My last post...

at least on this blog!
Thanks to Google, I can no longer post pictures on this blog. Apparently there is a limit to how many photos you can post and what is a blog without pictures?  I started our new family blog. I feel like a failure beings I didn't finish my goal of posting everyday of 2012 like I set out to do. In my defense, I have been a little insane lately and way too emotional for typing. I will bring you up to speed on our new blog. schmalzseven.blogspot.com. It is a work in progress and I am not a very good writer, but it's the story of me and the six best things that have ever happened to me. Enjoy if you want to know what goes on in my little brain.

Oh yeah...

Happy New Year!

My 3 top goals for 2013...
*Have a more positive attitude toward myself. Particularly my body. I am so grateful that I am a strong healthy girl that has a body that works. Who cares what it looks like? Okay, I do...but I am trying to be more positive!
*I am going to try really really hard not to yell so much. Yep, my name is Stacy and I am a yeller. 'Time doth softly sweetly glide when there's love at home!'
*I have a feeling that this year is not going to be any easier than the last, but I need to change my attitude and have more courage. I know it's going to get even harder, but gosh darn it, I will face whatever is dealt with gratitude for everything I have been given, even if it's something hard.

Love ya peeps!

Today I am bummed :(

I tried to put pictures to all my past gratitude posts and apparently I am "out of space to store photo's on my blog." I had no idea I had a 1GB quota for photo's. Lame! I guess my Picture A Day 2012 Blog will end without a picture a day. What do I do now, start a new blog?

I am also grateful that I don't have to do journaling the old fashioned way thanks to my atrocious hand writing. I would always be erasing it and rewriting it until it looked perfect and that would never happen and I would end up with nothing... I have loved my blog and being able to post family happenings and my crazy thoughts and then be able to bind it all into a blog book that is my journal.

Today I am grateful that sometimes I feel sad...

did I just say that? It is so easy to be grateful for all the good stuff in our lives...all the stuff that makes us feel good...but we can't always feel good, right?

Right now I have two babies with the stomach bug and they have been feeling really crappy for two days and that breaks my heart. Even when they are big, you still feel really sad for your cuties when they are sick :(

Sometimes we feel bad...physically and emotionally. There are things that make us so frustrated and make us cry and make us question everything. There are things that make us feel bad, and down, and just plain crappy... I am grateful for those things. For one, I am grateful that I don't always feel sad, but when I do, like today, I am grateful that I pretty much can work through those sad feeling, and those times help me realize how amazing my life really is. I don't know why I have been feeling so low lately...my life has really changed the past little while. I feel sad that my parents are really struggling with their health. I feel sad that friends I felt I would always have-have pulled away and aren't so close, partly my fault, I know. Then there is the busyness that is now my life that I have been trying to adjust to and not sure I will ever get used to...It's life, and sometimes it hurts and it is lonely even with a house full of my little friends. The lowest of lows makes the good and rich times in my life that much more uplifting. The rough, uncertain times enhance the moments of joy exponentially! (Big word...I wasn't even sure quite how to spell it!)
I hate to admit it, but I have been doing some pretty good wallowing in my self pity lately and trust me, it's not pretty. It is time to figure out how to shake it...I am lucky to be reminded today that I needed to embrace the lows and allow the lessons I needed to learn come into my life.
Sad times occur to allow us to really appreciate the goodness and beauty that surrounds us every day and, for that, I am truly, truly blessed and grateful!

Today I am grateful that I get to be a mother and wife

I know I have individually expressed my gratitude for my best peeps, but today I was again reminded as my nearly 17 year old son came and gave me the tightest squeeze and told me that he was grateful for me and he was so happy that I raised him up right... how awesome it is to be a mom. I love my family so much! I can say it a million times and shout it from the tallest rooftop how much I love them and it still wouldn't be enough. The best jewels in the world are these kids of mine hanging on my neck and giving me hugs. They are a product of my best decision EVER and HE is the love of my life and I am so, so  grateful for my best friend and husband.
Boy, we have it good! 

Today I am grateful for SOPHIE!

Instead of going to black Friday sales that I know she really wanted to do, this cute girl celebrated "white Friday" with one of her best girlfriends at the temple doing baptisms for the dead. She is an awesome example to me in so many areas and I am pretty sure she teaches me more than I teach her. She is who I want to be like when I grow up...Smart, spiritual, caring, patient, BEAUTIFUL inside and out, and a great friend to whomever needs one. I love my Sophie girl and I am so honored to be her mother.

Today I am grateful that I am an American

I was born in the greatest country on earth.  She’ll always be the greatest country in my mind, no matter what stupid and/or evil things some of her people and governments may do.  This country is so vast and beautiful, and even though we may forget or take it for granted, she was and is founded on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL...I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU!

Today I am grateful for this beautiful world!

This amazing little blue marble of a planet that is filled with all sorts of life and beauty, and that you can find that beauty in everything. It is such a gift for us to enjoy and marvel in and if you take the time to really look you can see something absolutely amazing everyday.