The Good Life

I've kind of been MIA in the blogging world and I really don't have a good reason for it. But this post has been a long time coming just because my mind and heart has been so full these last few weeks. And once again, I just want to yell it from the rooftops that I love my life. Sure, a few weeks ago my sense of security (financial security that is) was a little shaken with Ty losing his job and we have had to make adjustments to make up for it, life is still good.
It has kind of become a nightly tradition that I take Elsie for a walk after dinner and before bedtime to enjoy the beautiful weather and to get some fresh air and it is during these walks that I am able to take the time to really think about how blessed I feel. Whether it is because guaranteed every time we take these walks, we stop and talk to different people that we have become friends with at least three different times. These are people that we know from church, we have become friends with because our dogs play together or they stop and go gaga over Elsie. Either way, I am reminded that I am surrounded by amazing people and friends. Those days that Ty would be gone all day because of work and school it would be pretty lonely and it was because of these walks that I would be reminded that I am not a lone.
And than I think about all the cute and funny things that Elsie does. For example:
She loves the Sound of Music. I know!!! This is a girl after my own heart. She is glued to the t.v., even during the nun parts (which lets admit it, they aren't the most entertaining parts) but she can't get enough of them. And the puppet show, she runs to the t.v. when that comes on. I love that she loves this movie.

Now I need to get my hands on Mary Poppins because I have a feeling that she would LOVE that movie too. And I love that I wanted to sit down with her and watch these movies with her. She loves to cuddle with her daddy and blanket and watch the movie.

This picture melts my heart.
When we go to church, she loves to lead the music. The other Sunday, I walked in late and we were walking through the foyer to get the chapel and the opening hymn started up and she immediately started waving her arms in the air. She does it every time they start the music in church. It cracks me up. I had no idea she even paid attention in church but apparently she caught on to that.
She loves to get in the dishwasher and play with the dishes as I load them or unload them. It drives me nuts but she has gotten creative in her ways to get to the dishes:

Remember that Humpty Dumpty doll I made a while back. Well, as cute as he turned out, Elsie could care less. Her favorite part of that doll is his arms. She walks everywhere with those things. One of the arms has a perma-dent and is a little dirty because she takes it everywhere in her kung fu grip. And I find the arms (among other toys) in the most random places. I was surprised (and than not surprised) when I opened up one of my cupboards and saw this:

And her smile! Oh my gosh, her smile just kills me!!

A few weeks ago my friend Christie and I threw a little New Moon/Twilight party and than we headed over to the midnight showing of New Moon. It was such a blast. We had been planning this party for months (I'm not kidding, it probably started back in June) and it turned out exactly how we wanted it to. I'll post pictures when I get my hands on them but I couldn't think of a better group of girls that I would want to see this movie with. I tried to reel in (is that the right word?) my inner-14 year old but I was nice to know that I didn't need to with these girls.

And another reason that life doesn't get much better than this is because of this:

My SSC Girls. Not all are pictured here but truly, I can't believe how lucky I am to have these girls in my life. When we moved back to our condo and everyone would ask if it was hard to move back I was able to honestly say no because it truly felt like I was coming back home, thanks to our ward and these girls. I'm not eloquent enough to put into words, or there really aren't words to describe how unique and perfect our friendships are.
And I think the big reason that I feel so blessed is because of this guy:

To quote the movie of the week here in our house, "So somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good." Ty has amazed me with how he has handled everything and not just with this last few weeks but with going to work full time during the day and than jetting off to school at night so that he can get his MBA. His level of discipline and work ethic is awe inspiring. Our kids are so lucky to have him as an example because he is such an example to me everyday. Thank you Ty for enriching my life and working so hard to make sure that your family is taken care of and always striving to be a better person.