Nudged.

I will skip the routine of stating it's been a long time since my last post, since there is no getting around it's been a long time! Our family is nesting nicely in the state of Kansas. You can't get away from moves when you are part of the corporate shuffle. My husband works tirelessly to meet the needs of our single income family so we kind of just go with the flow when the job changes. Anyway, back to the blog - I love this blog. It has so many memories in it I just can't stay away. Blogging was such a big part of my life, it's time to give this old blog some love!

I will be honest and say that I did not plan on coming back here at this time; I wasn't so much forced, as nudged gently by an assignment in my BYU-I religion class. Which means, yes I am back in school after...well, many years. There were several choices I could do for my project, but this one seemed like it was the best one. That's how I was forced, but not really, more nudged, to come back!  My project will last up to eight hours and my assignment is to be more guided. It's an eternal families class which means lots of gooey thoughts and feelings towards family. I really love this idea and am happy to be able to share about my favorite thing in the whole world - eternal families!

So why Kansas? Mr. C, that's my awesome husband and best friend going on almost 23 years; was out of work for longer than we would have liked. Yet right at the last minute, before our financial situation was to go in to death con mode, he was offered a job. We didn't want to just jump on any chance to finally be free of that jobless worry! So we prayed about it, and we knew without a doubt, that Heavenly Father needed us here in Kansas!

That's it for now folks! I am a succor for A's in my new returning to school adventure, so I will be back. I've got more to write and an A to put on my report card. Plus, I've got to get used to writing with only one space after each period. I definately don't want to seem "old" or "dated"!

Until next time, Michelle :)

 I cringe at how many days have gone by since my last post.  I have had many thoughts about wanting to shut down my blog, yet when I go to do it - I can't.  Today, I realized that maybe it's because I need to keep writing, to keep talking about life and motherhood with those people that want to listen and share with me.  Being a mom is hard, it's not easy.  Whether you are a working mom, single mom, or a stay at home mom, it's hard.  I find it incredibly inspiring to share in my journey into motherhood with other mothers.  It's a beautiful thing to be a mom.  

My children are varying ages with so many different problems and places that they struggle.  To stretch myself in so many different areas, has made me work really hard to be their for them when they need me.  When I was a little girl, I remember my mom was physically always their when I got home.  She tried to be their for me, to talk to me, yet I know that she struggled just to get out of bed and be happy. I wish I could have helped her find herself, find how grateful I was that she was at least their.  Maybe if she had a bigger support group to help her, maybe then, she would have found her smile more often.  I cry just thinking about her and how lonely she must have been in her struggles.

I am thankful that there is my Heavenly Father who loves me, who reminds me of the woman I can be.  To know that he has given me specific gifts, and has specific things he wants me to do here on earth brings me great purpose.  I know I am a Daugther of God, who loves me!  Remembering this is a daily challenge we all face.  It's a good thing to share about motherhood - good things are meant to be shared!  

sis and bro on the slide!

Until next time....!!

Brown Paper Packages.

Love Basket

My favorite things are wrapped in the Fall season.  Not only do I get to celebrate Mr. C's birthday and my beauties birthday; I get to spend day after day viewing the beauty of the changing New England leaves. I will post this years fall photos in an upcoming post!

This year I decided I would let go of traditional wrapping paper for birthdays and come up with a more economical option.  I found within my craft supplies brown shipping paper and I knew instantly that this was it!  I picked up another roll at Walmart for under $5 (and still have most of the roll left).  

I wrapped each small gift in the brown paper, drew a heart, and wrote about the things that we love about them.  I am calling it The Birthday Love Basket.  It's almost as if Julie Andrews herself is singing the song My favorite things including the part where she belts out brown paper packages tied up with string these are a few of my favorite things!   

Mr. C's cherry pie and birthday love basket.

The beauties turned 11 this year!  I started this blog in 2007 when the girls were five and now they are full fledged 11 year old girls.  Here is a link to their fifth birthday HERE.  It's completely throwing me off thinking that I have had this blog this long.  I enjoyed scaling back this year on wrapping paper, balloons, and decorations and trying my hand at a few handmade decorations.  The brown paper garland was fun to make!

Cici and Nini's brown paper garland.

Then I used the brown paper and made little paper sentiments to them; taping them around the room.  Mr. C picked them up from school and took them to the batting cages.  Then they picked up Chinese food and came home.  This is when I surprised them with their love baskets, store bought cake ( much better than I could  make!), and decorations.  I barely had enough time to put it together and was throwing away the scraps just as they walked in the door!

paper sentiments

There has been a lot of joy and appreciation this year for the opportunities we have to be together.  I can say without a doubt that we have been blessed during this time of upheaval.  We have found a renewed sense of family and togetherness that maybe we weren't paying attention to before Mr. C's job relocation.  We are lucky to have him home for the next three weekends! The in between parts will be filled with Halloween costumes, school, activities, and there is even a girls night in the works for this girl!

The beauties and Mr. C on their 11th birthday!

One last peek!

Thank you for sticking with a happy heart blog!

l.o.v.e.