My silly daughter

Aubrey is so creative and silly. She has 2 best friends that she is so silly with. Well, for their 16th birthdays, she made them both a dvd. She was so creative and put an amazing amount of time into it.. Here is just a bit of one of them. I loved it.... It shows her personality exactly....







I love her so much.... I think she recorded that at like midnight one night.. We have a ton of these. Just wanted to share one of them with you.


BTW- If you go to the bottom of my page, you can turn off the blog music so you can hear her lip sync.

Winds of Change

So that is the best title I can use for our lives over the past few months. Well, it all started at the beginning of February when Jonathan was laid off of his job. It was not to unexpected but we hoped that things could turn around for the company. So, with the best of hopes he stayed on for another month without pay hoping that he might be of some use. Well, in that month we did lots of praying and talking and we finally both got enough courage for him to go on his own. I say both because if it were up to him he would have done this a long time ago. But, I was under the false idea that a "job" is security and that going on your own is foolish. Well, this was a hard lesson to learn. But, a good one. So, he now has been doing his own thing for a little over a month and the Lord has blessed him with work and a hope for a bright future.
Now, the second bit of change is we will be moving by the end of May. I must say that I am mixed about this one entirely. There are good and bad things about this. I loved this house that I have been fortunate to live in for the last year. It was in every sense of the word my dream home. But, it is only that, a house. We can and will find another place to live. That is the part I am asking help with. Does anyone know of a home that is available to rent or lease option to buy? We would love anyones help.
There have been some great lessons learned through this new adventure of our lives. The biggest one for me is that my family is really what is important to me. I have been able to see and spend more time with my husband in the last few months than I have in a long time. We have both grown so much closer and stronger together. I love that he can make his own schedule. He went and volunteered and the meat packing plant today because he could. I am excited to see what is next. I just know it is something good....

Back in time moment

Jonathan and I took Jerin and Haylee to Sonic for a family home evening treat tonight. Aubrey and Devin left with some friends to Lake Powell for Spring Break. So, it was just the four of us. On the way back, the song "I'll be there for you" by Bon Jovi came on, such a good song from back in the day. So Jonathan turned it up really loud and we both sang at the top of our lungs. Our kids thought we were pretty weird and got a great laugh. It was a fun, small moment when all seems just right with the world...

Zyans baby blessing

Yesterday we had Zyan's baby blessing. This is my sister Amber's little girl. We had such a great time. L gave such an amazing blessing. I feel so very blessed to be part of such a great family. Here are some pictures from the event.

This is Amber, Monica, me, Rachel, her baby Mariah and her son Jordan... We were the ones cooking in the kitchen.

What sad story could they be telling?

Jonathan and Melanie

Summer and Lindsey are so cool!

Summer wrestling with Dezmon.. She ended up making him bleed. Watch out for the mean auntie!!

Are we creators of our own world?

I have been pondering about some things for awhile and would love true feedback. Actually, I think I have been studying this for about a year now through various books. Are we creators of our own world? My belief is YES! we are, whatever it may be...

There are so many amazing books that I have read lately, people that I have run into that help me to see this truth.
One of my most favorite scriptures is "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” ( Prov. 23:7) Henry David Thoreau sustained that concept when he said "that a man becomes what he thinks about all day long." In my mind, what I focus on becomes my reality. Do I focus on the things that I do not want and therefore attract them into my life? One of my favorite books on this subject is a small , fast read called "As a man thinketh." by James Allen. There are so many amazing quotes in there. Here is one of my favorites.
“In the armoury of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. … Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master. … Man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny”

Here is another great one from a talk given by Gordon B. Hinckley
"The acceptance of the gospel of Jesus Christ is affected by attitude. William James, a famous author and psychologist, wrote, “The greatest discovery of my age is that men can change their circumstances by changing the attitude of their minds.”

I have been feasting on this subject for awhile and realize it is lots of food for thought.. I would be very interested in your views on this subject and why you have them.

Family tradition

Every year at conference time, I try to get together with my sisters and some friends while the boys attend the priesthood session. Some years it works out and sometimes it doesn't. This year we all got together. It was a blast. We also have a tradition where we take pillsbury dough and fry it up and make powdered donuts. It is so yummy.

making the donuts.


frying them up in the pan.


shaking them in powdered sugar


enjoying our messy treat..


Lindsey with Haylee and Savannah


some of the group...My stepdad thought he wanted to be one of the girls...


My youngest sister Summer and myself...

It was so much fun. I love being with my family and friends... oh! and by the way, I set up my 3 sisters Summer, Kristy and Monica on blogs while they were here. So, you can go and check them out..

An amazing find

I love to read... I really do. The problem is finding the time to do it. I said in a previous post that I read lots of self help books, which I do. But, I have found an amazing book that I really want to recommend. It is called "Remembering Wholeness" by Carol Tuttle. She is taking lots of her information from another book called "Healing your Life" by Louise Hay. I bought both books and this one has really struck a cord with me. I am going to take a little bit from the book so you can decide for yourself if this is for you.

"We are each responsible for all of our experiences.
Every thought we think is creating our future.
The point of power is always in the present moment.
Almost everyone suffers from "I'm not good enough."
It is only a thought and a thought can be changed.
Resentment, criticism, and guilt are the most damaging patterns.
We must release the past and forgive everyone.
We must be willing to begin to learn to love ourselves.
We create every "illness" in our bodies.
Self approval and self acceptance in the now are the key to positive change."

So, I feel very excited about reading this book. I believe that certain things come into each of our lives at certain times to help us the most, when we are open to receive them. I know this was really meant for me at this time.. So, this is why I am sharing it with you now.