"My kind" or ("Your kind")

I am a little bit saddened by this phrase...
The first time I remember hearing this and that it really bothered me was during the Olympics with Gabby.
The only thing anyone could talk about after this incredible athlete won 2 gold metals was her hair. I was reading an article about how she was being made fun of and the worst part about her being made fun of was that she was being made fun of by "her own kind."
I was a bit startled by that phrase.  My thoughts are this, I want "my kind" to be people who think like me, who have the same morals as I do, who are striving towards the same goals...I don't want "my kind" to be people who look like me. I want it to be a matter of the heart, not the physical appearance.
I have a dear friend, who we think of as my daughters second mother. I love her dearly.  She is struggling with this same phrase.  She is a wonderful, kind, God fearing woman and "her kind" is just that. People who are WONDERFUL, who are KIND and LOVE GOD. She doesn't need to go searching for someone who has the same color of skin as she does, or someone talks the same way as she does to fit in. She fits in right here...in my heart. In my daughters heart.  We love her and miss her so much.  She is "MY KIND."
I hope in the future, when this phrase is spoken, people will speak of characteristics that come from inside a person and not characteristics on the outside.

I love you!!!  And you know who you are.

12-12-12

 

To Celebrate 12-12-12 I took the kids on an adventure to do 12 things:

 

 

First we went to the Dollar Store,

 

Next the kids gave out 12 hugs to their mom, this is Kaydee and her mom.

 

Then it was off to see Lexi at work,

 

then the park, swing 12 times, slide 12 times,

 

Then we went to GG's work to see her...

Then of course we had to see Emily at work too, while there, we had ice cream...

So we counted it.

The kids wanted to go to the car wash, that was number 8. I wrote an 8 on the van, but I don't know if you can see it.

 We decided to go check out the progress of the Payson Temple as number 9.

 

While there, I had the kids wave to people as their 10th thing to do.  Sam got into that one the most I think.

                                      
We got stuck in the round about 12 times, that was a little risky and I felt sick, but we made it...

And finally they wanted to do a Chinese firedrill, however, I am a chicken, so they had to wait until we were back on our road to do that.

 

I love this so much!

Family photo

Taken at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Andrew's sword

Camille's Birthday!

Bri's birthday

Bri is now 20 years old.  She is so much fun, so happy and has such a zest for life.
I love you Bri!
She wasn't eating sugar-so I had to come up with a new idea for her cake.

His Grace Is Sufficient

This is a REALLY,REALLY good talk by Brad Wilcox.
It is long, but SO worth the time to read. I have read it and listened to it.
SO SO SO GOOD!!

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=13436&x=59&y=9

Here is the last paragraph:

With Elder Maxwell, I testify that God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus’ grace is sufficient. It is enough. It is all we need. Oh, young people, don’t quit. Keep trying. Don’t look for escapes and excuses. Look for the Lord and His perfect strength. Don’t search for someone to blame. Search for someone to help you. Seek Christ, and, as you do, I promise you will feel the enabling power we call His amazing grace. I leave this testimony and all of my love—for I do love you. As God is my witness, I love the youth of this church. I believe in you. I’m pulling for you. And I’m not the only one. Parents are pulling for you, leaders are pulling for you, and prophets are pulling for you. And Jesus is pulling with you. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Accident last night:

We went to Missy's basketball game last night. (They won!) Christopher and Nicolas wanted to ride with Chris on the way home.
We almost made it home safely. We turned onto Woodland Hills and I felt prompted to go slow. I didn't know why, but I just let off the gas and watched my speed. We came upon a hill and I noticed a silver pickup truck. I was looking to see if I could see the 2 BYU stickers in the back window. Sure enough, they were there. I screamed..."Is that dad's truck?" Chris was standing by the side of the truck and there was a horse shaking by the back of the truck. I woke the kids up with that shriek and Em and Sam burst into tears and bolted out of the van as soon as I pulled over. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the boys in the back so I knew that they were ok. I know why I needed to go slow now, I could have made things worse trying to slow down to check on them, if I was going the speed limit. I could have lost control of my own van. I just wish that I would have mentioned my prompting to the kids. I want them to know that we receive promptings all the time and we may not no why, but we need to follow them regardless.
I ran and hugged Chris then headed to the back of the truck to check on the boys. Nicolas was crying hysterically so I checked him out and Em got Christopher. I told Chris that I was going to take the kids home so that we weren't on the main road. We were seriously a stones throw from home. (ok a smidge more than that. 1/4 mile maybe)
So we come in the house, Emily is still bawling, and holding Christopher. Samantha is doing the same, but with Nicolas. Emily is trying to get Christopher to respond to her and says "he won't talk to me". So I take him and I put him on the couch and look for a flashlight. I run downstairs to get the neighbors, but they are not home.
I go back to the couch and we all kneel down in prayer. I offer it and I thank my Heavenly Father for preserving my family and keeping them safe. We are all bawling now.
I still can't get Christopher to respond, then we notice the 2 huge goose-eggs on his forehead. I call my neighbor and visiting teacher Sis. Riddle, she is a nurse, to come check him out. She says he needs to be seen, so we head to the hospital. He is still daized.
I call Chris as we're leaving to let him know and I call my parents to let them know. I also called Lexi, but I couldn't talk long. She and Rob show up at the hospital, which was comforting.
The nurse asks us who was in the accident and who needs to be checked first. She looks at Em. We start laughing because Em was just upset and crying, but looks like she might have been in the accident.
They check the boys out and decide Chris needs a CT scan. He is starting to act normal now. Nico is just soaking up the attention. A teddy bear, a juice, and tv.
Chris gets there and we are about ready to go.
We get home and I text Bri. funny thing is...she couldn't find her phone, so she accidentally called mine looking for hers. I call her back thinking she is replying to the texts about the accident, but she wasn't and had no idea it even happened.
We, well, Chris, woke the boys up every 2 hours during the night. When Andrew woke up this morning he started crying and I went in to get him. Nico started throwing his arms and legs all over the place and I asked him what was wrong. He said,"I moved my arms and my legs and now I am going back to sleep." I think he had enough of being woken up.
Crazy side note: We just paid off the truck this week, but I hadn't called to take comprehensive coverage off yet.

A New Temple

So excited about the New Temple!

I know the blessings found here are worth every sacrifice!

Lindsey

Camille

Nico

BROTHERS

Bri

Bubba

There is something really wrong with this picture!

He is such a nut!

Christmas morning