Merritt Memories

I wanted to blog this on the Friday, but I ran out of hours in my day. I didn't want to forget what happened and how I felt though, so just pretend with me! :) Today has been a trying day for me. Dustin has been gone all week for SWAT training, so I have been really stressed. I have not felt good all week. Ryan has been the number one priority on my mind. He has been acting like a teenager lately. No surprise because he is one, but surprising to me because he has always been a good kid. He is a good kid, just annoyed by his family, I guess. Doesn't want to be with us much. It kind of hurts my feelings. I think we're a pretty cool family. He told his friend, Nathan, today that we embarrass him. Not sure how. I guess it is something I will have to get used to. I'm sick and tired of feeling yucky. I have had neck and back pain for way too long. I finally have an appointment to get checked out. Hopefully it is not too serious. It seems it gets really bad when I sta...

I have said before that I love quotes. I love them so much at one point my collection started taking over my half of the bedroom (yes, our room is equally divided). I think I love them so much because I am not an eloquent speaker. My thoughts get all jumbled in my head and they never come out of my mouth right. So, when I hear something so well spoken, I save it! One of my favorite quotes sits over our heads at the dinner table. "Be true to who you are and the family name you bear." ~ Gordon B Hinckley ~ It sits there so we see it everyday. We will continue to see it until we move. My thought in doing this was by reading it everyday, which we do, we might think twice before we choose to do something that goes against our family standards. When I first put it up there, it was the first thing out of my kids' mouths every morning and they would say it out loud at dinner time. I never told them they had to read it, they just did. Now, I just see them mouth the word...

On August 6th Spencer, Dustin's brother, tied the knot! We are excited for both him and Alex, his new bride. Their wedding was up Little Cottonwood Canyon at SnoBird Ski Resort. It was beautiful! I have never been up that canyon before. While up there, it did not even feel like we were in some big city. Honestly, I could have stayed the night and made a vacation out of it. After the ceremony, we had dinner and then the reception. My kids were excited to have wedding cake. they even loved the dance floor! My girls did, anyway. Here are few pictures we took up there. I wish I had taken more of the scenery, but that gives me an excuse to go up there again, right? all the girls: Grace, Becca, Rylee, Lexi, Kate, & Malori Aaron and Baby Cole All the girls enjoyed 'walking down the aisle'. They each took a turn being the bride. I was able to catch a shot of Becca. When you weren't the one getting married you got to be a flower gi...

My scheduled post for my kids was going to be on modesty, but the timing just is not right. Instead I decided to write about something a little more important. Yesterday morning, one bright Sunday, I was in the front room reading the Ensign. I had made the kids breakfast. They all got what they wanted. The boys wanted cereal, Grace and Kate wanted a sausage sandwich, and Becca wanted to try a fried egg. They were all eating happily so I figured I'd do some reading before the rat race of Sunday began. I must give you a little background before I continue. Kate has a fried egg almost every morning. They are one of her favorites, especially the runny yoke. Becca has always been a little stand-offish, so she is being brave to try something new. I'm on the couch and I hear these two girls start fighting. Becca is screaming, " I can do it! Give it back!" "You're doing it wrong! That's not how you cut it!" Kate yells. This fight continues fo...

I have been worried lately. Really worried. My thoughts have been about my kids. Dustin and I had a conversation the other night. "How are our kids going to make it?" I asked. "This world is so crazy and so backwards." His reply, "We just teach them." So, I came up with a plan. I have decided that every Sunday I would pick a gospel principle and share my thoughts. I would then commit to being better. After all, "Actions speak louder than words." Today I was studying one of my favorite talks by Sheri Dew (you all know how much I love her). Her talk: True Blue, Through and Through is excellent! I love it!! (you can read it here , I highly suggest taking the time to read it) She speaks on integrity. Integrity is more than being honest. It is being " true to yourself, meaning who you are as a son or daughter of God, and who you are in the process of becoming. True to others, meaning you do what you say you will do. And true t...

How many of you grew up playing this game? Yeah, me too. It was one of my favorites. Today Kate let me know why this game was totally "inappropriate" for children. Kate: Mom, you know this game? Me: Yeah. Kate: These guys are all murderers. Me: No they're not. Kate:Uh-huh. Mom, all they do is kill kids! I guess I didn't teach my kids to play the game properly. I will have to have a re-cap. They are obviously playing the game wrong. I don't remember kids dying anyway!