Inspirational

I've been thinking a lot about the past few years and how much I've grown because of hard things. I've come to the conclusion that all of our lives are like this quote. Nothing is ever going to be exactly what we think it should be. Yet, happiness still can be found if we determine in our hearts and minds to find it.

I was moved

I read this quote the other day and I really love it:

We don't know it at the time, but depressions are golden opportunities to stop what we are doing and look within. When you fall down and find all your pieces scattered around, you stop breathing for a while. The world stops breathing. Then, little by little, you start rebuilding yourself, and there is always a chance that the new construction will be better than the last.                    -Elif Shafak (Vogue Dec. '15)

Christmas decorating

We love Christmas and we always start decorating the day after Thanksgiving. Every year I have to do some sort of craft. This year we painted pine cones (which we went and found), and I made yarn wrapped trees. It's turning out to be a very lovely Christmas season.

Davis Family Turkey dinner

My family has an annual tradition. We go to dinner on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving. We go to dinner at Chuck-A-Rama so everyone has plenty of variety, and no one has to wash dishes. It was, once again, fantastic! The boys loved all the attention and it was so nice to be together as a family. We honestly don't get together very often, so it's extra special when we are all together.

My parents 38th anniversary also happened to land on this same night. They have been through a lot of hard things together as a couple. They will be the first to admit that there were some very difficult years, but they are still together and I'm so thankful for that. Now that they don't have any kids left at home, things are the best they have ever been.  They are taking the time to actually be a couple and that is so sweet. They are such a great example to me.

The day we got snow

The boys were so excited and couldn't wait to get out and get a snow man built. Needless to say, we postponed school for an hour or two and the boys made this little guy. They were out there for almost an hour which is a record for them. I was almost wondering what to do with myself with so much free time.

Piano moments

This Christmas season has already been so much better because this little guy can play Christmas music.He has been taking piano for over a year now and his songs are getting increasingly difficult. Right now every Monday we chose a new Christmas song to sing for school, and we pick one from his piano book so he can play it for us. Singing with him every morning is the highlight of the day for me. I love that he enjoys playing. Often, throughout the day, when Peter is bored or frustrated I will find him here playing his songs over and over again. In fact, he now has Yankee Doodle completely memorized.  This piano came from Peter's Great Grandpa and I'm sure he is up in heaven absolutely thrilled this dude is loving his treasured piano.

Silly moments at Home Depot

My boys are a bit obsessed with the Christmas blow up decorations. The other day we had to run to Home Depot to return something we didn't end up using (plumber's putty for the garbage disposal we had to replace). The boys saw these decorations and asked if I would please take their picture. It was one of those rare mommy moments when I slowed down and saw these two boys growing up way to quickly right before my eyes.

Thankful turkey's

The first Monday night of November found us gathered around the kitchen counter with our construction paper. I love this annual tradition. I am always astonded when I stop and think about all my blessings. More then any other time in my life, I am so very thankful for what I have. My Heavenly Father is so good to me and this little family of mine. 

Mom's turkey

Dad's turkey

luke's turkey

peter's turkey

Peter's Birthday

This kid is now 7 Years old. I can't believe how quickly the time has zoomed by. He was awake at 5am, but we didn't let him open presents until 6:30. We are so incredibly blessed because Brandon is always able to take the day off work for birthdays. After spending most of the morning at home we went to get Peter's pictures taken at the mall (an annual tradition that counts as annual school pictures), and then to Chuck-E-Cheese's for lunch. It was a glouious day, this kid was happy, and he received many wonderful presents. Hopefully he will spend the next several months spending hours and hours playing with them.

Trying to be like Jesus

This is one of the Primary songs my boys are memorizing right now. This past week we were able to put the words of this song into action by sending a special treat to a new missionary at the MTC. He is the son of a great friend who lives in Minnesota. While I got busy making cinnamon rolls the boys colored pictures. It was fun to see them excited and I really loved Peter's drawing. He is at such an enjoyable kid right now.

Witches at Gardner Village

There is a really great homeschool group that goes on biweekly fieldtrips/hikes around utah county. This week they decided to go to Gardner Village. It just happened to work out that Brandon was able to take the day off work and come with us. That made it a super fun day. I loved going and the boys really enjoyed finding all the fun witches scattered throughout the shops. I would love to make this an annual October tradition for our little family.