"Twas The Night Before Mission"

I am VERY HONORED and PROUD to be the sister of a brother who is serving in Afghanistan. Lucky for me he will be back in the USA soon, February, but he won't be home in time for Christmas. We did get to spend time with him when we had our family "Christmas in July" so in my mind he was home for Christmas. He wrote this poem that I wanted to share with you because it is so real and touching. I hope you will enjoy it and if sometime during this holiday season you can take a little moment to say a prayer and / or give thanks to those, like my brother, that are serving and protecting the freedoms we get to enjoy this holiday season and every day I am sure he and they would appreciate it.

"Twas the Night Before Mission"

Twas the night before mission,

in their cold concrete room.

These soldiers done sleeping,

woken far too soon.

Their gear dirt covered,

showing signs of wear.

They dressed silently,

seeing their breath in the air.

Each soldier bundled up,

In his cold weather gear.

Huddled together for warmth,

awaiting a brief they soon would hear.

With the mission briefed

and plan set in place,

these soldiers set off,

not knowing what awaits.

They crept through the streets

knowing something was wrong.

Their instincts were right.

It didn't take long.

When out of the window

they saw a flash.

Right through their ranks,

a RPG passed.

Shouts rose up,

and mayhem awoke.

These soldiers were prepared

returning fire while popping smoke.

They fought on,

as more enemies came.

But they had no chance

against soldiers so trained.

Their leader stood up

and seeing them flee,

reloaded his gun

and yelled "follow me".

The battle was over

as the soldiers gave chase.

The day was theirs,

so they returned to the base.

No ribbons or banners,

or anything nice.

was prepared for these soldiers,

no one even thought twice.

These soldiers did not care.

This was nothing new.

They just wanted to shower,

and eat some warm food.

But neither they would get,

their leader then shout

"Pack up the trucks...

We have to go back out!"

So they put on their packs

and prepared to leave.

Worn down to the core,

on this Christmas Eve.

So they patrolled and pulled gaurd,

as the time slowly went.

Giving every last effort,

Their energy long spent.

After the long night,

they returned once again.

Hoping to find,

some mail in their tent.

A letter from home

is all a soldier needs.

To hear that he's loved,

From mother, brother, and cute little niece.

With a tear in his eye

and his big heart full,

a soldier pops in and says

"We've got another patrol."

So he sets off once again,

Heart filled with pride.

He feels recharged,

his heart open wide.

He walks with his men,

all ready to fight.

"Merry Christmas to you all" he says,

as they set off into the night.

Merry Christmas everyone.

I LOVE YOU NICK!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and COME HOME SOON!!!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

It is the MOST WONDERFUL time of the year and during this time I can't help but think of a few of my favorite things. For those of you that know me NO I am not going to blog about Ralph Lauren, OPI, shoes, perfume and / or make-up.

I am going to blog about books....children's books to be precise.

I LOVE to READ! One of my favorite things to do is find new children's books. While I do not have children of my own I do like to buy books for those that do have children. I just found these four new great books that are so cute with wonderful messages. Two of the books are Christmas style books and the other two are just great books. So if you are looking for a good book or two for your children and or to give a child for Christmas I would recommend any of these:

Author: Maryann Cusimano Love

Author: Nancy Tillman

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

This is my most FAVORITE time of the year!

I have SOOOOOOO MANY things that I am THANKFUL for!

I feel SOOOOOOO WAY BEYOND BLESSED

for all the BLESSINGS I have in my life!

I hope you enjoy this WONDERFUL, JOYOUS, AMAZING

and FABULOUS Thanksgiving Holiday!

I hope the LOVE, BLESSINGS, JOY and GRATITUDE

that you feel on this day will stay with you EVERY DAY!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

I hope that your

Halloween Holiday

is FULL of LOTS of

FABULOUS TREATS

and

NO TRICKS!!!!

I AM IN LOVE!!!!

NO it is not the new pair of Ralph Lauren Pink Pony Sunglasses I saw though I do love them!

NO it is not with the new OPI collection though do love all the new colors!

NO it is not with the new Gucci fragrance though I do that smell!

NO it is not with the TV show Mad Men though it is my favorite show in TV right now!

NO it is not with the new Maroon 5 cd though it is my favorite new cd, right now!

NO it is not with the new Litehouse Yogurt Blue Cheese dressing though it is my favorite salad dressing!

I am in LOVE with 10 of the CUTEST, FUNNIEST, SWEETEST, TALENTED & MOST FABULOUS young ladies EVER!! Never in my life did I think that I would LOVE a church calling SO MUCH but I do. These young ladies have brought so much joy into my life and I CAN NOT wait for Sunday to come around so I can see them. When one of them is not in class I MISS THEM SO MUCH. The first thing I do when I get into sacrament each Sunday is look around the chapel to see if all my primary girls are there. As I am looking around the chapel taking roll in my head and see the face of each girl my heart grows a little more and I can not wait for sacrament to be over so I can go to Primary. Who would of thought that someone like me would look forward to Primary each week. During the week I am counting the days until I can see them and wondering how each one of them are doing, how their week is going and hoping and praying they are having a good day, week and most of all that they know that they are loved each day.

I have not yet had the chance to be a mother so I do not really know what it is like to have that "mother's love" feeling but I am getting a small glimpse into that feeling and let me just say it is powerful and amazing. I look at these girls and see a sweet spirit in each one of them. I see their MANY talents (they have more talent in their little pinkie then I do in my whole body and I have pretty large body) and ALL the AMAZING FABULOUS qualities they have to offer the world. I feel so HONORED and BLESSED to be able to experience all this at this time in my life and to have these LOVELY young ladies in my life.

I use to hate it when a church leader would say "I love each and everyone of you". I would sit in my set and think "Yeah right, you do not even know my name" and become a little frustrated by it. Well I am starting to get a little glimpse of what those church leaders were saying and how they feel / felt. While I do not know these girls as well as their parents, siblings, relatives and / or friends do I know that I know them well enough to LOVE them! I can only hope and pray that I will get the chance to get to know them each a little better and as I do I know that my LOVE for them will grow more and more, if that is even possible.

I know that I might not ever have the opportunity to experience that "mother's love" feeling but I can tell you that right now I feel and have that "teachers love" and that is something I feel VERY VERY LUCKY, BLESSED and HONORED to have.

So Andie, Eliza, Hannah, Haylie, Lauren, Lorien, Madison, Mina, Rebecca and Rebekah YOU ALL "TIFFANY" ROCK!!!!! THANK YOU for ALL the JOY, LOVE, HOPE and BLESSING you have brought and bring to my life!

There is not a "ROCK" big enough to SPARKLE and SHINE they way each one of you do!

I'M I TOOO OLD FOR THIS........

So as a little girl and with three younger sisters we had EVERY Barbie doll, Strawberry Shortcake doll, Cabbage Patch kid doll, and toy doll any little girl could want. Also thanks to having a little brother in the middle our Barbies were never without at date from a He-Man doll, GI Joe Doll, Star Wars doll and / or Action Figure doll. No wonder I always wanted to be Barbie. LOL

While I am no longer a little girl I think that little girl is still inside of me. I still go down the Barbie aisle at Target or any toy store and look at the Barbie dolls. I am always good not to every buy one unless I am going to put it in a Toys For Tots and / or Sleep Train Foster Kids gift bucket during the holidays. It is a good thing I don't have any girls because I am afraid out house would be over run with Barbie dolls if I did. LOL

Well for those of you that know me you know that I am a HUGE Ralph Lauren fan, some might say obsessive, and I am am also a HUGE candy fan. So when Ralph Lauren's daughter, Dylan, opened her own candy FABULOUS candy store, Dylan's Candy Bar, in New York City I instantly became a HUGE FAN!!! As a matter of fact on my first trip to New York City the two MUST see places on my list were the Ralph Lauren Mansion store and Dylan's Candy Bar. Lucky for me I got to see both of them and fell in LOVE, more so than I already was. LOL

I often check Dylan's Candy Bar site for fun ideas and have even ordered a few items from the site for friends and co workers. Yesterday I was on this web site looking for something and I got distracted when I saw the Barbie doll. Once I saw the above Barbie doll my little heart started racing and I almost found myself wanting to yell"MOMMY!!! MOMMY!!!! I want this Barbie. Can I have her.........PLEEEEEASE????" But then I realized OH WAIT I am old enough that I don't have to ask my Mommy anymore but I do have to wonder am I too old to have this Barbie doll?????? The little girl in me says NO you are NEVER too old for another Barbie but the adult in me says YES you are too old for a Barbie!!!! Who will win?????? Only time will tell but for those of you that are like me and don't like surprises let me give you a little betting tip....... BET IT ALL ON THE LITTLE GIRL!!!! LOL

Christmas In July

I know it is September but I am a little behind on my blogging as you can see from the title.

Every year my family gets together and spends a week at a cabin in between the Cascade and McCall area in Idaho. While our family has grown over the years we still get the same cabin and it seems to work out just fine every year. We call this little get together our "Christmas In July". This way we don't have to worry about traveling during the busy Christmas holiday season and let's face it July in Idaho is a little warmer than December in Idaho. My mother has boat and the family has a little wake boarding, skiing, knee boarding, delta double and Big Mama fun on the water. I really don't do any of that but my job is to sit in the boat, hold the flag, take pictures and work on my tan. LOL Sad to say it is the only time I get a really good tan. I live in California and get the most color the one week I spend in Idaho kind of ironic but I will take it. LOL

This year was especially MEMORABLE, SPECIAL and FABULOUS because EVERYONE of my brothers and sisters were at the cabing. Lucky for us my little brother who is serving in Afghanistan got to take a little vacation and we were lucky it was the same week we had planned to be at the cabin. So not only did he get to join us this year but he also brought his lovely, wonderful and fabulous girlfriend Lindsay with him. She is so great and it was so fun to finally get to meet her. It was great to have all my nieces and nephews there. They are all so much fun and I feel SO LUCKY to be the Aunt to the cutest nieces and nephews in the whole world.

This year it was especially fun because I actually got to sleep in a bed. Normally because I am "single" and there are not enough beds and I get the couch and / or air mattress. But this year my sister Dari, my niece Kailey, my brother's girlfriend Lindsay and I got to have the room with the two sets of bunk beds and we called it the "girls dorm" room. It was fun and I think my niece Kailey enjoyed it the most because she got to be in a room with the "big" girls.

The whole week was full of sun, fun, food, movies, games and even a little gambling action, Mormon style of course. My sister Dari brought these DVD's with horse races on them so the kids and I joined in on the horse racing betting. We did it with candy and the kids LOVED it. It was fun to watch the kids, especially Alex and Cole, get into it so much. I LOVE MY FAMILY SO MUCH and ANYTIME I get to spend time with them all together I feel VERY BLESSED and LUCKY!!! I have such an AMAZING FAMILY and I feel so PROUD, LUCKY and EXTREMELY BLESSED to be a daughter and sister in such an AWESOME, AMAZING and FABULOUS family.

It was great to spend a week with everyone and I can not wait until next year's "Christmas In July" adventure. Here are some my favorite "Christmas" pictures that I hope you will enjoy!

Cousins that paddle boat together stay together

(Hannah, Cole, Kailey and Alex)

Big Mama / Mable Family Fun!

(Kailey, Whitney, Mike and Cole)

Father and Son (Ben and Josh)

Mother Daughter Delta Double Fun

(Whitney and Kailey)

Mike showing us his "skills"

Cole and Alex taking a little rowing trip

FFFF Time! (Fantastic Fabulous Family Fun)

Hannah and Bella showing off their Sun Sand Style!

Family Paddle Fun!

Daughters on a Mother Could Love

(Dari, Me, Mom (Shonnie) and Whitney

Sisterly Love!

Girls Dorm Room Fun

(Kailey, Me, Dari and Lindsay)

Joshua, Hannah and Bella

Gotta love treats that are as big as you!

Downtime (Camping 2010 Style)

A little horse racing gambling fun!

Cole the Gambler!

Trisha and Bella

Lindsay, Staci, Dari and Whitney

The DS Gang! (Kailey, Cole and Alex)

Staci and Bella

New recruits and back ups for flag duty!