MY HEART TELLS ME...

Kylee has started saying such a funny thing lately. Her heart tells her things. I was driving with her to the middle school library to help out with the Book Fair. She thought that we were going to the city library. When we passed it, she was upset and wanted to go back. She said, “My heart tells me we need to go to our library.” The next day she was helping Brian take care of the chickens. She wanted to get the eggs, but someone had already gathered them for the day so Brian told her no. She said, “My heart tells me we need to get the eggs.” So cute and funny. Brian couldn’t resist. They checked for eggs even though he knew there was none.

Well, my heart tells me things too. My heart tells me that I love my family sooo much. My heart tells me I love being married to Brian and I am so grateful that he is my best friend. My heart tells me that the Church of Jesus Christ is the Lord’s true church here on earth and if we live the gospel we will find eternal joy. My heart tells me that chocolate is a wonderful thing (well maybe that is my taste buds). My heart tells me that gratitude leads to happiness. My heart tells me that I am one of the luckiest people in the world because I have two families (Horsley and Cox) that I love, they love me, and I love to be with them. My heart tells me many other things and I hope to share them as I blog about my life.

ONCE UPON A VALENTINE

Last week our family celebrated Valentine’s week. I had read about someone’s mother who did the 14 days of Valentine. Everyday she would do something special for her husband. I thought this was a fun idea but it was already February 4 when I heard this idea. So I started on Monday and I did Valentine’s week. I made a Valentine envelope for each of the kids and one for Brian and stuck them in their cubbies.

Everyday after they had left for the morning, I put a little treat in their envelope so when they got home they found a sweet treat from me. On Friday I put dipped pretzels in their envelope for the grand finale. I used the new chocolate dipper I got from Larry and Rachel for Christmas. I had more fun making these than some of the kids did eating them. This was a fun way to show my family that I love them.

Friday afternoon, our family drove to Manti for the weekend. We spent Saturday celebrating Valentine’s Day with the Cox cousins . In the morning we went swimming at a friend of Grandma Cox’s. The kids were in heaven and of course two hours wasn’t long enough, but we had lots of plans for the day. We had pizza for lunch and then decorated sugar cookies.

The kids had more fun decorating than eating. It reminds me of the saying, “The joys in the journey”.

Next came the games. First their was the Valentine’s walk. The kids decorated a paper plate with a number on it and then we used them for our game. They walked around and when the music stopped, who ever was on the number that was drawn got a Laffy Taffy. We played pin the heart on the person. The cousins had great fun.

For dinner all the adults met at Great Grandma Cox’s house for dinner and games. We had yummy barbeque pork, salad, potatoes, rolls, and of course dessert which was éclairs and bite sized cheese cake. We had a great time, but felt sick by the end of the night from all the candy during the day and yummy eating that night. You would think we would have learned our lesson, but we continued our unhealthy snacking the next day. By Monday I was sufficiently sick enough to stay away from the junk food.

MY FIRST BLOGGING AWARD!!

Hey! I got a blogging award!! My sister-in-law, Jill, gave me this award. It is called the "Lemonade" award for good attitude and gratitude on my blog. Thanks Jill. I guess I get to nominate others so here are a few:

RaeAnn: For being so enthusiastic about blogging and sharing your joys.



Christie: For looking on the bright side and passing on your love of life through your blog.



S.A.R.A.H.: For sharing your joys of motherhood and giving me inpiration to be a little more cheerful with my children.



Sammy: My sweet daughter who is full of life and radiates sunshine where ever she goes.

A FUN DAY OF SKIING

Wednesday Braden and I had the chance to ski up at Beaver Mountain. The 4th and 5th graders from his school have a P.E. unit on skiing and so they get to go for really cheap. Skiing is not one of Braden’s favorite things to do, however. He didn’t want to go, but Brian and I want all our kids to learn so we can go as a family when all the kids are old enough. He said he would go if either Brian or I went with him. The plan was for Brian to go because he loves to ski. Well, it turned out that he had to be out of town on Wednesday. That left me. I ski, but it hasn’t been one of my favorite activities either. Brian always helps me along and finally after a couple of runs of a little anxiety, I get the hang of it and start to enjoy it. Well needless to say I wasn’t excited that I was the one who was going. I knew Braden would need a lot of help and I was nervous about how much help I could give him. It turns out that a friend of mine, Raquel, was going up with her twin boys. We decided to drive up together and meet the boys after their ski lesson. The story keeps getting better. Our friend, Nancy, is the P.E. teacher. The school got some free lift tickets for some of the parents or teachers who came up. She had an extra one so Raquel and I split the cost of one.

(My friend, Raquel, and her twins, Kade and Dylan)

Our boys were still in lessons when we were all ready so we went up the mountain for one run. I am always really slow my first time down until I get the hang of it again, but I really enjoyed it. We got to go down four times before Braden was ready to be with me. It was soooo fun. There was no reason for me to be nervous. The day was sunny and sooo beautiful. We left the valley in smog but on the mountain it was clear and fresh. The day was warm and except for the snow being a little icy at the beginning, it was a perfect day for skiing. It wasn’t crowded at all either. Most of the time we skied down the hill and got right back on the lift without much waiting.

(Me loving this sunny fun day)

Braden practiced on the bunny hill a couple more times and then we ate lunch. We headed up the hill for our first real ski run together. Braden was nervous to get off the lift because last year he had fallen every time. But, he did great this year. He successfully got off the lift every time. We headed down the hill very slowly. Braden has great control and does a great job at snow plowing. We took the easiest path the first time. When we were finished he felt good and was ready to go again. He was a little nervous when people would pass him so I decided to take him on another path the second time that wasn’t as busy. It was steeper, but because he was so good at snowplowing I thought it would be alright. Well, it made him very nervous and he was done skiing by the time we got down to the lodge. We had about an hour left so he stayed in the lodge to rest and I finished the afternoon skiing down the hill a bunch more times.

(Braden a little tuckered out)

I feel like this was a very successful day. Braden made improvements from last year and even said he would try it again. I loved it so much and had so much fun. If it wasn’t so darn expensive I would go every week or more. Any one up for a fun ski day?

(Braden celebrating after getting of the ski lift two successful times. Yeah! No falling!!)

FUN WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Kylee and I had the fun opportunity last Thursday to travel down to Utah Valley. I met my parents at my sister Frances’ house and then we picked up my sister-in-law, Sarah, and her daughter, Allie, to go out to lunch. Later my brother, Glen (Sarah's hubby), joined us. We went to the Olive Garden. YUMMMY!!. The meal was delicious, but the visit was the best and most needed. I love my family and they are some of my closest friends. Sometimes in the winter I get the blues, but this visit was like a big ray of sunshine.

(Thanks Sarah for bringing your camera. I left mine at home. I wish I would have taken a picture of you and cute Allie.)

On Friday morning, I had about 12 women and some of their kids over for a visit. I know that others are struggling with winter blues so I was hoping that this get together would help us all. We had a good time. I cooked up some cinnamon rolls (Rhodes, not from scratch) and we gobbled them all up. Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite treats.
All these visits were wonderful and really cheered me up. I hope everyone else is surviving the winter blues.