FINALLY!!!

The day has finally come....

The day of no more metal mouths in our home, after 4, YES, 4 long years I am pleased to announce that Adam FINALLY got his braces off!!!

Adam on the way to get this braces removed!
Yes this face seems to be pretty normal for him...

For the past 4 years, we have had all of our kids wear braces.  Adam got his on first, then Breanne, then Nicole.  Now get this, Adam got his off last!!!  Why, because he had major issues.  I thought he was going to wear those things for the rest of his life!  

Show those pretty pearly's Adam!!!

I think he likes the idea of finally having them off too.  You tend to forget what you looked like before those babies are on your teeth for so long... I know from experience!  Although I had a huge grill compared to today's cute little brackets...I had these huge honkers that wrapped around every tooth (I even have pictures to prove it).  If you want to talk about bling, I had it, people had to put sunglasses on when I smiled!!!

Anyway, I am very excited for Adam to FINALLY have his braces off.  Congratulations!  Now please just wear the retainer so your teeth don't move back!

Crazy Train...

Yes I know...Crazy Train is a song by Ozzy Osbourne!  Yes, I know who Ozzy is, and yes I do know the song (my favorite part of the song is the opening), but this isn't about Ozzy or his song, its about how I feel TODAY about school!

This morning I woke up and felt like it was the end of a super short weekend.  As a matter of fact, it was a short weekend!  Sometimes I wish weekends were MUCH longer than two days because it's always used up with homework crap...(Oh I have a great idea, let's all sign a petition...We can cancel Friday like Samoa did)

Anyway, this morning I really wanted the next few months to be here and gone.  I get impatient because I am soooo...looking forward to graduating from school and just being D.O.N. E. with it.  But unfortunately reality set in...I "graduate" in June but technically don't complete all my classes until September.  Yea, I still have classes after graduation...SUCKS ROYALLY if you ask me.  

So with that being said, I will continue to ride this crazy train I have been on now for over three years, and will be looking for the train station to stop and let me off!  There are weeks that seem to go on forever and I tend to forget what week I am in and how much more I have to do. Needless to say the question I ask myself the most "WHAT WAS I THINKING?"  Josh always has to remind me that I am so close and to keep pushing forward, Thanks hon :). 

So push forward I must, then I will be extremely happy to step off this CRAZY TRAIN I have been on. I sure as heck hope it all pays off in the end! 

A Truth...

Lately I have been thinking about people in my life who I have come in contact with over the years.  I can say that I have had mostly good people, but there are several (who will remain nameless) that have made an impact on my life who I learned what I don't want out of life.

I have had several discussions with Josh and my kids the past month about different things that have happened in our lives that has made huge impacts on us. We have all come to the conclusion that life doesn't have to be drama filled with people who are toxic to ourselves. (If my kids read this they will know exactly what this means) .  We have worked hard in our lives to be the people who we have become.  We have learned from the people and situations in our lives to be better people because of the decisions of others.  My kids are aware of situations in our lives, but they are better people because they have not been sheltered and grew up with the truth in every aspect of our lives.  Never was a lie told to them to make them think differently...

I value the life my kids have had.  They don't judge others because of life circumstances.  They know life happens to people and don't judge others because of what happens in one's life.  Trust me, my family has been judged for years and still continues to be judged because of events that have happened in our lives. 

 Because of these events, we are who we are today...

Needless to say, we choose who we want to be.  We have chosen to be honest with who we are and not be fake and put on a facade to make things appear as they really aren't.  I have learned to be true to who I am and will always be honest with myself and others. 

 Like me for who I am, not for who I am not...

Oh No...A MUFFIN

So today was a slight reality check for me...

I'm not proud to admit, but I April McCourt have a muffin top!!!

If you read an earlier post, you read that I have several goals I have set for myself.  Losing the last of my weight and reaching my goal weight is one of my personal goals.  So I plan to keep myself accountable by making regular checks on myself. 

I still have a ways to go, but I will make it! I guess I shouldn't complain, those jeans are a size 8, but tend to squeeze my waist a bit much!

Please note...I am not a fan of self pictures in the bathroom mirror, however this is the only way I could get a picture of myself with my muffin.  This way I will be accountable for the change that has been taking place.

Please stay tuned!!!

Words to live by...

A Spiritual Giant

Today my Uncle Brent passed away. He was truly a spiritual giant I looked up to for many years. He gave me my patriarchal blessing as a teenager, he sealed my family together in the temple. I met several church leaders  while at his house as well as through personal stories he has experienced throughout his life.

 I got really lucky last year when I was able to spend some one on one time with him while Aunt Elaine was in the hospital. I was able to take him places to run errands and other things. I truly enjoyed my time with him. He really encouraged me with my schooling and education, which made me feel like I am now making a difference.

W. Brent Hardy

Uncle Brent will truly be missed by many.  But he sure left a remarkable difference in so many lives that won't go unforgotten!

Unmentioned Thanks...

Sometimes I don't realize how thankful I am for something until I am in the midst of the something I am thankful for...(I hope that makes sense). Today has been a difficult day for me.

 I had a very hard time sleeping during the night and a migraine set in about 1:30 this morning. Ironically about 2:30 Josh touched my arm and asked if I had a migraine. I told him yes. He then said I'll go get you some medicine. I took it and slept restlessly until about 5:30, my migraine still did not go away. He ended up giving me a blessing, then let me continue to rest. My headache would not go away. A little later Breanne came in to see how I was doing. I was hurting still. Josh had heated up some soup for me, so she brought it upstairs me and sat with me while I tried to eat it. I could only eat a few bites. She took what was left downstairs, then came back up to help me up. She wanted to wash my hair for me because it had been a couple days since it had been done. (Being at the cabin with limited water made it difficult to do) She helped me down the stairs and lovingly took care of me. 

 Normally I am capable of taking care of myself when I'm not feeling good, but having Josh, Breanne, Adam and Tyler help with things I wasn't able to sure made a difference to me. Tyler and Adam trudged through the snow to load the truck up to leave. They both carried heavy bags which is not easy when you hiking through uneven snow. I am so thankful for their strength. When it was time to leave all I had to do was walk down the road to the car. I carried my blanket to keep myself warm. I was able to continue resting on the way home as well, which made a huge difference.

Anyway, sometimes there are times when thanks should be given, but these simple little tasks are the ones that are most overlooked and very much thankful for!

Dancing Queen :D

Yep that's me, the dancing queen! I get my groove on like its nobody's business!!!  I can do moves nobody has ever seen before without a problem.  And keep count with finesse....

Or so I think!

 Last night I while doing Zumba I realized just how bad I really am at moving my body in step to music (choreographed anyway). Oh I can do rhythm, but foot work...forget about it!

I now know I will never be asked to perform my groove skills on So You Think You Can Dance or be the professional to dance with a star (err...nobody) on Dancing With the Stars.

Its okay with me because in my mind....I'm the greatest dancer.  In fact I wasn't ashamed to Shake it Up in the restaurant tonight when The Cars were playing, then shaking my booty and everything else when we were leaving...No shame at all :)

So needless to say, others don't appreciate my skills, but I do...

This is sooo true!!! Makes me laugh every time I see it!