I know that my Savior loves me!

Yesterday was our ward primary program.  I always look forward to these yet this year was the exception.  I was called into primary last Nov. as th 1st counselor. This was my first time EVER serving a Sunday primary calling besides nursery.  Also, I knew that I should have paid more attention in Oct. to the primary program because I would be writing the next year's.  I didn't even know they were written by individual wards. 

I wrote it though.  It even seemed decent.  As I went through the parts I started having all of these hangups.  As the time grew closer I kept getting confused about who was singing and who was speaking and such.  After 2 primary practices I wasn't feeling entirely confident that I could actually be a part of this and pull it off.

Saturday night met me with little sleep and the sleep that I received was more restless than anything.  I kept dreaming I couldn't find the parts the kids needed and that the program just kept running over. 

Sunday morning, I had decided to make flowers for the pulpit.  Just a small, non-intrusive, primary colors arrangement.  I made it 3 different times before I was happy.  This made me feel as though I was running behind however.

I made it to the church and after quickly changing half of the seating arrangements, the sacrament service began.  I was starting to panic...

The program began.

It was BEAUTIFUL!

The children were amazing!

I was truly touched and honored to have the privilege of being up there behind the scenes. 

There was such a sweet spirit.

Caleb played a piano solo and although I've heard the song he played non-stop for weeks I hadn't realized the extent of how well he knew and could play it.  I watched as he even knew which pedals to push and when!  Bailey gave a talk for her last primary program and it was wonderful!  Easton gave his part perfectly and was so well-behaved the entire time.

98 kids in our primary ended with standing up and saying "He lives!"  and then sang my new favorite primary song through beautifully.

I know my Savior loves me!

Lesson Learned

When Easton was younger we couldn't find the car keys one day.  He quickly went and kneeled down by the coffee table and said a quick prayer asking for help.  He jumped up and said Heavenly Father told him we would find the keys if we looked for them!  He was so happy that he had the solution all figured out. 

Last Sunday as we arrived home from California I was working on updating a few things on my ipod.  Caleb brought me Bailey's and asked if I would do the same for hers.  He set it next to the computer.  When we woke up Mon. morning however, we couldn't find it.

All week it has been right there in my head that we should easily be able to find it.  After all it couldn't have gone very far.  Usually when I can't find something I say a quick little prayer and try to think like the child who lost the item.  Where would they go with it?  I did this with the ipod.  I did it several times.  In fact, for almost a week I looked at LEAST once a day for a good amount of time each day, in hopes of finding it. 

After it had been 5 days I told the kids the first one to find it got $5.  They looked...I looked...nothing!  I started to face my fear that on the previous Mon. when I had the kids empty all of the garbages that it had accidentally been in one of the bags. I went to go dumpster diving...It was nasty, so instead I went back inside the house and looked for over an hour.  Finally, Mat offered to go look in the dumpsters.  Of course this wasn't a typical week for the garbages though.  All of the bags were buried underneath yard clippings, nasty carpet, and just nasty, nasty stuff.

I went out to see how it was going and was overwhelmed by the smell as I walked outside.  Poor Mat.  At least he had the foresight to lay out plastic to dump the contents onto.  I wouldn't have and it would have been a treat putting it all back...

Here's the crazy part:  All week, every time I walked by the treadmill upstairs I thought to lift it and look under it.  I didn't though.  WHY would it be there?  If Peyton had it there's no way she could have put it underneath.  SOOOO very many times I thought to look under it and didn't.  I kept thinking that usually when I say my little prayers for help I always find the items right away.  However, I knew in my mind this time would not be that easy.  I was missing something. 

Late last night I was up washing Bailey's gym clothes and the thought to look under it came again.  I walked past it and then turned around reluctantly to lift it.  After all I HAD looked everywhere else.  Even as I was lifting it I was thinking how stupid it was that it wouldn't and couldn't be there.

Yeah, it was there.

I need to notice what is right in front of me more and not feel the need to look beyond that.  I am humbled by how SUCH an insignificant item taught me such a simple lesson that I already knew but was overlooking.

It's that time of year.

100% my absolute favorite time of year is upon us! While each fall seems to get crazier and crazier with the kids involved in so many different things I LOVE all of it! I love soccer season. Oh how I miss playing the game myself...I get so excited to watch Caleb and Easton play the game I grew up loving. Caleb does exactly what you tell him to so he does well and scores regularly. Easton is his own person but "gets" the game. He knows where to stand and how to play it. I love watching him use soccer as an outlet for his aggressiveness. The apple sure doesn't fall too far from the tree with that kid!
I love the cool air (not cold). I love the smell and the feel in the air. I love shopping for pumpkins and starting the "phantom" in our neighborhood.

I love how luscious our flowers and grass looks as the air starts to cool. It makes for some rather purdy photos!
Even though it's the sign of winter approaching and cold air following I love that fall is also the beginning of the holiday season and all of the parties, family time, and excitement that follow.
Yeah, I pretty much LOVE it!

Because they need their own post.

Three of my favorite things include:

My girls,

Shopping,

Receiving packages in the mail.

Needless to say Etsy.com has become one of my favorite things to spend time on. I get to shop, get packages in the mail, and dress up my girls (namely Peyton) in darling outfits! Woohoo!

I took some photos of Peyton in some of her Etsy clothes and just thought they needed to be included in our record. Heehee.

A REAL vacation!

Fall break is this weekend and since there was no soccer, cheer, school, etc., we took off to California for a few days. We actually took the kids out of school on Thursday so that we could hopefully miss some of the weekend crowds in Disneyland.
It wasn't Peyton's first time in Disneyland but it was the first time she was old enough to enjoy it the way the older kids do. She LOVES Mickey Mouse and all of the Disney characters. She was so excited to see Mickey's clubhouse and ride the teacups. While it is a blast going on the older kid rides it is such a pleasure to see Peyton's happiness through her younger eyes.
Of course the kids could have been just as happy swimming in the hotel pool or spending every minute at the cold beach but they did have to appease mom and dad by spending a few days at the park. Poor things!

After a lot of the traditional "Holt stuffing of the shoes" Easton was able to ride California Screaming for the first time and loved it! The park wasn't too busy at all and the weather was perfect.

Peyton loved the parades, the shows, the kiddie rides. She was in HEAVEN!
The older kids went on every ride they could have hope for and were happy to ride the teacups time after time for Peyton's benefit.

Both mom and dad got to spend quality time with Peyton and the older kids.

We are so blessed to be able to spend time together as a family. As the kids grow older and need mom and dad less we cherish our time with them more.
I could be worng but I think that they even like spending time with us as well.

How grateful I am.

When Mat proposed to me it was very simple. I think Heavenly Father was helping him with it a bit because right after I said yes a rainbow appeared in the sky on the overlook we were at. I took it as a sign that the hardship of having him leave on a mission for two years would be a blessing to us. It has been an amazing blessing! We have four wonderful children and last week celebrated 12 years together!

The day before our anniversary however, was quite solemn. I've hugged my kids a little tighter and listened to them a little more since. The day started out very frustrating for me. I kept wanting to take Peyton on a walk and enjoy the fall weather but the rain would start back up each time I went outside. I even tried to mow the lawn but each time the rain would start back up. At one point I decided I would just mow in the rain and the lawn mower wouldn't start back up. I resigned to spending the day indoors and went online...

I noticed posts on facebook about how worried people were about two of the boys from the high school. I asked my friend what was going on and was horrified to hear that two boys were struck by lightning waiting for a ride just blocks from my house! My heart was heavy and I was worried sick about boys I didn't know and their families. Bailey was receiving texts that they both were killed and I was beside myself. I checked into the story myself and found that the boys were alive and holding on...

The kids went outside during one of the breaks in the storm and a beautiful double rainbow appeared in the sky. I wondered how such a sad thing could happen with such a beautiful promise outside.

Thankfully, one of the boys is back at home and expected to return to school soon, while the other is making progress toward recovery! I am so happy these boys are healing! I am so grateful for the safety of my own children and the privilege I have to be their mother.

My favorite hiking spot.

Back in high school I spent a very miserable night camping with some friends. It was dark when we hiked in and we were sleeping under the stars on a particularly windy night. The sand blasting my skin all night was quickly forgotten in the morning when I awoke to a gorgeous little cove surrounded by white sandstone. The hike into the cove is under a mile and when visited in the spring or summer is simply gorgeous.

A few weeks ago was General Conference and after the morning session we knew we'd be asking a lot to have our kids sit through another session without a nice break. We headed up to the white sand dunes in Snow Canyon armed with a play parachute, snow sled, umbrella, and lunch. Quite the combination of items. The sled was too be used to ride down the sand hill in the cove but we quickly discovered this was NOT the brightest idea. The sled moved very slowly down the hill and it was torture to keep climbing back up it. The umbrella was unnecessary due to the overcast skies which made for a beautiful fall day until we looked over and the overcast skies quickly became dark ones. Mat had the idea to take the parachute and umbrella and make a shelter that we would wait out the storm in. I had and idea to get the heck out of there! Guess who won! We grabbed all of our gear and the kids. Peyton was not happy with the fact that she was being carried to the car rather than walking and the kids were bummed that we didn't get to make a shelter. While I'm sure in theory the rainstorm would have been an adventure by the time we reached the van and pulled away there was a full blown storm happening. Lighting, drenching rains, the works. Silly me for enjoying it from the comfort of my minivan. :)