January 31, 2016

I want to share this quote with you. I think it is good advice.
Live beneath your means. Return everything you borrow. Stop blaming other people. Admit it when you make a mistake. Give clothes not worn to charity. Do something nice and try not to get caught. Listen more; talk less. Every day take a 30-minute walk. Strive for excellence, not perfection. Be on time. Don't make excuses. Don't argue. Get organized. Be kind to people. Be kind to unkind people. Let someone cut ahead of you in line. Take time to be alone. Cultivate good manners. Be humble. Realize and accept that life isn't fair. Know when to keep your mouth shut. Go an entire day without criticizing anyone. Learn from the past. Plan for the future. Live in the present. Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff.

I love you so much and I want you to be happy. You are so sweet and you are a good sister. You have a tender heart.

Love, MOM

January 24, 2016

This quote is so true! I need to be so much better at controlling my temper. Just last night, I lost it and just like this quote says, I regret it. I wish I was a perfect mom who was always patient and kind and never lost my temper. While I can definitely do a better job, I will never be perfect, and that's ok. I just need to keep trying to do better. And you are so quick to forgive me every single time. You are such a good example to me of love and forgiveness. I know you are going to be a great mom! You were telling us today how you want to have 100 children. :-) You then said that you were going to have 2 daughters. You don't want any boys. You want to name your daughters Sarah and Emily. Being a mom is hard work but it is so worth it! It has helped me grow more than anything else I have ever experienced! I love being a mom and I'm so blessed to have the children I've been given. Today in Relief Society, our lesson was on Jeffrey R. Holland's talk "Behold Thy Mother" from October 2015 General Conference. It was really good. Our teacher highlighted all the words that described motherhood. There were 95 of them. Some were words like love, patience, joy, blessing, and some were anxiety, worry, hardship. There is no such thing as a perfect mom, but we can find joy through the difficulty as well. I love you so much.

Oh, I also wanted to share a funny story about you from this week. You got a Barbie Doll for Christmas. We keep it in the bucket on top of your dresser. Well, the other night, you told Dad that you couldn't sleep because your Barbie was looking at you. So we turned her upside down. :-) I agree, it did look a little creepy, but it was just funny that you really didn't like her looking at you.

Love you Kins!

DeeDee's Cookies

This video was made for DeeDee's 90th birthday.

January 17, 2016

Hello my sweet Kinsey. You are having so much fun in first grade. You are getting more independent which is nice. Instead of being a little girl, you are becoming a big girl. Today you told me the joke: What do you call a hippo that likes rap music? A hiphoppotamus.  It was pretty funny! You are a fun, happy girl. You are also an amazing reader. You love cuddling with us and we love cuddling you! I hope you are always happy and you view life as an adventure. I hope you keep things in perspective and don't worry about the things that don't really matter.  Love you!

January 10, 2016

Hey Kinsey. I love you and think you are so wonderful. You gave a great talk today in Primary. It was about the scriptures are the word of God. You are such a good reader and did a fabulous job. I love watching your testimony continue to grow. This week you learned a hard lesson. You forgot your folder. It broke my heart to see how sad you were that you'd forgotten something important. I appreciate how responsible you are trying to be. I also want you to remember that you aren't perfect and you are going to make mistakes. I know you were disappointed that you'd left your folder at school, but I hope you remember that even if you disappoint yourself sometime, you need to give yourself grace. People forget things. It just helps us to remember to try harder next time to not leave important things behind. But it's not the end of the world. If you ever find yourself being hard on yourself for not being perfect or even just not living up to the expectations you've set for yourself, I urge you to take a step back and really analyze the situation. Is this going to matter in 5 minutes, tomorrow, next month, next year? If my best friend did the same thing, what would I say to her. For example, you forget your folder and you are very upset and crying that you could forget something. What if Jayci had left her folder? Would you want her to be upset and crying or would you say to her, "It's ok Jayci. I know you are sad that you left your folder, but it's ok. You're still a good person and we all forget things every once in a while even if we don't mean to." Hopefully you can learn and grow from this mistake which is what we should do when we make mistakes. Now maybe you will get in the habit of double checking to make sure you have everything. About a year ago, I went grocery shopping and when I got out of the car, I opened the side door and put down my purse that had my cell phone and keys in it. After I got Reagan out of the car, I absent-mindedly shut the door. Well, I'd already locked the doors and my purse was still inside the car. Now I double and even triple check that I have my keys before I lock and shut the doors. I may still lock my keys in the car one day in the future, but I am in the habit of making sure I have my keys so the chances of it happening are less likely. I'm still human, still not perfect, but as long as we learn from our mistakes, then mistakes can actually be a good thing. It also helps us to treat others with more kindness and grace. If the cashier that is ringing up your groceries messes up, you can have grace for her because you know that you aren't perfect either and that when you make mistakes, you would rather have someone respond with kindness and say, "It's ok. Just try again." I know that Dad and I have high expectations for you and your brothers and sisters. Please know that we just ask that you try. Even grown-ups make mistakes and we don't expect you to be perfect. I love you so much, just the way you are. I'm so grateful to have you in our family. I love you no matter what, making mistakes doesn't change it, in fact, nothing changes my love for you. It is there forever, no matter what! Love, MOM

It's a new year!

You lost your first tooth on New Year's Day! You were so excited for the Tooth Fairy to come visit you and give you $1!

The week before Christmas, the First Graders had some fun days. One of those days was Grinch Day where you could dress up as the Grinch or someone from Whoville. We did your hair like Cindy Lou Who. It was pretty cool and all the teachers thought it was neat.
Now it's 2016. I can't believe how quickly time is passing. I hope this year is so fun for you! You'll turn 7 in May and start 2nd grade in the Fall. I'm loving the big girl that you are becoming. You are a good friend and you are so sweet. I love your hugs and kisses. I love that you are in our family. It wouldn't be complete without you! I hope you know how much I love you, just for being you. I hope you have a great year!