Under the Weather

The first day of spring started out beautiful and we had tempatures in the 70's for the first time this year, even our apricot tree had started to bloom, but it was short lived when two days later we were hit with a storm, we still had hope, cuz the snow was light and the tempatures did not go lower then the 30's. this weather hung around for a couple of days last week and then finally by the weekend we were starting to warm up again and have some clear skies, we were stoked. Then when I was on my way home from work on Sunday morning at around 7am I notice the weather was awesome it was 50* and I thought to myself .....yes....spring at last, I got home and laid down for a couple of hours and got up for church to find these weather conditions before me, aproximately a foot of snow and tempatures in the 20's. As the day went on after Fasting and attending a very spiritual Testimony meeting I got contemplating the weather cycles we have been experiencing lately and found myself comparing them to my own life and the recent events. I realized a couple of things about life, First I learned that when you think that things could not possibly get any worse, the Lord shows us that they can, but along with that he shows us that with our trials come great blessings and lessons learned, perhaps the biggest one being that if we allow him to, he will help us get through anything. Second I learned that how we view life is largely on what we focus on...the good or the bad, most truly happy people recognize their trials as blessings and an opportunity to grow, while a miserable person facing the same trails may view life as unfair or themselves as a victim.

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, partially because I did not know how to express what we are experiencing without sounding depressing. Well first off Grandma and Grandpa arrived home safely from Brazil and have been absolutely wonderful to us, not one negative word about the condition of the house or the yard, we have been truly blessed. Second we have been blessed to have Luke visit again during track break, it has been fun although we really haven't had the time together that I would like to spend with him, maybe this week! Third on the 24th of March we had our pre-trail in regards to our custody battle with the girls and while some might say they thought this was over and behind us, unfortunately we were forced to settle at a pre-trail, the good news is the legal part has come to and end (no more Guardian at litem , no more court or lawyer fees) the bad news is the stipulations remain the same (paid supervision and thus Darin's rights still limited) but since we will not be seeing the girls anyway for awhile this reallly does not matter. Fourth we will not be moving anytime soon, because we feel at this time it is important to keep in place health insurance for the boys (since they will be losing their primary insurance April 6th) and with the economy changing jobs seems a bit of a risky bussiness, although we do know that we do need to move on and find new jobs eventually. All and all even though our lives at times seem a bit boring, we have been extremely blessed and find great job in our family!

The Home Coming!!!!

The day has arrived and Grandma and Grandpa Watts will return from their mission at approximately 2:30 this afternoon. As you can tell by the cartoon, it should be an adventure fitting their 6 pieces of luggage the two of them and Obpa into our fairly small SUV. I am happy to have every last minute staying at home trying to finish up on the 1,000,000th thing that we have not quite got put back into order before their return. We did manage to get the upstairs done, but the outside (yikes) and the downstairs (where we will be living for awhile) still have a lot of work to do on them. While it has been a tremendous blessing to have been able to stay in their home while they were gone, I would not recommend it to anyone, it is extremely stressful living in someone elses house, especially family, you have to live with them for a very long time. Stay in tune to see if we survive their return or whether we will be dis-owned and are living out on the streets.

Death of a Snowman!

This post is dedicated to Luke and his Snowman who has finally died and left this world! We will always remember him and the joy he brought us this winter!

Talented Daughers!

I have two Lovely Daughers that I gave birth to, and as I contimplate each of them and who they are I am amazed at how very blessed I am to have them for daughters they are truly amazing and here are a few reasons why.

Kerstin

1. She is the best Sister ever, she takes her time out of her busy life being a mother and wife to call and talk to her 7 other siblings, I don't know many other married people who take the time to stay in contact with their siblings as often as she does.

2. She is a wonderful daughter and probably my best friend (other then my husband) she calls me just to talk to see how things are going and makes me feel important

3. She is an awesome mom and makes sure that her kids get to do fun things like take swimming lessons or go to pre-school even if it means she has to do without

4. She has a talent for Style and makes sure that her family is always looking good (she has been like this since she was 2 years old)

5. She can scrapbook like no other and has blessed our house with many wonderful pictures masterfully designed.

6. She has a talent for trying new things and almost always is successful, when she sees something she likes, she is willing to learn or at least try to learn to do something.

7. She is a good friend and has kept in contact with many of them as far back as her early childhood.

8. She is a good wife and is an example of what it means to be your spouses best friend.

9. She loves the Lord and is always willing to serve when called to.

10. She is the smartest in the family, but is willing to let Brent pretend he is.

Cynthia

1. A peacemaker, she doesn't like it when someone is unhappy and will do what she can to make them happy.

2. An awesome babysitter and has been since she was about 2 and she would want to change Benji's Diapers.

3. She is one of the least judgemental people I know and tries to love and care for people for who they are.

4. Plays the piano by ear and has a natural talent for it.

5. A natural blonde (that truly is a talent these days)

6. A hard working student, when studying never came that easy to her, she always put out the effort and it has paid off for her in college.

7. She has awesome handwriting.

8. She has become a pretty good cook. (or so I hear)

9. She is a faithful Temple attender.

10. She Loves her husband with all her heart.

Talented Daughter-in-law

As I have been reading blogs lately I have noticed a few about talents or should I say the lack of talents and I realized that often times we don't see our talents as well as others do. As mothers and wives I think at times we need a reminder from those who see our talents for us to recognize them (not to say father's and husband's don't need strokes, I just think they aren't as hard on themselves as women are). I have One Very Beautiful and Very Talented daughter-in-law and I would like to mention some of the many talents that I have noticed in her over the last couple of years.

Shayla

1. Although she will claim that she is not crafty, she has the most beautifully decorated home, this is an amazing talent, and as far as crafts go, I have never seen one she has tried that hasn't turned out.

2. She is a loving and patient mother, not once have I heard her raise her voice at one of her 3 children (that would include Brent)

3. She has a talent for humor, while I love my son Brent dearly, anyone who knows him knows he can be very silly at times, Shayla knows how to enjoy the humor and give it right back at him.

4. She is a loving and kind person, I have never heard a negative word come out of her mouth in regards to another person.

5. She plays the piano masterfully ( a talent I have always longed for)

6. She is perhaps the smartest person I know, but has a way of making everyone else feel just as smart as her.

7. She has a talent for blogging, there are always interesting and fun things to read on her blog.

8. She has a talent for shopping, one of my best shopping trips was last year after Christmas with Shayla and Cynthia, we had a blast (or at least I did)

9. She has a talent for throwing parties, just like her skills in decorating she can put together an awesome party, whether it is a bridle shower, Birthday party or whatever.

10. She has a talent of faith, I have watched over the past couple of years, both Shayla and Brent face some challenges, but they have remained optimistic, faithful and upbeat through them all, whether it was a child's health, a move, the economy or any other test they have came up against.

Look for my future posts on Kerstin and Cynthia and their many talents