The Proud Aunt of Twin Nieces

Yesterday I went up to Layton to visit and help my sister Anna-Maria with her twin girls, and the other two she has at home that are still not in school. She has seven kids total ranging 10 years old and under. I'm sure you can imagine how busy she is with 7 kids. It was a joy to be there. The twins are so precious. I loved holding them. It made me baby hungry. I hope I remarry within the next few years so I can have another one. :-) Children are truly "...an heritage of the Lord".

 My heart goes out to all the families in Connecticut who have lost their pure, innocent children to violence. I hope someone close to them shares with them how the Atonement can heal them, literally. The Power is there we just have to know how to access it. The Savior weeps for His little ones who are hurt, alone, and afraid. He even weeps for His big ones- us. His love is sustaining, all encompassing, and his "peace passeth all understanding". I love this season where more of the world focuses on the birth of the Savior, His life, His mission and in doing so how it naturally radiates more love and kindness in the world. At least in our little neck of the woods it does.
Merry CHRISTmas everyone!



Holding Annabelle
Can you see Naomi in the background?



Posing with Naomi
Love Savannah and Eli's expressions

 

Eli, Me, and Savannah.
We had fun playing barbies while their mom went to get a haircut.



The twins - Naomi is in the light pink. Annabelle is in the dark pink.

At the movie theatre excited to see the Hobbit!
We even got smiles from the teenagers. Aunt Nicole and Nathan look cute don't they.
The movie rocked! So awesome. Thank you Aunt Nicole!
She bought tickets for us as a Christmas gift.

doTERRA Tuesdays!

I've decided that once every two weeks I am going to dedicate a blog post to doTERRA.
The word do (long "o" sound) TERRA is a Latin derivative meaning "gift of the earth". The company doTERRA sells the purest from of essential oils on the market today. These oils are truly a gift from the earth: from the lavender flower's extracted oil that can relieve stress and the pain of burns to the sacs of oil microscopically found on the peppermint leaf that can calm an upset stomach and help fight fatigue. doTERRA's oils are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade which means they go through extra testing to ensure they are in their purest form. I have used other oils in the past, and I can tell the difference in quality- doTERRA's oils are unmatched.

I am a firm believer and practicer (is that even a word ;-)) of natural holistic healing. I have never been much of a user or advocate of pharmaceutical medicine. Natural healing agents have been on the earth from the very beginning of time. Plants, flowers, trees, - the things of the earth were made to be used medicinally as well as for emotional healing. The bible mentions oils that were used anciently, such as, frankincense, myrrh, and cassia. There are many more mentioned but these are the ones I remember off the top of my head. I prefer to use first and foremost natural healing agents - essential oils. I have seen firsthand the healing and relief that doTERRA's Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential oils have had on myself and my family.
We are reinventing health care in our family - join us on our journey.

Stay tuned for the post on January 1, 2013 in which I will share an oil that has been invaluable to me personally...

PS I wish you lived closer to me so I could give you samples of these amazing oils.
PPS I will still be blogging about our life too... gonna try to be better about being more consistent.

Here's to a HEALTHIER and PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR...

Merry Christmas!

 

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O Come, Emmanuel - Christmas Version - ThePianoGuys

Celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and watch "O Come, Emmanuel" featuring ThePianoGuys, Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson (piano/cello). What does Chr...

I hope you enjoy this beautiful arrangement!

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O Come, Emmanuel - Christmas Version - ThePianoGuys

Celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and watch "O Come, Emmanuel" featuring ThePianoGuys, Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson (piano/cello). What does Chr...

http://youtu.be/ugV6QGcafEE

THANKSGIVING TRIP- ARIZONA!

 

Our Thanksgiving trip to Gilbert Arizona was splendid! We had such a wonderful time. Grandma and Grandpa Schuett treated us like royalty. Their home is such a sacred place to be - it was an honor to be there. I love how I am treated like family, and not the ex-wife. I suppose it's because I am not the typical ex-wife and because they are just good people.

The weather was in the 80's during the day and the 60's in the evening. I got a kick out of seeing people dressed in shorts, tanktops, and wearing flip flops - in NOVEMBER. I do have to say I sure didn't mind the weather especially on my morning runs. I took advantage of running outside in the early morning because I can't do that in Utah right now...too cold. Brrr!!!

One of the days we spent in Scottsdale...nice city. We watched the movie Brave on DVD. We went to an indoor trampoline place and the boys and their dad had fun jumping and acting crazy. :-) I got my hair done from a professional. That was a nice treat and way different from my beauty college $5 haircuts. Loved it! :-)

Our last day we went on a little tour of Gilbert and saw the construction site of the Gilbert Temple. We hung out and played games, dad Schuett grilled steak (to die for), and I went out for a couple of hours of "me" time. That night we went to the Mesa Arizona temple to see the Christmas lights. We came home to some warm hot chocolate and a fire burning in the fireplace... a nice way to end our vacation.

It was so refreshing to get away! Now it's back to the grind. I am looking forward to the Christmas holidays. Enjoy some pics from the trip!

 

Thanksgiving Day!

This is the life- Andrew with caffeine- it calms him!

The King and Queen of the home.

Isaac and Grandma

 

Andrew with his dad

 

 

Building towers - boys are never too old for Legos.

 

 

The Conder boys

Posterity!

 

I promise Andrew is not cross-eyed, just being silly.

Happy Thanksgiving to Josh. Peter and I
busted up laughing because this was Josh's
dinner. He chose frosted shredded wheat over
a traditional thanksgiving dinner. He's a picky eater.

Gilbert Temple

Mesa Arizona Temple

 

Lights!!

On the temple grounds

Christmas Lights!

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Tomorrow morning the boys and I will be heading out to Arizona.

We are spending Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Schuett and the boys' dad. We are looking forward to our adventure. Pictures and a new post about this trip will be up sometime next week.

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! FAMILY AND FRIENDS AND READERS OF MY BLOG

I hope your day with family is memorable and full of gratitude for the bounty you have been blessed with. 

 

 

I wanted to share a link to this wonderful talk given in General Conference

 by President Uchtdorf. It will help remind all of us what really matters in our daily life.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng&query=gratitude

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to Yours!

The tough look! Love it

Look at that pile I raked, and yes I jumped into it.
It wasn't as cushiony as I expected it to be.:-)

 

 

 

Catch Up!

Wow! I recently noticed that I have not written much since school started.

 Homeschooling two of the boys is keeping me busy, but it's very enjoyable (most days). :-)We've done a lot of cool field trips, the library has become our second home, and we are in the Midwest on our Road Trip U.S.A. We have also launched into space and are learning about the stars this week, we are painting Monet pieces, and doing Homeschool P.E at the Rec. center with other home-schooling families. We are covering a lot more, but I won't bore you with the details. Oh one more thing...we started our Meals on Wheels route. We deliver lunch meals(once a week) to 7 seniors that are home bound living in our community.It's already so rewarding; just seeing the smiles on their faces when you walk in their home is priceless. The boys like sorting the food and putting it in the bag, and saying real loud as we knock - "Meals on Wheels".

 

A few trials have been mixed into our life, but none we can't handle with the Lord's help. I am so eternally grateful for the precious gift of the Savior and the Holy Ghost. Their influence in my life help me make sense of the unfathomable in my life. The Lord is ever reassuring me that I will re-marry, that I will have my eternal best friend, that I will have the desires of my heart. I think he is doing this because I might not remarry for many years. I might have to raise these children without a husband by my side. I shudder to think that is my lot. I also have to believe and be OK that he trusts me with this lot. Two days ago my sister, a friend, and I (we are all single) went to Gardner Village to have a Girls Night Out. We had some very poignant conversations. The friend and I were talking about our dateless woes and how no one seems to be interested in dating us, except for men that are 20 years older than us. Just a precursor - we are both on single dating websites- probably not the best place to look for an eternal companion. We also go to singles firesides, and singles institutes, and various other singles activities on occasion. The realization I came to as we talked was that when it's the right "one", the union will be all about the most important things we cherish like light, truth, virtue, and wisdom. The scripture that came to my mind when I said that was in Doctrine and Covenants 88:40. "For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy has compassion on mercy and claimeth not her own..." The attraction from these qualities will lead us to the right "one". I am not settling for less - so the weeding out process is in constant motion and I no longer pity for myself that I haven't been on a date in 4-1/2 years.

 

Moving on to some other catch up info.... Isaac is finishing up his season of flag football. It's been a learning experience for both of us. Sigh! Next weekend we will be in California for my aunt's bap-tism. I got a "new" used van. I love having a CD player, electric windows and locks, and tinted windows. I know it's sad that I have never in my life had a car with those features, but now I do and I am loving it.:-) I have to admit I had a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye when I said goodbye to my old van. Gone are the stories from that beloved van. In a way it symbolized my life - lots of knicks, bumps, dents, mechanical problems, but it kept on going. I was saying goodbye to a part of my past. It served me well until it was time to let go. As I left it in the salvage yard I thought of how it would still be useful to those who needed parts for their cars. I remember before going to the salvage yard I prayed I'd get at least $200-$300 dollars for it. I needed the money for our AZ trip during Thanksgiving break. I am taking the boys to see their dad. Anyways! When we got there the man quoted us for $400, he hadn't even seen the van yet.  He got his clipboard and we went outside. My dad said, "And now he will start subtracting from $400". My dad noticed how big his eyes got when he saw the van. If anyone has seen the beloved van that I talk about you'll know why his eyes got big. I was still thinking OK I just need at least $200. Well after his assessment we walked back in the office, he opened the register and handed me $400! I was shocked and pleased. My prayers were answered and I even got more than what I hoped for and asked for. The Lord is like that He always gives more. I also realized the guy saw that the van was worth more than the outward appearance.  So it is with the way the Lord sees us - who we are inside is worth so much more to Him.

Until next time...

Gardner Village

His face matches my jacket! :-)
I like older men but not this old.

Contemplating his next move

Andrew will be a bandit for Halloween

HeeHaw Farms field trip

HeeHaw Farms

Cousins visiting from Layton and Illinois

Hannahlihn and Josh

Josh on his dulcimer

Adam Jill and Sarah
Visiting us from Illinois

Memoirs

I have always loved reading books particularly those of a non-fiction nature.
I love reading true stories because of the principles and lessons taught.
Recently I've discovered how much I LOVE reading memoirs. A memoir is "a
record of events based on the writer's personal knowledge". I have  read four
memoirs recently. I love reading how other REAL people have overcome difficulties
and tragedies in their personal lives. I love how they share what they've learned in a very
intimate way. One day I might even write a memoir of my own because my life has
been full of tragedy (not just from the divorce), and I have gained a wealth of knowledge
because of it.

Hilary Weeks wrote a song about this concept and it's called "Beautiful Heartbreak". 
Here are the words to the chorus of the song :
"Every fear, every doubt, all the pain I went through
Was the price that I paid to see this view
And now that I'm here I would never trade
The grace that I feel and the faith that I find
Through the bittersweet tears and the sleepless nights
I used to pray he'd take it all away
But instead it became
A BEAUTIFUL HEARTBREAK"

The following are the inspiring memoirs I've read:

 

If you think your life has been hard, immerse yourself in one of these

memoirs and you will be in good company!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family, Friends, and Fun - Pictures

I just wanted to have a post this time to share pictures of family, friends, and fun.

Sundance 9/2/12

Andrew
Sundance 9/2/12

Isaac & I
Sundance 9/2/12

Sundance 9/2/12

Sundance 9/2/12
 

Beautiful scenery
A wonderful scenic walk

Stop and smell the forest...you can get high off the mountain air.

Beautiful! It proved to be a relaxing time after our Sunday dinner.

Kata

Birthday celebration at Olive Garden.
A single mom friend I met at Aspen Grove.
There were like 9 ladies there to celebrate her birthday. It was so fun.

Molly our hero from Tennessee

Josh and Andrew having fun with Clarke cousins at the "hobo" Zoo.

Mason - training to be a Marine like his dad.
 Look at what a natural he is holding the gun.

Man down...

Cub Scout Day Camp! My missionary trainer's son and my son.
"Buds"

Josh and his cute SB friend. He was so hot he decided to pour water on himself. 

Dear sweet A. and her adorable little guy