.

{Thankful Thursday..}

I am thankful for

The year kolten has had in school

that he is an awesome reader and he loves it!

I'm thankful for friends and a GNO last night just what I needed
lots of laughing, talking and fun.
I'm thankful for a warm bed to sleep in each night and a warm husband and the sometimes long hours of just talking at night it's one of my favorite things....


I'm so thankful for a little girl who makes me laugh with things like
L: Mom your a natural...
me: at what??
L: at doing everything at the same time
Nice that she noticed cause doesn't it feel like we do some much all at once sometimes?

I'm grateful for the Gospel I know that so many have trials and hardships and go through things they never should have too, but there are so many with amazing faith and strength that it gives me strength just watching them I know a big part of that is the knowledge and testimony they have.
I'm thankful that Masen was good today for a meeting I had to go too. He really is getting big and I'm coming to the conclusion that he just is a thinker and a stinker sometimes and a doer he is very smart.
I'm thankful for family for the strength, love,
tears, and spiritual moments shared together.
There are bumps along the way but who do we have for eternity in this life
but those that are close to us, our families.
I'm thankful for the sun that makes things green and me brown or red lol I admit I love to sit out and read a good book, hear my kids laugh and watch them play and feel the warmth of the sun since it does come around very often lately we take what we can get .
I'm thankful for fun freebies
like this one if you like lists

I'm just thankful for life in general. Most of us don't have much to complain about when we look around at the major things some people have to go through.

I'm thankful SOCCER AND BASEBALL BALLET AND GYMNASTICS are all finished. I'm happy for all the kids learned and how much they enjoyed them but I am looking forward somewhat to not having to run here and there and everywhere for awhile it gets so so busy!!

I'm thankful for touching messages like this one that make me cry.
I've been thinking so much about this and trusting in the lord that he knows each of us and each of our timetables, I figure I don't know much about patience yet so I have to keep on waiting, praying and having faith like so many others.
_____________________

Life is a song ... sing it.

Life is a game ... play it.

Life is a challenge ... meet it.

Life is a dream ... realize it.

Life is a sacrifice ... offer it.

Life is love ... enjoy it.

~ Sai Baba ~

Have a great weekend!

{Me Thinks.....}

Okay blogger won't let me rearrange these pictures so annoying anyway they are all out of order but here are some of my favs of the weekend!

Click to enlarge thats the fun part for the kids pictures so funny!
D and alley

My handsome getting too old boy!!

Siblings and spouses minus 2

Lauren and aunt alley

Mase and aunt alley

The brothers minus uncle Ryan who is on a mission

The sisters

Love this one cause we are all laughing about something...

Ever try organizing 19 grandkids all under 12? minus the criers we got a few shots? here is the result we had a great photographer who did a great job! Can't wait to see her pics!

Our fam check out masen and whatever kolten is doing!

The whole fam minus 2 spouses

The cousins

love this picture!

The bride and groom

The decor

Check out her amazing guest book beautiful!!

.....Time is flying what a crazy busy weekend we had besides the snow on Saturday morning is it June or March?? not sure looking at the weather?? Frost warnings the past couple of nights and jackets again. Seriously only here can you have a sunburn and frostbite all within the same week!!
So a few of the things we been up too:}
Thursday was soccer and hot! And I ,Christal let masen play in a mud puddle yes I did. For 40 minutes he was happy and muddy but guess what he didn't even try to go on the road!!! I was proud of myself for letting him get dirty and not care. He had so much fun! Some moms walked by and looked at him like where is his mother or who's kid is playing in the mud I took his good shirt off and let him roll!!!

We had baseball {I can't wait till both soccer and baseball are done!!}
Friday I had to have some Laser surgery on my feet {excruciating pain I was like a 5 year old screaming and smelling burning flesh just about made me puke so not fun!!!!}

My poor feet so I limped around all weekend.
K's Sports day was at the same time I was so sad to miss it but I've had the appointment for a long time and had to take it.
after that I helped with the sports day lunch {for PTA duties! }
Friday night we Set up for D's sister Allison's reception and decorations for the "pre wedding" meaning everything but the actual wedding --that will be in two weeks in Utah!
Had the temple,dinners, pictures, reception and lots of family fun all day saturday
and on sunday Masen fell asleep for all three hours of church pretty much he had NEVER done that since he was a tiny baby of course but both he and Lauren fell asleep TIRED kids that is for sure!!
Got to see my cute little nephew Spencer he is adorable.
It was a fun weekend but tiring.

Before the big day my kids clean up good eh! He is just getting so big!!

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ME THINKS

Random thoughts this week...

Love this quote from our bulletin again coming up with some great quotes lately

its so for us now...

" We live in a world that is filled with options. If we are not careful, we will find every minute jammed with social events, classes, exercise time, book clubs, scrapbooking, church callings, music, sports, the Internet, and our favorite TV shows....Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together."

-M Russell Ballard

I love this quote because we do get so so busy doing everything else sometimes we don't slow down to laugh, listen and play. I for one probably need to spend less time on here and more time doing the others I try to do it when they are napping or at night. But I'm Working on it!

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Thinking about NUMBER 4

Do you ever wonder if you were done having kids why you would keep thinking about it and wanting more wouldn't you feel like you were done if you were done?

Hard when you have no control over it eh?

Does that make sense?

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Kindergarten

Say you had a little princess who was just turning 5

2 weeks before the kindergarten deadline would you

a) put her in kindergarten like normal and onto grade one when its time or...

b) put her in kindergarten for two years

{so she isn't the very youngest in her grade. Here's my thinking of when she is old enough to date or drive either before everyone or pretty much a year after every one else }

She is a smart girl learns just fine but her attention span is that of a four year old gets distracted easily all that but I know as she gets older it just gets easier with development..

We are trying to figure out what to do??

Any thoughts? What have you done with Kutoff kids? were you the oldest or youngest of your grade??

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Have a great week ....

HAPPINESS IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION

{so true eh are we happy? or do we spend our time wishing we were?

what are we doing now to be happy now?}