I want that so BAD!

Have you ever had something you wanted so bad?  You do everything you can to make it happen.  Sometimes even after all you do it still falls through.  That can leave you very sad.  I have been thinking about this for a couple of days.  We have been die hard Denver Bronco fans forever.  We lived in Colorado for seven years.

We have suffered through some very bad years.  This year has been so wonderful and exciting.  We love having Payton as our quarterback.  We finally made it to the Super Bowl.  My little family was so excited.  We dressed up for church in Bronco colors and ties.  We painted our nails in Bronco colors.

I made a Superbowl cake.

We all wore our Bronco shirts.

Then the Superbowl started and within seconds the train wreck started.  The whole game was horrible and painful to watch.  We were so disappointed.








I thought about how this relates to life.  I have wanted things so bad before (a baby, move back home, a job promotion...ect).  Even after everything you do you don't get it.  So you grieve and then what?  You move on of course.  If you want something so bad, it will hurt when you don't get it.  Can you let it ruin your life?  No!  Get up, dust yourself off, and make a new goal.  So we say "Good game Seahawks" and we plan for a great season next year.  You win some and you lose some.  So if you have lost one then get up and try something new!

Where is Happiness?

Have you ever thought, "I will be happy when..."?   I have.  Here are some that I have thought in my life.
I will be happy when-
*I graduate college
*I get married
*I have a baby
*When I own my own home
*When the kids are all in school

Well guess what?  Even though these things made me happy at the time, it doesn't mean I have reached destination Happiness!

Happiness is a Emotion and not a Destination!

I have been thinking about this for a couple of days.  So even though I was over the moon Happy when I had my twins, I wasn't so happy when they both had double ear infections and my hubby was out of town.  I didn't reach never ending Happiness when I had the twins.  I do have many wonderful happy times and some hard ones too.

My sister Millie says that she tries to feel true happiness at least once a day.  I don't think anyone can be happy all the time.   That is not realistic.  Life is hard and we all have jobs to do that aren't always pleasant.

So instead of looking for the place "Happiness", try and feel the emotion of "Happiness" in your life.

Here are some things that bring me true happiness!
*Holding my newborn niece Gigi and she smiles and goos at me
*Coaching my daughter Marlee's Basketball team
*Watching my daughter Lizzie sing and dance
*Playing volleyball with my Hubby and friends
*Watching my son Sam learn to snow ski and loving it
*Snuggling with my puppy
*Going on a date with Dan
*Talking on the phone with my sisters
*Getting a massage
*Good food
*Laughing with friends
*Win by your favorite team (go Denver!)
*Having visitors

So tell  me.... What is your Happiness today?

Dannehl's List of 2013

1. Dan and Katie have been married 15 years and first started dating Christmas 1994.
2. Sam and Marlee turned 9 and Lizzie turned 6.
3. 365 days Sam played outside.
4. One visit to Disney World in Florida with Dan's Mom Roni.
5. 1,000,000 times Katie mowed the lawn.
6. 1 x Dan went to Alaska with his friend Nick.
7. 15 fish Dan caught in Alaska (Salmon and Halibut)
8. 1 time our dog Prime caught a live bird. (not fun)
9. 20 times we went to Zoombezi Bay water park this summer.
10. 24 books Katie Read.
11. 1 new Denver Bronco's jersey for Dan (Manning)
12. 600 times Katie cleaned up Lizzie's spills
13. 200 new Football cards for Sam
14. 8 volleyball games for Marlee (first year)\
15. 1,000,000 pictures Lizzie has colored
16. 5 new nieces and nephews
17. 2 years in Ohio
18. 1 new bike for Katie
19. 20 family bike rides
20. 50 tulips Katie grew in the yard
21. 40 tulip bulbs the squirrels ate this summer.
22. 1 visit to Independence, MO to visit Grandpa Greg and Grandma Debi on their mission.
23. 60 times Katie painted her nails.
24. 30 chew toys Prime destroyed
25. 6 bulls-eyes Sam got in his Archery Class
26. 13 Denver Bronco Wins!
27. 1 time boating with Grandma and Grandpa
28. 0 visits to Utah for Katie and Kids
29. 2 new American Girl dolls for Lizzie and Marlee
30 1000 hours of homework
31. 1,000,000 hours Dan worked this year. :(
32. 12 times Katie has unclogged the drain from hair this year. (we have a lot).
33. 1 time Dan was released as High Priest Group Leader. :)
34. 4 times Katie had a ear infection.
35. 15 UFC events Dan has watched
36. a million nerf bullets Sam has shot.
37.  30 makeovers Lizzie gave Katie
38. 365 day Katie was happy to see Dan :)

2013 was a great year. Hoping 2014 will be even better!

Happy New Year!

My cute dog on Christmas!

I must say I have the cutest dog! 

Here he is opening his present on Christmas.  SO CUTE!

 

He adores me and I must say the feeling is mutual!

No sleep on Christmas Eve!

Well it is 4:42 AM Christmas morning and I am wide awake.  Sleeping is never a problem for me except on Christmas Eve.  It isn't that I am wrapping presents or anything (I have had that done for weeks).  I am just excited I guess.  Their is no other reason.  I remember as a kid sharing my room with 4 of my siblings.  We had double sets of bunk beds.  I slept on the top across from my brother J.B.

 I needed to go to the bathroom so bad, but if you left our room you would be able to see the Christmas tree.  I was so worried Santa would be there and I would be in trouble for being awake.  My brother told me to hold it. I did for as long as I could and then I decided I would make a dash for it.  I climbed down and went to the door, squeezed my eyes shut and felt my way to the bathroom with my hands.  Luckily I didn't run into Santa. :)  That memory is so vivid in my mind.  Christmas excites me.  Now as a Mom I sit here waiting as my children sleep.  Waiting for the magic of Christmas!  Mary probably didn't sleep well the night before Jesus' birth. I am sure she was also waiting for the magic.  As I watched the video of the nativity story last night, I thought to myself that Mary was one tough cookie. 

Riding a donkey all day right before giving birth and then staying and having her baby in a stable. 

What a great lady!  I am so thankful for Christ.  I love him! Watch this beautiful video about his birth.

Christmas Eve!

It is 4 PM on Christmas Eve and I feel so happy.  I love Christmas!  We just finished a delicious turkey dinner. My Mother taught me how when I was a girl and now I cooked todays dinner with my daughters.  I make a lot of the same things my mother taught me.  It makes me feel so happy to cook along with my girls and have a beautiful warm house with my family here together.

The tree is beautiful! We had so much fun putting it up after Thanksgiving and enjoying it all month.

My little family is so cute!

It is fun to do our little traditions.  Tonight is new PJs and the reading of Christ's Birth. 

And Santa is coming tonight! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Remember the true meaning of Christmas!

Fun in Kansas City with Parents!

While we were in Kansas City for Thanksgiving we went with my parents to Fritz’s Railroad Restaurant.  It was really cute.  They gave everyone hats.

 

You ordered your food by phone and a little train brought it to you. 

 It was good food and fun.

 

We also went to Lego Land.  We rode a few rides and played with legos.

 

They had a really fun 4D movie.

 

We had a great day in Kansas City.  Thanks Dad and Mom!

 

Thanksgiving road trip!

On the day before Thanksgiving we got up early and drove to Independence, Mo to spend Thanksgiving with my parents.  It was a long drive and the last 3 hours of the twelve were very hard for the kids, but when we got there it was all worth it. We were all so happy to be together.  My kids fought over who got to sit by Grandma Debi the whole time.

 

 On Thanksgiving we visited the LDS visitor center in Independence

 Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith was held for months

Kansas city Temple

My Mom also cooked us the best Thanksgiving dinner.  I love her stuffing and jello.  We were small in numbers compared to their normal thirty or so they usually have in Utah, so my Mom was able to put the turkey on the table which she thought was so fun.  It has been years since we had Thanksgiving with my parents.  We ended the night with homemade pumpkin pie made by my Mom(YUMMY).  It was a great Thanksgiving.  On Friday we spent a super fun day in Kansas City (I will post about that later). On Saturday we cleaned up and headed out.  It was hard to say goodbye, but I used my usually technique of saying "see you later" and not thinking about it.  Since the drive there was rushed and hard we decided to take our time coming home.  So on Saturday we drove to St. Louis and visited the Arch.  We all thought that was really cool.

It was a beautiful day and we didn't even need Jackets. We ran, played and had fun taking pictures.

(Lizzie)

(Dan)

Then we spent the night in St. Louis and on Sunday worked our way home at a slower, easier pace.

Unfortunately by Indiana Lizzie was sick with a fever and had all the signs of strep throat again (she had it two weeks ago). 

 (random boy in picture that I borrowed :)

And finally to our loved Ohio. 

What a great Thanksgiving break.

 

I love Cemetaries!

We are visiting my parents on their LDS mission in Independence, Missouri.  We arrived late last night and it was pitch black.  We went in to their apartment and went to bed.  Early this morning I took my dog out to the bathroom and was so shocked to see that right across the street is a beautiful cemetery.  

This cemetery is very old and has graves from the early 1800's.  We took a wonderful walk through the cemetery on this beautiful Thanksgiving morning.  I was so touched to see the respect given to the deceased's grave.  Many families have added new headstones for the family area.  I also noticed that when the headstones break or tip over they leave them where they fall.

Hear is a picture of a old stone that is almost tipped over.

Here is one that has broken off.

Here is one that has been fallen for awhile.

I love and respect my ancestors and love to see a beautiful cemetery.

I am so thankful on this beautiful Thanksgiving day for my family.  I love them so much.  

 

 

 

Language of love!

This week my sister Judi and family came to visit.  I haven't seen her or her children for a year and a half.  That is a long time when dealing with small children.  Her oldest son William remembered me, but Thomas didn't and I have never met Nathan.  Judi's kids are very shy.  I tried to talk to Thomas but he would just cover his eyes and hide.  Should I just give up? NEVER!!!  Thomas is really into motorcycles.  He found a couple of Sam's old motorcycle and played with them the whole time.  I thought to myself what can I do to make this boy love me?  I said to William and Thomas lets make a really cool motorcycle track on the coffee table.  We talked about the things a great motorcycle course would have.  William's favorite thing is crafts so I was killing two birds with one stone. 

Above is William helping with the construction.

 

We made a rock pit of skittles (Thomas loves skittles so that one disappeared soon :)), we made a pit of stick with pretzels, we made hills and tunnels. 

 

We had speed bumps and pebble pits made of nerds. We had so much fun creating this course.  Thomas raced his motorcycles for hours. 

 

 He talked to me, looked at me and actually liked me.  I LOVED IT!!!

 

The youngest Nathan was easy.  He seemed to like me from the beginning.  But he loved my dog.  I let him have his own ice cream cone (which I think about gave Judi a nervous breakdown).  He walked around and my dog followed him everywhere.  He loved it and it was so cute.

 

 Nathan sharing his ice cream cone. :)

When you love someone you say it and show it! To show someone that you love them is by being interested in what they love.  Are you willing to do what they enjoy to make them happy? I try and use this with my husband and kids, but it is very useful in other situations.  I love my nephew's and was so grateful for the time I had to bond with them.  Thomas even gave me a big hug when they left (that is huge!).  Thanks Judi and Mike for taking the time and money to come and visit. We had so much fun! We love you guys.

Trying not to be the crazy aunt!!

I am sitting here waiting for my sister Judi and her family to arrive.  I have not seen them for a year and a half.  I have not even met her baby (who is one) yet.  Her kids do not know me, but I love them.  I want to grab them, kiss them and "pinch their cheeks".  I am trying to convince myself not to be the crazy aunt when they arrive, but lets be honest I can't promise anything. 

Look at those cute faces!  I might even have to pinch Mikes cheeks too. :)