Our Aweful Beautiful Life

I'm cheap. Selfadmitted. I shop at Wal-Mart, and I'm completely okay with it. Well, mostly. (Yes, I put on more than a pair of sweats and a ratty sweatshirt with no bra....and no, I don't let my children eat right out of the box of vanilla wafers we just put into the cart...) I'm a firm believer that you can waste a lot of money at some grocers. If you and I were given the same grocery list or recipe card, I'm pretty sure I can buy a cart full of Great Value products and make a meal that tastes just as good as if I'd brought the products at Marsh. Do I believe that some stores have good sales....sure they do. Just Sunday we spent a load of money at Payless because I talked myself into believing that the 10 for $10 sale was amazing. Except, I think that my hand shuddered a bit as I pulled my $1 can of black beans off the shelf, and saw that the Kroger brand was only $.58 cents. After all, black beans are black beans. However, that's not always true. Something...

Some days, when Pam, our babysitter sends me a text, it's not good news. Someone has a temperature or is snotty or just plain isn't acting like they are feeling good. Sometimes when she texts it's another kind of bad news...she's out of formula or diapers, which in turn means we've got to go drop a serious amount of cash to restock the shelves at her house. And sometimes, well, sometimes all I can send to her in response, is O.M.G. THAT ... was today. Pam: Did you know weird is not a bad word, but shit is and that you can't go outside in your underwear and... Pam: that farts stink and if his dad  does it, you have to run outside? Me. OMG Pam: Yes, we had a good conversation giong. Said if you say bad words you eat soap Me: What a shit! Pam: Okay, is crap a bad word, it's not at my house... Me.: haha...No? Pam: Sorry it took so long, cleaning up your little ones crap, shit, poop...all I know was it was nasty! Me: Hahah...I love my kids! Pa...

It's 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, and quite honestly, this is probably the first time since BEFORE Christmas, that we've been completely lazy for an entire weekend. What's sad, we're all so exhausted we don't even care that we're not out in this beautiful weather we're having. It's nearly 60 outside...but between the muddy mess that is our driveway/yard and the fact that we're all four fighting colds, I guess there's a reason we're not out and about. So, I figured, since we're just hanging out, I'd share some recent pictures, and let them tell the story of what we've been up to. Suffice it to say, life is good.  First snowmobile ride!  He loved it, as if you couldn't tell... I think he's going to be like his Dad, and LOVE the snow and cold! We broke up the winter doldrums with a quick trip to Buccaneer Bay! Our newest fish...luckily, our kids LOVE the water! Colton typically is too busy to la...

For over a month now, I've been telling myself I need to take the time to blog. Guess what....I'm just now making myself do it, and only because a friend of mine talked about setting up her own blog so that she could document the memories of her daughter. The lightbulb went off....oh yeah...that's why I set this blog of to begin with...maybe I better actually DOCUMENT THE MEMORIES we're making!!! And let me tell you...we're making them DAILY around here folks. The things Colton says. The new tricks Emmayln is acquiring daily. The adventures Jason and I are going on. Every day is wild and crazy and new and different, and I wouldn't change one bit of the chaos for anything. Let's back up to January 4th...ironically, that was the date of my last post. You know how they always say your life can change in a heartbeat. Yeah...that day was like any other day..crazy. We'd done our nightly routine, and after dinner/baths, Em was asleep for the night and Jason w...

If this isn't the neatest thing in the world, I really don't know what is. Colton got an email from Santa. If I'm good, I'll add the video of him watching it for the first time to this post...but for now, let's just capture the email in itself. Such an amazing thing. Santa's Message to Colton

You won't be surprised to hear me say that December is only a slight blur of my memory, considering my last post was Thanksgiving weekend. Some days, Thanksgiving literally feels like yesterday. Don't get me wrong - December was filled with wonderful things. Family get togethers, good excuses for shopping, lots of parties with friends, and of course, the magic of Christmas morning with a toddler. As much as I love Christmas and the entire meaning of the season...I was actually glad to see that madness go this year. I feel so "grinchy" saying that -- but I don't feel like I got to enjoy it. If I did, I don't think I'd feel like December was such a blur. So, I'm going to do my best to recount some of my favorite December moments to hopefully erase my grinch attitude, and remind myself of how grateful I should be for all that December held for us. We kicked off the month celebrating (belated style), Jason and I's 5th Anniversary. Are you scratchin...

We sure had a fun Thanksgiving weekend, and we've got so much to be thankful for this year. My friend/cousin Lacy, did this on her blog, as she was encouraged to do by her Bishop in New York. I liked the idea, and I'm stealing it...a few days post thanksgiving. Let's face it...thanksgiving might only be one day, but we've got something to be thankful for, each and every day. Jason - I couldn't be more thankful for Jason. I look at our lives today, compared to what they were when we first met, and I couldn't imagine being in this place/time without him. Sure, there are days when we don't see eye to eye (he's very stubborn, you know), but ultimately, he makes me laugh when I want to be mad, he's an amazing father, a provider for our family and a super friend. I've always said, that through our family history, God put us together for a reason. I've never stopped doubting that. Jason, thank you, for being all that you are, not only to me, but t...