Last Day of School Today

Well, it has finally arrived! The Last Day of School. To prepare for this glorious day, we had some major snuggle time on the couch last night!

It was a great time! We watched The Wiggles Christmas Show. I know it's not Christmas yet, but it's the only Wiggles show we own, and the girls just LOVE it! They either sit completely still and are glued to the television, or they wiggle, wiggle, wiggle and dance, dance, dance!

Jenna was so anxious for the last day of school that she went to bed 15 minutes early! AND fell asleep right away! She was working hard to plan out her day today. You see, they get their yearbooks today, and she does not agree with how they have them signing them. They are giving them "regular" paper (6 sheets for $1) and selling Sharpies to sign them with. "Mom, the Sharpie will leak through the paper! And $1 is way too much for just 6 sheets of paper that have the word autographs typed across the top!" She makes me laugh. So, she decided they could just sign inside her book and she wore an older T-shirt and took multiple colored Sharpies so her friends could sign her shirt! That girl.

My mom always took my picture on the first day of school and the last day of school. So, here is her last day of school picture (I think I forgot to take the first day of school picture this year!)

Isn't she beautiful? She has grown up so much this past year! (sniff...sniff...teardrops!) In a few hours she will go from being a 6th grader to a 7th grader. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone?

Here she is with her best friend Katherine! These two are always hanging out together. They ride their bikes to school together, so they meet over at our house every morning.

Zoie and Baylee woke up rearing to go this morning! Their dad was still around, and nothing makes them happier! He stuck his head in their room to say "good morning!" and they were all giggles and squeals of delight!

Here is their last day of school picture! These are a bit more difficult to get! But, I did my best!

Baylee wouldn't put her crunchy book down, so it's covering her precious smile! They had a good nights' rest (which are few and far between) and were all giggles this morning! What a great way to start the last day of school. In a few hours, they will be 2nd graders. (more sniff....sniff....teardrops!)

Tomorrow, who knows what's in store?! We are all home tomorrow, Andy too! So, maybe we'll go to the YMCA to swim! Now wouldn't that be a great start to the summer?!

A Great Start to Memorial Weekend

We started out Friday Night having a social at Buffalo Park for church. There was kite flying, bubbles, games, and of course the playground.

Zoie and Baylee LOVED playing in the sand! They just kept going back to it. Needless to say, we had to soak clothes for quite some time in the washer, and the girls had to have baths right when we got home.

When not playing in the sand, Zoie and Baylee were chasing the geese.

They were enjoying that so much. But, there was a woman feeding the geese, and the geese were getting a little upset with Zoie and Baylee! So, we made them go back to the sand.

Jenna had a good time too. She very seldom lets me take her picture now, but here's one I was able to get.

We live close to the park, so we walked there. It was a beautiful evening, with just enough breeze to keep the girls cool. When we were finished with our playing, we headed home via walking and strollers! Jenna rode her bike. She loves doing this, that way she doesn't have to be seen right beside us! ;)

The weekend was then filled with craziness. Saturday we didn't have to do much. Sunday was church, and we took dinner to a family whose mom was in the hospital. Monday, enjoyed time with Andy's parents. They love the kids so much! They are so good to them. They even plumbed in hot water to their outside spigot so that the girls wouldn't have to swim in cold water! I know, don't we all wish we had hot water coming out of the hose to fill a small pool with! Then at least it wouldn't be such a shock when we stick our feet in!

They are genuine and wonderful grandparents! They live for their grandchildren, and my kids are very lucky to have them. They have all their grandparents here in town. How lucky can they be?!

Hope everyone had a restful weekend, and were able to remember those who have passed with fond memories. For me, I remember them fondly all year round! God bless you all!

Jenna's First Youth Temple Trip

Now that Jenna is 12 years old, she is a part of the youth program at our church. It is so exciting! She is growing up so fast though. She had a big weekend last weekend. She had her first youth temple trip. She enjoyed the ride to Oklahoma City with the girls. The temple is a wonderful place, where sacred ordinances are performed. On their trips, the youth get to participate in some of those ordinances. She was so excited!

The Young Women group that she is a part of is full of some of the greatest young women. They are wonderful examples to Jenna. Kind and generous and willing to serve! I couldn't be happier for Jenna! She has so many wonderful experiences coming up in the future. She will be creating terrific memories.

I, personally love the temple. It is a place where the wordly things leave your mind, and where you can focus on the spiritual things! It is a beautiful building that makes you feel at home. It is the House of the Lord, and a holy place where utmost reverance is practiced.

The sky was so beautiful that day, and created the perfect backdrop for the steeple of the temple. It seems to almost glow! There was a nice breeze, and mild weather. It was perfect! Jenna really enjoyed this experience, and I was so glad that Andy and I could enjoy this experience with her.

Random Acts of Kindness

Watched this and was very touched. It is the random acts of kindness that touch our hearts. Sometimes in the world we live in today, we forget to do these things. Our Father in Heaven counts on us to take care of each other, just as these young boys did. I have been blessed often by random acts of kindness. It warms my heart all over again, each and every time I hear of them.

I try very hard to be insightful, to listen to the holy ghost. I know that if I will listen, that I too, will be given the opportunity to provide those random acts of kindness, to bless someone else, and to warm their hearts. God Bless all of you out there that perform these acts of kindness...for you are truly sons and daughters of God.

Update

I have been absolutely horrible at keeping up on my blog. Read this quote today by Charles Dickens.."No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." For some reason today this struck a chord. We often get wrapped up in the worldly things going on around us, and honestly, when I am serving others, I am happiest. So this quote helped me a lot today. I don't often feel useless, but sometimes helpless when trying to help someone else. When a dear friend is going through bitter times, when your child has a boo boo, or when you are just feeling "off" But, seriously, this quote is true. There are many times that a smile from me to the grocery clerk, could change their day. There are times when you just feel someone could use a visit....you visit them, and make their day. So, I found it necessary to share this quote with others.

I hope this silly picture of me helps to bring smiles to your faces. I was suppose to be posing for a Vogue-type shot, instead I look like I should be in the video of "Walk like an Egyptian!"

Life is so short. We should definitely focus on happy times. Life has ups and downs, but ultimately we choose which way we want our life to end up. I choose to be happy. No matter what curve ball life decides to throw at me....I will live a happy life!

The picture above is of my daughter, Jenna and my two nieces. Ah, to be young and carefree! They truly do look like Vogue Models. Do you think they could give me some pointers!

Anyhow, to update on the goings-on in the Headley household. Jenna turned 12 on April 2nd. I know, horrible mom...I didn't put anything on the blog about that. Well, she is now preparing for her first girls' camp this summer. She is extremely excited for this. My dad's birthday was on May 9th. He just turned 57. My grandma (his mom) came to town to celebrate. And of course, as always, we celebrated Mother's Day the same time.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. Zoie and Baylee woke me up at 9:00AM, and I started their movie up, and thought I'd just go lay down for a little bit, they didn't make a peep! I slept until 11AM!!!!! I was so shocked when I saw the clock that I shot out of bed like a young tyke! While I was in the shower, the hubby got home from his early church meetings. We have a journal that I started in December. It was a gift I gave to him for Christmas. It's our "Love You" journal. We started keeping it so that when our children are older, they will have something from us to remember how much we loved each other, and how much we love them. So, he wrote in this journal for mother's day. It was a wonderful passage. He and Jenna then made our Brunch. We went to church. Then came home and popped our dinner in the oven (which I had prepared on Saturday to try to do better at keeping the Sabbath Day for rest!) Had a nice dinner with a delicious Strawberry Shortcake dessert! It was a wonderful start for this week.

Church is always a great way to gain perspective for the week to come. It rejuvenates the spirit and refreshes the soul. I'm so grateful to have the ability to be reminded of my worth! And, church always has a really nice Mother's Day meeting. It always makes me feel really good, and also points out areas where I could maybe work a little harder.

Basically that's all that's been going on (aside from dr's appointments and dental appointments for the kids--I won't bore you with details!)

God Bless all those Mother's that I look up to so much! I have learned much from many! Again, I will try to do better and come up with new pictures to post.