End of Summer snack

Okay well its not really end of summer here. At least not end of the heat. So the kids and I whipped these up today in less then 5 minutes. They were a huge hit :)

                                              1st take one of these ( Oranges if you cant tell)

Run it through on of these

Pour it back into here

stick it in the freezer for a little bit

Remove and enjoy :)

What could be better then..

watching 4 of your daughters picking limes in your own backyard to bring to me so we can make lime juice for our family for dinner. At this moment in time NOTHING......

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING.....

This is actually something I posted years ago. I read it again today, and the words spoke to my heart. I have 9 blessings from Heavenly Father that I am an example to. This sunday at Church we talked about "things our Mother taught us" It really made me think about what kind of memories I want my children to have of me. My children are my greatest blessings, and I want them to have memories that show and always remind them of that.

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING






Written by a child, now an adult.





When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator and I immediately wanted to paint another one.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a stray cat and I learned that it was good to be kind to animals.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that the little things can be the special things in life.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a prayer and I knew that there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in Him.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick and I learned that we all have to help take care of each other.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have something should give to those who don't.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are given.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you handled your responsibilities even when you didn't feel good and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it's all right to cry.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you and wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.'



LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT. Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher or friend) influence the life of a child. How will you touch the life of someone today? Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Bradleys 4th Birthday

Bradley's birthday was in mid July, I am slowly getting caught up on blogging :)

We became his parents when he was 2 years and 2 weeks old, so this is his 2nd birthday he has spent with us. It is amazing the changes in that time. We didn't have a party for him for his 3rd birthday because any loud noise or chaos really freaked him out. So for his 3rd birthday we just did normal dinner, a cake with no singing, and 3 small gifts. Well over the past year he has grown by leaps and bounds in every way! He plays with friends in homeschool group, goes to Primary on Sunday ( Sunday school at our church) and talks the day away. So this year we invited friends over from homeschool group and church, and he has his 1st real actual birthday party!! I am so happy to report that he had a wonderful time and no meltdowns. We went with a car theme, since Bradley lives and breathes cars LOL. So without further rambling by me , here are the pictures :)

So much going on......

I promise starting with my next post there will be more pictures :) I love to look at other peoples pictures on their blogs. I am nosy by nature. LOL And I just love that peek into someone elses life. Do I worry about posting pictures of my children on the Internet. Honestly, no I do not. If the day ever comes where I feel that it is unsafe. I will re evaluate it then. But as for right now I have zero concern.

So I had big plans for this Summer! Day trips, crafting, memorable experiences for my children. But instead we bought a new house and moved. Not that it wasn't memorable, but not exactly the memories I was looking for. Sweating to death while we move a bunch of "junk" I have hoarded  accumulated into a house that is much better laid out for my family, yet has 1 less bedroom and no garage. Sounds super fun doesn't it!! Oh but wait! The fun did not stop there, ohhhhhh no. 2 weeks into said moving project the air conditioner went out. During a week of great monsoons. Luckily we had bought a home warranty. So that should have been easy right? HAHAHHAHA.. Umm no/ 1st repair man said they cant fix it, unit had been dropped. Well I surely didn't drop it and hoist it back up on the roof. So after 3 yup count them 3 WEEKS of fighting with home warranty company, and the help of a wonderful 2nd opinion company, they agreed to fix it. And even during the battle we went from $1500 out of pocket, to $800, to $400, to $280, to ZERO. Yup you read it right ZERO out of pocket. And we were blessed that our new home has an addition with its own wall unit, so we were able to camp out and sleep in there during this "adventure"  So we have lived here for 6 weeks, and I am now finally getting stuff sorted through and put away. And it is starting to feel like home....

And on another note, for 4 years we have battled weird and constant illness with the kids. Our ped whom we have been at for 16 years told me to get the house checked out. Welllll, 6 weeks into the new house, and kiddos have not been sick, and all weird headache, breathing problems, and rashes are GONE!!! We knew the old house had mold issues, but we thought we fixed them. I guess not. So while it was hard to leave the old house in the beginning, I feel so very blessed that our prayers were answered in so many ways in regards to it.

So now that life is settling down, I can start blogging again, and posting pics of our new home, Bradley birthday party, and a few fun activities which we have managed to do. As well as tell you all about how I met my Mother in law for the 1st time ( Dh and I have been together since 1997 LOL ) how I cut a ton of drama out of my life, made some big life decisions, and what the kids have been up to...as well as how I am finding "joy in the journey"