Month of Gratitude

A friend of mine challenged me to send her a text everyday this month of something I was grateful for....she had several of her friends do this and every night she sent out an email of all of our anonymous 'gratitudes'. I found myself so looking forward to that email everyday. It was a great way to fill such a crazy, busy and otherwise normal month into an exciting and humbling experience. I am truly so blessed in many ways.....here are the thoughts that I shared:

--Today I am so grateful for a healthy body...although imperfect it allows me so many blessings and opportunities. So grateful.

--Today I am thankful for the beautiful weather (abnormally warm fall)....we are surrounded with the beauty of nature and I am so grateful for one more day I don't have to drag littles around in the snow and cold.

--So grateful for parents that raised me with so much love and compassion and taught me to love and accept all different people from all walks of life. I have been so richly blessed by friends acquaintances and strangers because of it.

--Grateful for my testimony of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.... it is my rock and the constant in my life. All of the blessings in my life stem from it.

--Thankful for freedom.....Freedom to be educated, practice religion, travel and raise my kids to live their dreams.

--Grateful for happy children, they make me laugh and smile every day ;)

--I am grateful for women. Womanhood is a powerful force....what a blessing to be surrounded by righteous, serving, loving, courageous women that continually put their love of their families before themselves. Not only am I grateful for the women that I associate with daily but I am so thankful for all the women in history that have had the courage to stand up for what is right and speak with their words actions and examples on behalf of goodness, love, virtue and strength. Lets face it, being a woman and a daughter of God is awesome and so powerful in influencing mankind for good.

--Thankful for my Mom. She is such a beautiful soul....Strong beyond belief, faithful, funny and determined. She is one of my greatest blessings, best friends, biggest supporters and the first to catch me when I fall.

--Grateful for random acts of kindness, someone shoveled my driveway and brought in my garbage cans today :) made me smile and feel so loved.

--So grateful for my best friend and eternal companion....He makes me laugh every day, he's determined and detailed when it counts, he is a dreamer and encourages us to dream big and work hard...most of all he makes me want to be better in every aspect of my life...Plus he puts up with all my kookiness ;)

--I am enormously grateful for nap time. For my kids, but mostly for me. I love when I get to take a nap!! Especially if its a rough day...Nap time is like my reset button :) Feels so good!

--Thankful for the convenience of modern life. I love the options, ease and access, it allows me to spend more time doing things I love and learning is limitless!

--So grateful for my snugly, smiley, drama-free little baby boy! He eats, sleeps(a little) and poops....easy peasy!!

--So grateful for friends and family that love me and accept me despite my faults and quirks

--grateful for diet caffeinated beverages that allow me a bit of energy when I've been up all night.

--I am grateful for a living prophet...I love the peace I feel when I hear his voice and the power I feel when I read his words. What an honor it is to be led by a man who truly knows my Savior.

--Today I am grateful for play places and hand sanitizer in mass quantities. They make winter bearable and nap time more likely.

--So thankful for my older sister. She is one of my rocks. She is so faithful and unwavering in her belief in and love of our Savior. She believes in me and encourages me to reach my goals....even the silly ones :) She is always willing to make sacrifices or me, her family, our mom, younger sister and brother, but would never in a million years expect or ask for credit. She isn't afraid to fail or try new things. She is forgiving and looks for the best in others...and keeps me in line when I don't. I am so grateful for her love, friendship and loyalty....she is truly the best.

--Thankful for the strength and energy to do so many things. To run, exercise, work , play with my kids and take care of my family. Something I take for granted far too often but I am so blessed to have. I work with and see so many that physically cannot so these things.

-Grateful for good food. It is so good. Thanksgiving is so full of love and tradition and I thoroughly enjoy preparing the food while reminiscing on my memories, thinking of my loved ones and looking forward to the time we'll share and new memories we'll make. Such a great holiday!

--So grateful to live close to family. It gets crazy and overwhelming at times. But having the support, love and being able to be together on holidays is so wonderful.

Happy 32 to our "Billiest"!!!

Ten years ago this weekend I was making a quilt for a really handsome 22 year old that I'd been dating for a few months :) Can't believe it is a DECADE later and he is even more handsome and wonderful!

 Maci made up a song recently that goes something like this.... "Daddy is da billiest, strongest and fastest, Mommy is da beufulist, maci is the youngest and leila wants to be like Maci..." So, the term Daddy is interchangeable with "da billiest" now :)

 We celebrated his special day by bribing some of his buddies and their beautiful (and also ALL pregnant) wives into meeting us for dinner at Stone Ground Pizza in Salt Lake.

(Sorry the picture is blurry....there was a certain homeless, drunken, toothless friend distracting me to the side)
 We spent the rest of the evening chatting in a coffee shop, sipping hot chocolates and reminiscing and laughing.....

 The next morning the girls and I woke up early to make Daddy "beksift" in bed....Lemon Swedish pancakes with berries and whipped cream, mango and pineapple parfait and of course chocolate milk ;)
I may have dropped the tray on the new rug......lame. Yogurt is more difficult to get out of a rug than I thought.

 Maci and I spent about 45 min blowing up balloons....cause the helium at the grocery store was out last night :) One of us got really dizzy and had to lay down for a few minutes.....I blame it on all the baby making going on....

 Maci and Leila were SO excited to wrap gifts and watch Daddy open....

 lots of  kisses and singing ensued.....

 They insisted on getting Tan a HUGE spquirt gun.....I compromised and agreed to the bazooka size...

 We got to spend the evening with Tan's family and then had Oreo Ice Cream and Pink Lemonade Pie for his Birthday treat.....

 Maci took our picture for Daddy's "birfday"......she's bound to be a photographer :)

Words cannot express how much we love you Tan! You are the most amazing husband and "daddy"....we are blessed to have you as the leader of our home. Can't wait to see all that you dream of and accomplish throughout this coming year :)

News!!!

HAHAHA! I can't believe it!! Woke up this morning to go to the gym and was having excruciating heart burn....weird. I never have heart burn, unless..........I'm pregnant.

I was inspired to test my theory........SURPRISE!!

Pippy Lou Turns Two!!

Leila Helen Bell, you are a joy.

You are so full of life and love. You are at such a fun age right now and Mommy, Daddy and 'seesh-ho" are enjoying every minute of it....okay, most minutes of it. You definitely have your moments but for the most part you are ridiculously cute, super smiley, easy going and always chuckling or talking. At age Two:

- You are cuddly and give the best kisses ever....not quite a fishy kiss but not quite gaping open mouth kiss either.

-You ADORE shoes. Anyone's, but mostly yours. It is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing I have to pry off of your feet at night. I get blamed for it but you are a whole different species of shoe lover! You pick out which ones you want to wear each day and then wear at least 5 different pairs throughout the day. you play the most ridiculous game that drives people crazy.....it consists of you making someone put on your shoes (you are totally capable of doing it yourself), walking around in them for 3-5 minutes, showing everyone, then taking them off and making someone put the same pair on again.....over and over and over.

-You are a super picky eater. Maybe worse that Maci was. Your favorites change randomly from day to day and I never know what you will actually eat. Right now some of them include yogurt, noodles, granola bars, chicken nuggets, and 'Bobbi' (yep you are still drinking 2 bottles of carnation Instant breakfast a day).....and of course you can pound anything and everything with sugar in it.

-You LOVE doing whatever Maci is doing and cry whenever we have to drop her off at preschool. But you always know when we are on our way to pick her up and you laugh and clap and say "seesh-ho" repeatedly.

-You are a total busy body. you refuse to sit still. ever. Unless you are really sick.

-You have just started to get really attached to your baby dolls. you carry all 3 of them everywhere around the house all the time and one in the car. it's pretty cute to see your arms stuffed with baby d0lls that are almost as big as you ;)

-You are pretty short like your Mama....sorry kiddo.

-You are starting to talk a lot more and although most of it doesn't make a lot of sense you are getting pretty good. Your most used words are Mommy, seesh-ho, ginky (binky), jube (juice), Yet (yes), Han (hannah), Bobbi, no way and mine.

-You love to tease Daddy by calling him "tan" to get his attention....you'll say it repeatedly and when he won't respond you get a big grin on your face and finally say "Daddy!".....then resume calling him "tan". You guys play it all the time :)

-You adore your Aunt Hannah and Pampa......you always run straight to them and give them the first hug.

-You think you are indestructible. You hit your head at least 3-4 times a day and react with only an "ow". You have very little sense of fear and definitely like to test your boundaries.

-You have the best bed head ever. you get a gnarly rat's nest on the back of your head in remarkably minuscule periods of time. from home to the end of the street you will have rubbed your head back and forth so many times that your ponytail is gone and just tangles remain.

-You add a random "ho" onto words.....I can't wait to figure out what you mean by it or if it is just your signature :) For example, ginky-ho, bobbi-ho, baby-ho........Funny.

You are such a blessing to our family and we love you so much!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEILA BOO!!

Ode to my Heaven.....

Oh how I love the beach....It's calm, it's constant, it's soothing sounds and smells. So many shildhood memories and adventures held here. It fills my dreams and takes over my thoughts....especially in the dead of a Utah winter. It makes me giddy. Is sure to make me smile. Rejuvenates my soul.

Oh How I love the Beach!

Savoring the Beach

Nothing is more soothing to me than standing
on the beach, watching the sunset and hearing the
Waves crash.....











We got to make a trip down to southern California so that Tanner could work..... The girls and I got to hang out with my Mom!
It was fantastic....not much on the schedule, just time at the beach and time together :)

Someday I'll get to see the beach more often than once a year :) For now, this was a great way to end my summer :)

Seaport Village....The place of my Childhood

Another of my absolute favorite places to go as a kid! Seaport Village. It seems like we came here so often, yet every time it was such a special treat.

Of course there will be ice cream involved if Gangan and Daddy have any say :)

Maci's classic face.....not so sure what it means or why it happens.

It is always a must to pose by an Indian carving when the opportunity presents itself.....right?

The infamous ferry ride to Coronado Island.....I love to remember those ferry rides. I was always so terrified as a kid....so scared that my little brother was going to go overboard or that we would sink in the middle of the bay....I was a wimp. Still good memories.

Me and my Schwimp

Beautiful City....in my Opinion

Me and M'love.....and Maci's arm

Killin' time while waiting for the next ferry.

It's hard to tell from this picture but we hit up one of those pedi-cabs on the Pier once we got back to seaport village.....quite the experience. I was so stricken with guilt that the poor guys was hauling all of us that I didn't enjoy it one bit. Lame. 

And finally the carousel......my siblings and I would beg to ride this over and over. It is a little creepy now....all carousels are to me. But, for memory/nostalgia's sake we had to ride it. The girls wouldn't go on without Gangan.