Blooming

I decided to put one of Dave's old torn shirts to good use. I used a cookie cutter and traced flowers on it then after cutting them out used a lighter to burn the edges then...folded them and used my handy dandy needle and thread to sew them together...I think I will make a few more and use them for a cute headband....or maybe spice up the collar of one of my shirts....Fun eh!

Geek Chic Homemaker

I have been trying to spend more time with Dave in his research lab. Lately he has been craming for the MCAT and has been so busy working on getting some research published along with his regular school projects and work. This man is Superman I swear. We've been having lots of meals in his lab and listening to pandora while he works and I read. I have really been enjoying our time together there. Here are some fun things I have found this week that I am excited to try.

First.... some Gel Electrophoresis cookies...they look just like what Dave does in the lab.

So cute huh? Her baking ideas are GENIUS!!!

Second...my boss recently had me take DNA swabs of the kids last night so that he can get THIS....

Your probably wondering what This is...Well my boss is having canvas art made of his and his children's decoded DNA. We had a FHE lesson on how unique they are and that no one has the same DNA they do. Everyone has a unique "You" code. I asked them what makes something expensive/valueble...they answered how rare it is. Then I told them there is only one of YOU so that makes you priceless. Then we took their DNA swabs to mail in. It was such a fun lesson and I am so excited to get the canvases back to hang up for them. One day I would like to do this for Dave and I and kids too. Check it out....www.dna11.com. (little pricey but only because not very many people make DNA art yet. I asked Dave to see if maybe he could figure out a way to decode our DNA in his lab for me to make a print to frame. we shall see.)

So Geek Chic!

Get a Grip

"I used to have a handle on life....but the handle broke off a few days ago"

hehe...Just a little quote that I saw while I was out and about yesterday that basically describes how Dave and I have been feeling these days along with why I haven't been blogging!

TWIHARD 2

Dave and I watched this last night....I'm so excited and can't wait for June 30th to be here allready. Dave, although in denial, is duely just as excited to see Jacob's shirt off again. He is definately team jacob!!! lol

The newest addition

Here is our newest neice. Claire! Isn't she a doll. I can't wait to hold her.

She will be closest in age to our children, since she is the last to be born on Dave's side. I am determined to have a girl first so that they can be best of friends.

Sending you hugs and kisses.

Love, Uncle Dave and Aunt Megan

Ciao Bella Photography

I'm feeling inspired today by a friends photo blog.

Check it out...here.

I love her ability to make simple things so visually intriguing.

You can even buy her prints...here...

She also takes portraits, I have been begging Dave to get pictures takin' of us, but we just have no time until after the Mcat.

check her portaits out here

I think I want to buy a print for my birthday gift to myself...but I'm having a hard time deciding.

I just love her pictures! Makes me way too anxious for us to buy a sweet camera... but I need to do some research first.

Any advice on what kind of camera and lens to get???

FREEDOM!!!!!!!!!!

OKay..I woke up this morning and all I could think about is that Dave takes his MCAT in only a month and a half!!!!!! I am so nervous for him, but so excited for the studying madness to be over. We have so many plans for this summer, I am convinced it is going to be EPIC!

Here is our "Dave is free let's party and do everything" list for the summer.

0. Apply To Medschool....WOO HOO it's finally here.!!

1. Hit all of the sweet UTah Camping spots.

1.5. Find all of the great hikes we keep hearing about in UTah...and hike them ;)

2. Read all of the books we have listed, but have no time to read.

3. Tour de Utah Temples.

4. Refinish furniture to sell...or keep for our next place.

5. GET PREGNANT ;) I'm looking forward to this one the most.

6. Road trip to Cor De Lane with friends. This is where we took our honeymoon and love going back.

7. Dave wants to get his research papers published/ I want to finish the few children's books I have been working on and check out getting them published.

8. Go back to Holt Farm and play in the fields...ride some tractors...not get tetnus!! lol

9. Go to Lagoon...neither of us have been.

10. Do a sprint Triathalon together in St. George.

11. I'm running the Utah Valley Half Marathon....my goal is to complete it lol

12. Go shooting at least two dozen times

12.5. Festival of Colors

13. Go to California....my home sweet home!!! ride bikes to and around SF. Take Dave to all of the amazing resturaunts that I miss. Visit with family and friends.

14. Go to all the weddings....my sister's and 2 cousins....I'm sure there will be more to come...

15. Go to see the new Twilight at midnight.....yes I plan on bringing Dave...and although he would never admit it...he loves Jacob and his hot bod. lol jk.

16. Go tandum bike riding up Bridal Veil Falls....we are really curious how far up the path goes...and picnic at the end.

17. Invest

18. Did I mention GET PREGNANT!!

So keep Dave in your Prayers...May 1st will be here before we know it and he will be taking his test. And then it's party time!!!! So if anyone has fun ideas and wants to join in on enjoying "Summer Dave" with me just let us know....although I am tempted to keep him all to myself. And thank you everyone for helping me stay so positive and giving me oppertunities to serve and reminding me that there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are so very blessed and I'll never forget it!!!

WOO HOO. I'm so excited.

Holt Farm

Dave and I took a trip down to Southern Utah last weekend to stay with his Grandma Stratton in Cedar City while Dave presented some research st SUU at the annual Undergraduate Research convention for Utah. Because Dave is so busy with school, work and studying for the MCAT non-stop, it was so great to just pack up and head out with no worries for a few days. We daydreamed the whole drive down about our future family, future house, future dream cars....it was really fun. Saturday we dorve to Pearl Junction where his family owns an alfalfa farm. It's about 300 acres of alfalfa and a few thousand for the cattle. Daves family would drive there every summer and stay for a week or two so Dave has a lot of fond memories there. Grandpa Holt gave a 49 dodge truck to Dave which we hope to restore one day! One day....

Dave took lots of pictures of his truck so that he can start getting appraisels or parts that he might need one day. While he was poking around he got a teenie tiny cut on his finger. On our way back to Provo he kept commenting on how his finger really itched....then it began to swell. We made it home safe and went to bed....the next morning Dave had swollen up at all of his joints (elbows, wrists, ankles, knees, fingers etc.) and was itchy and red. It was hard for him to walk and not be in pain. We googled what it could be and figured he must have an allergic reaction or a bacterial infection from the cut so we picked up the benedryl and hydrocordizone cream....but nothing worked. We decided it would be best if we went to Urgent care...They took a few tests but couldn't conclude what it was so gave him medicine for both Tetnus and an allergic reaction. He's back to normal now, took him a few days. Thank goodness, Dave was so calm but I definately was not so well at hiding my worries for him. I new Dave was accident prone when I met him and now that we're married I'm glad I get to take care of him, sometimes I want to wrap him in bubble wrap and give him a helmet to wear at all times though.

This one is a doozy!

(finishing my first 5k in Martinez with my mom)

So as of now I am officially feeling like the laziest girl in my entire family. My mother is constantly running races and riding her bike or hiking. My sister Janae just finished a half marathon and Ashley has ran in numerous races as well. Myself.....I've done two 5ks. Both which I didn't really train for but did for fun. My mom and I were talking on the phone the other day and I was telling her how I feel like I need to train and run for something so I can stop feeling like the fat lazy girl in the bunch. And so.....we came to the conclusion to run the Provo Caynon half marathon. THAT'S 13.1 MILES! holy moly. I don't know if I am physically capable of this but I sure am going to try.

How am I going to make it.....baby steps. I woke up today and ran 2 miles. That is 2 miles more than I have ran all month. Tomorrow I plan to run three.

I'm making this post so you can all hold me accountable. Don't let me quite on my goal.

Also if you have any training tips or good songs for my ipod please comment them.

.BABY STEPS.

making it work

With the MCAT just around the corner Dave's free time seems to be all consumed with studying and projects. I just keep needing to remind myself that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. MAY 1st, then we will be free to spend time together, free to talk to eachother freely without interuppting studying, free to do fun things on the weekend, instead of studying. Last night Dave seemed pretty worn out from his repeating daily schedule of just constantly studying so I woke up and pressed snooze for him, gave him a 5 minute back scratch and then made bacon and eggs for breakfast. I know there isn't much I can do to lighten his load but I am trying to give him a daily doze of joy to help lift his spirits. Any ideas of sweet somethings are welcome.

Girls Just want to Have Fun

My wonderful cousin Heather (on the right) arranged for all of the girls in the area in our family to get together for lunch at Zupas the other day to celebrate and catch up. It was so fun just so sit down, us girls, and have Ashley and Caitlyn show off their new engagement rings and share their stories. Then Aunt Jeralee, being the thoughtful and creative girl that she is suprised us with Valentine Cookies from Dear Lizzie's, which is a cute boutique I have yet to step into in Alpine. Then 15 minutes later Heather, being the thoughtful, creative/homemaker that she is whipped out homemade sugar cookies for each of us. Can't wait to do it again next month.....I feel the need to bring something delicious to whip out then...so I will be plotting.

I'm greatful to have such awsome ladies to call family!

Peer Pressure

The little girls I nanny are pressuring me to have a baby....keep in mind they are five and seven. ;) They are always asking me what I'll name HER...(apparently they only want a girl baby), and they ask me how big my belly will get and how much longer I am going to wait. The other night after dinner I had a short talk with the girls about why a woman's body changes so much when they are "growing a baby". They giggled, told me that I should have a baby allready and then dissapeared into the laundry room while I did the dishes. a few minutes past and I began to hear giggles getting louder and louder...so I finished up and then went to investigate.

I then opened the door to find THIS....

BaHahahaha

They then proceeded to waddle around the house with their hands on their lower backs pretending to be a prego Megan until bed time.

I love my job!

I just hope they don't make fun of me when I actually do balloon up to grow a baby.

Dancing through Life

I came across this video this morning while goofing around online. Little did I know I would end up in tears. Blame it on the birth control.

Make sure and have the volume on first.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I felt so inspired by this video and had a rush of thoughts and emotions while watching it. Yes we are all so different but we all have the ability to find Joy and we should all be doing it together. One person's decision to be happy can have a huge effect! Sometimes I feel like I shy away from people that are a little different from myself, I am challenging myself to embrace them a little more from now on. I'm also challenging Dave to dance with me like this tonight after work.....because that would bring me joy.

I think this might be my favorite Utube video of all time.....what's yours?

My Valentine

Valentines Day is next week. A day I look forward to all year in hopes that Dave with do something outlandishly romantic for me..... Dave is not a particularly sentimental person. He would much rather show me he loves me by how hard he works and small acts of kindness like doing the dishes for me when I'm exausted or making dinner.....which I know he likes to do just because he's better than me at it ;). But when it comes to holidays like Valentines Day I don't think he likes going BIG! It's just another day to show me he loves me. This year we decided we would definately be going to Tucanos, our favorite Brazillian resturaunt that is too expensive to ever go unless there is a fine occasion. When I called to make the reservations today they said they are having a Valentines special where they will cover our table with a cute cloth and a candle, include chocolate covered strawberries and roses. I was delighted to hear this and decided I am not going to nag Dave one bit for the next week or say one word about Valentines Day... but will secretly plan my outlandish act of love alone to suprise him. My ultimate plan is to spoil him rotten with love and food! Every Valentines Day I will get more and more outragous and then one year he will top it....I can wait for that year! And just incase I come off as ungreatful for Dave and his subtle acts of love I want to set the record straight that I would take a whole year of knowing I am loved every single day than one Valentine's Day with a big hoopla. I'm lucky that we get to have both.

Anyhoo...I am just really excited for next weekend and hope you are all thinking of something special to do as well.

Love is In The Air...

My older sister Ashley just got engaged to such a great guy.....who we've known for years. Dave an I could not be more excited to have her settle down and become and old married couple with us haha. Now the question is....who will have the first baby??

The second slice of greatest news that comes from this...I'M GOING BACK TO THE BAY AREA FOR A WEEK while all of these shinanigans go down. I can't wait. The wedding is May 1st...the same day Dave is taking his MCAT...at first we were really bummed he wouldn't be coming to /cali for the wedding, but we have discovered it's actually a great thing. I won't be around to bother him for a whole week...he can really study and focus before he takes the test. (a lot is riding on what kind of score he gets). Dont worry we are taking a road trip to Cor De Lane after his MCAT with friends ( we can't get enough of Cor De Lane)...so he won't miss out on all of the fun.

The third slice of greatest news that comes from this....MY MOTHER WILL BE IN THE TEMPLE WITH US....unfortunately when Dave and I were sealed my mother wasn't able to attend...it was hard and I prayed a lot for her during that time. When the thought occured to me that all of my siblings and my mother would be in the sealing room together for Ashley's wedding, tears came to my eyes. My testimony of the temple has really strengthened over this past year...and with it I have learned that whenever Dave and I decide to go, something always comes up that you just have to push through until you walk through those wonderful temple doors....but I could write a whole other blog about that.

Ashley we love you! Enjoy engaged life, but married life is bliss!

1 year of Joy

Today Dave and I are headed out to Lehi to celebrate our niece Kamryn's frist birthday.

I love her with all my heart and the thought that we will be moving from Utah for med school makes me so sad...she won't remember us hanging out with her for her first year and a half of life. She is the only niece or nephew I have been fortunate to live close enough to, to be there at their birth and watch them grow.

She is a beautiful little baby and I know she is going to be an amazing young lady when she grows up. But for now sweet baby....stay little as long as you can. I won't be able to pick you up much longer because you are a BIG bundle of joy. I hope our babies are as beautiful inside and out as our nieces and nephews are. We love you Kamryn.

Happy Birthday!

Yes this is actually her in the picture...isn't she just a doll!!! I just want to squeeze her.

The Little Things

If you know Dave and I you probably know we are easily

amused. One of our favorite things is going to feed the ducks at the BYU duck pond. This never gets old. I love listening to Dave giggle at all of the silly ducks. Like the one with the duck fro, or the cute blind one that kept running into his shoe to try and find the crumb (sad but what a cutie), or the ones that chase each other and slide on the ice. He has a laugh that just makes me melt. This time when we went it was lightly snowing and the pond was half frozen over. I don't think they had been fed in awhile because they would walk right up to our shoes or jump up in the air to eat the bread out of our hands. (I tried to post a video of it but my mac is wack...anyone have any tips on how to make it work?) Out of all the places I will miss in Utah when we leave this is definately one of them. Our goal is to have a pond on our property one day and have a few little duckies to call our own. Pretty silly but somehow I find it dreamy and romantic when Dave talks about it.

I love the little things in life.

Snow Day

My first sledding train....best idea EVER!

Dave and I went on a ward trip sledding in Elkridge on Martin Luther King Day.

It was so much fun. I felt like a little girl again screaming with the wind in my face and snow flying everywhere as we flew down the large hill on our saucers.

Dave definately couldn't resist nailing me with a few snowballs when I wasn't looking.

But don't worry....I got him back good! ( One straight shot to the back of the head.) It sounds harsh but Dave has no mercy therefore neither do I. We are so loving aren't we. ;) It was really nice to spend a carefree day with Dave and friends. After sledding we hung out at the bishop's house where his wife had chilli, hot chocolate and doughnuts.

This semester will be a tough one because Dave is starting his MCAT course on top of all his schooling and work. It makes me appreciate time we have together so much more. I don't know how he does it, but I hope he knows how much I love him and appreciate his hard work and devotion.

Can't wait for the next snow day!

I love being an Aunt

I am lucky to be an aunt to over almost 20 beautiful, adorable, hilarious, sometimes chunky and always lovable sweet kids. I wish I lived near them all, which would garauntee that a smile would never leave my face. They do things like give me kisses on my cheeks, hold my hands, play with my hair, give me back massages and say the darndest things that make me laugh and cry. I feel so very blessed to be a part of their lives and have them be a part of mine. My only concern is that my kids will never be as cute as all of these ones have turned out to be. I am grateful that my children will have such good friends and great examples and wonderful babysitters.

So here they are.....can't wait to see them all again!! I love you all!!!

I melt everytime I look at these photos......http://chad-kimberly.blogspot.com/

It's officiLLY FEELING LIKE CHRSTMAS.......I haven't had much of any time to blog lately, with finals and work and all the daydreaming going on of being in St. Luois on Sunday. Yes I am petrified of flying...last time I cried the whole way (pathetic ...yes, but true). This year we have a layover in Denver so I am twice as scared, because I've heard horror stories of tubulance and flights being delayed there. Please pray for beautiful weather saturday for me and my flight.

MERRY CHRSITMAS EVERYONE !!!!!

IN and OUT

Dave and I went to the grand opening of the Provo, Utah In and Out!!! We are BIG fans. Soon to be FAT fans. I grew up on it and I took Dave every time he was in California...even right before our wedding day, which was our last visit! And yep folks...it's just as good in Utah as it is in Cali. I'm a little worried about Dave though. He loved it so much we went back the next day and had dinner there AGAIN with our friends the MAthews, who were first timers. I have a feeling we might be eating here quite often for the next little while.

So bring on the pounds!! It is worth it...these burgers are just too good!

The line has been wrapped around the building for the past week and the drive through line goes around the whole shopping center....it's inSANE!

Maybe we'll see you there next time...

TWIHARDS

I had such a fun girls night last night....We went to the midnight showing of New Moon and we'll admit we loved every minute of it. We got there at 9p.m. to stake out a spot in line....it was insane how many people were there camped out all ready. Luckily there was a girl we knew who let us wait with her...so we were one of the first ones in. New Moon was so much better than Twilight. I loved Twilight but you have to admit it's was pretty bad at moments...cheesy and bad acting lol....but I still love it. This one though......sooo good!

I think it's funny all of our eyes are red in this photo....we all agree we are team Jacob after his transformation...so silly. I'm glad we weren't the only ones laughing in the theatre.

Here we are in line FREEeeeezing out in the cold. Even though we didn't get home until 4a.m. I couldn't sleep after all of the excitement and my adrenaline must still be pumping because I made it to my 7a.m. class on time and am about to go to work from noon to eight.

I totally want to go see it again soon....with Dave this time...He totally admits he wants to see it.

Why do we love the Twilight Saga so much...I will never know!!

Apparently Eclipse comes out this summer....we are definately going at midnight again then.

WOO HOO!

The first song on my playlist is from the movie.

inspiration room 2

Also in love with this room from countryliving.com

one day......

inspiration room

I am a little in love with this room from countryliving.com

The chandelier against the rustic brick wall is A-mazing!

I love everything about this room!

One day........

BFF

Jaimee is my cousin born two weeks before me and we have been great friends our whole lives.

We sang the NAtional Anthem at our high school graduation together...

We told each other everything....

We held each others hands through our courtships and marriages...

I think we were destined to be such good friends that Heavenly Father made us cousins.

We lived next door to each other all through elementary school.

Even though we live in different states now, when she comes to visit it's like no time has past at all.

I think our favorite thing to do together was probably watch movies and just lay around and laugh...which was always a good time.

I miss her dearly and am excited she is moving to California so I can see her when I fly home.

Yesterday I got to see her for a few hours...and it was an adventure as always.

My car wouldn't start when the time came to take her to the shuttle at the Marriot Center....so we decided to bond and walk it...luggage and all, even though we had options for people to come pick her up and dirve her. We laughed and Heaved the whole way..it took us about 20-25 minutes. Oh the memories...

November 2009

Megan + Jaimee = Best Friends for life!!!

But a Moment in Time

This is a picture from Summer 2004.....the most carefree summer of my life and the summer Dave and I fell in LOVE!

I just had to get on and blog about life....Dave's stress factor with school has recently gone WAAAaaaayyyy down. HE has no tests or projects until finals and I love it. We have been spending more time together on a daily basis. Last night we watched cash cab ( one of our favorite shows) and snuggled on the couch, then made the goal to go running together at 6am but decided to sleep instead when 6am rolled around....which was even better ;) Today I'm bringing him JDawgs on campus for lunch. LAst weekend he made roasted pumpkin seeds and I made cookies...we bonded in the kitchen! Thursday we are actually going to the TEMPLE TOGETHER!!! I am so so so excited! These might seem like small silly things but Dave and I somehow are always extremely busy and sometimes don't get a chance to do even the smallest things together......it's moments like these that make me realize we are going to make it through med school just fine. Stress comes and goes in life and as long as you stick it out, support eachother and take time to really BE TOGETHER with your loved ones when time presents itself we can be happy.... We're pretty happy these days!!!

Back on Nanny Duty

Well I took a few days off work to lay like broccolli in bed because I was sick and today was my first day back....I wasn't sure if I was quite up for it because I still felt awful and sound like a frog....which the kids constantly told me over and over again.

Tonight the kids school held a fund raiser at Orem's CLASSIC SKATE roller rink so I took all of the kids there with their scooters. I love that they let kids bring scooters there. The DJ was playing such good music and the girls just couldn't stop coming over to me and showing off their best dance moves. I was laughing so hard that it made me forget how awful I was feeling (I've been sick for a few days and this was my first day back to work) So I requested "Thriller" by MJ when they weren't looking, which has been their favorite song since Halloween when they were introduced....When it came on they went balistic and got out of the rink as soon as they could to come dance. They showed me all of the Thriller moves I taught them in the kitchen Halloween weekend x10. Goodtimes.....when we got home Sam (the eldest boy) was a ninja till lights out, which included hiding my keys sneakily so I couldn't go home.

They recently figured out that by hiding my keys...I stay longer. MAkes me feel loved but I need to start remembering to hide my keys so they can't find them and hide them.

It was a wacky night....but as I sit here now with my roll of toilet paper in hand and a row of pills to take to make me feel better...I'm laughing and smiling to myself.

I love being a nanny.....

Well folks most of you know that Dave has been planning on going to medical school for quite some time now....but the reality of going there is getting closer and closer. We found a medium sized box on our door step last week that weighed about 100lbs...I couldn't imagine what the heck it was. Turns out....it was Dave's prep books for the MCAT. He starts his course in January at Kaplan and takes his actual MCAT test on MAy 1st. I can't believe it's so close! so we will be saving every penny and I will be throwing myself into my 15 credits and work next semester so Dave has plenty of time to study for it.

I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to know where we will end up for med school!!! We both are banking on Washington University in St.Luois, it just feels like that is where we should be.

I'm lucky to have such a dedicated hubby!

Headband

I had this pink cheetah headband leftover from halloween that I didn't think I would ever wear again unless it was wrapped or something. So this is what I came up with. I kind of wear it every day.

The Perfect Storm

This week has been absolutely INSANE. I had 4 tests and a term paper to turn in and a Halloween Party to plan and exicute for my boss and all of his family for tonight (that he didn't tell me about until Wednesday night) as well as prepare a lesson for teaching R.S. this Sunday. Dave, on the other hand, had his Orca grant to write, his classes and jobs always are keeping him busy and his lack of sleep these days is wearing him down, which wears me down too. It was THE PERFECT STORM and it isn't over yet. How to we cope???? Well this is the first week that we have said our prayers and read our scriptures every night.....even if we are exausted. I know if we hadn't been doing this I would be in tears instead of surviving. Just having those few moments each day when we're doing something together and inviting the spirit has been a lifesaver. We also planned a date for the weekend....some "Dave and Megan" time, which we don't do as often as we should. We are going to Tucanos, which is our favorite Brazillian resturaunt. Dave says it is the most authentic he has been to in the states.

So sorry if we have neglected just about everyone this week and sorry if I am a nutcase while teaching the lesson this Sunday!!! I will be saying lots of prayers that I won't just break down in tears the whole time (which is kind of inevitable) or keel over and fall asleep.

For Betsy

My sister in law Betsy requested that I post some things that I have refinished in the past. Here is a desk that Dave and I bought at D.I. for about 15.00 and then sold on-line.

I wanted to keep it but we all ready had a desk that was larger and fit our needs better.

Here is a garden bench we also bought at D.I. and restored. I had it in our depressing looking entry way to brighten things up.

I can't wait till next summer when I have a break from school to get going again!

one down...

I finished this over my Fall Break to keep my ears warm this winter.

If anyone wants one just drop off some yarn and I'd be happy to measure your head and make one for you....it gives me something to do while Dave has late nights at school.

This morning I left our apartment at 6:30 a.m. I was suprised by the warm wind in the air, expecting it rather to be some sort of freezing. The sky was pitch black and a hovering lightning and thunder storm kept flashing and lighting up the entire sky, no rain though. As I stood pumping gas into my car on the way to school, I watched the leaves swirl around everyone's feet. I'm a little in love with fall. I think I was a bit deprived growing up in California. The trees are so beautiful and vibrant this time of year here.

Here we are horse back riding in the mountains with our bishop and his wife. The mountains were covered in Maple trees. We even saw a few deer and some pretty birds..... BEAUTIFUL.

sweat and tears

Some people cry at the gym because they are working out really hard and pushing themselves....others...when they least expect it. I was watching the Hannah Montana movie in the gym theatre while on the eliptical when Miley Cyrus began to sing a song called "Butterfly Fly Away". Blame the tears on the female hormones that get an extra boost from my birth control...but this song made me think of my mother and how amazing she is. The older I get the more I really understand the sacrifices she made for me and my siblings as a single mother and the happiness she brought to our lives. It couldn't have been easy raising us, we were not the little angel children parents dream of having. I started to think of the memories I have of my mother singing me to sleep or how we would beg her to leave our door open so we could hear her play the piano downstairs until we fell asleep or how when people in elementary and jr. high used to ask who my best friend was I would say my mom. ( which was so true). Her cooking was amazing and she allowed us to be free spirits and always encouraged us to "go for it", if it wasn't for her I would have ever sang in my school talent shows which are some of my favorite school memories. She without fail would squirt water in my face if I wasn't getting up for seminary, which I hated but am so glad I made it to seminary because of it because that is where my testimony grew so strong. She was always taking us on an adventure. A hike or to the beach or road trips. My mom got a paper route to make ends meet and I remember getting a doughnut every morning and singing with each other while we drove the streets of Martinez lobbing papers. And the memories that mean the most to me are the ones when I was going through troubles of my own and my mother was there for me without fail....with a shoulder to cry on and the best advice and she never gave up on me. Even with all of the heartbreak and stress my mother has had in her life , she has taught every one of us kids how to enjoy and love life. I can't think of a better example of an upbeat vivacious person....even in her 50s she has more energy than me. I was a bit overwhelmed with the memories and gratitude I felt for my mother while listening to this song and therefore had some tears leak down my cheeks. Good thing that is a dark room. I love my mother with all my heart and am so happy she was picked to be my mom. Heavenly father sure does know what he's doing! I thank my mom for giving me my appreciation for our life here on earth and the oppertunities we have to live, love, learn and grow. I will never take it for granted because of what she has taught me.

I am eternally greatful to you mom!

I put the song on my playlist so you all can hear it

ETSY LOVER

I'm sure most of you have heard of Etsy.com, but if you haven't and you are a creative spirit then you need to check it out. I went on yesterday and was inspired to make some new fun accessories. So today I went to pick up the materials at Micheal's and here is what I will be working on during my Fall break...

Wish me luck!

all of these are from photos are from www.ETSY.com