I Prefer to Laugh

I'm grateful today for laughter.

I really am.

It's a magical thing me, and there's nothing quite like it.

Let's not kid anybody.....

raising a family is stressful.

It's hard. It's chaotic at times. It's full of concerns and worries.

And then you add 9 kids to the mix and it's magnified in ways that I can't quite describe.

Granted, Moses and Hannah are off on their own, but in some ways it doesn't matter.

We still worry about them.
And we still want their lives to be wonderful.

I don't want to ever give anyone the idea that life
is perfect and easy for us.

It's the same as any other family.

My kids aren't perfect.

And their parents aren't perfect.

But, we have figured out that when we can laugh in our home, 

the stress, the worry, and the chaos seems to diminish.

Laughter is a magical thing in our home.

It has a way of making everything seem right.

It reminds us that life is joyful, even when it's hard.

It helps unite us and erases bad feelings.

It really is magical.

The other night we had a "funk" going on in our home. 

I think it was the end of a long day.

Kids were tired.

Some were stressed.

And we were all kind of feeling blah.

Then I got my little camera out,

and the fun began.

And so did the laughter.

.....mostly my laughter, but it's laughter still the same.

hahaha!

I couldn't help it.

And remember when I said that my kids put up with me?

Well, they really do.

I love my family.

I love that they make me laugh.

I love that they laugh with me.

And I even love that they laugh AT me.

We all have things that weigh heavily on us.

We all have issues that cause concern, stress and worry.

Regardless of the cause of the stress or worry,

let's not forget to laugh.

My Kindness of the Day?

A friend who listened.

Then laughed at me.

Best combination in a friend.

The Great November Pumpkins

There's not a day that goes by when I'm not grateful to be a mother.

It didn't come about in the way I imagined, but I'm so thankful for how it has all turned out.

I get up every day and I'm surrounded by the greatest kids.

I know all you mom's out there would argue with me, but I think mine are really special.

They are the coolest kids around.

There are many things I love about my kids, but one of the greatest things is that they put up with me.

They tolerate my crazy ways.

They look past my flaws.

And they have really learned to go with the flow.

They know that I can't remember anything from 

one minute to the next.

Instead of being frustrated with me, they come up with funny ways to remind me.

They know that I am almost deaf.

Instead of speaking louder, they totally mess with my head and make me laugh on a regular basis.

They know that my head spins on a daily basis as I try to keep up with all of them.

Instead of being annoyed, they step in to help without asking.

They know that if they poke just the right spot on my back, 

that I'll groan.

Instead of doing that, they......

well, they poke me all the time.

hahahaha! 

My kids know they don't have a perfect mom,

but they never make me feel like that.

Today I'm grateful for that.

My Kindness for Today?

My kids tolerance.

Halloween came and went. And for the first time EVER, we couldn't seem to find a time to carve our pumpkins. 

They have been sitting on our front porch for over three weeks. 

Two molded and died, and I even went and bought replacement ones!

Well, yesterday, I thought, "Why not carve our pumpkins?"

So, we did just that.

Not one child complained about the lack of pumpkin carving.

Not one child has made me feel bad.

Instead, they were excited and weren't even phased by the fact that we were carving their Halloween pumpkins on November 6th!

One even made a Thanksgiving pumpkin.

See?

THE COOLEST KIDS EVER!

My Random Joys

I was thinking about my life today and realized how many weird random things I thought about. There are many things in life to be thankful for. The big ones are obvious.....my family, my health, the beauty of the world around us, etc.

But, sometimes, it's good to be grateful for the things that make life happy and easier.

So, here are a few of mine that I'm grateful for.

Just remember that I'm a mom of many, so these few special things really do make me happy.

Please don't judge.

hee hee hee.

Here we go.

My Morning Diet Coke

 Do I really need to say anything else?

The only thing that makes it a more beautiful little treasure is 

when I add lime. Oh...how I love this.

Remember.....no judging. 

hee hee hee

Insurance

We are currently getting all the medical bills from Ricky's scary little episode.

Needless to say, I'm very thankful we have insurance.
But, I'm even more grateful for the health of my sweet husband.

So. Very. Grateful.

Pinterest

 Can I just say how much I love Pinterest?

You can always tell when life is a tad stressful, because Veronica Blaylock becomes a psycho-pinner on Pinterest. 

But, I REALLY do use so many of those ideas! 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Pinterest.

Those Nasty Frozen Little Pizzas That Are SOOO Healthy

There are some nights in this crazy house, when I am so happy to put these little treasures in the oven. I know there is nothing good about them.....except that my kiddos love their crispy, yummy goodness. It is a little treat in my house that doesn't happen very often, but when they are needed, I am so grateful! :)

I know, I know.....what responsible mother feeds these to her children?

This one does.

Whirley Pop Popcorn Popper

This little treasure is something that I love. Every time I use it, I'm so happy I have one. Makes the best popcorn, especially kettle corn. I've worn mine out. It's dented, stained and very loved. But, it still works great!

My Pillow

As I snuggled into bed last night, I thought,
"ahhhhhh.....I love my pillow."

There is no pillow like my pillow. 

It's perfectly broken down and it's squishy little softness 

makes me very happy.

I'm so thankful for my comfy little pillow.

My Kindness of the Day

This is Elaine.

She is my sweet little Walmart friend.

You can imagine how often I go to Walmart.

It's a daily trip for me.....literally.

We have been friends with Elaine since Luke was little.

For some reason Elaine has always gone out of her way to be very kind to my kids.

For all I know, she does this to everyone's kids, but she makes mine feel special.

It's a good reminder to me that it
doesn't take much to show kindness.

The small efforts we make really do mean something
to those around us.

Today, I'm grateful for Elaine.
I'm grateful she works at Walmart, because every time I see her,
I feel happy.

I'm also very grateful for the many other people in my life who show small kindnesses all the time.

A Boy Named Israel

Today, my heart is full of gratitude for Israel. 

He is 3rd oldest of our nine children, but right now he is the oldest at home.

It feels like I blinked and he became this grown up, really cool 18 year old.

I am grateful for Israel for many reasons.

He's not your typical 18 year old and is a hard one to describe, but I will do my best.

Israel is our observer. He sits back and quietly observes 

the world and the people in it.

I believe that his brain is always working.

Israel is just good. He's very tender hearted and is ALWAYS concerned about others. 

Because of that, people trust him and rely on him. 

He's just a remarkable young man.

Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect.

He's horrible with directions.

h.o.r.r.i.b.l.e.

And he's my pickiest eater.

p.i.c.k.y.

But, there really aren't many other faults I could share.

One of the things I am most grateful for is the 

way he loves his family.

He doesn't just tolerate us.....

he truly loves us.

And we all know it.

He's loyal.

He's protective.

And he's a great example of everything good.

That leads me to my act of kindness I wanted to share today.

On Halloween, Israel and Noah went and hung out with their friends. 

Ricky and I took the younger ones trick-or-treating.

There is one neighborhood in town which is THE neighborhood to go trick-or-treating.

We didn't go to that one.

But Israel and Noah and their group of friends did. 

yes.....I know......he's 18.

But, it's his last one! :)

When they came home later that night they had pillowcases that were over halfway full of candy. 

Luke and Lucy didn't have that much, which was perfectly 

fine with me, but it was not ok with Israel.

When Israel saw how much they got, he brought his pillowcase full of candy downstairs and LOADED their trick-or-treat bags up.

I know it was a small thing, but when those two little kids woke up in the morning and saw how their candy had multiplied, they couldn't believe it. 

It was the BEST feeling to tell them what Israel had done.

He didn't do anything huge.

Nothing grand.

But, to me, he did.

His goodness is just there.

He doesn't have to think about it.

I can't tell you how much I love this young man.

I am grateful that I get to share every day with him.

I'm grateful for the way he loves me.

I'm grateful for the way he takes care of all of us.

He helps keep our family strong.

Today, I am grateful for Israel.

Simply Sunday: Grateful for some wonderful people.

I got up this morning and started thinking about what I would write about today.

As I went through the day, I realized that today I was feeling grateful for the people I shared my day with.

I'm grateful to be a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
And I'm so grateful to share my life with some amazing people!
I can't introduce them all to you, but let me share
a few of them with you.

They all mean so much to me,
but for many different reasons.


Right now I have the wonderful blessing of working
with the children at church.
And I can't tell you how much I love them.
It does my heart good to walk in the room and to see them all sitting there.
I see their smiles, I hear their excited whispers to each other,
I see them truly listening and wanting to learn.
Then I hear their voices.
The voice of a child is one of the best sounds.
Well.....almost all the time. :)

I love all these kiddos.
But, the voice of this one stands out from the rest.
This is my little buddy.
He loves coming to church, but he loves singing time even more.
It's hard to describe what I feel when he sings.
We sing a song, The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock.
And this little cutie sings it with so much excitement and volume.
It makes me smile every time. And it makes me so thankful that I get to see him every Sunday.




Every Sunday we sit on the same bench. I think people know that the Blaylock Bunch needs the big long bench right up front.
We always sit in front of these two.

And I love it. I really have two moms here. This is Mama Penny and I can't imagine life without her. She is wonderful in every possible way. And then there's her cute little husband. Sitting in front of him has become one of my favorite things at church. He's H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.  He sits behind us and makes the funniest little comments under his breath. And the funniest thing is that I don't think he knows how much we can hear. Well.....he probably does now. HAHAHA! 

He keeps me thoroughly entertained. 

I LOVE THESE TWO.

And I owe them a debt of gratitude for too many things to list.

My Kindness for Today?

Well, that came from this cute lady.

I got the sweetest card from her today. 

Sometimes it's the small things that mean the most.

Thank you Ginger. 

I love you.....so very much. 

Then, the highlight of my day was Charlie.

He is so very dear to me.

But, he's very sick and not doing well.

Charlie hasn't been to church for a while, and I miss him every week. 

Today he was there and it made my whole day.

I love you Charlie. I love that you are my friend.

I'm grateful for the example you are to us all of endurance and strength.

So, today, I'm feeling grateful for my church family. 

I could tell you something good about everyone.

They are so good to this crazy Blaylock Bunch, 

and they make our life here in Tennessee a very happy one.

Gratitude and Kindness: Lucy Lu-Lu's Kind Heart

Yesterday I had one of those "I'm so proud to be your mom" moments.

I've been talking to our kids a lot about kindness lately. 

I spend most of my time with Lucy Lu-Lu right now, and I cherish that.

Well, this morning I was talking to Lucy Lu-Lu about different ways we can be kind.

She had some interesting ideas of her own.

"I know Mom! I can not chew on Luke's Star Wars toy."

uhhhh....."Yes, Lucy. That would be kind to not do that."

Then came this gem.....

"Mom, I could give Aunt Boo Boo's magical powers back. 

She misses them."

uhhhh....."What magical powers Lucy?"

"You know.....her doctor powers. She flies babies up to the moon, and then she brings them back down. Then she takes them to the store so the mom's can go pick their babies."

uhhhh.....

"She misses her magic. That would be kind. Right?!?!"

uhhhh.....

"Yes sweetheart. She would probably really love her magical doctor powers back. That's very kind."

Later we went to the store.

My kids ALWAYS ask for a quarter for the candy machines.

And EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, I'm a nice mom and I give them one.

So, Lucy Lu-Lu did her thang, and asked for her quarter.

I then asked her if she thought it would be kind to leave her quarter for some other child to use.

I was prepared for a little reminding chit chat on 

why we need to be kind.

Then she surprised me.

My sweet little Lucy Lu-Lu got a very excited look on her face, her eyes lit up and she said, 

"OH MOM!! That is SOOOO KIND!!"

She had a look on her face like I was the greatest thing on earth for coming up with such a brilliant idea! Then she hugged my leg. 

I teared up.

I was so proud of this sweet little girl.

She didn't need a reminder about kindness.

Because it's already part of who she is.

We then went to the car, found some index cards, 

and wrote a quick note.

Then Lucy Lu-Lu got very serious about her act of kindness.

Not once did Lucy Lu-Lu ask for a treat out of those machines.

My sweet daughter is who I am grateful for today.

And I'm grateful to share my life with 8 other amazing kids who teach me by their example on a regular basis. 

I truly am better because of them.

Gratitude and Kindness: Mama Gwen

I've had many thoughts about what to write about this month. 

This is Gwen. 

I'll tell you why I'm writing about her in a minute.

Life is a complex mixture of many things. 

There are happy moments, sad moments, moments of discouragement and fear, and moments of great joy. 

And lately I feel like we have been experiencing it all. 

I've wanted to do the "30 days of gratitude" since last year, but I've decided to do something a little bit different. 

For me personally, I can always think of things that I'm grateful for. But, lately I've been thinking about what I do about ALL of those wonderful things. I can sit here and tell you a million things that I'm grateful for, but if I do nothing to give anything back, then am I really grateful? 

So this month, I've decided to write about a mixture of things:

Kindness that is shown and things that I'm grateful for.

I believe these two are connected in a powerful way.

I'm one who believes that acts of kindness are most powerful when done in secret and without any recognition. So, I will be doing my acts of kindness. I promise. But, I probably won't be sharing all of them. I love doing them, but they are very personal to me, so please trust me when I tell you that.....

MAN, I'M HAVING FUN DOING THEM!

However, I WILL share with you the many acts of kindness that I see happening around me every day. Some are small. Some are profound. But, each one makes a difference.

That's what's great about showing kindness. It doesn't matter how small it is. It still matters.

And the best thing about gratitude is that when I'm focusing on the many things that are GREAT about my life, it's really hard to focus on the struggles.

So, I'm excited about this month.

Back to my friend Gwen.

I call her Mama Gwen.

She is my mom away from home.

And she is always doing kind things for others.

Yesterday, I was the lucky recipient of her goodness.

I was treated to a delightful lunch where I got to talk, to laugh and to just enjoy the moment.

And I can't tell you how much I loved my time with her.

She loves me.

And yesterday, she made time to make sure I knew that.

Nothing profound.

But, for me.....well, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Thank you Mama Gwen.

I'm grateful for your friendship.

And I'm grateful for your kindness.

So, today I'm grateful for Gwen, but it also makes me think of so many others who have recently shown their love, support and concern. Thank you for that kindness. 

HERE WE GO.....

A month of kindness and gratitude.