Happiness

I haven't done a happiness post in a while. Although some things I am happy about are kind of obvious, I wanted to be a little more specific and get back to the basics.

Happiness is:

-Tanner being so thoughtful of Matt last night. We went to drop the car off at his work and when we knocked on the door he didn't come and so I said "oh well, I guess Daddy can walk home tonight". Tanner then replies "We should leave the car for Daddy and we can walk home so he doesn't have to walk home in the cold tonight". Sometimes it surprises me at how thoughtful he is and has become.

-knowing Tanner has never attempted to cut his hair. His friend cut his hair in class to add to the egg nest they were doing.

-having good jobs

-packing. The last time I packed, I was working full time and Tanner was 3. This time around it's easier because I don't have Tanner running under foot, I'm not working full time and Matt is a huge help because he is home in the day to pack on the days I'm not there.

-not being sick after eating far too many cookies yesterday.

-getting tickets to my final dance recital

-wearing my fun costume at dance class that Susanne made for me. I totally love it and it looks awesome!

-putting all my effort into my last dance class before the recital.

-cleaning out the trunk of the car

-washing, drying and folding 4 loads of laundry yesterday. I'm finally caught up and all I have left are a batch of towels today.

-rubber boots so it's easier to walk around in all the mud around our house.

-knowing my Mom and sister are coming for my dance recital

-a week long vacation in Calgary next week

-talking to Susanne on the phone

-being a mother

-being a wife

Dear Happiness

Dear Jamie,

What color do you want your room to be painted??? ; )

Happiness this week so far is:

-back to just part time work. Although I am grateful for the blessing of being able to work full time the last 2 weeks, my priority is being a mother first and working full time is not conducive to that. I didn't have a child to have him raised by someone else.

-normal routine

-cleaning

-making Shepard's pie for dinner

-wearing my new shoes to work

-knowing that the completely bizarre dreams I've been having the last 2 nights are just that...dreams!

-having life

-a good long distance plan so I can talk to my Mom and sisters for how long I want to

-having a sister who knows about sports stuff. We registered Tanner in coach pitch and I wasn't sure how to soften the mitt that we bought him so I called up my sister and asked her.

-FINALLY getting the dance routine we've been practicing for the last few months! I practice A LOT at home but this week it was just me and one other girl and our teacher really worked us hard (which was a good thing) to get the rhythm of the dance and the steps clean. I have a bad habit of watching Susanne or Laura and that's NOT good. They are very good but I have to know how to just do it on my own without looking at their feet all the time. I FINALLY can! I was starting to get really nervous that I wouldn't get it by the time May comes around (performance) but no worries now.

-finding a rotten orange this morning before it rotted all the other oranges

-friends

-movies (with friends)

-walking home with Tanner from school



Life is happy!

Seriously

I seriously have the BEST of the BESTEST friends in the world! I am so dang lucky to have such amazing friends.

Shall I elaborate??? Of course I will.

As most people know, Tanner goes to one of my friends' (Amelia) house on Wednesday and not only does she watch Tanner, she makes both of us supper EVERY Wednesday. Awesome!

THEN, since we don't have cable (by choice) Susanne and I get together every week to watch 3 of our favorite shows and we decided this 'season' that we would do dinner and the shows. We alternate who does the meal but we always watch the shows at her house. Susanne is a terrific cook and I LOVE eating at her house. So yes, Susanne, this post was partly about you : )

It's so nice to only have to think about 2-3 other meals (Sunday's are always spaghetti and Thursday's are always leftovers) depending on the week.

Some days I can't believe how lucky I am with the amazing, thoughtful friends I have not only here in town but in Calgary too.

The ray of Sun that shines through the clouds

This morning I got a good cuddle/tickle session in with Tanner before I had to go to work...that makes things brighter.

A post from a friend was an answer to a prayer

Matt shoveling the hard snow to make a path from the back door to the car was so appreciated

A warm mug of Hot Chocolate to warm up the soul

Honestly...

...I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I'm not feeling so "zen" as Erica likes to call it. I can't really pin point what it is. Anyways, hopefully it will pass soon because it's hard to be "funky".

I'm happy today was pizza day at school because it meant Matt and I got to go to the Temple! It's always the 3rd Thursday of the month that they have pizza day at the school so we always go to the temple that day because then we don't have to feel rushed to get back for Tanner at lunch.

We were able to finally choose carpet for the house. We kept going back and forth and back and forth some more. But now, it's done. We picked our top 3 and hopefully that works. We're pretty organized in what we want. All we have to do now is pick out lighting (super basic and nothing fancy) and door handles and faucets. When did they start digging you ask...they haven't. That's how organized we are. We don't have time to run into Lethbridge a zillion times to pick out stuff so we are planning ahead. We have counters, cabinets, vanity, inside and outside doors, windows, patio door, shingles, siding, trim, paint inside and out, flooring all picked out already. They're suppose to be digging by next week so hopefully that will happen. I'm not holding my breath.

I'm happy that Tanner and I made peanut butter cookies today after school.

I'm happy that I was able to empty 6 tubs of clothes and put them in boxes for 3 different people.

I'm happy that it snowed this week. I like the snow. Not the cold wind but the snow doesn't bother me. Matt said to me the other day "no one is happy with whatever weather we have. If it's summer people complain that it's too hot. If it's raining, people complain that it's so dreary and miserable out. If it's snowing, people complain that it's cold. Can't people just stop murmuring and be happy"?

I was thinking today after reading a blog about a mother losing her baby about how our generation has much heartache like the pioneers. People in my generation seem to be having babies with more...for lack of a better word...defects (downs, facial deformities, general health problem) or babies and/or little children that die so young. It seems more so than my parents generation. It makes me wonder what Tanner's generation will go through. We have been so blessed to live in a time where medicine is around and where there are things that can help some of these things.

We are so lucky to live in the time we do, don't you think?

Happiness is just a tear drop away

If you know what movie that line is from...good for you : )

Today was a pretty rough start to my Tuesday. Tomorrow will be better. But for now I am happy for:

-having a bishop who understands my frustrations and supports me

-matt, who did my dishes this week even though it's my week to do dishes

-matt, for bringing me lunch after we both had to miss it because we were in Lethbridge signing our bazillion page mortgage.

-tanner, for being such a patient and caring individual

-having the best boss EVER!!! he didn't even notice that i was like 10 minutes late because i couldn't find my work keys and had to call the other receptionist to borrow hers and when i apologized for being late he said he didn't even notice and he didn't even say anything about it! how awesome is that??? i don't make it a habit of being late for work so it's kind of a big deal for me (to me) if i am.

-being able to sort through my 6 tubs...yes SIX, of 18-24mth stuff to give away to 2 friends. i am so happy and liberated to be giving this stuff away.

-ohhhh...matt again for ignoring my crankiness at bedtime last night.

-having a washing machine.

-not having to wash tanners sheets every day. we tried for 6 weeks to get him night trained but he literally did not care. so we resorted back to pull ups. i've got a lot of mixed 'opinions' from others on the issue. we're going to try again in the summer one last time...getting him up every couple hours through the night to take him to the bathroom, but after that i feel helpless/clueless/frustrated as to what to do. some people say he still little, some say he's a boy...they take longer, some say they think he should be night trained by now. i feel like he's the only 7 year old that still wears pull ups and that is personally discouraging for me. i don't know what else to do....okay, back to happy thoughts

-the gospel and the importance of it in my life. for the lessons i've been taught on modesty and sunday dress and honesty (i've learned other things but those are the most dominant this week for me). for being punctual and understanding why/how it's important in ALL aspects of life.

-knowing that i am being relieved of a specific stressful thing because of family situations.

-love

Just now...simple things

This is a section of the carpet samples that we have right now to choose. I like it but I don't LOVE it so I'm going back tomorrow to get more samples.

So this picture is so much more artistic and more about the photo than anything else but the next photo is what really made me smile! Tanner had a difficult time getting ready for bed tonight and so we sent him to bed without stories (a BIG deal) and a few minutes later this is what we found...





Tanner halfway out into the hall. He is so cute and sweet and we just love him to bits.

I'm sorry if I broke the rules Rebecca...I just couldn't resist putting the one of Tanner in : )

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Speaking of Carpet...these are our colors and samples for the kitchen counters, walls, cabinets and flooring. We're going with Maple cabinets, laminate counter tops, vinyl hardwood looking flooring and the color is called Honeydew.




Last night Matt and I went to the annual (it was our first time but it's an annual thing) Rotary dinner and dance. It was so much fun and the food was great.




Then today, after church we played "Find Waldo". It was a ton of fun and we all got a turn to hide waldo and then we looked at the Find Waldo books that Melany lent us.






No, Tanner did NOT wear this to church. He changed when he got home so he wouldn't wreck his Sunday clothes.

This week has been pretty good. There was a bump in my personal road today...just something that was "the last straw" for me. Other than that, our weekend has been really fun.

I even sorted through a ton of baby stuff that I'm giving away. If any of you have boys that are 18 months up to 3 years, let me know because I have so much stuff and I would hate for it not to go to someone who could use it or needs it. All the 0-12+ stuff is being given to a lady I clean for and is having a boy. Then the 3+ stuff my Mom is storing for my sister so she can have it when Emerson needs it. I am NOT taking any of it with us when we move. I have a maple crib in super good condition as well as a matching change table. So let me know because otherwise, I'm taking what's left to Value Village.

Have a great week everyone!

when life hand you lemons, make lemonade

Strep Throat is NOT fun! But on the bright side:

We spent the day on Thursday picking out samples of carpet and lino and doors/windows.

We got batteries for the camera so I can take some pictures again

The screaming coming from Tanner at our house on Wednesday morning at 1 was not because someone was in the house kidnapping him (which for a millisecond I thought was happening because the scream was a terrified screaming type)...it was because Matt had scared Tanner by accident in the middle of the night when Tanner was going to the kitchen to get a drink of water and Matt was right there as Tanner turned the corner.

Tanner had a hearing test today and his hearing is perfect...above normal range actually. Hooray!

Tanner tells me everyday how much he loves school and today when he thought he was going to miss his spelling test because of his hearing test in Lethbridge, he told me that missing it made him sad (but they gave it to him anyways when he got there!)

2 Christmas gifts came this week. Both not for me, but both for someone else.

Watching Shelby and Hannah is lots of fun.

A hot shower is always pleasant.

Wearing flip flops today

Finding a fruit that Matt will eat like candy was pretty awesome (Sunkist oranges)

Fixing Tanner's dresser was a treat since it kept falling apart every couple weeks. It was the drawer that kept falling apart.

no title

I am sick, yet again! I was just sick at Christmas and now I'm sick again. Ever onward.

Happiness is:

advil cold and sinus

cleaning

sorting

not having brain block

babies (no i am not pregnant)

stickers

teeth to brush

a bathroom (outhouses are icky)

light

sunshine


enjoy your day...it may be a day or two before i'm back

Simple Things

I was really bad and did not take my camera most places I went this week and missed out on MANY chances at getting some really good/cute pictures. I guess I'll be more aware of that this week. The one thing that did make me smile this week that I DID get a picture of is my new hair.

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Happiness is:

the rumble strips on the side of the highway that tell you if you're too far over.

appetizers at cheesecake cafe with sharon and susanne

being in the right place at the right time

feeling uplifted by the testimonies of those in your ward

going to the school gym and playing like i did when i was a kid. we had so much fun on our spontaneous family fun day.

helping sew baby blankets

going to bed at 9:30 on a friday night

naps

living in a country where there is no war

matt and tanner

love

friendship

the gospel of jesus christ

truth

the perfect tasting orange

crispy celery

cold water

reading stories with tanner

finding money in your pocket

Can I get some cheese with that whine

Yesterday and today I have felt unusually whiny but as a credit to myself I have contained those whiny thoughts/feelings in my head...until at this moment, the 1 thing I will say is that I'm glad I don't live in a bubble and think that God makes certain people better than others.

What I'm NOT whiny about is:

grilled cheese and ham

new beginnings

beef stew

matt doing the laundry without me reminding him

matt being thoughtful

pina colada slurpee/"special drink"

family

valentines day coming up...okay normally i think valentines day is HIGHLY over-rated. it's not even a season but this year i'm kind of looking forward to it.

possibilities

choices

living in raymond

a vehicle

Reason

Happiness is:

-choir

-a great sunday school lesson

-meeting someone new at church

-toast with cinnamon/sugar on it

-scripture study: did you know that in the Bible times that if children were stubborn or rebellious they were taken to the priests and stoned to death in the city??? I'm glad I didn't live in Bible times because I would have been stoned to death before my teens!

-emma smith the movie

-love notes

-finding purpose and reason

-friendship

-dancing (including dance class that is difficult for me because I haven't danced since jr.high but I KNOW that with repetition I will be able to be good and not make a fool of myself at the final performance in May)

-double stuffed oreo cookies

-dixie's delight

-being in the present

Can I get some Happy with that please

Friday:

Being somewhat productive. I had some specific things I wanted to do but I didn't get them done because I got distracted and did other equally important things

Mine and Matt's 11 year anniversary. It does not feel like 11 years. It feels like just a very short time ago I was anticipating the day when Matt and I would finally be married. Lots of ups and downs in the past 11 years and I know there will be plenty more ups and downs. It's a refiners fire. You learn and grow as you go through the ups and downs. No marriage ever has or ever will be perfect and that's just the way it's meant to be. If marriages were perfect then people would be perfect and let's face it, we're not. It's what makes us all unique and special.

A Tanner story: While driving Tanner and his friend to a birthday party in Lethbridge, Tanner said to his friend: this is the Collins' car. Then he paused and said well you and your sister ride in it so it could be the Collins' car and the ___'s car. I do not know where he thinks up this stuff. Then later last night he pushed his friends sister and I firmly told him it is not nice to push girls (okay, it's not nice to push boys either and I've told him that too, but it's especially not nice to push girls). So he says to me: "Well I'm 7 and I'm tough". Like that was suppose to justify the pushing. He did apologize so it ended well.

Last night he snuggled with Matt and I in bed for 20 minutes and talked about the people we love. We came up with a question that is a really good question. When we're in Heaven, will we have birthdays? And if we do, how will they be determined? Will the day we die be our birthday in heaven? Tanner is much smarter than I think.



Saturday:

Going to the Temple

Tanner telling us we didn't kiss on our anniversary so we kissed right then.

I found out that Tanner had tried to kiss a girl at school. We talked about who it was appropriate to kiss.

Making cake

Finally coming up with an idea for New Beginnings based off a quote Dawna gave me this week.

Thursday is that good

What a great day today.

Happiness= a trip to Coalhurst

timbits

pizza at susannes

glee music

the new ensign arriving

tanner and matt sleeping in until 9:45!

signing papers

new choices

a car that works

a warm coat

patience

talking to my Mom this morning

good conversation

puddles (because it means snow melting and warmer weather coming)

Wednesday Wonders

Do you ever come across something that humbles you enough to make you realize how insignificant you are??? I came across something this week that made me realize my situation in life isn't all that more special than anybody else's. I don't feel like I've gone through my life thinking or feeling that I'm any more special than anyone else but I have felt that I have grown a lot by going through certain trials in my life and in some little way, that made me feel a little bit more special in my own way...NOT in comparison to other people. This week I came to an understanding that we are all special in our own ways not matter what our lot in life is. We all go through certain things in life. Things that we agreed to in the pre-existence. I love gaining a better, clearer perspective on life and realizing that every one of us...no matter what we go through, all have one equally common thing about us. We are all children of God and we are all loved equally by Him who's plan we rejoiced in. I just think that's such an amazing gift and such a source of strength.



Wednesday Wonder:

Bubble Gum ice cream at Amelias

The melting snow due to warm weather

Tylenol 3's for my headache last night that wouldn't go away with anything else

Blue sky

Special drinks (my family knows what this is)

Tanner's random hugging and telling me he loves me lately







What made me happy on Tuesday is getting through the day without feeling sad or crying because it was the 20th anniversary of my Dad dying. Please don't read that as me being cold or heartless but some years have been harder than others and I chose this year to think about how lucky I was to have such a great example of a father in my life. And even though he's been gone for over half of my life, I know and understand the power of the priesthood and what being a good father means. That makes me REALLY happy.

I am happy for every moment I get to be with Matt and Tanner. I have been trying to live in the moment and be in the present rather than think about all that I need or want to get done. When we're all together, I try to fully appreciate and value that time and make the most of it.

Having a really yummy lunch...although it had lots of beans in it and we all know what beans do to our bodies...it was still so good.

Happy Monday

It was a really productive day today.

Happiness today is:

-thoroughly cleaning my stove top. I don't have cleaner for the inside otherwise I would have done that too

-laundry!

-a long awaited package came in the mail today

-getting rid of clothes that I don't want or need.

-reading a great talk in the Ensign

-wearing flip flops

-christal's blog

A little of this and that

This week went by so fast! Did it go by fast for you? What's the best thing that happened to you this week?

I discovered a new favorite treat/breakfast. It's delicious and so very yummy. I might even actually have one after this post...lol

Last week we had Pancakes for lunch and as it so happened R & B were over for lunch and B had peanut butter on her pancakes. I enjoy peanut butter as much as the next person so I decided to give it a whirl. Well, let me just say my taste buds were VERY happy. So this week I decided to try it on my chocolate chip waffles/eggos (whatever you call them). Yes, I know this is a reasonably healthy choice for a breakfast...haa haa who am I kidding...but it was even better than the pancakes.

Seriously so good!

What else made me happy this week?

not being sick. I have discovered that once every month (most of you are pretty smart and will figure out what this means) I get flu like sickness. Sometimes it's mild but this month it was really bad. I was awake from 12:30am on Friday and up until I went to bed almost 20 hours later. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had but now I know it's not really the flu.

watching movies with susanne. we watched legends of the guardians and the social network.

helping amelia clean out half of her garage and then going on a double date to b.p's with her and her husband.

watching tanner have fun with R...although there was a moment of frustration for tanner

having really great weather for the weekend

having left over b.p's for lunch today

a really great sunday school lesson

being happy

talking to my mom and 2 of my sisters over the last few days

my aunt having a good weekend

Turning point

You know when something happens in your life...you make a choice or a decision and you know there's no turning back. No changing the outcome??? That's about to happen to us as we got final approval today to build. I remember this feeling once before when I found out I was pregnant. I am beyond happy. We are ready for this and can't wait to have a house that is finally ours.

What else made me happy...

Matt is just so awesome. I really am so lucky to have him as my husband. He's so wonderful and caring and never complains about taking care of Tanner or getting him ready in the mornings that I'm not here to do it.

Visiting Teaching today.

Going to the Temple with Matt...although it was a REAL struggle to stay awake for the session.

Tanner being patient with me this morning as I couldn't find something as we were going out the door and he cooperated so well and just did what I asked him to without delay.

My dying dreams have stopped. Last week I had "dying" dreams. I dreamt that 3 people in my life died. It was not nice.

Earth. We live on this amazing place and I don't know that we fully appreciate the beauty and wonder of it all.

Having no spelling mistakes ; )

If you're happy and you know it say so

This morning I had the most delightful time getting ready for the day. Wanna know what I did??? Of course you do...otherwise you wouldn't be here...lol

I had chocolate chip waffles with peanut butter and syrup for breakfast with a glass of milk and then I sat on the heat register to warm up with my nightgown up over my knees just like my sisters and I use to do as little girls. I mean, I couldn't have had a better start to my day.

THEN...here comes the BEST part. When I got home for lunch, we had our house plans there!Can you believe it?!! I'm like a kid on Christmas Eve with butterflies in my stomach at the excitement. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G day so far!

Enjoy Yours!

Tell me Tell me

I have done a lot of looking of stuff on the computer to get ideas for what I like/want for our house. Although there are certain things that Matt and I are pretty solid/decided on, there's some other things I'm not too sure about so I am asking for your opinions/suggestions.



What are your favorite/least favorite things about your house?



My biggest debate right now is door hardware. Do I get a Gripset or a handle and separate deadbolt for the front door? What about the interior doors? Lever or knobs? In the kitchen is it better/look nicer to have all the same...like all handles or is it better/nicer to mix it up? Do you prefer a pull out spout in your kitchen? I really don't like the 1 handle faucets. I strongly prefer the 2 handle faucets. The only exception I would make would be to put this in our ensuite.

They do make this with 2 handles, but it costs MUCH more...not just $20-30 but more like $70-90 more. We might not even be able to afford this particular faucet, but don't you think it's fun? I sure do!

Anyways, I am having some minor dilemmas so I would really LOVE your ideas/opinions/advice/suggestions on anything and everything. I'm new at this so those of you who have built have some experience and I need it...lol.

What made me happy on this fine Monday???

Dance Class. We are learning a new dance in addition to our acapella routine.

Making sweet potato and regular fries for lunch. They were oh so yummy!

Snuggling with Matt this morning because papers were super late and he crawled back into bed before I had to get up.

Dancing in the living room with Tanner and R after dinner tonight. We had a "dance party". My sister Amy would be proud ; )

My awesomely, amazing friends.

Seeing that Sharon finally looks pregnant. She does not show until pretty late and it didn't seem all that real until lately when she has started showing. She's a very cute pregnant woman.

Not having my car stolen. My sister and brother in law had their Jeep stolen today! I feel so sick for them. I can't even fathom the frustration and upset.

Being one step closer every day to getting into a house!!!! Breaking ground day is going to be really soon from what we understand. We are hoping that we'll be in as early as the end of October but by Tanner's 8th b-day (Nov 21) or Christmas would be great too. We haven't been told yet when the projected finish date is. We're just waiting to be able to sign all the needed paper work. Do you want me to post pictures of the process or is that boring for most people??? I love seeing when the inside of the house is being built. The framing isn't all that exciting to me but some people might really like that. Just let me know. AHHHH!!! So exciting!

Having lunch with Tanner.

Having a body that works pretty good.

What made YOU happy today???