Christmas Card 2016

Dearest friends, how we have LOVED each one of your Christmas cards, THANK YOU!!! In the spirit of simplicity, our card is coming in digital form this year and forever more!

Here is a little snapshot of our year:

Brinley (13) Plays piano and violin. Still Irish dancing. Excited to be almost through with middle school. Looking forward to early morning seminary (church class before school). Loves her friends and girls church camp. Is wishing upon a star to attend Especially For Youth camp this summer. Is a terrific babysitter.

Avery (10) Plays piano and violin. Still Irish dancing. Loves reading, acting and art. Looking forward to middle school. Loves to cook with mom in the kitchen. Is also a terrific babysitter.

Aspen (8) Was baptized in Novemeber. Plays piano and is still Irish dancing. Loves horses. Diligently wears her brace every night to help with her club foot. Wants to wear her mothers makeup every day of her life.

Reese (5) Thinks she is 17. Thinks she plays piano. Thinks she is an Irish dancer. Thinks she is smarter and more capable to do everything better than everyone else. Mommy is excited for her to go to kindergarten in the fall. She is affectionately referred to

as "Kim Jong Un" around our house.

Leah - Fitness instructor...still. Mother...still. A new business owner leading an incredible team of mighty entrepreneurs. Finding joy and fulfillment in her beautifully busy life.

Cody - Has officially started taking piano lessons! Blesses children daily as a pediatric radiologist. Busy with his new calling as Young Men's president at church. Coping tremendously with an emotionally charged life in a household of FIVE girls.

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Always MY baby!

Even at age five she still insists on "sleeping" in this when playing baby. She's also a seasoned professional when it comes to telling me EXACTLY how to play the mommy, 

word for word and action by action.

Our BEST gift of 2011

Five years ago on Dec. 20th I went into labor with our fourth baby girl. We just had one little hiccup, we were on our way to our dear friends, the Pirtles, temple wedding and I was determined to be a part of this special moment in their lives.

When our sitter Alyson arrived, we asked if she could possibly spend the night because after the wedding and we needed to head to the hospital to deliver this little Christmas gift. We snapped this last EVER pregnant picture of me right before we rushed out the door that night.

I'll never forget squeezing Cody's hand through every contraction as we sat in the temple during the ceremony. It truly was a special and unforgettable chance to support our friends. Afterwards we rushed off to the hospital and soon enough our little Reese Noelle joined the world. She was our first and most sacred gift of 2011!

SNOW...finally!

This afternoon was filled with backyard sledding, snowman making, Santa visiting bliss! 

I do my best to be happy in the Ohio snow because during winter, every winter, I diligently strive to swallow the unquenchable longing I have for the Utah mountains 

I grew up skiing down all winter long.

The mountains I want my children to be skiing down now!

Pomegranate Season!

When it's pomegranate season I pretty much find a way to incorporate

 the goodness into basically every single meal we eat! Seriously!

Thank you THIEF!

Dearest THIEF who stole my daughters ipod from our car last night. Thank you! Thank you for helping me teach her about how to find the silver lining in ANY situation. Through her tears we talked about how to focus on the great things that happened that day, all the things we have to be thankful for and how sorry we are for you.

There were MANY, many tears last night because my teenager longed for that ipod for well over a year. She is responsible to help pay for all of the "extras" in her life. From dance classes, shoes and uniforms to summer camps, books, gifts for friends birthdays and any extra activities. Her new ipod cost $149 and she understands what it takes for a 13 year-old to earn that amount of money. She also paid for every song she had downloaded onto it.

You see thief, she does does not have a phone - because she is thirteen and cannot afford a phone. Add to that we believe she is a much happier, healthier and more confident child without one. The main reason she wanted an ipod so desperately was to be able to listen to uplifting music on the bus instead of the vulgar language that has become a very unfortunate reality of her daily experience on the bus and in school.

At this time she is unable to purchase a new ipod because she has just finished buying gifts for her sisters for Christmas and is now diligently working to earn and save money for summer camps.

Thief, we hope those uplifting songs she purchased about loving others, doing what is right and remembering that we are all children of God will be just what you need this Christmas season. She will recover, but you will cary the burden of what you did for some time to come.

Organic Playtime

Circa 1984 - Me and my brother Arian playing in a stream.

My mother made a wise and intentional decision to spend time immersing her children in nature. Providing for us on her own, time was at a premium, 

yet as I think back over my childhood, spending long peaceful 

Sunday afternoons exploring nature is forefront in my memory.

We would play in the creek for hours on end, singing, giggling, creating rock structures and exploring upstream. Valuable learning happened during these unscheduled, unhurried times. As we grew nature time included backpacking and sleeping under the stars.

When do children "play in streams" anymore? 

Have screens taken away stream experiences? Do our children have enough unscheduled, unhurried times for creative learning to take place. The thought weighs on my heart, often.

Business Launch

On Saturday I was able to launch another business! 

Dana and Angie are an incredible sister team and it is an absolute treat to have them both on my team!

HUNG

The stockings were hung by the chimney with...meltdowns!!!

"I don't like mine anymore. Mine MUST be hung in the middle! NO that is MY SPOT!!! Her stocking looks bigger than mine! Why are they this color? Why can't we hang them with different hooks?! Santa isn't going to remember which one is mine. 

DON'T TOUCH MY STOCKING!!" 

Our life is not as picture perfect as you may think!

A Letter To Santa

Dear Santa, 

We had the children write a wish list for the first time this year. 

Aspen listed the three things she wants the very most this year:

1- A world record book.

2- A new pair of headphones - because she gave her personal pair to Avery when Avery's broke.

3- A new pair of long socks so that her club foot brace does not hurt at night.

Do you think this wish list is doable Santa? 

PS - I took her Christmas shopping and she spent 

every dollar she earned this year on gifts for her family.

My November Leaders!

Up, up and away! I now have a team of 104. 

These are the tops achievers in November 2016!

Teen Years

Once upon a time I thought I was a fairly decent parent...

and then my firstborn became a teen. 

Back to square one. 

Sometimes she talks to her Dad in the office like this!

Opportunity Call

It was time in my business to create a personal opportunity call....

and so I did!

This call is offered to people who are considering the business. 

It is intended for them to be able to hear someone else's experience and perspective. 

Plugging along, one task at a time!!

A Letter to Santa

Reese retrieved her alphabet puzzle to assist with composing a letter to Santa. 

I thought it was a fairly brilliant idea if I do say so myself!

She a smart little cookie and worked to sound out all of the letter BY HERSELF. 

I am sure that Santa will appreciate her letter...even if it's just a random combination of letters. 

It was really sweet to watch her trying so hard. 

Costa Rica 2016

The greatest perk of Cody's job is absolutely the medical conferences that we are able to attend!

With ALL of Cody's expenses paid for, including the room, this opportunity for travel is incredible.

This time around we celebrated our 15 year anniversary by going to a conference in Costa Rica!

It was absolutely wonderful!

The resort we stayed (El Mangrove) at was quaint and situated on a beautiful little beach cove. 

It was a quiet and peaceful oasis!

We rented a car so that we could explore our surroundings...and that we absolutely did!

Rock Climbing, check!

Zip lining through the rainforest, check!

Eating a variety of local foods and even making homemade tortillas, check!

A volcanic mud bath, check!

Jumping into a running river to wash off all the mud, check!

Time basking poolside, check!

Nature walks around the cove, check!

A beautiful room, check! No king? No problem, more room to sprawl!

Lounge time in hammocks and swings around the hotel, check!

Wave runner time discovering the ocean around us, check!

Discovering a big sea turtle swimming alongside us, check!

Finding this cute little island, check!

Driving DIRECTLY on the beach to get to a place where the sand is actually made up entirely of crushed sea shells, check!

Natural hot springs, check!

Local fruity delights, oh my goodness amazingness, check!

River Rafting, yup, you guessed it, check!

Exploring to find and jump into waterfalls, CHECK!

Learning about the local history, check!

A river cruise to find a variety of wild creatures, check!

Yes, crocodiles were absolutely everywhere during our boat ride. It was awesome!

As you can see, it was a heavenly escape for so MANY reasons! 

If only I had endless hours to write everything down we could remember all the details for years to come. Alas, my time is very minimal, so these pictures will have to suffice!

Caring for the Children

The girls were in HEAVEN with Grandma Ginger and Harlan 

holding down the fort while we were in Cost Rica!

 Their non-school time consisted of foot rubs, make believe stories, sparklers, game time, zoo trip, bath times, packed lunches, taxi service, late night talks with grandma and yummy meals.

It was a rough transition back to reality when Mom and Dad arrive back home. 

Our hearts sunk when we learned that Harlan had to leave early because his sweet daughter Kate was coming close to the end of her life. A young wife and mother of two lovely little girls, cancer stole her happily ever after. She passed away just one week after he left our home to fly to California to be by her side. Our hearts are aching for Harland and his entire family.

 This was the third child he has had to burry. 

6,500 People

My business marches on and sometimes it's a "pinch me is this real" kind of experience!

Is it a lot of work? Heck YES! Can in be exhausting at time? Holy crap YES! Is it the most incredibly fulfilling opportunity ever? Absolutely!

Last week I was asked to present LIVE, virtually,  to an audience of 6,500 people about why I said yes to this business and about why I am so committed to the experience. 

Talk about a natural high. It was awesome!

My team is now 98 consultants strong and counting. 

A Mother is ALWAYS making FOOD

I'm not a fan a prepackaged food in general, however, Costco has recently stepped up their game in this department and there are a few prepackaged options that save time when packing lunches. These mini Wontons rock!

Here are my personal prepackaged rules:

1- The fewer ingredients the better.

2- If you can't read it, don't eat it. Meaning the ingredients are words that you can read and you know what they are. And no, maltodextrin does not count, even if you know what it is.

I am encouraged by the undercurrent of awareness that has 

brought some of these options to the store shelves.

15 YEARS!

Four cross-country moves.

Four years of medical school.

Four daughters.

Six years of residency. 

Fifteen years of fitness.

Fifteen years together! 

Our lives have never been busier and our love has never been stronger! 

It's OKAY to FAIL

Avery has recently really enjoyed cooking in the kitchen alongside me, however, 

sometimes I allow her to try doing things entirely by herself.

 I've grown a LOT as a mother, because the thought of letting a child loose in the kitchen would have just about done me over a decade ago. Now?! Now I don't even give it a second thought. 

Recently Avery made cookies entirely alone and here is her finished product. It provided a wonderful laugh and a reminder that these "failures" are an important stepping stone for children. 

I am happy that I am more able to allow those failures to teach my children these days.

30 Days

We are officially 30 nights into the newest attempt at correcting a part of the ongoing club foot problems. When she was a baby an Achilles-cutting surgery was suppose to loosen the tightness and allow for more range of motion. 

The surgery was a fail. Daily stretching over years has likewise been ineffective. We are hopeful that this newest method produces results. She has been a champ and was able to get a new pack of earrings after her first 30 days!

Reese snapped this second picture of Aspen, the one where she is demonstrating how she REALLY feels about her nightly bracing experience.