Manic Monday: Bounty

There is nothing that I can say that will give due diligence to the word Bounty as one of my favorite people did. Please check out her post as she is talented beyond the limited words that I can express!

This friend has been mine for almost 15 years and she continues to amaze me as I stand in admiration at her beauty and goodness, inside and out! Here's a small (and silly) tribute to part of my greatest bounty!

Brought together by a silly lie
Atop my baby jeep she did fly
Juniper Take Out kept her busy
Racing on her knees & boxing never left her dizzy
William, Jeremy nor Cache could keep her
Only the swing dancing Idaho boy could but lure
the beautiful, oh so smart and talented Clancy
from then until now and now until the end
my fabulous friend will continue to enhance me!
Hide and seek in the dark, Risk and the wondering jew
Breaking the rules, Chubby sticks and me always loving you!

On the B Side: It's apparent to all that I am not the one with the words; however, I do so love, adore and appreciate my Clancy Pants! I am surrounded by goodness and continue to be blessed by amazing people!

Angel and a Pest

Cheers to my darling Ivanhoe as this meme is all hers!

Angel: This week I have 3 that I need to call out; Clancy, Kristin and Shellie.

Clancy Pants, I love our chats and feel like a jerk wad for falling asleep last night in the midst of our 'shiz diggin' session! I love that we can rely on one another and confide in one another.

Kristin, you are the latest and greatest friend. I love that we can chat about real things and I really want to thank you for your kindness, concern, insights and above all for your genuine friendship.

Shellie, The right words at the right time make all of the difference. Our chat yesterday made me smile at the days from the past when we would stay up late and run back and forth between the condos. I do so miss you and was reminded all over again yesterday just how precious you are.

Girls, you are all important to me and serve as serious blessings in my life! Thank you a thousand times over.

Pest: I won't call anyone out but will suffice it to say that it is painful to try to respect people who abdicate responsibility. So rather then try to do something that goes completely against my nature I can flat out tell you that I just don't respect individuals who refuse to be accountable. I am sure that I have done this in my own life and realize that we are all imperfect. Witnessing this behavior this week has made me acutely aware of it. I am living, learning and want to constantly strive to be a better person.

On the B Side: Today is a big day! Best of luck to you, Carrie! We need to pow wow tonight so we can swap stories. Long live Facebook (did I really just say that? yes. yes, i did.)

Friday's Fab Five

Credit for Friday's fav Five goes to my darling Clancy Pants!

1. DD Cakes and Betty Beans come home tomorrow! Enough said.

2. Koug really is my hand maid! I'm just sayin'.

3. I've had so many heart warming chats with Rebecca this week. Fabulous? Yes.

4. The Presedential debates are over. Let's get a new President already.

5. I really miss my Dad. He is my favorite person, hands down. I love you, Mr. Wonderful!

On the B Side: It's Friday and it's good to be home and relax. This week has been full of wonderful things that have touched my heart and for as much as I cry it feels so good to feel.

Angel and a Pest

Credit for the Angel and a Pest posts go to my beautiful friend Ivana

Angel: My dear friend Rebecca is nothing short of an angel . It's funny how our paths crossed and funny how we weave in and out of one another's lives. You are bright, beautiful and have heart that is always touching the lives of others. You stand as a strong example of pure goodness and you do it naturally and without flaw. It so wonderful to see you last night. It caught me off guard when you got a little emotional and made me realize all over again just how very special you are and just how much I love you.

Pest: This weeks pest is that little voice in my head that makes me doubt myself. I think that voice may exist within each of us and spurs a few questions. Just how much space are we going to give to that voice? Just how loud have we allowed that voice to become? That voice is something that we can control and I think it's about time we SQUASH it for good. Clancy my darling, you are the inspiration for the desire to learn to better love and trust myself as you have made me realize just how often and just how much I space give into that voice.

On the B Side: It is overwhelming when I think about the amazing people that surround me in my life. I don't understand it, I will not call it luck and I do not believe in coincidence. I think I'll just be thankful and do my best to take extra special care of them! xxOx

For a Friend of my Friend

I'm promoting for one of Clancy's pals! Check out the following movie trailer and pass along the word;

On the B Side: I am happy to help in a really small way. Best of luck to Racheal!

The Journey

After reading Clancy Pants latest post my mind was brought back to a poem that President Hastings shared with us on our wedding day. While I was unable to locate this particular poem I did find something of great beauty that I would like to share!

"One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice --though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. "Mend my life!"each voice cried. But you didn't stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do --determined to save the only life you could save."

~ Mary Oliver ~

These words remind me of our journey here in this world. There are so many influences in this world putting us down. They tell us that we aren't good enough, that we are of little worth and that we don't matter. We become preoccupied with "things" and lose site. We allow ourselves to become stressed and overwhelemed. These are the voices of the world and they tug at us and weigh in our hearts. These subtles influences try to take us away from the things that matter most.

As we move forward and trust the one voice that matters, that of a loving Heavenly Father we have hope, we begin to more clearly see ourselves for who we are and we realize our own sense of purpose. The road still remains full of fallen branches and stones that serve as impediments in our path but we suddenly come to the realization that we are not alone, that we can overcome these obstacles and we can FEEL hope. More importantly we learn that we can help others and it is all part of the process, part of the journey.

As a mother never has all of this been more ciritical and I love it! I love living it and I love picking myself back up every time I stumble. I love watching the children. Their resilency, their strength and their desire to keep trying impresses so powerfully upon my heart. They truely are amazing and my greatest source of hope.

On the B side: I am so grateful for the the light that is shining brightly on my journey! Even during some of the darkest hours I have quietly been reminded and reassured of who I am, why I am here and what I need to do. "When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us there is hope shining brightly" and yes the password is courage! xoxo

The Brady Bunch and then some!

Last weekend my Clancy Pants and her family came down to SLC from IF and stayed with us. Unfortunately Mark had to work most of the time but we all had a blast. I'm sad that I didn't take any pictures.

On Saturday I was babysitting for some friends so we had a total of 7 children running around our home (compared to just 6 the rest of the weekend!). My Dad is also here from PA and keep in mind that my brother lives with us... we literally had a party!

Here's a run down of activities. Keep in mind the the children ranged from ages 2 to 7 and we had at least 5-6 adults here and 2 extras Saturday evening.

Potty Accidents: 3 (and two of them were Ellie...which never happens anymore!!!)
Kids sleeping in my room: 3
Boys: 4
Girls: 3
Hoot-n-Nanny Pancakes: 2 nine by thirteen pans Saturday morning
Casualties: 1 (Poor Kayla biffed it on the sidewalk)
Trips to the Park: 1
Christmas Cookies Made: 2 batches
Late Nights past 11 for the Kids: 2
Late Nights past 1 AM for me and Clancy Pants: 2
Movies Watched: 2 (Madagascar both times!)
Tears: Only a handful when I put the tubby toys away (Sorry, RoRo)
Loads of Laundry: 7 (these were all mine!)
Gallons of Apple Juice: 3
Gallons of OJ: 2
Gallons of Milk: 2
Instruments Played: 2 (guitar and piano)
Waffles: I have no idea how many there were but man were they flakey (Bad Dad!)
Highlight: Clancy signing 'A Long Time Ago' with Dustin's crazy Kata

We had no real squabbles, no injuries on the tramp, no runaways and no time outs!! TV time was minimal and the weather was beautiful! The kids were really awesome and played so well together. We were late for Church on Sunday but at least I had my lesson prepared ;)

On the B Side: I am grateful for the best of friends!