No Wrinkle Grandma

 

I'm going to self-indulge for a minute and share a couple of cute stories that have made me

feel so special recently.

Last weekend when we dropped off Rachel to babysit our sweet grandkids...

Leo and Hailee,

Leo asked his mommy,

"Which Grandma is coming over...

the wrinkle grandma or the non-wrinkle grandma?"

I'm happy to say that I turned out to be the 

NON-WRINKLE

grandma he was talking about!

He is only four-years old...

but I will take any compliment I can get!

I also have to compliment these sweet grandkids who

love to give us the 

BIGGEST HUGS and KISSES

every time they see us!

They also are looking forward to

being a BIG sister and brother soon.

 There mommy will be bringing them 

a baby sister in late September or early October!

The second story comes from this amazing kid:

Gehrig!

He is the son to my dear friend Katee who I work with in

Young Women's.

One day while his mommy was getting ready,

he told his mommy that she was Pretty!

(Which she TOTALLY is, by the way!)

When his daddy asked him who else he thought was pretty

he said,

"I think Rachel's mom is pretty!"

(Rachel babysits him on a regular basis and he loves Rachie!)

Awww...he has no idea how much this not only made my day but my

WHOLE month!

I seriously couldn't wait to come home and tell

my hubby he had better watch out...

he had some serious competition from the cutest three year old... ever!

I don't think my husband is TOO concerned...

not only does he think he can take him...

he has my TOTAL heart

for eternity + 1.

Part 3...Love

I've been wanting to post 
PART 3
for a few days now.
But every time I go to write about it...
I just can't come up
with words that are sufficient for how I feel about this amazing man.
Ron turned 52 last week.
When he turned 50 I had a BIG surprise party for him and had his friends and family write 50 reasons why they loved him.
It was put on video and is still one of his prized possessions.
We never watch it without tears flowing from our face.
Sometimes he hasn't believed in himself just
how truly amazing he is especially
to all the people that know and love him.

Since that BIG party two years ago...
it felt like it would be impossible to ever TOP something like that and
that helped him know how truly amazing he is.

But when Rachel asked him what he wanted for his birthday this year...
he responded with,
"I just want my family to love me and be happy!"
That was my answer...
to surround him with the people who love him the most...
his family.
And for our family members who couldn't be with us...
he received their love through phone calls and emails.

I never see Ron happier...
than when he is surrounded by the love of his family!

Ron got a big bucket of his favorite things!
But his VERY favorite gift of all was the BIG
Cheesehead
Cameron and Chelsea gave him.
He loves his Green Bay Packers!

Loving Ron and being loved by Ron is the best part of who I am...

From Ron...
you will never get a better hug,
a bigger heart,
or more unconditional LOVE from anyone
than the LOVE you receive from this amazing man.

That is why words can not truly express how much I
LOVE
this beautiful man of God...
other than for me to try to show him every single day
and every single year on his birthday!

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Anticipation

Oh my are we getting excited around here!

I got MORE good news this morning when a text came through:

"See You Tuesday"

It was from my neighbors and dear friends the

LAMBSON'S!

They have been gone for three long months and I have missed them.

Marcia and I have been telephoning on and off the whole summer but I could tell when I talked to her a week ago...

that she was ready to come home!

She had all types of ideas for her house (and for mine)

and for projects we could work on when she got home!

Yay...I can't wait to get started and I can't wait to have them home!

Christopher has left my sister's house and is making his way home.

We will see him tomorrow...

and the anticipation of seeing him is making me giddy!

We are planning a party for his return!

It just so happened that Katie and I ended up alone this afternoon!

So we JUMPED in the car

and headed to

ICEBERG

for a cool summer treat!

And we DID a lot of school shopping...

 party planning and shopping...

window shopping...

and I think we stopped for a nice dinner too...

but I don't want to mention it to loud...

cause we were having so much fun...

we sort of ditched everybody else! 

LOL!

Oh well...

we will make it up to them

with some awesome parties coming there way!

I'm heading off to bed now so that the anticipation of the next few days might just go by a little faster!

 

It's Friday...and the countdown begins.

I have TWO very exciting things

that are going to happen in the next couple of days!

1.  My sweet hubby is having a birthday on Monday!

 I never get tired of this guy!

He makes me smile.

He is such a good man.

 I can't wait to spoil him on his special day.

2.   Christopher is returning home after 8 weeks!

He's learned a lot and had many great experiences.

I just had one of the best times

talking to him...

it's fun to see your kids grow!

He just posted this picture on his Instagram page yesterday...

and I think this girl had something to do

with him wanting to stay!

But I'm glad he will be coming home and it has made me realize

just how fast time flies by...

 how fast our children grow up!

I for one want to make a commitment to enjoy this time with my kids before they are all grown up and gone.
JOY IN THE MOMENT!

Rachel had taken advantage of his empty room all summer...

but today we

CLEANED and ORGANIZED

it all to get it ready for Chris's return.

We ended up with 3 large trash bags and 3 large bags to take to

Goodwill!

It was a good DAY!

Lastly, I got to enjoy a Girls Night Out with two great girls!

I tried so hard to find a friend

when I first moved.

In fact I wrote a blog post about it here.

I was lonely.

I was surrounded by lots of people...

but I never felt more alone.
It's nights like tonight...
with girls like this
that remind me...
that I'm NEVER alone
and that I will always have a friend I can count on.
To Katee...
working with you this last year has been a dream come true.
You make me be a better person.
Even though you are younger than me I find that I am learning
more from you...
than you will ever learn from me!
Thanks for always thinking of me and including me in all your fun!
I always laugh that when I grow up...
I want to be just like you!
Love ya girl.
Now and Forever.

Shark Attack!

I was really hoping to post pictures of our wonderful trip to San Diego this weekend

but my computer has been in the hands of my 14-year old

ever since she got home from school

this afternoon.

She has literally been attacked with a school project that she procrastinated until the last hour

and is in a panic

to get it done.

I thought this picture of her and her friend Quincy was perfect because it is exactly how she feels right now!

So far we've enlisted everyone in the families help in order to get it done!

The one thing is for sure...

this girl does QUALITY work and nothing will be left undone...

even if it kills us all!

********************************
My sweet hubby also got home from his trip today.

These two pictures pretty much sum it all up with how happy he was when he came home!

His friend Dennis and him couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces as they shared story after story of how many

fish they caught!

So glad he got to go...

but so glad he is home too!

I love how proud my nephew is of his 5lb. fish!

Great job Cade!

Pretty Woman

 

My husband loves to take me

DRESS

shopping.

Two years ago he decided with some of his "bonus" money that he would take me shopping

and would surprise me with some new dresses.

The problem?

He didn't know where to find the "right" kind of dresses he was looking for.

Then we stumbled into a

White House Black Market

and he was sold!

Literally!

We walked out with three dresses, a sweater, a belt and brand new shoes...

and this place isn't cheap.

The reason?

They take me back to a fancy dressing room...

he sits in a fancy chair...

and they bring you dress after dress after dress 

to try on.

Meanwhile he sits in his chair while I model

ALL

the dresses!

He is in heaven and he makes me feel like a 

MILLION BUCKS!

This year we bought only two dresses but I think they are my favorite ones so far!

       

 Ron wanted to take me somewhere special tonight so I could wear my new dress.

On the way to dinner I told him it was 

PROM NIGHT

for the high school kids.

I proceeded to tell him that

when I was a teenager I was never asked to a 

SCHOOL DANCE

or

CHURCH DANCE.

All my friends were asked to the dances...

but not me.

My Junior year I was even on the prom committee...

I didn't want to miss out since I had done so much of the planning,

but I never got asked to go

so I asked a boy.

Hi curfew...11:30 p.m.!

I had absolutely NO self-esteem,

and NO self-confidence.

It is surprising to me even now when my husband has me dress up that he finds me a...

PRETTY WOMAN!  

Babe...

you have no idea how special of a night you just gave me!

How special you make me feel...

and how incredibly in love I am with you!    

Thanks for giving me the

PROM DATE

I never had!

Yours forever,

Miss J 

       

  

Dancing Ali, Pei Wei delights and Gratitude

I just got home from watching Ali dance at 

Higley High School

and I have to say I am completely blown away.

Ali is one of my girls...

I mean one of my Young women!

I just like to think of them as one of mine because I absolutely

LOVE

this sweet, completely talented, spiritually strong, beautiful girl!

She has NO idea how good she is...

but this girl will be going places and I'm going to be cheering her on every step of the way!

Someday I might even say...

"I knew that girl"

when her name is in LIGHTS and everyone knows her name!

We had our own group cheering for her...

      Love these ladies!!

************************

I spent the rest of the day with my sweet hubby...

and while it may not seem fun to

visit doctors offices,

we made the most of it with a fun trip to my favorite boutique...

JUNKY TRUNK

and I picked up this fun dress for Rachel.

       She doesn't like it...

so I'm keeping it and will pair it with a cute sweater.

Rachel and I have been on the hunt for the 

PERFECT

dress for her 8th grade promotion...

I guess we will keep looking! :)

We also ate at one of my ALL time favorite places!

PEI WEI!

This time Ron and I sat at the table by the kitchen...

it was a hopping place and we were very impressed how fast those cooks were.

     If you haven't had Pei Wei's Chicken Lettuce Wraps then you are seriously missing out!

Our absolute favorite thing on the menu!

That cute girl in the picture?

She is ONLY in charge of making the lettuce wraps...

and she was busy every second!

No healthy eating for me today...

not when I can go to Pei Wei!!

  

***************************

I forgot to mention that Rachel is out of a cast...

I can only hope for GOOD this time!

I'm feeling VERY grateful today...

the last couple of days had been really hard.

but I'm finally feeling like myself again.

Rachel is healing.

Chris's volleyball season is over.

Katie had a good friend moment.

Jacob was obedient and kind.

Ron was helpful with dinner and kids.

Life is good...

really, really good! 

I

San Diego or Bust....

Right now I'm making plans for a trip to one of my favorite destinations:

SAN DIEGO!

Ron will be leaving shortly for a 4 day fishing trip with his best bud Dennis and my brother-in-law.

While they head to Lake Powell for 4-days
 to fish to their hearts content...

it made me think,

"What could I do with the kids?"

How about a trip to the BEACH?

You know how there are beach people...

or camping people...

or arctic cold people...

or city people?

Well I'm a beach kind of people!

I usually plan trips that in some way have to do with sand and sunshine!

I'm still working on the details of the trip,

I'm still working on my weekly laundry,

I'm still working on paying my bills and updating our finances,

I'm still working on WORK,

I'm still working on the non-ending daily work of being a mom,

and now I'm trying to find time to BLOG.

I think I will just go to BED instead!

In the meantime I will post pictures of the Father and Son campout that Ron took the boys' on last weekend.

I had boy's taking pictures so I don't have much...

but I am glad they tried!

   

 So should I be worried...

Jacob is spending lots of time around the fire?

 I guess this picture pretty much sums up why I didn't get more pictures...

they look really, really happy about it...

don't they?

All I have to say is....

my husband is pretty much amazing!

He takes my two boys on the Father and Son camp out who aren't his own but he treats them as if they were his own...
 I think it takes a pretty special man to do what you do.
I know you don't get thanked often enough...
sometimes in fact you feel it is a pretty thankless job but I know someday, somehow they will be
grateful for all the work and sacrifices you have made for them.
I know I do!  

Honey, you are a keeper!