Thursday, September 30, 2010

Things That Are Awesome

It is my birthday and I am a whopping 32 years old! I remember when that was so old! I mean when my mom was 32 she had a son who was already a deacon and a 7 year old and a 4 year old, I had better get cracking!  I have been spoiled rotten today (or as my Grandma Nita used to tell me, "No CJ you are just well loved") and had a lot of fun!

I so far have learned a little about life, a lot about myself, my kids, and my strengths and not-so-strengths. I am usually a pretty positive person but I have my moments and the other day was one of those. I asked all of my friends on Facebook to help me make a list of "Things That Are Awesome" so that I can reread it anytime I need to be reminded just how good life is! This is what you guys came up with, if you want to add to the list just post a comment below. :)  My dad used to tell me, "The scripture says 'men are that they might have joy' not 'men are that they might wade through it all and endure'" So here is to at least another 32+ years of joy! :)







    • Corie DeWitt Green I will start: Clean Sheets, Dr. Pepper, Watching Funny Movies With My Bothers, My family, Hot Showers. . .
      September 21 at 3:45pm · 


    • Yvette Weisheit Nightly baths, REM sleep, hearing your favorite song on the radio when you requested it in your head, getting flowers from my husband, when my kids say something funny and I can brag about it to friends and family....
      September 21 at 3:59pm ·  ·  1 person


    • Heather Ely Carrell A husband that does laundry=AWESOME :)
      September 21 at 4:13pm · 


    • Brooke Greenstreet The moment your kids are in bed- awesome. Cheesecake Factory- awesome. Cool fall evenings- awsome. Bubble breaker app for the blackberry- way awesome.
      September 21 at 4:14pm · 


    • Chelsea McKinney You are awesome.
      September 21 at 4:17pm ·  ·  1 person


    • Ashby Stringham Hatch The beach, autumn weather, newborn babies lathered in Baby Magic lotion, sleeping in....
      September 21 at 4:32pm · 


    • Michelle Simmons Having movies memorized and someone who knows the reference immediately, game nights, making me laugh so hard I double over and want to cry, picking on Tom, playing Rook with your brothers and Dad.
      September 21 at 4:38pm · 


    • Michelle Simmons Ooh and my personal favorite today....being able to take a shower!
      September 21 at 4:38pm · 


    • Sheri Sadler Giles Desert rain. Clean babies. Cherry limeaids on a hot day. Cookie dough on a bad day. Kids laughter. Home. Naps. Music.
      September 21 at 4:40pm · 


    • Trisha Hardy The church, ME!!, your children, not having homework, chocolate cake, pools, having you in my life as a role model,the next harry potter comes out next month. hope that helps.
      September 21 at 4:53pm ·  ·  1 person


    • Jason Neenos Your cake, Me, Agricola, Glee, The smell right before it rains, Greg strutting around like a Peacock, Bleach (for you), the smell of a freshly struck match, tomato soup, deep-fried turkey, 5 player ticket to ride, Android phones, Your friends.
      September 21 at 5:10pm · 


    • Susie Brown I think your freaking awesome!
      September 21 at 5:20pm · 


    • Kelli Smithson Vogt Anything that makes me smile, my kids, family, and friends!
      September 21 at 5:57pm · 


    • Karl Kauffman Kittens, flowers, the smell of fresh cut grass, sunsets, the company family and good friends.
      September 21 at 6:13pm · 


    • Amber Eilertsen Jarvis Long hot showers, getting new clothes that look fab, hilarious movies, your amazing cake and crack... love you!
      September 21 at 6:32pm · 


    • Mike JoAnn DeWitt You, cuz you are such a good example to others!! Luv ya Corie Jo !!!
      September 21 at 6:46pm · 


    • Chantel Fleming Family, friends, deep fried turkey, Burn Notice, Glee, Music, Baseball, Ultimate Frisbee, authentic Mexican food, Chuck, Curling up in front of a fire on a cold day while drinking hot chocolate and reading a book, llamas, the smell of campfire and pinetrees, games. :)
      September 21 at 7:13pm · 


    • Greg Green tacos, kids, ice cream, cloudy days, snow days, not windy days, fast cars, 4-wheelers, the 4th quarter of a close football game, that moment when the kids are in bed and don't get up, having the laundry done, not having to change any more diapers, ceiling fans, Dr. Pepper, putting on lotion, not being short, fishing, that time my mom couldn't get back in the boat, new teeth, air conditioning . . .
      September 21 at 7:56pm · 


    • Hazem H. Qawasmeh a family reunion that is not planned, camping overnight in dreamland aqua park, waking up next to my wife, my kids, my Mom and a really funny joke you pull outta the air
      September 21 at 8:18pm · 


    • Lacy Range Phones, electricity, indoor plumbing, the gospel, kids because they are funny and some even like to eat dirt (my nephew) :)
      September 21 at 11:01pm · 


    • Michael Shumway I am awesome!!
      September 21 at 11:13pm · 


    • Michael Shumway And you are awesome too!! And your kids are awesome, and your hubby, and the rest of your family! And your friends, and watching movies, and playing games, and watching the Cats beat Iowa, and watching the Cats beat Cal this week, and being healthy, and .....
      September 21 at 11:14pm · 


    • Kim Bratt Henling Your photographs, El Rancho, a good run, Ohio State football
      September 22 at 8:23am · 


    • Rachel Larsen White A clean house, quiet, working out so hard you can't move anymore, a baby moving in my tummy, kids that are too cute and melt my heart, spring, fall, beauty in nature.
      September 22 at 8:32am · 


    • Jamie Hays The kids falling asleep in the stroller while you are on a jog, eating pizza, eating cookies...okay who am i kidding...eating just about anything, finishing a good book and listening to MoTab on Pandora.
      September 22 at 11:15am · 


    • Tracy Hardy Turley Being married to your best friend, having a forever marriage, knowing your children are your forever.
      September 22 at 6:35pm · 

Thursday, September 16, 2010

100th Post!!

So this is my 100th post. I have put it off because I felt like the 100th post should be something special. Well I was online today and watched this video and realized that this is probably one of the most important messages I could put on here for myself and for my kids in the years to come. I hope you watch it.  (Scroll to the bottom to stop the music player so you can hear the video)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Whew!!!!

When mom spends hour after hour making pretty pictures like this:



Then the kids make the house look like this:



And then Mom starts to feel a lot like this:



Luckily if Mom bets the kids frozen yogurt at Maverik that there is no way they can have the whole family room and kitchen clean before dad gets home it takes less than 30 minutes to clean it all up! :)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Yay Friends!!


So this was awesome to hear as the mom of my cute son  :D

Ethan and his friend are having a sleep over and playing Halo 3 together.

Ethan: Aw man why did you kill me?

Friend: Because we are against each other and don't like each other.  But just in the game, if it was real life, I'd take your side for sure.


:D  Great Big Mom Grins!!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

These are the days (times 2)



Sometimes when I am having a bad day I go back and reread old posts of mine to remember good things and get a better perspective on my life. I wrote this back on September 9, 2008. I have accomplished even more now than what I listed here and I am grateful for the chances and blessings I have been given.

I love this quote:

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed.
I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less
-Anna Quindlen

So I just went to Shauna's myspace page and I heard her song and I got to thinking. Her song is "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney. It talks about how fast life passes and that if you blink you will miss a lot.

Now with all four kids quietly sleeping in their beds the song makes me all choked up. It is so true, they change so quickly, life changes so quickly. It has been eight years that I have been married to Greg. I have finished college, watched Greg go through Law School, moved to Kansas and back, seen Greg as a prosecutor, and as a defender, bought a law firm, bought a house, sold a house, built a house, and most importantly been pregnant three times with four beautiful children. I have seen the first day of kindergarten, been called into the principal's office because my kid was in trouble, learned how to deal with ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome, attended Parent Teacher Conferences that have left me so depressed and down I couldn't stop crying and ones that have left me so proud and happy that I couldn't stop hugging that poor kid. I have taken kids for stitches, been to countless soccer and tee ball games, sat through tumbling class and Kung-fu classes so that when they ask "mom did you see me?" I can say yes and mean it. I have carried babies so small through the store that people have stopped me to tell me that they "thought that was a real baby." I have potty trained two kids and am working on two more. I have been a substitute teacher which has made me contemplate being an actual teacher. I have given up on my dream of Med. School thousands of times only to pick it up again a thousand more. I have kissed more owies, rocked more sick babies to sleep all night long, cleaned up more play-doh, broken up more fights and been thrown up on more times than I can count. So yeah, a lot has happened in those eight years and sometimes when I have three toddlers screaming at me all day it is hard to remember that these are the times that when I am old I will look back on and say "those were the days, I miss those times."

I go back to having the four kids all sleeping quietly in their beds and if I don't look around at the mess that is my house I can feel that these are the days.

So my point is that I am making a resolution to try harder to remember that these are the days when my kids are awake and rowdy and messy so that when they are grown they will look back and think, "those were the days, I miss those days" and they will come home to me, because as Emma told me today "even when I am a grown up you will still be my mommy and daddy and I will be your baby girl."

I think I will re-resolve to try harder and be the happier, more patient, and more content wife and mother that this beautiful family deserves. :)