Fun at Ohiopyle!!

We had the greatest day on Saturday!!! We drove the 40 minutes down to Ohiopyle, PA. It was BEAUTIFUL!!

Actually, it was raining when we got there. Pouring...down...rain.

We sat in the car for about 20 minutes and it let up a bit so, we ventured out!!

We hiked and climbed rocks and threw rocks and visited the waterfalls. It is a BEAUTIFUL place!!

Below is a pic of me and my boys! They had so much fun!! Behind us is on of the waterfalls that are there. It's truly stunning.

The next picture is of my handsome hubby and my boys at the same waterfall. I love the sounds of the waterfall. So loud, but insanely soothing at the same time.

 Below is just a random pic of my Mike. He is such a handsome boy and ALWAYS ready to pose for a picture!!!!!

This pic is of the boys with these GIANT leaves that were as big as our faces!! We were on our way to Cucumber Falls, my FAVORITE place at Ohiopyle!!! 

And below is my favorite place!!!!!!!!! Cucumber Falls!! It is beautiful! I love it there!! The boys and I took our shoes off and waded to the little rock pile close to it and felt the wonderful mist coming from the falls. Just lovely!!!

It was a great, free, and fun day! I love spending time outdoors with my kiddos and hubby. I have always loved nature and this place is full of it! If you ever get the chance to visit, plan to spend the entire day there! You could get lost with how much there is to do!!!

Have a lovely Sunday!

The BIG 5-0!

So I did it!

I can't EVEN believe it!

Since January 2, I lost 50 pounds!!


I can't believe I did it!

No before and after pics! Just excited!

People ask why I want to lose weight! All of the obvious reasons are there: I want to be healthy, I want to play more with my boys, I want to be around forever.

But one of the other reasons is because I am a leader. I lead the group of kiddos at my
 church. I WAS the only member of my family that belonged to my church and they
look to me as sort of an example. I NEVER wanted them to look at me and say, wowzers
that girl isn't following the Lord's law of health. It says in the scriptures that our bodies
are temples! When i think of temples, I think of beauty and wonderfulness. I think of a
quiet, subdues, spiritual place where the Spirit ALWAYS dwells.

Was that me? Did I take great care of myself?? Nope. I ate, and ate and ate. To get back to where I need to be is HARD!!! It's a crazy balance! You HAVE to eat enough, but not too much. You HAVE to exercise enough, but not too much.

Our bodies are AMAZING! It took me a good 10 years to put on all of this weight. It's only taken me 4 months to take off 50 lbs!!! We are truly blessed to have the bodies we do.

Thanks for stopping and reading!! I hope I didn't come off as boastful. This has taken me a while to actually do because I didn't want to come off prideful!

Any advice on how to keep a healthy body and lifestyle, PLEASE shoot them my way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!!!

Happy 30th and a lamp re-do!

Yep, today is the day! I am officially a 30-something!! I can't believe I am 30! I still feel like I am 12!! I know most people hate the thought of being 30, but I am looking forward to the next 10 years!

My twenties were full of great moments! I was married, had two great kids, bought a house, got a dog and had several moves! I am ready for calmness!! I know that seems like a tall order but I am ready for adventures!

So, for my birthday, I decided to buy this wonderful brassy lamp from the thrift store for $3.00.

I know, it's bad but look below!

Ain't it purdy with new paint! I LOVE the blue!! It's my new favorite color!

And milk glass, anything milk glass!!! I love anything vintage-y!

Anywho, I hope you all have a great day!!!

Mirror re-do and EASTER fun!

Been crazy busy lately! The blog is always negelected when that happens!!

Anywho... below is a mirror my brother was going to throw away...gasp!! I know! i had to save it from the dump!! So i sanded it..

And painted it brown!!! It's not completely done yet, but I like it a lot!!

And now for more exciting pics!! Below is my Little A, Easter morning, all ready for church! I love this picture because I never get a good pic of him!!

I'm also excited because I made the vest and tie! Little ole me! My very FIRST attempt at sewing anything but a straight line!! Very exciting stuff!

Then there's my M! Looking as dashing as ever!! All ready for church!!

Also made his vest and tie! Yeah me!



Here is a pic of most of the kiddos! Look how lovely, all excited after church! 

And the pic below is from the Saturday before Easter when we had our egg hunt! All the kids were accounted for! Some of their heads got chopped off taking this pic, but it's the best we could do!!

I hope everyone had a great Easter! I love any excuse to get all of the kiddos together and have some fun!

Saturday the Great!!

This past Saturday was AMAZING!!

First, we celebrated little A's birthday, Anrgy Birds style! He LOVES the game so I made some angry birds and pigs for him and he was excited to say the least!

I just can't believe he is 4!!!!! I love that boy more than words can express!

Here is a pic of him with his talking garbage truck that he has wanted since the Christmas before last! He was pretty happy to get this!

After his party, we headed to church to witness the baptism of my mom, my nephew and my niece! BEST DAY EVER! I was so overcome with emotion!! I love my family SOOOO much!

The pic below is of the elders that taught them, my mom, nephew and niece and my husband, who actually performed the baptisms.

The Spirit was SO strong! No one could contain themselves!

Here is another pic of them below! They looked great and felt just as wonderful!!

I have been a member of the church for almost twelve years and never in my wildest dreams did I think anyone in my family would ever want to join.

Now, I know how powerful prayer is. God may not answer every prayer when we want or how we want, but he does answer prayers.

My ENTIRE immediate family came. It was wonderful. We all laughed, smiled and cried together. What a great feeling it was!

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and want to share it with the entire world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Baptisms Gallore!

This is part of my family.

I love them so much! ALL of my nieces and nephews and my two boys!

Something VERY special happened tonight. The missioaries came over for their final discussion with my mom, my nephew (the one in yellow) and my niece (the one in red!).

Before we even started, my mom told my nephew to tell the missionaries the suprise! I was so excited when my nephew said,"We are getting baptized on the 25th! I could have died!

In TWO weeks, my mom, nephew and niece will all become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ! I am beyond excited for her and the kids!

Having your very own testimony of the gospel is so important. It's what I have wanted for my mom for 12 years now! But I knew that it's not something to be forced. It is a slow, steady, wonderful process and when you have it, you KNOW it! That's how my mom said she felt!!!

So three of my family members are being baptized in two weeks, my son M is getting baptized in November (I can't believe he will be 8!) and my other nephew (the one in the green) will be baptized in December.

OH, how blessed I feel. I am grateful for my brother, who is not a member, for being such a great dad and allowing his children to follow their hearts. Takes a strong man to let go a little.

And to my mom, I love you. I am glad you found your own testimony and allowed the Lord to bless you with His gospel!!

And to ALL the missionaries serving everywhere, THANK YOU for all that you do! You will be forever in the hearts of those you serve! I will never forget the missionairies who taught me and helped change my life forever!

Have a wonderful night y'all!!!

Love letter!

Dear Mr. Groundhog,

I don't know where you have been, but six more weeks of winter sounds CRAZY! You are from PA?? right??

Dear Husband of mine,

Thank you for letting me be the crazy, "productive", crafty, tired, over-exercising, scale-looking-three-times-a-day wife, and still loving me!!!

Dear M,

Thank you for doing your double digit math assignment ALL BY YOURSELF today and getting every single answer right! When did you get so smart??!!!

Dear little A,

Thank you for allowing M to get his math paper done all by himself ! You painted your letter G and loved every minute of it!! You and your brother are complete opposites when it comes to things like that and I love it!

Dear missionaries,

Thank you for traveling to teach my mom, nephews and nieces the gospel. You are wonderful and brave and I will feed you (bonus!!) I hope their hearts and minds will be receptive to the message you have planned and I hope you guys go home with a full belly!

Dear Spring,

Thank you for hanging out ALL through this winter! You must know that I love you and that's why you've decided to stay for a minute!

Dear Ruby,

Thanks for being a great dog and walking partner! I wouldn't want to walk by myself and your killer bark scares the pants of most people, even though you wouldn't hurt a fly!  I love ya Rubster!

Love,

Naomi