Crossing Paths

I was just sitting here thinking about the people who have been a big or small part of my life. I'm worried that too often I don't notice when my Heavenly Father puts them in my path for a reason. How many important lessons have I missed?

This is Emma.

I have been lucky enough to cross paths with this sweet little girl and I am determined not to miss out on all the lessons she has taught me.

Being her preschool teacher taught me to...

*be more patient.

*let the little things go...I mean, really, does the spilled milk matter when my kids are healthy?

*hug and kiss more often.

*be more grateful.

Emma has been fighting cancer for almost 2 years now. The doctors have just told her parents that all they can do now is try to control the pain.

Let's all pray for Emma and her family, and give our loved ones an extra hug and kiss!

It Worked For Me!

As I was eating breakfast this morning I was thumbing through one of my parenting magazines and came across my favorite section called "It Worked For Me!". I love it - so many women with great ideas! So, I decided to start a blog version!

I'll share one of mine and then PLEASE, if you have a blog, will you do a post and share an idea that has worked for you? It can be about anything...parenting, cooking, homemaking, or even just life! Then link to your post below, so we can all benefit from your experience! I can't wait to read all of your great ideas! :)

Okay, here I go...

How we finally kicked Cameron's 3 1/2 year thumb-sucking habit...

The Berenstain Bears can solve any problem! :) In this book Sister Bear works on getting rid of her nail biting habit. Eventually they give her 10 pennies a day. Every time she bites her nails, she loses a penny. We read this book a few times with Cameron, talked to him about why thumb sucking was a bad habit, got him a jar for his daily pennies, and had him chose an item/activity he wanted to spend his pennies on. Every morning I gave him 10 pennies for his jar and took one out any time his thumb went in his mouth. At first we let him spend his pennies every saturday - he mostly chose activities (like the carousel at the mall), then we extended it to every two weeks. It only took about a month before the thumb sucking was gone and it has stayed away now for almost 6 months! HOORAY:)

This idea worked so well for Cameron, we kept it around. He still gets 10 pennies every morning, but I have changed it into more of an allowance system. He loses pennies for bad behavior and can even earn extras for extra good behavior. Right now he is saving for a new bike...or a small portion of one! :) It is taking a while, but he still seems motivated.

I know each child is different, and not every idea will work for every child, but this one worked for me.

Sad Night

Last night around 10:30 our neighborhood became a very noisy place.

We ran outside in the freezing cold to find 3 fire trucks and at least 10 police cars.

Our neighbors house was on fire!

It was so sad to watch as the firemen tore off their brand new garage door. Luckily everyone was out safely and the fire damage seems to be just in the garage and bonus room. Scary how fast lives change!

Lots of Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Real Deal!

We had a winter miracle her in Memphis...2 inches of snow...and even the kind of snow you can play in! Of course everything was canceled for the past two days and we had a great time as a family out in the SNOW!!

Here is the proof!

And here is how this awesome guy came to be...

Adam and I did most of the work, while the kids made "snow cones" and ingested a lot of the cold white stuff!

As you can see - it took most of the snow in our backyard just to get a guy this size! :)

Here is the proof that I bundled up and went out too! I've become such a cold weather baby these past few years! How am I ever going to survive another Utah winter? :)