Chocolate Chip soup

My niece, who has had a particularly challenging last few months...
has said that children have helped to heal her heart.

Children give perspective.
Children give love.
Children want love.
Children are a gift.

It is no wonder our Savior has said,

"....Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3-4

Not a day goes by
that I don't feel gratitude for the opportunity to be a mother.
This is not to say it is easy! It is the hardest thing I have, and will ever do.
Which makes it such a blessing in my life.
As I often (jokingly, but.. with some truth!) tell my kids,
"What doesn't kill you--will make you stronger!"
Being a mother is making me stronger.
The daily lessons I learn from being a mother
are helping me to reach my full potential,
to become the person I am suppose to be.
It is a process, two steps forward, one step back.
Not perfection, but progress nonetheless.
And gratefully, kids are resilient and forgiving.
Justin has told me-

"mom, I will always love you,even when you are mad."

I guess, I am just wanting to express my gratitude for joy.
The small and precious, daily moments of joy
that help soften the days ups and downs.

They give you perspective,
help you stop for a moment,
And feel-- really feel, the treasure that life is,
and the joy that comes from loving.

One reason I have enjoyed blogging,
is it helps me recognize the moments that make life so meaningful.
Those small, usually simple everyday moments
that will one day make up a lifetime of happy memories.
Sometimes "life" can get so busy that we miss them!
And yet they are always there if we take the time to see them.
The pictures below show one such moment.
So glad I didn't miss it.

I was enjoying a long hot shower

when 2 very excited toddlers

came running into my bathroom.

"Mom, mom, we have a surprise for you.

You're not going to believe this...

WE made DINNER for you!"

I tried to hide my fear, remember-

I had taken a long shower.

" When is everyone getting home? We have the table all set!"

It is only 9 a.m.

I am terrified to enter the kitchen.

"Close your eyes!"

I am definitely closing my eyes.

Holding my hands they proudly guide me to the table,

and to their amazing creation of Chocolate Chip Soup!

They did have the table set for 7 and had already dished some up for me to taste.

I was both stunned and relieved.

Stunned at the amount of water and dishes

that covered the kitchen in their preparation of dinner,

but also relieved,

it could have,(and has been!) sooooo much worse!

Because we wanted to eat the soup "while it was good",

we decided not to wait for the rest of the family.

We enjoyed fun conversation over an early dinner

of Chocolate Chip Soup.

And then...

went and got dressed for the day.

Wanna RACE??!

Mitch and Dad...

the proud winners of the Pinewood Derby!!

The bottom picture in the collage is a friend of Mitchell's trying to carry him to the "cheers" of the crowd! His friends were so happy for him! Mckay later confessed he had seriously considered trading out the wheels on his old derby car (without Lou and Mitch knowing,) because he really wanted Mitch to win! Mac had won 2 years in a row with these speedy wheels! However, Lou and Mitch were following all the rules. This made the big win all the sweeter! I also had to post the video below, I loved seeing him run back to see his car race.

To be 9 again!!

Way to go MITCH!!

who knew I married the pinewood derby master?

i'm such a lucky girl.

Easter at the Buhrley's...

The Easter bunny comes

to our house on Saturday!

(makes for a fun Saturday,

and wonderfully peaceful Easter Sunday!)

After finding eggs around the house,

we dyed our own.

It's a good thing this is a fun tradition--because it is a messy one!

Saturday night we made Easter cookies.

The recipe takes you through the scriptures

and the last days of our Savior.

You leave the cookies in the "tomb" overnight,

and in the morning you have a hollow cookie,

and a sweet visual of Christ's resurrection.

After church on Sunday, we tried to get a few photo's!

The older kids seemed to disappear...

but we cornered these two!

However, you will see-

Justin was in quite the goofy mood!

The kids are- obviously- not shy in front of a camera.

But..they are used to me taking

candid photo's of them ...

so when I asked them to hold hands

and walk away from me--

they thought I had lost it!

As I was taking this photo,

a giggling Gracie turns to Justin-

and very quietly says, "this is sooo dumb."

You could see the wheels turning in Justin's head--

(if you look closely at this picture you can see it in his eyes!)

as if saying... "yah, this is dumb!!
and, WHY - are we doing this !?"

That's all it took-they were off and running,

never to return.

Candid photo's are more fun anyway...

Happy Easter!

Sunday afternoons...

I LOVE Sunday afternoons!

With the beautiful Easter weather, we spent the afternoon outside.

I love that we get the opportunity to spend Sunday as a family.

We can put outside distractions and responsibilities on hold...

and just simply enjoy being together.

All it takes is 5 minutes

on the trampoline... and we become

"the best mom and dad in the whole world!"

The kids could live outside!

So grateful for our family time,

and Sunday's --

that rejuvenate us for the rest of the week!

GRAND Targhee.....traditions, chpt2!!!

This is the view we enjoy every Spring Break.

You really are just taken back

with gratitude for the beauty around you.

Grandma and Grandpa Buhrley!

Living only 1 1/2 hours away from Targhee,

we have been lucky to have mom and dad B

a favorite part of our trip each year.

We will never forget last year -when dad

got "caught"for playing hooky from school!

He left his students at BYU Idaho,

and headed up the mountain to join us--

Only to get caught in a storm,

AND

interviewed by the local news station!

I think every student and fellow colleague

saw Brother Buhrley on the news that night.

He was so busted.

It's a good thing he finally made it up the mountain.

If you are going to play hooky,

at least make it a good day!

A new and wonderful tradition......

all seven of us on the slopes!

Lou has always done a great job teaching the kids to ski.

This year we also got our money's worth-

from the ski school!

Justin and Gracie loved the "little deers" school....and Lou and I-

loved being able to ski all day!

The traditional....

"take a picture on the lift" photo! It's a must.

(side note--every time I saw Justin in this helmet, I really had to resist the urge to kiss those cheeks!)

New tradition.....5 Buhrley's snowboarding!

I have now crossed the line.

They made it look so easy!!?

Wish we had more pictures of the kids in action!

I was to busy trying not to fall, and Lou--

was busy videoing 360's.

(Mckay's not mine.)

Off go the boots--On go the swimsuits!!

"I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!"
This tradition has taken on a world of it's own.

These pictures show nothing of the insanity of Lou's children.

I really feel sorry-

for whoever is in the hot tub with them!

Somehow ??

they always talk a few innocent vacationers,

into joining them for this little game.

They have NO idea

what they have gotten themselves into!
Round one...roll your entire body around in the snow 13 times--

then walk upstairs and around the building 3 times,(barefoot of course.)
The stakes get higher as the game goes on.
Wanna play?!

The reward......a jump in the pool!
They have to adjust to the pool water before their
FREEZING skin can tolerate the HOT tub!
It really doesn't take much to entertain us......
the pain and suffering of others=
tons of fun and laughter.

Even little Gracie got in the action!
This girl could outlast ALL of us in the hot tub.

One of my personal favorites

a 5 o'clock run after the lifts close.

This year I had running partners!

I thought I would have the edge on all these "non-runners".

Ha, Mac left me in his dust,

and I was barely ahead of the old guys!:)

Mandi joined us the last day and also made me feel really old!

Lungs and legs burning, beautiful scenery,

the drive to catch up to my kids,

( or at least keep a step ahead of the old guys)

Does it get better then this?

Maybe a little.