Hold Them Tight

I can not tell you that I had dry eyes during this music video that I came across on another blog. I would be lying if I did. I needed this though. Another reminder to hold my kids more. To laugh and have fun with them more frequently. To take in their sweet uniqueness. To hug them tighter and shower them more often with my motherly love. To appreciate each moment I have with them. To really listen to them when they're talking. (sometimes it's easy to get caught up in multitasking!) To spend more one-on-one time with each. To enjoy the little things and not just the big events. Better yet, to recognize the little things. Because they all matter! To wrap up each memory we make and hold it tight. Each one of my children is such a special gift to me and I hope they can see and feel every day just how much they are loved and cherished! They are my joy! xo

A Real Friend

{Found image on Pinterest}

As I've gotten older and have moved to a few different places in my lifetime, I have learned who my true friends are and who my true friends aren't. And that really is okay when all is said and done...because you can't be friends with everyone! You can be friendly to everyone, of course! But some people you click with better than others. Or you may have more in common with than others. I am also okay with having a few close knit friends vs. a million. Moving around has it's perks but one of the downfalls of moving frequently is having to leave the good ones behind to venture out to the unknown to find new ones and well, that can be downright hard! And sometimes unbearable! Some days I want to throw the towel in and say "FORGET IT! It's just not worth my heart being crushed a thousand times putting myself out there to meeting people that end up hurting me." Sometimes I feel that I have enough friends and don't need anymore. It's hard when you realize when a friend wasn't really a friend at all - the pain and sadness that usually comes along with that realization. Growing up, I had more guy friends than girl friends for that reason alone: I couldn't take all the drama and the heart ache. I still feel that way today. But, along with the few rotten eggs you run into and the pain they may cause, I believe it is worth it when you extend yourself and end up meeting and forming healthy relationships with the good eggs. After all, you can't very well love and appreciate the good eggs so much without coming across the bad ones. 

I'm so grateful for my husband - who also happens to be my best friend! I couldn't have asked for a better man. He amazes me and always makes me smile and laugh. He's always there for me (as I am for him) and I never ever have to question his intentions as they are honest and sincere. I was having a rough time the other day and I'd like to share a little of what I wrote to him:

"Thank you for being my constant and true love & friend in a lifetime of pain and let downs around me. Thank you for loving me, believing in me and finding me. I know life gets busy and some days just down right hard and unbearable - but because I have you, I know I will make it and be stronger for it. I would be lost without you. Thank you so much for taking care of me and our family. You are amazing and I can't think of a better person to be with than you! You are my hero!!!!"

I've been fortunate for the most part since moving here. I have met and become friends with a handful of some really nice and friendly people. With that said though, I have also come to find a few "friends" actually turn out not really earning that worthy title. It's really made me pause and think of what a true friend really is! To re-evaluate some relationships in my life that were becoming toxic and I had to make the decision to end it knowing that letting go of the negative would give me peace again. To realize that not every friend in your life stays a forever friend. In some cases, wonderful friends end up being situational friends. Friends that you had during a certain time in your life that you lose touch with for one reason or another when one of you moves away. Or friends that you needed to have during a hardship and were a blessing but you both went your separate ways when life dealt you a different hand of cards to play. Then there's the friends that no matter the time and distance you've had between the two of you, you can pick right back up where you left off as if time stood still and years hadn't gone by. So thankful for the internet (not something I say a lot!) and being able to stay connected to so many friends and family that live afar. How lost I would feel without those wonderful friendships in my life even if they don't live around the corner anymore! It was really hard getting close to another Marine Corps Spouse that happened to also be my downstairs neighbor for a few months just to watch her up and move away 2.5 years earlier than planned (we moved here around the same time) BUT thankfully she's considered one of those forever friends that no matter where we are living, we will always stay in each other's lives!

So thank you to all my REAL friends! For being there for me as I have for you. For the good times and the laughs we've had; for the hard times and the hugs we've shared. You are loved and cherished and I hope you know that you are so very important to me - no matter how far away we live from one another! How much you are missed!!! What I'd give to see you more than we do and to have lunch together or take our kids to the park or go on a trip to the beach together! (Or in this case, Paris!!!!) :)

A REAL friend makes life more bearable!

Quite simply, to have a friend...you need to BE one! :)

I Love to See the Temple

Today ended up being a much needed family day! Normally when Sundays roll around, we get up and get ready for church. But today started off a bit differently. We accidentally slept through the day-light savings time change and didn't have enough time for all 6 of us to even hurry and get to church even close to on time. Really not a fun start to the day for me. I love beginning a new week having attended church meetings and having been spiritually fed. So we had to improvise on what the day entailed. As Spring has definitely found it's way to these parts of the world the past few weeks, the sun was out and almost 70 degrees. I couldn't deny the feeling that we had to find some way to get outside and enjoy the weather. A reoccurring thought popped into my head: "let's take a trip to the temple!" For one reason or another, we had yet to even see the Frankfurt Temple as a family since moving here. With General Conference being next weekend, I couldn't think of a better time to go to the temple! After lunch, we packed up some snacks, rushed the kids to take last minute potty breaks and hopped on the autobahn to a city called Friedrichsdorf where the temple resides.

We got there in about 20 minutes and wow! was it beautiful!! I really love seeing the temples. The feeling I get being there. The structure of the building. Seeing and smelling all the colorful flowers. All of it! I am of course biased having lived in the Portland Oregon area much of my life so I do claim that the Portland Temple is my favorite! The only other temples I've been to is Mt. Timpanogos, Boise, Salt Lake City and Washington D.C. Once we got all of the kids out of the van, we discovered what a horrible mood Jocelyn was in. Not the most fun thing to experience: a cranky and nothing-will-please-me-at-the-moment five year old! She cried even more so when I took the kids photo in front of the temple sign and dragged her heals behind us saying, "i hate this day! i hate walking!" and whatever else she felt compelled to complain her heart's desires about. I did my best to distract her (and ignore the bad attitude) and bring a smile to her face but all my motherly attempts didn't work. When all else fails, bring out the food! That seemed to do the trick! I'll have to remember trying that one closer to the front of my attempts next time. :) 

The temple is quite a pretty place and always brings me a feeling of peace! Going to the temple not only brings us the opportunity to be sealed as families forever, but can alleviate stress, help us to think more clearly, get answers to our prayers, provide us with peace from the outside world and recharges us spiritually, physically and mentally. It is without a doubt one of my very favorite places to be! We enjoyed our time wandering around the grounds as a family (which also included trying to catch or keep up with Jocelyn and Andrew), Landon practiced more of his independent walking and I took some pictures before we turned around and headed back home...for our weekly Sunday walk! Something I've been very much looking forward to starting up again. Now all we needed was a grilled dinner. Mmmm! We need to get that going soon!

It was a really good day (despite a few bumps in the road).

And I love seeing my children embrace in the same things that I love.

They really are the best! 

My everything!

I love my family!

To The One I Love...

"Happy Birthday, honey! ;)"

Another year of happy and sad moments (baby born/ moving away from friends)...but I seriously couldn't have done it without my husband by my side! He's amazing and I count myself lucky to be his each and every single day!!! I feel truly blessed!

Some things that I love about him:

1.) He's an amazing father to our four sweet children! I love seeing him read and play and interact with them and how much they love him in return!

2.) He is supportive in all that I do. Especially if he knows it will help me be a better person, he's my personal cheerleader.

3.) Awesome cook!! His breakfast burritos are to die for - among some other favorite dishes! If (and when) he offers to cook, I usually don't turn it down! :) One of our goals is to take cooking lessons together.

4.) He puts up with me reading with the light on at night from time to time. It doesn't appear to bother his sleep any - but if it does, he never complains!

5.) Part of him being happy is making sure that his wife and children are taken care of and are happy too! He's always making sure that I'm okay and he's there for me at the drop of a hat if I need him. However big or small it may be. He knows me and loves me and I couldn't have asked for a truer or better best friend if I tried.

And the list really does goes on and on...:)

xoxo

Happy 31st Birthday John!

I love you sooooooooo much!!

And here's to another year of great memories!!!

Baby Grace

As of June 1st, 2010...I became an Auntie again! :)

My brother and sister-in-law over in England are now first time parents to an adorable 9 lb. 9 oz. baby girl named Grace Emily. She's beautiful and we're so happy for them!

"Congratulations you guys! We can't wait to meet her and hold her.

Until then, give her our love! xoxo"

Easter 2010

This Easter, we kept things pretty low key at our place. Not in the sense that things weren't crazy and the kids weren't running around on a slight sugar and happy high, but we tried to stick to the basics. We all know that holidays are usually anything BUT relaxing - but we did try to keep it somewhat peaceful. Not only is it Easter Sunday, but it's also General Conference weekend and we were able to take in all of the wonderful messages that were shared with us and helped to, once again, recharge our spiritual batteries. We also read about the true meaning of Easter from Matthew 28 and watched this video.

For breakfast, we made cinnamon rolls, hashbrowns, scrambled eggs and orange juice. It was SO good. Then, the kids were surprised with their Easter baskets. We were going to hid them, but once again, we kept things to a minimal. To my disappointment though, we didn't dye eggs this year as planned so the amount of eggs they were to find were cut in half. But who says you can't dye and decorate eggs any other day of the year? :) I think we may just do that! Another disappointment was that I didn't do the usual Easter clothes for the kids. A lot of that reason was much of my time spent lately has been caring for and nurturing Andrew back to health from a double ear infection and a miserable cold. Most days, I barely got anything done other than holding a clingy baby. Not that I mind - it's just why I didn't get a lot done. Another reason to step back and remember our family word this year: Choose. I chose to leave some things out this year so I didn't get all frazzled and stressed. Much of the reason why we chose this specific word in the first place; so we could simplify our lives and get down to the basics. Looking back, I do wish I got them cute matching clothes for Easter but it's really not something I'm going to fret over. Next year, I hope to be able to make the girls their dresses - or at the very least, go shopping earlier, in case unfortunate events like sick children spring upon us!

The girls and I made and decorated sugar cookies and took plates over to some of our neighbors and friends. Aubrey and Jocelyn really liked doing this and felt so proud giving the cookies they made to people they love.

Once we returned home, it was starting to cool off outside - enough to watch them run themselves crazy searching for easter eggs in the backyard. The girls knew the drill but this was Andrew's first Easter egg hunt. John and I took turns helping him find some of the hidden eggs and his sisters were actually kind enough to leave some of the lower ones for Andrew to pick up and dump into his little green bucket. It really was a fun sight to see as they all ran to and fro searching for their "treasures."

For dinner, we had a Costco ham, scalloped potatoes, pineapple, olives, rolls and salad. A friend of ours wasn't feeling well and his family was out of town visiting extended family, so we took some dinner over to him. And the plan for dessert was to make lemon bars but with all of the yummy cookies we were praised with by friends all week, we cut it out of the menu.

Easter just happens to be one of my favorite holidays. Almost 31 years ago, on April 15th, I was born. It also happened to be Easter Sunday (and tax day!). There are rumors that I was almost named Bunny. And I'm so glad it was just that....Rumors!! :) I'm grateful to my parents that my name ended up being Leslie instead. I'm sure it spared me a lot of embarrassment.

Today ended up being a really great day spent with family and friends - and I'm very happy to know that my sweet kids understand that there is more to Easter than just the candy and baskets. That because Christ died for our sins and was resurrected, that we too can live again! I love knowing that if we just try to do our best and live our lives in such a way that the Savior would be pleased, that we can enjoy this promise. Happy Easter! :)

{Table set for Easter breakfast}

{These beautiful Lily's I picked up at Wegmans and they made the house smell so good!}

{Delicious cinnamon rolls}

{Andrew's Easter basket - I didn't realized I got him such a small basket. So things happily sat next to it.}

{Aubrey's Easter basket}

{Jocelyn's Easter basket}

{All three kids with their "I am a Child of God" frames}

{He LOVED his ball!}

{Dad & son relaxing}

{After getting sick on some medicine and having already gone through a few changes of clothes, he ended up walking around like this for a while! :)}

{Girls baking cookies for friends and neighbors}

{Easter Egg hunt in the backyard begins!}

{Andrew's first Easter Egg Hunt!}

{Found another!}

{He was very reluctant putting those eggs into the bucket. He would much rather hold them!}

{"Isn't that what they're for, Mom??"}

{Aubrey searching for more eggs}

{Jocelyn found some too!}

{Basically having no clue as to what was going on, he just wondered around...}

{"Oohhh! What's THAT?"}

{Smile! "Hey Andrew...look over here!}

{"No...look over here! At Mama!" Oh well. He's still cute looking in his bucket. Guess I'll take what I can get! :)}

{Cracking open their easter eggs to find their hidden surprises}

{Easter dinner}