This is my oldest son Travis, today we are celebrating him as he has been called to serve a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Spokane, Washington , Spanish speaking Mission.He will arrive at the MTC in Salt Lake City on April 28, 2010. He will serve for 24 months and will be serving in the areas of Northeast Washington, Northern Panhandle of Idaho and Montana and parts of the Canadian border.
Travis is extremely thrilled for his call to serve.
We couldn't be happier, prouder and anymore grateful for this wonderful young man of 19, who has the desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who are searching .
Travis finished High school in 2009 as well as achieving his Eagle Scout.Travis works full time for a local construction firm. Being outside, building things and getting dirty is in his top ten of favorites, he will miss the surfing and of coarse his friends. In his spare time he coaches Cheer for BYU Hawaii 2010. Travis plans to return from his Mission and attend the school of his choice , play football and look to his future to share it with someone special. I am Happy to report he is leaving very single!!
We are so very glad he has his goals set and that he is open to all of his possibilities. My heart is tender for this young man in my life. He reflects all the qualities that are important to me .I can only hope and pray that I have given him the tools, values and spiritual desires to face life with courage, integrity and a knowledge of who he is. I am honored to be his Mother . I love you Travis, my son.
I have to say that I use the analogy of a swimming pool in reference to life's issues that I experience.I have to dedicate this post to my dearest friend Holly M. She shared this gift with me for Valentines Day and I must say it left me with a desire to dog paddle a little longer in the deepest part of my pool of life. This book is not for those who hang out in the shallow end of the pool, although it may help you to have the courage to swim a little deeper!
She sent me this book, a true story of a Breast Cancer survivor...written by Kim Rives and found on Amazon.com
This true story is really thought provoking and certainly gives hope to all of us, especially those who have to walk the path of Cancer. I hope you will take the time to read Kim's story. I emailed her and told her that there was no way I could repay her for the knowledge of hope and Faith that she shares in her story, but that I would honor her story by sharing it with those I love.
I like to keep my word, so here it is
this is my gift to all of you fabulous friends that share my blog world out there.I hope you take the opportunity to read about Kims experience with life and near death. It is life changing...or at the very minimum thought provoking!
This hangs in my dining area where we gather daily.These rules have been in force in our Kingdom as long as I have been married and we just celebrated 21 years on Feb 3.
I'd like to say that these rules are read everyday by every member of my Kingdom, but they are not...
I think they are visible to everyone, but they are not necessarily read line by line as they should be, for a reminder of comfort and peace.
I can say that when any issues arise that are adversarial, we go straight to the rules of the kingdom. If the parties involved have broken more than 5 of the rules, the phones are turned into the Dungeon for a full 7 days and grounding to the castle accompanies the seven day sentence. This may seem so lenient...5 broken rules before the 7 days, but if you notice , the majority of these rules are closely connected, so if you have broken 1, you may very well be guilty of several.
I also can report that when the guilty parties are reading over the rules after a poor choice has been made and then asked which ones apply to their issues, it is very interesting how tenderhearted they become when they have to identify the broken rules out loud.
How to keep a spirit of Love in our Home has been the greatest test above all others for me as the Mother or" Queen of my Kingdom". My entire family would probably tell you that I, "THE QUEEN" have the hottest temper and that I roar the loudest. I am fierce and true to my reflection of my Leo nature. It does not always serve me as well as I would like. In keeping to my Lioness attributes, I am very protective of my cubs.
I love to watch them play with each other and enjoy family time together. Now, in their teenage years it seems they want the normal independence of me, trying out their worldly adventures and always expecting triumphant returns. If only life worked that way.........licking their wounds is just part of the healing process, but it is hard to watch from my seat on the Throne. How will they learn if I do not let them try?
I can say that my prayers are filled with hope for strength and guidance to know what is right as their Mother?
That they will make better decisions than the day before, be a little kinder and judge a little less, be a good friend and say "I LOVE YOU"....it sounds easy enough...doesn't it?? ah only if it were so easy, than Life wouldn't be so HARD!
It seems that we only have today...and the promise of tomorrow...
I am so humbled in gratitude, that the promise of tomorrow brings me the hope of strengthening my weaknesses and it gives me another chance to endure faithfully.
I do hope that they will be forgiving of me when it comes to my weaknesses, and that they will know always that my eternal love for them resonates above all else.
How I pray that they chose these rules to live by for their own Kingdoms someday....
Home Rules courtesy of www.deseretbook.com
PHOTOS courtesy of
freaking News .com
jungle walk .com
castles from google
This is my girl!!! I owned her for two wonderful years!!
Of all the cars I have owned, this one is my favorite. she drove like a dream...
As you started her up,she would growl with her deep rumbling pipes, preparing you for an assured adventure on the open road.
She was flashy and always attracting a positive energy. It was often that I would get a thumbs
up as passing cars would give there salute of admiration as a kind of payment for a glimpse of her beauty. I think I would of loved a lot about the 50"s!!
She just screamed kool!!
I felt wonderful behind her wheel, timeless, classic and just pure style....
I gave any and all who wanted a spin in her a ride , I felt very generous with her, I knew she was a blessing and
I am all for sharing the JOY!
My Husband drove this 56 Chevy Truck,
he did not let anyone drive it!
This was his favorite too! It was a time of "Sweet Rides" for the both of us.
My eldest son took both cars to the high school for the year book photos.
He somehow felt like they were his too!! at 16 who wouldn't?
These cars went with our new Business!
We bought this building from a local bank and remodeled it from an old mexican restaurant
to a very kool Diner!
We lived another dream opening this restaurant...
but we worked so many hours that our family time was gone.
None of my children miss the business, they also worked and lived it with us.
We lived up in a canyon during our brief stay
in Idaho, so driving her along the country roads was truly nostalgic...here are a few pictures of our home on the hill.
This is our country cottage on 3 acres in Sugar Creek
out in Cub River, Idaho
This is Sugar Creek that runs through the base of the property.
We only lived here just under 2 years.
We really do not miss the cold, but it was beautiful.
Nothing like the living in the country, I do miss my horses and the easy breezy country days.
It was fun to give it a go in the restaurant biz, I think we miss our cars the most!!
My Caddy went to Belgium on sale through Ebay and Al's truck sold to Colorado .
We knew that Hawaii was not a place for classic cars with all of the salt air!.
Moving everything to Hawaii was very expensive, so we said goodbye to the cars.
There is a season for everything, if I have learned one thing it is that "THINGS" come and go
but "Families are Forever".
people have questioned us for moving a few times in the last 5 years. Aren't we worried about the kids?
How will they adjust? and the questions kept coming?
We felt that we are willing to take risks as long as we are in sync as a family.We never made decisions
without a family council and lots of prayer.
We are California natives,we are both from Northern Cal, but I was raised in Southern Cal.
When the Real Estate slumped in Calif in 05, we relocated to Idaho to try a new business in a new
climate and a better economy or so we thought?. It just was not for us, but we did follow through with our goals and the finished product was very desirable. It was through our blood ,sweat and hard cold cash that we knew we wanted something else!!
Isn't that always the way, only after hard work do we come out the other side knowing what we do and do not want ?
We knew that we did not want to live in the snow! We knew we wanted,
preferably the warm sun, ocean water and if we had to do any struggling, let it be in Paradise!
Many lessons were learned from our move to Idaho.Our best friends moved their as well. It was hard to leave them since we had never lived in the same town before. They have found a peaceful life there
and we are so happy for them. We also still have family that is sprinkled all over Cache Valley.
It was a memorable experience and it is what catapulted us to Hawaii. For that I will always be
This was posted by http://riddlezreview.blogspot.com/ she is one of my favorite people in this whole world!!! of course I love this and I hope you do too! Thanks Traci
"In everything you do in your family, keep in mind the miracle of the Chinese bamboo tree. After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for four years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!
"Many things in family life are like the Chinese bamboo tree. You work and you invest time and effort, and you do everything you can possibly do to nurture growth, and sometimes you don't see anything for weeks, months, or even years. But if you're patient and keep working and nurturing, that "fifth year" will come, and you will be astonished at the growth and change you see taking place.
"Patience is faith in action. Patience is emotional diligence. It's the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow. It reveals love. It gives birth to understanding."
From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey (pp. 22-23)
THE EVER SO LOVED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE....YES FROM SCRATCH! 2cubes butter 1c brown sugar 1c white sugar CREAM WELL ~ADD ~ 2 eggs 1tsp vanilla 3cflour 1tsp baking soda 1tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1 and 1/2 c chocolate chips of choice and add nuts if desired BAKE@ 375 9-11 minutes~~ best results on parchment paper and golf ball scoops
SOME WOMEN REFUSE TO SHARE THEIR RECIPES?
~MY RECIPES DO NOT DEFINE ME~THE RESULTS OF THEM AND THE SHARING OF THEM DOES~
Does this scream out to you on a rainy day? At my house, a rainy day is a great opportunity to gather my teens around me with comforts and memories that bind us all together with the taste and smells of home. When I was growing up, my Mom worked outside the home...always, I was what they call a latch key kid! I guess I found comfort in the kitchen as I would call her at work and she would give me the instructions to start preparations for dinner. This helped her, since she got home usually around 5:30pm and it helped me to not feel so lonely while giving me a sense of purpose and responsibility. I have one older brother 5 years my senior, but he was usually busy in his life, so it was just me. I remember chilling glasses in the freezer for my parents so they could have something a little special with their dinner. I was a pleaser and I was hopeful to make them happier than I knew they were . Ok, that's another post! So, with sharing that little memory into my past, here are a few memories I tried to create over our rainy weekend.
Making Cards is really enjoyable and a great way
to enjoy my time with these growing teens who seem to open up when they are a part of things. The girls of coarse...my guys...not so much on the cards! But they enjoy the food that is happening!
The guys hover around the kitchen and family room as to be sure they are not missing out on any important discoveries from the oven. They add a few tauntings and teasings to keep up the fireworks,
while the girls make sure they are at the front of the line for the first tastings emerging from the kitchen....ahhh the balance in all things!
The men in my home eat half a dozen of everything!! usually when it is all still warm from the oven, I think there is something about allowing them their fill. I like them to feel that there is always enough.
In my youth, I remember having to be careful and not always having a FILLED PANTRY.This is my way of changing my past and offering my children something different. I always say that we either repeat our upbringing or we change it. I have tried to change the things I didn't care for and repeat the things I thought were worthy of passing on . I am sure I have not been completely successful at this, but I continue to try!
I am so very honored this award comes from a lusciously brilliant chef
in France, she will wow you with her delights...please visit her blog
I know you won't be disappointed...all my ALOHA to
http://auxdelicesdesgourmets.blogspot.com/
THE ROLLS FOR SUNDAY DINNER! 
