Rain

One of the smells I love most is the smell of a nice summer rain on hot cement, but I also love to listen to rain. I love to open my windows and let that amazing smell come in and listen to the rain and thunder.

The best is to be camping and sit inside the trailer playing games and listening to the rain hit the trailer. It is not the best, however, if it has been raining the entire week!

I love the way the earth looks after a good rain storm, it seems to cleanse and replenish. Colors seem brighter, the world smells clean and it is so quiet and peaceful.

Love of a Dog

I just finished watching a movie tonight called "Hachi". If you are a dog lover it is a true story and great story. I think I cried through most of it. My kids watched it earlier today as we were driving to Pocatello, Sarrah tapped me on the shoulder, when I turned around I saw my sweet 4 year old Olivia crying. She had the biggest gator tears just streaming down her face. I said what's wrong Liv? She answered Hachi waited he loved him so much.
I have two good dogs, Ben we found at the Lake 6 years ago. He was so afraid, he hated loud noise, yelling, quick movements and he would never look you in the eye. He has found love at our house, he looks me in the eye now and he even groans when I love him. Lizzy, just loves us. She loves to be with us, near us and will sit and groom us like her little pups if we let her. I think she doesn't realize she is a dog.
A dog doesn't care where you live, where you work or what you do. They don't care if you wear Big Star jeans, if you are too fat or too skinny. They just love. I believe god put them on this earth for us to learn unconditional love, because that is the only kind of love they give. I feel grateful and blessed to have loved a dog and I feel blessed to be loved by them.

His Hands

Are the tears Old Age???

I don't know what was up with me yesterday, is it old age? I was very emotional about several things.
My day started with scripture study with the family as we finished reading the book of First Nephi, the last few scriptures are of Nephi's testimony of the truthfulness of the things written on the plates. I have prayed about whether the Book of Mormon was true long ago, I was so touched to the truthfulness of it testified to me again. Then Gabriel brought home his first second grade essay. It was about me, how much he loves me and how much joy I bring to his life. Those simple little things bring a mother so much joy. Last night we had our RS Birthday, we talked about our hands, our serving hands, our hands of joy, gratitude, unconditional love. We talked about how our hands are like Christs hands that we are here on this earth to do the Lord's work, to do his will and that is to feed his sheep. We ended with a short movie called "His Hands". I love the song anyway, but with the pictures I couldn't stop the tears. I felt so much love for him, for my Heavenly Father and so much gratitude for the blessing I have because of this gospel.
I also felt a lot of love and gratitude for my hubby. I tease him because he wears the same red "Angels" sweatshirt everyday to work in (he works at home) something about his messy hair and red sweatshirt touched my heart today. (Maybe because I washed it and it was clean!)

school programs

Tonight was one of those busy mom nights. PTC at 3, drive carpool at 4, drop of one kid at 5 another at 6, pick up one at 6:30 etc.... you get the idea. Gabriel had a special 2nd grade program tonight that they have been working on for months. Usually I am on the front row but because of busy mom night, I had a seat way in the back. It was actually funny to watch from the back. The gym was full, families talking and laughing, the lights went low and I watched as a gym full of proud parents all at the same time went quiet, sat up tall and turned on the camcorders. Each parent smiling to themselves, capturing every movement every song every look their child gave. I wonder how many of those parents go home and transfer the movie so it can be viewed over and over. My camera gets full, then I am forced to download it to some file and it won't be watched until I'm old and retired and need something to do.

The kids tonight did a great job and sang some fun songs!

Laughter

Have you ever been in a store and heard someone laugh and their laugh just makes you giggle. My son Gabriel has always had such an infectious laugh, I notice when I haven't heard his laugh in a while. Then I heard it, deep and infectious, he had pulled his mattress up to the top of the stairs, and I watched as he and our dog Lizzy rode the mattresses down the stairs flying off the mattress when it hit the bottom. It was the funniest thing.

I was thinking about a day at the ski hill, I was riding the lift up and I heard this deep, let loose laughing of two girls it didn't take long to recognize they belonged to my girls. Sarrah was chasing Olivia down the ski hill saying "I'm going to poke you in the butt with my pole!" They played this game for 10 runs, belly laughing and having such a great time. I loved watching them and all the people on the lift catching the laughing fever too.

I watched my kids,their friends and our dog Lizzy on the trampoline yesterday-jumping in the hail and snow laughing, having fun, being free to be themselves.

Our dog Lizzy really doesn't know she is a dog, she thinks she is our 5th child.

I am grateful for Laughter.

"A day without laughter is a day wasted"

Kozy Shack

So, I'm going to tell you all a little secret I have. Normally I eat pretty healthy, but I do have one indulgence that when I have it, I cannot stop at one serving, nor two or three. There are actually 6 servings in one 22 oz. container and I can pack the whole thing away! There you have it. I EAT THE WHOLE THING!!!!


Each day I am writing about what I am grateful for that day....today is Kozy Shack.

It is not my birthday, mothers day or my anniversary, but the Kozy tempted me today and I did eat. Jeff was in the kitchen when I pulled it out of the bag, my family knows very well not to even ask for some, but I decided to share with him today. I placed a very small serving in a very small bowl for him. I ate my first serving trying so hard to make my Kozy last, but Kozy called to me and when I went in the kitchen there was Jeff helping himself to another serving of my Kozy! Really risky for him, I think he felt safe in doing it because he was on his way out the door on a business trip. Smart thinking my dear. On Mother's Day I will be hiding my Kozy in the back of the fridge behind some broccoli or something! I must protect my white gold!

My Sisters

I sat in Relief Society today (I have to sit at the front for opening exercises) looking at all my sisters. I sat thinking of the things that makes each one of them special to me, whether it be their kindness, their love, their willingness to serve their sense of humor. How blessed I am to have so many sisters to serve and love...too bad we can't all share clothes!

I also feel gratitude for a family that sits quietly in sacrament now. I watch the exhausted faces of the parents fighting with their kids the entire time and I love that now I can sit and actually listen to what is being said.

My hubby wrote me a love note in church today, we have this running joke that at the end of our love notes to each other we write..... Will you go with me? Mark the box " yes " " no" " maybe". When I was in 4th grade I got a note like this, but I also got a few cute little smelly erasers, so Jeff wrote today that he had many cute little smelly erasers for me if I mark the box "yes"