"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but really loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real, you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Excerpt taken from "The Velveteen Rabbit"

I will always be a work in progress...but trying to like myself and stop with the negative self talk.  Wish me luck.

Many unsung heros

I have a new hero as of last week. I will not mention him by name for safety reasons, since he is a police officer, often undercover. But I have to tell this story. Mostly for my kids and his.

You see, I think there are so many people out there, just like him! They do amazing things that very often go unrecognized or unnoticed.

His job is putting his life on the line, on a daily basis, getting bad guys off the streets and trying to preserve and help save the rest of us from having to deal with the "real" world. He, unfortunately has to live and serve in that "real" world without it bringing him down. And to him, the heroic, scary and life threatening things he does is just part of who he is, as well has his job.

I also honor all of those families that support those that serve. That is nothing short of heroic as well. They sacrifice so much to see him walk out the door each day hoping and praying that he walks back in.

I respect and honor all who serve our country in so many ways. Our military is full of men and women who serve, protect and often give the ultimate sacrifice doing what they know is right. Most of us live our little lives, stressing over our daily agendas, and often forgetting how much different our lives would be without these amazing, courageous men and women.

One of these men in particular happens to be someone I love and admire very much. He has the best sense of humor, and always finds ways to make me laugh, even if he might be a little irreverent. To know him is to love him.

So, to quickly tell the story we were all up in the beautiful mountains of Utah. Provo river was right across the way, and we could see that even though we were not among the raging rapids, it was still swiftly moving. It was a wide enough part of the river that it just looked smooth, and inviting since the days was very hot.

He was walking with his love (my sister) along the Heber Creeper train tracks when he heard some screaming. They walked ahead a bit more and saw 2 young kids clinging to a tree branch that was laying horizontal across the river. They were river rafting and their boat had tipped over. The dad (we later learned) was trying to grab them from his own raft that was right behind theirs. He was able to grab hold of one of the children, but was swiftly taken down the river away from the other child.

Without hesitation, he jumps in the river, and plucks this little girl out of the water. He had taken his shoes off, and when he returned back to where the rest of us were, his feet had big gashes and one of his toes was black.

This little girl came up to where we were and we wrapped her in a towel grabbed a cell phone where she could call her mom (who was not there for the river run, but at home with a baby)
In all, there were 5 or 6 kids on this rafting trip with dad. She tried her mom a couple of times with no luck, and then just hung out with us.

When our hero returned, he called 911 to let them know what had happened so that they could come and get this little girl and let her dad know she was ok.

We all thought this was a great thing he did, he kept saying, "its no big deal"

Well, to all of us there, it was.

The mother called the cell phone we used (my sisters) and was hysterically crying and saying thank you over and over again and then asked to talk to her little girl.

The sheriff came and picked up the little girl and said thank you from the parents.

About an hour later, the sheriff returned to tell us that this family had lost a son about 5 years before to a very similar accident. We were all very humbled.

Miracles do still happen every single day. I kept telling him he was a hero and he would continually say "no, Im not. Its what I do"

Well, what he does is simply amazing. He has seen things I would never want to see. He has dealt with people that I hope I never have to encounter on a personal basis. He does his job, and then he does a little more. That is just the kind of guy he is.

I am grateful for his courage and desire to do good, regardless of how dangerous it may be. I love you and your family so much, and thank you for teaching my kids to be courageous and brave!

You ARE a hero!!!!

Busy busy summer so far- BUT so much fun!!

This has been such a great summer so far. Besides being totally busy with working from home, we have also been a busy family.
The summer started off with Kami starting track. She is one amazingly fast runner like her daddy, so we signed her up thinking she could put her talent to some good use, and learn some skills. Her first track meet was a little intimidating for her. She ran the 100 yard dash and took 4th and then ran the 4x100 relay and took 2nd place. Because her team took 2nd, they went to the district meet the following week.
At her district meet, her team took 2nd again, and that took her to state down in Richfield. Her dad traveled down with her. Since Paul ran track, he knows a lot about it and knew that he would have to be there at the crack of dawn to register her, and then spent the day under a tree waiting for her event. The registered at 9am and were there until 2pm. Kami's team took 4th place.
We are amazed with her, although she isnt quite a fan of track. She has had one other meet since that time, and she took 2nd place in the 100 yard dash, 3rd in the 200, 3rd in the 400 and 3rd in the 4x100. Pretty amazing for never running track before.

Hailey is currently at region ODP (Olympic Development Program) camp in Moscow Idaho hoping for a spot on the region team. This is her dream to play nationally. She is so determined and works SO hard. Any parent knows that their child deserves what they work hard for, but we are also trying to be realistic without dashing her dreams. We are trying our hardest to help her reach her goals and dreams, no matter how out of reach they may seem. Time will tell, but we are raising one amazing girl, who is good, and strong and faithful to her morals and beliefs.

Emilee and Abby are just cruising along right now, enjoying the summer with their cousins from AZ who were here for 3 weeks. We LOVED every second they were here, and wish they could visit more often.

Next on the family agenda, Kami has a track meet this Friday, Hailey returns on Saturday from soccer camp and then leaves again Wednesday for ECNL championships in Denver. After Hailey's return she will be doing conditioning with the High School team. High school tryouts are Aug 1-3 and then she will be off to Pioneer Trek on Aug 3rd til the 5th. Hopefully she makes the high school team and preseason games and practices begin Aug 8th.

Fun family trip planned for San Diego the second week August (minus Hailey and Paul unfortunately)

Kami will be trying out for the middle school volleyball team in the middle of August.

Then school will start...hopefully life will slow down a little bit.

Oh, and Abby will be starting soccer in the fall and Emilee will be starting an art class, something she has been begging to do for a while now.

Just wanting to catch up on all our activities. I'm partially losing my mind trying to get everyone everywhere they need to be and get my hours in at work. Even though I work from home, there is nothing easy or cushy about it. But what a blessing it is that I can.

Good and busy day

I am sitting here in my house, all by myself. I can hear my 2 girls playing with their friends outside in the circle. Home made banana bread is baking in the oven. It feels so good and calm in here. I need to recognize these precious moments while I get them, when I get them.

I love to hear my girls laugh, that is medicine to my soul for sure. I love to see them smile when they have accomplished something hard, like my sweet little Emilee today in her first piano recital in front of LOTS of parents, and kids. She was very nervous but made it through like a champ! She wasn't perfect with her song. She had played it perfectly at home, but I think she just got nervous up there. Regardless, it was perfect to me. She is one of the sweetest little girls I know, who has a very tender heart. She loves me and always wants to snuggle with me. She used to walk around the Primary room with me when I was first called in primary like my little shadow. Im going to miss watching my girls in primary each week.

This coming week marks a big milestone in our family. Kami is graduating from Primary and going into Young Womens. I can't believe she is turning 12 on Thursday. She is growing so fast too, her feet are almost my size (an 8) and she is almost as tall as me too.

Hailey is growing up so fast too. It scares me. Next month she will be 14 and able to go to stake dances. Ya, that freaks me out a little. She has been traveling around the country the last 6 months for soccer. We figured out she has been in 7 different states in the past 5 months. She has traveled more in the past 4 months than I have in my entire life. She has a passion, and she is a straight A student. She is a good girl. I pray she stays that way.

Abby is growing up fast too. She has her dad wrapped around her finger for sure. She is in Ms Karie's preschool and LOVES it!

I love my girls and I pretty much live my life through them. That is my job right now. I know that some people may thing thats pretty sad, but I know its one of the divine reasons I am here on earth. To raise these girls to follow Jesus Christ.

And then there is Paul and I. We are going to be selling his truck. He loves that thing so much but the gas is, right now, 4.10 a gallon. With his truck and a suburban, we are paying WAY too much money in gas. So we have to make a change. Its ok, when we get a car, it might be kinda nice having a smaller car that gets better gas mileage and less expensive to maintain.
We have learned some hard lessons these past 18 months. How to cut back, do without, and not live with a credit card. We are not out of the woods, but at least we know that we are not accruing any more debt. That feels pretty good.

Well, time to get the bread out of the oven, kids in the bath.....

My cell phone has been hijacked by my goofy kids!

Here are a few of the amazing photos of my children while messing with my phone.

Sad

Yes, I am sad.

I was just released on Sunday from Primary. Being a primary president has taught me a lot. I loved the children immensely. If it were only the children, I could serve there forever.
The music consistently brought tears to my eyes. Hearing the children sing was like hearing angels sing. I know it wasn't always like that, every Sunday. But more often than not.

I could feel Heavenly Father's love for these children. I knew He called me to serve them.

But, unfortunately with good always comes the bad.

It has come to my attention that there has been some very unkind things said about our presidency. The way we served, some of the things we did as far as Sunday primary. I could go on, but I wont.

I thought I was there to serve the Lord and please Him. We followed the rules, the outlines, the handbook. We did this to the best of our abilities. More than anything else, we worked hard at making sure the children knew they were loved, both by us and by their Heavenly Father and Savior, and we taught the gospel.

It has hurt my heart, and I think it will take a lot of effort on my part to truly move forward. The worst part, it started with the Bishopric bad talking us to the new presidency.

(this info came from a part of the new presidency, so I know its legit)

I cant understand for the life of me what is gained by belittling others. What exactly was the motive behind it?


Not to mention the fact that not once did they counsel or ask us to change anything. NOT ONCE

I have a testimony. I know the gospel is true. I will continue to go to church.

I am truly at a loss to know what to do. (and how to not be hurt)

Nothing better than knowing your child has felt the spirit. Had a great day at church yesterday and Family Home Evening last night. Definitely a journal entry day since it is RARE to have both a great day at church AND a great FHE.

Paul bore his testimony yesterday and all his girls listened, with my oldest getting teary eyed. I have a strong husband who teaches our girls so much just by the good person he is.

And then FHE we watched "To This End Was I Born" about Jesus Christ and the Atonement. I wanted my girls to understand the Atonement so that when they are asked what it is, they can answer completely and not just "he died" or "he was resurrected".
My girls were captivated by the movie, and we talked about it afterwards. The spirit was so strong, and I helped them to recognize it by pointing out that was what we were all feeling.

Sometimes teaching the same things over and over again sinks in. I will keep doing it. Elder Hollands talk was awesome when he referred to children as "Bedlam-ites" That is definitely what they turn into during family home evening or scriptures. But I sure love them!