Tender mercies . . . I have seen a lot of these in my life recently. Whether it has been in a book I have read, and Ensign article, or something someone has said, I have had the answer, reassurance or comfort I needed when I needed it.
Recently, I attended the funeral of a family friend. The feeling at the funeral was a mix of sadness and . . . I wouldn't say joy, because I don't think anyone feels joy at the death of a loved one, but there was something of relief because he had been fighting ALS for the last three years and was deteriorating rapidly. There were wonderful things said about him but the thing that really hit me was something that his wife said during her remarks. She was talking about their early life together and how difficult it was for her with young children at home. She spoke about feeling restless and agitated with her life, thinking that this was not the direction that she envisioned for her life. Then she talked about how she woke up one morning and made a conscious choice to choose joy. Those words really stood out to me, "CHOOSE JOY". I can sit aaround waiting for the stars to align and everything to work out like a Disney movie, or I can look at the life I have (which is pretty dang good when I sit down and think about it) and find the joy already there.
I have been making an effort to "choose joy" lately and it really has made a difference. I feel happier, more able to tackle the difficulties that inevitably come, and I feel like my relationship with my kids and husband is going so much more smoothly. I am making a cute crafty sign for my bathroom to remind me every day that joy is a choice and one I am going to make!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
July and August (so far)
Wow, I just realized that it has been a LONG time since I have updated this! But it all makes sense when I look back and see what the last few months have been full of . . . holidays, a wedding, a few birthdays, and just plain life! So here are some quick photo highlights of life since the last post.
Kylee has learned a new trick; sticking her foot in her mouth. It looks incredibly painful, but she seems to enjoy it!
Kylee is looking cute and ready for a dip in the pool!
I set the timer on the camera to capture this moment with Kadin in our kiddie pool on the deck. We spent quite a bit of time in that pool when the temperatures hit the 100's for a while.
Jordan came home for the 4th of July weekend and he spent a bunch of time with Kadin, particularly getting him to expand his eating habits.
Kadin had a great time digging in the sand pit right outside the front door of our beach house.
I admit it, I am one of those dorky mothers who dress their kids up for every holiday. But when they look this cute, how can I resist????
After getting up at 4 in the morning to catch our early flight to Utah, Jeremy was whisked away to Lagoon for Jordan's "bachelor party".
After their Lagoon adventure, the boys met back up with Mom, the kids and me back at my Grandpa Batty's and Devin joined Kadin in the AMAZING pay structure they had just built back there.
Congratulations to Jordan and Molly! They looked AMAZING and so incredibly happy. Whaty a great experience to share with them.
The four Theurer kids together again.
What a cute couple! To see more pictures go to http://wendyandersonphotography.blogspot.com/ and look for the entries labeled "Jordan and Molly" wedding. They are beautiful pictures.
Relaxing on the lawn before the reception. It was SOOOOO hot that day, we were all melting!
Because of the heat, Jordan and Molly had Otter Pops at their reception. What a great idea! It was certainly appreciated by Kadin, who had about 10, I think. By the way, doesn't he look studly in his little orange tie? Funny story: I asked Ben and Devin to get the kids dressed up in their nice clothes while we were in the temple during the sealing and when I came out, Kadin ran up to me and proudly told me "I loook 'sax-y'". Apparently, his uncles had thought it would be funny to teach him to say he looked sexy. Now whenever he sees the orange tie, he tells me how "sax-y" he looks in it.
I just love this picture!
The boys have a constant competition going on about who is the favorite uncle, but I think they have met their match. Kadin immediately latched on to Molly and followed her EVERYWHERE! Jordan gets points for being married to her, but the other two . . . better step up your game!
Playing in the pool at grandma's house. These two kids LOVE the water and love to splash each other.
Kadin got an ice-cream cone as a reward for peeing in Grandma's potty but more of the treat ended up in the lawn and on his clothes than in his mouth. Side note: that was the last time he peed in the potty for the past few weeks . . . any hints/help for a stubborn potty trainee would be much appreciated!
Kadin is taking a tumbling class at THPRD and is loving the chance to jump on trampolines, crawl over and under mats and turn somersaults.
My mom and I took the kids to a pool nearby that had a shallow kids section with a waterfall, spouts and a water-slide. Kadin was FEARLESS on the water-slide. He went down a couple times with my mom while I held Kylee, but then he was all about doing it himself.
We had Jeremy's birthday party (I cannot believe he is 30!!!!!!!) at my parent's house. The pool was set up and I didn't think that the kids were going to get in because it was a little bit cool outside, but that didn't stop them! Clothes and all, they were splashing up a storm.
Jeremy requested my dad's FABULOUS ribs for his birthday dinner. YUMMY!
The boys helped Jeremy blow out his birthday candles.
Jeremy also had PLENTY of help opening his presents.
Kylee is looking cute and ready for a dip in the pool!
I set the timer on the camera to capture this moment with Kadin in our kiddie pool on the deck. We spent quite a bit of time in that pool when the temperatures hit the 100's for a while.
Jordan came home for the 4th of July weekend and he spent a bunch of time with Kadin, particularly getting him to expand his eating habits.
Kadin had a great time digging in the sand pit right outside the front door of our beach house. 
I admit it, I am one of those dorky mothers who dress their kids up for every holiday. But when they look this cute, how can I resist????
After getting up at 4 in the morning to catch our early flight to Utah, Jeremy was whisked away to Lagoon for Jordan's "bachelor party". 
After their Lagoon adventure, the boys met back up with Mom, the kids and me back at my Grandpa Batty's and Devin joined Kadin in the AMAZING pay structure they had just built back there. 
Congratulations to Jordan and Molly! They looked AMAZING and so incredibly happy. Whaty a great experience to share with them. 
The four Theurer kids together again. 
What a cute couple! To see more pictures go to http://wendyandersonphotography.blogspot.com/ and look for the entries labeled "Jordan and Molly" wedding. They are beautiful pictures. 
Relaxing on the lawn before the reception. It was SOOOOO hot that day, we were all melting!
Because of the heat, Jordan and Molly had Otter Pops at their reception. What a great idea! It was certainly appreciated by Kadin, who had about 10, I think. By the way, doesn't he look studly in his little orange tie? Funny story: I asked Ben and Devin to get the kids dressed up in their nice clothes while we were in the temple during the sealing and when I came out, Kadin ran up to me and proudly told me "I loook 'sax-y'". Apparently, his uncles had thought it would be funny to teach him to say he looked sexy. Now whenever he sees the orange tie, he tells me how "sax-y" he looks in it. 
I just love this picture! 
The boys have a constant competition going on about who is the favorite uncle, but I think they have met their match. Kadin immediately latched on to Molly and followed her EVERYWHERE! Jordan gets points for being married to her, but the other two . . . better step up your game!
Playing in the pool at grandma's house. These two kids LOVE the water and love to splash each other.
Kadin got an ice-cream cone as a reward for peeing in Grandma's potty but more of the treat ended up in the lawn and on his clothes than in his mouth. Side note: that was the last time he peed in the potty for the past few weeks . . . any hints/help for a stubborn potty trainee would be much appreciated!
Kadin is taking a tumbling class at THPRD and is loving the chance to jump on trampolines, crawl over and under mats and turn somersaults. 
My mom and I took the kids to a pool nearby that had a shallow kids section with a waterfall, spouts and a water-slide. Kadin was FEARLESS on the water-slide. He went down a couple times with my mom while I held Kylee, but then he was all about doing it himself. 
We had Jeremy's birthday party (I cannot believe he is 30!!!!!!!) at my parent's house. The pool was set up and I didn't think that the kids were going to get in because it was a little bit cool outside, but that didn't stop them! Clothes and all, they were splashing up a storm.
Jeremy requested my dad's FABULOUS ribs for his birthday dinner. YUMMY!
The boys helped Jeremy blow out his birthday candles. 
Jeremy also had PLENTY of help opening his presents. 
WHEW! Looking back it has been a crazy, but fun, few months.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
More of me
In case you aren't already sick of me and my odd ramblings . . . I have started another blog. I know; one is enough right? Well, this one is solely for my reading habit . . . addiction . . . obsession . . . however you choose to categorize it! I will talk about what I am currently reading, what I think about it and any books that spark my interest. Come visit!
http://chelseabookshelf.blogspot.com/
http://chelseabookshelf.blogspot.com/
Sunday, June 21, 2009
My oddball child
I got Kadin a little pool for our back deck because it has been so hot lately, and he loves to play in the water. It took a couple days for us to find the time to set it up, but we got it filled on Saturday. Of course Saturday was the day that it decided to cloud up and get cold. That didn't stop Kadin from wanting to get in! So he suited up and climbed in. Undaunted by the cold, he splashed around for a while and probably would have kept going if we didn't pull him out (the chattering teeth and blue lips were a pretty good sign that it was time). I think we will be spending quite a bit of time out on our back deck this summer.
Kadin thrilled to be in the pool!
Kadin thrilled to be in the pool!
Jeremy showed Kadin how to fully immerse himself in the experience
Kadin was pretty proud of his "crazy hair" after dunking his head
To go with the pool, I got Kadin some goggles. Instead of being used in the water, he has dubbed them "woggle-goggles" (in honor of Scott's Wobble-Goggles from Imagination Movers, one of his new favorite shows) and decided they have more application in watching TV and looking for missing items.
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