Day 22:  My home

Our house today



Our house in 1994 the year we moved in

 

I just love my house.  Scott and I have spent many, many years remodeling, adding to, and fixing up.  It has been fun, hard, expensive, and exciting all at the same time!  I love that I come up with an idea and Scott can do it all himself.  He's amazing that way.  We've done so much to this house, but have a lot more to do.  It's been a work in progress for sure...as time and funds allow.  I've always wanted to raise my children in the same house that they would one day bring their own children to visit.  I can't imagine ever leaving this house, and it makes me really sad to think of another family living here.  I'm grateful for the safety our home provides us, and for the memories that have been made here. 

Day 21:  Family traditions

I love this time of the year when the boys are excited about all the little things we do to celebrate and capture the magic of the season.  I'm grateful for the traditions we've incorporated and for the opportunity to add new ones!  I've been wanting to do the "elf on a shelf" for a couple of years.  This year I broke down and purchased one.  Sammy loves our little elf and totally "believes!"  I'm thankful to have one that does still believe!  I'm grateful for all the memories and traditions we've created and enjoyed over the many years we've had together as a family.  I'm thankful to be part of a family! I'm especially grateful to be the mom of this family of mine.  Thank you, thank you for blessing me with this experience. 

Day 20:  Serving in cub scouts

I'm currently serving as the wolf den leader in the cub scouting program of my church. This is the fourth time I've held this calling.  No surprises there!  It seems to be one of those callings that no one really wants to have, but I really like it!  I love that I get to work right from my home, have my Sundays free, and I'm in charge of what I do and when I do it.  As long as the boys are getting their achievements accomplished and are having fun at the same time, I'm successful and doing my job correctly.  I love working with the little eight year old boys.  They are so excited to finally be a cub scout, and they really want to be there.  It really is the best calling!  And after five consecutive years of  serving in the Young Women program, I was ready for something a lot more low key.  I may have even asked for this opportunity when I heard there was an availablity. 

Day 19: Time with this guy

Scott is usually the first one to leave the house in the morning and the last one to get home at night.  Therefore, I don't get to see him much.  And when he is home, it seems we are always running in different directions tag teaming with whatever is going on each night.  I'm grateful that we got to take our family and get away to Utah for five whole days!  It was fun and relaxing and nice to have some extra time together with nothing to do but hang out. I'm thankful for our marriage and our committment to each other and our family.  It seems like such an ordinary thing, but in this mixed up world, it really isn't someting to take for granted.

P.S. None of my boys got their dad's pretty baby blue eyes.  No fair!

Day 18:  My extended Romney family

 

After Scott's parents passed away in 2003, (within 3months of each other!) we all decided that we would keep up the tradition of meeting together at least once a year for Thanksgiving.  We've been rotating between three homes in California, Utah, and Arizona. We always look forward to our visits, and tomorrow we're off to to see our family in Utah.  I'm gathering all our winter clothes, and the boys can hardly wait to see some snow!  I love Scott's family, and I'm grateful to be a member of the Romney clan.  I know that Del & Van are smiling  with joy to see that their children are meeting together at this special time each and every year.

Day 17:  The opportunity to earn a little extra income without leaving the house

I'm thankful that I get to watch these little cuties!  I'd been wanting to help out financially, but I knew there was no way I wanted to be away from home.  Then the perfect opportunity presented itself when a neighbor went back to work and was looking for someone to take over her childcare business.  I hopped right on with that idea! The boys really like having these little babies around, too.  

Day 16:  Missionary preparation classes for this boy

When it was announced that the eligible mission age for young men would now be at 18 years, the church had to cut back the amount of time spent in the missionary training center to accomodate for the onslaught of incoming missionaries.  Our stake held a special fireside last week introducing the implementation of a 13 week missionary prep class for all potential missionaries that are currently mission age or approaching mission age.  Johnathon fits that category, as he will be turning 18 next month and eligible to serve upon high school graduation in May.  Here again, is evidence of "my village" hard at work providing missionary training for my son.  I'm grateful for the opportunity John has to attend these classes each Sunday at 7:00 AM.  I hope that he will come away with an even deeper desire to serve and a stronger testimony and relationship with the Savior. 

I'm also thankful for the good boy that Johnathon is.  He chooses good friends, has never given me a reason to not trust him, and he is having fun playing high school basketball, dating lots of girls, and loves to bowl! I'm grateful for the part-time job he has at Nielsens Frozen Custard which gives
him money for gas, clothes, going out, etc . I love this kid!  He's my go-to guy when I need an opinion on fashion! Seriously, he'll make a great husband one day. 

Day 15:  My "village"

 

 

 

I believe that it does take "a village to raise a child."  And I'm so thankful for mine.  I have a most amazing support system in my church that helps me instill the same values that we are teaching at home.  We back each other up, and the boys know where we stand.  I appreciate the many hours of time that their leaders put into their unpaid callings.  There are primary teachers, cubscout and scout leaders, young men advisors, our bishop and home teachers. These men and women are "my village," and I appreciate all they do for my family.

Day 14:  When my children are helpful and cooperative

 



Last night I asked Jakey to help me by making pancakes for dinner.  And he did so without murmuring or complaining about it!  Now that is something I'm always appreciative and thankful for.  I need to focus more on the times that they ARE cooperative.  Thanks, Jake!

Day 13:  To be a stay-at-home mom

You can bet this is something I thank my Heavenly Father for every day!  When I was growing up my mom was mostly a single, working mom.  Therefore, I was a "latch-key" kid.  I literally wore a key on a chain around my neck, and I would let myself into an empty apartment every day after school.  I hated it! I envied the other girls who went home to a mom with cookies waiting on the table.  I don't say this to make my own mother feel bad or to look bad.  It was just what she had to do at the time.  But this did instill in me the fact that I wanted something totally different for my children. 

I've been a stay-at-home mom for 20 years now.  The first two years of marriage (pre-babies) I worked full time, and then the next four years I worked part-time with my mom or Scott's mom watching Mikey and Greggy.  Then we had the great opportunity to move out of California to Arizona where we had no parents around to help with childcare.  I knew I wanted to be the one home with them every day, so this was my chance! 

I love being here when they come home, with cookies waiting.  I enoy being able to work in the classroom when needed. They love the occassional lunch dates we have. I appreciate that I don't have to rearrange my schedule when someone is sick.  I'm thankful that they don't have to come home to an empty, unsupervised home day in and day out.

I know this is a privilege, and it is one that I am most thankful for. 

Day 12:  Daughter-in-laws

It's been fun to finally have some girls in the family other than myself.  The boys are quickly learning that I'm not so strange after all.  Us women are a different creature for sure!  I truely love these two daughters of mine.  I'm grateful that they love my boys, too. Aren't they beautiful?!  Won't they make pretty babies?!

Day 11: A completed eagle project

Today I'm feeling grateful to have Timmy's Eagle Project completed and out of my house!  Tim really wanted to do something connected to baseball, which is his passion.  He researched and researched and came up with the idea of doing a  baseball equipment drive.  The equipment collected was then donated to a youth baseball league for needy children of low-income families.  Tim started this project at the beginning of this summer, and we were finally able to drop everything off in Phoenix yesterday.  I'm pleased with Tim's initiative and leadership. Timmy is a go-getter, and he really knows how to get something done.  He was solely responsible for the research, planning, and organizing of this task, and he did a great job!  I'm thankful for the leadership skills that an Eagle project  teaches a boy as well as for the great service opportunity it provides these young men.  I'm also very grateful for the generosity of our family, neighbors and ward members that helped with donations and with the carrying out of the project.

Whew!  Four eagle projects down...three more to go!

Day 10: Military Service

 

(boot camp graduation, November 2006)

 



I'm thankful for the service that Mike and others have given to our country.  I'm extremely thankful for Mike's safe return from three deployments.  It's a honor to be the mom of a vet.  Happy Veteran's Day, Mikey!

Day 9:  Missionary service

This month marks a year that  Greg has been home from his mission.  I'll be eternally grateful for the two years of service he gave in Costa Rica.  It was both a blessing for our family and a blessing for him.  I loved watching his testimony grow and seeing his transformation from boy to man.  I'm grateful for the opportunity that all my sons will have to serve a mission.  Our next boy, Johnathon, will now be eligible to go in May at the age of 18!  As our leaders told us today in conference "the work is hastening," and I'm honored to loan my sons to this great missionary program.  

Day 8:  My neighborhood

 

Man, do I love the neighborhood I live in! My house backs up to a great little park, the elementary school is directly across the street, and I know and love all of my neighbors.  I always wanted my children to grow up in a nice neighborhood full of kids.  They all go to school together, go to church together, and play together.  One of my neighbors teases me that I live in a bubble.  And I know I do.  But with all the craziness in the world, I like it that way.  I feel safe letting my boys run back and forth between homes, and we rarely lock the door until we shut down for the night. I'm grateful for this blessing of raising my family here in this little corner of the world.



Day 7:  My good health

I'm learning not to ever take this for granted.  My mom moved in with me a year and a half ago, and ever since she has been here, she has been really, really sick.  She's always had bad health, but it is rapidly deteriorating.  I feel bad for her, and I feel helpless as to what I can do.  I am thankful that she is here in my home where I can help her more easily and keep a closer eye on things. 

Day 6:  My family

 

  "Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside Your House."
   -James E. Faust

Day 5:  I'm gonna be a grandma!

That cute couple, Mike & Carina, are giving Scott and I our first grandchild!  We are beyond excited.  Another Romney boy it will be!  I'm so happy for them.  I think they will be exceptional parents.  They have a strong marriage that will make a solid foundation for this little guy.  I'm looking forward to watching my first-born become a parent.  I'm looking forward to having a baby in the family!  Nothing compares to the joy of a new life.  And this I am extremely thankful for.

Day 4:  The right to vote

I voted today.  I've been thinking a lot lately about how privileged, honored, and blessed I am to have been born and raised in the United States of America.  I'm reading the book "Veil of Roses," which is about an Iranian girl that moves to America to find a husband.  Wow, do I take for granted the freedoms and blessings I have here.  I believe this is a choice and blessed land.   And I'm thankful for the men and women that have fought for my freedom.  I'm proud to be an American!

Go Romney!!!

Day 3:  Still mothering young children

I'm so lucky to still be a mother of small children.  I had Matty and Sammy at almost 40 and almost 43.  They were hard pregnancies but produced healthy, strong boys.  It was so worth the effort!  I'm 50 years old and have a seven year old that will become an uncle in two months.  I'm thankful for the smartest decision ever...to follow my heart.  



Day 2: My lifelong friend, Dawn.

Dawn and I first met in 8th grade.  I had just moved from Virginia to California, and we attended the same school.  We became friends immediately and have been like
sisters ever since.  She was the one who introduced me to the church and introduced me to Scott a year later.  After she was married, she and her little family moved to Arizona.  Scott and I would come to visit, and eventually I convinced him that we needed to move here too.  I am thankful for her constant friendship, her example, and all that she does for me.

 

A month of gratitude

I'm taking Stephanie's http://barefootinthekitchen.blogspot.com/ advice and posting each
day during the month of November on the things that I am thankful for.  I know I'm a
couple of days behind, but better late than never!

Day 1:  Boys that are happily married!

  I'm so thankful that my two oldest boys are happily married.  They both married great girls that are perfect for each of them.  Mike and Greg are good husbands and providers.  They are growing and learning things together, and it is a joy to watch them.  They set great examples for me as well as 
their younger brothers.  I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't easy for me to have them leave my nest and get married.  I felt like Iwas handing my baby to another woman to raise! It was a strange feeling.  But I love these girls, and I'm happy to have them in our family.