Memorial Day

Jesse and I debated back an forth if we should do a garden this year and we looked at the garden today and thought "If we work together we could get it all weeded, tilled and the garden in by the end of the day!" So we got to work as a family getting the garden ready.

Little did we realize It took us all day just to weed it. Haha. But...

 ...it was worth it all. 8 full hours of hard work. Never taking a break unless to eat or go pickup plants. We got it all done except the planting. But that's ok, there is always tomorrow.

But the reason I wanted to post about is the tender moments (in between the whining) we had together as a family. Everyone put in a lot of effort today and the reward of it, was worth all of it!

Meeting Baby Phoenix Jay

Chantel has been miserable the past few days because she's been overdue and trying everything to get baby to come. And it finally came to the point where she needed to be induced.  After a long day Baby Phoenix Jay Warner made his debut into this world. He's a cutie. 

It was weird going to LDS hospital and not being the one having the baby.  But I enjoyed going there to see my sissy and her new baby.

Best part is since her and Tyler are renting our basement that I get to have a baby fix whenever I want and need. Haha. And I love the idea of being able to help Chan when she needs it.

Spring Season Football Comes to a Close

Ryker had his first season where he didn't win a whole lot of games. It was tough to see his team  not do as well as he has done in the previous seasons. He tends to be the star and play alot. But the coach didn't seem as invested in the season as Ryker needed. But We decided that by not winning almost as good as winning. He still learned from it and that's really the whole point of him playing . It's to learn and grow. He was disappointed that his team got eliminated after the first round in the tournament though. 

As for Cy his team took FIRST in thier age division tournament. His coach is so great. Matter of fact they are signing up the whole team and coach for the next 2 seasons. He was pretty excited about it.

Tournament Champs!!!

Kindergarten Graduation

Kindergarten has been quite the year. Almost every morning Cyrus had a tough time wanting to go to school. Which made for a tough time getting us out the door. Often he would be irritated and sensitive about his clothes causing a chain reaction to fretting and melting down. I often was dealing with this on my own because Jesse was coming or going from work. Cy also had a tough time staying focused in class. Thankfully he had such a great teacher that helped him earn stickers everyday so that he could stay on track for the day. Most days it worked. We just had to take each day one at a time and work together. We did notice improvements over the course of the school year.  It really is an adjustment going from preschool to a big school. I think alot of it had to do with him testing his the boundaries and learning what is appropriate in school (like throwing a snowball at a girl's head is not).

The Graduation program was so cute and well done. Every rough morning was worth seeing Cyrus singing his heart out for his Graduation. All smiles and so proud of himself makes me so proud of the growth that came out of this year! Congrats Cy Guy! Can't believe you are going to be a First Grader!

Ms. Sanos was our life saver this school year. She is one incredibly patient teacher.

Proud Parents!

These 2 are partners in crime. Kam and Cy.  They were known to get in trouble together. But because loved being together we often got to use a play date with Kam as an incentive for a good day at school. They are darn cute though huh?

Mother's Day Weekend

Last night we treated Mama Heidi to dinner to celebrate Mother's Day with her. We could be with her today so we thought it would be nice to get together the day before. I love her like she's my own mom. Since day one of being "Smith" she has treated me like her own daughter and because of that we have grown so close.  I am so grateful for her and everything she does for me and my family. She's a good woman and loves me. Flaws and All!

Today my heart is very full. Getting ready for church is always nuts and there is usually one or more of us that may have a breakdown. But once we arrived to sacrament meeting and watched my boys singing about their mothers brought tears to my eyes and my heart was touched. I was reawakened to the gratitude I have to be a mother to these 3 boys. I love them and blessed to be their Mom!!!

I couldn't allow my own mom to cook dinner on Mother's day. So I had my family over and cooked dinner for them all. So grateful for for her and all she has done for me throughout my life. She's one of a kind.

Mother's Day can be tough when your mother deserves an island when all you can afford is a candle. So when you can't afford to buy her that island she deserves, you bake the most amazing German Chocolate Cake for her instead.

12 year Anniversary

Can you believe that it's been yet another year? Why does this make me feel emotional when I think about it? I honestly just feel like it was only a few years ago that we met. But that was 13 years ago. 12 of those years were marriage. I love it though. I love what we have grown into. I love looking back on the infancy of our marriage and think about how little I knew. I love looking at Jesse and have the "home" feeling with him. He really is my whole world and often the fear of living without him creeps in and it feels like a dark place. This world would definitely feel darker without him. 

Over the weekend we went on a little date that Jesse was in charge of this year. And he took me to Chik-fil-a for dinner and Nielson's Frozen custard before we went and saw a movie. It was a simple night, nothing fancy. But that was perfect for us. It's not very often we get to be alone together, so talking over dinner and seeing a Marvel movie. Every year there is always a new Marvel movie that comes out on our anniversary weekend. For 6 or 7 years now we've been doing that. It's tradition by this point we have to stick with it.  

Looking back on these pictures makes me so happy because 12 years later we are still going strong!!!

Being together for 12 years has brought us so many JOYS. These 3 boys being a few of those. We live for these boys. My days are filled with things all because of them. Some days it feels nuts, but I think I'd be pretty bored otherwise.

Happy Anniversary Jesse! You are truly the love of my life. Thank you for everything!

Salon Move

So, the past 2 months has been one of the hardest emotional journey's I've ever been on. But I cant share all of it on here. But know that it was very trying on my heart. Nothing left I could do but was to turn to the Lord. Even though my heart was so full of many emotions that the Lord was able to guide me an direct me in what I needed to do. 

About the last week of March I had a prompting that I needed to leave Sheer Indulgence. Matter of fact a salon fell in my lap.  I wasn't even looking, but it was clear that I should leave. With prayer I went to go and look at this salon. Feeling like I was 75% green light. But when I walked through it something about it didn't sit well with my heart. 

I went home feeling confused. Why would I have this prompting and this salon fall into my lap? And then feel not good about it? 

I decided that I would wait another month and pay April's rent at Sheer Indulgence and hope that things at the salon would get better. I fasted, prayed and went to the temple with my questions. Hoping for some clarity on my original prompting.

As the month of April went on things just weren't getting better and I dreaded going to work everyday and felt miserable there. I would leave work and bring home all the worked up feelings I had inside. All the emotions I was feeling was beginning to overwhelm me. My happy go lucky self was getting burried and I was a depressed, ornery mom and wife. And my boys and husband don't deserve that. 

One day as I'm miserably sitting in the break room  at work, I decided to Call 38th Street Salon to see if they were even hiring . A friend of mine (back when I looked at the other salon) suggested that salon. I called and the owner was the one who answered and  I was able to ask her if they were hiring full time stylists. And she said yes. As I was talking  with her about the details, I felt a glimpse of hope. We arranged to meet the next morning to walk through the salon together. 

Before we went Jesse and I said a prayer together asking for guidance if this was the place for me. When I arrived and started walking through the salon together, I had the most calming and peaceful feeling come over me. Something I hadn't felt in a long time. 

In that moment I felt my answer. The Spirit confirmed to me that this was the place for me. It's a big change to uproot my career of 11.5 years and change locations. I am a creature of habit. Hence why I have been in the same location for so long. But with the Lord on my side taking this leap of faith felt easier. 

As soon as I left there I went straight to my boss and told him I was leaving. I had no doubt in my mind I was making the right decision. He was very understanding but sad that I was leaving. I told him I didn't want anyone to know I was leaving. I didn't need their fake goodbyes and the questions. He respected that. 

In my own time I told Harmoni, Amber, Linzie and Lynette. The small handful of people who I could call my friends. But I left unannounced and in the night. Last week was the longest and hardest week on me. I couldn't wait to get out of there, but I was also feeling emotionally broken by this point. I needed to get away. The days went by so slow. 

Once Friday came I was thrilled. I waited until 9:30pm to go in and clear my stuff out. With no one there. It was rather therapeutic to clean out my station and throw things away that I didn't need anymore. Like I was cleansing myself of that place. Which really is sad to say. I've loved working there up until the past 2 months. Never thought I'd want to leave and here I was. 

Jesse was so sweet Monday and Tuesday to help me get all set up with new lighting and a new mirror in my new place. Sacrificing ALOT of his time , needs and wants for me. For his broken wife. He's really a saint for seeing me through all of this because I haven't been right. It's great to have him around to help me in my tough times. So blessed to have him as my husband. Honestly.

So tonight I finished up my first day in my new place! And looking back on this experience has strengthened my testimony of the power of prayer! I've learned ever more that God is in EVERY aspect of my life! He's very aware of me, loves me and even cares about where I work.

Looking forward to a new chapter in my life.