Happy Halloween!

It's crazy to see all the amazing pumpkins people carve when it took just about all I've got to get a simple face carved into mine. But I definitely had fun trying! 

Can you tell who each pumpkin belongs to?

It's been a productive day. Being mom, yard work, house work, errands...the stuff we all do on an everyday basis. I have also spent time thinking about all those on the East Coast where Sandy is hitting. Tonight I jumped on my computer to see the updates and news with a hope that it's all past with no harm or problems. As I glanced through pictures and read updates and articles my heart felt heavy. It's one of those times when the things of everyday life don't really seem to matter. You realize how precious life is. How quickly it can change. 

So I thought about my day. Sure, I got a lot done. But what really mattered? 

Lifting my sweet baby out of her crib, blowing bubbles, reading books, dancing and snuggling. Spending time with my husband and working together. Hugging. Loving. Having Family Home Evening. Praying for our family. Praying for friends and strangers who are facing the storm that is raging.

The most precious parts of life are within the walls of our own home. They live in our hearts and our thoughts. They inspire us. They comfort us. They fill our lives with meaning. While I am grateful for the beautiful day I had, my heart reaches out to those who have spent their day evacuating, preparing and giving their all to protect their homes and their families. Today will be a day that they will never forget. And though this storm will bring long nights and dark days, challenges, heartache and pain...I hope all those affected will feel the ever-present power and the love of God in their lives. I hope they know He is close. I hope they know He is with them. As humans, we are small and powerless compared to the forces of nature. But God is not. At times He protects, at times He heals, at times He moves mountains and waves. But sometimes the mountains collapse, the waves thrash and rage and we experience heartache and pain. These are the times He draws closest to us. He gives comfort and peace and hope and strength. He is the Light that we need in the longest of nights and the darkest of days. He is the Master, the Creator...our Savior, our Redeemer.

Only 2 Months until Christmas!
I can hardly wait! I have always loved Christmas, but having a child makes it even more exciting! Today I text my family that it’s 2 months til Christmas. One of my sisters replied that they got snow today. Another one sent me a picture of the beautiful winter morning. So here I am in 86 degree sunshine, having played at the beach, while my family is experiencing low 30’s and snow. It’s crazy! It made me think about how we all experience life so differently. Not just weather, but everything. There really is NO room to compare or judge ourselves or others. Life is so different for us all. I have often thought of all the people I pass and never meet. The person I sat by on a plane, the people I see drive by on a bus, the people I sit next to at a stoplight, the person I stand by in the store, the people I see in a crowd on TV. Everywhere I go there are so many people! I have always thought about how crazy it is that I can literally be feet or inches away from someone and never know their name or their story. They are a bystander in my life. I am a bystander in theirs. I think of all the places I go that people are working...to me the store is a place to shop, to them it’s their job. To me it’s a place to eat...to them it’s a way of life. The people I pass may be super happy or totally depressed. They may have just broken up or lost a loved one or lost their job or just be feeling down. They may have just been married, found out they were pregnant, won a game, passed a test, eaten the best meal of their life or feel like the happiest person in the world. I wish I could always know. As a kid I decided if I could do anything in the world (besides make everyone happy) I would want to know everyone’s story. Can you imagine the amazing things you would see and the amazing people you would come to know? Think if we really all knew each other. Think if we all really understood each other. We can never truly know exactly what other’s feel or experience, but I believe we can understand each other more so than we think. We may not live in the same climate or have the same type of family or friends or work or joys or fears or challenges...but we all have them. We all experience joy, pain, love, loneliness, heartache, strength, peace, friendship, hatred, fear, laughter...the same feelings in totally different ways. Are we really that different? I really believe we can all understand each other. We can take from our experience to understand what someone else feels. Not in the exact same way, but in some sort of a way. And when we do this, we connect.  And when we connect, we feel alive. And feeling alive is a really good thing.

The more we are apart, the more I love together.

This weekend I got to be with the two people I love most.

It was Awesome!

I realize turning 18 months isn't a real birthday, but I consider it the 21 for babies.

They officially become toddlers, they can now attend nursery and they are just so grown up (or so they think.) So it's definitely an age to celebrate!

For our celebration we went to the Grand Opening of the Tanger Outlets.

 We enjoyed a little bit of this...

A little bit of that...

 

And a whole lot of just being together and wandering around. 

Saturday brought more together time in which we enjoyed

a little bit of this...

 

 A little bit of that...

A football game with some friends and preparing for Sunday...

 i love being a family

A Few Random Thoughts

I was in a Butterfly Exhibit the other day and saw this:

Maybe I should dress up as a butterfly for Halloween and say I'm a 

Scarlet Mormon.

***

 

 I love the all natural shots, maybe we should never tell kids to smile!

***

I LOVE CONTRAST...

do you?

The grass is always greener on the other side of my yard.

No, really, it is.

I didn't move to Texas expecting to have nice grass. In our yard we have what I call, Texas Grass. It's thick and crispy and not very comfortable to walk on. No big deal, we just wear shoes and it doesn't seem to matter. The funny part is, on the side of our yard that is farthest from our house, the grass is greener. It is a deeper green and even softer grass. The grass closer to our house is almost yellow in color and is definitely thicker and crispier. And the longer the grass is the more distinctly different the two sides are. It always makes me chuckle when I mow the lawn because they really are so different. 

But today I found a new surprise! There was another color in my grass. Purple. Just over a week ago I noticed little purple flowers growing in our grass. 

I thought it was a little weird but figured it was free flowers I could let my daughter pick and play with and didn't think much else of it. Today when I went out to mow the lawn, they were everywhere.

 They had spread through the whole yard. The weird part was, it was like they were their own little bush. As I looked closer I found they were attached to what I think looks just like the little vine branch things that grapes come attached to. 

It was like flower producing grapevines growing in my grass. Definitely not something I had seen before! (And too bad they didn't grow grapes, because that would save us a lot of money!)

Anyhow - I figured I would just mow over them and not worry too much about it. But after mowing 3 patches of these little wild bushes, I found that the flowers and vines were unaffected by the mower.

After mowing over it...

 I decided I would just have to weed my grass and pull the little bushes out. So I picked one of the smaller ones to start with and starting pulling. I was totally shocked at what came out.

One little section was actually a massive amount of vine and roots weaved throughout the grass and under the dirt. And unfortunately it left it's mark once pulled... 

 

 So I decided to not pull them all out and just mow the lawn and see what I can figure out before creating patches of dirt all throughout my yard. I may just start a flower shop. Anyone interested in little purple flowers?

P.S. If anyone has ever seen this or has any idea of what it is or how to get rid of it...please let me know!

Something really special happened yesterday.
I was getting ready to head out the door and said to my daughter, “Mommy needs to get her shoes and then we will go bye bye!” I hurried to my room, grabbed some sandals and headed back to the front room. As soon as I got to the kitchen my daughter came waddling in holding one of my flip flops (that I wear everyday). I could tell she was focused on that flip flop. She was holding it with two hands and walked it right over to me. She bent over, set it on my foot and stood up watching it anxiously to see if it would actually stay on my foot. My heart melted. For the first time in her short 18 months of life, she had served me. Don’t get me wrong, she helps me and blesses me everyday in so many ways. But this was the first time she had consciously done something to help me without being asked or told. She knew I needed my shoes and without hesitation went to find them for me. What a beautiful, little act of love.

Great customer service seems almost non-existent these days. When I am working with a company or any type of professional, the thing I hope for most is that they care. Not just fake care because I am paying them, but really care about me and the product or service they are offering me. More often than not, this doesn’t seem to be the case. We all know what it’s like to feel shoved aside, stepped on or even completely ignored. None of those experiences make us feel good. But on the flip side, when someone does provide us with great customer service, it makes us feel so good. I have recently worked with several people and companies that provided AWESOME customer service. Why was their service so great? Because they cared. They spent time talking to me on the phone, through email or in person, working with me on exactly what I needed or wanted and made sure I was totally satisfied and comfortable. They not only did their job well, but they connected with me as a person, not a number or an order, a person. They cared about making me happy. And that made me happy. So happy I started thinking about heaven. In heaven there will be no hate or anger or selfishness. People will trust and respect and love one another. People will be happy and want to make others happy, too. Can you imagine?

Can you imagine a world like that? 

I can’t quite fathom what that would really be like...but I’m grateful for the small taste of heaven others give to me when they take the time to care. And I sure hope I treat others so that they can taste it, too.

THANKS TO

Dr. Cynthia Binder, Piggy & Dirt, Primitive Signs N’ Such, Oriental Trading Company and Blue Cross Blue Shield for your amazing service and care.

For anyone who loves a deal, you will understand why tonight was so exciting. I LOVE DEALS. I will search and search and search to find a great deal. There is one deal in particular that I have been hoping to find, 

and tonight I found it.

The evening started by pulling out our Halloween decorations so that I could find my daugther's Trick or Treat bucket from last year. When I pulled it out and saw it was broken, I realized I needed to get a new one tonight. Because we need one for tomorrow. Normally I am totally up for shopping, but tonight I just wanted to stay home. After a minute of debate with myself I headed out the door. I was all by myself and it felt kinda weird. As I got in the car I realized this was the first time I was running a 'need something for my daughter the night before an event' errand. That made me excited. I can only imagine the many times we will face this situation in the future and it made me smile thinking about all the times I will get to be there for my daughter throughout her life. I just love being a mom. ANYWAYS - I got to the store and spent my sweet time figuring out which bucket was best and wondered if I needed anything else. I scanned around the store and saw Christmas Trees against the back wall. Then I saw larger toys and items that had been brought out for the Christmas season. I thought I would go check out the trees while secretly looking for an item I have been hoping to find since last Christmas Season. Megabloks. Yes, Megabloks. These are not a cheap toy and last December I saw a bucket of 100 for only $10, which is a great deal. Since January I have watched for them online and in the store and really wanted to find them. I have been hopeful that with the Christmas season approaching I would be able to find them. So I headed towards the area I thought they would be and had no such luck. It's only October so I didn't expect to find them, but definitely hoped I would! I browsed through all the new toys making a mental list of Christmas gift ideas for my daughter. There was one aisle I hadn't gone down because it didn't look like there were toys for my daughters age. But something caught my eye at the end of the isle and I headed towards it. Again, not something I was interested in. I stood in the aisle for a minute and then turned to walk away and noticed a stack of 

Megabloks in the center of the aisle. There they were! Right next to me! I was so excited. I had already determined this was something I would be getting and with no hesitation I searched through the stack to find the best one. I couldn't stop smiling. I hurried to the check out and then to the car and still couldn't stop smiling. I was a little surprised with how happy I felt and wondered why I was so excited. I guess it just boils down to how much I enjoy finding a great deal (especially when I've been searching for 10 months.)  Though I may be crazy and weird, it sure was fun to have such a meaningless thing make me so happy. I've     

       decided their new logo should be

                      MEGABLOKS

       Kids happy, Mom MEGA happy

I love slowing down. Life is so full of going and doing, which I love...but I definitely cherish the times of no going and no doing. Just being. Staying in pajamas, walking to get the mail with messed up hair and hanging out with my best little friend. This morning I relaxed in the fresh, fall air watching my baby splash in her pool and run through the sprinkler. The sun warmed my skin and her smile warmed my heart. This world is a beautiful place. 

I hope today you get the chance to enjoy it.

I have heard people tell me stories about their children ridding themselves of their diapers, and it was definitely a phase I was hoping to pass by and not through. But yesterday I found this in my room and the last place I had put it was around my daughters body! If only I could have watched her cute little face as she worked through this new secret adventure.

***

As I was writing this post I heard a BOOM in my house. I paused, wondered what it was and assumed it was something outside. Again I heard BOOM. Faint, but loud enough I knew it wasn't just the creak of a house, and close enough it wasn't outside. My heart started beating a little bit faster. Was it a large mouse or something in the wall or worse, running free in my house? BOOM...was it someone trying to break in? I jumped up and hurried to my daughters room to make sure nothing was there. I didn't want to wake her so I quietly opened her door. There she was in her crib, legs on the wall, head upside down, eyes wide open staring right at me. I quickly shut the door and chuckled out loud. She totally got me. I remember so many nights as a kid laying in bed with my feet on the wall, stomping and banging since I couldn't sleep and was bored. Though I must say, I was much older, and it didn't give my mom a reason to laugh!

Mondays are typically known to be the most downer day of the week. Most people don’t like Mondays because....well, it’s Monday. This has never been the case for me. I have to say Fridays have always been extra exciting, leading into the weekend and typically the weekend brings something different from an ordinary weekday. And I have always loved Sundays. My day to spend at church and with family and focusing on the things that really matter most. But Mondays have always been just another part of the week for me. Then last Monday I had the wonderful experience of killing our mouse friend. Today was yet another creepy creature day. This time a roach. I’m not sure if it was a tree roach or a water beetle or just a cockroach or what...but it was definitely a member of the roach family and it was crawling on the side of my house. Fortunately, it was outside. But still, it was on my house. To his misfortune I was the one pushing the lawnmower. Therefore, he enjoyed his last few twitches and I (fearfully) ran him over several times. I didn’t see him after that and am only assuming I got him. But either way, I sang the song my husband and I always sing when we kill a bug, ‘“He’s seen better days...” and went on my way. Of course, I was still afraid he was going to crawl from the mower and jump onto me, attacking me for so willingly chopping him to pieces. But he didn’t. So I consider it another good Monday in which I am grateful to have been the bigger of the two in this battle of Woman vs. Creepy Creature. Though I must say, I am starting to wonder if every Monday will bring something
creepy my way....

Conference weekends are definitely two of the best weekends all year.

Yesterday between sessions we enjoyed spice cake and omelettes. It reminded me of the many conferences I watched while growing up. My dad would make omelettes, my mom would make sweet rolls and we'd gather round the TV to receive spiritual guidance and direction. It was awesome. I’m so grateful for the home I grew up in and certainly hope to provide a wonderful world for my family, the way my parents provided for me.

Thank you, Mom and Dad!
I love you.

Enjoying our time with Daddy!

Every conference there are always a few talks that tend to strike my soul. Today Elder Holland's  was one of those. I especially loved when He said, "We will not look back until the love of God and neighbor rules the world." 

As members of the church we are expected to be different from the world. But our differences aren't all bad as people might think. Our differences are meant to be for the good. I am not a member of the church only because it helps me. I am a member of the church because I believe in Christ, I believe in His work and I want to bless others with the goodness and love He has in store for us all.  I am a Mormon...a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We as a church, are about bringing people to Christ. It is ALL about Him. He is the center of everything and all we do. And though we are imperfect humans and we all make mistakes and fall short in so many ways, our goal is to spread the word of God and to share the love and light of Christ with the world around us. It is an awesome life to live. It is an honor to be apart of. And I truly hope for anyone out there who yearns to find peace, who yearns to feel loved, who yearns to find strength in a world of chaos and fear...that you will come unto Christ, listen to His prophet, study His words and allow Him to fill your life with the peace and love that only He has to offer. 

I don't really know who reads this, but for anyone out there who doesn't know our church, two times a year our Prophet and Leaders speak to us in something we call General Conference. It is broadcast across the world in many different languages and countries. And I will say, it is definitely inspired by God and worth every minute you have to watch. If you are interested you can watch or read the talks HERE.

My sweet niece is having a Cochlear Implant tomorrow.
My heart is very tender.
Times like this I really wish I wasn’t so far away from my family. I want to be there to help and to share and simply just to...be. I want to see their faces and give them hugs and tell them I love them and be there to share the load. Being away has helped me see the depth of God’s love for us all. When we love someone, we want to take their load. We want to make it okay and be there to make a difference. But when we can’t, we have the chance to turn to our Father and plead for His help and His love. Which in turn, gives us the chance to see His help and His love more than we did before. I believe in Miracles. And I believe that each of us are part of miracles every single day.

To all the people that are there for my family...that serve them and love them and care for them and pray for them...I thank you with all my heart. To the people that are there for me and my little family...for your love and support, your friendship and smiles...I thank you with all my heart. To anyone who has ever helped someone in need or lifted a load or offered a smile...

I thank you with all my heart.
This world is full of heartache and struggles and we are ALL in need of a friend. When you lift one person up, you lift their mom and their dad, their brothers and sisters, their children and grandchildren, their family and friends. 

A small bit of love can really change the world...and alot of people’s worlds could really use some change.

Yesterday I walked into our front room and found this...

I couldn't help but laugh. How cute it was to watch my daughter attempt to stand her toys on top of her cars and drive them around. This is the only one she got standing and as soon as she starting pushing it, of course he fell off. But what a good effort she gave!

This got me thinking about all the things I love about being a mom.

I LOVE

when she piles herself with books and flips through the pages like she's searching for a treasure...

when she runs in the room yelling "Hat!" - so proud she put it on all by herself...

when she finds random places to stash her toys...

or proudly wears my purse all around the house.

 

One of the greatest things about parenthood is reliving the innocence of childhood.

They are so patient and trusting and excited about life. I love seeing the way they learn and grow and explore the world with no expectations or judgement. What a blessing to have a children in our lives!

P.S. An update on the mouse. 

He is still dead, and we haven't seen anymore. But when cleaning his hideout we did find the cracker I had used as bait to get him to the trap. If he had known it was his last meal, I bet he would have enjoyed a few more bites.

For anyone who knows me, I absolutely despise bugs. After we matched in Texas I had nightmares for two weeks about giant bugs that I couldn't kill. Everyone I met from Texas or who had ever lived in Texas or even just visited Texas would laugh and say, "It's hot and humid and there are a lot of big bugs...but you will love it!" They were right about the heat and humidity. They were right about me loving it. But they TOTALLY underestimated the whole bug issue. I heard all about the big roaches, the water beetles and all the bugs that only keep growing because it never gets cold enough to kill them. But I never could have expected what I would experience in the first few months of living here. I must say, I have only seen a handful of roaches, all outside my house. No scorpions or tarantulas as the horror stories made me expect. (Not saying they aren't here, just no problems at our house.) But we have had our share of mosquitos, fleas, fire ants and all the other creatures I don't recognize...all INSIDE our house. Then there's the outside. Ants, Ants and more ants, wasps, spiders, crickets, beetles, dragon flies, who knows what and lizards. They have all given us such a warm welcome. Much warmer than I prefer. They don't realize I don't want to be friends and I am trying to kill them. Or maybe they do, and that's why they have all gained up against me! I'll never know. Anyhow - this morning was a whole different ball game. It all started last night when my husband and I were standing in the kitchen. He shot his head to the side and said, "I just saw a mouse." 

"A mouse?" I questioned. "Are you sure it was a mouse?"

"Well, it could have been a really big cock roach, but I think it was a mouse." 

I pointed out that mice and cock roaches are very different and how could it be either and then hurried to the room where he had seen the mouse run under the door. For the next while he searched for this small mouse or large cock roach while I stood on a chair, keeping guard so it didn't run out of the room. (Or so I could scream if it did.) After awhile with no luck we decided to put a blanket under the door so whatever it was couldn't get out and we could get some sleep. This morning my husband went in to see what he could find, again with no luck. He then left for work and within in ten minutes...there was the mouse! Running around the hallway where we had seen it the night before. I was half relieved it was a mouse, because the cock roach would have freaked me out more, but I called my husband and freaked out over the phone. I had no idea what to do, and he couldn't come home or stay on the phone. I set my baby on the couch and told her, "Mouse!" Trying to not make her afraid, just because I was. Though I am sure my random shrieks every time it popped out weren't showing friendship or bravery. I absolutely refused to let that mouse out of my sight. I could not let it run free in my house and possibly get lost once more. I looked around the room and spotted a cardboard tube I had recently received a package in. "But we are going to make a rainmaker out of that." I thought to myself...and quickly decided catching or killing the mouse was much more important than a rainmaker. I had this clever idea that I could put a trail of food on the floor into the tube and I would certainly catch the mouse. But then what? I wouldn't be quick or brave enough to pick up the tube with a live mouse in it, so that would be pointless. Not to mention there is no way it would just waltz into the tube. Plus everytime I backed away from the hallway the mouse would scurry around, to which I would respond with a scream and a dash towards him and he would scurry back to the blanket. I knew I had him cornered...but no idea of what to do next. I thought about the sticky traps my mother-in-law had given me before we moved, and while keeping my eye on the hallway, quickly backed into the kitchen and reached them out of the cupboard. I then created a death wall of sticky traps across the hallway so this guy couldn't get passed them without getting stuck. Then I worried, what if he won't stick? We had tried this with ants and they didn't stick. But my in-laws had caught a squirrel, so I would surely be able to catch a mouse. I was so afraid he would walk right over it...but I was determined to catch this mouse. I grabbed some goldfish crackers and lined them along the sticky traps. Then I sat, and I watched. I was not going to move until this guy was dead. The little mouse would pop out from the blanket and scurry along the traps. He wanted to get those fish, but knew it was dangerous turf. So for quite sometime this continued. Then he surprised me. He tried climbing on the wall to go around the traps. The straight wall was too much, but he ran to the other side of the hall where our molding curved around into our front room and I knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to try climbing the molding, and this one might be successful, because the molding was thicker and the wall curved. I was sitting on the floor just waiting to see him appear. And he did. He popped around the corner walking along the molding right above his sticky trap of death. I freaked out. I jumped up and screamed, darting towards him, to which he freaked out and tried to turn around and flopped right off the wall and onto the trap on his side. I almost started crying I was so happy! I got him! It worked! He was squirming and squealing trying to get free. As I got closer he freaked out even more and I instantly felt sad for this cute little mouse. Then I remember this was my house and he was intruding. My sympathy disappeared and I was ready to finish this. But now what? My mother-in-law happened to be on the phone and gave me several suggestions and I just kept fearing he was going to rip free and run wild. But finally I was able to compose myself and make my move. I couldn't pick up just one trap, because I had laid them so they were all stuck together. So I headed toward the opposite side of where the mouse was and started pulling them apart. And that little mouse gave me a run for my money. He somehow managed to turn his head and follow me. He looked out me with sad little eyes as if to beg for mercy. Again, I paused feeling sad, and then realized he had moved his head. What if he managed to get the rest of his body free? I once again freaked out and through the sticky trap in my hand on top of him. As it wiggled I through another...and another...and another. I laid all the sticky traps on him and around the one he was on so he had no way of escaping. I grabbed a shovel and moved him into a bag. Worried he had gotten away I peeked in and saw his tail. What if he had gotten free but left his tail behind? My mother-in-law was still on the phone and said, "He is not a lizard. He won't shed his tail." So I did my best to believe he was there and threw that bag into another bag, which I then took out to the garbage can. Phew. I had done it. I had managed to stay alive, not pass out and get rid of the mouse. I felt half triumphant and half still freaked out, and a little bit bad for the suffering creature slowly dying in my garbage can. And I still worried he might get out. But, after mowing the lawn, throwing the bag of grass into the can and crushing the bag which held the mouse, I assume he is dead. Wow. Definitely not the way I expected to start my day...but hey, I got a great cardio work out, proved brave enough to rid my house of a rodent and made my husband laugh. So I consider it a success.

The sticky trap of death

the Catch

The Close Up

The final trap...the mouse is on the bottom.