Be Still My Heart

Jilli had her first REAL dance recital. She was as beautiful as ever dressed up in her costume -- her favorite was the red lipstick, which she applied several times to both her and I over the last couple of days.

She had a wonderful group of supporters who drove 4 hours round trip to watch her dance for a total of 3 minutes -- now that's love!

When it was time for Jilli's big stage debut, she was quite nervous.  Later she would tell me that she kept whispering to herself, "Just do your best and forget the rest" over and over (thank you Tony Horton and the P90X workout videos for instilling in my child those inspiring words).

Nerves or not, as soon as the music came on she danced with the best of them.  Her graceful butterfly arms were the most beautiful up there.

My heart was so full watching my lovely daughter up on stage doing something she (and I) loves.

And since I'm not above bribery, I let her pick out a toy beforehand that she would receive if she danced big and beautiful so that we could all see her.  She got the toy.

We also celebrated with dinner out afterwards.  Jilli never made it long enough for her dinner to arrive.  It's tough work being a dancer.

And just for the record, the boys think it's completely unfair that Jilli gets showered with gifts from everyone for performing once.  They reminded me that they perform in ballgames weekly and all they get is a "thumbs up."  Sorry boys.

Because of Him -- Easter 2014

Easter time is always my favorite time of the year. It signals warmer weather, new life and of course the resurrection of our Savior. This time of year brings me so much joy! We celebrated by making, eating and giving away egg nests (they were delish), as well as playing Easter games and making bunny ears.

And as always, we dyed eggs.

Friday afternoon, we headed up to Logan to spend the weekend with my family.  The kids found their Easter baskets Saturday morning and then the rest of the day was spent going to lunch, going to a movie and hanging with family.

Sunday we went to church with Michelle and her family and then sat in as Mason received the priesthood.  From there we met Chad and his family to do the same for Camden in their ward.  I was so happy to be able to witness two worthy, special boys be given something so sacred.

Here's our Easter cuties, decked out in their Easter best.

And here's our attempt at an Easter family picture.  I'd say it was semi-successful, at best.

How grateful I am for a Savior that made all of this possible.  I'm thankful everyday for Heavenly Father sacrificing his Son and Christ sacrificing his life.  My heart is full because of HIM.

ThirtyFour

The week of my birthday was spent caring for Jaxton and Mac who had strep throat and Beckam who was throwing up. Just when I thought everyone was going to be healthy in time for my birthday, Nate got strep -- and let's be honest, when Nate is sick (bless his heart) everyone suffers with him.
My parents to the rescue!
As soon as my parents heard that Nate was sick, they jumped in their car and drove two hours to take me and the kids out for a birthday dinner. My parents are saints, seriously!
After my parents headed on their journey home, I began feeling sick and sure enough, I was up all night and the next day throwing up.
Probably not my best birthday ever, but one thing is for sure, I will always be thankful to my parents for making a bad day into a much better one.

My 34th year has no where to go but up from here, so at least that's comforting.