Good Times!!!!

Me, Jared and the kiddos took a three day trip to San Antonio.



My favorite part: Staying in a hotel where I didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning.

Jared's favorite part: Not being anywhere near a hammer, a nail, a computer or a cell phone.

Faith's favorite part: Riding every roller coaster at Six Flags.

Ethan's favorite part: Winning prizes playing overpriced carnival games at Six flags.

Harris' favorite part: Playing his DS in the car for three hours each way.


Oh, and who doesn't love a drawer full of candy? Every hotel room needs one of those!

Grover Girls

What does it mean to be a Grover girl? Well, I think it has to do with being loud and opinionated. Our husbands would say it involves extreme mood swings. It definitely has something to do with wearing your p.j's out in public.
My sister-in-laws (close enough, Em!) add all sorts of loveliness to the name Grover. I treasure being part of the sisterhood I share with these exceptional ladies. From each one of them I am continually learning how to reach higher and be better.


























And this Grover girl?


























Well, she is just perfection!

Family Night Fun

For Family Home Evening the boys made the treats and pretended it was a cooking show. I love how Ethan is smoking a butter knife! Clever. Harris named these delectable treats (homemade frosting that looked like re fried beans spread between two broken pieces of stale graham cracker and no, I haven't been to the store in ages!) fudgey buns. Who knows? He usually reserves that term for insulting his siblings.
The lesson was about setting goals and at one point we went around the room and each took turns listing some of our short and long-term goals.

Faith: "Go to college. Run a marathon. Get married in the temple."

Ethan: "Become an Eagle Scout. Serve a mission."

Harris: "Get a wife. Get a moustache."

The Dark Side Meets the Bright Side

Okay, so we all know I'm depressed...we've established this much. I know depression. She has been my ill weather friend and sporadic companion for most of my earthly sojourn, and so I'm rehearsed enough to know that all those crappy, ugly, horrid feelings I'm feeling are not reality. But it is much like someone accidentally hurting you. Knowing they didn't do it on purpose doesn't make it hurt any less. Still, I am forcing myself out of my hermit cocoon where I prefer to seal myself up until I can see things with "real" eyes and offer the world something other than, well, crap. Today I am going to look at the bright side of things. They really don't look bright from here but you chemically-balanced friends of mine can appreciate it, and later I will to. Blessings of the day are as follows:

#1 I was cramming some junk into my cupboard to make my counters look clean before Harris' therapist got here and I stumbled across this



















A KING-SIZED candy bar I hid from myself! Oh joy! Oh glee! I took this picture right away and so there's evidence it existed before I sent it straight to my grateful hips.

2. I was squeezing into some too tight jeans since all the ones that fit (this means two) lay dirty on the floor and I found a twenty dollar bill! Wish I could say I'd hid that from myself too but, no can do. No picture cuz that twenty was burnin' a hole in my painted on pocket!

3. I have read three books in the last two weeks! I swore off people mag. and the like. This is a HUGE deal for me!

Celebrity gossip+The Book of Mormon=Liz's year-round reading program

So I'm really proud of myself on this one! And the books were really good. Two fiction and one non. The non was a true story (obviously) about a woman whose only son dove into a shallow lake and broke his neck at the age of 17. It chronicled his life as a quadriplegic and I ate it up. I love stories of the bent but not broken....it's how I feel a lot of the time.

p.s. I know I have WAY more blessings than this but I'll save all that for my prayers.

A New Addiction!

Aside from baked goods, and reality t.v., I am now addicted to a plethora of decorating blogs featuring do-it-yourself, on-the-cheap mantra sporting ladies. I have been up all night linking from one to the next and getting inspired! My favorite-est of all (so far) would be "the nesting place" for which I have provided a convenient little link button on the right. Enjoy! This lady is amazing!

Laurie is doing better. She seems to have contracted some sort of virus that was causing her vertigo. Her tests all came back normal so that is great news. Thanks everyone for your concern and most of all for your prayers.

Pray for Laurie

Please pray for my dear friend, Laurie Stephens. She is very ill. She is in a hopital in Utah awaiting test results. I know she could use our prayers.