Spirits Lifted

Recently, my cousin and his friends complained on Facebook about being stuck behind women who coupon at the grocery store check-out. I had heard criticism before about couponers and how long they take, etc., but it had never been by someone I know. I instantly became more self-conscious each time I went shopping.

Recently, a shopping trip was not going right for me. Between my cart full of food, price-matching, coupons, and repeatedly picking up the toy my son kept dropping, the process was taking FOREVER to check out. I became more & more aware of the line of people waiting behind me. My ears started to burn with embarrassment and I kept hoping the cashier could make the process go faster.

Right as I started to pay, my son dropped his toy again and I tell him it will have to wait just a minute so I can finish. The lady behind me in line walked up and picked up my son’s toy for him. As she passed me to go back to her spot she leaned over to me and said “Your husband must be very proud…you are a smart shopper.” With those simple words, my day was instantly changed. Instead of complaining about the inconvenience I was, she gave me the courage to press on.

Thank you, kind woman in the grocery store, who had the patience and frame of mind to help encourage a young mother who’s just trying to make the most of what I have while being as little of a burden on others as possible.

Pant and Short

Yesterday my 5 year old was folding and putting away his clothes. When I told him to put his pants away, he looked at the lone pair of pants and said to me "You mean my pant, right mom?!"

I then had the wonderful opportunity to explain to my son how bizarre the English language is and teach him about the singularity and plurality of pants and shorts. It's amazing any of us learn the English language sometimes, but I couldn't help but smile when even my 5 year old was able to realize just how bizarre we speak sometimes.

Teaching moments where my son and I get to talk to each other one-on-one are some of my favorite moments and are definitely What I Live For.

What I Live For: Leaf Piles

Today we had nothing better to do than rake up a huge pile of leaves and jump in it…

Moments like these are definitely What I Live For! :)

I’ll be linking up to Finer Things Friday and Friday Favorite Things.

Made My Day

A couple of weeks ago, my 4 year old came home from preschool and pulled a picture out of his backpack. He explained that the picture was a princess that a girl in his class had drawn for him. He then exclaimed that the princess must be a picture of me and that I must have the picture because I was a princess. Can I even begin to tell you how much it made my day?!

These moments are the times that make everything else worthwhile…these are the moments I live for!

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

My blog is a place where I share the things that make my life more enjoyable and more worth living…my children, fun things I do with them, etc. The posts I publish are the things I live for.

Often, life isn’t fair, and the most we can do is try to find joy in life. Many bloggers, Facebookers, Twitter-ers, etc are in an outrage about the Casey Anthony verdict and I don’t blame them…however, I cannot condemn the jurors or the judge for what they decided. This is how our justice system works. Whether it is broken or not, the focus is still on protecting the innocent above all.

Ever since I heard the verdict of Anthony’s trial, this quote keeps playing through my mind: “It is better that 10 guilty men should go free than 1 innocent man be wrongly convicted.” There was enough doubt with this case that Anthony could not be convicted.

And that is what I live for! I live for the hope that I will be protected, that my children and family will be protected should we ever be wrongly accused. I live for the hope that people around the world will learn from this horrible tragedy and hug their children a little closer, love them a little more. I live for the hope that children like Caylee Anthony and Christian Choate will be noticed, loved and protected in the future. This is what I live for!

Wordless Wednesday

Do you see those cute boys cuddling there? These are the moments I live for!
I’m linking up to…

Mom Spotted, My Organized Chaos, Grinning Cheek to Cheek, Slice O Heaven, Minnesota Mama’s Must Haves, The Divine Miss Mommy, Mrs Marine, A Lot of Loves, and Mom Knows it All.

Mommy, I’m Scared

Every time K sees a scary movie or show (and by scary I mean an angry dog growls at the little boy or something of the sort) he comes running to me and exclaims “this is too scary, you need to turn it off!”

How blessed I am that my child’s greatest worries in life right now are things that will never hurt him, and that I can turn off! So many children live in constant fear of real dangers each day of their lives, and at much younger ages than my son.

one day, my little boy will face real fears that I can’t stop with the click of a remote, but for now, I can savor his innocence and his bright eyes while I protect him to the best of my ability from the horrors of the world.

Erasing the fear from my precious son’s face is definitely one of the finer things in life, and it’s What I Live For.

No Hitting

When one of my friends asked on Facebook the other day how she can teach her little boy to not hit, I was instantly reminded of an experience I had with K when he was younger and going through that wonderful hitting phase.

I was getting so frustrated with K’s hitting that I was praying about it for guidance. That was truly my biggest problem at that point in life and it was driving me nuts!

One day I was sitting in the hallway with K when suddenly he up and hit me in the face. As I went to reprimand him, the thought came to my mind to “teach him what is nice.” I instantly changed tactics and started telling him every time he hit “hitting is not nice. Hugging is nice, kisses are nice, high-fives are nice.”

My Life with Mod Podge

When I was working on my Lazy Susan, the lid to my Mod Podge was sitting on the dining table while my boys watched a show.

Before I could intervene, C raced over to the table, grabbed the lid to the Mod Podge and rubbed his fingers into the little bit that was on the inside of the lid. He then proceeded to rub both of his little hands together and rub it in his hair, just like hair gel.

I think this was the most comical use of Mod Podge I have ever seen. Thankfully it all came out and the smiles from this moment are still lasting :)

This is what I live for!

I’m linking up to Things I Love Thursday @ The Diaper Diaries.

Gratitude

When we found out we were expecting C, and that he was a boy, we were excited because our boys would grow up and be best friends and play together. I looked forward to the day that my boys would laugh hysterically with each other, and scheme together.

Since C could crawl, these boys have driven each other bonkers! C went for a long time where if K even touched him he would scream. Long story short, my heart was broken that my children couldn’t stand each other.

This was really bothering me and I thought that my boys would never be friends because it was that bad…at least in my mind. Thankfully, recently my boys have started playing together more and even having laughing fits together.

As I have watched my boys grow closer together, I am constantly reminded that without life’s struggles, we would never be able to truly enjoy the blessings we have in life. If my children hadn’t fought so much, I do not think I would find nearly as much joy every time C tackle hugs K, or they cuddle or play trains together.

And so, today, I am thankful for all that life offers us…the struggles, the blessings, the sorrows and the joys. These experiences in life are what I live for!

And with that thought in mind, I wish you all a…

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This Land is My Land

Recently, my little family made the trek to UT for my husband’s grandmother’s funeral. The drive was long…over 18 hours, but my favorite part of the drive was looking out the window at the amazing country that is ours.

I was left in awe at the amazing world my Father in Heaven has created. Each new geographical region had its own beauty; its own texture. It was beautiful, yes, even New Mexico and what little of Nebraska I saw.

We are so blessed to live in a land with the freedoms we enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Melt My Heart

To join the Wordless Wednesday fun, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom, Go Graham Go, What’s That Smell?, and the Not So Blog.

I Never Knew

I never knew how much my heart could swell with pride at a sweet compliment from my 3 year old!

I was sweeping the back porch and as I finished, K walked up to me, hugged my legs and said “that look perfect Mommy!”

I couldn’t help grinning as I hugged him back.

Is it silly of me to be so excited over a compliment from a 3 year old? I don’t think so. This is what I live for!

Cuddles

There is something empowering yet humbling about cuddling a child to sleep. It is the most amazing feeling in the world to have that little one snuggle up to you and put all of their trust in your ability to keep them safe as their eyelids flutter shut.

Something about those cuddles just make everything right in my world.

Precious Moments

I try really hard to live in the moment and enjoy what I have in front of me, but I am extremely guilty of thinking about what else I could be doing, especially at the end of a long day when I'm putting the boys to bed.

Tonight as I tucked K into his bed, he looked up and with those pleading blue eyes asked "cuddle me mommy?" So I did. C crawled over and nuzzled his head into my leg, so I pulled him up onto K's bed and he curled up on my chest. Then he shifted and rolled in between K and me and cuddled with both of us.
K would wrap his arms around C, and C would burst out laughing and cuddle even closer. C would hiccup and K would giggle.

This was one of those moments that I never wanted to end. This was one of those times I will treasure forever and pull out of my memory archives to get me through a rough time. This was one of those moments where nothing else in the world mattered. This is what I live for.


I'm linking up to Just for the Joy of It at Good, True and Beautiful