Celebrating 45.

This past weekend my dear friend Maggie and I celebrated our 45th birthdays, and it was so much fun! We had a sleepover at her place for my birthday, and then she slept over my house for hers. We stayed up late like a bunch of teenagers laughing and just having a good time. I ended up going to church with her on Sunday, and on our way back to my house had dinner waiting for us cooked by Jon and the kids. BBQ pork chops, homemade mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole awaited us as we came home. 

Then, came the brownie cake. 

The girls whipped up some brownies thanks to Betty Crocker, and when I pulled out the sparklers Maggie was in awe! She had never seen sparklers on a cake before. I have seen this done on other peoples birthday cake including my own last year, and since I had a ton of sparklers left over thought it would be fun to light them up on the cake! It was so much fun trying to contain them while the family sang happy birthday to us. Here's a short video of it. I cracked up after watching it too many times! 

Maggie was filled with so much joy on this day, and it showed! I love her dearly, and would do anything for her. It's nice to have a friend close by who's known you for half your life, and no matter what will be there for you. I loved her reaction when she opened up her gift too. She's a great cook, and is a hoarder of cookbooks so I gave her this one to add to her collection! 

What a treat it was to celebrate our birthdays together again. We didn't make it to the temple this time, but plan on going next month! We usually go together on our birthdays, or mothers day. I have to say that this was the best weekend ever spent with a wonderful friend! 

Happy Birthday to us, and may we have many more to treasure just like this one! 

A Few Photos From Our Easter Weekend!

Sometimes I surprise myself at all the things i pack into my days especially when it comes to holidays, and celebrations. The Easter season has made it to the top of the list as one of my favorite holidays, and because we tend for it to be more focused on Christ I don't go overboard with giving too much to the kids except my time, and a simple little Easter egg hunt.

And taking lots of pictures too!

And this little video I made from all my snapchats!  

This past Saturday we had ourselves a little Easter egg hunt right before women's conference, and I have to say it was a success! One thing I give myself a ton of pats on the back is for the fact that I'm pretty good at being organized, and to not rush something that is special for the kids. We drove to a nearby park, and I kept an eye on the kiddos while Jon and Lexie hid the eggs. We had 29 eggs and 11 of them had pieces of paper inside with the story of Christ. 

Here are a few photos of our little easter egg hunt...

// she found one! //

// so did he!  //

Having those extra 11 eggs with the pieces of paper of the Story of Christ inside is tradition and every year as the kids get older they become more interested and understanding in appreciating the Saviors sacrifice, and knowing more about who He is and why we are here. Noah had so many questions when we were done after putting all the pieces of paper in order to read the story of Christ. Jon was explaining to Noah how He healed the sick, and fed the poor, and that He had a perfect body after he was resurrected. Noah's response was, "I like Jesus." And asked questions such as, "Am I clean? I'm going to have a perfect body too!" I couldn't help, but to laugh at his little Noahisms, but you think about how children have such a vivid imagination, and a mind of their own. It's interesting to hear their own interpretation of why they are here, and the silly questions they may ask, but it's only because they are curious, and want to learn more. I love that Noah has such a big imagination, and that his mind has room for so many unanswered questions. He loves the fact that every video he's seen of Jesus is filled with light, and little kids, and how "clean" Jesus looks in every picture we show him. I love teaching our children about the Savior and the true meaning as to why we celebrate Easter.

 // assembling all the pieces of paper of the story of Christ in order. //

// along with his favorite candy...jellybeans! //

//Easter egg hunt accomplished! //

I also have to add in that I'm relieved that my kids never really believed in the Easter bunny. My two oldest realized that when they were about four years old. I'd take them to get their photos taken with the Easter bunny at the mall and when Sierra saw that there was a person inside the costume she knew it was fake, and that was fine with me! Saved me about 25 bucks every year for the next 17 years in taking pictures with a person wearing a bunny suit. 

I have to say that our Easter holiday is more beautiful and meaningful when we don't involve all the worldly stuff. Sure we have an egg hunt, confetti eggs, and candy in the making, but making it Christ centered brings more peace, less bickering when it comes to who got the most eggs, light, love, and smiles that last all spring long. 

Spending our Easter Sunday with dear friends was the icing on the cake. Since we don't have immediate family close by, having my dear friend Maggie whom I've known for almost 25 years, and her son over for dinner was very much needed! It sure was long overdue!!

Noah had so much fun having Nate over. "It's like having a big brother" said Noah, and the kids all had fun playing games. Just like they did when they were all younger! 

These two have been friends since birth. They are only six months apart. Can't believe how grown everyone looks int these photos, and of course there's Noah photo bombing the picture with his light saber. 

Kids also enjoyed making confetti eggs. This is also tradition, and no matter how tired I may get in remembering to save the egg shells six months before it's so worth it, and the outcome is fun as heck! We tricked Maggie and Nate about not making any this year, and were sneaky when we cracked them on their heads! It was so fun. Didn't capture any moments of that, but snapped a bunch of moments of it on my snapchat. If it's still there you can view it @ r_jorgensen

 // Noah's task was putting the confetti inside the egg shells. He broke one on accident while trying to decorate it, and would rather deal with the confetti. //

// Jon and Lexie were the ones who prepared Easter dinner, and I'm just so lucky to have these two who are always willing to help out, and contribute. Especially when it comes to cooking! /Then again...Jon always does the cooking! //

// and this sour cream chocolate chip cake that Maggie made! Mouth watering! //

// I apologize for the blurry photo of my dark eyed little boy, but had to share. The smile on his face with a look that says, "feeling accomplished" was so sweet to see. He could have had easter egg hunts all year long! //

I'm so grateful for the Savior, and for teaching my kids all about Him, and for them to know that there's so much more to learning, and appreciating the Lord's gospel than all the candy they get that's filled inside their easter eggs. 

And for a husband who is such a great role model for my boy, and girls in teaching them all about the Savior. 

Hope y'all had an amazing Easter weekend! 

Celebrating Forty Three in New York City.

Ever since I moved to Jersey six years ago Maggie & I have attempted to keep our yearly tradition of attending the temple on or around our birthday week. It took a while for us to make this goal, and even though there have been a  year or two since my moving up here that we skipped & had lunch locally instead we always got back on our feet, and reminded ourselves to just go! This year our birthdays fell on a week where the temple in our district was closed for cleaning. Well...luckily we have the Manhattan Temple (which in my opinion should be our temple district because it's a lot closer) to serve in, and have fun afterwards in this magical city we Texan gals have grown to love. 

Attending the temple in New York is always so interesting. Interesting because once you enter through the doors all the sounds of the city dissipate, and the only sound you hear are the voices of the people that are inside the temple, and the beating of your own heart....and then all you feel is peace.  

Once we stepped foot outside the temple the noise returned, and it was okay. We love this city! We walked around the upper west side, snooped inside a couple of shops, filled our stomachs with lunch at The Smith restaurant, and after walking a few more blocks down Columbus avenue we  parked ourselves on a brownstone stoop and enjoyed our delicious cookies from one of the best bakeries in town...Levain Bakery! 

Because we were enjoying the city so much I didn't take too many pictures. However, I did manage to capture the beauty of the temple from a few different angles...

^^^ Beautiful shot of the Angel Moroni at the top of the Manhattan temple ^^^

and some photos of the yummy lunch I had...

 ^^^ If you plan on ordering the hamburger make sure you come hungry because it's a good size burger! I didn't get to finish it all.  ^^^

^^^ The hot potato chips, and blue cheese dressing was soooooo good! My husband was jealous when I told him about it, because anything blue cheese is his favorite!! ^^^

Can't forget to document these delicious cookies as well...

Days like this are always at the top of my "life list". They are categorized under "the best days of my life".  Attending the temple with my one of my very best friends is the next best thing to attending it with my husband. I thought a lot about my hubby while inside the temple as well as my family members, but at the same time am grateful to have gone with my dear friend, and to have a girls day out! We all need those don't we? It was so much fun, and we both said to ourselves the next time we go we may just have to spend an entire weekend here so that we don't rush ourselves driving back to Jersey. Knowing this girl for 23 years seems surreal because on some days it feels as if I met her yesterday. I never thought that I would end up living in the same area as Maggie, and because of her I was taught of all the do's and don'ts of Jersey (I also learned a lot of them on my own too!) 

Thank you Maggie for all that you did for me on my special day, and for driving us into the city we love! You truly are a gem in my life!

Here's to 43 years, and to looking forward to many more trips like this! 

the best week ever in September.

This past week my life consisted of late nights, road tripping, and celebrating birthday after birthday with various friends. I haven't had any real sleep for days, and so far I'm not complaining or being ornery...yet. 

September is indeed my perfect, busy month. It's perfected with numerous friends who have the same birthday as me, and/or within days of me. It is also the beginning of beautiful fall weather, and everything that has to do with autumn. 

Due to having company, and constant get togethers with others I've neglected decorating my house with fall decor. After driving past farmers markets I finally bought some mums, and placed them outside my small porch. Buying pumpkins are going to have to wait because each year I take the kids to a pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. It's tradition, and we never mess with tradition. 

Too bad we didn't get to pick apples or go to a pumpkin patch while Ceyda was here. She truly is a gem in my life and to be honest having her here for eight days really strengthened me in many ways. Just her overall example of how committed she is to God, and raising her daughter the best she can reminds me a little bit of me when I was her age. I love her, and miss her terribly but know that she will be back again to visit. 

Our kids loved waking up each morning to greet each other, have breakfast, and play with the train track. Celeste loves trains, and would rather play with that than dolls. These two were so sweet together throughout the whole week, and at times would both play hard to get. They had their moments but for the most part got along, and hugs, and "I'm sorry's" were always being exchanged. 

So glad that I was able to take her to her "dream cities",  and the beach. Saying goodbye is always hard, but know that we will see her again. Chelsea grew especially close to Celeste, and I think deep down she longs for a baby sister. 

 This truly was the best visit ever! 

*****

Maggie and I celebrated our birthdays by treating ourselves to the Pop Shop. Luckily for me I had a coupon for a free birthday meal, and believe me those come in handy when you purchase a nine dollar grilled cheese sandwich that has a name (Frazer)!

Maggie had never been, and she loved it! She was especially excited to have met the owner Stink Fisher. Aside from running this fabulous shop he's also an actor. 

When I was told by our waiter that he played alongside actor Mark Wahlberg in the Lovely Bones that caught our attention and we wanted to take a picture with him. Since Maggie is a theatre major they both discussed the factors of acting, and became acquainted with one another. 

I love Maggie and spending time with her always energizes me. I'm so lucky to have friends in my life who blow up my phone with texts from afar. I truly am blessed beyond measure with the greatest friends who come down from the corners of the universe to spend time with me. This birthday week has been extremely special. 

Now...I await to watch the General Relief Society Broadcast tomorrow night with more of my sisters! So excited to watch, and listen!   

Have a wonderful weekend, and let's see if I can catch up on my sleep too! I highly doubt it! 

Returning home to the House of the Lord.

There are many of us who come home for Christmas, and some that go away for Christmas. In our case...we spent Christmas in our home in Jersey. Gathering around with friends, and family over the Christmas holiday to eat good food, reminisce, exchanging gifts, eating homemade carrot cake with pear Cinnamon cider is all fine and dandy, but something was still missing.

And just like that...Christmas is over...

the ability to create the greatest gift.

Attending the temple with one of my long time dearest friends was the perfect 41st birthday gift and the icing on the cake. Most of us would rather attend the temple with our husbands instead of our girlfriends, but you know what...I needed this, we both did.

Sometimes we need that girl time. We need to reminisce of days of old as if it were a verbal journal to talk about how we started out as single rookies in an unfamiliar church to converting into compassionate, hard working loving moms.

20 years of True Friendship

"My friends remind me, by their very steadfastness, that truth, beauty, and goodness exist in the world, and that no matter what, there are and always will be people loving people through thick and thin."

"My friends remind me, by their very steadfastness, that truth, beauty, and goodness exist in the world, and that no matter what, there are and always will be people loving people through thick and thin."

This is one of my best friends that lives in New Jersey, and she has been there for me since the day I moved here. She and I joined the church two months apart back in the summer of 1992 in Texas. The same LDS sister missionaries taught us the gospel. We both have our September birthdays a day apart and we both are very much alike when it comes to serving each other in friendships.

Today was one of my best afternoons ever spent. It makes me very grateful to have known someone before I moved to New Jersey. We are in different wards, but always make the time to see each other...especially on our birthdays. This year we are both celebrating the 'BIG 40' over the weekend so she made today very special for me. I honestly think that she made this day more special for me than I did for her.

We got caught up on the lives of our children, and reminisced about our days in Texas and how far along we have both grown in the gospel. We are both first generation members and have a strong passion in sharing the gospel. We both express our love and compassion to others in different ways. I love Maggie because she is honest, strong willed, and real. I have known this lovely woman for 20 years, and fellowshipped her as she was investigating the church. I joined two months before she did.

I feel that it is so important in keeping in contact with friends no matter how far the distance. Some of us too often forget the friendships we make once they move away, and lose touch. I knew Maggie for a whole year before we went our separate ways in 1993, and we still managed to keep in touch. Just one year! She married before I did, and moved to New Jersey. I moved to Salt Lake and married a year after living there. We continued corresponding for 16 years! I count my blessings that we never lost touch. Facebook wasn't around in the '90's so I am extremely grateful that we both had a love for handwritten letters (still do), and that is what kept our friendship active.

Just a note:

I thank you Maggie for 19 years of laughter and for the times you have been there, and still are for me. I thank you for your example in continued strength as we both know how life in New Jersey can be. Thank you for being who you are, and for staying strong in the gospel no matter how hard life seems to get. Life is so much easier when true friendships come from the heart, and act from it. I thank our Heavenly Father each day for putting you in my path once again.  I know that we are here for each other for reasons that are beyond our comprehension. Keep confident and don't ever change, and I promise I will do the same!

Thank you for making today very special for us! 

You uplift my soul!

Happy Early 40th!!