Sometimes great MEMORIES come in small packages..

HEY YA'LL! This is Cori Sue. I convinced her to let me do a blog on her blog! SO HERE GOES!This is my best friend in the WHOLE WORLD! :) Her name is: MOM. She has been there for me through literally EVERYTHING! WE do everything together, and we love spending time together. She is always there when i need someone to help me, a shoulder to cry on, or someone to play rummikub with. I can talk to her about anything, and she doesn't judge me. We have had countless laughs, an unbelievable amount of hugs, and an everlasting amount of love for one another. I love my mommy. She means the world to me, and i wouldn't have any other mom in the world. :) This picture was taken on our sealing day. I love this pic of her and I. :)

This is my old house in Idaho! I absolutely love this house!!! We have had some AmAzInG times in this place! Everything from late nights with friends, waking up early for school, running around during a game of late night hide-and-go seek, family get togethers, and lots of laughing! So here is my FAMOUS house.. <3

Okay well this is all i have for right now.. i love you all!!! :) I can't wait to get home and see all of you again.. :) I LOVE YOU!!! SWEET HOME IDAHO!! :)

Peace in the Chaos.....

We live in such a chaotic world. We, as a family, and We, as a human race. We are busy with our schedules and all the activities that require our attention. With 5 kids, 1 husband and myself and the committments we have CHAOS seems to be the common theme. Have you ever noticed how noisy the world is? I have. These last couple of weeks I have REALLY noticed how much noise is around me. I never realized how much this noise effects me, my mood and my family life. A couple of weeks ago I was finally able to do errands all by myself. I had the car and I spent the whole day (because it takes that long to go everywhere) running around getting all the things done that we needed done. I got to talk to my sister and my mom as I traveled back and forth. I ate at Taco Bell....my favorite place. It was such a great day to rejuvenate. But half way home after I hung up with my mom, my first instinct was to reach for the radio. Then suddenly it dawned on me....leave the music off and just be quiet..be still. So I did. What PEACE. No noise. No kids yelling. Just peace, stillness, quiet moments. Me and my thoughts. I was truly amazed at how good I felt. I thought of many things--kids, hubby, my mom, my siblings and their families, the gospel, my father who is on the other side of the veil and how I miss him so, our move to Idaho, our friends in Idaho. So many thoughts came running thru. It made me think of how many thoughts or moments I am missing because I allow the 'noise' of the world to encumber my mind. There is peace in the chaos. I know Heavenly Father is just waiting for me to tune in to HIM. Lesson learned.

"You just wait....."

Ever since I became a mom there have been people in my life who have said..." Oh, just wait until all those kids are teenagers....." And they say it with a somewhat negative or cautionary tone. Almost like they think it will be torture. Some of these people had teenagers, some never even had kids, some had kids the same age as mine. I heard it so many times I began to dread the 'teenage years'. But here I am...the mother of 2 teenagers and 1 tween and 2 kids aged 7 & 6. I have to say the 'teenage' years hit me a lot faster than I would have wished for. It seems like I blinked my eyes and CS (Pineapple Princess) is almost 15!!! Well, let me tell you something about the 'teenage' years.....it is and can be a GOLDEN time in your life. Is it easy? NO..but nothing WORTH it is easy. Is it stressful? YES. Do you worry every single day that your kiddos will make right decisions? YES. Is it the most fun you will have in your life? YES. Is it a time to nourish the relationship you have been developing? YES. Kalani and I have tried really hard to create a balance in the lives of our children. A balance that allows them to have and exercise their free agency but still adhere to the rules and expectations of our family. I have been pleasantly surprised at how fun this time in our life has been. One of our favorite things to do is to just sit and talk, to laugh, to LISTEN to these wonderful kids. Usually after our sunday dinner Kalani, me and the 3 older kids just sit and hang out. What fun!!! These kids have fun personalities, they are passionate about what they beleive in. They share things they have learned, they say things like..."hey, mom remember the time...." and I think to myself as they talk about the memory, YES I do remember. They ask for blessings from their dad who honors his priesthood. They are involved with their church group, scouts, student council, sports, dance, they attend Seminary, they memorize scriptures, they help with little siblings. They are funny. They make me laugh. They make me cry. They make me grateful to be their mother. They make me count my blessings everyday. They make me humble. They are not perfect. We have had some issues, some big-some small. I am sure as time goes on we will have bigger issues to deal with it. But I am convinced the foundation we are laying now will help us create a bond that will help us deal with the issues yet to come. I know that we are given each of our children for a specific reason. I know that for whatever reason I had to be the mother of the 6 beautiful spirits that I have been given stewardship over. I recognize they aren't "mine" they are children of our Heavenly Father--just as I am. I have been given the task and responsibility to care for them, to teach them, to set an example for them, to LOVE them. It can be a daunting task in this day and age. There are often times that I fall short and feel I am failing my Father in Heaven. But then something wonderful happens, one of my kids will walk into a room and come up to me and whisper in my ear.."I love you, Mom" or 'thanks, Mom'. Or a million other sweet phrases. It is worth it. It is the greatest time in our lives. It is fun. It is sweet and tender at times. It is like a hurricane sometimes. It is like Satan is living right in our living room sometimes. It is busy and chaotic at times. It is tearful at times. It is laughter. But even through all of these 'times' it is LOVE always. So, I say to all of you who have teenagers or will someday...."You just wait....You are going to love it!!!"

GUESS WHAT????

We are moving back to Idaho!!!The above picture is of 'our' river in Star, Id. Isn't is lovely???

We will be back on the mainland on Dec. 10, probably spend Christmas in Vegas with my mom and sister, then be back after Christmas. We are SOOOOOOO excited. We have no home, no job, hardly anything to furnish a house once we find one....but we are coming home!!! Only 82 more days...We are excited like you cannot believe. Our love to all.

Grow old with me the 'Best' is yet to be

I will hardly EVER post pictures of myself on my blog...I can't take a good picture to save my life. However...I have been in deep thought lately about my life. I have been truly humbled to realize that I had the greatest of blessings...I grew up with the love of my life, my eternal companion, my best friend. I would be remorseful if I didn't take a few moments to pay tribute to this sweet (he will hate that I used that word to describe him) guy. The title I used for this post is actually the title of our 'theme' song. I wanted to post a picture of us in our younger years and older years to show that we actually have grown old...together. I love that we are together. I love sharing my life with Kalani...my heaven. I love that we lay in bed and talk every night, sometimes late into the night. I love that he knows what I am going to say before I say it. I love that he knows all my weaknesses and loves me anyway. I cannot even begin to convey my great love for him. I truly admire him. He works. He goes to school. He does homework--a lot. He studies. He does daddy things. He does 'honey do' things. He gets up at 4:30 a.m. to get our daughter up and ready for Seminary--and then takes her--everyday. When he is over-the-top tired he still listens to me ramble on and on about whatever I am ramblin' about. He is the definition of loving your family unconditionally. He does acts of kindness for me everyday. I used to give him a hard time because he rarely gets me flowers, and I really wanted him to. But after awhile of constantly nagging him about not getting me flowers...I realized he gives me dozens of roses EVERYDAY. His acts of kindness are flowers. My life is a garden. One of my cherished memories of him and his acts of kindness is when we just had our 2nd daughter, Kawehi. I was still in the hospital and recovering from a C-section. I was sitting in the bed, kind of miserable. I wasn't feeling well, I couldn't sleep and I needed to take a shower. If I can wash my hair, I am ok. Just gotta have clean hair. So, knowing I wasn't supposed to shower yet, but knowing I really needed to wash my hair...he rigged a way to dunk my head into the sink and my sweet hubby....washed my hair. I was sitting in a chair and leaning backwards over the sink. I have to admit it kind of hurt....but to be sitting there and have my love's hands gently caress my hair and head, rinsing and washing my hair was the most wonderful feeling. He was so gentle and loving. I still think of that day in the hospital. That is the day that I really realized he would do anything for me and my happiness. I am humbled. I love this man. I love him. I love him. We have been through so much together. We have grown up--together. We have traveled this road called life--together. I wouldn't trade one thing we have shared or traveled through for all the money in the world. I will never make the Top 100 Richest Women list, but I can tell you I am without a doubt the RICHEST WOMAN in the world. So, Kalani, here is to you...to us....to growing old....TOGETHER. I hope the Best is yet to be.....

My hubby agrees.... I am a DORK........

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!! I am going to show my age now...But I grew up with Donny Osmond being my 'heartthrob' and I have to admit he is still one of my favorite entertainers. I am, sad to admit, that I am in his fan club..(stop laughing Sami). I get updates every month as to his whereabouts, etc. I get happy when I see him on Entertainment Tonight...told ya I am a dork. So, can you imagine my level of excitement to hear that he is going to be on my FAVORITE show...Dancing with the Stars. Reason #2 I am a dork!!! I totally LOVE that show. And Donny is paired up with one of my favorite dancers, Kym Johnson. Much to my hubby's dismay I will be perched on my bed every Monday and Tuesday night mesmerized by the glorious costumes, the great music and the entertainers trying to dance. (but I will have all my laundry done and I will be using this time to fold...I cannot get over the guilt of just doing nothing in front of the T.V.) I am in awe at how hard they practice and work to learn the steps. I hope my "Donny" lasts through most of the season..or do I dare to dream he will come away the winner!!! Good luck, Donny. I rarely pick up the phone to vote on these shows..but you can bet his # will be set on redial and speed dial.

How do they know?

I recently got my hair cut....still trying to decide if I like it or not. So, anyway...today I am having a particularly "BAD HAIR DAY". I am so frustrated!!! And of all days this was the day I had NO time to dilly dally and try to rescue the way the hair looked. I felt really UGLY when I came out of the bathroom. As we were running out the door to try and catch the bus going into town....JAG (my little sweetheart) grabbed my hand and made me stop. He looked at me and had me lean down like he had to tell me a secret. He gave me a huge kiss on my cheek and said, "Mommy you look beautiful, today!". How did he know that I needed THAT more than anything today. I am truly convinced our kids are smarter and more intuitive than we think. I am constantly amazed at the joy these little ones give me. Thanks, JAG for making my day!!!