Happy Fathers Day, we love you - Haley, Hunter & Henry !!

My Sweet Steve is the best Father ever! He is a daddy to 3 beautiful children. His only angel daughter Haley is watching over him each day and his boys are by his side wanting to be just like him. I'm so grateful for an amazing man that raises his boys in the gospel, he is such a great example for them, praying ,reading scriptures and teaching them duing Family Home Evening. Hunter ADORES Steve and would spend every sec of his day with him if he could. They love to wrestle, ride 4-wheelers, go to the woods and spot deer. Some other fun daddy son days they go for BBQ, read books, and he loves for his daddy to lay beside him and talk, right before bed. OHHHH.... we can't forget... Hunter is a FSU SEMINOLE JUST LIKE HIS DADDY! I could not ask for a more wonderful person for my boys! Happy Fathers day babe!

"See A Good Day #20" - Our Super Star Graduate!!!!

Hunter learned how to write his whole name, count to 100, his days of the week and months. He learned the life cycle of a frog. He would come home telling us so many stories, each week they focused on a different letter. Our office wall at home is covered with the letters he designed. He was always excited to share with art work. Our little man really grew alot, and shows confidence in his work. He now does his own cards, and now he is working adding and subtraction. Wow... kindergarten in the fall. We are so proud of our little man!

Love, love , love this picture!!! Joseph, Enoch, Hunter and Sophia.

Front and center!

Hunter's amazing teachers Mrs. Mary and Mrs. Tiffany. He tried to bring them home lots of times. He just adored them and a couple of times he even told me "no mommy Mrs. Mary said......." Oh yeah his teacher totally trumped me (or so he thought, ha ha). Nice Huh!

Hi there little graduate!

Hunter is surrounded by girls... what a little ladies man. And now we see who is not paying attention to the teacher... because he is talking to Sophia, little social butterfly... i'm sure he listened ALL year, right?!?!?...... :)
I sure do love this little guy!!! Oh my heart is full and proud. I'm so excited for him and the way he just jumps into life, so eager to learn and explore.


Hunter and Joseph look adorable!! What a fun year they had together learning, growing and having fun.

Lacy was so great to carpool with me and shared this year together watching the boys grow so much. Thanks Lacy, I'm really going to miss you next year.

The Ride

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey … delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”
Gordon B. Hinckley

"See" A Good Day 19 - Memorial Day Memories

Our family headed down south for the memorial day weekend. It was so nice having daddy with us since he has been working so hard in Miami getting a project done. We had a BBQ with Steve's family, spent one day with my sister's family and just relaxed and hit the beach. We went to Sanibel Island... here are some of the fun things we did and saw.

Steve was so impressed with the boat.. it had 4 engines... guess you have to be a guy to understand the wow in it!!! Show your husband the picture... :)

Henry was on a mission.. he totally made a b-line to the water...

The good ol' USA!!

I totally want a pair of these lawn chairs in my yard... so fun. Lauren these would look great by your pool!
"She Sells Sea Shells" Say that 5 times fast!
Hunter loved his "daddy time", they had fun playing shark in the water...

Mommy and her little buddy, it really was a perfect day to go play and splash around in the water. Henry didn't cry once... much different from the "first" beach trip.

Steve was laughing at Henry trying to eat the sand and crawl into the water, not to mention our other son trying to pick up girls in bikini bathing suits.. really I don't know where he learns this stuff from. :) Henry LOVED the beach this time.. the water was perfect! He loved watching the birds.
Our little "social" guy made friends right away...Of course you see who he really wants to play with .... the girl! What a flirt.
We spotted this tree, it was breathtaking! This picture doesn't do it justice. It was all over the island.. just gorgeous.

"See" A Good Day 18 - Finding the Rainbow...

Hunter had a "pretend" birthday party at school, they like to celebrate all the birthdays, Hunter's real birthday is in August. He was so excited to make cupcakes, first he wanted, motorcycle, then tractor and finally after looking at a BUNCH of cupcakes on the Internet he picked rainbows (well of course he did, any cupcakes that is covered in candy... what kid wouldn't right ?) :).

We had fun making the cupcakes and decorating them, it was funny this time they didn't have to be "perfect" cupcakes we just had FUN... I really found the "kid" in me when we were separating the colors and then decorating them. Cupcake time is my favorite time with Hunter... I can't believe my little man is going to be 5..


LET THEM BE LITTLE...
I can remember when you fit in the palm of my hand.
You felt so good in it; no bigger than a minute.
How it amazes me you're changing' with every blink.
Faster than a flower blooms, they grow up all too soon.

So let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give 'em hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let 'em sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

I never felt so much in one little tender touch.
I live for those kisses, your prayers an' your wishes.
An' now you're teaching' me how only a child can see.
Tonight, while we're on our knees, all I ask is:

Please, let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let 'em sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

The so innocent, precious soul:
You turn around, an' it's time to let them go.

So let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give them hope, give 'em praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let them sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little.

Let them be little.

Chillin with Chelsey

I was sitting around when I got a TEXT from Chelsey letting me know that she was moving... I called her right away and told her... ummmm a text is not how you tell someone you are moving.. hellloo that is serious.

I'm so bummed Chelsey moved from Florida only being here for a little while. I was blessed to be her Visiting Teacher and friend. We had fun times Going to the beach, a basket ball game, girls nights and the pool. It was so nice to join in on the prepration for her sweet baby girl. Chelsey will make an amazing mother, so loving and caring.

Chelsey is amazing, she is so easy going and she was like a sister to me. Really she was just part of the girls when she moved into the area. I will miss her for sure but look forward to being blogging buddies. Chelsey will always have a friend in Florida.

Summer is here!

I just love Summer Time!!
The smell of sunscreen, having fun with friends at the beach and pool...

BBQ's and FIREWORKS!!!!

July 9th...

Hi Friends and Family: Some have asked me when my surgery will be scheduled. I will have the surgery to remove the cancer once and for all hopefully on July 9th....

Things you don't want to hear during surgery:


Better save that. We'll need it for the autopsy.


"Accept this sacrifice, O Great Lord of Darkness."

Bo! Bo! Come back with that. Bad dog!

Wait a minute, if this is his spleen, then what's that?

Hand me that... uh... that uh... that thingy there.

Oh no! Where's my Rolex.

Oops! Hey, has anyone ever survived from 500 ml of this stuff before?

There go the lights again?

"Ya know, there's big money in kidneys? and this guy's got two of 'em."

Everybody stand back! I lost my contact lens!

Could you stop that thing from beating; it's throwing off my concentration.

What's this doing here?

I hate it when they're missing stuff in here.

That's cool. Now can you make his leg twitch by pressing that one?!

Well folks, this will be an experiment for all of us.

Sterile schmerile. The floor's clean, right?

OK, now take a picture from this angle. This is truly a freak of nature.

This patient has already had some kids, am I correct?

Nurse, did this patient sign an organ donation card?

Don't worry. I think it is sharp enough.

FIRE! FIRE! Everyone get out!

Oh no! Page 47 of the manual is missing!

"See" A Good Day Challenge - Day 17 - Sisters

I just love this girl! My sister Emily and I are best friends. We talk just about every day, laugh and cry together. The lord knew exactly what he was doing when he put us together in this family. We don't get to see each other as much as we would like so when we got together over the memorial day holiday we just cherish the time. Our children adore each other. Hunter and Jocelyn laugh so much you can just see from the pictures the adorable friendship that they share. Braxton and Henry are only 10 days apart, it will be fun to watch them grow up together aslo. I'm grateful for my sister and I love being Auntie to her children.







Sister quote graphics

"See" A Good Day Challenge - Day 16 - Model Man

As I was walking thru Target I ran into a friend and she says to me.... did you know your little guy is displayed in the mall? When we got his 1st yr pics they asked me if they could use him and I said sure but didn't really think they would... so i was surprised to hear it was up... I was so glad I ran into Gretchen.

Of course I had to go right over and check it out.. this is what the display looked like... pretty dang cute!

You can only imagine that the smile on my face got real BIG... I was a proud momma! Henry's little smile just melts me every time.. he is such a sweet little guy.
Check out our little "Model Man".

The wise man built his house upon the "ROCK"

As I was reading the conference talk by Elder Wilford W. Andersen "The Rock of Our Redeemer", my mind thought about the song... "The wise man built his house upon the rock". Is my foundation of my life built upon a rock so that when the trials come I won't be washed away?!

The begining of the talk shares stories of the early saints that went thru so many trials. :

There the early Saints had come seeking refuge. Many had lost their homes and their farms, and some had lost their loved ones to the growing persecution. In Nauvoo they gathered and built a new and beautiful city. But the persecution was relentless, and by 1846 they were once again forced to leave their homes—this time in the middle of winter. They lined up their wagons on Parley Street, awaiting their turn to cross the frozen waters of the Mississippi River into an unknown future.

As we stood on Parley Street reflecting upon their desperate conditions, my eyes were drawn to a series of wooden signs nailed to fence posts upon which were etched quotes from the diaries of these suffering Saints. As we read each quote, to our amazement what we found in their words was not desperation and discouragement but confidence and commitment and even joy. They were filled with hope, the hope that is reflected by this quote from the diary of Sarah DeArmon Rich, February 1846: “To start out on such a journey in the winter . . . would seem like walking into the jaws of death but we had faith . . . [and] we felt to rejoice that the day of our deliverance had come.”1

These early Saints were indeed homeless, but they were not hopeless. Their hearts were broken, but their spirits were strong. They had learned a profound and important lesson. They had learned that hope, with its attendant blessings of peace and joy, does not depend upon circumstance.

They had discovered that the true source of hope is faith—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His infinite Atonement, the one sure foundation upon which to build our lives.

As I sat there reading the talk...I thought WOW these people were amazing... the strength they must have had to overcome trials.

Then I realized, how we in 2010 have our own stories, our own diaries that we write. We are also a group of pioneers, saints that are overcoming SO many trials. I look around me and I'm just amazed at the woman and families that are just keeping the faith and hoping and praying that things will work out. Some have buried a loved one, depression, lost a job, carry the saddness of not being able to get pregnant, have bad health, worry daily about a wayward child, pick up the pieces from a destroyed marriage, debt and addictions, and just have the strength to get up and deal with daily stresses.

My heart was filled with peace when I read this talk. I wanted to post some of my favorite parts of the talk. It really helped me to know once again the lord loves me. He loves all of us.

Hope and happiness and joy are not products of circumstance but of faith in the Lord.

The prophet Mormon, himself no stranger to difficult circumstances, understood and clearly taught this doctrine:

“And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning hope. . . .

“ . . . Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ . . . , and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.

“Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.”

Hope comes from faith in Jesus Christ. He has already overcome the world and has promised that He will wipe away our tears if we will only turn to Him and believe and follow.

Faith grows by keeping the commandments.From the Bible Dictionary we read that “miracles do not produce faith but strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ; in other words, faith comes by righteousness.”5

When we strive to keep the commandments of God, repenting of our sins and promising our best efforts to follow the Savior, we begin to grow in confidence that through the Atonement everything will be all right. Those feelings are confirmed by the Holy Ghost, who drives from us what our pioneer mothers and fathers called “our useless cares.” In spite of our trials, we are filled with a sense of well-being and feel to sing with them that indeed “all is well"

“Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

I testify of Him, that He has overcome the world, that He will never forget or abandon us, for He has graven us upon the palms of His hands.8 I testify that those who keep His commandments will grow in faith and hope. They will be given strength to overcome all of life’s trials.

"See" A Good Day Challenge - Day 15- Palmer Party

Our family got to see a great day while spending it with our dear family and friends. We are so blessed to be surrounded by amazing people. Justin and Kira came into town and what better way to celebrate than a BBQ and pool party! I know I miss seeing Kira over at the Lowry's house and just chatting with her. They are an amazing family, so full of life and love. Everyone had a fun afternoon in the pool.