My Journaling: I'm going to be very vulnerable today and share a particular hard time in my life, a definite time of struggle. I've talked about this with others, but I don't believe that I have ever written it down, so maybe its time. This memory is definitely a time when I didn't know if I would make it through, but I did and I'm still here and I'm so grateful that I am. The teen years are tough for everyone. It's a time where you are trying to figure out who you are and what you want out of life. Unfortunately, when you mix that with everyone else's emotions and feelings, it becomes a mess. When I was in seventh and eighth grades, I experienced an extreme amount of bullying and torment from my classmates. It was everyday and as I didn't grow up with great communication in my ... [Read More]
memories
Jolly Holiday Surprise Adventure | Cover
For the last month or so, I have been on an interesting journey of discovery about myself. I've been struggling with depression and anxiety for several years and it has zapped all the creativity out of me. But I have found myself wanting to dig myself out of this hole that I have been in and I have been actually having fun creatively again and that is an amazing breakthrough. I have discovered that I get burned out when I try to do just one kind of creative thing. But if I do a little of blogging, a little scrapbook designing, a little crocheting, a little bit of wood crafts, and a little of graphic design, etc, I find myself being exhilarated by the things that I am creating and it makes all of my other creative projects better. I have been dabbing it a lot of different things lately ... [Read More]
Jolly Holiday Surprise Adventure | The Surprise – Part 3
THE SURPRISE - Part 3 December 6, 2014 The kids were so excited about going on a plane. I have to admit that I was pretty excited myself. I've always enjoyed flying and I hadn't been on a plane since before the kids were born! A look at our plane before boarding.... The plane was really crowded and there were some other families on board, obviously heading to Disneyland - I was so afraid that the kids would guess where we were going. But we were able to distract them with watching tv and looking out the window! One of my favorite things about flying is seeing the clouds so up and personal! It was an easy flight and it went by quickly and before I knew it we were landing in Long Beach, CA. While we waited for our baggage, we went ahead and started the ... [Read More]
Life 2014 | Back to the Books
A new school year is upon us and I can't believe its time to go back to school already. I feel so unprepared, but I am looking forward to getting back to a regular routine and the new adventures that this school year brings to us! J.J. has the amazing opportunity to go to a new school this year. Spectrum Academy has a brand new campus in Pleasant Grove and its all for kids on the Autism Spectrum. I was so nervous about sending J.J. off to middle school (7th grade), but after he got accepted into SA, I was relieved. It is still a little nerve racking and I think it's going to be a hard year, but much better now that I know he will be getting what he needs with the right teachers and programs. It's all new for him with having a locker and going to different classes during the ... [Read More]
Life 2014 | Melanie
My cousin, Melanie Baker suffered for many years with cancer and passed away on January 18, 2014. I was able to go to her funeral on January 23rd with my parents and brother, Cody. It was a celebration of her good life, but of course, we are all sad that she isn’t here on earth with us anymore. Melanie was so kind and loved everyone. She loved all things Disney and it was a big part of who she was. I will never forget being with her and the whole Baker Family in 2009, when we went to Disneyland. Melanie planned it for us and it was such a great trip. Even though, she was several years older than me and we actually didn’t get to see that side of the family that often, I still felt a little close to her and I’m so grateful she was my cousin. I’m so happy that she is out of pain and ... [Read More]
Life 2014 | Exploring Indian Ruins
Beth is fascinated with different cultures and history, especially with the American Indians. It actually runs in the family, coming from Grandpa Sorensen. Growing up, Grandpa always took his kids to Indian ruins and special historic places. So, for Beth’s Birthday trip, she really wanted to go see Indian Ruins and Drawings. Grandpa obliged her and took us on two days of adventures near Orderville. We hiked and saw lots of Indian Drawings on cliff walls, we hunted arrowheads and pottery, and we even hiked down to see awesome Indian ruins! Beth’s cousin Whitnee joined us for one day and we had a lot of fun hiking and playing in the dirt. We also roasted hot dogs and just enjoyed being together. Beth will remember this forever! Here's the layout I did: I used "Fill'er Up Templates ... [Read More]
Life 2013 | Sledding
So one of the fun features of this house is that our yard makes a great sledding hill! We have had really fun the past couple of months! We finally purchased some sleds and have had plenty of snow to go sledding. Beth pretty much asks to go sledding everyday. My kids have never experienced sledding until this year, so it has definitely been a highlight of the winter! (Of course, I picked a poor day to finally take some photos of it. We didn't have much snow that day and I still can't find my battery charger for my camera, so I'm using my iphone-so not very good pictures!) ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Special Memories
Journal Prompt: Do you have any special memories that you want to make sure are passed on to your children and grandchildren? Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering. Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can ... [Read More]
Family History TuesdayZ | Teen Years Influence
Journal prompt: Is there one person in your teen years who really changed the course of your life by something they said or did? My Journaling: There were actually lots of people in my teen years that influenced my life. But I can think of one person in particular that changed a lot of things for me. DeAnna Glover (Reeve) is one of my heroes. She is 3 years older than me and is the sister of one of my best friends. This wonderful woman always made me feel good about myself. In a time where I was very awkward and unsure of myself, she had a way of making sure that I felt important and loved. She included me in so many ways. I just loved being around her. Because of that, I wanted to be like her. It was because of her that I found my interest in graphic design. She was awesome at ... [Read More]
Life 2012 | First Day of School
JJ and Beth are going to a new school this year. The School District opened up a couple of new special classrooms for Autistic children and they moved JJ over to Orem Elementary. I was also able to get Beth in as well, so now they are both at the same school this year. I was also able to get Beth on the same bus as JJ, which just makes it easier. I hope they will both be able to adjust to a new schedule, make friends, and learn! JJ is technically a 5th grader this year (although they have different age groups in his special classroom) and his new teacher is Mrs. Vitone. JJ has grown so much and I love that we are communicating so much better. He loves playing games on the computer, the Wii, apps on the iphone/ipad, and his Nintendo DS. He thrives on structure. He is starting to enjoy ... [Read More]
