A New Year with Lots of Heart

Normally people write about the new year in January when the year really is new.  This year, I have decided to go a different route and begin my new year in February.  I gave myself that first month off.  I would like to think it was for good behavior. But we all know it's not. Hahaha!

I honestly can't believe that it's February already.  This Sunday would be my dad's birthday.  Next week is Valentines Day.  We already had groundhog day, but who really pays attention to that little shit anymore?  He never has good news.  And it's not quite time for the munchkin and the rabbit.

We were talking the other night about Valentines Day and were remembering our first Valentines Day together.  When you are dating everything with that person is all new and exciting.  You are still trying to impress each other.  During that time in our lives, I was working in a call center during the evenings.  Kenny had bought me 2 dozen red roses.  They were arranged perfectly with just the right amount of baby's breath. He bought them in Tooele and then drove in to my apartment in Taylorsville with them.  He was so proud that he made it all that way without spilling them or hurting any of them in any way.  He sneaked in while I was at work that evening and placed them on our kitchen table.  He thought he would be sneaky and hide down the hall and give me a second surprise, him being there.  It was supposed to look like he just dropped them off and left.  The only problem with that plan, you ask?  Well, he forgot to hide his coat with him.  I asked my mom where he was and she told me he left.  I asked again where he was and she tried to tell me again that he was gone.  I asked a third time and she finally asked me why I didn't believe her.  I told her that his coat was sitting on the chair by the roses. She tried to convince me that he must have forgotten it, but he eventually came back down the hall. He was so bummed that I took that part of the surprise from him by figuring out that he was still there.

It was so memorable that to this day, 20 years later, I can remember that he was wearing his new Arizona jeans that had a dark wash to them, his Arizona button up shirt that was dark blues and purple. He had a brown suede coat (the one that was sitting on the back of the chair).  I can still remember the deep red of the roses and the amazing smell they had.  Kenny remembers my moms partner shooting him daggers of jealousy.

I remember that feeling of pure innocent joy.  Butterflies in my stomach.  The idea that at that moment, everything was right in the world.  Well, at least in my little world it was. He spent so much time figuring out what I would like and then going out of his way to surprise me with both little and big things. And moments.

We have all different kinds of Valentines Days since that first one.  They have been big celebrations with a weekend away and smaller remembrances of the love that we have for each other.  All have been good.

19

This is where it all started 19 years ago today in a church in a small town with 2 young people.  We knew it all and nobody was going to tell us what to do.  With a whole four months behind us and a whole lifetime ahead of us, we set off on our journey.

There have been many times when our journey has taken us down a nice straight tree lined road.  Things made sense and fell into order.  

More often than not, our journey has taken a meandering path that would wind back and forth and even double back on us.  The trick to this has been to learn how to find enjoyment along the way, slow down to enjoy the scenery, and to laugh often.

I wouldn't trade our years together for anything!

Christmas Letter

I have enjoyed receiving everyone's Christmas letters and pictures.  I look forward to it every year. I try to send out at least a Christmas card with an update or personal message, but this year the time got away from me and it didn't get done.  After some thought, I figured a blog Christmas letter is better than none at all.

Our family has been amazingly blessed this year.  It may not always seem that way, but we really are.  We have food to eat, reliable transportation, a roof over our heads, loving family, and for the most part good health.

Kenny is doing great at work and loves what he does.  He has almost completed his training to be a licensed mechanic as well as being recently promoted at work.  He is currently serving (with me) as the Cub Masters in our ward.  It has been a challenge with his work schedule and my health to get started and to fulfill our duties but Kenny has really taken charge and is doing a wonderful job.  He has shared with me that he feels very blessed to have a good job that supports his family in this economy.  Especially since he works in the automotive industry.

I, Rachelle, am still staying at home and busy with all that comes with this full time job.  I have decided to return to school and will start back on January 7th.  I will have my associates this spring.  My health, as always, is a roller coaster but I'm learning to deal with it better as time goes by.

Kelton is a Sophomore at Grantsville High School and is loving every minute.  He is doing well in school and has made some really good friends.  He has even started to be more active in school activities with his friends.  He was part of the half time show for the powder puff football game during homecoming and will be starting Law and Debate next semester.  He will do an excellent job, he loves to argue :)

Taylor is in the 8th grade at Grantsville Jr. High and has been excelling in all of his classes.  His teachers all love him.  He has been making some good friends as well but is more of a home body (like his parents) and isn't the social butterfly (if you can say that about boys) that his brother is.  He is still our comedian and he keeps us all on our toes.  I never know what to expect to come from him!

This past year we have not just moved back to Grantsville but also back into my mother-in-law's house.  I joke that we are the poster family for boomerang children.  Our boys started new schools, which they love. We were able to travel to St. George to spend time with family and be there for my cousin's sons farewell.  We had so much fun with everyone and we all still talk about our time there.  I had the opportunity to travel to my friends house in Albuquerque and spend the weekend.  It was a trip I will never forget and hope to repeat again with my family next time.

Somehow we met our insurance deductible again this year and that was before Kelton had surgery.  Luckily we only had the one surgery this year and even though it was Kelton's first surgery he did wonderfully.  His scar on his neck is almost healed and soon we won't even be able to see it.  I think that makes this year a success in the medical part of life.

As I said in the beginning, we have been truly blessed this year!  We have spent much time this year focusing on our relationship with our Heavenly Father and the Savior.  There have been many "angels" that have come in and out of our lives this year guiding us through our journey and I am so thankful to them for their support and love.  I know without a doubt that God is real and that he hears our prayers and answers them.  He knows our needs and is prepared to provide them to each of us if we will but only allow him to.  I am thankful for the family that he has sent to me and that they do for me.  I love you all!!

I hope each and every one of you have had a wonderful year and have been blessed this Christmas season.
May we all be able to look forward to 2013 with anticipation and excitement...may it bring us many blessings!

Jack-O-Lanterns

This weekend has also consisted of carving Jack O Lanterns.  This was a whole process just to get to the cutting part...I had thrown away our carving tools when we moved because it had been so long since we had carved pumpkins that I didn't think we needed them anymore.  That one decision cinched it that we would be carving pumpkins this year!

My Mom and Chris took my boys to Northern Utah and they picked out the pumpkins for all of us.  Then I had to brave Walmart on a Saturday in Tooele to get patterns and cutting tools.  Since the rain and snow didn't clean all the mud off of the pumpkins  Kelton and Seth wiped them off.  We had their cousin Kayla here for a late night and she was more than willing to carve my pumpkin for me...whew.  I had no idea how my hands would hold up and didn't feel like trying to find out.

See, always a process, never easy :)

Before long, the pumpkins had been chosen and divided up...they were clean and ready to get dirty again with pumpkin guts....tops cut and guts scooped....patterns picked....then you could have heard a pin drop in the house while they all focused on their designs.

Here are the finished ghoulish product of their hard work....

Kayla: Bat....Taylor: creepy cape guy

Kelton: creepy guy climbing out of ground

Seth: traditional Jack-O-Lantern....Kenny: Mummy  Face

Our front porch is now officially ready for Halloween!

Motherhood

 

 With this weekend being Mothers Day weekend I thought I would write some of what it is like for me as a mother. In the past I have written about how wonderful my mom is and how wonderful Kenny's mom is.  They are both amazing and strong women who have (and continue to) give so much of themselves to their families.  As mothers, we all have to give and be strong for our children and it is one of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs that I have ever had.  After working outside of our home for many years I am happy to be home right now with my boys and to be able to focus on our home and our family.  Working only at home or working both at a job/career and at home can bring so many challenges.  After thinking about this for the past few days I thought that maybe if I share some of my mothering moments that it can help me and anyone else out there to realize that we all face challenges and that none of us are alone.

Loui Toffoli Mother and Child

I'm not sure if anyone else out there has to face two polar opposites in their life while raising your children, but I do.  I am raising my children to know of the things of the world and to be aware of what is out there.  I want the to be well educated so that when and if they are ever faced with challenges they can make good choices using the knowledge that we have taught them.  They know about alcohol and what types there are and what it will do to their bodies as well as what it can lead to (addiction, etc).  They know about drugs and what they can do and lead to.  They know about sex and birth control. They have been taught about these and many other subjects and there really isn't a topic that is off limits because I want them to know that they can always come to me or their father and ask anything that they don't understand.  It may not always be comfortable for us to answer and it may take some time and many prayers to get the words right so that we are staying at their level but they have always gotten an answer to all of their questions.

Picasso Mother and Child

With all of that said, I have had a family member tell me that I am a horrible mother because I am raising my children according to my beliefs and teaching them from the Bible and other religious resources from our religion and therefor according to this person I am teaching them to hate.  I can guarantee that I am only focusing on what I know The Lord wants us to know and I don't ever remember him teaching hate. None-the-less, I am still a bad mom.

From another family member I was given the feeling that they think I'm a bad mom for teaching my children.  After sharing a story about one of my children and how we will joke around with each other I also shared a touching moment when that same child got up in church and shared one of the strongest testimonies that I have ever heard, especially from a child.  This family member then shared their opinion that if my child can know about certain things (nothing serious, it was about coffee) and joke about it then it was amazing to them that my child could also have a testimony of our faith.

Now that I have faced criticism from more than just these two people and many more I would like to take a minute to remind everyone that there isn't a training course or an owners manual that comes with parenthood.  We all have the right to raise our children to our best ability and according to our conscience.  I alone will be the one to appear before God to answer for how I have treated His children and how I have loved and taught them.  If any one of us were to stop and think about that fact alone, I think we would realize that we have enough on our shoulders and that taking time out to be snarky toward another mother is just one more thing to add to our own lives let alone to another mother.

Because of these moments, I am also one who has taken a step back and reevaluated how I look at other parents.  There are still moments when I will shake my head but for the most part I would rather help than be judgmental and take the time to be negative and make someone who may already be having a rough day feel bad.  This is not a perfect world and there may be times when I will still make mistakes and not take the time to think before I act, however, if we could all take a moment to try to see the other mothers side of life we could help instead of tear each other down.  I have carried these negative thoughts with me of being a bad  mom for years.  How many of you have been carrying these thought with you as well?

Chikanobu Mother and Children

Life can be hard enough as it is and when we add in the demands that are placed upon women, not just in our society but in all societies, we really need to try to help each other and lift each other instead of making life harder for each other.  I truly believe that we are all sisters and daughter's of God.  The strength that we each carry within us, if used right, could make this world amazing for our children and for ourselves.

On this Mothers Day I want to wish all women a happy Mothers Day and thank them for all of their hard work!  Keep holding your head up and continue to be the strong mother that you are no matter what may be in front of you. Let us all work together so that we may embrace motherhood and have the strength to face the challenges with grace.

Easter with a BANG

When Kenny was a child, his family had a tradition that they would go into the dessert or up in the canyon and have an Easter egg hunt or go fishing and a few times they went shooting.  After talking about it, we decided that we could combine a couple of those traditions into one and got some family together to begin our own tradition of Easter egg hunting.  We had so many people come and I am so thankful to each and all of our family t hat came.

We all chipped in and brought our guns and some food for snacks and lunch. Chris was our amazing sandwich maker.  Everyone chipped in and brought targets that ranged from the traditional target sheets to bottles of colored water, plastic eggs filled with flour (so they could go "poof") and our boys even colored and decorated raw eggs to bring.  They totally exploded! It was so cool.  It was so messy :) I even donated my princess pinata from my birthday.

Most of the pictures below explain themselves, so I'm not going to add much after them except maybe a little something.  Enjoy!!

All the kido's  (Jackson, Chase, Drake, Taylor, Kelton and Steve and Rex in the background)

Becca with the .45  those are the raw decorated eggs on the table

Becca with the AR 15

Becca with the Shotgun.  She shot both shotguns and the other one took off her earring and pinched her ear when it kicked.  She was so outgoing and having fun.

Becca with the AK 47  Rex was so good at taking the time to help explain what to do, how to stand and what to expect.

Chase with his Uncle's AK 47...need I say more, what a kid!!

Chase, Chris, Kelton and Ron

Chris, Chase and Ron.   Yes, that is Chris shooting!

 I couldn't help it, I love watching Kenny shoot.  Here is a little of him shooting. He was aiming at my princess castle pinata...there was no hope for it.

Easter eggs mixed in with other targets

Jackson with his BB gun

Kelton shooting the 300 Winchester Magnum.  I'm so proud of him, that gun had a kick like a mule. He did awesome.

Kelton and Taylor with our .22's

Kelton shooting Rex's Shotgun...Rex brought special amo just for Kelton.  Let's just say it wasn't just bird shot :)  Notice my little princess castle in the background, never had a chance.

Oh my, Kenny with his AR 15, his .45 on his hip and his tat just showing.

Kenny, Taylor and Kelton

Ron and Shauna...Yep, my mom was actually shooting and had a ball!!!

Kenny again! This time with his .22.  Still makes me go pitter patter :)  That would be our 15 year old in the background.

Me and Jessie

Time to reload

Rex and his baby....AK 47

Rex with Steve's 30.06

Really, no words needed here!   Rex, Kenny, Chris, and Becca

Steve helping Drake his son.

Steve, his 30.06, sighting it in....did an amazing job and blew the bottle to bits.

Steve, his 30.06 and an audiance

Little break time before more destruction.

We all had so much fun and went through more ammo than I can even fathom.  I loved it when Kenny and Rex stood together and both shot their riffles at the same time, it was so loud and destructive.  

This was the perfect way for our family to do an Easter egg hunt.  Why just find them and pick them up when you can shoot them?  

Embrace the Redneck within!!

Christmas 2011

FINALLY!!!!!  I have time to quickly add pictures from our Christmas.  As usual, we kept with our tradition of spending Christmas Eve with my family having our Italian dinner and then opening up presents from Grandma's Chris and Shauna.  We had such a fun time!!!  We just ate and ate and ate and then had dessert and then hoped  that we wouldn't pop :)  

Christmas morning was wonderful.  We had a lazy morning getting up and opening up the presents that Santa brought for the boys.  They were completely spoiled!!!  

The spread!!!!  Look at all that wonderful food.

White clam sauce and macaroni.    

Red sauce with the few sausages and the lone meatball  that was left after we dug in.

Halibut and Calamari.  It just wouldn't be Christmas  without any of this.

Our Chef Chrissy!!!!

Grandma Sauna and Kelton.  I just love this picture of them together.

KP duty :)  Unfortunately we couldn't finish because it was time to open presents.

Kenny with his most coveted present EVER!  He has always wanted an Eagles jersey with his name on it and the year he was born.  Something is starting to smell a little stinky and it isn't the fish.

The boys got matching Ute jackets.  They love all of their Utah  gear.  Wonder what they would do if they ever opened up something that was BYU? hmmmm.

My boys in their jersey's...all of their teams played over Christmas weekend and they all won.  Does it get any better?

Oh My! What could this be?

A Kindle!!!!! Holy something!  I can't believe I got a Kindle.

T got his orange blanket that he wanted.  First the jersey then the Kindle and now the blanket...spoiled!!!  Now I know  it is not the fish.  :)

When we got home we gave Maggie her present from her "Aunt Maggie".  It was a hit!

Oh no, the stockings.  Santa left so much that they were bulging and he had to put a present on top of the stocking holders.

T examining the first few contents of his stocking.  Soon he would find out that it was full of  underwear and socks.

Kelton starting with the first few pieces of candy that he had before he found his socks and underwear.  It is amazing how Santa knows what you need.

Oh no!  Santa broke one of the rules of our home...no war video games.  Somehow Kelton ended up with 2 call of duty games.  So need to have a talk with Santa before next year.

Taylor got his Transformer that he wanted that is also a NASCAR.  I think the stink followed us home from Grandma's.  

Even after opening her stocking, Maggie's favorite present was the one she got from her Aunt Maggie.  So stinkin cute!

Kelton also got a model from Santa and he had to build it that morning.

Taylor got more transformer's and had them out and transformed before breakfast was even thought of.

Later we attended Church and were blessed by the Christmas program that the Choir performed for us.  We only went to church for one hour but it was so uplifting to be able to attend Church and keep that focus on Christ and all that he did for us because he was born.  Being able to attend Church on Christmas was amazing.  I will remember how we tried and succeeded a little more this year to remember Christ this year while we were blessed by his love.

We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas as well and were able to feel the love of our Savior at this important time.