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Today (yes, I'm post dating for Saturday) I am grateful for Temples. We have a monthly goal to attend the temple and while we're not perfect, we have done very well this year. What a blessing it is in our lives!! There is something about just walking onto the temple grounds - no matter which temple you are at - that changes the way you think, the way you look at things, and the way you "hear" things. There is no question that the temples sit on sacred ground and that walking into them is walking into the House of the Lord. I was once again reminded of this tonight as a new temple president shared his experiences of his first week being in the temple all day, every day.
I am grateful for the opportunity I had to take some of my cyberfriends to see the Salt Lake City Temple while we were in Utah for the Digital Scrapbook Experience. Several of them commented on what a peaceful place it was and how beautiful the grounds were. I could not agree more. The photo is one I took from the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on that visit ... I love the views of the temple from there!!
I am grateful for the work that goes on in the temples - binding families together for eternity. I am blessed to be sealed to my husband and know that if we are faithful and remain worthy that we will have that blessing for our own family. We have been fortunate the last few times we have been to take names through for my brother-in-law to help the work of his family progress and look forward to doing more.
If you are not of my faith and are curious to learn more about temples please visit www.lds.org/temples.
It's a night we look forward to every week (except the week that we babysit) ... date night! Over 2 years ago we were invited to be part of a babysitting group with 3 other couples. We rotate homes on Friday nights so each couple babysits once every 4 weeks ... that's 3 weeks of FREE babysitting in exchange for 1 completely WILD night with 15 kids running around my house!!! Drop off is at 6 P.M. and pick up is at 10:30 P.M. so we have 4 1/2 hours all to ourselves almost every Friday night - it is BLISS!! We certainly can't afford to do something fancy every week, but even if we grab a quick bite to eat and head home to watch a movie or T.V. (or clean/gut the playroom - yes, we have done that on date night) it is our uninterrupted time and I am beyond grateful for the time that we set aside to spend together ... just us. Tonight was a game of Settlers of Catan with friends, sushi for dinner, followed by gelato - perfect!
P.S. Pardon the less than stellar photo - it was a low light setting taken with my camera phone and overdone flash!!! You get the idea, right?
Unfortunately I have to ask for it too often ... from my husband, my kids, my friends, myself, and my Savior. How grateful I am to know that I can be forgiven by others for my shortcomings and mistakes! More importantly, how blessed I am to know that I was not put here to fail, but given the opportunity to repent and be forgiven through the atonement of Jesus Christ. There is no real way to express my gratitude for that.
I have wondered MANY times how I could stand to watch TV before we got our DVR. I am utterly in *LOVE* with the ability to choose WHAT I want to watch WHEN I want to watch it!! I only have to watch the commercials if I choose to (which I don't unless I'm not really paying attention and let them run). Need a babysitter for an hour so you can take a shower? Keep a few extra recordings of Diego on the DVR and you've got a FREE babysitter - on demand :) The new episode of Wizards of Waverly Place starts after bedtime? It will be waiting for the girls when they wake up Saturday morning. Don't have time to watch The Biggest Loser on Tuesday night? No problem!! I'll catch it when I'm cleaning the kitchen later in the week :) Can't stand to watch just one episode of Leverage because you can't get enough? Record the whole season and watch it in 3 days (we just finished last week and are SO excited it is coming back in January!)!! Forgot The Rachel Zoe Project was starting this week (It's not ... that's just an example of one that I would have missed)? The DVR has you covered! Once you choose the shows you like you can program it to record only new episodes ... and it remembers when a new season starts!
Steve and I actually have a standing DVR night now - Wednesday night. After yesterday's post it seems I have a bit of a "standing appointment" issue, doesn't it? I guess if I don't set aside the time I miss out on these little gems of time that I love ;) It works out perfectly for us because he has either Young Men's or Bishopric visits on Wednesday until about 9 P.M. Then we fire up the DVR to catch up on the shows we enjoy (I even make him watch Project Runway sometimes) and spend a few hours just being together, relaxing. We usually stay up until at least midnight or 1 A.M. since he has Thursdays off.
I am grateful for the wonder of DVR and the opportunity it affords me to watch ONLY what I want to when it fits into my schedule ... which can be hectic at times :) Some may think it's silly to show gratitude for something so trivial but it has changed our lives and we are grateful for the FREEDOM it gives us!!
Last year my dear friend Beth (yes, she's been called that in the past) and I decided to "celebrate" the kids going back to school with a lunch date. It was me, Beth, and our kiddos who were still at home (Kendyl, Cougar, and Alex). The following week, Steve asked if we were going to lunch. I said, "Not that I know of." His reply was, "Oh, I thought you had a standing lunch date!" So what's a girl to do?!? Schedule a standing lunch date, of course!! So, for the past year+ we have had a lunch date almost every week during the school year (summers are a bit tough with Beth's travel schedule *giggle*). We've had to switch the day of the week a few times, but this school year it is scheduled for Tuesday and I look forward to it every week! We don't branch out much ... in fact we can usually be found at one of three places - Paradise Bakery (75% of the time), Einstein's Bagels, or Chipotle (no chicken nuggets for us!!). Mmmmm ... my mouth waters just thinking about it!! In fact I still have cookies downstairs from our visit today :) Others are always welcome and sometimes join us, but we rarely miss a week. It is the perfect escape from a hectic week to catch up on our lives. I am so incredibly grateful for the time I have each week to share an hour or two with my closest friend!
This pic was taken by Kendyl at one of her last lunch dates with us before starting Kindergarten. She ALWAYS kept track of which restaurant we were going to (last year we alternated between Paradise and Einstein's and she NEVER forgot where we had been the week before!) and still asks each week about our lunch date :)
I'm sure a lot of people would think this is strange, but I am extremely grateful for online communities! They have literally changed my life and brought me in contact with dear friends that I may never have known without the powers of the cyberworld.
When I started my digital scrapbooking journey at jessicasprague.com I never imagined that 2 years later I would have made 2 trips to visit my cyberfriends who feel more like sisters to me now. My trip to Chicago last summer was actually made possible by one of my dear Spraguemates who offered her airline miles just to get me there ... for a total of 30 hours from departing Phoenix to my return home. I could never express the love I have for the people there and to Jessica for giving us a "home" on the web :)
I also never dreamed that I would start doing creative team work for ScrapMatters, but with a little nudge from another dear cyberfriend (that I met at JS.com) I took the plunge to apply for the team. Now over a year later I am a designer for their shop and am the team leader for the hybrid creative team AND the hybrid design team! The community is wonderful and I have met even more dear friends from around the country and the world.
I think the thing that makes these communities unique is that we are all there to share our stories through our scrapbook pages and to share our knowledge as we help each other to learn new skills to improve our process. Our pages tell a lot about us and our lives, our celebrations and our challenges. These are the things that bind people together. These are the reasons I am grateful for online communities ... they help me to learn, grow, challenge myself, and expand my circle of friends to places I only dreamed of!
On that note, I have to put in a plug for Jessica Sprague ... she is offering another FREE online class that will be perfect for ANYONE! You don't need to be a digital scrapbooker ;) Check out her website for more information and REGISTER - you won't regret it!!!
Also, ScrapMatters is celebrating Digital Scrapbooking Day on November 7th with a storewide sale, a fabulous kit that will be FREE with a $15 purchase, games, speed scraps, and a fabulous blog train with over 40 stops!!! You won't want to miss it!
I figured since it had been another month since I posted it was about time to get around to it again. Our October flew by and I'm rather glad it's over! While we had lots of fun it also seemed to be a month filled with chaos - THAT I can do without!
After doing my photo a day last December I loved that I had just a bit recorded for every day of the month. This year I wanted to focus on November because I really do have SO MUCH to be grateful for! My goal, which is VERY lofty considering my current blogging behavior, is to record a little snippet each day of just a few of the things I'm grateful for. I won't necessarily have a photo each day (my go-to lens on my camera is broken) but I am hoping to write down just a bit of the gratitude that I have.
Today I'll start with the obvious ... my family. I made this scrapbook page this past week for a speed scrap I was hosting and I just love the way it came out. The photo is one that I took on our first trip to the beach as a family this past month. No, I didn't have Steve and the girls posed for this shot - that is part of what I love about it!! It shows the natural instinct for them to hold onto him, knowing that he will keep them safe in uncertain times (the ocean was all new to them). It shows the wonder of a little boy playing in sand for the first time (exploring and learning new things). What a blessing it is to have these people in my life ... to call them mine. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have such a wonderful family :)
Kari Roberts Holt
* woke up to sunshine, an ocean view, and happy childen ready for another day at Disneyland - perfect!
* just discovered my backup battery wasn't charged before going into the camera bag. There will be no photographic evidence of our fabulous day :( Guess I'll just have to enjoy it rather than capture it!! Way more fun :)
* loves the look on Cougar's face when he rides Buzz Lightyear
* just bought a Mickey shaped loaf of sourdough bread - YUM!!!
* loves the fastpass and rider switch pass :)
* is basking in the goodness of corn dogs on Main Street!
* thinks kissing sleeping baby cheeks (draped on my shoulder) on the tram after shutting down Disneyland is extra sweet :)
Oh, I could have Facebooked so much more today, but figured people were getting sick of my trip to Disneyland!!! Needless to say we are having a fabulous time and can't wait to take the kids to the beach for the first time tomorrow!!! Oh, and the resort we are at is A*MAZ*ING ... will definitely have to take some pics (I am charging the backup battery as I type)!
I imagine it could be frightening to come to my blog and actually find an update - it happens so rarely these days. I am actually typing this as we drive to Disneyland - gotta love a laptop. It isn’t often that I have 2 hours of uninterrupted time (aside from changing movies and handing out snacks) to sit without cleaning and laundry screaming at me ... figured I should take advantage of it! We are headed back to Disneyland for Fall Break and couldn’t be more excited - we need a little time away as a family :) It has become an annual trip for us and we never tire of it!! I think this is the 4th or 5th year that we have made this trip now. Last year we didn’t actually make our trip in October like we usually do because we made a BIG trip out of it with my entire family in December, but we invested in season passes at that time and this will be our third visit since then. Kinda sad to realize this is the last time we will go with these passes :( The up side of it? Today is Steve’s birthday so we get to spend it together, as a family, at the Happiest Place on Earth!!
September brought lots of good times for us. Ashton started playing soccer, officially making me a “soccer mom” for the first time. She is really enjoying it and actually played in her first game on Saturday - I forgot the camera. Seems like I’ve been doing that a lot more than I should lately. They lost in a horrible way, but she had a great time!
Brinley has been taking a swim stroke clinic and is really improving in her skills. She loves it and I know it will pay off next summer when swim team starts up again. Kendyl took a session of tennis lessons during September and they were TERRIBLE!!! The program was really unorganized - I don’t even think they got to practice actually hitting the ball over the net until the last day. Needless to say, we won’t be signing up for those particular lessons again - we’ll go back to the city that Ashton and Brinley took from last year ... MUCH better program! Lucky for us she didn’t know the difference and still enjoyed herself ;) 
All three girls are now taking piano lessons and played really well in their recital this month, too! I'm glad they still seem to love it since quitting is not an option ;) Cougar got to spend every afternoon of September (except Tuesdays) in the car running everyone where they needed to be and sitting through lessons. Oh, and he got to take a road trip to Utah with me and a few of my peeps ... but there will be more on that later!
We started September with a visit from Steve’s parents. They were able to come to town for his ordination to High Priest and his setting apart as 1st Counselor in our bishopric. What a wonderful weekend!! It was such a treat to have them there for such a memorable occasion. We were able to attend the temple in the afternoon after we picked them up at the airport. His dad was able to ordain him and join in the setting apart. It was an incredibly emotional and spiritual experience for all ... even the children were crying! There was added emotion because Ed has been having a lot of health problems lately that have recently been narrowed down to the fact that his kidneys aren’t functioning (among other things). He will be starting dialysis soon so it may be a while before they are able to visit us in Arizona again. Steve was able to give both of his parents blessings which was a unique experience that we are so grateful for. If Ed is actually reading this (since he only checks in for pictures) we want him to know how much we love him and that we are praying for him daily.
September also brought a visit from my sister Kristin - another annual trip! She comes to get an eye exam every year and is always here to help us celebrate Kendyl’s birthday ... even if we have to do it a few days early :) We always love to have her stay with us!!
Kendyl turned 6 last month and thinks she is MUCH older than that! I’m sure she’s not the only 6 year old who asked for a cell phone, iPod, and laptop ;) Oh, the things she learns from her older sisters!!! Cougar and I went up to the school to have lunch with her on her big day. She asked for Paradise Bakery (did I mention she only turned 6?) complete with a salad. She scored some cash, a few new CDs - Mitchel Musso and Hannah Montana 3, and a Liv doll with accessories ... she was thrilled!
The end of the month brought an A*MAZ*ING girls’ week to Utah for Spraguefest and the Digital Scrapbook Experience!! I could go into a lot of detail but will save it for a separate post once I get more pics ... remember what I said earlier about forgetting my camera? Well, I actually had it with me and snapped a few the first day, but after I saw everyone else going mad with their cameras I made a conscious decision to let them document my trip for me (since I knew we were sharing pics) - figured I might actually be IN some of them that way!! It was a spectacular week reuniting with dear cyberfriends, meeting new fabulous friends, sharing lots of laughs, enjoying all of my favorite Utah restaurants, making endless Sonic runs, playing tour guide (including some great Provo details that some probably wished they hadn’t heard *HA*), and learning some fantastic new digi skills!!
While the mamma was away the rest of the crew got to play!! Steve was in the driver’s seat for the entire week and came out on top again :) My dear, darling friend Beth was my hero and picked up the girls from school the first few days of the week. They got to play at her house until Steve arrived to get everyone to their activities ... she even taught Kendyl a little on the violin (which she now wants to play constantly)!! She deserves a medal for always being there when I need her! Steve got to play SuperDad all week which ended with the ultimate Daddy Daughter Campout. How perfect could it be that the ward DD Campout was scheduled the week I was out of town? The girls look forward to it all year and said this year was the BEST one they have been to!!
So there’s September in a nut shell - hopefully I can be better in October, but I’m not holding my breath! Who knows - maybe I’ll surprise myself and find some blogging mojo! What I do know is that I’m living life and keeping busy ... enjoying most of it ;) Just wish I could squeeze a few extra hours into each day!
P.S. I've only added a few pics since I'm using my laptop, I have limited photos on my EHD, haven't downloaded some from September, and really don't feel like editing tonight since it's late and we've been at Disneyland all day. I'll have to update photos later ;)
Today (yes, I'm post dating for Saturday) I am grateful for Temples. We have a monthly goal to attend the temple and while we're not perfect, we have done very well this year. What a blessing it is in our lives!! There is something about just walking onto the temple grounds - no matter which temple you are at - that changes the way you think, the way you look at things, and the way you "hear" things. There is no question that the temples sit on sacred ground and that walking into them is walking into the House of the Lord. I was once again reminded of this tonight as a new temple president shared his experiences of his first week being in the temple all day, every day.
