cherish every day...

just received this email from my friend stacie and had to share it. i hope we all remember how this life is a gift, a true blessing. may we live each day as if it were our last and eNjoy it!! hugs

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone...
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone.. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion, Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone and everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

some summer fuN!

my kiddos and i took a little mini vacation. it was just here in arizona but, we made the most of it. we went swimming our first night and had a bbq with friends. the next day we swam at a resort and our final day was at the lake. we loVe water!! here are a few pictures of our fuN!

we had to cut our vacation short because my two middle boys had ball games. they play for our church team and as of right now...they are undefeated! hope to take them for a few more days to have a little more fuN before school starts. which is just around the corner, YIKES!! we have to get school supplies and all our shopping done in a few weeks. i will have 3 high school boys and my baby girl in jr high. WOW, where did the time go?!

you'll want to stop by and check out piggy tales' blog {HERE}. the cha trade show is just around the corner and they came out with some gReaT collections to exhibit!! i so can't wait to get my hands on theses lines and do some scrappin'. if you post on their blog you could have a chance to win the entire summer collection! you can't beat that...just let them know what you think and you're entered. i can't wait to get back to teaching. we had a nice summer break but i always miss mY piggy tales students.

i know this blog was short but, it's all that time allows. gotta get ready to go to another ball game. GO SNOWFLAKE 5TH!! have a terrific thursday. {{hugs}}

thanks dianna!

"Live life fully while you're here.
Experience everything.
Take care of yourself and your friends.
Have fun, be crazy, be weird.
Go out and screw up!
You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process.
Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes:
find the cause of your problem and eliminate it.
Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human."

~Anthony Robbins

while reading my friend dianna's blog i came across this quote. i know she won't mind me bloglifting it. i needed this tonight. i have had off days these last few days and this reminded me that i am human. good or bad...i am NOT PERFECT {nor do i intend to be}! NO ONE on earth is and you know what...that's ok with me.

{spreading the word}

i am so very excited to share this news with you. my very good friend joann has started her own photography business... Just B You Photography. {just click on just b you photography and it will take you right to her site} this is a true dream come true for her. please check out her website and call for an appointment! she is a very talented scrapbooker and an amaZing photographer. i am so blessed to call her my friend! i am so excited that not only does she get to eNjoY her dream job but, i get to eNjoY her love of it as well. congratulations joann!! thanks for sharing your talent. oh and your photo of yourself...BEAUTIFUL just like you!!

i'm jumping on my bed again...{wink, wink}

{haPpY 4th of juLy}

thank you to my brothers jeremy & jr, my sister kelly and the rest of my family members and friends who have served on my behalf. thanks to all of those men and women serving now. most of all...those who have lost their lives defending this great country of ours. those men & women who have served all those years ago who proudly did so. THANK YOU!!! you are remembered and NEVER FORGOTTEN!! i am so proud to be an AMERICAN!!

quick update...

* little league closing day
* being sick
* pasadena for piggy tales
* all stars begin for dallin
* church ball for the boys
* city softball for trevor
* city softball for me
* pallet retainer for haleigh
* sister in law and kiddos visited
* mom's fall/broke her hip
* fund raisers for all stars
* rehab in payson for mom
* first all star game
* dentist appointments for kiddos
* still unpacking and trying to settle in our home
* pay bills/balance checkbooks/clean house
* update blog...

i think i need a vacation from the busyness. is that possible? i am very thankful that i have kids, family and friends to occupy my life...sometimes i just need some mE time. i struggle with keeping it all together sometimes. can anyone relate? ok...enough! i need to step back and breathe. get my priorities straight and start a new day.

brEathiNg...

goodbye my dear friend

i am still in shock as i received the news that a long time friend went home to god. many of you may know him and many may not have had the honor of meeting him. as he is at peace now and with god, may we all remember him and celebrate his life! i know how important his little girl was to him. i was able to do some scrapbooking for them and i am honored and blessed that i was asked. i wanted to share with you one of the pages i did. it reminds me all so well that life is short and to treasure the small stuff. to say "i am sorry", "i forgive you", "i love you", "thank you" and so many other simple words. i want to share with you a poem i wrote many years ago that really hits me now.

THANKS

today someone died.

it might of been a close friend or someone unknown.

you take friends for fun and games

not knowing that one day that friend will be gone.

then you realize how dear it was, the closeness,

the tears, the laughter, and those warm hugs of comfort.

today i want to tell you thank you for everything.

i know how dear your friendship was, i feel the closeness now,

i have those tears and i can still hear the laughter.

i'm sorry i can't feel your comfort anymore.

i'm sorry i waited to tell you thanks.

i'm sorry brad that i didn't tell you thanks! always & forever, poison. period. infinity. the end you will remain in my heart. may you know how much you have touched so many in your short years with us here. you will be missed dearly by all. rest in peace Bradley Paul Jones. we will all leave our footprints on others as you have done on us. your life will live on.

my friend todd sent me a wonderful quote i would love to leave with you.

"being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,

while loving someone deeply gives you courage".

~lao tzu

one craZy month and a half...

it has been f-o-r-e-v-e-r {in my best sandlot voice} since i have posted. it has been so crazy the last month in a half, so much going on. i think i am only going to recap by letting you know what the kiddos and i have been up to... here goes.

• trevor turned 17!!!
• austin's ffa banquet
• my 37th birthday
• birthday trip to mexico
• trevor's end of the year band concert
• dallin track and field finals in payson {he took 2nd in the 800}
• austin's end of the year choir concert
• creative escape training
• first piggy tales show to manchester
• first lobster experience
• haleigh graduated from DARE
• haleigh's track and field day
• dallin starts baseball
• school is out!
• dallin's 8th grade promotion
• breanne's wedding
• went to buffalo to teach for piggy tales

i think that is all. though knowing me...i probably forgot something, lol! life may be really craZy around here but...life couldn't be any better. i eNjoY every craZy moment, every laughter, every hug or tear that comes my way. my liFe, mY kiddos, mY faMiLy and fRieNds...i couldn't be more blessed! :) thaNks to everyone who has touched mY life, welcomed me in or shared a memory. {hugs}

happy birthday to my baby boy Trevor!! 

it's hard to believe you are already 17 years old. 

where have the years gone?

i love you!!

{playing catch up}

i have a lot to catch up on. my life has been crazy busy and i have loved every minute of it! the joys of motherhood.

• spring break: the kids and i eNjoYed a wonderful couple of days at my girlfriend shelly's home in scottsdale. she has a pool and we lOvEd it!! thanks shelly and family.

• on march 13th mY second oldest son, trevor past his test to receive his driving permit. look out world...trevor is on the road. mY kiddos get so tired of mom taking pictures. hey, i am a scrapper and someone has got to document all the memories. love you trev and congrats!

• i am now employed!!! i received a phone call from {piggy tales} a scrapbooking company last week about teaching for them. i am so excited for this new challenge. they are an amaZing company with an amaZing group of people. i am privileged and honored to be a little part of it. you can check out their website {here} and also their {blog}. i was in mesa this weekend to do my training. i sat in on all of the classes to see how things are done. really stinkin' cute classes i must say! if you have a chance to attend any shows you must sign up for one of their classes. i will be teaching at 9 of them. you can check out where i will be on the right side of my blog. thanks piggy tales for this great opportunity. thanks trina for a great day!

more to come...