The Moment I’ve Been Waiting For….

I remember the moment I found out that Ella was a girl. I was so excited that I’d have my little ballerina, because let’s face it…. it’s almost every mother’s dream. To see her little girl be a girly girl.


Today the momentous day happened. Ella went to her first dance class ever. I find this one of the most important things to blog about right now, because one day when she’s grown and an elegant dancer, she’ll be able to look back and say…. 9/18/09 was the first day I started to dance, and my mom actually pranced and twirled around the dance floor with me. 


The class she’s in is a mom and tot class, so I get quite the workout and get to have fun right along with her. I love that I have my activities with her that are just her and me. I love that we have this quality time together as mother and daughter and hope that all throughout our lives we have this together.


The little princess, fairy dancer herself….

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Friday Favorites #1 ~ Aloha Friday Family Activites?

I have one carnival going on, and sometimes people link up, and sometimes they don’t. That’s okay with me… it’s okay, because I started the carnival to guarantee my readers that once a week I will post something inspiring… and hopefully it will motivate their Mondays. Now, I’m starting up another. Do I hope to see people link up? ABSOLUTEY… but even if I don’t link ups, Friday Favorites will still be here.  If you want to skip all this Friday Favorites stuff and head straight over to the Aloha Friday question please scroll down 🙂


I love to do Friday Favorites, and I just usually ramble away with them. I thought about maybe structurizing it a bit this week and adding a linkup – you are more than welcome to link up your Friday Favorites.


Since I’m structurizing I figured I’d go ahead and add some topics below… the names are my kids’ names, you can do whatever subjects that you wish…. but these are the subjects I’m mainly going to stick with.  I may add some other weeks, but these are my main ones!

Accomplishments:  This week I accomplished my huge laundry pile… that by far is my favorite accomplishment.  I know, boring but a favorite of mine!  

Jayden: I overheard Jayden tell his friend not to say God, and to say Gosh instead. For the first time since starting Kindergarten Jayden has found a “real” friend that he really connects with. I see major differences and similarities between the two. I hope that Jayden continues to be the good example that he is. I can’t even express how proud I am of him.

Ella: Oh boy, this girl is TOO MUCH! She started swim lessons this week and we have had so much fun doing them!!  My favorite thing of this week is that she showed that she has a huge heart and loves to see the excitement of others.  I noticed this today at her swim lesson where she wasn’t throwing a fit when other’s were getting turns… instead she just showed excitement.

Marriage: I know that marriage is one of the hardest things, but I am a strong believer in fighting through it all. I feel fortunate that we are both at a very good point in our marriage. My favorite thing about this week to do with my marriage is that I personally am trying to do things to make my husband happy without expectations back.

Favorite Blog of the Week: Definitely 110% my fav new blog for this week is {A Place to Bloom}. It is definitely a place where you can bloom as a mother and wife. One of the writers of the blog is a dear friend of mine and I absolutely love what they are doing.

Favorite Blog Post of the Week (not my own): Believe it or not it’s also from A Place to Bloom. I found {this post} and instantly LOVED it. It’s about spending time together as a family and I believe it is a VERY important thing. This guest poster over at A Place to Bloom had this post very well written.

Photography:  Today, actually, I was referred to somebody to do their wedding.  I’m nervous, but figure I have to start somewhere right?  Another favorite is I finally printed my first 20×30 prints and they were of my beautiful children… I am absolutely in LOVE with the results.  I love walking into my home and seeing such huge displays of what I believe is the most beautiful thing on this planet.


Now for {Aloha Friday} 

What is your favorite thing to do as a family?  I’m talking simple, something that can be done on a weeknight type of a thing.


HERE’S THE LINKUP FOR YOU TO LINKUP YOUR FRIDAY FAVORITE’S POST

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The Two That Grasp My Heart

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Such an age of innocence. A precious age where a lolly pop is pure joy. A precious soul that has a smile that shows me what pure joy is all about.

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A young man that used to be my baby. Has a soul about him that would melt your heart and make you just want to grab and hug him. He is my little man… he will always be my baby.

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Friday Favorites/ALOHA! ~ Reviews on Blogs?

MY FRIDAY FAVORITES ~ **if you’re here for Aloha Friday and don’t care about my favs of the week scroll on down**


What a week! Actually, it was pretty uneventful for me. Jayden started 2nd Grade…. that gets its own post in its own, but the same day he also started soccer.


Ella has officially started her terrible 2 tantrums today. I in no way paid any mind to them and completely ignored them… hopefully she gets the hint that a) she won’t get her way and b) she’ll get no attention from it.


My son actually brought me a shook up soda… I can’t believe he actually did this.  


HUGE accomplishment for us…. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (and unfortunately we missed tonight) we had family scripture reading. I’m trying really hard on structurizing my evenings in this house from the time Jayden gets out of school to the time they go to bed. The past 2 nights are complete successes on both kids in bed by 9pm! Jayden hasn’t even been getting up to sneak down for water. I need this time. Gino and I need this time too. It’s nice that when he gets home from work it will just be us…. no kids!


I’ve talked about Katie and Ryan on my blog, and I just wanted to say that it sounds like she’s getting better every day, however, I know her heart is still aching for the loss of her husband. Please keep her and everyone who was touched by Ryan in your prayers for the healing of their hearts.


My friend Anne started a great new blog w/her friend. They post posts that moms and housewives can really use in their daily lives. Delicious recipes, sewing patterns, tips that we can all use. It’s called {A Place to Bloom} they chose such a beautiful name for it! It’s definitely worth the checking out!!


This week I discovered that I have been losing out on THOUSANDS of dollars. I have never been the bargain shopper, never paid any mind to coupons, and I’m actually sickened by it. {My Frugal Adventures} turned me on to this new adventure in my life and I am now proud to say that I AM A COUPON JUNKIE! And I’m PROUD OF IT!
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OKAY! Now for {Aloha Friday}!


How do you go about doing reviews on your blog? This is something I really interested in doing, but don’t know how to start. This is something I definitely want to get into. I have done reviews for people I know… never really just a random person.






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Moment Like These….

Yesterday we spent a very special, peaceful time at our favorite park in Ashland. There’s something about this park that just quiets your soul for a while and allows you to reflect on life, what’s important, what’s not. Think about the things that matter, the things that don’t.  And a place to capture moments like these…moments that completely take my breath away.

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Ella = AWESOMENESS

Today my daughter shocked the pants off of me. The girl just turned two and I watched her saw her do this….. this video is of me telling her to do it again, but she honestly did this EXACT thing on her own…. I’m still in shock!


 **oh and don’t mind my phone ringing in the background of the video LOL**

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