Bye Bye to Busy Bliss... for now :)

Time is precious.  And so are these little dears.  This is just not my season to have a blog like this :).   It's causing me to be way too "busy" and stressed ironically.  Motherhood is sacrifice.  It is work (whew, is it work!), but it is the GREATEST WORK on earth!  What a great adventure it has been to have a voice for mothers who deeply desire to be intentional and to thrive in this most challenging, most paramount work!  I will forever cherish all the comments and the wonderful women I've meet through this blog.

With three kids three and under, I need less distractions (even the really good things) and more MOMENTS to focus on THEM.  This is my greatest life's work and I don't want to miss it!

I'll be posting from time to time to update  with pictures, but I leave you with my conviction that:

The greatest gift you can give your children is YOU.  If you're human than you're going to have really hard moments (even to the point of tears) but I believe that mothers can learn and grow and TRY AGAIN every day.  We truly have the most influential job on earth.  Choosing to have daily moments of teaching and connecting will be our greatest investment!  I hope we all can find JOY and our desperate need for CHRIST in the midst of all our motherly mayhem.

Maybe there'll be another season for me to spread my feelings through writing.  But here's the little dears that need MORE of me.  And Steve that includes you too babes :).

And here's my favorite video that reminds me what matters most.

Much Love,

Mindy

Love Story

It was my freshman year first semester at BYU and I lucked out to have this boy in my ward.  Unfortunately, he was the ONLY boy I didn't talk to!  I remember walking out the glass doors of my Deseret Towers dorms and seeing that red head playing pool in the lobby.  I thought to myself, man I wish I had gotten to know that guy.  But it was too late as he was quickly leaving on his church mission to Tennessee (my home!).

So two years passed and I had an incredible college experience.  And... luckily I had memorized everyone's name in the freshman ward directory so I recognized this red head when we ran into each other ... me on my way to the computer lab and him on his way to the gym.  Typical.  And on a cute side note, the exact place where his grandparents met - the Smith Field House.

We ran into each other a few times and I conveniently needed a ride to my brother's in Bountiful and found out Steve's family lives near there.  So, I found many reasons why I needed to visit that sweet brother :) which meant we were trapped in a car together for hours... no dates, no awkwardness, and yes... no dates.  For a long time.  I couldn't quite figure out if he was ever going to ask me out.  He did come over to fix my bike :), to pick up my roommate's dying fish, to give me rides, but I finally challenged him to a taco eating contest.  He ate 10.  I ate 2.

One weekend I was in the middle of a "girls' night" - ice cream, chick flick and all when Steve left a message that the fish "missed me" and was wondering if I had some time to see them! So we hopped on our bikes and met in the middle at some point finding ourselves at the local elementary school climbing these trees and eventually playing football and dancing on the school rooftop!

 One day while riding my bike down a steep hill south of campus, a girl came out of nowhere!  I swirved and barely missed taking her out and instead skidded my face all down the pavement.  My first thought was Am I alive?  Then my next thought was "Call Steve."  So I hobbled home and Steve rushed me to the doctors.  He was so overly concerned - it was cute.  He even took me out for ice cream and bought me a bunch of groceries.  That week I was homebound and Steve came to visit me everyday... with PB & Js (haha, that was a great prelude to the food he eats), Jamba Juice, and just making me laugh.  But oh it hurt to laugh.

 I landed a job at BYU's Center for Service so we found ourselves doing a LOT of service.  We didn't have money and I just loved watching that boy help others.  I thought Wow, he's sure going to be a good daddy someday...

Plus, he was super good looking...

And I knew that if he could tell me he loved me through Blokus, then he'd be an amazing husband too :)

So we dated a year, and then I decided I wanted to go on a semester abroad to Jerusalem (which Steve totally supported, even though that was the hardest day of my life to say goodbye).  We got married, and I did discover what an incredible husband and daddy I had chosen for our family.  I love Steve for so many reasons, but I think my favorite thing is watching him play with our kids and seeing how they adore each other.  

  

I grabbed the video camera last night as the kids were super excited that Daddy was coming home :).  And whew, I was happy too :).  I love you babe.  Thanks for being my bestest friend and for being the kids' best friend too.  Happy love day!

Chocolate Chip Cookies that Melt in Your Mouth

I've been in a rut lately.  So in an attempt to snap out of it, we tried doing something new.... finding a way to run outside in the cold snow with three little ones!  ... and making sure everyone got good, early naps :), because that just makes ALL the difference.  So we bought these snow suits, played outside, and came in to eat chocolate chip cookies (my fav recipe from Steve's mom... see below)!  It felt rejuvenating and so stinkin' fun!!  Humans were not made to be cooped inside a house all day.

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 eggs 

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 sticks butter (the key is to NEVER melt it, only softened)

1 t. vanilla

In a separate bowl, sift together:

3 1/2 c. flour

1  t. baking soda 

1  t. salt 

Mix together dry and wet ingredients separately then add together, then add the chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is best). Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes (and not a second MORE!  It will seem that they are not done but just take them out and they'll be perfect).