Do You Ever Wonder???

It's almost 1:00 AM, my eyes are burning, my feet are swollen and I really think I should be in bed sleeping... but here I sit thinking about life and a sweet friend of mine... I feel like I would like to cry actually. Sometimes, I just wonder why??? I know that everyone has different trials, but why does illness have to be one of them. I often times feel sorry for myself and the few health issues I have had to deal with. Boo Wah Tracy... life is so hard. I have those days that I can hardly walk or do my girls hair and think "why do I have to deal with this stupid disease"! Why doesn't my husband understand the pain I feel? Why do I have to have an ugly 10 inch scar down my abdomen? Why did I end up with a bowel reconstruction, instead of just a "simple" case of appendicitis? Why-o-why do I have to deal with health issues when I have a husband that is totally healthy and I can hardly keep up with him. Some days I feel like the poor guy got stuck with a lemon of a car when he married me.

Then, I think of my friend who is battling cancer. She has a young family with 2 beautiful girls and a loving husband. Why does she have to suffer through this trial? Why did another sweet young mom I know lose her battle with cancer? There's another mom that lived through a plane crash and lives everyday in constant pain from burns on her body and she is just so happy to be here, alive, with her children and husband. All these amazing women have such positive attitudes on life and being mothers. There are so many men and women who keep fighting their battles with a smile, faith and love... How does someone cross over from the "wo is me" person to the happy, smiling person that hobbles around and is just grateful that there was another day to wake up and see her beautiful children? Happy to be able to spend a day playing games and laughing with them?

Maybe we all have our "wo is me" days... we just try to keep them to ourselves. I understand "The Plan" and I really do know why we have trials in life. I just wish that illnesses didn't have to be one of them. I remember what my own mother suffered through for many years. Maybe everything is just so fresh on my mind because of Memorial Day and visiting her grave. Life is but a moment in the grand scheme of things and this mortal life can be over in a blink of an eye... I just think of my friend and pray that she has many years to spend with her sweet family. Her kids deserve to know her well, because she is an amazing person. I'm just choked up right now... I'm rambling and just have lots of thoughts running through my mind tonight that I wanted to write down.

I hope that when I have "one of those days" I can think of my friends that fight their battles with a smile on while they continue to press forward. Thanks for all your wonderful examples!!

Luvs and Hugs... Tracy

My Beautiful Girls...

Our cousin took these photos of my girls. We drove to Lehi to have Kaia's 7 year photos taken and Taylor wanted to join in the fun. I think they turned out beautiful! Check out Cori's website and blog. She is amazing!!

http://www.corihenderson.com/

Thinking about life...

Tonight I was just going to get on the computer for a few minutes (it's been two and a half hours now) to upload some photos of the girls. One click, another click, another... and the next thing I knew I was reading the "Nie Nie Dialogues". I then began reading the Oprah interview with Stephanie Nielson, watching news clips on her and her family. I am truly amazed at the faith that this couple has shown in their trials. From their experience, story and how they are dealing with life, they are reaching out and teaching so many others about: Love, Faith, The Gospel, Eternal Families and what life is really all about. I keep thinking to myself "Would I be as strong as Stephanie Neilson if I were in her shoes?" I have been choked up for the past few hours...

I feel inspired to want to be a better mommy, wife, friend and person. To live life to the fullest and enjoy even the most trivial of things. Every second counts, as you may never know if you'll have a second chance to make it all count. My kids are my world and I need and want to appreciate all that it stands for. I have been blessed with an innumerable amount of blessings and I wonder if I really take the time to see it all.

This story has touched my heart as well as the John Jones story... I have been touched deeply. How in one moment, a certain choice made, everything changed for his little family. His little girl that won't really remember her daddy and the unborn baby... It just breaks my heart. I want to make every second count, so my kids will only remember the good about me. From all that I have read on John, what an incredible legacy he has left for his family. I hope that my "B" and I can achieve that for our children...

Until the next time...

The Beginnings of Fall...

I can't believe how truly pathetic we have been with our blog. Where do all you amazing mom's (and dad's) find the time to do it all? I am lucky if I have my house picked up and the kids hair combed.

Things are moving along rather rapidly in life. I can't hardly believe we have been in the school year for almost 3 months. Kaia and Taylor have been extremely busy. Somedays I think they are a little too busy as I have forgotten our schedule and have neglected to get them where they needed to be a few times. I don't know if it's just because life is busy or I'm losing brain power. Probably a little of both...

The girls have been able to participate in a few extracurricular activities. They've enjoyed exploring the world of dance, gymnastics, music and soccer. Taylor loves it. She is really good at what she does, but is a little timid in her attempts at gymnastics and soccer. We told the girls that if they will score a goal in soccer, we'll give them $5 for each goal. That motivated Taylor to run a little harder and kick the ball. Kaia, well, we now owe her $15 after this past week. Kaia is pretty aggressive and seems to do really well in all that she tries. They are both so beautiful and talented, so it always amazes me how different they are.

Evan is just a handful. We love that little guy, but man is he busy. He totally cracks us up! He is so curious about everything. I love to watch him. I can almost see the wheels turning as he processes the world around him. I wish that I still looked at the world through a child's eyes.

As for Brandon and I, things are going well. The practice is doing good and we were able to close on our house this past Tuesday. We are now officially homeowners again. It feels so nice to be settled and to call our home ours. The neighborhood we live in is great. The kids are making friends and it feels really safe. Halloween was a hoot. Our neighbors had a soup dinner with a fire pit in the street and hot cocoa and donuts for all the trick-or-treaters. It ended up being a late night of visiting and laughing. I've never seen so many people out walking around in one place.

We feel so blessed to be where we are in life. We have 3 healthy, beautiful kids, many friends and a loving extended family. We are grateful for the gospel in our lives and love seeing our children's testimony grow. One of my favorite things to hear is the girls when they pray. Tonight Taylor said that she loves everyone (she named us one by one) and that she loves herself, Jesus and Heavenly Father. I think that is one of the most precious things I've ever heard. The simple faith of a child...

Until next time...


Taylor's first day of Kindergarten


Kaia's first day of 1st grade





Halloween



That $5 goal is paying off


Over the past few months, several of you have asked to see a photo of our home... I have felt a little funny posting it, but with the blog being a sort of journal, I thought I would post it since we have actually signed. We would LOVE to have visitors!! Come see us in beautiful St George...

Alive and Well...

Okay, so we haven't been the best at blogging. However, I've been given some guff from a few of you out there and thought that I should update our blog since we haven't done anything with it since last November. Has it really been 9 months? Where does all the time go.... It's only 10 minutes before midnight and I not going to update with anymore photos tonight, but just thought I would let you all know to check back here in the next week or so and I'll try and update you on the St. George Henderson's. Until then... Peace, Love and Rock n Roll...

Taylor's 4 Year Old Portraits

This is my absolute favorite photo of Tay Tay!







Taylor is such a special little girl and we love her so much. She is the best mommy's helper, always willing to share with her sister Kaia and always loving on her little brother Evan. I can't imagine life without my beautiful little Taylor.

The Little Mermaid - Taylor's 4th Birthday - May 15th, 2008

Since I was just recovering from my little "bowel resection surgery", I decided not to have a party at my house and discovered the beauty of having a party elsewhere. It was the best! No mess to clean up and the kids had a ton of fun. We had it at the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center, so I thought a mermaid theme would go nicely. We fed the kids dinner, ate cake and opened gifts. Then it was off to the pool, until someone found a floating specimen and everyone had to get out. Good thing it was only 15 minutes before the party was ending or we might have had a riot going on. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun and was super easy to do. I think I have been converted!

May 2008 Graduation

Here are some photos of the girls pre-school graduation from Barefoot Montessori. It was too cute watching them walk across the stage in their little gowns!

This is the girls best friend from pre-school. They hit it off really fast because her name is Kaia as well. The girls thought that was great!

The girls with their teachers.

Spring Time Fun

Barefoot Gym Review

As part of the pre-school program at Barefoot Montessori, Kaia and Taylor were able to take gymnastics. At the end of the year, we had a gym review showing us parents what the kids had been doing all year long. It was great fun to watch them on the balance beam and the bars!