5 Blessings I Am Thankful For

The past few days I've been feeling a little stressed and kind of felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. Just now as I was cleaning up lunch, I thought "I really am blessed to be able to be home with my kids" so I thought I'm going to make a journal entry on my blessings and that will make the sunshine brighter! So here's 5 of the blessings I am the most thankful for:

1. My husband: He works hard to provide us a good life. He is kind hearted and he is always thinking of other people. He drives a lot with his work and so often he comes home and says I stopped and helped this person with a flat tire, this person was stuck, etc. Other times he will come home and say "I saw this old man trying to push snow, I wanted to stop and help but I was trying to get to a meeting, I should have stopped anyways." He is always helping his clients; pushing cows, burning leaves, unloading a truck load of sheep and saving a lamb from certain death are all recent acts that I can think of off the top of my head he came home and told me about. He so often takes the opportunity to help someone else out. He makes our home fun. He will come home and have alot on his mind but he doesn't for one second let the children know. He goes out of his way to make the kids laugh (sometimes too much;) I couldn't ask for a better dad for our kids. I love you Steve!

2. Being a mother: I am so thankful for my children. Each one of them have so many wonderful qualities. Megan well she is the perfect first child (see post below:) Chase: So tenderhearted. He wants to please and works hard to. Trace my go getter. He is so bright and takes everything in so quickly. I have to stay on my toes with him, I pray that I will have the energy and the wisdom to raise this child. Charlee is my baby doll. She is such a sweet little girl. She brightens my every day and makes me smile. I really am thankful that I have the blessing to be home with my children and take them to school and be there when they come home from school. Thank you Steve for working so hard so I can do this.

3. Family and eternal ties: I am so thankful for our families. I have the best mom and dad ever and I am so blessed to have just as wonderful in laws. I am thankful for great brothers and sisters, mine as well as Steve's. I am thankful for all of our nieces and nephews. I love that even though we have always lived apart, cousins are always so excited to see and play with and love each other. I am thankful for good parents and grandparents that taught us the gospel and raised us in homes full of love.

4. The gospel of Jesus Christ: We recently lost Steve's grandmother. Grandma Lena Mayo was 98 years old and passed away on April 4, 2008. I am so thankful to know that life continues after this one and we have a loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ that have a marvelous plan for each one of us. I am thankful for the knowledge that we will once again see Grandma's and Grandpa's that have gotten old and moved on from this earthly life. When little Trace asks me "when will Grandpa Berry come to life again like Jesus did?", I smile inside because even at 4 yrs old, he knew that a year ago when Grandpa Berry died and he saw him lying in the casket that Grandpa Berry really wasn't there and that he will live once again like Jesus. How blessed I feel to be able to teach my children the sweet gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. Good Health: Filling this lost spot is a tough one, I have so many blessings. But I am very thankful for good health. I am so thankful for medical science and dr's that have devoted their lives to finding medicines that cure and protect us. My husband, my children and myself all are all healthy and that is a tremendous blessing.

Sorry this post is kind of personal, but writing it all down sure made me feel better. I can now focus on the good things in life and know that the little things will fall into place. Back to cleaning my house (another great blessing--having a house to clean :)

Megan, our wonder daughter!

So last month I helped Megan complete a huge school project. She did essentially a memory book/scrapbook/autobiography. It is quite the project and she took it to the next level (as she does all of her tasks) she got a 119% on the project! But as we were looking through pictures I couldn't believe how fast everyone is growing up. I was simply amazed at how big my kids are now. Particularly Megan, she is growing up into such a wonderful young lady. Today I'm going to brag on my Megan :-)

Megan 3 wks old

This is her favorite teddy bear. Steve brought it to the hospital the day after she was born. Hard to believe she was once smaller than that bear. Especially now that she is 3 inches taller than her mom! Megan has always been an easy child. She is very independent, she does her own thing and has since she was a little baby. She'd rather be put in her crib and left alone than rocked. Megan has a great bond with her daddy. Steve wanted a little boy first so bad, but he has said since the minute Megan was born, that having a little girl first made him a better dad. (He is a great dad)

Megan 8mos bonding w/ her daddy

Megan is so talented. Her activities keep us very busy:) She is a swimmer, she has swam on the summer swim league for 5 summers now. Every summer she places better than the previous. Last summer she placed 3rd overall out of 60 11-12 year old girls! She was amazing, (1st is her goal this summer). She loves to play soccer and has one amazing corner kick! She's not playing spring soccer because the jr high doesn't have a soccer team so she is running track instead of playing in the city soccer league. This is the first year in years we aren't on the soccer field! She started taking piano lessons when she was 8 and her talent shines through there. She is so amazing...I feel bad, she only has a keyboard to practice on and she still keeps at it and keeps improving. I have never once had to get onto her to practice, she does it all on her own! She participated in a National Federation Junior Festival last month and received a "Superior" Rating! Our goal is to get her a piano as soon as possible! She has a love for basketball. She made the 7th grade team this year and played on a traveling league through the winter (they just had their last tournament las wknd) She is continually improving her skills with that game. Hopefully she will practice all summer and get even better if she wants to continue down that road. As I said before, she is running track, she has been placed as both a sprinter and distance runner and high jump. I'm excited for her first track meet to see how she does. Megan is an excellent student and works hard to maintain her 4.0. She does hours of homework every night.

Megan 1st day of Kindergarten Aug '01

Megan sets high goals for herself, both temporally and spiritually. Megan's goal is to become a Dr. She has stated this for years. Recently she has narrowed the field to Radiologist. I know Megan has the drive and the ability to accomplish anything she puts her mind to. Megan is very loyal and has a great personality. She makes life fun. She definately has her dad's sense of humor. I could go on and on about Megan but I will stop now and post a few of my favorite pics of Megan's school years that I came across on my trip down memory lane. Megs, I love you and I am very proud of all you do. I love being on the sidelines cheering you on, whether it be by the pool, soccer field, basketball court, track, piano, church, school or life. Good job, sweetie! You add the sparkle to my golden thread of life :)

Megan 7th grade

The following pics are first days of school pics. Its fun to see the changes year to year. Cheers to the first days of school and the hope and anticipation each one brings ;)

Megan pre-K (We lived in OK and they start 4 yr olds in public school in pre-k)

Kindergarten '00-'01

1st grade '01-'02

'02-'03 Chase pre-k Megan 2nd grade (this was 3 mos before we moved from Stillwater, OK to Idaho) I was amazed how little they were when we moved to Idaho!

'03-'04 3rd grade we had just moved to Twin Falls

'04-'05 Megan 4th grade, Chase 1st grade

'05-'06 Megan 5th grade. This was the day before her little sister Charlee was born. Megan wanted a little sister so bad. I remember her saying I will share a room with her! She sometimes wants to recant on that statement but she is a great big sister and her and Charlee are best friends! Charlee is one lucky gal to have a big sister like Megan.

'06-'07 Megan 6th grade, Chase 3rd grade (Trace 3 and Charlee 1yr)

And that brings us to this year...I don't know what happened but I did not get 1st day of school pictures last fall. I was so upset. I love those pics! But here's a cute one on her birthday!

Megan's 13th birthday!

Thanks for joining me on my walk down memory lane...time flies enjoy every second! Elder Ballards Sunday afternoon conference talk rang so true to me. I have to start enjoying the moment and stop worrying about getting the next task done!

Twin Falls, Idaho Temple

Twin Falls, Idaho LDS Temple

We are blessed to once again be living in a place that a new temple is being built. This will be the 3rd temple that we have lived near when it was dedicated. When we were first married and lived in Florida we participated in the Orlando Temple dedication and open house. Then we were in Stillwater when the Oklahoma City Temple was dedicated. And now Twin Falls! I am so excited, what a blessing! The open house will be July 11-Aug 16. Dedication August 24, 2008. If you would like to join us for the open house please let me know!

It is beautiful...I love driving by it.

Quick update on the kidos happenins!

The kids continue to keep us busy. We have decided though that as our children get older the best way to keep them out of trouble is to keep them busy!! So that we do :)

Megan finished 7th grade basketball. Her team finished 3rd in their little district. It was fun to watch them grow as a team. Now the same set of girls are playing on a traveling league basketball team. I am thankful for the time a couple of the parents have put forth to make this league happen and the time they spend coaching the girls. They played 5 games on Saturady. Yes Megan went to bed early;)

Chase is counting down the days until wrestling starts in the next few weeks. He has been wrestling since his Kindergarten days and has only lost a handful of matches. It is fun to watch him.

Trace is counting the days until he can ride his motorbike again. He eats, sleeps and drinks that stuff. Whatever am I going to do? I am thankful for the bond between the boys and their dad that motorcycles provide. I just hope that my nerves can handle all this stuff! Trace can also swim the entire length of the pool all by himself now! That was his accomplishmet last week at the gym during his swim lessons. I am quite excited for him! He'll now get to do the swim league with Megan this summer.

Charlee is potty training! Yea, she is doing very well. I can't believe no more diapers for us!!! She is also on her 5th day w/o the binky. That has been pretty traumatic for her. It's been troubling me for some time, how to get rid of it but maintain our sanity! But one night she was stuffed up from a cold she could barely breath so Steve took the binky that night and I decided if she could go a night w/o it we could survive. Honestly she has done much better than I anticipated, she still has those melt down moments when she comes to me and says "Mom, I need a binky" with the most teary, puppy dog face you can imagine. I hate looking into those puppy dog eyes but hopefully soon even those moments will pass.

I can't believe how they are growing. I am thankful to be their Mom :)

Birthday Girl

Megan is 13!!!! today. Where does the time go? This birthday seems so hard for me. She really is growing up f-a-s-t!!!! I don't know if I'm ready for it...she is! She has been quite excited to officially be a "teen"! Wow.

A Movie You Can't Help But Want To Share!

Looking for a fun, family friendly movie that will keep you thinking about it for days? My parents told us about this and it's true...you can't help but want to share it! It's called The Ultimate Gift. So pop some corn, gather the family, and get ready for a feel good, warm fuzzy, movie! PS A box of tissues will be handy :)




When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens anticipates a big inheritance. Instead, his grandfather has devised a crash course on life with twelve tasks – or “gifts” – designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways, sending him on a journey of self-discovery and forcing him to determine what is really most important in life.

Time Flies!

The past few weeks seem like a blur. Where to start. First off...we named the puppy...Rocky. It seems to fit. We called him Rosco a few times and Bubba but those didn't seem quite right. Then we tried on Tank and well that was fun but I couldn't see that being a long term commitment. Then Steve called him Bozo, which actually fits because he runs underneath the coffee table then forgets that he's under something and jumps and cracks his head underneath the table. But in hopes that he outgrows that little phase (soon) I didn't want Bozo to stick. So Rocky it is. The kids love him and the boys play with him so rough that now he thinks its a fun game to chase and bite their heels. Well Charlee doesn't like that game at all. Rocky has a fetish with Charlee's toes and will try to chew on them whenever he gets a chance. Charlee screams like a bear is after her. I told Steve I'd hate to see what she would do if a real dog chased after her. This dog is itty bitty and she screams like she is facing her death. This girl has lungs of iron. I think we will all be tone deaf by the time she grows up. There's nothing like a piercing little girl scream. BTW her brother Trace really likes to hear that scream :)

Other than that...the kids have been sick. Trace got it right before Christmas, Charlee got it then Chase. It seems to strike the next kid as the previous one is getting better and last about a week. So it seems like we have been dealing with this for a long time! Chase went to school one day last week after Christmas break and then missed a full week, today was his first day back. He seems better and so far no symptoms in anyone else. I really am hoping we have hit the end of that road.

Cheers to good health!