It snowed today but it felt like Spring inside. Winter is hard for mamma's with young kids. You have to put on coats and gloves and boots and then take them off five minutes later. Not to mention the sicknesses are never ending. Needless to say Spring can't come soon enough and this wreath makes me so happy.
Isn't she a beauty!! I saw one like it at Kohls and fell in love until I saw the price tag. $80.00!! Wowzers! I couldn't justify myself to spend 80 bucks on a wreath, no matter how much I loved it. Ever since then I have been aching to make my own.

I tried the trusty dollar store first to find some fake flowers. I found some but I was so disappointed in the quality. Nothing a trusty glue gun can't fix!!! Look at the difference...
At first they were flat. I just reshaped them and used a tad of hot glue to hold them in place. It worked perfectly, was worth every penny and looked like the craft store ones once I got done with them. I got 6 tulips in a bouquet for $1.00 compared to 1 tulip for $3.99 at Hobby Lobby.

I used the twig like wreath which made it super easy to just stick the stem flowers in and tie floral wire around the back in a few spots to secure it. I started just putting them around until the whole wreath was filled.

Today I had a thought provoking moment when I went to a local shopping center and saw two guys. They were both on opposite ends of the outside corners and they were both holding up signs in the rain. One with a sign asking for money; the other guy holding a "Little Caesar's" sign (gosh, it makes me smile when they dance) shaking it up and down for the local pizza place. 


My first thought was to judge. "Why couldn't the guy begging be more like the guy working?" "We work for our things, why can't he?" "I donate to charity's and he has so many resources he could use." "He will probably use it for the wrong reasons if I did give him money."

But then  another thought... What if that guy begging for money was my brother? 

I'm not promoting giving money to every person holding up a sign. I didn't today. Occasionally I do, when I feel prompted. But I am advocating to not judge so quickly. I have no idea what choices or circumstances took him to the corner that rainy day.  But, if we were all a little slower to judge, we might find out the who instead of the what.

In my teenage years, my family had a motto. "Sin has its own consequence, just love everyone." I'm not saying this guy was a sinner, but he probably was. Because everyone is a sinner, I am a sinner and you're a sinner. 

Moral of the story, just love everyone. 

So, next time you find yourself judging the person who didn't vote for the person you did or doesn't share the same beliefs, the beggar, the rich, the feminist, the activist, the person who doesn't want to march, the breastfeeding in public and the non-breast feeding in public; hold your thoughts and look at the situation differently because you don't know what choices or circumstances brought them there. JUST LOVE EVERYONE!! 




Feel free to share, we all need more love.

It was seven months after our 5th baby. He got RSV when he was a month old (that virus shot his immune system to this day). He was always sick, fussy and unhappy. I was miserable stuck in my house and feeling so desperate for happiness. I often found myself on long drives up the canyon just to get out of the house. Everyday I would text my husband saying "I couldn't do it anymore". He always made me feel better. He would respond with just what I needed to hear. "Someday you will look back and you'll miss this" or " how about you go out with your mom and sisters tonight?"



Above is just one example of why I love Lane. Our love story is different than your "average Mormon" marriage. We didn't meet in a Singles ward or at BYU. In fact we never even went to a Singles Ward. By the time we were 17 we knew that we wanted to be with each other forever. We both graduated from Pleasant Grove High school in the Spring of 2006. We married that August and had our first baby in January.

Lane and I always had the same goals and aspirations. We were able to be sealed on our 1 year anniversary. Seriously, probably my favorite day if I had to choose one. I'll never forget when they wheeled a white stroller with the most beautiful 8 month old fast asleep into our sealing room. It was magical.

Lane worked hard jobs and went to school and studied in his free time. I postponed my dream of going to school for a time to become a Mom. He continued to work hard. I continued to have babies. We laughed, danced and sometimes cried our way through the hard times. Okay, maybe I cried through the hard times. Lane never cries. We made good times and happy memories.

This is a glimpse of our love story. Its full of sacrifice, forgiveness, kindness, laughter, honesty, lots of poopy diapers and trust.

I walk through Costco with all my children in tow. 1,2,3,4,5,6... yup I just saw you count my kids. It happens ALL the time. I do it too. I saw this lady at the store the other day and she had a TON of kids. I counted 1,2,3,4,5,6...I was so surprised when I realized that's how many I have. Here some things you need to know if you want a lot of kids...

Some days it feels like a dozen, other days it feels like two dozen.

Neutral everything. Unless you know you are going to have all girls don't go with the pink car seat on your first baby.

Just plan on "couple vacations" every 5 years... or more..or none.

When you have a lot of kids, one of them is bound to be good so there's that.

The most important thing you will teach your children is to share. We share everything, except underwear and toothbrushes.

No eating in the car is one of our rules. I don't know how the heck french fries keep ending up in the car seats.

It's always a party.. at 3 am in Mom and Dads bed, and not like that you sicko.

Mom tells you "No" so you go to Dad. Dad tells you "No". You do it anyway, no one even notices. Not! There is ALWAYS someone around. We will find out.

You buy all the same kind of gloves. Narrows it down to just finding a left and a right.

With every new baby you restart the countdown from 18 years..again.

Life is full of surprises. Like, the one time my two year old snuck outside and was running towards the street. I was just out of the shower so I had to run outside with just a towel on and my neighbor saw. SURPRISE!

Make sure to buy a duplication machine because that thing is worth all your money.

Make friends with the nurses and doctors because you will see them way too often.

But most importantly make sure your heart is big because there is sooo much love. I love the quote "If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart."  Having a big family has its challenges but I wouldn't do it any other way... most days. :)

There is one love language we can all agree on... that is FOOD. Everyone knows the French are the most romantic and its probably because they created Macarons. Valentines Day is right around the corner and nothing says "I love you" more than a French pastry.
My sister is a Macaron master so she was kind enough to teach me how. I can't wait to try it out on my own.

Before we start some things you will need..













Silicone molding mat

I tuck her in. I sing an off tune melody because heaven knows I'm not a singer. I fold my arms as she prays and I listen to her simple prayer of gratitude. I kiss her on her forehead and tell her she's the best. Sometimes I crawl in the sheets and her face lights up and we talk. I mostly listen, because during bedtime is when my kids, especially the older ones, love to talk about everything to stay up any later.