{ Good bye Summer.... Me thinks}

Well it wasn't quite all the summer we planned .....things got neglected around the house, our summer projects put on hold, with D being called to be the bishop and long long days for me with D trying to get things juggled between work, home and church.....it caused a lot of adjustments to our life, its been hard some days.... but we got away and spent time together and it was fun.  Now I think we are hopefully ready for some routine and settling in....Summer is fading away its already cooler in the mornings and my garden is done except for the tomatoes and carrots.....

......to the start of the 2013-2014 school year!! 

We officially have a preschooler...2nd...4th...and 6th..graders in the house this year wow I think I must be getting old:(  

{I know that some of you follow me on instagram and facebook you've seen some of these but my own mother has neither so she loves to read and see them on here too:) so deal ha ha:)

---------------------------------------------------

So we already started Football ....look at my baby:( finally his uniform fits him and not the other way around)....and wearing contacts for the first time...can we just bottle the innocent, kind, loving boy he is who loves his mom;) and skip ahead to mission age please .....so not looking forward to the years in between in this crazy world but one day at a time we'll get there:) right:) Lots of fun new exciting milestones coming up this year too:))))

 ....and scenes like these when we go to tuck our kids into bed give me hope and nothing makes my heart happier then my kids reading their scriptures learning for themselves, marking them and loving them!! This may be my favorite picture of the year that I've taken:)

 and so continuing on in the exciting life of us;)....

We've been to the eye Dr and found out ALL of our kids will be wearing glasses AHHHH! Thank goodness for good coverage!! So K2 gets glasses this week and M will get them before the year is over..I think the Dr felt sorry for me and M was worse then the last time and on the line to wait so we are waiting for a bit..but seriously could there be a cuter glasses wearing 4 year old:) But seriously who said he could grow up!! :(

Next we finished swim lessons for the three younger ones and they all passed this year and did AWESOME!! YEA!!!!

We had our annual Back to school night complete with fashion show and dad time:) um yes M thinks he's the coolest kid on the planet and loves to dance and move;)

 

 they may be a little excited for school too ;) 

 j/k but I like this picture of my crazy boys!

 love these kids..

.....and today for the holiday we went on our labor day hike with the kids usually we do bears hump but decided on Bertha lake hike in Waterton:)

and with that 

GOOD-BYE SUMMER..... 

its been great:) and here's to another school year lots of lessons, back to routine schedules and life as we now know it:) Life is good. 

{so my iphone broke again after a week of getting a replacement got the white screen of death out of now where!!! Its amazing how many things we do with our phones isn't it I really miss it!! Do you know long it took me to get pictures on here i mean I had to download then send them then .....ha ha easy life we live isn't it!!}

-------------------------------------------------

ME THINKS

I Love this recent article by Richie Norton .....I got to hear him speak at Time out for Women this year and loved his words.... he is right on....

 full article here  

All of us need to cultivate our marriages and if not that .....our relationships to those that matter most...

#11. Lighten up, laugh it off, and live it up.

Life’s too short not to.

#10. Slow down, relax and take vacations…lots of them.

Long vacations are awesome. Short ones are too. Schedule time to take breaks. Take a weekend off, a day off, an hour off and just hang out together. Take time off alone, together, whatever, whenever. You need both alone time and together time. Whatever you do, take time to rejuvenate your soul. Spending time just doing nothing together has done a world of good for our marriage. Few things could be more important (and rewarding) to your relationship.

#9. Be here, not there.

When you’re talking to your spouse, be present…don’t let your mind be off in another world. This one’s hard for me because my mind is always racing from one idea to another. Sometimes I get so caught up in my thoughts that I actually don’t hear people talking to me. True story. That said, I’ve asked Natalie to help me out when she notices that I can’t hear her or I don’t appear to be fully listening by using my name. From there, I do my best to focus on her and only her. I’m nowhere close to good at this, but when I refrain from thinking of what I’m going to say next and simply listen, our conversations seem to be way more productive.

#8. Express deep gratitude.

Don’t let a day go by without expressing sincere gratitude for the little things (and big things) your spouse does.

#7. Don’t be right.

How many fights start and end with whose right, when in the end, being right only pulls you apart and leaves you alone with your rightness? Does anyone really win in that situation? Next time you’re caught up in the “I’m right, you’re wrong” trap, remember the words of Rob Base & D.J. E-Z Rock, “It takes two to make a thing go right.”

#6. Give each other courage.

I’m scared of a lot of things. I’m not talking about the dark. I’m talking about art. Creating. Business. Family. Getting out of my comfort zone. Being human. I need Natalie to give me courage. No man is an island and boy do I know it. Nat encourages me and helps me move from one stage of life to the next. We all need a boost. There should be no one better than you to give a boost to your spouse and vice versa.

#5. Confide in each other.

Don’t keep secrets from your spouse. Share secrets with each other. Be best friends. The key word here is trust. If your friends and coworkers know secrets about you that your spouse doesn’t know about, you’re on a slippery slope.

#4. Challenge yourself.

Everyday has the possibility of being the best day of your life. Everyday has the possibility of being better than the next. Gently challenge yourself to be a little better. Don’t nag your spouse or be self-righteous in your efforts. Don’t point out your spouse’s flaws. Simply be a little better spouse yourself. Look for specific ways you can improve your relationship and watch the magic happen.

#3. Celebrate with each other.

Why wait to celebrate? Celebrate the small wins, the big wins and everything in between. Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!

#2. Forgive each other.

Probably the single best advice any couple could receive.

#1. Experience life TOGETHER.

The key takeaway from the last 11 years is this: We experience life TOGETHER. We celebrate successes TOGETHER. We suffer losses TOGETHER. We share our dreams TOGETHER. I don’t mean we are always physically together, what I mean is that we don’t lead separate (or secret) lives with separate dreams and separate goals. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have different lives, dreams and goals. It means that we share in one another’s lives, dreams and goals.

They say that an airplane is off course 90% of the time. I have no idea if that is true or not, but the principle is that when a plane is off course, the pilots realign to get back on course. In a happy marriage, the husband and wife are co-pilots on this big airplane called Life; realign your lives together so you arrive at the same daily destination: happiness.

--------------------------------------------------

The small things matter. 

And maybe that will be my motto for this school year: 

Not only in my marriage..... but with my kids

Really Listen more.

Take time for each one.

pay attention.

know who their friends are.

sense when they need to talk.

praise more.

hug them more.

forgive, but teach.

celebrate every milestone.

make them feel important.

pay attention.

The small things matter.

 

So here's to a new school year and a great week ahead:)

 

Make it a good one:)