Happy Mother's Day!

Here's a peak at my loot from Mother's Day!  Man, I got spoiled!

Before having children, I always dreamed of the day when I would be overwhelmed by paper bouquets, hand prints, and pictures! 

Well, this year did not disappoint!  I got a flower bouquet from Kathryn, poem/magnet with Kisses from both girls from Church (I was the one who actually made all of the magnets for the Primary!), a "Bee autiful" craft from Kat from school, another bouquet from Kat from Art, a wonderful heart card and a handful of precious pics from Emma!

What mom wouldn't love all this?

Also, Kathryn put a 'Spa' together for me!  How amazing! 

I got a foot rub, a back massage, a manicure (Bright pink polish included!), and a make-over!

I felt absolutely fab!

Kat, you are so sweet to think of me!

Oh, I also got a Photo shoot! :)

I don't think the pics do my makeup justice!  You can't really tell that I have beautiful purple eyeshadow on!  I don't know how you can miss it!  It was super dark and amazing! :)

You also don't get the full effect of my side pony-tail! ;)

I love how the lipstick and blush really compliment the jewelry Kat picked for me! 

Don't ya love the lipstick on my teeth?  Classic!

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

I know I did!

A Happy Update!

My mom sent me an e-mail this morning. She told me I needed to update my blog with some happy news.
I got Thanksgiving off! It was just a few weeks ago that I found out Old Navy would be open on Thanksgiving for the first time ever! I was upset, because I knew I would end up having to work. This also put a wrench in our plans. Mat's family is coming down for Thanksgiving and that is the only day that I knew I would be able to relax and spend with them. I talked to my manager and she was so great about it. She told me enough people had volunteered to work on Thanksgiving, that I was ok to not have to come in. YAY!!! Now I can go see "New Moon" with all my sister-in-laws that night! And I won't have to hurry to eat and rush everything that day! YAY!!!
My 0ther piece of happy news is that I also got the whole week of Christmas off approved! DOUBLE YAY!!! I was getting so depressed about this. I kept thinking "There is no way I am staying in Vegas for Christmas!" I had put in two requests (each for different amounts of time off) and both had come back denied, because they are black out days. I finally got fed up with that and frustrated with the whole situation. I was ready to walk in and give my two weeks notice. I went in and talked to my manager again, and told her the situation. She agreed to letting me have it of if I could find someone to train as a cash handler and to do signage. I agreed! So now I have Dec 20 - 27 off!!! YAY!!! I am so happy!!!
I feel so much better knowing I will be able to spend a whole week up in Utah and be able to be with all of our family to celebrate!
A piece of happy news from Mat - he only has to work a half day on Thanksgiving, so he will be home around 9am. That means we will be able to spend the whole day together! Yay! Also, he has a feeling he will be sick (cough, cough) on Christmas! We are still waiting to see what happens with his job, to know how long he will be up in Utah with us. He has applied to lots of new positions, and so we are waiting to see what comes of it.

Even knowing that this year will be kind of a 'Charlie Brown' Christmas for us (mostly Mat and I, the girls will be spoiled as usual) it doesn't matter. All I want for Christmas is for my girls to be with their Grandparents and cousins; Mat and I to be together; be in Utah with all of our family!!! It is a wish that has been granted to me and I am so thankful!

Things I am Thankful for...

In Relief Society they challenged us with the Pursuit of Excellence. I am not sure if this is something that is church wide, or if it something that our ward has come up with. Basically, it is for us to work on different areas of our lives; to strengthen our testimonies and to gain new knowledge. This month it was 'Keys to a Happy Family'. It is set up like a bingo board, and we were challenged to get 'five in a row' or '10 anywhere'.

This is the first month I have actually done it since we have been in this ward. A couple of the things I have done so far: Read the Family Proclamation, Take a Family Picture, Improve your relationship with a family member not living in your home (Thanks Cristin!). One that I thought would be easy to share is 'Make a list of 25 things you are thankful for'. (Sounds easy, but it is proving to be more difficult than I thought!) So here goes!

(In no particular order, for the most part! Just what came to mind as I am typing!)

I am Thankful for:

1. My Savior, Jesus Christ.

2. The Atonement of Jesus Christ. So that I can repent of my sins and also that I may live with my family forever in Heaven!

3. My Girls - Emma and Kathryn

4. My hubby - Mat (sorry you are after the girls, it was a hard decision!)

5. My mom and dad - I love you both and owe you so much!

6. My testimony - I am so thankful for the trials that have given me faith and strength

7. The health of my family! I see so many of my friends and family that have health trials and it makes me so thankful that we are all healthy (knock on wood!)

8. The lessons I learned from my sis, Bambi. I may not be very thankful that she is gone, but I am thankful for her example and all she taught me!

9. The rest of my family & friends! I love you all so much and am thankful for the impact you have on our lives! Life isn't worth living if you don't have the love of your family!

10. The Temple. The peace I feel inside and the experiences I have had make me so Thankful for the Temple!

11. Having a job and that Mat was able to find a a job down here! The economy sucks and it is a hard time for any job. Glad at least we can both say we are working!

12. Having a roof over our head and shoes on our feet! Again, times are tough. But we have what we need and sometimes what we want! Life is good!

13. Our new ward here in Henderson. They have been so welcoming and loving.

14. Our old ward in Roy. We miss the friendships we made and the fun times we had in our old ward and neighborhood!

15. Swimming. It has become a fun time with the girls and it is a lot more relaxing than I ever thought possible! It has turned into a stress reliever!

16. The Internet. It keeps us connected to friends and family!

17. Cell Phones! Again, it is all about the communication with family!

18. Diet Coke and Chocolate. My drugs of choice!

19. Sunshine. Another stress-reliever. (Unless it is too hot, which happens a lot down here! Then it is just miserable!)

20. Air Conditioning. We live in Vegas - need I say more?

21. The girls' bed time! Especially with Mat working nights! Sometimes 8 o'clock can not come fast enough!

22. Traveling! It is something that Mat and I both love and look forward to! When we got engaged, Mat promised to 'show me the world'! And he has! We have been to Mexico, Hawaii, Florida, Nauvoo, Montana, Washington, Arizona, California, and all over Utah! We have had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories together! We hope the girls will learn to love the world as much as we do!

23. Naps. It is my favorite thing to do when I have nothing to do (Doesn't happen very often!) Nothing like a good afternoon nap!

24. My camera and being able to capture all of our fun family memories! Even if Mat gets annoyed with me taking pictures! I can't help myself!

25. Quiet. Sometimes the world gets too crazy and you just need quiet! I like the quiet.

~~~

Whew! That was actually harder than I thought it would be! I even took a couple of days off in between, just to really think about it and what I was thankful for!

~~~

Now that you have read my list, go make one! It really makes you think. What are you thankful for? Think about it!