WEDDING!!!!!

I know you have been waiting!!!  So have I!!!  Here are some of my favorites!!

 All of us!!

 Our family with Colt's family!!  Nicest people you will ever meet!

 Beautiful cake!

 Yummy food!

 Sisters!

 Sisters!

 Sisters!

 She caught the bouquet!!

 We love you Samantha!!

 In my head saying, "Don't cry, don't cry!"

 Her wonderful grandparents!

 Always in my heart.

 Little stud!

 Love her expression!

 Tanner hanging with Jazz!

 Daddy/daughter dance

 Longest walk of his life......

 ....to the new man in her life.

 Always dancing!

And they are off!!!!

I Can Only Imagine.....

Yesterday as I was driving the kiddos to school, my favorite song was playing on the radio.  It's called "I Can Only Imagine", by MercyMe.  I can't hear that song without tears streaming down my face.  My kids questioned why I had tears and I asked them to listen to the words and then tell me what they will do when they see His face.  Here's the lyrics:

I can only imagine


What it will be like

When I walk

By your side


I can only imagine

What my eyes will see

When your face

Is before me

I can only imagine


[Chorus:]

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel

Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still

Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all

I can only imagine


I can only imagine

When that day comes

And I find myself

Standing in the Son


I can only imagine

When all I will do

Is forever

Forever worship You

I can only imagine


[Chorus]


I can only imagine [x2]


I can only imagine

When all I will do

Is forever, forever worship you


A month or so ago, I went to the Doctor for a minor procedure.  It turned into a major, life changing event!  They thought I might have Ovarian Cancer.  They took blood and ran tests and in the end, they gave me a clean bill of health.  But while waiting a week for my test results to come back, I had plenty of time to evaluate my life and my relationships with my family and my Father in Heaven.  It was the most emotional week I have ever lived through.  Knowing that death is a side effect of cancer didn't help my emotional state.  I made many, many changes in my diet.  I hugged my kids a little harder and a little longer.  I broke out in tears at the slightest thing. 

What I learned is that I don't ever want to take my life for granted.  I don't ever want my kids to question whether or not their monther loved them.  I don't ever want life's simple pleasures to pass me by.  I want to fully live my life in such a way that those who know me, know I love my Father in Heaven and that I 'get' his call to serve others.  I used to long for the day when our children were raised and Scott and I could serve a mission in some third world country.  I dreamed of visiting children in orphanages  and holding them and singing songs to them, letting them know that someone loves them and cares about them.  I wanted to be able to take away their pain, if even for a few hours.

I still have that dream.  But now I dream of doing all of that for the children in my home and in my community.  You may wonder where my brain was.....wasn't I doing that already?  I was, but it felt more mechanical.  Now I get it.  I really do.  Being a mother to 10 amazing, challenging, loud, adorable, stinky, sweet children is a blessing that I thank my Father in Heaven for, not just daily but several times a day.

So, what will you do when you see His face?  To my knees will I fall.

Question Of The Century.....

Last night I was putting 3 little girl's to bed.  We sang songs, we said our prayers and then I tucked them all in their beds.  As I got to Savannah's bed, she threw her arms around my neck and whispered softly in my ear, "Mama, who made Heavenly Father?"

I remember being about her age and wondering the same thing!!  If He is our Father, who is His Father?  I used to wrack my little pea-brain about it, sometimes thinking that I must know the answer if I could just remember.  Finally at some point I realized that there are questions we have while we are here on earth that we will never know the answers to....and that's ok!

So last night I looked at Savannah and said, "You know Sweet Pea, I have wondered that question my whole life and I still don't know the answer.  But someday we will."

I love that my children think about things like that.  I love that she whispered it so quietly to me.

So Much To Share!!!

So much to share from the past month, I'm not really sure where to start!

We have been blessed with an wonderful opportunity!  In October, we will be moving to Idaho to an amazing home!  And the best part is, we will be taking both sets of grandparents with us!!  My parents will live in the walk out basement where there is a separate 2 bedroom apartment.  Scott's mom will live upstairs, on the main floor.  The home has 10 bedrooms and is 7000 square feet.  There are four stories to get lost live in and it sits on over 3 acres.  There is even a creek in the back of the property!!!  But it's the huge wrap around porch that sucked me in!  I love porches!!  I love to sit on them in any season!  Whether it's the hot summer evenings or wrapped in a blanket in the winter, good conversations happen on a porch!

I can't even begin to tell you just how excited we are for this adventure!!  Having grandparents that close is a dream come true!!  Years ago, it was so common for families to live like this, in fact many cultures still do!  It's a win/win for everyone!!

So much to do, so many boxes to pack!!  But it's ok, I'm kind of an expert by now!  Hahaha.

Tender Mercies

There are times in my life when I am stopped and reminded of the tender mercies my Father in Heaven gives me.  Ten minutes ago was one of those times. 

I had a full schedule this morning, lots to do and places to go.  I was headed out the door to Costco when the phone rang.  It was someone from church.  I don't really know her, she is an older lady but I have heard her name before.  She was calling to let me know about something and when she was done, she went on to tell me how much she loves our family.  She shared something that she saw a couple of weeks ago at church.  It was on a Sunday that I was at home sick.  Scott had taken all the children to church.  At one point during the meeting, he had to take a child out to the foyer to help them quiet down.  When he came back in and sat down, she said "one of our little brown girls leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder".  She said she began to sob as she witnessed the pure love of a father and a daughter, not connected from birth but joined by love to make a family.  She said as she sat there with tears running down her cheeks, she wished that was her. 

She had always wanted to adopt African-American children but back in the early 70's, it was not allowed.  She was a foster mother and had two little brown baby boys at different times.  She begged the state of California to let her adopt them but they wouldn't let her.  One of the little boys came to her when he was 8 months old.  He had already been through 5 placements.  He would cry and cry and all she could do was hold him.  Finally one day, she was exhausted and put him in his crib, came out of his room, shut the door and leaned against the wall.  In tears, she prayed for help in knowing how to help this sweet baby.  Her answer came, she opened the door to his room and in a cheerful voice said, "Scotty, do you want to come with Mommy?".  She said he stopped crying, looked at her and she never had any problems with him again.  She said she never realized just how young a child could understand what was going on.  That sweet baby needed to feel loved.  She had been trying to keep her distance and not get attached since she knew she couldn't keep him but the second she called herself, "mommy" and allowed herself to love him, he became a new baby.

She was crying as she shared both of these stories with me and of course, I could hardly talk through my tears.  She asked a few questions about our children and shared some other thoughts and then we hung up.

I did not make it to Costco today but my heart was full as I thanked my Heavenly Father for angels on earth that remind me of my blessings when I may be too busy to remember them myself.

It's A Beautiful Thing!

Today for my lunch, I made a 'green' smoothie.  I had a little extra, so I thought I would make it into a Popsicle and see who would be brave enough to eat it!  Savannah was the one!!  She loved it!!!

Every morning we all drink a 'green shake' that's made with cucumbers, avocados, limes and spinach.  The kids all love it and drink it down without any hesitation.  I thought I would step it up and make a really green shake for me for lunch......wow, it was GREEN!!!

I used 2 limes, a cucumber, avocado, one gigantic Collard Green leaf (they are huge!  I had no idea!) and about 4 Kale leaves (which are surprisingly large as well!).

I still need to figure out that mixture because I couldn't get it to go smooth, no matter how long I ran it in my Vita-Mix.  It had a very green smell but thankfully the limes did their job!  The hard part was it was like drinking oatmeal!  A little chunky......