Music to my Ears

I am a music person.

I'm the person who is walking down the hall humming a little tune. I'm the one you hear coming around the corner in the grocery store singing to herself. When I'm by myself in the car, I'm belting it out at the top of my lungs along with whoever's on the radio.

Music moves me. It gets me motivated and going in the morning. It's my go-to when I need to tackle a big project. I guess you could say it's my "cuppa joe" since I'm not a coffee drinker! My husband has, on more than one occasion, come home to me dancing and singing with the kids instead of making dinner like a good wife should.

Music stirs deep memories for me. Just by hitting the play button, I can be taken to another time and place and remember details I would have otherwise forgotten. Some of those memories are bittersweet, but I'm still grateful for them.

I spent a bit of time earlier today revamping my musicplayer at the bottom of my blog to include many more of my faves. Ironically, some of my all-time faves still aren't in there because no one has uploaded them to the web yet and I didn't have the time (nor the computer-savvy skills--let's be honest!!) to burn a bunch of my CD's to the computer.

I've got a very eclectic group of songs on here--I don't think you could put me into one "category" of music. I'm all over the map from Enya to the Steve Miller Band to Country. Other than rap and hard rock, I'm pretty open and love A LOT.

So if you care to browse through, feel free. If you find a fave, go ahead and click on it and listen for a bit. If my style isn't your style, that's cool too--these are just the tunes that make my little heart happy!!

My little girl just walked in and wants to dance to my "sassy girl" music (as she calls it!), so of course I'll oblige...

I am SO Blessed

Blessed - sung by Martina McBride

I get kissed by the sun each mornin'

Put my feet on a hardwood floor

I get to hear my children laughing

Down the hall through the bedroom door

Sometimes I sit on my front porch swing

Just soakin' up the day

I think to myself, I think to myself

This world is a beautiful place!

I have been blessed

And I feel like I’ve found my way

I thank God for all I’ve been given

At the end of every day

I have been blessed

With so much more than I deserve

To be here with the ones that love me

To love them so much it hurts

I have been blessed

When I, when I’m singin' my kids to sleep...

When I feel you holding me...

I know--I am SO blessed...

I really do KNOW how blessed I am. I have an incredible husband. I have four gorgeous, healthy children. We have a home full of love. I have amazing parents, sisters, and extended family. I have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. Truly, I couldn't ask for more.

I am so blessed.

The world lost a great man, Heaven welcomed home a good and faithful servant

Last night, the prophet of the LDS Church, Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away at the age of 97. He returned to heaven to be embraced in the arms of his beloved wife, Marjorie, who passed away four years ago.

I had the amazing privilege of meeting him on several occasions, as he was very close to my grandparents. He truly cared about *every* individual he met. His testimony of Jesus Christ was steadfast and his faith unwaivering. He had wit, charm, and a wonderful sense of humor. He was a true Christian in every sense.

This world has lost an incredible man and follower of Christ, but at the same time, Heaven has welcomed home one of its finest. I can only imagine the joy in heaven as he was greeted by countless individuals, including my grandfather.

And I know for certain that when he meets the Savior, he will hear those words that we all long to hear someday: "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

Thank you, President Hinckley, for being a true disciple of Jesus Christ and showing us the path we all should follow back home.

God be with you til we meet again...

My Husband the Rockstar

I just registered my hubby to take the GMAT test for admission into Graduate School to get his MBA.

This seems fairly mundane--lots of people go to grad school, right? For us *right now* in our life, this is no small feat!

DH will be turning 35 this summer. We've been married for 13 years come June and we have 4 kids ranging from 3 to 11 years old. He just built our dream home (I really do mean *he* built it--he was the General Contractor and did most of the finish work himself!) this past year and we were finally hoping we were "settling down" into a slower-paced life. NOT!

On top of being a husband, father, and sole-provider for our family, he is also serving in 2 time-intensive positions in our church. He is the Varsity Scout Coach for the 14 & 15 y.o. boys in our area, and he is also serving as a Second Counselor in the Bishopric (a Bishop in the LDS church is pretty much like the pastor/priest of other Christian religions--so my husband is one of his 2 assistants).

Needless to say, the man is BEYOND busy--juggling work, family, church service, etc. So to say that it was a total shock when he came to me a few weeks ago and told me he was seriously considering getting his MBA would be an understatement. I've *always* wanted Sam to go back for his MBA, so I didn't utter a word of resistance (such as, how in heaven's name are you going to have time for that and where on earth are we going to dig up an extra $38,000 to PAY for this little activity???).

I've spent the last few weeks on-line gathering info and printing out applications. We got a bit side-tracked with the news about Sam's dad being diagnosed with cancer, but I asked him if he still wanted to pursue this idea and he told me he did. So when the screen asked if I was sure I wanted to commit to him taking the $250 test, I gulped and clicked "confirm." Here we go...

My husband is a Rockstar.

Life can turn on a dime

Hey Everybody.

Sorry it's been a week since posting--we've had A LOT going on.

Unfortunately, not all of the goings on are good. We received the news that my Father-in-Law has advanced prostate cancer. They're praying for a miracle, but based on the prognosis, that's what it would take to save him at this point.

We've got lots of emotions right now. Since the news only came late last week, I think the main thing is still shock. He's only 59 years old. And there's a bunch of other things going on in my hubby's family right now that only add to the tension.

Sam and I laid awake for a long time talking last night, trying to make sense of it all--trying to figure out God's purpose in everything happening. All we came to is that there's a reason for everything, God is aware of us and won't give us more than we can handle (although I do believe he takes us right to the edge sometimes!!!), and most importantly, it has reminded us again of how very fragile life is and how important it is that we cherish every moment with our loved ones.

Sorry for the downer post. I'm just still swirling in a sea of emotion trying to sort through it all. Thanks for being there for me, even if it's only on-line. I appreciate all of your comments so much--you have no idea how they make my day. I'll keep you all posted...

This Birthday Girl is Spoiled!!

I've got such a sweet hubby!!!

Today is my 33rd Birthday. After volunteering at the kiddos school this morning, I turned up my street and saw a van in my driveway. As I got closer, I read "Jimmy's Floral" on the side. Luckily, I caught him just before he was about to leave. He said, "Young lady, I have a whole bunch of roses for you!" He then hands me this gorgeous arrangement of beautiful red and white roses--33 of them to be exact. I've got the best DH in the whole world!!!

Birthdays are an interesting thing. When you're a baby/toddler, you don't even have a clue what everyone is doing with those silly party hats on and why they think it's so funny that you're eating cake. Then as a kid, you figure out very quickly that birthdays are the fountain of all good things from mom and dad. You beg for a big friend party and hope for lots of hoopla and money.

Then as you get older, b-days are fun, but not as big of a deal as they used to be. It's great to be remembered, but you also start becoming aware of the passing of time and how quickly life seems to be passing you by. When you become a mother, birthdays are all about your kids and knowing that *you* are now looked to as the fountain of all good things! Your own birthday sneaks up on you, and before you know it, you're 33 years old sitting at the computer sharing your random musings on life with anyone who happens to log on to your little corner of the world!

When I'm older (of course 33 isn't old!!!), I might start resenting this marking of time as it will just remind me how much time has passed by, but for now, I'll enjoy smelling the roses (all 33 of them--thanks Sam!) and enjoying every little bit of my life as I know it now.

Thanks for sharing in "my" day! (I'm off to my stampin' room to go play with all my new stamps & toys I've received over the past few weeks...I'll be posting my creations tomorrow!)

Nestabilities are in Da House!!!

Oh yeah, baby!!!

I've been curious about the Nestabilities Die Cuts for quite some time. I remember the HUGE hype when Papertrey first stocked them and how everybody said they are a *must have item.*

My budget doesn't allow for me to hop on every bandwagon that comes along, so I decided to wait and see if they were as great as the hype surrounding them. I checked the gallery and watched the forums for reviews. I was impressed.

And then an opportunity came up last week on the BST Forum at Splitcoast for me to buy the Circles set (scalloped and reg). My Birthday is tomorrow, so I decided to buy myself what I really wanted and I grabbed 'em!! Thanks, meerkat3!

They arrived on Saturday and I looked up the Cuttlebug/Nestabilities Sandwich "Recipes" so I could play. Even with the short 20 minutes I had to mess around with them, I can tell you that I LOVE them! A lot of gals mentioned that it's a lot more time consuming than just grabbing a punch, but I found it to be a *really* quick process. AND the Nesties can emboss, too!!! AND they're a ton cheaper than the punches!!!

Needless to say, I have a new love! I'll definitely be getting all the different shapes/designs over time. This is JUST what I needed--something else to be addicted to!#*!#*

PS--When they arrived on Saturday in the mail, I got them out and showed them off to DH with all the glee of a kid at Christmas. He said, "Well, honey--Happy Birthday! I'm glad you got what you wanted, but I really don't understand what you're so excited about. They're just a bunch of metal circles..." Poor man. They just *don't* understand, do they!?!

I LUV these bundled up faces!

Here in Utah we've had a HUGE snow year! Storm after major storm have rolled in and we just keep getting dumped on! Not complaining at all--we need the moisture SO badly and the kids have had an absolute blast with it. The middle picture is the sledding hill in our backyard--how fun is that!!!

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It's just so sweet to see my little ones all bundled up to go out back and have a great time.

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For my stampin' sistas---don't give up on me! I'm in the middle of a MAJOR organization project (my whole house as well as my stampin' room!) which is taking up all of my "free" time. When I get to a point where it's feasible to start stampin' again, I'll be posting--no worries! I didn't get Christmas cards done, so I'm going to send out Valentines instead. And I betta get crackin'--I've only got a few weeks!!!

Resolving to make '08 Great

Can anyone else besides me NOT believe it's already '08??

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There's a song by Kenny Chesney called "Don't Blink" that comes to my mind a lot. The chorus:

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"Don't blink, cuz just like that

You're 6 years old and you take a nap

And you wake up & you're 25

Then your high-school sweetheart becomes your wife."

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I sooo feel that way! I feel like just yesterday I married my sweet husband, and I woke up this morning with 4 kids!!! Where did the last decade go???

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As have most of you, I've made some resolutions to do better this year. My number one goal is to

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GET ORGANIZED!!!

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If you could see through your computer into my house, you'd tell me to RUN, not walk to the nearest store and buy every book on organization they sell! The most frustrating thing is that when I want to be, I'm actually a VERY organized person. In my 'previous' life (b.c.--before children) I was an Executive Secretary in charge of 29 faculty members, 70 graduate students, and more than 400 undergraduates. I was very efficient and didn't have to write down anything to remember it--I stored it all in my (then functioning) brain.

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Since the kiddos have come along, my memory has gone to pot and I'm so busy playing taxi, chef, and maid that I spend little to no time organizing my life. Now that my youngest is 3 (going on 23), I feel like I've got a bit of time to get myself and my household back in shape.

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So I think I'll involve you, my readers, in my journey towards order. Maybe I'll post ideas, tips, or just show pictures of my progress thru the year. I'm actually in the middle of organizing my craft room, and specifically getting a stamp set index put together of my 250+ stamp sets (I know, I'm out of control!) I've gotten a good start, but need to endure to the end and "git 'er dun!!!"

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I'll leave you with the "half way done" pics of my craft room and then you'll know and understand why I'm not posting/stamping every day!!

Make it a great 2008!!!