Our trip to Arizona



Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Recently at Church we have discussed the importance of knowing what our Prophet is currently teaching. I have thought so much about this because we all say,"we are grateful to have a living Prophet on the earth today" but how many of us take the time to read his latest words? I must confess I am usually guilty of being ignorant.

Although, I just took the time to read President Monson's message on www.lds.org called, "Come unto Him in Prayer and Faith" what a beautiful message! I know that if I start to take time to truly listen to the Prophets counsel & apply it to my life my family will be blessed.

Also, the Churchs stance on BIG LOVE is a good read & a great reminder to find the higher road.
You can read it on the Church's official website...www.lds.org

Have fun reading!!!

Some Thoughts

Last night I was able to attend our wards enrichment night, which was amazingly beautiful & motivating. The theme was "Celebrate You" and what a good idea! The dinner was great, friends even better & the speaker Cindy Ady was Fabulous.

Here is what I took away from the night.

Just before Cindy spoke I was speaking with some friends & remember saying,"I don't believe that I really think during the day." So sad, although being a Mother is often routine & nothing really to analyze over. Then Cindy stood up and spoke. The theme that I took away from here message was, that life is long and there are many opportunities that come up but, there is a season for each opportunity that we are given. As I was listening to this woman who has accomplished so much in her life: scholastically, family, government; I began to feel as if what I was doing was more important than making lots of money or being someone important, because I am important. I am the most important person in the world to my daughters & husband. I am so grateful to have the job that I do!! I love my family so much & I find that my best memories are the ones with my girls.
I truly need to invest myself into my children as I would any project, job or craft! I read a Dr. Seuss quote last night that made me realize that I can read to learn as much as I need during this period of my life, until I am finished being a stay at home mother.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” mcleodbr

Dr. Seuss quote

Our Princesses

I have decided to compile all the pictures of the girls into one great slide show! They all seem to have a common theme of Princess!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Lost & Found

Colleen gets really bored while we wait for Montana to finish Ballet! She found this bucket and had a great time playing in it!! Unfortunately, she looked like she belonged in it!!

My Creations

I know that I haven't blogged in FOREVER!! Sorry!! Christmas happened, January threw me some interesting experiences & now Feb. is almost over!

I just wanted to do a post of some of the projects that I have done over the last few months. I started taking a sewing class in October and it has motivated me to start sewing for fun! My Mother in Law also helped me decorate Tana's room when they were here the end of January!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Digital Scrapbooking...I'm on board!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Funny Comment

Today Montana & I were talking about sports as we were eating lunch. She was getting so excited as we were talking and began to wish out loud that she was older...it went something like this, "Maybe when I grow taller and have boobs I can play sports too!!". HA HA HA, I had a hard time not laughing at that statement but it is sort of true, right!?

Ward Christmas Party

Last night was so much fun! There was such a great turn out for our ward Christmas Party! The food was great, singing was fun and it is so nice being in the presence of friends! Best of all SANTA came! The kids were so excited! Montana was sitting on my lap singing, "Here comes Santa Claus" as he entered the room & I couldn't hold her tight enough to keep her on my lap!

We left shortly after the girls sat on Santa's lap, but when we left the building, Tana was wildly running around & looking everywhere. I thought maybe she just ate too much sugar but I stopped her & asked her what was wrong, she replied," MOM! Where are the reindeer...I just can't see them anywhere!!".

What a cutie!! I had to come up with an excuse quickly...so this is what I told her! "Santa's reindeer are resting for Christmas Eve so Santa flew here with magical fairy dust" She totally bought it! Thank Goodness!

EAT CAKE

My Grandma Shirley Johnston just made us the most BEAUTIFUL QUILT ever!!! I am SOOOO Thankful for all her time & hard work that she put into this treasure. We are going to cherish it forever. It is going to hang on my kitchen wall, how fabulous.

Stampeders Game

Travis was able to take us to the Stampeders games last weekend! It was so fun! The girls had fun & were actually into the game. Guppy was cheering & Coco would yell, "GO GO GO GO GO"! It was a good day for all of us!

The Korella's Visit

Lyn & Glenda came out to visit us in October & I never posted some cute pictures so here we go! We are loving that they have been able to visit a bit more.

Petland

So on the days that I haul my kids ALL OVER TOWN doing errands, we sometimes stop at Petland to regroup and see the animals. Last time we went there was a very kind caretaker who actually let Montana hold a puppy. Tana was so elated! She was so happy & so gentle! What a lovely puppy!

My Diva

The other morning Montana came down to breakfast in this outfit!! I was laughing sooo hard! The best part was the poses that she was hitting! What a character.

Trip to North Carolina

We had a great trip to North Carolina to visit Travis's brother & family! The girls did well on the flight and it was me who was getting antsy!! We were able to visit Charlotte, go trick-or-treating, golfing, shooting, went to the spa & had a great time being with cousins! I had so much fun with Sara & we barely saw Travis & Jesse, since they were so busy playing! Montana spent hours outside on the swing. Colleen just loved playing with Aislyn. Aisy was soooo cute & she would almost growl "co co" whenever she would see Colleen. Both the girls were able to attend school with their cousins on friday! They seemed to really enjoy it!

Family Pictures

Vanessa Ross just did our family pictures...at our home! How wonderful!! She was amazing & so patient with Colleen who was overly tired and just wanting her bottle & blankey. Here are some of them!

Thanksgiving Weekend

My little babies are growing up fast. Colleen has been putting two words together & speaking in little sentences since last week!! She will tell me, Thank you, That's Cute, No No and many other interesting facts! Montana has been very busy being a mommy to two little plush puppies. She has created a bed for them, wraps them in left over material & I even catch her nursing them. She is very caring!
We had a great weekend with Lyn & Glenda for Thanksgiving! Trav & his Dad finished off the Garage....WHOOO HOOO!! My house is practically organized! I am just waiting for one more storage unit to come in and I am done! YES!
Okay, we went to the Telus Science Center, swimming at Southland Leisure Center, shopping for Christmas stuff, Thanksgiving dinners & out as adults one night. Man we were busy! Glenda even motivated me to start making an apron (which I am almost finished)!

Life is good, life has been busy but we are still having fun. We are so Thankful for our wonderful family, great friends, a roof over our heads, a good job, our amazing Ward Family and finally....music & dancing!

The Backyard

We have a deck & grass!!! We are so excited that we can finally use our backyard & grateful to the men who put it together! We found an amazing carpenter, Warren, who meticulously built our deck & fence. Then the Evergreen Turf crew came in and installed our putting green & yard. Yes, we do have synthetic turf for our backyard & I LOVE IT!!!! No, more hives on my arms from grass!! Here are the pictures....these are for you Mom!

Ode to the Sheppard's

I want to thank the Sheppard's in my life for helping me with computer stuff!! My brother in law Jon Sheppard for helping me with my computer...example: setting it up & programming it!!! His sister Hilary (sheppard) Craner for designing my new blog layout! Isn't it sooooo pretty!!! Hilary is designing blog layouts as a new business venture. I know that she will do wonderful. If anyone wants to check out her blog....www.simplyyoursdesigns.blogspot.com

Thank you for both, for sharing your hard work, time and amazing talents!!

First Day of Preschool

When I think of myself, I truly picture ME as an 18 yr old just enjoying life with lots of adult things going on. Today was a sad day. I was woken this morning by Montana, stretching & yawning then saying, "the suns up lets go to preschool"!! I am definitely NOT 18 anymore. I am 27, I have a wonderful husband, two beautiful girls, a dog I prefer not to have & a mortgage!! Life is very real, life is going on around me & I need to keep up.

I need to stop cleaning my house & play with my girls. I need to read them more books. I need to not compare myself to others & their talents...I will have time to get better at mine in a few years when my girls don't want to be with my anymore. I need to start all this tomorrow!

And I WILL!! YEA!! I am so glad for realizing that there are TOMORROW'S & not having to lay in bed tonight feeling guilty for everything I missed doing TODAY.

So Today, we started Preschool. Tana choose a cute outfit, let me curl her hair, danced with me & then played playdough till it was time to go. She had a lot of fun! She was very happy & tired coming home. This will be so great for her, 'Bee-Happy preschool' will be exactly that!