Here comes Santa Claus

We went to Lindon to ride the Polar Express.  Super cute.  Part way through you get off the train and meet Santa.  As we were sitting there waiting I looked down at these 2 cute faces.  Holy cow adorbs.  They were both seriously excited to meet Santa. 

This Christmas has already been the best by far.  Kids just make it so much more meaningful and magical.

Oops...

I'm pretty sure I've failed this test.  What test you ask?  Just life.  No biggie, right?

I have spent the last 6 years complaining.  Nothing made me happy enough.  Maybe I could be happy if we had our own place?  Wait, we had no money....so that didn't make me happy either.  Maybe I'd be happy if you we had more money and our own place?  Wait, I miss my husband.  What husband?  Oh, you mean that guy that sleeps here for a couple hours during the day in between working and being a full-time student?  Yeah, that guy....hmmm...I sure miss him.

I can't even tell you how much time I have spent being unhappy.  Aside from legit depression and anxiety I have spent way too much time dwelling on the negative things in our lives.

Next week we will be closing a long chapter of our lives.  Not for good, but for a little while.  As I look at the possibilities of our future I am excited.  Then I realized I am always excited for the future, but hardly ever for the present.  How can I be so excited about something only to get there and be disappointed?  It's this endless cycle in my life.

If only I could get out of High School....If only I could get married.....If only I could have babies.......If only we could be done with school.....

If only....

Why can't I be happy with where I am in the present?

Sure my kids get sick.  They get very cranky.  They fight.  They test my patience.  I catch myself thinking that when they get older life will get easier.  How do I let myself get into that cycle over and over again.  I'm sure when we get to that stage I'll be unhappy about something else and telling myself that things will get easier when they are out of the house etc.

My Grandma (who is a very wise woman-having raised 9 amazing kids) told my mom once "if you can't be happy in the stage you are in, you won't be happy in the next.  Don't spend your time wishing for the future, spend it loving the present."

I've probably heard that like a million times.  For some reason today it rings true.  I have failed this test.  But guess what?  I get to try again.  Isn't that amazing?

Don't let a bad day make you think you have a bad life.
"Hope is putting faith to work, when doubting would be easier."  Thomas S. Monson
Be nice to yourself.  It's hard to be happy when someone is mean to you all the time.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
You will come to know that what appears today as a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment you will ever make.  Gordon B. Hinckley
The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone's highlight reel.
"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance." Dieter F. Uchtdorf
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother... Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children... What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." Elder M. Russell Ballard
“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are.” Marjorie Hinckley
"When we put God first, all other things fall into proper place." Ezra Taft Benson
Faith doesn't make things easy, it makes them possible.
"Is fat really the worst thing a person can be?  Is fat worse than vindictive, jealous, shallow, vain, boring, or even cruel?"  Not to me. J.K. Rowling
Feed your faith, and your fears will starve to death.

Even though I didn't pass this test with flying colors, I have learned a lot.  The biggest lesson I've learned is this:

"Blessings" by Laura Story To here the song click Here

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

One thing I know for certain:  Heavenly Father is there and He loves me.  Whatever happens in this life is only meant to make me a better person and to get me closer to Him.

Isn't it Ironic?

I wake up on Thanksgiving morning to one more thing broken.  I just had to laugh.  It has actually made me think of all the ironic things happening in our lives lately.  If you would have asked me yesterday what word I'd use to describe our lives it definitely would NOT have been ironic.  So today has been filled with lots of laughs (maybe a tear or 2...but mostly laughs).

I am thankful for a Heavenly Father that knows what I truly need, even better than I do.

Pics of the Monsters at the party

Introducing MabelStreet

I decided to open up a shop on ETSY.  Mostly to sell my printable parties that I do, but there are also some christmas cards and home decor items.  To introduce y'all to it, I decided to do some Halloween Printables for you!  They are designed to fit in an 8x10 picture frame.  Enjoy!

Infact, my friend Alicia (owner and operator of Alicia States Photography) came and photographed Logan's birthday party for me so I could start listing items!  I'll post pictures of that in a little bit.  Until then....go check out the shop!  Click on the Page at the top labeled Mabel Street and it'll take you right to it!

Moreland, ID

We just got back from a fun weekend trip to visit my Grandparents in Idaho!  The kids had a blast (as always) and it was fun to spend some time with my mom and grandparents.  We left Sean at home since he had work and school, and headed up after school on Friday.

These are just a couple of pictures of our adventure.  I'll post the others later.

Life Lately

At Sean's birthday dinner with Grammy

  

Playing in Grammy's yard

Lets see....what has happened since I last blogged?  We finished our summer.  I have mixed feelings about that.  On one hand it is a really exciting stage of life to start (Mara goes to 4 day a week preschool and Sean started his last semester), but on the other it is sad to see this summer end because we had so much fun.

Let's talk about Mara first.  She has started her first official team sport: soccer.  While driving to her first practice she let me know that she "has been waiting her whole life for this day".  She talks about soccer, so makes up dances about soccer, and she sings songs about soccer.  You probably wouldn't guess it if you watched her though...how shall I say it?  She gets a little distracted.  She might see a flower that needs picking, or a pile of dirt that needs stomping, and heaven forbid she not look at all her admiring fans and give them big smiles!  Really though, it is all super cute.  After her first game we had to teach her that it is okay to steal the ball from someone on the other team.  She thought it was too mean.  Hey-at least she is worried about sharing, right?  She also insists on exercising every day so she can be strong for soccer.  She joins me and Sean in our workouts, and when that gets boring she makes up her own.  I'm just gonna say it: I seriously hope she loves soccer and picks that sport to play out of all her options.  I think as her mom I'm not suppose to say those kinds of things but it's what I'm thinking!  And hey, as long as I don't say it to her I should be good.
As mentioned previously she is in Preschool.  It is technically her 2nd year, but since she only went for 3 months before we moved I don't know if that counts.  After her first day of class she now sings the alphabet correctly.  Instead of: H I K K L M N O P, she sings H I J K L M N O P.  I don't know how many times I've tried to teach her that, but in one day of class she decided to say it like her teacher suggested.  Gotta love her.
While it is a super fun stage of life to enter (revolving my life around my kids schedules instead of vice versa), I do have mixed feelings.  It is fun to be "out of the house" more often.  Especially since that is the thing I probably complain about the most.  It's fun to see her learning new things and gaining new experiences.  It is fun to see her personality when put into different situations.  It is also kind of sad.  I feel like maybe I haven't prepared her enough to tackle life.  Don't worry, I know she is only 4...but now a lot of other people have a big impact in her life.  I find myself wondering if I spend enough quality time with her while she was home with me all day.  The answer makes me kind of sad.  I'm sure that I didn't.  I'm sure I acted annoyed too often, or yelled too much, or plugged her in front of the T.V. so I could "have a break" too often.  Now I'm wishing I could take all of those moments back.
Those thoughts have led me to really enjoy my time with them more and worry about the little things less.  Remember I said LESS not never. lol
Logan is crazy.  We are trying the potty training thing.  I say trying because we are no where near completion.  I've found that the best thing to do is let him run around naked and he will go to the bathroom when he needs to.  Sadly, he has pooped on the carpet twice.  Both times were seriously rotten.  Him running around naked also leads to him doing a naked dance on the patio for the world to see.  That boy sure loves the freedom that being naked affords him.  He can hold his pee for hours.  I know this because I made him sit on his potty chair for 5 1/2 hours (don't worry it is a very padded cushy seat and I sat him in the front room with movies on) and he refused to pee.  We had to leave somewhere so I put his diaper on and he immediately filled it up.  He is just a stubborn dude.  When I asked him why he won't just go on the potty his reply is "because I don't like to!"  Lovely.  I'm hoping we have him potty trained by the time he's 12.  Ha ha, I know-but my real goal is to have him 100% trained by the time he goes into Sunbeams.  That is in 4 months.  He is going to be one of the youngest in his class where Mara was one of the oldest.  It is super crazy to see how different they are.  Mara basically potty trained herself because she thought it was yucky to poop in a diaper.  Logan thinks it is hilarious.  Gotta love little boys, right?
Sean has started his last semester to receive his Bachelor's degree.  It's gonna be a long couple of months, but at least it's almost over.  I'll blog more about that later, but right now my bed is screaming for me to hop in!!!