NEW MOON!!!~!

I was watching the MTV Movie Awards, and they showed the NEW MOON trailer!! I am ridiculously excited, I think I will read the book again! November 21st cannot come soon enough!! I am posting the trailer!! ENJOY! Completely Gratuitous

NOT down with the sickness!!!

The last week or so, here in the Schrader home, we have all been sick!! It all started with Tyson. He came home and was a little under the weather, but in just a few hours was full on SICK!! I mean congestion, really bad sore throat, and he just sounded horrible. I think we are getting sick more often here in Vegas because of allergies because we never got sick this often and there is a lot of dust in the air.

Tyson felt better after a few days, we thought we were in the clear, but then Kai got sick with tonsillitis, Ashtyn then got sick with Croup, and now, of course, I am sick. Wonderful!! And when mommy is sick, I can't take a day off work and I didn't have Tyson here to help me...yikes, my poor kids were probably bored to death.

I wish we could have done something as a family for Memorial Day weekend, but I am hoping next year we can celebrate it the right way. I also hope the sick bandit will not visit us again for a long, long time, or EVER if that were possible.:) (knock on wood) I hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend!!!

Confessions.............

I opened my pantry today to a small variety of things to eat. I desperately need to go shopping. Anyway, There sat a bag of Frosted Mini Wheats that has been there forever! I don't like them very much because there is not enough "frost" in my opinion. So, I had a clever plan, I ate half the bag of mini wheats by biting off the part with the frosting and throwing the rest away.... I am still convinced that it was healthy... I realized how very pathetic this was, but I kept going, thinking it would make a great "confessions" post.....

Peace...................

I have been writing a little on this blog about how I have recently (the last few months) have been attending the LDS church again. At first, I did it for my kids, so they could learn the values that the LDS church teaches, mostly because I think it lays a great foundation in which to build your life around. I did not have the desire at first to gain anything from it for myself, I still had a few negative feelings regarding things I remember from years ago when I use to attend church often.

I went a few times, I saw how much my kids really loved it. They made friends, Kai was telling me what he learned and he just loves learning things about Jesus and baptism, it leaves him hungry for more. Ashtyn loves wearing her pretty dress to church and show everyone, she loves to sing the songs and make new friends. I could not take that away from them, ever.

I then started taking the missionary lessons, I have been baptized into the church when I was 8 years old, but I still wanted to talk to the missionaries. I am so glad I did, I learned that many things I questioned about the church were misunderstandings on my part because I was barely a teenager when I stopped going.
I now have a growing desire in my heart to keep attending and I am always at peace when I am there and when I am searching through the scriptures.

Ever since I started going, I have noticed that there have been some hard times and very harsh words said to me and about me that attack my character. I usually let this kind of thing consume me and I get sick to my stomach if I feel that someone is angry with me. I was told to pray about this, I did. I prayed a lot. I cannot deny how my feelings changed. I am still somewhat discouraged by things that were said, I am only human, but I am not letting it consume me and I feel at peace knowing there is nothing I can do about how someone else feels about me, I cannot change it.

This is a big step for me and I KNOW that opening my heart to the gospel has allowed me to do this. I know this sounds so cheesy and cliche, but it is how I feel.
I know there are still going to be many bumps along the road and I have a long way to go, but I know I am not the only one struggling. It's just so refreshing to feel so peaceful and know that I am on the right track.

What does a Teapot smell like??

Here is a confession. I decided to make some English Tea ( I LOVE IT) this morning and I filled up my electric tea kettle, which only takes 90 seconds to boil the water. After it started to boil, the steam blows out of the spout. Something smelled funny. I was CLEARLY not thinking straight and I automatically bent down and took a big whiff right in the line of fire! The steam went straight up my nose and burned it so bad, the hairs inside my nose are much, much smaller now! It hurt so bad. I have never had a burn on the inside of my nostril before and it isn't fun!! But I know its funny because, seriously, who does this???

Mom.................

Today while I was sitting in church and listening to talks given about Mother's, I started thinking about my mom and how different my life would be with her here. I thought about what a wonderful grandma she would be and how comforting it would be to be able to call her and talk about everything and know that she is there for me and has unconditional love. I do not feel sorry for myself when I think of her, I mostly think about what a wonderful example she set for me and my sisters. My mother was very spiritual and she was a very faithful member of the LDS church. She left behind her journals and I am so grateful because it has been such a blessing to have these and get to know her through her words, she was an amazing writer.
The journal in particular that is the most powerful thing I have ever read, is the one written the year she passed away. Even towards the end my mother was humble, hopeful, and accepting of what she was going through. Here is part of an entry she wrote in her journal that shows the kind of person that she was;

"As I have so many other times in my life and now as I face my greatest trial, I will surely "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, in all ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths for good."
Thank you dear Heavenly Father for everything. I can never truly express it fully, but I will do my very best in the time that is mine."

I do not know if I could be as humble as my mother was. I hope that I demonstrate some of the qualities she had, and that is my goal, to be like her.
I am proud to be the daughter of such a strong and courageous woman. So, on this Mother's Day, I wanted to say how thankful I am for my mother's example and for my beautiful sisters that are also examples to me everyday.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Today, being Saturday, we celebrated Mother's Day a little early due to Tyson's work schedule. For the first time in forever, I did not have the kids dragging me out of bed to wake me up, I woke up around 9:30 to the smell of baking in the kitchen downstairs. I decided to clean my bedroom and wait to see what was going on later because I was enjoying the time to myself and the quiet that RARELY happens in my house. After about an hour I decided to go downstairs, the kids were eating breakfast, (cooked by Tyson) and he had a plate waiting for me. "HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!" my two kids yelled, and Tyson handed me two cards and this COOL little gadget, a digital photo key chain. (he said the kids picked it out) It was soooo sweet and the kids were so excited. Ashtyn had a mouthful of pancake and she ran up to me and says, "Mom, that's for you, it's your day!" It warmed my heart. I think every mom will agree with me when I say that nothing is sweeter than the cards and the homemade things we get from our family on Mother's Day. So, Happy Mother's Day to all of you beautiful, hardworking, loving, and supportive mom's out there, this one is for you!!!

Pay it forward................

My cousin started this and I think it's a fabulous idea!
And then there is this....
The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have restrictions and limitations: I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! What I create will be just for you. It will be done this year. You may have to be patient. You will have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be poetry or maybe even some creation I haven't invented yet. I may draw or paint something. (that would be funny). I may bake you something and mail it to you. I may even sew something for you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure! I reserve the right to do something extremely strange. Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who comment on your blog. (Or if you don't have a blog I will just trust that you will do nice things for 3 people this next year.) I am excited to create something just for you! Hurry quick...comment! Then go pay it forward.
I copied and pasted what she had written on her blog, she is WAY more creative than I am,but I think this is a good idea to demonstrate service. I cannot take any credit for thinking of it! Visit my cousins blog, she is amazing!!

Like father, like son..................

Oddee.com..........

A friend referred me to this site and it is so good! It has top 10, top 15 lists for tons of interesting and fun stuff, you have to check it out!! Here is Tyson's favorite list, you will know why once you read it!! ENJOY!!

My husband, the hero.

WARNING: Those of you with a sensitive gag reflex may want to stop reading this now, the following contains mushy love talk! :)
I know I boast a lot on this blog about my kids and my husband, but I think everyone does that, and if you can't do that on your own blog, where else can you??
Tyson is such a great husband and father, I cannot say enough about him. My favorite qualities in him are his patience, his sense of humor and his fierce loyalty to me and the kids, I love his integrity and the fact that he always stands up for what he knows is right no matter what he is up against. He is my rock, my sanctuary and my best friend. He is always there for me and he knows how to put me in my place when I need it (which is all too often:) He is such a good provider and he works so hard for us. All in all he is a good man and is an example to husbands and fathers everywhere! I love ya babe! Thanks again for the fabulous present!!

Ashtyn's date night!

Since Kai is out of town with his dad, we decided to take Ashtyn out for a date with Tyson and I. It took us some time to try and think of something fun to do, so we decided on bowling, we were not sure if she would like it or not, but we found out soon enough.

Turns out Ashtyn LOVES bowling, it was black light Saturday, so all the bowling balls were bright colors and they had music playing.

We set up one of those little ramps that Ashtyn could roll the ball down, she threw that thing as hard as she could down the ramp.


While Ashtyn was waiting for us to take our turns, she grabbed my camera out of the case and just started taking pics of me and Tyson and have me take ones of her, here are some of her shots.....



All in all, we had an absolute blast and Ashtyn was the cutest thing I'd ever seen, doing twirls on the bowling floor and dancing. The only thing that was missing was Kai, we'll see him tonight!