Here you go, Kate-My Tagged Answers

1. What were you doing ten years ago?
I was living in Boerne, Texas. (In previous years since I am old :) I had already graduated from college and gotten married.) Kyle was 28 months and Kelsey was 9 months old. Jeremy was working full time and going to school full time. I got to spend my days playing in the sand box, jumping on the trampoline, going to seaworld, going to the park, walking around the neighborhood-or chasing a naked Kyle around the neighborhood, spend Sundays with my sisters in laws and all of our babies at Grandmas for dinner while the boys all watched football. I was a counselor in the Relief Society presidency of our ward. It was a whirlwind of a time. But I would not trade a minute of it.

2.What are five things on your to-do list?
1. Laundry-that I am always behind on
2. I want to Clean Sweep my house-will someone come help me?
3. I need to mop my floors.
4. get more serious about my diet
5. get more serious about my exercise

3.What snacks do you enjoy?
I love pretzels, parm. goldfish, celery with peanut butter, apples, bananas and Diet Coke. The deadly snacks that I enjoy are Chex Mix, M &Ms, and popcorn, and Dublin Dr. Pepper and real Mexican Coke!

4.What are the places you have lived?
McAllen, Portland,Tx, Austin, Houston, Kingwood, Provo, Salt Lake City, Hemet, CA, Mission, El Paso, San Antonio, Boerne, College Station, Humble, Texas.

5.What are the 5 things you would do if you became a billionaire?
1. I would pay off our debts. (house and student loans) 2. buy land and build dream house in country 3. establish a program that helped parents/ spouses/soldiers pay for psychological care when they could not (after death, illness, long term, care, etc.) since even with coverage copays for mental health is so expensive it is often overlooked 4. I know this is selfish but I would take my family on a world tour over the course of a couple of years and see all of the places I long to see. 5. I would help kids and sports in some way

At the Park

Keira's Thanksgiving program

Keira was a pilgrim in her kindergarten program for Thanksgiving. As the teacher read her prepared script her line was "Mercy Me!" in a southern accent. It was pretty funny. She had been practicing her line and singing her songs for a couple of weeks and she was pretty excited for this day. It was fun to watch her. Jeremy and I were there with Kenna and then Kelsey got her GT teacher to let her out of class to come watch the program, but since it was only 5 minutes long-she missed it, but still got to see Keira. Keira did not want us to leave-she broke out in tears- so we signed her out and had a fun day at the park, then she wanted to go to McDonald's so we used our trick or treat coupons and the girls played there. When we got home the little girls played some more. It was a great day.

A Scary Reminder of How Quickly Life Can Change

This morning at 8:30am life changed forever for Sue and Charlie. They live two houses down from me. I take Charlie to school every morning. I look at him as I do the other kids on the street as one of my adopted kiddos. So it was a shock when my neighbor knocked on my door at 8:45am this morning to tell me that their house was on fire. It took 20 minutes for the fire trucks to get there. The roof is almost completely gone. One side of the house looks really bad and I guess the back is even worse. They do not know yet what started it. It just breaks my heart to watch what this family is going through. Charlie just broke his ankle on saturday at a basketball game and now this. The trials of life are so hard. The challenges we all face alter each of us and I know Charlie and Sue will get through this-it just seems like as I get older those trials sure do get bigger and bigger. I have watched kids lose parents, parents lose kids. I have seen divorce, abuse, drug addiction, and suicide. I have seen one poor choice change not only one life, but all of the lives around him forever.

Don't get me wrong, I have hope. I have faith. I am so grateful to have a knowledge of God, our Heavenly Father. I know that I need to be more faithful. I need to have more hope. I need to trust in the Lord more. I just wonder what the bigger picture is. I know that we must know pain to know joy, but it seems that lately there has been a lot more pain than joy in a lot of people's lives.

I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for all of the blessings He gives me each day. I need to stop and count them today and take a moment to pray extra hard for this family to receive blessings. Life does go on, but when we look out for one another it sure makes life a lot sweeter and a lot easier to bear when you have a shoulder to lean on.

A reminder of what a great job I have

MOTHERS
Real Mothers don't eat gourmet meals
they don't have time to make them.
Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
are probably in the sandbox in the backyard ..
Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
filthy ovens and happy, dirty kids.
Real Mothers know that dried play dough
doesn't come out of carpets, unless you cut it out.
Real Mothers don't want to know what
the vacuum just sucked up.
Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.
Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade... It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom.....

The Images of Motherhood
4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!
8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom doesn't really know quite everything.
14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mom doesn't know that, either..
16 YEARS OF AGE - Mom? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!
25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!
35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.
45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.
The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

This was sent to me today. It was a great reminder of what a great calling the Lord has blessed me with each day. May I never take it for granted!

Stop The Music!!! They Let Her Out of the Goal!!!

Well after it is all said and done-here it is- Kelsey finally getting to come out of the goal and play the last 8 minutes on the field-22 games later! She did an excellent job! She was great! She even scored a goal! (It was called back as a hand ball even though it bounced off of her leg) The officials were calling things to help out the other team b/c we were winning. But she was agressive, had a break away and it really showed that she loves playing soccer-not just as a goalkeeper, but as a player on the field. So I know that we have made the right decisions to support her and develop her as a player not as a position. I want to thank Maurice for the pictures! He got these of Kelsey for us this weekend so we can remember that she was on the field for 8 minutes of one game. I think politics and big money in youth sports when they are 10 in sickening and although we have been fighting it since we moved to Houston two years ago, I am glad that Kelsey still loves the game. We have found good friends from soccer. We have found some really ugly competitive sides of people as well. But most of all even if the lessons learned have been hard lessons at times, I am grateful for what I have learned.

And since she is my daughter and this is my blog-I get to write-

KELSEY ROCKS!!!!!

Kenna's first real Boo Boo

Kenna got her first real booboo last night. She hit her mouth on the handle bars of
Kelsey's pink scooter. It was a bleeder! I was worried for a little bit that she had bit right on through the lip and we were headed to the ER. (I have only taken my kids twice! Kyle for a ruptured eardrum on mother's day on Kelsey for pulling her gums off of her teeth when she hit the side of the pool doing a back flip-back when she was in gymnastics) But luckily as it stopped bleeding it was not as bad as it looked. It still looks pretty nasty today and I am sure it will for awhile, but I am glad that she is ok.

I have a nasty sinus infection and an ear infection-so I am glad that I finally went in. I got some antibiotics and steriods and hopefully will start feeling better soon! I can't wait. Most of all I hope she sleeps tonight! I am exhausted from this cute little girl and ready for her to get back to sleeping and being happy and healthy!

The Fun and Not So Fun Filled Friday!!!!!

Kenna and I are sitting in the waiting room at the hospital waiting for Jeremy while he had his colonoscopy. The hospital staff was so nice to us and two different receptionist gave Kenna coloring books to keep her busy while we waited from 9:45 until 12:45 for Jeremy. All went well and he is cancer free! So it was all worth it! But he was a hungry boy so for dinner that night he wanted a buffet! Well some of our closest friends wanted to get together as well so only because they love Jeremy so much did they agree to go with us to Golden Corral. I know I always say this, but sports have brought us some really great friends! We got to share the night with two families! It was The Branns, The Lominacs, and the Grohns and all of our kids! 10 in all!!!! The kids LOVED it! And I think I may have given Julie a minor heart attack by letting Shep eat ice off the table and eat ice cream all in one night! But it was a lot of fun! Afterwards we all played the Wii fit plus at Julie's house and the kids (all 10 of them!) had so much fun! It really was a lot of fun and reminded me that it is the little things in life that sustain us through hard times. Good friends are God's gift to us and I am grateful that we have them! Natie and Nathan then came in to visit for the weekend full of baseball and soccer. It was a lot of fun. The boys got too cocky and didn't win this tournament, but Kyle did have a great batting average of .657. So it is neat to watch him improve every day at something he loves.

More Halloween pictures

More Halloweenie Roast Pictures

So here are some of the pictures from Halloween night. We had a block party and it was so much fun! We had hot dogs and lots of great fixin's! We watched a movie after trick or treating! We saw a fire truck and the fireman gave out stickers. We really do live in an awesome neighborhood! I hope we can stay here while the girls are little. Kyle even went to his first party that wasn't a birthday party! Kelsey was invited too. My kids are growing up. :( It seems like yesterday it was Kelsey who was Kenna's size and I was chasing her and Kyle at the trunk or treating. Now they are off partying and I am chasing Keira and Kenna!

Be Still and Know that I am God

I am so grateful for a church leader that is inspired of the Lord. He knows how to remind me that I can do more to reach out to the Lord to strengthen my relationship with Him. He gently teaches me he knows that I know but forget in the everyday trials of life-that the Savior was sent to "[suffer] pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance."
This glorious gift called the atonement. It isn't just for my sins. It is for my afflictions, my temptations, my sicknesses and my pain. But I have to take the time to be still. I have to trust Him and His plan and His time. Because life involves all of us humans that make mistakes with each other. The Savior is who stands on that boat in the storm and says "Peace, Be Still". I get it now. I finally get it. Thank you for my answered prayer in MY midnight hour, but YOUR coorect hour.

For all of my friends who deal with every other weekend

These are the lyrics to a Reba song. I was playing on yahoo music and saw this song. It in light of all of my friends who are in the middle of this- it got me thinking-I wonder if there are couples who feel this way? Because of my friends-they don't feel this way-but I know that there are families out there that should have stayed together and could have made it work. But any song that Reba and Kenny sing together is gonna sound great and make you believe anything is possible!!!!

"Every other Friday it’s toys and clothes in backpacksIs everybody in? Okay, let’s go see DadSame time in the same spot, corner of the same old parking lotHalf the hugs and kisses there are always sad We trade a couple words and looks and kids againEvery other weekend(SKIP)Every other weekend with very few exceptionsi pick up the love we made in both my armsAnd its movies on the sofa, grilled cheese and cut the crusts offBut “that’s not the way Mom makes it Daddy” breaks my hearti miss everything we used to have with her againEvery other weekend(CHORUS)i can’t tell her i love her / i can’t tell him i love himCause there’s too many questions and ears in the cari don’t tell him i miss him / i don’t tell her i need herHe’s over me / she’s over me – that’s where we areSo we’re as close as we might ever be againEvery other weekend(REBA)Every other Saturday, first thing in the mornin’i turn the TV on to make the quiet go awayi know why, but i don’t know why we ever let this happenFalling for forever was a big mistakeThere’s so much not to do and all day not to do it inEvery other weekend(Skip)Every other Sunday i empty out my backseatWhile my children hug their mother in the parking lotWe don’t touch and we don’t talk much, maybe goodbye to each otherThen she drives away with every piece of heart i’ve goti re-convince myself we did the right thing againEvery other weekend(CHORUS)And i can’t tell her i love her / i can’t tell him i love himCause there’s too many questions and ears in the cari don’t tell him i miss him / i don’t tell her i need herHe’s over me / She’s over me – that’s where we areSo we’re as close as we might ever be againEvery other weekend(SKIP)Yeah for fifteen minutes we’re a family again(REBA)God I wish that he was still with me again(TOGETHER)every other weekend"