Finally

Snuggling during one of
daddy's long shifts at work

I'm sitting here with one kid asleep and another playing with friends, windows open with the breeze blowing/birds chirping/neighbors mowing, and baby 3 punching me from within, thinking that it's about time I finally "journal" a little bit on our blog.  Because this is one of the moments when I can say I'm finally inside a happy moment that I have time to share about.  Most of my truly 100% happy moments are spent busy with others, but this one is just me :)  Well, I guess fetus and I are both here, but still.

They are so good together

Ballah

Working on my patience
when playing games
with Jackster

We moved home last month after 8 months of chaos, and even though the house is different, the real sense of "home" is here.  Even better yet - the house is way fancier than before, haha.  I'm still working on decorating, furnishing, etc., but hey, we're here and we're looking forward to staying here for a while!

Love my husband on our
hot Valentines date at IHOP
with the kids :)

As close to a belly pic
as I typically get 

Pretty much the only
decorations up in the house

The best part about life lately is that it's been able to slow down - sort of.  In some ways, it seems like it only speeds up, but there have been a lot of moments where we just get to "be"... and that's been awesome.  I'm sure I could have found more of those moments over the past year, but I think our experiences help us become more capable of lots of things.  In my case, I've been able to simmer down a bit.  I have a tendency to be super strict, rigid, a "doer", constantly working, etc.  I don't think those things are necessarily a bad thing, but lately I've kind of had to relax a bit, which has helped me try to become a little more easy going, soft (literally - I've gained 40+ pounds), fun, and maybe even a better mom? :)

Tired, sick boy watching "Babba"
(that's Yo Gabba Gabba
in Rhet language)

Zoo date with friends - 

love touching Mantarays!

Rhet and his BF, Navy 

Anyway, so there's my little journal entry for now.  We'll see if later when Rhet is vomiting (3rd stomach bug this month), Jack is bouncing off the walls (no more naps), Jayson's still at work (crappy night schedule the past 5 weeks), and my Dr. Pepper is gone (my unhealthiest addiction) if I'm still quite so positive, haha.  But for now, all is well.

Jack n Grandpa

Boys "helping" gma and gpa mow

Worn out

downer :)

You know the phrase "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all"?
Haha, that's why I don't blog very often :)

In all actuality, life is grand.  We are very blessed!  But, I'm a little bit of a downer and way too self-consumed lately and don't think the world needs to hear about that, so as soon as we get our camera back (still being fixed from the fire 6 months ago), I'll take pictures of my handsome boys, list my blessings, and as pinterest would say "stop being sad and start being awesome".

Haha.

Addict

I'm totally addicted to diet coke.

I've quit, restarted, quit, restarted, etc.

I come from a fam with a lot of addiction creeping around, so at this point I'm going to thank my lucky stars I've never touched more harmful substances.

And, until I get my house back, I'll probably keep drowning my sorrows in dc :)

Sorry if that makes me a downer, haha.

It's funny because I'm also addicted to exercise.

You'd think those two things wouldn't go together, right?

Well, that just shows how crazy I am.

So today while the boys were sleeping and I was craving my daily ration of dc, I made some lemonade and it's a-ight.  I guess.  I even put it in a fancy glass to try to talk me into loving it, what a weirdo.

I almost feel like I'm being unfaithful to my dc, isn't that weird?

Hopefully I'll skip it today, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one :)

What 3 things do you grab when your house is on fire?

Oddly enough, I know the answer to the question in the title of this post...

1. My kids
2. Nothing
3. Nothing

Guess what I've learned?  All that matters is people.  Doesn't matter if we burn our house down, lose our job, lose our identity, lose our home, lose an arm (did you see Soul Surfer? loved it.), etc.  With family/friends/church family/neighbors/loved ones/Heavenly Father, you can get through anything - at least that's what I believe.

I tried to get a pic of the boys and their new Goodwill spoils
and this was the best one!  Rhet didn't want to cooperate!

As a point of explanation, about 7 weeks ago I was busying myself at home with the kids, getting a TON of work done - I mean, my house was SPOTLESS (ha ha), when my laundry room caught fire.  We still don't know for sure the cause, but we're pretty sure that some flammable substance in the laundry room caught fire when the pilot light to the gas dryer or water heater turned on.  Then the fire got into the attic and pretty much trashed most all of our belongings.  Long story short, we now live in Pinal County close to Jayson's full time job, and are itching to get back to our downtown Mesa home.  We don't really care about losing things, we're just seriously so grateful that we're all safe and healthy... BUT it sure would be nice if we could feel at home again, I tell you what!

So anyway, we're extremely grateful for how blessed we are.  To feel the love of everyone around us (literally practically everyone I know who hears has tried to help me in one way or another) is completely overwhelming.  I tear up every time I think about it.  

The next 6 months or so will likely be a little challenging but you know what?  We have too much to be grateful for to feel sorry for ourselves!  Plus, what else did we have to do? :)  

Just before the fire, I was reading about the pride cycle in Jack's little Book of Mormon storybook (that makes me sound like a good mom but I swear I'm not... that was just one fleeting moment of clarity I had as a mom).  Later I talked to Jayson a little about why I think we had kind of a crazy life that kept us so busy.  I decided that if we weren't constantly working and trying to battle our way through so much silly stuff that we wouldn't learn how to work hard, and would consequently wind up a little lazy and probably a lot entitled.  In other words, I think it's a lot easier to be prideful.  Don't get me wrong, I have my days (most, in fact) when I am a little lazy, entitled, and prideful.  But that's why I need a little kick in the pants to bring me back down to earth to wake me up and help me remember that I've been given much.

Anyway, so I clearly needed a little kick in the pants, and here we are.  I'd like to think this will make me a better person, but so far I'm just mostly a little cranky!  But I'm working on it.  Life is beautiful, and I have been given so much.  And because I have been given much, I too must give.  So I desperately need a service project to be working on to keep from being selfish.  DOES ANYONE HAVE AN IDEA OF A SERVICE PROJECT THAT I CAN BE WORKING ON FROM TIME TO TIME, LATE AT NIGHT, ETC? I need to give, as I have been receiving so much lately.  I'm going to work on my personal goals of being a happy mom and wife, smiling at everyone I meet while out and about, and the like, but I'd love it if I could work on a project that will have a start and a finish. Does that make sense?

Hopefully someone has a good idea for me.  This hymn is what I'd like my new motto to sound like:

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

(And here's Carrie's wake up call...)

Then wake up and do something more
Than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure,
A blessing of duty and love.

There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, “Sometime I’ll try,”
But go and do something today.
’Tis noble of man to work and to give;
Love’s labor has merit alone.
Only he who does something helps others to live.
To God each good work will be known.

I had me an epiphany,

I've been doing this a lot lately.  I'll be pondering on life and realize something really big (ie my epiphanies), and I wonder how I've lived the last 26 years without that knowledge?  I know that God gives you what you need line upon line, but my overly impatient self doesn't like to wait.  I'm still working on the patience thing.  Big time.

But that wasn't the epiphany.  It happened as I was actually able to listen to some adults speak at church yesterday (usually I'm working with the children, which is what I love love love so much - I'm not being sarcastic, it really is my favorite thing - but it's still nice to see adults and hear big words and about older peoples experiences).  While I was listening, I got lost in my thoughts during one such adult's talk and got to thinking about my perspective on life.

I have a tendency to complain/be sad/gossip/not be 1,000% perfect/etc... Like, I do those things a lot.  Don't get me wrong, I also appreciate and love all the amazing goodness that my life has.  My kids are the best and they're the worst.  Marriage is amazing and it's also a buttload of work.  Working to try to make ends meet is crappy, but results in food on the table... yummy food.  Serving others can be so time-consuming at times, but brings so much more peace and happiness than not. 

Jack set up this photo shoot.  I hate pictures, but look how he had all his animals framing us, too funny.

I've been worried that I need to focus more on the positive, and then my personal epiphany came yesterday regarding this.  Yes, I need to count my blessings every single day and remember how much God has given me, BUT ignoring the not-so-fun stuff and pretending like it doesn't happen isn't a requirement, or even beneficial in my opinion.  Yes, forgiving and forgetting, moving on from trials, and all that jazz is vital to our happiness.  However, I know that the challenges we've had to conquer (or just survive) have blessed our lives long-term, and if I just pretended like hard stuff doesn't happen that I'd be discounting that.

So basically, I'm not going to feel quite so guilty about grabbing a diet coke after a long week and complaining about teething/never sleeping babies, state licensing tests, a pile of work to do for church, and the pile of dishes that smell so bad in the sink.  Life is kind of gross sometimes, and that's what makes the glorious times so much better.  So this is what's going to work for me for a while...

Calling all Losers!

Anyone need motivation to keep eating well and exercising?  Or (let's be honest) maybe even motivation to start?  Come on over to my house next Monday, May 2nd to weigh in and pay $5, then we'll weigh in again June 13th.  Winner takes all!  (Or maybe winner takes two-thirds and second winner takes the remainder, if that sounds better...)  I desperately want to feel good in my bathing suit this year, so let's do this.

I just finished a biggest loser challenge with a girlfriend and bunch of her friends and it was the best motivation for me!  I lost quite a bit during the 6 weeks, but since the final weigh in I've been less than perfect in my eating.  I still workout as much as I possibly can because I love it, but my healthy eating has gone out the window a bit (I'll have fruits and vegetables in one hand, then Reese's and Peeps in the other hand - not awesome, I know).

RULES: no unhealthy weight loss allowed!  No crazy HCG or XYZ diets, dehydration, fasting, barfing, etc. here!  I know some people are down with that, but I'm not one of them, sorry.  We're only promoting healthy exercise and nutrition please and long term, for reazy weight loss!!  

If you wanna join the fun, email, text, facebook, or comment me and we can figure out a time to get 'er done!   If you live far, far away and can't make it that day, let's chat and figure something out.  I'm excited, let's lost some lbs...

edit: here's some more details that i had posted on fb:

• I've had questions about our party, so here goes... We just weigh in the two times: at the beginning and end of the 6 weeks, unless you just wanna come visit me in between! Come weigh in anytime before 2 or 3 pm Monday. Weight will be kept confidential, but we'll announce percentage weight lost at the end, unless someone is super opposed to that.
• Oh yeah, if you don't want to do the money part but you still think it'd be fun to at least weigh in, feel free to come over. Of course you can't win the moolah, but it's still good motivation. Finally, if anyone wants to get together to workout from time to time, just say the word and we can party!

I Believe Stuff

I just wanted to heed the counsel of a favorite speaker of mine, and mention to anyone who may or may not glance at my blog, that I believe stuff.  In no particular order, here are a few of those things:

1. I believe in family.
2. I believe in taking care of our bodies.
3. I believe in hard work.
4. I believe in eating scrumptious food (see number 2, but also deserves its own number).
5. I believe in gratitude.
6. Most importantly, I believe this church to teach Jesus Christ's true gospel on the earth today.

Certainly isn't a comprehensive list, but it's a general idea of what I've been thinking about today.  Since it's nap time, I guess I'll go get me a workout in and think about God's plan for me!