{ My life.}

thank you pinterest for the image

"Not everyone will understand your journey, thats fine. Its not their journey to make sense of. 

It's YOURS."
I'm thankful for my journey, my life, my story, my husband, our kids, our families, my faith, and the good that surrounds if we take the time to see it...

Thankful. Grateful. Blessed. 

{I'm a little late on the Thanksgiving post but oh well:)

Football is winding down but I love the dedication and drive it gives K he's had another great season not so much for winning but for learning sportsmanship, hard work, and trying again....

 Family B Thanksgiving Cafe Rio style:) One of the Three:)

 {A little Skeet and a big gun:)

One cute Cookie Baking sidekick:)

Making these ..Recipe here

I did mine a little different and added pumpkin puree in place of the butter shortening and I used the chips wrapped in the middle then rolled them in pumpkin spice cinnamon and sugar the kids loved them so they must have been good;)

 

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Lesson I'm Learning

No matter what you do you can't please everyone

No matter how hard you try someone will find fault in it keep going

Kids do grow up and do learn the things we teach sometimes it just clicks I feel like M had a big week this last week hoping it lasts;)

 

 Everything takes time.

Life is hard sometimes.

Good thing I don't like the geo and aztec trend ...saving money;)

Can't do leggings either feels like I'm missing my skirt or pants maybe cause when I was younger thats actually what you wore them with ha ha {my friends look super cute in theirs though:) just can't do it....

I apologize to anyone who has the misconception that my life is perfect... being that I'm almost forty in the not to far distance 

-I have learned a lot of life lessons along the way

been through some heartbreaking trials that have made me who I am today and made D and I who we are today

we've lived in some interesting places

worked hard for everything we have and hold close to us

struggled through 5 years without kids in the beginning

{going on 17 infertility years}

years of applications, money and forms to get our babies here

then to be sued over and over for one of them... not easy

7 years through university and no money  

{but no debt either thanks to a very smart man:) and his hard working wife;)

 and so I feel blessed to be where I am at this point in my life

 because of every trial, every struggle, every life lesson

taught me a few things along the way

I know

WE are all in difference stages of life

and we all take different things in different way that happen to us

thats what makes us all DIFFERENT

....  I feel like life is what we make it ...

we've all been through something, are going through something and will continue to have trials, struggles and life lessons year after year

we've all had childhoods.... good or bad..... that make up part of what and who we are....

but we can change we can be better and more than what happens to us

"Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by how we react to what happens; not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. 

It is a catalyst…a spark that creates extraordinary results."

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"We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is that we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace."  

-Sister Marjorie Hinckley

and really what it all comes down to is doing our best whatever our best may be for us:)

Have a Fabulous October week ....

{Life Lessons.}

Yes, I'm still here.  Busy with Real life. 

 

Its funny because there aren't a lot of people blogging anymore these days unless they have high profile, money making kind of blogs. 

Which I clearly do not have ha ha...... 

But I still do it because I need it and I enjoy it.

Its kind of a thought release otherwise who would I talk to about this crazy world or my crazy thoughts swirling around:) 

 I do it as a journal of sorts, I do it for my children's birth families 

I do it for me

I do it for my children

Life is good. Life is also what we make it..... I could whine and complain most days about whatever but I'm learning it doesn't help much

Make it a better place starting with your ATTITUDE:)  

My attitude makes all the difference on our day:)

Life Lesson: We set the tone for the day. something I'm constantly learning and working on it.

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Small Life Lessons.

My mom had her 62nd birthday Monday we took her to dinner and out bowling .....time means more than a few words on a card.

You create tradition by repeatably doing the same things something as little as a kiss on the forehead each night tucking my kids in .....didn't realize how much it meant to them something so little is really a big thing.  To them now and in the long run. 

Take the time

Sit a minute read to them those few minutes make all the difference.

Small life lessons things we do everyday.

Life Lessons.

In my own backyard.

You know sometimes I have weird thoughts 

for instance this last week my neighbors got beautiful new sod put in their back yard. 

See I can see into their entire back yard from my bathroom window ...

Let me tell you a little bit about this beautiful yard...

This summer they built an amazing fire pit, a deck with a walk around paths by the shed,  lush tall raspberry bushes, and beautiful fruit, veggie and flower garden boxes that line the fence and flourished this summer. 

It really is amazing.Well cared for by hard working people.

Yet as I looked at the other side of the fence....our side.... all I saw were the measly two low garden boxes, the weeds in the back corner, the trees with their sad black fungus disease, the badly needed trim job, the garbage thrown at backsides.

And I thought how beautiful their yard was and how peaceful and manicured it looked, one they worked very hard for.

I realized this morning that I was kinda in a way coveting their backyard because it looks so much nicer than mine.

But my next thought was how we have to CULTIVATE what we have in our own back yards. D and I have worked hard to build our own beautiful deck its amazing D worked really hard on every bit of it. 

We built our own fire pit the kids helped build it we've used it and we love it, he built a play place for the kids and we have a fun, big backyard. But from my window I can't see that the vast big part of our backyard

I only saw the weeds, the rot and the garbage.

But I can change that.... I can change my view just like our comparing attitudes..... by doing what I can to improve my own view not so it looks better than my neighbors, but because it hasn't been cultivated as well as it normally has been .....it got run down a little..a little sad looking and it frustrated me.

Like our yards and homes we have to keep doing those things that strengthen, build and cultivate what we have, in our own reach, within our own backyards because if we don't.... the little things take over and the little things become the big things.

I found myself getting frustrated a little this summer because my husband found himself without any spare time for the things that needed his attention and they got neglected..but I could have done better at helping to do those things too.

So what I'm saying is that we can't worry about what our neighbors backyard looks like or what they are doing. We need to make ours what it should be. We need to not judge covet or envy others and what they do. WE need to build what we've built up, cultivate it and strengthen it and help each other just like as with our homes, minds and spirits because if we don't...... the doubts, weeds and fears set in and take over.

So worry about your own backyard.
Do the things you can.
Stop Comparing.
Stop Judging.
Look inside see what needs fixing within your own boundaries.
Fix it.

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Life Lessons.

We got our new pictures back and I love them.

I feel so blessed to have a family, to be a forever family to have the children I do. To be a Mother.

 I do pictures every year as you know and to some maybe they seems like so many but I never want to miss all these steps or how fast they grow up, or there little personalities or how much they change in a year...or every memory attached to them.  I don't want to regret not having pictures later in life  If nothing else because I'm grateful, and feel so blessed to be a mother and to be a family and call these miracles my forevers:) 

 Kinsey Holt Photography Thank you SO much!

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I didn’t give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn’t give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
Unknown

Together with this man there have been many life lessons we learned together....nobody better to share it with them him

and because of him and all we've been though together we get to share our lives as a family chosen and miraculously put in the same paths as these four ...and there are no greater blessings in life then my family, my faith, and my forevers.

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Life Lessons.

Life is Short. 

Life will never be perfect. Make the best of it.

Life isn't fair. Thats Life.

Life is 100% how you make it 

"Thoughts lead to act, Acts lead to habits, Habits lead to character, and our character will determine our eternal destiny." 

Choose wisely its so important.

"In the sight of the Lord it is not so much what we have done or where we have been, but where we are willing to go." -Elder Edward Dube

Love that.

Have a great week. 

What's an important life lesson your learning?

{Thankful}

...Thankful For every sunrise I saw this summer and fall its getting cold now like leave me with the chills all day kind of cold but I've loved it all getting out....Thankful I can.

Thankful for this great man and everything that is happening so fast in the world it will be sooner than later that he comes again...

 Thankful for the peace and renewal this place brings.....

source pinterest:)

Thankful for this coming weekend its one of my two favorite weekends of the year.... 

Wonder what its all about...... watch it here....
 

Thankful for this man he had a birthday this week we are getting old but thats life and life is good....I am SO thankful for him for his example.

Thankful for Articles like this one....Full Article here

The biggest disappointments in our lives are often the result of misplaced expectations.  This is especially true when it comes to our relationships and interactions with others.

Tempering your expectations of other people will greatly reduce unnecessary frustration and suffering, in both your life and theirs, and help you refocus on the things that truly matter.

Which means it’s time to…

1.  Stop expecting them to agree with you.

You deserve to be happy.  You deserve to live a life you are excited about.  Don’t let the opinions of others make you forget that.  You are not in this world to live up to the expectations of others, nor should you feel that others are here to live up to yours.  In fact, the more you approve of your own decisions in life, the less approval you need from everyone else.

You have to dare to be yourself, and follow you own intuition, however frightening or strange that may feel or prove to be.  Don’t compare yourself to others.  Don’t get discouraged by their progress or success.  Follow your own path and stay true to your own purpose.  Success is ultimately about spending your life happily in your own way.

2.  Stop expecting them to respect you more than you respect yourself.

True strength is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.  It’s about having faith and trust in who you are, and a willingness to act upon it........ 

3.  Stop expecting (and needing) them to like you.

You might feel unwanted and unworthy to one person, but you are priceless to another.  Don’t ever forget your worth.  Spend time with those who value you.  No matter how good you are to people, there will always be one negative person who criticizes you.  Smile, ignore them, and carry on.....

4.  Stop expecting them to fit your idea of who they are.

Loving and respecting others means allowing them to be themselves.  When you stop expecting people to be a certain way, you can begin to appreciate THEM.

Pay close attention, and respect people for who they are and not for who you want them to be.  We don’t know most people half as well as we believe we do; and truly knowing someone is a big part of what makes them wonderful.....  

5.  Stop expecting them to know what you’re thinking.

People can’t read minds.  They will never know how you feel unless you tell them..... 

6.  Stop expecting them to suddenly change.

If there’s a specific behavior someone you care about has that you’re hoping disappears over time, it probably won’t.  If you really need them to change something, be honest and put all the cards on the table so this person knows how you feel and what you need them to do.

For the most part though, you can’t change people and you shouldn’t try.  Either you accept who they are or you choose to live without them......  

7.  Stop expecting them to be “OK.”

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle, just like you.  Every smile or sign of strength hides an inner struggle every bit as complex and extraordinary as your own.

Remember that embracing your light doesn’t mean ignoring your dark.  We are measured by our ability to overcome adversities and insecurities, not avoid them.  Supporting, sharing and making contributions to other people is one of life’s greatest rewards.  This happens naturally if we allow it, because we all share very similar dreams, needs and struggles.  Once we accept this, the world then is a place where we can look someone else in the eye and say, “I’m lost and struggling at the moment,” and they can nod and say, “Me too,” and that’s OK.  Because not being “OK” all the time, is perfectly OK.

Afterthoughts

remember, the magnitude of your happiness will be directly proportional to your thoughts and how you choose to think about things......... 

Goes for so many situations in life...love it!

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Thankful for my children for the joy they bring into our home everyday there is mostly joy mixed with all the other:) but I choose JOY because thinking of our lives and their little lives without all of us together is hard to imagine....

Thankful for their little growing testimonies that teach me

thankful for their hugs

Their simple food requests ....
makes me feel like a good mom to fill that request

Thankful for the good night stories..... the kisses...... and the questions

Thankful for their proud mom moments 

when they finally get what we've been talking about 

Thankful for the the little notes and pictures

and tiny prayers and good days.

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SO thankful for each one of them.

Excited for an updated look to my blog soon
with new family pictures soon:)
and more regular posts
{wishful thinking maybe but hoping:)
Need some change around here its coming:)

Stay Tuned:)

 

Tell me your favorite FALL thing to do:)

or a fall recipe you love or just what your most thankful for:)

and have the BEST weekend yet:)