Perfect Party

Friday night we had Hailey's birthday party with some friends and they had a blast. We rented the Wally Ball court at Noah's and cranked the music over the speakers and let them play for 3 hours. I failed to take pictures of the lounge area where there was a bar filled with yummy snacks and birthday cake and a fridge stocked with Gatorade. It was perfect for a bunch of preteen girls and a few boys. (Nick and a couple friends.) :) Although I did notice the boys kept plugging their ears when the girls would start screaming.

 Hailey had a piano recital before her party and she really did great! (I will try to down load the video I took in the next few days for anyone who wants to hear it.) She was told to wear church clothes but in true Hailey - tomb boy fashion she added her new slip on tennis shoes that matched her shirt. :)

Quote of the Day:
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."

Sweet Sunday

Quote of the Day: "The future depends on what we do in the present." Mahatma Gandhi

This quote sums up the feelings I had at church today. As I listened to the talks and lessons, I was reminded of so many things that I need to be doing now to produce the outcomes I want with my children, in my marriage, and with my own spiritual progression. They were gentle reminders that didn't leave me feeling guilty or hopeless, but gave me renewed motivation to be doing those small and simple things that matter the most in the end. It does not take grand gestures to make the biggest difference, it's the simple acts of kindness, the daily routines that include what's most important, and keeping the big picture in mind.

Happy Birthday Hailey!!!

 I cannot believe my baby is TWELVE!!!!

Quote of the Day:

"A mother-daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured. She is loved. She is taught and experiences firsthand what it feels like to have someone care about her enough to correct her while continuing to encourage and believe in her at the same time."                  M. Russell Ballard

I love Hailey so much and am so grateful she is my daughter. 

I LOVE MY...

SANUK flip flops!!!!!


They are made out of yoga mat material and are THE most comfortable flip flops I have every worn!!!

Quote of the Day:
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes. (Hahahahahaha)

Women of Faith

Quote of the Day:
"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith." (The Joy of Womanhood...Ensign, Nov. 2000)

What Are We Focused On?

Quote of the Day:
"Dramatic performance improvement does not come from gaining new knowledge. It comes from getting rid of the interference that gets in the way of using the knowledge and capacity we already have." Alan Fine, You Already Know How to be Great.

This can apply to every part of our lives...from our home life, outside commitments, sports & athletics, our jobs, etc. It's all about what we're giving our focused attention to that can lead to dramatic improvements in our performance or what "stories" we are telling ourselves that can cause interference and keep us from performing at our peak.

One more quote:

"If we did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." Thomas Edison

Standing in Awe

 Brian and I had the wonderful experience this last week of attending the adoption hearing of our sweet friends. I have never been to one of these before and I stood in awe at the magnitude 10 minutes can have on the life of a family. About 10 minutes is all it took to change the lives of this family forever. As I listened to Heather talk about her feelings for Lynlee, tears welled up in my eyes and I felt as though I was looking at the pure love of Christ as I looked at Heather's face literally radiating love for this little girl as well as her other adopted little daughter. I don't know the details of all that Greg and Heather have gone through to get to this point, although I've heard beautiful talks by Greg about their struggles with infertility and the talks he read and listened to that buoyed him up during this time they were struggling to start their family. They have since had the great blessing of adopting two of the sweetest, most beautiful girls ever!!!! I second their testimonies of the blessing of adoption. I second their thoughts on the selflessness of the birth mothers. And I second their comments on the "rightness" of the situation and that this is exactly how they were supposed to find their children on this earth. The Lord has a plan for all of us and this was His for them.

My quote for the day comes from my sweet niece Chelsea Kate's blog:

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

Greg and Heather were the supreme examples of this. I love them and their sweet family and I am thankful we were invited to be a part of that special day with them!

Quotes

I LOVE quotes. I always have. They can be inspiring...they can be funny...they can help you through a specific moment or experience in life or they can help you understand others' experiences in life. They can be long, short, or somewhere in between. So I've decided I'm going to add a "Quote of the Day" to my blog and I'm going to call it that even though I might not succeed in posting a quote EVERY day. :)

Today's quote is actually from my sisters blog as her tag line on her blog and it is:

"You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather is."

Every time I log onto her blog I read that and I think it has resonated with me especially in the last week or two because I feel like I'm going through some of those "growing pains". The quote that really reflects the last week or so for me is:

"Sometimes it takes all you've got just to keep up with the losers." :)

Happy Mother's Day to My Mom!

I know this is a little late in coming but I had the "good intention" of doing this post on Mother's Day...at least I'm within the same week right?! :)

My mom has been the most incredible example to me of what a mother should be. She was patient, loving, supportive, kind, stern when she needed to be, and ALWAYS my biggest fan as I was growing up. She always welcomed my friends into our home even so far as letting my best friend in high school move in with us our senior year since her parents were moving out of state.

I was not the easiest teenager and yet she "handled" me in a way that never caused me to rebel against her and always with a gentle undertone but definitely getting her point across. :) When I moved out to go to college it finally dawned on me what a truly wonderful mother I had and I wrote MANY letters home apologizing for my typical teenage behavior and thanking her for everything she had done to help me see the light and pick a path that would bring me eternal happiness! :)

My kids are so lucky to have her as their grandma. She loves her grandchildren with all of her heart and has played a major role in their lives. She has picked up with them right where she left off with me and my brother and has influenced their lives for good. She is their biggest fans just as she was mine and I appreciate how loved and supported my children feel by her. She will sit and listen to them for hours as they tell her about the latest happenings in school, sports, with friends, or whatever is going on in their lives. She is sincerely interested in their lives and takes joy in everything they share with her.

I love my mom and I am so grateful for her!!

(On a side note, I realized while I was writing this post that I really need to take more pictures of my cute mom!!!! She is always pointing out pictures to take of the grand kids or the rest of the family but she is never in them. That needs to change!! ) :)

Happy Mothers Day to Me!

Whether it's Mothers Day or not, I always feel very blessed to be a mother. On every questionnaire I filled out as a kid when it asked what I wanted to be when I grew up I always put mother. Sometimes I would add airline stewardess, hair stylist, or something more important sounding along with mother, but mother was always there. It has lived up to every expectation I ever had! I know that my life would not feel complete without my children and I truly cherish the awesome responsibility of raising children in this world...sleepless nights and all.

When you're growing up you picture the "ideal" family situation...but as we know, life is seldom "ideal". I am grateful, however, for my "non-ideal" family situation...otherwise I would not have the opportunity of knowing my incredible step-son Bryson. He was 3 when I married his dad and I felt very lucky to have met him so young in life and relished the opportunity of being a part of most of his life. I pictured us quickly growing into a happy little family that was "meant to be". I quickly had my rose colored glasses ripped off my head and stomped into the ground by him...hahaha. He was a very rambunctious, stubborn, opinionated, high energy child and there were times when I wondered what in the world I got myself into. :) But never once did I question the "rightness" of the situation. I loved him, I loved his dad, and I loved the family we were becoming...even all the bumps along the way. I must admit though that life is much calmer now that he is 18 verses when he was a preteen trying to exert his independence from all of us. :) We are very proud of the man he is becoming and I am loving the many long talks we are having as he is about to graduate from high school and start the next phase of his life in the marines. I could not love this kid more. Through all the ups and downs of step parent/child relationships I have loved this boy as if he were my own and at times it has been hard for me to "share" him with his mother. He has truly been a blessing in my life and has taught me many valuable life lessons I would not have learned otherwise!

This picture is at his last track meet but I was so caught up in cheering him that he didn't end up being in any of the pictures I took of them running...I guess you actually have to look through the camera to make sure it's pointed where you think it's pointed. :) He is the one in the starting blocks on the far left.
I am also grateful beyond words for Nick and Hailey. Nick came into this world in high dramatic fashion 9 weeks early. He was 3 lbs 13 oz and we were told to expect him to be in the newborn ICU for at least 2 months. But he was an overachiever and came home 3 weeks from the day he was born. :) He endured 2 major foot surgeries...one at 5 months and another one at 18 months old to correct the club foot he was born with. Even though his feet have ended up being 2 sizes different and his "little foot" as he calls it does not have the strength in it that his other foot has, he has not let this slow him down one bit in life. He has participated in any sport he's wanted to and thinks it's cool to have different sized feet. :)

Hailey came into this world screaming for 2 hours straight and has continued to be our very vocal child...inside our home. To the outside world, she has been shy and introverted but over the last year or so I've watched her come out of her shell and and have more confidence in being herself to the outside world as well. :) It's neat to watch her blossom as she hits the pre-teen years but I have this feeling that she might give me a run for my money in her teenage years...only because she's a lot like me. :) I'm sure my mother will be thrilled to watch the pay back happen for my teenage years. :) I am grateful though for her strong personality as I think kids need that in this day and age to make it through the tough situations life throws at them.

I love being Nick and Hailey's mom and I love being Bryson's stepmom. I am grateful to Brian for giving me the life I always dreamed of growing up!

Recent Happenings

Easter Sunday was really nice last week. I'm noticing though that holidays are certainly different now that the kids are getting older. Still fun...just in a more "mature" way. :) The kids have opinions for the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, etc now that they realize they have an "in" with them...hahaha.

We also have had some fun time with our favorite little Spencer girls lately as well. Little Lynlee is growing so fast and has the biggest smile you've ever seen! What a fun, happy baby!!!

When I broke out the camera Ellie knew just what to do and she started posing. :) She has obviously had MANY pictures taken in her life and when I asked her if she wanted to be in a picture with Nick she went right over and put her little arm around him and looked at the camera...adorable!

Nick had a band concert Wednesday night with other bands from another junior high as well as bands from the high school. We waited almost an hour and a half to hear Nick's band play one song...geesh. Luckily I had some other moms to chat with while we were waiting.

It seems like life has been really busy lately...but in a good way. I can't believe this is the last month of school for the kids and the last month of elementary school for any Morrow kid. Why do they have to grow up so fast?????