{This and That & July 1st Weekend}

Happy July 1st Weekend

Seriously our town knows how to celebrate it

it swells to probably 3 times its size
AND
Its that time of Year again

kids come home

reunions happen

parades fireworks ball games

parades and bbq's 

and the Stampede

This town pretty much bleeds red and white all year;)

Free Printable:) Chevron of course;) Found HERE

• Never think your life is stale or you want a change sometimes confusion means a big change... you may not be ready for...... last Tuesday night Darren was called to be the Bishop of our ward...... a very humbling, overwhelming calling nice to live worthy of all callings ..........but for sure nothing you wish for........and He will be amazing it will be a good change for our ward and I'm excited for the new bishopric and the things they will accomplish together in the next five years.... Still a little shocked over it and trying to get used to our new normal. Sunday he was set apart along with his councilors and some of our family were able to come nice to have support and love of family and friends nice to feel the faith in my good husband that he can and will do his very best and he will.... 

• It also means I will be released soon as the primary president I have learned SO much in this calling and love working with the children especially my own, I've had amazing councilors and enjoyed getting to know them and love them so its bittersweet I guess all things come to an end and I suppose my focus is my family especially with D being even more busy my kids need us.. So big changes happening here.

• The kids finished their 2012-2013 school year Finished GRADES 1/3/5 CRAZY how fast it went by!! {M is holding the wrong grade sign not sure how I made that mistake! I still need to redo them:)
•  The day they were done school we had a neighborhood Welcome to Summer party when they got off the bus it was So fun.... the kids loved it!
  
• The last day of orientation this week we had a {un}birthday party for little Miss L who will be turning 9 I can't believe that wow!! So since we are always at the lake on her real birthday in august ....we decided a party as soon as school got out would be fun for her and she did have a lot of fun.... we went to the pool swimming and came home ate and did presents simple easy and she loved it!!
  
   
• Alberta has had the worst flooding in its history.... Not even 2 hours away its crazy..... crazy the force water damage can do in minutes, hours,days and the people are digging out so much devastation check out this video it pretty accurately portrays the devastation found here 

• Half of the day I don't know what direction my kids are in, the other half of the day they are fighting ahhh!! Heaven help us all!! Thankfully we do have so fun  planned along the way...

• So thats the craziness around here this past week only about to get crazier I'm sure! Thanks life:)

• So if your in Town Saturday June 29th come to the Craft Show 9-1 at the seniors center and come buy me out please I made tons and need people to come:) Spread the word:)

• Some awesomeness early in the morning this isn't even edited..... quiet, beautiful, still and perfect......home.

“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” ~Wayne Dyer

Have a beautiful weekend:)

{Tuesday 10...}

1. We all need a little peace. However we can get it;) So many fast paced crazy things happening all around us, some life changing some in our own families..... sometimes the quiet moments where our minds aren't running in fast forward are the very best fleeting moments of peace. A prayer, a deep breath, an early morning sun where ever it might be.

2. Feeling exactly like this article here in the last few days of school:)

3.K2 & I have a head cold and I have swollen ankles/water retention the past 4 days along with it any correlation?? weird and annoying:/

4.I have a great husband never mind that he's a great dad to my lucky kids or a great boss and husband and friend.... but he can whip things up like this in 3 hours from store to hot dog roast:) LOVE IT. LOVE HIM. Love all the memories this will provide love how much the kids loved it too. I loved listening to them talk and laugh and have so much fun. Thats what life is all about making great memories :)

oh and he built me this deck flower box the same afternoon:) love it and the flower inside it;)

 

5.Fathers Day was great love this picture. Pretty Accurate;) Pretty Blessed. Happy Fathers Day to my father, my Father in law and each of my children's birth fathers where ever they may be. We all somehow by miracle came together to form this eternal family what a blessing to me everyday that thought is.

6. For our Primary kids we did these for the kids to give to their dads this and a questionnaire we helped them fill out.... fast and easy :) link here to the printable... thank goodness for free printables:) So nice...

7. I love instagram {in case you couldn't tell yet ha ha} . I Love the randomness of it. I love playing around with easy edits and then the rare shot like these that make me stop and wonder where the the time has gone.... 

BECAUSE

This little boy will be 4 in 2 weeks

8. This weeks favorite QUOTE is this one 

[The institutions of marriage and the family] must be fortified and preserved. They must be morally and spiritually sound. No nation can rise above its homes. The good home is the rock foundation—the cornerstone of civilization... [especially] in building character. There can be no satisfactory substitute for the home... [which] must be safeguarded, strengthened, and restored to its rightful importance.” –Ezra T. Benson

9. The kids have 3 days left of this school year which is totally crazy they have all had a good learning year new life lessons and learning to read write and do math etc. Proud of each one of them they are all such good kids and work hard insane to think they will be in grades Pre/2/4/6 Wow......

10. Weird to be out of the baby stage and into this next stage wondering if its forever or whats next and probably that feeling will never go away....Guess thats Life right....Enjoy it all:)

Change is inevitable and thats just what life is:)

Have a great Week:)

 

{Feeling Overwhelmed yet??}

Its almost SUMMER almost we have a week and a half left of school 

2 more days of soccer, 

fathers day 

craft show

Canada Day

Kids marathon 

room mom duties

school parties 

end of 1/3/5th grades wow!

swim days, 

basketball

 birthday parties 

stake activity 

father and sons

primary duties

appointments 

dentist

and

THEN we can think about summer:) 

So I survive and get my

 my peace early in the morning and plan my day to views like these: 

 

I spend the majority of my days with this cute, happy, thoughtful, caring, perceptive big boy:) I am going to miss him SO much when he goes into school in the fall he's our baby:(

 

....my weekends watching this boy they won their second tournament for U11 this past weekend..... first place they played their hearts out and won! Loved watching K learn, practice and develop skills and determination he and his whole team did awesome!

 

.....  its a long road ahead .......every single day and every step along the way is so, so important it may be overwhelming at times but its so so worth it!!

and every game and every year that goes by thats another year gone!

Crazy...how big they are getting....look at this huge kid!!!

..... this pictures a little blurry but love the action of it!

and of course Miss L but she doesn't like my camera when it comes out she runs away but I'll catch her:)

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I Love this article and thought I would share I needed it today

"Feeling Overwhelmed"

An article by "Dear Jane"

"One of the things that makes motherhood so overwhelming is that it never stops. It keeps coming at us day and night. We wake up to the same routines, sometimes having had only a few hours of sleep. Often, we heap on that-- financial worries, an argument with a husband, feelings of isolation or troubles with extended family. We may find ourselves feeling not just overwhelmed but disillusioned with the choice we’ve made and, worse, disappointed with ourselves because we aren’t better at it.

These feelings, when you give in to them, are actually the greatest threat to your success. I repeat, it’s those feelings that are the greatest threat—much more than your actual circumstances. They halt you in your tracks. You want and need to be propelled forward! Here are my suggestions.

Do something about it.  Step back from your overwhelming situation and ask, “What is it that’s getting me down?” Is it the clutter, the disobedience, the lack of support, my appearance, the dirty kitchen floor? List everything that’s bothering you and then change things.  

You are creating a little world here. 

You can improve relationships, plan a weekly night out, organize a play group, clear out clutter, rearrange the bedrooms, put flowers on the table.

Somewhere along the line, I made the discovery that what I didn’t do actually overwhelmed me more than what I did. Walking by that weed-filled flower bed twice a day was so much more overwhelming than just going out there and weeding it. It took 20 minutes. It felt good. I felt better. It usually led to sweeping the sidewalk and washing the front door. If your overwhelmed feeling revolves around loneliness, find a walking partner--just 20 minutes in the evening does wonders, start a book club or have an honest discussion with your husband that lays out concretely what you need and what might help. "I need to go out with you every week." "I'd like some time to myself for a couple of hours on Saturday afternoons." I've learned that most husbands aren't good at guessing but they're willing to support us when we're clear about our needs.

Here are a couple of practical habits I adopted at some point, that changed everything for me:

*Do something toward dinner in the morning. Just decide what you’re having and thaw the chicken or start the salad. There is nothing worse than 4:00, tired kids, husband coming home and no plans for dinner. You’ll feel better all day if dinner is in the works.


*Whenever possible, Don’t wake up to yesterday. When the kids are finally in bed, do a quick pick up of the house, make sure the kitchen table is empty, and start the dishwasher. I know….you’re too tired for that. But just do it anyway. You’ll get your second wind and it will feel good to do something that will not be undone while you’re doing it. You’ll be able to start the day fresh. Maybe your husband will help you and you can watch a movie afterwards (while you fall asleep.)

*If at all possible, get up a half an hour before the kids do. Have a good prayer, make your bed, get dressed, start breakfast. Just plan that you'll rest in the afternoon but there's no substitute for productive mornings.

One final and perhaps the most important thought is this: 

Never lose the vision of what you’re really doing.  

It’s big. 

There are no shortcuts to the family you want. 

It’s going to take all you’ve got. 

But the whole process is a good one and the whole outcome is amazing. Keep before you, the vision of what you want your home to be today and what you want the final outcome to be. Then keep reaching for it. As the days go by, you'll have more and more satisfying moments. Home really can be a heaven on earth. Pray aways and be believing.

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Good thing I got this guy to help me through it:)

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love this quote:

"People will hate you, rate you, shake you and break you. But how strong you stand is what makes you."

SO take a deep breath, a new step and 

keep going 

and have a great week:) 

 

{Thoughts.}

1. I Can't even believe there is only 2 1/2 weeks left of school. insane. summer is already filling up. can't wait.

2. I'm Kind of tired of the chevron. sheer. mint. coral  over saturated market. I'm done.

3. I predict an anchor. bird.. arrow.... fad coming. cute. new. just saying:)

4. Determination. Motivation. Inspiration = Results and hard work.
  5. I got to feel like Oprah this week and pick up a mini van and surprise a deserving women with it on her birthday. seriously. the best feeling ever. {It was a gift from a friend and her sisters to their mother but they live far away so I got to help out with the surprise.} IT was So fun. Honestly I wish I had lots of money to do it all the time with random things it would be so fun:) The surprise, shock and excitement and tears just does something to a person. Both of them.

6. Yes, I like to take sky pictures. This one reminded me that sometimes we head right into the storm but its how we come out of in the end that matters. {or you never know whats around the corner:) hold on.

7. I really love our neighborhood I love that we all watch out for each others kids, have someone to boost a dead battery in a second or help with anything, borrow a missing ingredient at any given day, take turns driving kids to sports or whatever, and knowing that no matter where they are they are being watched over. It's a nice feeling.

8. "When you learn to accept instead of expect. You'll have fewer DISAPPOINTMENTS."

9.  Yum. I love summer. smoothies.salads. bbq. Found here:0



10. my summer crazies already:) love em:) So M!! I love watching them play nicely together these kids mean everything to me....and they are growing up SO fast I know I always say that but its crazy how fast time is flying!!!

 11. love this stuff. my favorite is this color peach kiss.


 12. These are so cute. if I wore flats.

























13. Any good book suggestions?? Or summer fun ideas??

14 Can't believe K2 will be 4 in a month!!!! 

15 Sometimes I realize how weird and quirky I am......... like I've never cooked with oil or fried anything in the 16 years I've been married I HATE the smell of oil frying makes me sick!!!
I could probably do a whole post on what makes me;) But really we all have our own quirks its what makes us who we are!

16. Okay I'm done my randomness:) Have a GREAT week:)