The most wonderful time of the year...

Our family has had the BEST time serving the community. We wanted to do something special this Christmas, really make a difference for someone. I just didn't kwow what....

Then one day I was cleaning Hunter's room and heard on the radio about "Operation Santa Claus". It is a toy drive for Cancer Kids. Could you imagine spending Christmas morning in the hospital.. .not waking up and running to your Christmas tree? Oh it breaks my heart.

I have to thank my sweet friends, Dawn, Stacy and Tiana for joining me in providing cheer, smiles and love for these sweet children on Christmas Morning.

Tiana's sweet family made beautiful and adorable Christmas Cards to go with some of the presents. How special I know those cards will mean to a sweet little girl, a tough little boy, or a teenager that just wants to be in her own room.

This really is the reason for the season!


When I went and delivered the toys to the drop off box, our toys made the box overflow! When Stacy and me where shopping for these children, we just wanted to get something perfect. It gave me a whole new meaning about gifts.

That right there gave me so much joy, peace and a small glimpse of how my savior loves me by overflowing my heart with good feelings. Providing a opportunity for our families and others to serve! Wow what a great feeling it is.

It really put new meaning to our Prophet Thomas S. Monson's sweet words:

There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. Let it be a time that lights the eyes of children and puts laughter on their lips. Let it be a time for lifting the lives of those who live in loneliness. Let it be a time for calling our families together, for feeling a closeness to those who are near to us and a closeness also to those who are absent.

Let it be a time of prayers for peace, for the preservation of free principles, and for the protection of those who are far from us. Let it be a time of forgetting self and finding time for others. Let it be a time for discarding the meaningless and for stressing the true values. Let it be a time of peace because we have found peace in His teachings.

Most of all, let it be a time to remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the Wise Men.


We totally scored on items, socks, baby bibs & booties, games, nerf basketball hoops, jewelry kits, makeup, craft sets,princess art kits and a baby blanket and nigh night.

Enjoying Great Weather....

Me and the boys went outside to explore, run around, swing, jump, and get dirty!!!

The weather was absolutely PERFECT!!!

Operation Beautiful

http://operationbeautiful.com/

Participate
Send your own Operation Beautiful Note to Caitlin at OperationBeautiful@gmail.com, and it will be posted on the site. If you have a blog, be sure to include a link! It takes about three weeks for a photograph to show up on the site, so be patient!

Write a motivating note on a post it and put it up in a public place– such as on a bathroom mirror, in the gym locker room, or even on a random car’s windshield. If you want, you can write the web address www.OperationBeautiful.com on the bottom so other women can find the site!


The Mission
The goal of the Operation Beautiful website is to end negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.” If this little blog only does one productive thing, I hope it helps readers realize how truly toxic negative self-talk is — it hurts you emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

Through my own experiences fighting Fat Talk, I’ve realized the power behind an anonymous act such as Operation Beautiful. When I post a note, I’m saying, “I CHOOSE to be positive!”

I began Operation Beautiful by leaving positive messages on the mirrors of public restrooms — at work, at the gym, at the grocery store. I scribble down whatever comes to mind — "You are beautiful!" or "You are amazing just the way you are!" My personal goal is to leave as many Operation Beautiful notes as I can. Maybe some people read them and just smile, but I bet some people are truly touched by the effort of a random stranger.

Operation Beautiful is simple: all you need is a pen and a piece of paper. If you want to join the mission, send me an e-mail at OperationBeautiful@gmail.com with a photograph of your Operation Beautiful note or a description of your experience, and I’ll post it on the Operation Beautiful site for thousands of others to read and enjoy!

Christmas is a time when we can all learn from a child’s gratitude and love for Jesus Christ.

Hard Days.. maybe tomorrow will be easier.

The past couple of days have been really hard ones. It was one of those kind of days where you just feel so inadequate in every way.

So music is my healer... this totally was me this morning! ha ha

After I dropped Hunter off at school I had to run some errands. It was so nice just being by myself.... I cranked up a cd so loud that I just wanted to dance my frustrations away.


And I did for about 6 good songs, dancing and singing... I probably looked pretty silly to those going to work in 8:00 traffic.

And then I just broke down and cried.

If you know me, crying is my outlet. But I didn't want to cry, I didn't want to give into my feelings. I just wanted to jam out! Not deal with ANYTHING.. just Dance and Drive.

And then it amazed me that even with loud music my heart was softened. The lord found a way to get through to me. My burdens where eased if even just for a brief moment and I got to take a deep breath.

Later on today I was checking my emails and my sister asked all of her siblings to put together an email of quotes, scriptures, etc. that we loved.

As I thought about what brightened my day, gave me hope and inspiration. I looked up and saw the book ... Believe, in what you are doing, Believe in who you are" It is by Hillary Weeks.

I just briefly went through the book and scanned over all the highlighted places. And wouldn't you know it .. I was directed to the phrases that I needed to hear the most.

I know tomorrow won't be perfect not even the next day.. but I'm so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows me. And I'm grateful for new days to try a little harder to be better.

"When you don't think you can run, walk, or crawl one more step, put things in the Lord's hands and He'll make up the difference. He will give you the strength and endurance you need to finish the race! Believe that the Savior will make up the difference and you will be enough" - Hillary Weeks

" I Testify to you that God has known you individually for a long, long time. He has loved you for a long, long time. He not only knows the names of all the stars; he know your names and all your heartaches and your joys!
- Elder Neal A. Maxwell

"Believe that your name, your life, your circumstances and concerns are know to the Savior and that He speaks of you to the Father Daily" - Hillery Weeks

Sisters Weekend

Our sisters weekend started with surprising our sister Bethany and flying her to Orlando. She found out the morning she woke up that she was flying to somewhere.. IT WAS AWESOME!! She was so surprised.

Me, Emily, Bethany, Jacqueline and Emily all stayed at a house in Orlando for 3 days. We stayed up late, slept in and ate a ton. Girls weekend just wouldn't be the same without some Victoria Secret!!!
The weekend was filled with lots of laugher, talks, cries, then we went to the movies, hit up the MAC makeup counter, shopped and got some spiritual recharging at the temple. It was perfect!

25 Days of Christmas Activities for Kids...

We started late.. so we are on day 3.. There are so many fun ideas and things for families to do. Hope you have the best Christmas Holiday Season ever! Merry Christmas!

Day 1
Start off the month by doing an advent calendar with your preschooler. Either purchase one or make an advent calendar of your own.

Day 2
Combine a fall and Christmas activity. Collect pinecones and paint in holiday colors to display as decorations. For instructions see preschool fall crafts.

Day 3
Start the Christmas season off by talking about the true meaning of the holiday. The Story of Christmas by Patricia A. Pingry is a great Christmas board book for toddlers and preschoolers.

Day 4
Get out the Christmas decorations and let your preschooler help decorate. If you can't stomach a totally "kid decorated" house, let him have one room or a small tree of his own to decorate.

Day 5
Speaking of Christmas decorations- visit preschool Christmas crafts and make a loop wreath.

Day 6
Are your kids getting antsy about making their Christmas lists? Here's a great Christmas idea for using all of those toy catalogs. Allow your preschooler to look through the pages and cut out her most desired toys. She can gather ideas in an envelope and use them later on to make her Christmas list. (This is a great way to get your preschooler to practice using scissors too!)

Day 7
Talk about those less fortunate than you. With your child, shop for a gift for a local shelter or Toys for Tots. Let your preschooler pick out the gift and deliver it or place it in the donation bin.

Day 8
Getting ready to decorate the tree? Another great Christmas activity is to have your preschooler make his own ornament. Visit preschool Christmas crafts for some ideas.

Day 8
Have a tree trimming party with your family. Get out the ornaments, make some hot chocolate, and turn on the Christmas songs. Your child will love to help!

Day 9
Have your child make a Christmas flower arrangement for his room or for the table. See preschool crafts for instructions.

Day 10
Help your preschooler write his list to Santa today. Get out the envelope of pictures from Day 6 and have your child pick out an appropriate number of "favorites." Younger kids can glue the pictures onto paper for their lists. Older preschoolers can practice their writing skills by also writing out their lists.

Day 11
Time to start thinking about Christmas cards. Your preschooler will love to join in this Christmas activity by drawing pictures or making cards for relatives and friends.

Day 12
Make gingerbread houses with your preschooler. Kits are available everywhere, but follow the directions on the preschool Christmas crafts for an easy and fun alternative.

Day 13
A Christmas activitiy that your preschooler will love- watch one of the classic Christmas shows LIVE on TV (no TIVO or DVDs.) Pop some popcorn, snuggle up together, and stay up a little past bedtime.

Day 14
Gather a group of friends with preschoolers and visit a retirement home to sing carols. Brighten a senior's day and teach your child about community service all at once!

Day 15
Start making gifts for grandparents and teachers. Visit the homemade gifts page for some easy ideas.

Day 16
For a fun learning Christmas actvity, make a triangle Christmas tree. Your preschooler can make a cute Christmas decoration and learn her shapes!

Day 17
Make a Christmas placemat for your holiday table. Use the Reindeer Hand and Footprint Craft and take it to your local copy center to be laminated. Your preschooler or toddler will love to see his work at every meal.

Day 18
Deocorate sugar cookies with your preschooler. Make cut outs from scratch or, for an easy alternative, buy the sugar cookie dough pre-rolled and cut out. Use store bought frosting, sprinkles, candies, and let your preschooler go to town! Make up a plate for a friend or neighbor and help your child deliver it.

Day 19
After dark, get the whole family in the car and take a drive around town to view all of the Christmas lights. Ask friends where the neighborhoods with the most decorated houses are. Ooh and aah with your preschooler.

Day 20
Allow your preschooler or toddler to enjoy the spirit of giving this Christmas. Take her to a dollar store and have her pick out a gift for grandparents and siblings. Talk about things that each person enjoys and allow her to pick out gifts she thinks they would like. Don't try to change her mind- everyone will get a kick out of the way your preschooler's mind works! My mom loved the pink calculator from my daughter and the lint brush from my son last year!

Day 21
Visit Santa and deliver your child's list (if you haven't mailed it already!)

Day 22
Wrap Christmas gifts with your preschooler. Allow your child to wrap his gifts that he made or purchased. This Christmas activity is great scissor and fine motor skill practice for your child.

Day 23
Take a break from the last minute Christmas rush and play in the snow indoors! Gather snow from outside (or use cotton balls if you don't have snow), place in a large plastic bin, provide shovels and scoops, and let your preschooler play away (and stay warm!)

Day 24
Enjoy Christmas Eve with your preschooler. Great Christmas activities for today...attend the children's service at your church, take a family picture and place it in a Christmas photo album (look through past years' pictures), read "Twas the Night before Christmas". Don't forget to leave cookies and milk for Santa!

Day 25 Have a wonderful Christmas!

Once the chaos has died down, don't forget to have your preschooler write Thank You cards for his gifts. Many stores have great cards for preschoolers to fill in the gift and a name. Other ideas...draw pictures of each gift...use the best picture of your child from that day, print it out, and have your child glue it to paper with his name and "Thank You"...

Please Join me in a "Operation Santa Claus, Wish Christmas List" Drive.....

Hello Friends and Family,

As most of you know I had thyroid cancer. It is a rollercoaster of emotion and being in a hospital during Christmas is no fun.

When I heard the ad on the radio for a "Operation Santa Claus, Christmas Wish List" for kids with cancer it made me want to run out and get them all something.

Then my next thought was.... I wanted to share the joy, so i'm doing my own wish list FB/Blog drive, that I will deliver to the radio station!

I thought I could reach out to so many people and have you all feel the excitment and joy that I feel right now.

Just knowing that these sweet children will be able to have something that brightens there day makes me smile.

I have posted on my blog (down below) the wish list.

If ANY of you want to pick something off of the list and mail it to me or call me and I will pick it up. Mail me money with what you want to purchase I can also go purchase it for you. (that will be cheaper to mail)

Another way to get your family excited is to make cards for the kids to attach to your gift. We are going to do it for Family Home Evening Next Week.

I will deliver it all to the radio station on December 10th. This gives everyone almost 2 weeks. (anyone is welcome to deliver the gifts with me).

What a great way to get your kids involved with service during this Christmas season.

Leave comments, I would love to see and hear who wants to contribute.

Here is the link to the radio station so you can see the Ad for the "Operation Santa Clause".

Call me if you have questions.

http://www.wtrs.fm/

Disney Days with Friends

We had some fun times at Disney with our friends, Brian,Dawn and there adorable family! We celebrated sweet Cohens 4th birthday at a cool drive in diner.

Oh yes.... Henry pretty much drank mommy and daddy's milkshake. It was the only thing that would keep him happy. :)

Hunter and Steve rode the the "Tower of Terror" for the first time. I was scared to death still each time. Hunter rode it 2 times and was so excited. What a big boy!

Monkey Jungle Madness... Henry's new big boy room.

Starting tonight... so excited! Christ Centered Christmas.

I'm so excited to start "A Christ Centered Christmas". It is a book that our book club is reading. We are starting with Mary tonight. Each chapter has a special "activity" that you can do that helps us understand what each figure in the Nativity Set represents and the major part they played. I'm really excited!!

This will give Hunter and all of us something special to look forward to on Christmas morning, especially when we place the baby Jesus in the manger.

Deepen the spirit that fills your heart and home this holiday season when you discover the meaning behind seven gifts of Christmas, each celebrated with an invitation from the scriptures and a simple tradition.

Each gift is based on a figure in a Nativity set, and the traditions can easily be combined with things you already do. This year as you prepare your home for the season, resolve to prepare your heart in a way that will lead you closer to Christ.

Table of contents:
Introduction
Mary
Joseph
The Angel
The Shepherd
The Wise Men
The Lamb
The Christ Child
Notes
Acknowledgments