Mother's Day

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. It's just been one of those years. During Christmas my sweet Mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. It hit me pretty hard. I only have one mom, and she lives so far away. She is my rock. I am so blessed to have been raised by her. I do have an awesome Mother in law, and as soon as we told her, she said she would be here for my children so I could be with my Mom. So off to Canada I went. It was crazy trying to get there. I ended up in Toronto for the night. Once I did arrive, it was the best feeling to wrap my arms around her and give her a big hug. Then day of surgery came, and I was with Dad, we waited for several hours to hear the outcome, and it was very successful. She was high on drugs, and very entertaining. A few months before she had hip surgery. So she was still in a lot of pain from that. She is now into chemo 2 months, and she has lots all her hair, but still has her eye brows. I think her wig looks amazing on her. She will continue chemo for another 2 months, then she will go in for a hip replacement this summer. She continues to smile and hang on. She had one scary episode, and was rushed to the ER. I'm grateful to know that my family is eternal, and that Heavenly Father knows each of our struggles. He is always by our side and if we let him he will hold us up.

Jacob is 8

Jacob is now 8, and was baptized, he is so full of sunshine and love. He is growing up and learning to serve the Lord. We love our boys and so proud of them. He is getting better in Soccer and it's so fun to watch him put in so much effort in each game, coach asked the team yesterday "are their any players who gave 100%"(after they lost) He of course answered "Coach I did". That's because he truly loves the game and wants to win. We are so blessed to have 4 healthy and happy children.

Rebekah is 12

Many Milestones have been reached in our family, This one with Rebekah turning 12 is a big one, we are so proud of who she has become. She is a great sister and daughter. She is beautiful and chooses to be around good friends. She is making the right choices and we love her very much.

Projects

I love Pinterest, who doesn't RIGHT! Got this idea, it was a great one. Our master bathroom mirror was going black around the edges, so I tiled it. Bought the tiles at Home depot cost $14, bought liquid nail for $4. Time was less than an hour.

Destin, FL 2010

Had an amazing trip to Destin in June, can't wait to go back next year. The kids loved the white sand and emerald water. We even got to to a water park across the street, called the big Kahunas. The only down fall was that I was sick the whole week, total bummer for me, but I got to nap every day! James went deep sea fishing with Bekah and Russell, they all threw up the whole time, I guess the waves were a little to big.

How did life get so busy?

These past few months have been a whirlwind. James took over the company completely here in Houston, bought out n=both of his business partners. So he asked me to work part-time from home, I have been keeping him organized, writing news letters, job proposals, checking surveys, paying the office bills, pretty much anything he doesn't normally like doing. So it's been keeping my mornings busy. So on top of it I trained for a duathlon. I even got a medal. Coming in third in my age category. We also have all the boys in soccer, James is Jeremy's coach. I'm still working in the primary presidency and life is never boring around here with all the kids busy with School work and projects. Got a dog for Christmas. We just finally booked our first vacation which is not actually visiting family, so we are excited to be going to Florida this summer. So looking forward to it.

Family pictures can be fun, but they can also be exhausting. This year my kids did not want to cooperate, so it took some bribing. We did get some really great ones. Thanks to my friend Elizabeth who helped out. We will have to make this a yearly tradition.

Easy fix to the back porch, I was sick of the boring concrete slab. So I spray painted a pattern, just need painters tape and 5 cans of spray paint. It was fun and so easy.

Summer Vacation In Canada

We had a great trip out East, the weather was great for our first two weeks, then it rained and rained after that. The kids have made some really great memories. We got to see lots of family and the kids got to meet some of my oldest friends.

Flower clips!

So only 2 weeks until we leave for New Brunswick, Canada. We are all so excited. The kids got their green cards and we will soon be off. So I wanted to make something for my nieces, I went over to a my friend Ami's house and she patiently taught us how. I was able to make 3 there, and 9 today. I love learning new things and to be more creative, thanks Ami!

JAMES.....TOOLS......HAPPY WIFE!

I thought a DIY project was a good idea for today, so here's our new headboard. I wish we didn't have to hang it so high, but we have an outlet that we can't cover up.

More projects

I didn't want to throw out Russell's lamp shade, but it needed a makeover. Since I love the floor patch, I thought that would be a cool way to give it a new look. It was so easy.

I needed new pillows for the living room. and couldn't find ones I liked. So I dusted off the sewing machine, and whipped some up.

Projects around the house!

Crazy bold colors in the children's rooms, and their bathroom.






I love neutral colors, which I used around all the common areas. I chose sacred soil for my bedroom, it looks purple which I love. You can see all the other projects I have been up to. I'm a bit obsessed with NATE, his show is amazing. I also love blogs! I get inspired all the time. I have other idea's I hope to do on other walls, so we shall see. Russell's room is a calming blue and green. He needs a calming place to read and play.
I received my mother's china a few years ago and bought this cabinet a few months ago.
I have a nautical theme in my living room, which started with a picture of the bluenose, that I got from my Grammie Russell 10 years ago, she was going to throw it away. Then James the smaller replica, and I have been adding small things here and there ever since.
I love piknic, and I recently framed the black and white pictures that I made.
I saw the flower ball on a blog, and thought that would be a good way to use my bridal bouquet.
I saw a wall of the letter of someones last name, and had to copy it. So I came up with the "R" wall. It looks better than the picture, I took framed pictures of all of us, and different R's that I found. So this is what I've been doing.

We love Spring!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, HAVING FRESH VEGGIES,
WE ARE SO BLESSED!

Happy Easter!

I took the kids to the community Easter Hunt, we got there a little too late, most of the kids had already cleaned up. I thought they were pretty cute. Russell stayed in the car, heaven bid that he actually see someone he knows. That is what I deal with on daily basis. We did our Easter stuff Saturday morning, I learned over the years it's easier to do that morning instead of Sunday, and we can do a lot more fun things, and focus on Christ on the Sabbath. We had a wonderful meal. Just wish that I was in a better mood. We found out Friday, that my parents flipped their car. My Mom takes care of a cancer patient, and he needed a ride to get treatments, since it's all day, Dad went with her. They have a 2 hour drive to the hospital. When they were almost home, my Dad fell asleep at the wheel. They totalled their only car. Mom was badly hurt, broken vertebrae and broken bone in her face, one eye is badly bruised. She is still in the Hospital. Dad just got home yesterday, and he's on pain killers for his sore body. It's hard to live so far away from them. I am grateful for my brothers who are there to take care of them.

Softball!

It's been fun watching Rebekah improve her softball skills. She is so shy and is starting to warm up to the other girls. We have the best coach, he really puts forth a great effort to make sure they are learning and improving. Notice that she is grabbing her helmet in the first picture, she just got knocked in the head with the ball.