9 Years

The best dose of happiness is being with the one you love. Your best friend. The one who you'd rather be with than anyone else. The one that when you are together you can escape the world. The one who makes you laugh more than anyone else. Happy 9 years of marriage to us!

Hair Do Anyone?

When I have clients come over to the house for me to do their hair, my kids always have to play the part as well. Usually it's a doll, or they sit in a train and do each others, but this time Briggan got to be the guinea  pig. Brailee had quite the set up with her booster on top of the Autumn Decorations bin, a cape, clip, water bottle and a comb. Briggan was as happy as could be letting big sister experiment and create.  What a good little boy. Love the hair do!! Good job Brailee. What a little hair stylist you are.

Corn and more Corn

Corn from our very own garden! Daiken really wanted to plant RED corn this year. So here he is showing off his very own red corn. It's pretty tasty too!

Fireside

One of our favorite things to do is sit around a camp fire and roast hotdogs or marshmallows. We love having one in our own back yard. To be together as a family, anything that provides this is a favorite. Little Briggan especially loves to roast his OWN. We can sit and talk and sing songs. Every Sunday after General Conference we sit around our camp fire and have a "fireside" and discus conference and what our favorite parts were. Great tradition that I would suggest to anyone.

Simple Joys

Doesn't this picture just say it all? Isn't this just what life is all about? Feeling happy, safe, and loved. Feeling the warm sun on your back and having nothing else to do but pick a hand full of wish flowers... and blow.

The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden!

This week Adam lost his two biggest cleaning accounts. That took his business from a $200,000.00 company to a $22,000.00 company. So between him, and his partner, and cleaning supplies he is now only making about $1,000.00 a month. Rent alone for our family is $1,500.00. So obviously the numbers don't add up. Luckily though, I haven't felt scared or nervous at all. I feel very taken care of and I know the Lord has his hand in all of this. I keep reading and hearing things about how we go through trials in life to build us and make us stronger. I hope to conquer this. I don't want to say, "Oh poor us!" Instead I'm desperately trying to find opportunities to serve those around me, go to the temple, learn how to really make meals with the food we already have in the house, and count my blessings. Today, I went outside to take the water from the swimming pool and pour it into the garden. When I got down close, I found a TON of peas that were ready for me to pick. My heart swelled as we have little produce in our house. I know these peas wont last long as we will all be so excited to eat these, but it was just a little reminder of Christ's love for my little family. Definitely a huge daily dose of happiness shining down on us. I'm so glad to have a garden and for the joy it brings to take care of it and watch it grow. The primary song says, "and if we plant the seeds just right and tend them carefully, before we know, good things will grow to feed our family."

Candy Necklaces!

Candy Necklaces! That's a dose of happiness right there. Something so simple bringing so much happiness. Look at those smiles. Just pure, simple, fun. Thank you candy necklaces for being so easy and making my kids feel special.

Summer Nights

I love this picture because it shows just how wonderful our summer nights are. About 7:00 is when the sprinklers kick on and of course, it's just about the time we are cleaning up bikes to go inside for the night. Then the kids stop what they are doing and start running through the sprinklers. They get drenched. Completely soaked. But I love that I don't care! I love that they can just be kids and have a great time. There is no pressing issue for then to hurry in for, or to even hurry to bed for. I love that we don't have appointments the next morning to have to get up for, no school to rush to, just pure, wonderful, summer nights and sleeping in with not much to do the next day! I also loved this shot of Briggan! How stinking cute is he?

Making Bread

One of my favorite things to do is make bread!! And I love when I am in a good mood and let my kids help. They each love making their own loaf. This time I let them choose if they wanted to make a cinnamon loaf or a pizza loaf. Daiken chose pizza and the girls chose cinnamon. I always make a bread braid for dinner that night when I make bread, but this time I rolled it up like a cinnamon roll instead of braiding it. I think I like the braid better. It cooks better.
I love that I know how to make bread. I love that my kids know their mommy can make bread. It takes a lot of practice, and they still don't always turn out perfect every time, but for the most part, I think I do a pretty good job. I even have had three different friends ask me to show them how to make bread. I'm SO thankful for my Kitchenaid. I don't think I would make bread as often as I do without it. So thankful for the skill of making bread and for how much it saves our family money and for how YUMMY and heavenly it tastes!

After The Rain Storm

These pictures are of my little Briggan Boy who LOVES the sand box. I'm not sure that his mother loves him loving the sand box so much, but none-the-less it's his favorite. One night we had a HUGE rain storm and the kids had left the lid off the sand box, so it filled with water. This, of course, didn't keep Briggan away. He just found a new adventure! He was splashing and splashing dirty water everywhere and having a blast!

Father's Day!

Nana and Grandpa got Adam some new chairs to put on our back porch for Father's Day. After Brailee carried all four, heavy, chairs to the porch, she proceeded to have Daiken and Estee pose on the chairs for me to take pictures of them. They all LOVE getting their pictures taken, and they, Estee and Daiken, will also do just about anything Brailee tells them to do.

A Run To The Park

Shoot, can't figure out how to rotate my little Briggan's photo, and it's my favorite. But none-the-less, here's my post.
I needed to exercise this morning, so I got out the stroller and the kids got on their bikes and we trekked a mile up the road to the big park. The kids got to play and I got my exercise. It makes me so happy that we live close to SO many parks. It also makes me happy that we live in such a health contious state. I love that everyone tries to eat healthy and everyone exercises. When you drive down the road you see so many people out exercising all the time, it doesn't matter what time of day! It helps motivate me, and I love that.

Love

Today there was a pause in sacrament meeting as it was Fast Sunday, and it must have pricked my heart because before my mind really new what I was doing my legs stood up and walked me to the front of the chapel. Adam was out with Briggan and I had just left my kids. I didn't even warn them that I was leaving. I just up and left. When I realized that, I didn't think I could just walk back to my seat so I just hoped they would stay reverent. When it was my turn to speak, I said that I was bearing my testimony because I know when you share it it grows, and that was my hope. To help my testimony grow. We just had general conference the weekend before so I relayed how I had the opportunity to be in a very small, intimate meeting with Elder Holland once. I remember him becoming very emotional as he expressed his love for us. I know he didn't know me, I'd never met him before, and I'm sure it was that same way with all the other young women in the room, but the spirit was able to relay to my heart what he felt in his heart. I knew, without a doubt that when Elder Holland said he loved me, he meant ME. I knew he loved me, Britnee Walker. I know that when the general authorities say they pray for us and they think of us and they love us, they really meant that. That is true. It shows us a glimpse of how our Father in heaven loves all of his children. I also felt that as I had my little Daiken. Before he was born I didn't possibly know I'd be able to love another child as much as Brailee, but when he was born I realized that love is not divided, but rather, it is multiplied. I know our Father in heaven is very aware of us and that he loves us, each one of us individually.

Sweet Tenderness

Today was one of those go go go days. Right in the middle of the day, my friend called and cried to me on the phone about a bunch of things that have been adding up in her life. I really wished I could have bought flowers for her to brighten her day. But alas, there is no money for that. So instead, I decided I'd make her flowers. Chelsee was at my house, so I enlisted her help and we went downstairs to try and find my stash of paper and embellishments. We started cutting and threading and gluing. It wasn't more than about two seconds before the kids followed us down. I didn't have a lot of time to get this done, so when the kids started asking if they could help, I was quick to say "No, No, No." I didn't want to make a big mess to have to clean up when I didn't have time for that. They kept asking and I kept telling them no. Chelsee had cut a flower and then decided she didn't like it, so Brailee quickly grabbed it and started embellishing it. She had added a ton of buttons, so I told her she couldn't have so many. I made her take them off. I was in a hurry, so I really didn't have a lot of patience. I did tell her how nice it was, but only in quick passing. Later that night, when I got all of the kids in bed, it was finally time for a little "me time". So I opened the door to my bedroom to head to the shower, and as I took about four steps in, I found the flower that Brailee had made laying on my pillow. She had, without saying anything about it, or making it a big deal, quietly taken it up to my room when I didn't know. How sweet, and my heart melted. I stood there, softened. I had ran and rushed all day, and yet, Brailee still loved me. She had taught me that in everything that had happened that day, where my happiness truly lies. Not in running, not in trying to please others, not in having a clean house, not even in trying to serve others, but in my own sweet family. Happiness is in the simple quiet. Definitely not in the crazy rushing. I love my children more than anything in the entire world. I find my greatest joy in being a mother. Thank you Brailee for reminding me of that. Thank you for teaching me and for loving me despite all my imperfections.

Trying Something New

Ok, I absolutely LOVE Cold Stone and I absolutely LOVE cheesecake icecream with grahm cracker crust mixed in. I always get this kind. Without fail, every single time, always and forever. I go into Cold Stone and try new flavors each time, but always end up with the same absolute goodness of my usual. Adam and I went on a date tonight and I tried their banana ice cream, which I have tried before, but it must have just hit the spot. I ended up surprising myself, in a big way, and got banana icecream with brownie and a little tiny bit of hot fudge. Wo! Yea for me! I went outside the box and got something new. So today my dose of happiness happened on my date with my hot husband at Cold Stone!

Kindergarten Today

I took this picture of Brailee today when I went to help out in her kindergarten classroom. I am so grateful that I am able to go in and help out as I know it really means a lot to Brailee. I love seeing the interaction between the kids. I love seeing first hand what they are learning and how her teacher teaches. I love knowing all the kids names. I love that today I could take that step back and see how they have already grown up so much. How precious this time is right now as my oldest is only in Kindergarten. I know time flies, so fast, and for only two more months will I ever be able to say this.

Strawberry Jam

Today we were all in the kitchen together making a mess as I was in the process of making bread and jam at the same time. Luckily I had some helpers. Adam was cutting the strawberries, and Daiken and Estee were taking turns mashing them up. I'd add some ingredients to the dough, and then head to the stove to make the pectin. After a few hours, and enjoying each others company we ended up with 6 loafs of bread, 1 chili bread braid, and 12 cartons of strawberry jam. Woohoo!!!

This was definitely one of those "step back and see through different eyes" kinds of moments. I saw the messy kitchen, the kids helping, Adam home, and all the love.

Daily Doses of Happiness

After quite a few years of struggles and trials and a lot of unhappy moments, looking through it all there were always daily doses of happiness. You know those times when you can take a step back and look through different eyes and for a moment, all is well. All is perfectly well, and life is happy. Very happy. You are totally at peace and you feel that for that moment, you have the world. That is why I decided to create this blog; to take note of, document, bring attention to, and give thanks for each of my daily doses of happiness.