Birthday Crowns

Two of my Littles have birthdays in the month of April so we are having a joint Birthday party tomorrow for them. Alakina will be 4 on the 21st and Brooklyn turned 1 on the 10th. Since Ali is in LOVE with "The Princess and the Frog", that's the party we're having.

Aja and I went out the other day on the hunt for anything we could have for the kids to do. There will be little boys there as well so we had to take that into consideration. We found these sweet little princess crowns for the girls but they had none for the boys.

Then we found these visors:

They are made out of the same foam material so we bought them and I turned them upside down and took the scissors to them. This is what they turned into:

The kids will decorate them with beads, jewels, buttons, ribbons, glitter and whatever else we come up with.

So now, wish me luck...how did I get sucked into helping with a party for a bunch of sweet, high energy, sugared up kids from the ages of 1-4?? YIKES...

Thankful Thursday: Best Friends

Today I am thankful for BEST FRIENDS! I am SO incredibly blessed to have wonderful people in my life including my new friends that I have acquired through blogging, You all touch my life one way or another and I have been edified by your amazing life stories and inpirational writings, so thank you all!

But today, I am paying tribute to one of the most amazing women I have ever met in my life...My BFF!

I met Rayemanette back in 1996 through a mutual friend at Marie Callenders. The moment I saw her, she gave me a big hug and I knew that she was my "female" soul mate. She is a hawaiian girl and we always joke that we were twins in the Pre-Existence who were separated at birth...she is my hawaiian half and I am her haole half! We totally understand each other and it was evident from the first meeting...

Someone once said, "I can trust my friends. They force me to examine and encourage me to grow" ~Unknown. That's how true friends should be. They have NO ulterior motives. They are pure in their feelings and they love unconditionally. They hold up the mirrors that show us who we are and let us see who we can become. They think you're beautiful even when you are at your ugliest...That to me is a Real friend.

The other day when I called her, it was about 7:30 in the morning. We are both morning people and this is not unusual for us. When she answered, I knew that I had awaken her. She told me she was in Hawaii visiting her family and it was 3:30 AM! It didn't matter to her...we talked for an hour and she was thrilled to hear from me. She is always there and genuinely happy for my successes and sad when I think that I have failed...you see, she never thinks of me as a failure.

Because of the nature of her job (flight attendant) and my busy schedule, we will go through periods where we are unable to reach each other for days...that's OK. As much as I love to talk to her, I know that our friendship is strong. "Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts. ~Margaret Lee Runbeck

I am so thankful for girlfriends...all of my girlfriends, including many of you whom I have never personally met. You all edify my life (or I wouldn't waste my time reading your blogs!) We are all here to share and love and build and grow. How blessed is my life because you all are now in my world!

Dreams

Last night I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that Brad and I were at the airport getting ready to leave for Paris. We were surrounded by a lot of people we know so I guess we were going as a group. Suddenly, I realized that I hadn't packed any underwear! I panicked because I was certain that my type of underwear could not be found in Paris!

The rest of the dream was filled with major frustration as I tried to get information on how much time I had before departure and of course, no one would help me! My plan was to drive up the mountain 1 hour, get to my house, retrieve the necessary under garments and make it back to the airport in time to make the flight!

So how would this dream be analyzed? I'm not really sure that I want to know!

Inspirational Reads

I LOVE inspirational books almost more than any other genre. Everytime I go to the bookstore, that's the first section I gravitate to. So today I found these two sweet books:

The first one is entitled, "A Mother's Book of Secrets" by Linda Eyre and her daughter Shawni Eyre Pothier. Shawni has a wonderful blog and I promise if you check it out you will be happy that you did! She is the real deal and writes with sincerity and heart. This book is the same. It is honest. Even though I have adult children, I truly believe that I have SO much to learn about motherhood even now! One of the "aha" moments for me was when Shawni shares her frustration on certain days when everything seems to go wrong. She describes a day that every mother can relate to but then she acknowledges that maybe, just maybe her day was frustrating because of HER attitude. Isn't that the way it usually is? Our attitude towards everything dictates our day.She and her mother each write a chapter which gives a really great perspective. By the way, that's her adorable daughter on the cover, little Miss Lucy...isn't she precious??

The second book is entitled, "The Remarkable Soul of a Woman", by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. This is a book that you can read in 30 minutes, but you will want to take your time to absorb the beauty of each message and I know that I will be reading and re-reading this one often. One of the first quotes is "Most of all, I am grateful for who you are: A treasured  daughter of our  Heavenly Father with infinite worth." How can  you go wrong with a start like that? This is a great little book with a huge message for ALL women.

I am so glad to have such talented people share their insights and wisdom with us. If you have any inspirational books that you love, please leave a comment with the title.

Name That Tune...Please!

Do you ever hear part of a song and then have it in your head for the rest of the night? That's what happened to me last night as I was watching "Cold Case". It was an episode featuring scenes from Woodstock and in the background was a song that I think was done by Crosby Stills Nash and Young.

I don't know the title, I remember the song from the early 70's although it had to be recorded in the 60's if it was at Woodstock. When I heard the song last night I was totally transported back to my college years and amazingly wonderful memories came flooding back. I have searched the internet, searched itunes and have come up empty handed, but it's still in my head!

So if anyone reading this knows what I'm talking about and you know the song title, let me know...I'm going crazy!

**Post Edit Note**
I FOUND IT!! It is a song called "Something in the Air" by a group called "Thunderclap Newman" ?? Never heard of them, but I remember the song and it's a great one. Apparently it's from the movie "Easy Rider". Anyway, it's now on my iPod..YAY, now I can sleep tonight!

New Friend Friday

So one of the great things about blogging is meeting other people around our great country. I have run across blogs that have specific subjects such as Home Decor, Recipes, Christianity and Etsy Shops as well as blogs that are specific to that particular person's life and family. Through it all, I have met some AMAZING women! yes, they have all been women so far...

My niece has a hilarious blog (which is private or I'd share the link) where she shares funny things about her children and hubby, but my favorite posts of hers are when she goes off on a tangent about some stranger her did something really dumb or rude...she has even written letters to these people (on her blog only, of course) and they are HILARIOUS!

Then there are the Decorating blogs! I feel so inadequate when I see the beautiful homes and yards of some of these women, but I am so glad that they share their pictures because I get some really great ideas on how to decorate my little house.

And finally, I have found some great "philosophical" or maybe better yet, "inspirational" blogs where I find women who are dealing with the very same issues I am and it makes my world become more in focus as I read about their fears, trials, triumphs and even solutions!

So a new thing that I have found is this "New Friend Friday"...you link up to "Mcklinkey" by adding your blog information and then random bloggers who are also linked up find your blog and leave a comment...I have met some of the most amazing ladies through this!

(I took the following info from a FABULOUS blog that I found)

--Link up your blog name and URL using the MckLinky below. You only need to add your entry on one blog to be seen on all the blog hops.

--Follow the Friday Follow hostesses listed in the first 3 slots.

--Follow as many other blogs on the linky as you'd like.

--Take a moment to comment on the blogs telling them you're from Friday Follow.

--Follow back when you get a new follower through Friday Follow.

This list is new each week. The links do not carry over. Please link up each week for new participants to find your blogs. The list is only open to add your blog links on Fridays. It will be visible all week to visit the blogs listed.

So I am going to attempt to add this to my blog and invite all of you to link up and meet new people! Here it goes:




Now, just add your blog info and start checking out other blogs! It's great fun and you will find some lifelong blogging friends!

Thankful Thursday: Memories

Today I am thankful for MEMORIES. I have been using our other laptop lately because we have an issue with the one I usually use...arrrg...hopefully it will be resolved soon...anyway, I was looking at the pictures on this computer and found one that my daughter had apparently downloaded. It was from her senior year in High School and it brought back a FLOOD of memories.

(I remember that Aja LOVED those shoes...)

Aja is on the left in white (it was actually a lavender dress but whoever took this picture got the color all wrong). This was a school dance at the Capitol Rotunda and I remember that these girls had arranged with the "Army Guys" at their school to be chauffeured in their Hummers...back in 1998 everyone was pretty jealous.

See, I LOVED my kids teenage years. I really did. Aja and Tyler were ideal kids and we had an absolute blast. Britt was a different story, but we still had fun! She was a challenge, but she made me laugh.

(Also taken in 1998)

Then I came across this one with Aja and her friend Candice. They are still friends today and they are both mothers who have somehow grown up to be responsible young women! They provided me with some great times during their school years. Candice lived with us for awhile and the two of them were as different as night and day but were the best of friends! They had the most amazing guy friends and my house was ALWAYS filled with laughter, music, noise and even a few tears! But they were certainly some of the best times of these girls lives and also of my life!

I am so thankful sweet memories and how just 2 pictures can transport me back to a time and place that makes me smile. These were the times that helped formed my daughter into beautiful woman she is today. We laughed and cried together. But we bonded and formed a relationship that is precious and strong today. I love these girls and am so thankful they came into my life!

Sweet Tootsies!

I have a thing for babies, (who doesn't, right??) I love every single inch of them and am enthralled by their perfect little beauty and uniqueness. BUT, I have a particular love for one part of them...I ADORE their little feet! I get such a kick out of how they constantly move them, wiggle them and curl them. They are so expressive to me and they are just about the sweetest little things ever.

It all started with my first "Little". She was born premature and we were so worried that she wouldn't even make it through the night. As she was my first grandchild, I was overcome with the love that I felt for her. I knew that I would adore her, but the overwhelming feelings of love for that sweet baby were surprising to me. We all prayed and trusted her care to the amazing doctors and nurses in the NICU, knowing that ultimately, her life was in the hands of our sweet God.

As she lay in the incubator, under an oxygen tent and warm lights, wired up with multiple tubes and wearing only a diaper, I noticed her feet! Silly, I know, but when her little chest was retracting and her body was fighting to stay alive, her feet wiggled like a normal, full-term infant. They were pink and rosy and had perfect little toenails as if she was sent to earth with a heavenly pedicure!

That was it for me! When she was about 3 months old, healthy and "on her way", my daughter and I took her to get her pictures taken. While there and knowing of my love of those little tootsies, Aja asked the photographer to take a picture of just her feet. That's how this all started!

Now they hang on my living room wall for all to see.

**Baby Tage isn't up yet, his spot is saved for him at the bottom...

Aren't they so precious?? So now, I have a wall of just precious little feet and knowing my Littles and all their little cuteness, they are so expressive of their individual little personalities!

Thank You to My Cyber Friends - CBFF's

I tried all day yesterday to think about a good subject for a blog post for today...I couldn't come up with one so suffice it to say that I am happy to have gotten to know some of the most amazing women I have ever come in contact with through the wonderful world of blogging. All of them are women I have never personally met, but they are friends none-the-less.

Through their writings, I have found that we all have the same basic values and concerns. We all love and care for our children, grandchildren and other family members. We all love our Lord, Jesus Christ. These women, all of diverse religious backgrounds, stand as witnesses of His great sacrifice and mercy for each and every one of us. They emulate His goodness in their writings without vainity or pride.

I am so thankul for these women! I look forward to reading their thoughts on a daily basis and I want all of you (and you know who you are!) to know that I am lifted up by you all...Thank you for sharing your life lessons, no matter how joyous or how painful and for expressing some of your deepest thoughts and feelings. Thank you for sharing glimpses of your homes and for sharing your amazing creativity!

For a list of some of my very favorite sites, check out the right side of my blog under "Other Favs". If you aren't listed and would like to be, leave me a comment and I will be sure to add you!

You are a HUGE support group for me and in some of my darkest moments you are the light that gives me the strength to move forward! Thank You All!!

Precious Little Find!

While I was visiting my sister in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago, I stayed in her guest room and on the dresser was this adorable set of books. I just had to have some too so I checked on ebay and got them for $6.50 + shipping for a grand total of $10.50! My sister got hers at her local Goodwill for $4.00 + tax!

I always loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder series but never read them all. Now I have all 9 and I can't wait to get started again! Their spines are a bit faded, but the front of each book is beautiful. Aren't they great? I feel like a kid again...

The book titles are:

• Little House on the Prairie
• The First Four years
• Little Town on the Prairie
• Farmer Boy
• The Long Winter
• These Happy Golden Years
• On the Banks of Plum Creek
• Little House in the Big Woods
• By the Shore of Silver Lake

Aren't they precious?