Random

Mini Cadbury eggs... just might be the only thing worth gaining weight for. Goodnight! I seem to lack self control when it comes to these beautiful eggs. Sadly, (no I'm not proud) we finished a bag in about three days and promised we'd wait a while before we got another one but then yesterday was my birthday. I wanted them. So I got them. And I knew I was going to have brownies and ice cream but I got them anyway. And now every time I go into the kitchen I find myself grabbing a couple (or maybe 5 or 6) Bless my heart.

Anyway, tomorrow my sister finds out the gender of her baby! I'm so excited for her and so anxious to find out. She has a daughter and then three boys. This will be her fifth child. They are all adorable and I could not be more happy for them.

The weather this week has been fantastic. In the 70's all week! It has definitely lightened our moods and brought an extra natural joy. We have taken advantage because next week is back to the 50's and 60's - which I know, still isn't bad.

Yesterday was my birthday and it was so fun. I hope everyone feels special on their birthday. I got several phone calls and texts and had a great evening with my family and our neighbor. It was nice and relaxing. For one of my gifts my husband got me the current country weekly magazine to look at for the day- (okay I may have bluntly told him I'd love to have it) but he was still sweet to get it and I enjoyed a good dose of Jason Aldean.

We have lots of exciting things planned for this summer! My husband found out he has four days off the end of may so we are really hoping to take a trip to Palmyra. That is a must before we leave the east. In June my oldest sister is coming and possibly bringing her daughter. Ahooa! I can hardly wait. I called her and told her Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney are putting on a concert here and that was all I needed to say. It wasn't too hard to persuade her and I can hardly wait for that concert and to see her! Also, my neighbor and I got an amazing deal and together we will be attending 4 country concerts this summer. Bangerang! We are stoked. We really did get a great deal and this is probably the only time in life I would be able to do this.

We grilled Salmon the other night. Hi! Why have I not done that before? It was delicious and truthfully I could eat fish every day. I love it and we will definitely be having more in this household. Super easy too.

My daughter. She is cracking us up lately and really starting to put words together. My husband and I are constantly learning as she is changing and graduating to new stages. She is such a joy!

Institute. I attended today and paid extra attention and really participated more than usual. I love our teachers, i love that it's a small group of us, and I loved our conversation today about signs of the second coming, 14 fundamentals of a prophet, and general conference.

A quote I read from a blog today that really hit me and is going to help me when I have my down moments or any struggles is this, "fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. it is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going. " That was from Elder Holland. I love it.

Lots of wonderful things are going on here, but we've got our struggles too. I try to pretend to be supermom sometimes and put on a face, but it's just me trying to be positive and push through. Some days are very much earth life here in our home but for the most part we have it really good and I'm trying to focus on our blessings because I know we have so many.

Tomorrow is supposed to reach almost 80 degrees and this is truly worth celebrating! I'm sure we will go for a walk and go to the park. We're also supposed to meet up with some other couples from my husbands school and grill out for dinner at a park. Plus there is still cookie dough ice cream in the freezer. It's going to be a good day :)

mixed emotions

Thank you for the wonderful comments on my last post. They truly helped me and I am doing better.

I find myself with some mixed emotions lately and I'll somewhat explain why. I've been on the phone a bit lately with a dear friend who has a family member going through an awful divorce right now. As she calls me to talk things out and explain situations I found myself getting frustrated- why is this family letting Satan attack them? How did it happen? Where did it start? My heart hurts for her and her family. It's truly a very sad situation and I wish I could fix it. I feel like I'm part of their family and find myself struggling with her emotionally. I want everyone to have a happily ever after. Well, right after one of my conversations with her, feeling a bit frustrated and rattled at how all this came about my mom calls me with the news that another friend had lost her husband to cancer the previous evening. I found myself grieving her loss but the emotions were so different. Theirs was a beautiful love story of a wife and husband who adored each other and were truly one. Only married a couple of years but so in love. I have followed her blog and it was very touching- the way she talked of her husband and took care of him through this whole process. Two different stories with very different emotions.
Love is so precious and so fragile.

I find myself texting my husband during the day, giving him a call, taking his hand in the car, look him in the eyes when i say "i love you", being a better listener, making more time for us, and all those wonderful things that I should do regardless.
Life is wonderful and hard. The things that bring us the greatest joys are the things we have to work the hardest at. Every day. And oh it's worth it!
If you ask me, I believe I have the best husband in the world. I will brag about him, lift him up, let him know he can accomplish anything, and be his biggest fan because I love him and he is everything I've wanted and I love our love story. It's not perfect and yet, it is. It's good :) We fit each other perfectly. Occasionally on this blog I will "brag" about our lives- not to puff us up or put anyone down, but simply because my family is my greatest joy and I am proud of our accomplishments and where we're going, what we're doing. and while I could go on and on about it all, I'm going to save that for a later date and go join my husband because it's time to just be us :)