Where do I begin? With another one of our BIG moves? Well, lets us begin when we found out we were going to be moving to Guatemala...

We were living in Louisiana when we learned we were going to be going out of the country again and were asked to keep it quiet until things were finalized with building permits etc. When Juan called me and told me we were going to be going to Guatemala I couldn't stop the flow of tears. I know it sounds bad, but they weren't sad or unhappy tears, they were tears of joy. At this point of time I felt our Saviors love for me and my family and knew that He was watching over us :) I won't go into detail about everything that happened, but I will just say that everything happens for a reason.

Juan and I talked about how things were going to happen and we decided that me and the kids should just stay there until the school year was complete and then we would join him in Guatemala. I kept getting the feeling that we weren't supposed to stay, that we were supposed to go back to Idaho until Guatemala was ready for us :) After two LONG weeks of praying and talking we made the decision to pack up and go on home to Idaho where most of our families reside...

We soon got word that Juan's father had become ill and needed to have surgery... Not just a simple little surgery but a pretty major one... We decided we needed to leave a little sooner. I don't know how everything was put together, but one of my best friends came over and literally saved the day. I still had to get the oil changed and run a bunch of errands so we could leave the next day. I felt SO unprepared because I didn't have half of the packing done I should have and my kids were in NO mood to pack their things. Which I guess in all of the times we do this, they never really are ready when we say GO :)

I couldn't have pulled any of this off without Cristy... She literally came into my house and put all of the kids to work, sent me on my way to run all of my errands and just made EVERYTHING work out... I had numerous other friends that came by to also lend a hand but I get so side-tracked that all I could do was run my motor mouth... At the time all I could think of was how fast we needed to get home because of Juan's dad. It was going to be a long drive, and we needed to be ready, for anything.

When we pulled out of our driveway for the last time I looked back and decided I was NOT going to cry because I would see all of my wonderful friends again. But before we even hit the highway I was in tears... The last thing I remember seeing was Cristy's face, full of tears and sadness. I was leaving behind my "other-half". We drove quite a bit that night and woke up early the next day for a full day of driving. I don't quite remember where we stopped each night, except the night we stopped in Wyoming.

We ended up stopping in Laramie, Wyoming. Tyson's aunt Karen lives there... We invited her and her cute little boys to come swimming at our hotel and just hang out with us :) Karen was SO much fun!! It was SO nice to see some of our family before we even made it home. The best part about it was that she was able to take photos and IM them to her mom to tell Jacki she got to see Tyson first... HAHAH!! It was really a fun night.

Before we went swimming, Juan went into Walmart there to buy some drinks and knick-knacks... He
ended up bringing snacks and  me back a snuggie, it was a complete joke to him then, but since he bought it I sleep with it every single night... The only nights I have not slept with it was when we went to Costa Rica...

The next day was our last day to drive before we made it home. It was snowing and I thought we were going to run into trouble. We ended up making it into Iona first and went to see my sister Mandi and her family... I was literally in Heaven!! It was SO nice to see more family...

We went to our "new" house and quickly unpacked and we were soon at the hospital seeing Juan's dad... The best part about everything was that we knew our Heavenly Father was with us all along the way :)

The best part about all of this was that the kids and I were able to spend a lot of time with our families and see a lot of old friends :)

This has been A LONG TIME COMING... My thoughts :) 


Do you have people in your life that "PRETEND" to be your friend? Do you have people in your life that actually have your back as you would have theirs in ANY given situation? 


How LOYAL are your friends to you?

I have pondered these questions SO many times in the last few months. Mainly because I feel like there are people out there who instead of getting to know me for WHO I AM, decide that they would rather take anothers' opinion of me and use that to the way they are going to treat me. We all make mistakes, YES... That is a fact, that is a given... We are going to say things at times that might hurt our friends feelings, but that is the way we as humans learn to grow closer to each other. 

I have a friend who is BRUTALLY honest with me at times and isn't afraid of putting me in my place. Always reminding me of when I slip up and helping me see things from someone else's perspective. A lot of times I do not want to hear what she wants to say in the matter, but I need to hear it. For the truth is, I'd rather be loved for who I am that hated for what I'm not... 

As the old saying goes "Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent-free in your head"... Why is it so easy for us, as Gods children, to be so brutal with one another, when, if we all just tried to get along and find reasons to LIKE one another rather than find reasons to NOT LIKE someone, we could all live peacefully? Do you ever feel like people find reasons to not want to get to know you? Why is it that we have fallen so far off course? God wants us all to be happy, all the while learn about others and what they are going through. I know that I am not perfect and I have not lived my life in accordance with Him always. I am however taking a stand and letting you ALL know that I am a daughter of God, I am happy with who I am. I am trying to let people get to know me for WHO I AM not what people think or say. 

At times I ask myself what did your parents teach you as a child? Did they teach you to scorn others while they are weak? Or did they teach you to love one another as God has commanded? My parents were amazing examples to me, my brother, and sisters... They taught us to love ALL mankind regardless of their weaknesses and failures. It has made me a stronger person and also a person who is more willing to accept someone for who they are. Not what someone might think.

There are SO many other ways in life to deal with whats on your mind. A perfect example is a saying I refer to a lot... When something happens you have 3 choices... You can let it define you, destroy you, or strengthen you. What is your choice? Are you going to let a simple thing in your way cloud your judgement and let it define you? Are you going to let it destroy you and how far you've come in this life? Or are you going to let it strengthen you and learn from it so you can move on?

Then theres the next item of business:

GOSSIP...

What is Gossip?? Is it me telling you that I think that girl is pretty? Is it me telling EVERYONE I know that a "friend" said that another "friend" was stupid for the choice she made? Is it someone running their mouth about things they have no business talking about? What is GOSSIP to you? Gossip to me is one of the biggest faults in a relationship...

I have done a lot of thought on this matter as well... I know that my Heavenly Father wants me to see all the good in all other human beings and he has commanded us that "We shall not judge". Sometimes I know it is hard to look at someone and not want to form an opinion right here right now... But is it worth the hurt and heartache you can cause another human? Is it worth that feeling of selfishness? I gave a talk a few months ago in our ward in Gonzales, Louisiana... The topic given was Charity... I studied the topic over and over and over... Charity means "The pure love of Christ". I read many articles about Charity and about how we can love one another as Jesus loves us. I then reflected on my friendships... Wondering if I've done more damage to relationships than good? Then I thought to myself... I know I make mistakes... I know I am not perfect... Each relationship goes through what I would like to call "tests"... We learn who we can trust and who we can't trust... We learn who gossips and who doesn't... I have been so blessed to have the people in my life that I do... I have chosen to surround myself with people who don't like to discuss others... As the saying goes, "Great minds discuss ideas, Average minds discuss events, Small minds discuss people"... This rings so true on SO many levels... 

 I have done my fair share of gossiping, which is something I am not proud of, but again, its me being honest about the choices I've made. I have hurt people and I have in turn been hurt. I have since made the choice to try and stay away from that kind of hate. If you didn't hear it with your own ears, see it with your own eyes, then don't invent it with your small mind and share it with your BIG MOUTH... This is ANOTHER FAVORITE saying... I am SO grateful that I have learned to stay away from the negative opinion of others. I have found that I am a much happier person... :)

YOUR PAST IS YOUR PAST... 


You can't change it, but you can change the way you look at it... It's like opening an old book and seeing the way things once were, but knowing you are the author of your story, you are in control of the pen... Change the future with what you've learned... 


For, the past is only a story that helps us understand who we are today and who we want to be tomorrow; but never should it be held against us. What are you going to do to help someone that may be stuck in their past? I am truly GRATEFUL for a loving supportive husband... He has helped me in SO many ways to grow and move on, he has helped me to focus on the positive things in our lives... Our children for example... How blessed we both are to have the wonderful children we have to raise and share our days with...  I was thinking about how we were all brought into this world full of love and we didn't have bad feelings towards others... I wish we could all feel that way again... 


Being nice to someone you dislike doesn't mean you are fake, it simply means that you are mature enough to tolerate your dislike towards them... Think about it... It is my hope that we can all learn to love one another and quit judging others... We are all in this together... Whether you are white, red, black, green, or brown... 

Playing around with this blog has been challenging for my little brain... HAHAHA However, I am learning a lot and TRYING to be patient... :)

So today is July 6th, 2012.... I have not posted in a VERY LONG time... I have decided that I am going to be better about posting :) I am learning new tricks today and will update after :) In this photo, we were in Louisiana :)

So I sit here tonight and reflect on my last few weeks out here in Louisiana and realize HOW truly blessed me and my family are... I wonder at times if I have said Thank You enough to Heavenly Father for blessing us with SO many wonderful things in our lives.... My husband and children are amazing and they bring numerous smiles throughout each day. The quick text I get from my husband during the day reminding me how much he loves me.... Or when my older kids send me a text saying Thank You form helping me Mom... Or when my daughter says the funniest thing and we can't stop laughing for days... Or when my younger boys burst through the front door calling out to me wanting me to hear about their day at school... Or when my two year old just looks at me and smiles...


This post is just my quick note to say how Thankful I am for the blessings Heavenly Father gives each and every one of us... I get up each morning with a smile on my face and I know I am where I am supposed to be... Without His gracious counsel I wonder where I would be... I am SO Thankful for my wonderful parents who raised me in the gospel... I have a testimony that continues to grow daily as I read the scriptures and ask Him to help me understand things... I am SO Thankful we have a Temple SO close by where I can go and ponder... 


I am SO Thankful for all of the many wonderful people I am surrounded by... My friends have been such a blessing to me... Thank you ladies for being AWESOME!!! :)

So... This is my FIRST blog post... EVER... First and foremost, I want to thank my Heavenly Father for the MANY wonderful things he has fulfilled my life with. I have an AWESOME husband, Juan, and 6 yes I said 6 BEAUTIFUL children. Each of our children has their own unique personality and style :) I will eventually show fun pictures of each child and explain some of their traits :)


I am new to all of this so don't laugh at me too much... I find it very hard to write about my family and the things we do so don't be too surprised if this isn't updated quickly... ;)


I have been surrounded by some very wonderful people in my life. I have THE best girlfriends any girl could ask for!! They listen to things my husband thinks I'm crazy about.... Like having more children... And what I think about during the day... Which is rainbows and butterflies... HAHAHA!!! 


Juan and I married almost 10 years ago in July!! We are thinking about renewing our vows when July hits!! Who knows what kind of crazy party we will have... I will have to post fun pictures of the parties we've had out here so far... They usually end in a HUGE cake fight... Lots of frosting EVERYWHERE... 


I have decided that I am going to do separate blog posts  for each place Juan and I have traveled with our family. Living this lifestyle has been full of SO many blessings... I am so GRATEFUL for the things Juans' company, Dome Technology has provided for us!! Many things have happened for our family and many doors have been opened to us...




I will try to update all of our past things so you can see where we have all been...