My horoscope for today

Ha - this made me laugh a bit. I don't generally read my horoscope, or put much value on the ones that I do - but sometimes these things make me laugh at how accurate they are. A good warning, if nothing else.

There may be a great deal of conflict in your life today, dear Gemini, and different people and situations seem to be pulling you in all directions. Your sanity is being put to the test. Try not to be too stubborn, for this will only cause more tension among you and the situations that you encounter. You have the potential of stressing out over the smallest things. Try to avoid this scenario if you can.

And if you don't believe in horoscopes this might change your mind. Read Cory's and then read mine - they were written exactly for the 2 of us! Cory's says:

Tune into your dreams today, dear Aries. Do you often get an intense sense of jealousy when it seems like the people around you are living these amazing lives while you are stuck in a dull and boring routine? The only person who can pull yourself out of this rut is you, so stop complaining and simply do it. Change is much easier than it may seem at first. Let your imagination take control and work towards manifesting your most fanciful goals.

WOW! Digi scrapping sale!

Ok everyone - RUN, don't walk - to http://www.elementalscraps.com/!

They are having a $1.00 retirement sale - and there are SO MANY cute things on sale for just $1.00! Elemental Scraps will have a new look next week - and to celebrate and get ready for it they are getting rid of a lot of (super cute) things to make room for the new stuff.


http://www.elementalscraps.com/shoppe/home.php?cat=342&catexp=342

So check it out and get some cute stuff.

Sadly Mandy (who I got to design for for a short time has decided to retire). She's expecting twins and focusing on her family - which is awesome - but sad for us who love her stuff. Check out her post here at her site to see where you can get some cute stuff for CHEAP!

And lastly - here's a layout from me.

Digi scrapping

Yesterday I was asked to be the "featured scrapbooker" on the Elemental Scraps Blog. Kind of fun. You can check it out here.

Here are a few layouts I haven't posted here too. I have been having a hard time with my "Project 365" pictures and layouts...I'm getting a bit bored with it....Any advice to making it fun again?

signs that make me crazy

We have 2 signs here in town that make me absolutely crazy every time I pass them - totally nuts. Last week I realized that the signs are on opposite sides of each other. Weird.

Anyway - these are the 2 billboards....does anyone else think they are the dumbest signs you've ever seen?

• Seriously - how can ANYONE join something that is exclusive. How exclusive is THAT?
• And since when is NAUVOO a foreign country???

32 things about my favorite 32 year old

As I mentioned previously - today is Cory's birthday. We love him so much and are so blessed to have him in our life! So in honor of his big day I thought I'd share 32 things about him.

1. Cory loves to work. He is one of the hardest working people I know. I know that he got this from his parents and from growing up in Idaho.
2. Cory is GREAT at moving people. He can cram so much stuff into a small space - it is really a talent. I always tell him he should be a professional mover.
3. Cory isn't a huge fan of reading - especially fictional books. He will sometimes start reading books about making money or starting businesses - but that's about all that will entice him.
4. Cory wants to help others. Even when he talks about owning businesses, or doing things financially - he wants to be able to do it so he can empower others and help them to make money, better themselves.
5. He loves being in the outdoors. Playing, or working. He actually enjoys mowing the lawn and doing yard-work. Also, one of our favorite things to do is take the kids on Ranger rides with the weather is nice.
6. Cory looks forward to a time when his kids are older and can enjoy "big kid" activities - like bike riding, camping, and other things where they are out roughing it and participating together.
7. Cory is a Primary teacher - teaches the 10-11 year old boys. It's funny to watch him with them - he doesn't put up with their rambuncious ways - and they look at him with respect.
8. He hates basketball. Might watch it - but will NOT play it - hates it (thanks to some YM leader years and years ago).
9. Cory doesn't ever think that something is impossible. He can look at ANY situation and come up with some way to tackle it. It might not be efficient or easy - but he will come up with a way.
10. Cory is confident in himself, and assumes that all other people are confident in themselves too. He doesn't care what others think and the idea of worrying about what others think is foreign to him.
11. Along with the last one - he also doesn't always think rules/laws are made for him....he kind of thinks that there is a different set of rules just for him.
12. Cory isn't a big fan of Disneyland - but he's gone twice with me anyway and once to Disneyworld.
13. He used to be really into skiing, before he met and married me. For a few years he even taught ski lessons and took up telemark skiing. Since we have lived in Southern Utah he hasn't been as into it though...(something I feel bad about every year - wish he would still enjoy it)
14. Cory is a dreamer and a visionary person. He can see things before they come about - really picture them. This is a trait that we don't share....I can't picture the end from the beginning....
15. Cory has this really funny laugh when he thinks something is really funny. It reminds me a lot of Eddie Murphy - kind of a barking/hacking laugh.
16. Cory loves to snack on stuff on Sundays. Seriously - he snacks like crazy on Sunday - but doesn't eat much the rest of the week.
17. He eats ranch flavored sunflower seeds to keep himself awake when he's driving.
18. Cory has had so many different jobs - ski instructor, office supply salesman, lawn mower guy, insurance agent, vacuum salesman, stocker at a grocery store, door-to-door alarm system salesman, business owner, the list goes on and on. Cory also was a line dancing instructor "back in the day" - ask him about it - he'll share all the details.
19. Cory isn't a real fan of food. He says he'd be happy with some kind of a magic "pill" that he could take once a day and not ever have to eat. It makes me sad sometimes because I'm just the opposite and find a lot of enjoyment in food.
20. He loves watching tv - it's one of the few ways he relaxes. And he likes to flip through channels and be watching several things at once.
21. Favorite dessert - cheesecake - but not cheesecake with any chocolate in it.
22. Cory's drink of choice - Dr. Pepper. Sometimes Mt Dew - but mostly Dr. Pepper.
23. Favorite color - red. This is funny to me because when we were first married I tried to get him to wear something red and he hated it. Then once we bought The Blind Guy he got into the color, and now he almost always wears it and says it's his favorite color.
24. Cory loves Idaho. He would move back in a heart-beat if he could. He loves the weather, the people, the beautiful scenery. His favorite is the Teton mountains and someday we'll live close to them....
25. Cory's not real into video games. We did buy a Wii a year or so ago and he just hasn't gotten into it. He was so sure he would play it all the time - but it bores him.
26. Cory doesn't just sit back and relax well. Like on vacation - he has to be doing something - and usually something adventurous like dune buggy rides, or zip line trips.
27. Cory served a 2 year mission for the church in Peru. More than anything I want to be able to take him back there to visit the area, see the people, and have him share his experiences with me.
28. When Cory was in high school he was on the Madison High School boy-girl drill team. He's really quite proud of that.
29. Cory's best friend (other than me of course) is his friend Trent from high school. We are both lucky because Trent married an awesome girl Melissa and the 4 of us are great friends. We both wish they lived next door to us. (which will only happen if we move back to Idaho - right?)
30. Cory doesn't like chocolate - at all. Except hot chocolate pudding with ice cream - which he likes to eat on Sunday evenings.
31. Gabe says, "Dad likes to do things with us - because he LOVES to spend time with his family." It's true - Cory might not be gushy with telling people he loves them all the time, or smothering them in kisses - but he does like to spend time with them and be together as a family. His boys certainly know that their daddy loves them.
32. Cory loves the gospel, has a testimony and loves our family - these are the most important things in the world to him.

The big 3-2

Sunday is Cory's big 32nd birthday. WOW! With things the way they are I can't run out and buy him anything that he wants for his birthday (the new Maxima, the speed-boat, matching motorcycles....you know - the BIG gifts) - so I'm trying to be creative.

I was thinking if everyone could either email me with a note for him (coryjoannaellis at msn dot com), or leave one in the comments here - we could all work at showing him how loved he is. Mention something you see as a positive quality, things you admire about him, etc.

He doesn't read the blog (much to my dismay most of the time - but it's working for me here) - so feel free to post here. Thanks for the help!

Layouts

I'll be back to update the kits and things that were used....

St. Patty's Day

We had an exhausting St. Patrick's Day at our house. Hunter had decided to get up at 3:00 am (for the day) and Gabe was up by 5:30 am. So I was ready to go back to bed, and the boys were ready to face the day. What better time to make some green breakfast :)

So we had green pancakes, green milk, and green scrambled eggs. Gabe took one bite of the pancakes and promptly spit them out. He got this funny look on his face and he said "YUCK!" I explained to him that the only thing that was different was the color. So he took another bite and said, "Hey Mom - you're right. These taste just like pancakes."

The eggs on the other hand....didn't taste or look like regular eggs. In fact, I didn't even try them - they grossed me out just looking at them. But the boys did :)

Hunter ended up falling asleep in his green food - and many other places through the morning. I guess waking up at 3:30 am wore him out a bit.

Gabe was having a "green day" at preschool and all the kids brought green snacks to share. Gabe took left-over pancakes and celery spread with chive cream-cheese. They tried all different kinds of green treats and even had a leprechaun bring them a prize (a kite).

Then in the evening Gabe and Hunter were also visited by a little leprechaun who left them with some fun green treats. Gabe wasn't there when the delivery was made and when he came home from playing with friends he found the basket with treats. He screamed and squealed with delight - it was so fun to hear.

I heard several people say through the day yesterday that they thought that St. Patrick's Day was a silly or dumb holiday. It is - it's silly, but I've always enjoyed it. I love that it's not a "required" holiday. I love that it mixes things up a little bit and that it breaks up the monotony of all the other days. I also like that St Patrick's Day signifies that Spring is coming. In today's world there are too many things to keep us from celebrating - I like to embrace a chance to dance a jig and eat overly processed/dyed green foods!

I meant to upload this yesterday morning, but forgot. We had a fun St. Patrick's Day at our house. I'll post more about it in the next post.

Blessings

Today I was told of a friend in our ward who had a baby who passed away before ever having the chance to take his first breath. Heartbreaking. I can't imagine the feeling of experiencing this as a mother - my heart literally aches and hurts for their family.

Then a few minutes ago I was led to this blog: Gracie's Blog - and again my heart is full of feeling. But this time although I have thought of the pain the family has gone through - my heart is so full of love, gratitude, and peace.

I am feeling so much love for my Heavenly Father who must ache as we go through trials, love for my children, family and friends, and love for a plan that will help us to return to Him. I am so grateful that I believe in the true gospel of Jesus Christ. So blessed because we have this gospel, this knowledge of life after our experience here on earth - I feel so truly blessed to have this knowledge to get me through tough times. It brings me peace to know that there is a plan, a plan of happiness - in place, there is a way to be together again as a family, and life doesn't end here - but will go on for eternity - and it can be so as a family.

Life is tough, and it's hard work - but I think that knowing this puts it in perspective, makes it worth it, and bouys me up when times are hard. I hope and pray that others can find - or remember the same peace and gratitude that I have, and that everyone's prayers will be felt.

"Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” —D&C 64:33

Joy in the Journey

It can be so easy to get caught up in ourselves - can't it? (at least it is for me...) It's easy to feel so weighed down by life, by the trials we're enduring, by the difficulties that get tossed in our way. But what about enjoying life? What about experiencing things with the attitude of enjoying the moment. I've been thinking about this a lot this week. How sad is it to miss out on the experiences in life because we are too wrapped up in today's trial. I've been thinking about not just waiting for the next big thing to make us happy.

Don't laugh - but part of my thinking has been because of a song I've been listening to by Miley Cyrus (a.k.a. Hannah Montana) called "The Climb". It talks about how it's the experience, or "the climb" that makes life worth living. Here are the lyrics:

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking, every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
but I got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's The Climb

The struggles I'm facing, the chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
The pain I'm knowing but these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It's all about, it's all about
The climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith

Then today we were in Sacrament Meeting and our High Counsel speaker talked about a General Conference talk by President Monson called "Joy in the Journey" from October 2008. As the high counsel speaker started to give his talk I thought - here we go again - exactly what I am supposed to hear. So I sat up and tried to listen a little better than usual. I'm grateful that I noticed that nudging of the spirit - it was exactly what I needed to hear!

In his talk he mentioned a story about his family years ago and how their car and camper trailer had been stolen when they were traveling on vacation. He said that there were tears, that it was hard and upsetting, and cost thousands of dollars - but that they enjoyed the trip - they had joy in the journey.

I came home and read over President Monson's talk. I LOVE these 2 quotes from his talk:

1. "I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now."
2. "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly."

So this week I am going to work extra hard at enjoying the journey, loving every minute of my life - where it is now. Yes, I want to be a dreamer, and look forward to the exciting things we have to enjoy in the future - but I hope and pray that I don't waste away my todays with dreams of tomorrow.

Along those same lines - a quote from a favorite movie at our house - Kung Fu Panda. Oogway says, "You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."

Just a reminder....LDS General Conference is coming soon!

Just a reminder that LDS General Conference is coming up in a few weeks. And while I know it's a ways away - it's never too early to start preparing when you have little kids - they need it drilled in for weeks ahead of time :)

Here is a link to a new General Conference Packet that someone has put together. Here's also a great link for other General Conference ideas. Here are some of my favorites:

• Apostle Cards


• Conference Coloring Book


• MORE great coloring pages


• Ideas to help prepare children for General Conference

I'd love to hear about your family's traditions and things you do to prepare for General Conference - both personally, and as a family. And any great ideas for families with little kids would be great too! THANKS!

*A lot of these ideas came from a GREAT website called www.sugardoodle.net - they have the BEST church ideas for all of the auxillaries! I LOVE it!

Gabeisms

I need to write these down more often. Gabe says some of the funniest things. I always think I'll remembe them - but I never do. So here are a couple from this week:

• Gabe was saying his bedtime prayers and he said, "Please bless Mom's hair to have the help that it needs, and....please bless Mom's earrings." I was a bit confused so afterwards I asked him why he'd asked for help for those things. He said, "Well Mom - the other day you said that your hair needed help, and those earrings you're wearing....well they're just ugly."
• Gabe ended up sleeping in my bed the other night (Cory was out of town and Gabe couldn't sleep). I discovered that he talks in his sleep - a lot. At one point I woke up to him saying, "You're a dufus!" I didn't know if he was asleep so I said, "What?" He said, "You heard me - you're a dufus." He was totally asleep when he said it.
• After bedtime prayers the other night Gabe said "Mom SHHHHH - I can't hear the answer." I asked what he meant and he said, "You told me that Heavenly Father will answer my prayers - but I can't hear him talking." I love moments like that when we can teach our children - so sweet.

We're Sisters

I got back from Enrichment meeting tonight and as I was driving home I got to thinking about being a member of the Relief Society and what a blessing that is. Now this sometimes is a bit of a stretch for me. For the last 7-8 years I have been in either Young Women, Primary, or at one point nursery (which is Primary, I guess). Anyway, there have been very few stretches of more than 2-3 weeks at a time where I have been able to go to Relief Society meetings and feel like a day-to-day member of the Relief Society. And I will be the first to admit - I haven't always been great about going to Enrichment meetings. A lot of times I forget, and when I do remember it seems like I have felt "too busy", or have come up with excuses not to go. I attend from time to time, but I'm not real regular about it.

And in fact - a lot of the time I don't feel like I'm a part of the Relief Society....more my doing than anybody else's....but no matter whose "fault" it is - I haven't embraced being a part of the Relief Society. I haven't let myself feel the blessings that this title and organization offers to me.

But know what? I need all the positive associations and blessings that I can get :) And today I felt strongly that the Relief Society organization, and the blessings that come as being a part of this sisterhood are there - just waiting for me to claim. So I'm going to work on being a better "sister" to those around me. There are some amazing people in my ward, and around the world as a part of this worldwide church and Relief Society - it's pretty amazing.

All of this reminds me of a song that I just love - it's called "We're Sisters" from a great cd called "Women of Destiny - vol. 2". The song talks about how we're different - we're all from different walks of life, all doing different things, and living in different situations - but we are still SISTERS. It's a beautiful song, and gives me something to think about.

We're Sisters

Artist: Cherie Call
Album: Women of Destiny, Volume 2

It's Sunday morning
In this little town
With people waking in houses everywhere
And there's a woman in a kitchen
Eating breakfast all alone
While another one is putting ribbons in her children's hair
And many drive away to the church house down the street
While others stay at home wondering what they all believe

And we have more in common than we ever choose to see
We care about so many of the same things
We all belong to all one Father on high
But we hardly think of that as we pass each other by
We're sisters

Maybe you're the woman sitting in the front row
Singing praises to the Lord on high
And maybe I'm the one all the way in the back row
Who hardly sings at all and isn't there half the time
Maybe you'd think that we would never get alone
That I'm a hopeless cause
But you'd be wrong

We have more in common than we ever choose to see
We care about so many of the same things
We have a Father who loves all of us the same
Don't you think it'd be time that we asked each other's names?
We're sisters

Some of us are 80
Some of us are 20
Some of us are hungry
Some of us have plenty
Some of us are lonely
But few of us would be
If only we could see we are a family

And we have more in common than we ever choose to see
We care about so many of the same things
We all belong to the same God above
And we all have things to learn about that redeeming love

We're sisters
Let us love and lift and pray for one another
We're sisters.

Our Weekend

This was a fun weekend for us. We headed up Friday morning to Draper for the open house at the temple. We met up with my sister Julia and my mom and dad. It was neat to be able to share the inside of the temple with the boys - Gabe especially (since he understands more). The boys were a bit cranky, but I'm still glad we made the effort to go. Then we went and visited with Grandma Marilyn - the girls did anyway, the boys stayed at the hotel and swam at the pool.
Saturday we swam at the hotel pool to start the day. Then we visited with grandparents some more - heading to see my Grandma and Grandpa Whisler and visiting for a while. I love making connections - like when Grandma got out a pack of goldfish crackers to share with the boys. When I was a little girl (their ages) I'd always have fish crackers at their house (which by the way - they have lived in that house since the year I was born - which Gabe wanted to know). Fun to see my boys enjoying some of the same toys and now the same treats.

After time there we headed to lunch at Paradise Bakery (YUM!) and on to visit with Grandma Marilyn. I love to see the boys with her. Both of them were great at sharing their loves with her - Hunter especially - he seemed to connect with her even more than normal. He kept trying to get up on her lap and things - very cute.

When we finished up at Grandma's we were off for our "surprise" - which didn't end up being much of a surprise to the boys (later Gabe said, "I know what we're doing - we're going to Grandma Tammy's and we're going to see my cousins, Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Coby. I know that's what we're doing because Papa already told me!"). It was my mother-in-law's birthday on Sunday and so we headed up to Logan to spend a few hours with her and some other family. Ashley, Spencer and their kids had already surprised them the night before (from Washington) - and Grandma wasn't planning on us coming. It was so fun to surprise her!

Every trip we spend with our families (for such short amounts of times) - I wish we could live closer to family. I hate how short our trips are, and that our family members never get to just see US - in the way that we are in 'real-life'. They see us after hours in the car, living out of a suitcase, no naps, not eating on a regular schedule - they always see us grumpier and more high-strung than we usually are. I wish they'd get to see us on a normal afternoon, after naps, lunch, and clean laundry.

We love you all, and loved seeing those that we got to see. If we didn't get to see you - we're sorry about that, we love you. Our trips are always totally rushed and jam packed.