The way I usually blog...I love my family!

I am one that takes pictures and then downloads the pictures and tries to blog about the things we did in the photos. I have never been one who writes well and I don't really express myself like I want to.

This blog entry will be a little different (and VERY long). I really would like to write about the things and people that I am truly grateful for. I hope that I can express how I really feel through my writing.

I was able to take a quick trip to Utah this last November and was able to spend some quality time with my family. It was a quick trip and so I wanted to focus on just being with them. In a family home evening we had while I was there my sister, Crystal, gave a lesson on being grateful and it really made me think about all the things I am grateful for (I love these types of things that make you really think). It was a very cute idea...she had a pumpkin with a turkey cutout head on it and then cut out feathers...they put toothpicks on the feathers and each of us wrote what we were grateful for on the feather and stuck it into the pumkin. We were able to get my kids and Kevin on the web cam and include them in the FHE. The thing I wrote down was one of the many things that I was grateful for...I chose "airplanes" because they are what brought me to my family so quickly and would take me back to my family in NH so quickly. It is amazing that I can travel over 2300 miles in 6-8 hours (with lay over time). If I lived at a time before airplanes I would never be able to see my family like I can.

Kevin really is so good to me and puts up with all my craziness. He goes to work every day and he comes home to his family every day. He thinks about what our needs are and makes sacrifices to meet those needs. He is my best friend...someone that I can share anything with. I do have to admit that I have a hard time sharing everything though...I don't want him to think I am crazy. He really does love me and after 17 years of marriage still wants to be with me. He supports me in all of my activities and dreams. I am grateful for him and love him.

My mom and dad are amazing. They come out to visit us once a year and then I try to make it to Utah at least once a year. This year they just called me out of the blue and said that they really wanted to come out and see the kids play in their soccer games and volleyball games. I just could not believe it that they would spend that kind of money just to come and hang out with us. They really know what it means to love us and they show us so many different ways. They do not really know how much I needed that at that point in my life. I love them so much for just knowing when I need them.

My family all get along really well. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to get together with siblings and not have any drama going on between us. This is another thing that I give credit to my parents for...they really did not have us focus on any drama growing up and so we do not let too much get to us and we all have learned to never hold grudges and to forgive and forget. My brother Paul will just call me up out of the blue and tell me that he misses me and that he loves me. He loves his family and shows it in everything he does. Kent sacrifices his life everyday helping to keep WVC safe. He is a great dad and husband. He amazes me with his strength in all things. Heather has always been such a great sister. She has put up with a lot of mishaps from me in our life. She is always so positive and can almost remember anything that happened in our early childhood (she could be making everything up and I would not ever know). Her relationship with her forever sweetheart is so sweet. I love how great of an example she is to her children and the YW that she serves. Crystal is the sister that trys to put on a tough front but we all know she has a soft side...she truly enjoys being with the family and spending time with her own. She always organizes everything and follows through with everything. She is so reliable. She is a great mother and has fun trying to keep up with her sweet Judson. Ginger was a life saver to me. She lived out here in New England next to me for 4 years. We really became close and she was so willing to help out in anyway she could. She is like a second mom to my kids. Ginger and Sam are the best of friends and always are going on some kind of adventure together. We miss them so much. Cami has grown up so quickly. I have to admit that in my mind she will always be my baby sister that I just love to look after and care for. She reminds me that she is now grown up and a mother herself and it just kills me that time flies by so quickly. She has such a strong testimony and fabulous relationship with her husband. She is an amazing mom and a great example to me. I am so grateful for all my in-laws. They really care for their spouses and show me such a great example on how to have a healthy, strong relationship. My mom and dad in law are great. They wish they could be with us more, and we wish we could be there by them as well.

New England has been great for us. We have had to work through many things as a family and have become really close. Kevin and I have been through things that have made us have to rely on each other more and we have become closer. We have been able to see a gorgeous part of the world and I really do cherish every minute we have been able to be here. It is SO hard to be so far away from family and now going on 6 years makes it so hard but we know that we will be able to visit and when we do we will make memorable moments.

My children mean the world to me. Brooke is so strong willed and funny. She really knows how to make you feel at ease in any situation. She has the ability to make friends easily and is an incredible friend to me. I love to be with her. She makes me laugh. Natalie has such a sweet spirit and is so willing to help anyone out in need. She loves her siblings so much and loves to be with them. She is such a hard worked and sets personal goals for herself all the time. I am so grateful that we have a great relationship where she feels she can share anything with me. I just love to be with Natalie. Zack has a playful side to him. He is always so thoughtful of me and will give me compliments, hold the door for me, ask if he can help with things...he is a good example to his friends and a great friend to his little sister. I look forward to what Zack will become. He never misses a chance to show off a little. He is so much fun. Carley is my cuddle bug. She will always be my baby girl. I feel such a strong bond to her and can usually make her smile and stop being so stubborn towards things. She is so caring of everyone around her. She will give up anything for anyone just as long as they are happy. She really does make me smile. I am so grateful to be a mother. These last 17 years of my life going through the things I have with my children have made me love it even more. I look forward to the next 17 years and what surprises await me. My children are strong in the gospel and have such a strong testimony of our Savior. I am so grateful to have the knowledge we have that He sacrifices His life for us so we can have a great life. I know that my children know this and I love the gospel and what it provides for me and my family.