Some Moments to Remember...

LIFE...
as a working mom that gets home around 1:30 every afternoon,
has until 2:45 before she has kids running in the door,
it makes it where my blog doesn't get the attention I would like to give to it.
(it makes it where I don't have much computer time at all and I feel bad that I don't have the time I would like to keep in touch with those friends that mean SO much to me in my life)
It makes it where things get posted MUCH later than I would like them to.  
BUT, at least I have a place to journal my life
and so some days I have to say to myself...it's better late than never!!  

Today I am thankful for…

Family, Friends, Beauty, simple pleasures
and the sweet innocence of little children!

I got a big chuckle out of Ethan this past weekend when he made the following statement.  I had just gotten out of the shower and was putting on deodorant when he came in the room… 
”Mom, you mean girls wear deodorant too?”   
I had to laugh at how innocent and sweet he was.  I guess he thinks that since girls are pretty that they would never get stinky.     Truly a priceless moment!

So, here is my month in photos with everything from beauty, to happy and sad moments and everything in between.   
SO grateful for all of the “simple things” 
 that bring such a great glow of happiness to my life!

I love looking around my home this time of the year, 
when my fall décor is everywhere and looking at sweet things on my shelves 
that were gifts from family and friends. 
I always have happy thoughts when I look and see these.

Love this sweet door handle from Cherie…
I added it to the frame that Tracy made 
for my “Children” poster  
and it looks like an old door. 
LOVE this…
RED is definitely my new favorite decorating color.

The end of the Cross Country Season...
SO sad it has come to an end!

What a blessing it is to have so many WONDERFUL influences, coaches and friends in Jades life that truly care about him and want to see him succeed.  
I'm going to miss watching them all run each week!!

Finally having time to make Huckleberry Jam!
We ended up with 28 half pints of this yummyness!  
So excited to enjoy this on our weekend pancakes AND to have plenty on hand to be able to share with family and friends as well!  WOOT!

SADDEST moment of my life, when my sweet Ethan had to experience the sadness when our dog Butch was hit by a car.  

Ethan has never known life without Butch and this is the first time he has ever experienced the loss of a pet.   
These photos bring tears to my eyes, every time I look at how SAD he was…he has never cried harder in his whole life!

Tracy taking time out of his EVER so crazy and busy life to make a frame to hang our 3D Dracula. 

LOVE how it turned out and LOVE that I have a hubby that can make ANYTHING I ask him to!
He is truly a marvel, with SO MUCH TALENT! 

  
Gorgeous drive to 
Grand Teton National Park…

The colors were stunning, the drive was enjoyable the time spent together as a family enjoying great conversation, music and beauty was priceless!! 

 SCOUT SPIRIT ROCK!

 What a blessing for my sons to have a dad that ALWAYS takes time out of his busy schedule to help them with projects.
Here Tracy is helping Ethan add his wording and a picture to the SPIRIT rock for Scouts. 

(SO funny to me that Ethan pulled off his shirt as he didn't want to risk getting paint on his shirt). 

 And that’s why they call her the “Easter Egg Chicken”…
We purchased a new batch of baby chicks this spring and thought it would be fun to have at least one Ameracuana chicken, since they lay green and blue eggs.   
Well our hens have been laying eggs for the past month and a half, but all of our eggs have been brown. Imagine the EXCITEMENT that we had on one Sunday afternoon, when we went and gathered the eggs and there was a GREEN one waiting for us!

 Sweet packages in the mail for no reason at all, other than that someone wanted to let you know that they were thinking of you!

SUNSHINE!
I love those days when there is sun shining in my windows 
 ALL afternoon 
 and love the gorgeous glow it gives to my great room and kitchen and the cool shadows and reflections it makes as well.

 Coming home to a sweet love note waiting for me on the counter after a long tiring day at work. 
What a blessing it is to be loved and cherished  
each day of my life!
  What an absolutely WONDERFUL life I have!

This quote perfectly sums up my life...
“When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.”
–Bob Hope

Some Happy Things in my Life!

3:45 in the morning 
on August 31st,
 we heard cracking thunder outside our windows and the sky kept lighting up with some of the brightest lightning I have ever seen.
It awoke Tracy and I from our nightly slumber and we knew that any moment we would have kids bursting through our doors to join us!  Sure enough, Ethan and Jade came running in shortly after we made that comment and Ethan hopped right in our bed in the middle of us and snuggled in.
It felt like a moment from “The Sound of Music”. 

He was quite nervous. 

We sat there all cuddled together and watched and listened for the next hour as we experienced the craziest storm ever...which included hail and rain and we even  got up and went to our front porch and enjoyed watching the hail pummel down.

I had the words to this song going through my mind all day long …

”When the dog bites, when the bees sting, when I’m feeling bad. I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel…So bad!!

Here are some of my FAVORITE moments from the month of August that brought many SMILES, JOY and HAPPINESS to my life!
   
FAMILY moments and simple pleasures 
are truly the things that bring my life the most happiness!

BEAUTY...
I am surrounded by such an abundance of beauty where we live.  Right across the road from our driveway is a field of horses.  The sunset was perfect this night I snapped this photo.  I truly never tire of the changing colors of the morning/night sky. I treasure and enjoy each sunset that I am able to experience!

My kids arrived home safe and sound from my parents house.
It is always a bitter/sweet time sending my kids to my parents.  I love that they get lots of ONE on ONE with my parents, but I am always a little nervous and hope that they don’t get in an accident while driving.    
It’s truly one of my most joyous moments of the year,
when I see my kids drive up after their visit and to hug and kiss them and to know that they are home with me once again safe and sound! 

“I am the one and only”…
LOVE this song! 
(here to listen to it)
Tracy is always surprising me by purchasing songs on iTunes
and then coming home and hooking his iPhone up to our speakers and playing the newly purchased songs and surprising me with them while I’m getting dinner ready.  
This song always makes me smile  
and I haven’t heard it for years.  
While the kids were at my parents house for a few days, Tracy loaded 
“Doc Hollywood” on our NETFLIX and we watched this together.  
Can I just say how much I LOVE that show…
such a good show with a wonderful message!
It makes me both laugh AND cry!  Michael J. Fox is "The One and Only" and is definitely one of my all time favorite actors and plays the perfect character in this film!   
I could watch this film weekly and never tire of it.

LOVE NOTES…
 after a long hectic summer, I came home to an
open notebook on my counter with such a heartfelt note from Tracy… 
these notes mean more to me than any store bought gift!
These words touched my heart greatly to think how much I am loved and adored by my hubby.

(Click here for our FUN happy adventure of making tie-dye shirts and picking Huckleberries…these two moments definitely are at the top of the list of HAPPY moments for me in August)

Cross Country…

 Tis the time of year to head out and enjoy the weather and watch Jade run at his Cross Country meets…
  
I enjoy this time of year SO much and I love cheering Jade on from the sidelines while he runs.   
 He is awesome and ran such a great race this past week.

(I’m always amazed when I glance over at the team before a race and they are all kneeling down in a circle with arms folded and saying a prayer).   I’m also amazed at how NICE and kind all of his team members are to him.  He may be one of the slowest runners on the team, but he has one of the biggest fan clubs of anyone!

I spent a few days in August scanning in photos
from Tracy’s photo albums and his family’s photo albums  and every time I see a photo of Tracy when he was younger it just makes me melt looking at what an adorable little kid my handsome hubby used to be.   

Feeling so extremely blessed that our lives crossed paths 
during our college days and that I get to be the 
lucky one that got to marry him!

Eating lunch with Ethan at school…
 it’s amazing how such a little thing like going and eating lunch with kids is, but it is SO big to them!!  I'm savoring that he still takes my hand and walks with me down the hall when I come to the school to visit him and that he is excited to show me off to his friends. I'm sure once he gets in middle school next year things will be totally different.  What a priceless treasure these sweet moments in time are!     

Ethan devouring the Harry Potter series books… 

in the past month he has read the first four books and just started the 5th one.
He is an “action mode” kid and I love 
 that he has to have a wand in his hand
(that he cut and carved with his new knife he bought)
while he reads his books.
(anytime he comes across a spell in the book he has to 
hold his wand and say the spell…
truly priceless!)

 He has definitely caught the reading bug!!  
I am just sad he is growing up too fast. 
He reads every spare second he gets (there is many a lunch/dinner time, when he can't put down his books long enough to eat) AND anytime we go anywhere in the car, he takes his books with.
He is SO adorable and makes me SMILE lots with his enthusiasm and zest for life!

 It cracks me up when I see him squatting when he reads and sometimes when he eats. 
He could seriously sit like this for hours and it is comfy to him!!!

It was a joyous day when I finally got Easter taken down from my entry shelf and YAY, I actually have Fall/Autumn decorations up for us to enjoy this next season.
I love FALL...
love the crispness in the air, the color ORANGE, the gorgeous colors of the changing leaves, pumpkin patches, straw and corn mazes, hay rides, caramel apples and all of the many other things that come with Autumn Time...
love the yummy baking of apple pie, pumpkin muffins and cookies, spiced cider, meal in a pumpkin and bowls of hot chili...


SO grateful for the abundance of little things
in my life that make it so BIG!!
Happiness is NOT a new beautiful house with all of the latest trends,
or a new shiny car, or new clothes, or home decor...

HAPPINESS is... taking time to appreciate all
of life's "Simple Treasures & Pleasures"
Happiness is... enjoying wonderful experiences
& relationships with family and friends  
and
Happiness is... "Loving the Life You Have"!

I've been thinking...

I've been thinking, 

how we live in a society of instant gratification...

 we no longer need to really wait for anything. We have instant photos, can text and be in contact with friends and family instantly. We have lost a sense of having to be patient and realize that good things really do come to those who wait.  

I remember SO well, sending off film in the mail and anxiously awaiting the mail and being SO excited when it came that we would literally sit in the car and go through photo after photo and "hope" that they turned out because you only had 24 or 36 exposure film and film was expensive to buy and expensive to develop.

I remember SO well, having to send letters to family and friends to keep in touch as phone calls were SO expensive.  You had to mail off the letter, wait for them to get the letter, wait for them to respond back and that would sometimes be 2-3 weeks.

Now, we feel it's kind of an inconvenience if someone said they just sent us an email and it still hasn't come to our Inbox yet, and it's only been like 30 seconds.

Tracy and I are TORTOISES, 

we are not quick at doing things at all. Our projects always take much longer than we'd like them to and I realized this as my good neighbor that follows my blog came rushing down as she had been reading my organizing posts and wanted to be inspired by all of the things we had been doing. 

I was sad that I didn't have more to show her than I did.  

Right now we have about 7-8 different projects going on that are each about 1/2 to 3/4's the way done and I can't wait to share them. 

Things are transforming at our house really nicely and I can't wait to show all of the things we have been working on when they are done.  For now, I hope you can be patient with me and know that small space organizing/decorating posts are coming in the non-to-distant future and they will be AWESOME 

and worth the wait!!

Until then, I thought I'd share the different thoughts on 

happiness and JOY 

that have been going through my mind this past month!

I've been thinking...

how Friday April 1st was such a PERFECT day!  

April Fool's day shined down on us in such a good way with the weather at 

63 degrees!! WOOT!!  

Short sleeves, not having to leave the house without a jacket, it was AWESOME and then Saturday & Sunday came and we realized that April Fools Day was over and we were back to ordinary 40 degree weather life in South East Idaho.

Friday was PERFECT
not only because of the weather, but, because it was 

DATE NIGHT with the love of my life Tracy.

We listened to awesome music as we drove in the car, shared a Pork Barbarcoa Salad at Cafe Rio, got some materials for our weekend house projects, had hours of laughter, great conversation, nice weather, gorgeous sunset. 

It was perfect! 

Date night is one of my favorite nights of the week!

 I've been thinking...

how cute little birds are
and how much my kids LOVE animals!
(even though I'm not much of an animal lover myself).

We purchased some baby chicks to replenish our flock of hens. I have heard the words 

"those baby chicks are SOOOO cute" 

out of the mouths of my kids this past week that I have lost count how many times.  They are growing fast and in another few weeks we will be able to move them to our chicken coop and then the fun will come from culling out our old hens.

I've been thinking...

how much I LOVE the positive books and positive video clips that Tracy is always bringing home for us to enjoy as a family.
This book "Who moved my Cheese" (here)
was AWESOME!!
It was SO funny that Ethan even understood it.  In fact, Ethan had just had a little "melt down" earlier in the evening before we read that book. He commented on that moment after we read the book and was able to "laugh at himself" (one of the characteristics of one of the characters in the book).
This is a fun little book with a great message. 
Read it if you get the chance! 

I've been thinking...

 how adding a simple thing like a Reese's peanut butter cup on top of a Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookie can bring SO many smiles to the faces of my hubby and kids. I am reminded daily how
"out of the ordinary things" make life so big!
(recipe (here))

I've been thinking...

how I am married 

to the most patient man on the planet!

I am NOT someone that pulls out the fridge and cleans every few months, I don't have very organized drawers or closets, I don't pull out the tracks on my window sills on a regular basis and clean them, I don't pull the furniture away from the wall and vacuum behind it very often, I am not good at remembering to clean and wash the moldings. 

As you can tell from this picture 

I don't think I've ever pulled out all of my drawers and cleaned behind them.  We have six steak knifes and we are down to one and just had all of them a few months ago and we can't for the life of us figure out where they are. We thought maybe they had fallen behind the drawers. OOPS, as Tracy proceeded to pull the drawers out, there were bags and bags and more plastic bags (also tin foil scraps and plastic silver ware) that had fallen down behind the drawers. There was SO much that it completely filled a kitchen garbage sack.  

My greatest strengths are cooking yummy meals, keeping a "neat and tidy" house, being organized with my time in keeping track of all our comings and goings and doing my best to be a great mom and wife... 

thank goodness Tracy sees beyond my weaknesses, as I know there are many things I do (or don't do) that drive him crazy!

I've been thinking...

how much the Smith family has grown up! 
I remember when Jade and Ashley were little kids and Ashley would pack Jade around on her hip. Now, she is married and Jade will be turning 17. Time is definitely flying by faster than I would like it to.  

 I've been thinking...

how much baking bread is therapy for me and how much I LOVE to bake it up for my family!
I also have been thinking LOTS about how blessed we are with such good food to eat daily!   Such simple ingredients such as flour, yeast, salt and water, yet there are SO many people in the world who don't have these simple ingredients available to them. 
I truly feel blessed beyond measure!

 I've been thinking...

that time is just flying by TOO quickly! 

I dearly miss having a toddler in the home...that season in our life is long gone. I have been organizing things and keep coming across puzzles and games that I used to play with Ethan when he was this age. I have taken MANY a trip down memory lane these past few months. (sometimes it has kept me from getting anything done as I read through journals, look at photos, browse through children s books and remember the good times we had playing with toys and reading together)

Savoring this next season of having a 9 year old and soon to be 17 year old with all of the FUN and adventure that this season in life has to offer.  From kids hiding in closets reading books by flashlight to teenagers excited with dress style and dating.

 

I've been thinking...

how simple acts of kindness and thoughtfulness can mean SO much!
A sweet lady named Jan
(that has a son that runs Cross Country with Jade),
sent us the sweetest note at Christmas time with these photos she had taken of Jade and let us know what a FAN she was of watching him run.  
I reflect weekly on this as I glance at the wall and see these photos.  
Little things can mean SO much and I need to remember to be more thoughtful like this to others.

I've been thinking...
what a BLESSING clean drinking water is!
Each day as I turn on the faucet and fill up our water bottles or drinking glasses, OR, fill a pot with water to make up a batch of soup for my family and I reminded of what a precious commodity, CLEAN DRINKING WATER is!
As I think of the people in Japan right now (who are still going through the aftermath of an earthquake/tsunami) , or other parts of the world that have recently struggled with natural disasters I cherish each and every drop of this precious water and realize how BLESSED we are to be able to experience such simple things as 

clean air to breathe, 

clean water to drink and 

simple, nourishing food to eat!

 

I've been thinking... 

how I am the luckiest girl in the world!
As I listened to the words of my favorite talk given by Richard G. Scott during General Conference (here) I can relate to his sweet wife...
with being a wife myself that is cherished by her husband, that gets daily reminders of LOVE through notes and sweet, thoughtful acts and these love notes are TREASURES to me!
If my house was burning down, these boxes of notes along with photos would be the first things I would grab.

Feeling RICHLY blessed 

with all of the things that truly matter in life...

a home with a husband and sons, where love, smiles and laughter abundantly abounds and where I feel loved, cherished and peace & safety,
making progress towards our goals and dreams,
friends and family who always are doing sweet thoughtful acts of kindness,
nourishing food, clean water and air, warmth and protection from the elements.
I can truly say

"Life is GOOD" 

and I wouldn't change a thing about it!

Simple things mean the most!

"It is the sweet, simple things of life
which are the real ones after all".

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Slowly, but surely,

I am starting to get my life put back together after months of home improvement projects and daily balancing acts of trying to keep everything organized and running smoothly in my home.

I thought I would pause for a moment and reflect on the

"Simple things"

that have meant so much to me these past two weeks.
Here's my week in Pictures...

This photo is kind of blurry because

there is hot steam coming up from the HOT water that is flowing out of my kitchen faucet.
Right before New Year's we came home from town and our kitchen faucet was leaking. Tracy took off the handle and noticed that the special nut that holds the valve in, had split. SO, we went to Home Depot thinking we would either get a replacement part, OR, buy a new faucet. We asked the employee in the plumbing department if they had a part we could buy for our faucet. He said "No", they didn't, but that all American Standard faucets had a lifetime warranty and we could call their toll free number and they would send us a FREE part. As I looked at the $64.00 price tag of buying a new faucet, versus waiting 7-10 business working days for a free replacement part,
I decided I would happily wait.
SO, needless to say, my kitchen had no HOT water for over 2 weeks and so it meant all of my dishes had to be carried on cookie sheets into my laundry room and washed by hand and dried in there. When you cook over 95% of your meals from scratch, that is A LOT of dishes to be washed and so everyday after work was spent, cooking, washing dishes and keeping up with shoveling the driveway as we have had MANY snowstorms these past few weeks.

Saturday, January 15th,
Kimmie
finally had running hot water in her kitchen sink.

What a blessing...

running water
and especially running HOT water
is something that I will never take for granted again.

This sweet note from Mr. Smith
just brightened up my Friday when I walked in the door after work!

The top tread for my library stool
that Tracy fixed up and painted for me for Christmas arrived in the mail and I have been wheeling that all over our house reaching and cleaning my shelves.
I LOVE my stool!!

I am blessed with the
most wonderful hubby in the world!
Feeling so grateful that even though life is busy and time is precious, he took time and spent the Saturday spending one on one time with Ethan building a Pinewood Derby car!!

They had SO much fun!

January 19th was Racing Night...
Ethan got 3rd place overall and he got the "Turbo" car award!
SO sad that we only have 2 more years of Pinewood Derbys...going to be
savoring each and every moment I get with this sweet little guy!

Out of the blue,
receiving sweet notes from kids and close friends

Even though Tracy's Saturday was busy building a Pinewood Derby car and tiling floor, installing our dishwasher and building in shelving in our bathroom I had mentioned that it might be fun to paint some of our frames "red", he surprised me by painting them.

How very, VERY LUCKY I am!

One of our yearly Traditions
is that of making "Gumdrop Bread" (aka Fruit Cake),
although I didn't get this made until January. Tracy commented how this bread tops his list of FAVORITE treats. I have to agree!
This is the yummiest!

As I was going through my many piles of papers,
I came across last years Mother's Day card that Josie (Tracy's mom) made me. She cut photos out of the newspaper ads and crafted clever sayings.
I LOVE this card!!

LOVE having order and my favorite of all, is having a completely cleared and cleaned table so we can light our candles each night and have FAMILY dinner together!!

LOVE my apothecary jars
full of Red Hot Cinnamon Lips
that we can all enjoy over the next month!
I bought bags and bags to fill them and so we are very much enjoying them
(and people who grace our home are enjoying them as well)
(AND some of the bags of Cinnamon Lips will be used to put on top of my
"Pink Cookies with Sprinkles"
that we will be making for Valentine's Day).

I have not had a dishwasher since September
and so Saturday January 15th
was also a monumental moment of FINALLY being able to load the dishwasher and actually have TIME to do other things besides wash dishes.
ALSO, as I look at this photo of our "Brassy" oak cabinets I love looking at the paint swatch of "Beach Sand Green" and other FUN things we purchased to finish our kitchen and knowing that some time this year we will get my kitchen cabinets painted, new knobs on the doors and finally get a back splash.
Yay for exciting things to come!

The lady that cuts my hair had some family issues and didn't know if she would be cutting hair anymore. I last got my haircut in November and usually get it cut every 4-5 weeks.
I was SO excited on Monday January 17th when she called me and told me I could come and get my haircut on Thursday. YAY!
Feels so good to have a haircut!

Every time I walk by this old record jacket sitting on a shelf in our TV room it makes me smile!

Tracy and I found this at our local second hand store a few months ago for 50 cents. This was apparently a popular album from the sixties and when Tracy saw it, he remembered it right off (I wonder why, LOL?).
He exclaimed, "My parents had that album! For that matter I think most people my parents age had that album".
For nostalgia sake, we had to get it!
We then purchased the music from the album from the iTunes store (we have no record player) and we have been enjoying letting our kids listen to some of the songs that we enjoyed when we were kids.

The holidays were a hectic time and so it is SO much fun to be back in a routine and SO much fun to be cooking again. These are some of the YUMMY things we made up these past few weeks for dinner/treats!

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir-fry, Hamburger Gravy over Cauliflower, Split Pea Soup, Home-made Buttermilk Biscuits, Applesauce Muffins, Chow-Mein, Multi-Grain Rolls, Orange Rolls, Home-made OREOS, Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, baked Salmon and steamed veggies, Salted Nut Rolls and the list goes on!

What a cherished thing my notebook is.

Many days each week, I come home to my notebook opened on the counter with a love note from "Mr. Smith"!
I feel SO lucky that each week I get a date night with him and feel SO blessed that each and every day I know and can feel how loved and cherished I am!!

Running, clean HOT water, clean drinking water, nourishing food to eat, family and friends that love me, weekly DATE Nights, making progress towards my goals each week, having a HOME where we have LOTS of fun, joy and laughter each day...

these "Simple things"

make me the happiest, luckiest girl in the world!!