My Sweet Boy

I love this boy....he melts my heart and loves me unconditionally! What more could a dog mommy want?!? Nothing...he is such a blessing!

I love you my sweet Bear Mallaire!!

I have to admit, I LOVE shopping. Shopping and I have a love/hate relationship....well it's actually all about love, but the lack of money is the hate part! I find myself dreaming of cute clothes, and often find myself thinking about what if would be like to desing my own clothes! A little known...well actually it is probably unknown to most, but before I began my degree in Elementary Education, I wanted to go to FIDM (Fashion Institue of Design and Merchandise) in California. I wanted to design clothes for a living. I love the thought of designing clothes. I am just not creative. At all. I can't draw for the life of me and I have a really hard time expressing myself through drawings. I feel that I would be able to come up with ideas, but I would need somebody to do the actual designing. Needless to say, clothes designing went down the drain....but my love for clothes has not! Instead I am creative in the classroom with sweet children that no matter what my drawings look like, they love! So... Clothes Designer or Teacher?!?.....I think I picked the career for me....and who knows maybe I will teach, design and become a photographer all at once! Who says I can't?!? I am a dreamer, and oh boy do I dream of a career with teaching amazing children, capturing memerable moments, and who knows maybe design a few clothes...Life is a journey...who knows where it will take me...and I look forward to the ride!

Here are a few of my favorite places to shop:

Ann Taylor Loft: I LOVE everything about this store. It has the looks I love...Casual, Chic, Preppy and Dressy all put into one store....Did I mention that I LOVE this store...well I do!

Pros: Adorable Clothes

Cons: It's a little pricey.. but I seem to go when they have a great sale selection, so keep your eyes open :)

Target: Who does not LOVE Target?!? In my opinion that could not be possible :) I love that Target has introduced so many great new clothes designers which in turn means more options! I always seem to find something new and cute at Target (and not only can I find a cute new outfit, I can grocery shop at the same time... can't go wrong with that)

Pros: Convienant, Clean, Mult-purpose, and Fun!

Cons: NONE....okay maybe a few....I always seem to stand in line! They need to have more of those cute red shirt wearing chashiers available! (P.S....I really do think they are cute!), but that does not stop me from going! Things can also be a little pricey...again find the clearance isles....there is always something to be found!

TJ-Maxx and Marshalls: I love going to these stores. They have great designer clothes for half the price! I always seem to find something new when I go!

Pros: You can find great deals on super cute designer clothes!
Cons: These stores can be busy and you have to search for things...you have to be in the mood to search and shop, but it's so worth it if you find something!

My Sister's Closet: And no, it's not Britts Closet (my sister). It is one of my most favorite places to shop! My Sister's Closet is a recycled designer apparel store! This means that I can bring in my old clothes and get store credit or a check for my clothes! I love it. I ALWAYS find something cute!

Pros: great deals, awesome designer clothes, purses, jewlery, and shoes!
Cons: You have to search! You can't walk into this store quickly! You have to have at LEAST an hour to go through this store! but it is worth it! Some people don't have the patience to enjoy a store like this, but if you can manage, I promise you won't be dissapointed!

Well that is all!! Those are a few of my favorite stores!!

I hope you had a good Wednesday :)

My Sweet Girls.....

I have 3 Adorable Nieces.....I am one lucky Aunt :)

Myeloma 5k

( Nick, Me and My Sister)
(Brother and Sister-In-Law)

( Sister and Brother-In-Law)

(My sweet husband and I)
( My Dad and Nick)

This morning we did the annual Arizona Myeloma 5k walk/run. It was a great morning to spend time with my family as well as walk for a great cause. My mom died almost 4 years ago from Myeloma(a form of blood cancer) and it has been great to honor her life and the strength she had throughout everything she was given.

The Myeloma network is working hard to cure all cancers and these walks are not only for Myeloma but also all cancers. My biggest wish is to find a cure for Cancer...I have lost two really important people in my life to Cancer and many other great people as well.

I am glad we are able to get together as a family and celebrate my mom. I know she is smiling down on all of us, proud of who we have all become because of HER!! My mom was the most important person in my life and I cherish everything she has taught me and continues to teach me.

I am honored to call her my mom and thank God everyday for giving me such an incredible person to look up to. I can't wait until the day I become a mom and love a child the way she loved her children!!

In honor of my sweet Momma, Tamara Irene Hevner 9/7/54-9/26/06

We love and miss you so much!!!

Grandpa Don

Today marked the 4 year anniversary of my grandpa Don's death. There are people that are in your life that mean so much to you, and he was this to me! He was truly one of the most important person to me. He had the strength of a superhero, and the heart of an angel. He truly was a hero in so many people's lives. He was a fireman, an EMT, a father, husband, brother and grandpa just to name a few. My grandpa was a kind, gentle, loving man, and I think of him everyday. I still remember the night before he died, I got to talk to him on the phone. He was not speaking at the time, but I remember talking to him and I heard him make a noise.... I knew he heard me talking to him. I will never forget that moment. We lost him the next day, and I was devastated, along with everyone else in the family. My grandpa and I had a special connection, nothing different than what he had with all of the other grandchildren, you see that is what made him so special, he had a special connection with each and every one of his grandchildren. He made you feel so special.

Many people may not know, but he was considered my "step-grandpa". He married my grandma when my dad and his siblings were all grown adults. I love and will always consider my grandpa Hevner my grandpa as well (my dads real dad, who died when I was a baby), but my Grandpa Don was my grandpa also from day 1. Not only did my grandpa Don marry my grandma, he also got 3 step-children along with it. My grandma had two boys and a girl, and my grandpa Don had three daughters, both from their previous marriages. These two families eventually became one, and both my grandma and grandpa (Don) considered each others children as their own. What my point is, my Grandpa considered my dad just as much as his son as his own children. He never made us feel like we were only "step-grandchildren" considering he was there for most of our births. He never treated any of his grandchildren differently. He was just amazing. There are so many other words to describe my Grandpa, but amazing sums him up!

I am thinking of him today and the impact he had on so many people's lives. I feel that I did not get to grieve the loss of my grandpa because my mom died only 5 months later. I was still grieving him when I had to start grieving my moms death. I lost two of the most important people in my life in less than half a year....2006 will forever be the worst and hardest year of my life.

Today has been hard. I got to focus my sadness and loss of my grandpa and it hit me hard. I will never forget him and impact he had on my life. I love you Grandpa Don, thank you for being so special to me and always letting me know how loved I was.

Tomorrow my family and I will be doing a 5K in honor of my Mom and Grandpa. It is the Myeloma 5k ( the type of cancer my mom had) but it it also a walk to cure all cancers. My grandpa died of cancer also....I hate that C word!!!!!!!!

I will be walking and thinking of both my Mom and Grandpa tomorrow. They both have changed my life more than I think they ever knew!!!

Tomorrow is for them, and I will be walking proud knowing I had two of the most amazing people in my life!!!

The Simple Things In Life

As I was driving this morning, on my way to spend the morning with my Niece, Addison I stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee. As I was drinking my yummy Carmel Macchiato, I sucked up a glob of the carmel and realized how happy it made me...and my taste buds... is that weird? Well it made me start to think of all the little things that make me happy..the simple things! So I thought I would make a list of the simple, little things in life that bring a smile to my face :)

~ When Bear (my sweet dog) lays next to me in bed, and has to be right up against my back!

~ Waking up to a beautiful sunny day! (don't get me wrong, I love a rainy days too, but they make me want to stay in bed!)

~ Walking OUT of the gym....I love it because that means I am DONE!!!

~ I L.O.V.E that when I get up in the morning and get out of the shower, my husband always ends up on my pillow snuggled up on my side of the bed :)

~ The smell of fresh linen, fresh grass and vanilla.

~ Waking up early on a Sunday and read all of the ads in the newspaper!

~ A warm drink on a cold day!

~ People watch...not because I am weird, but because I like to think about what kind of life that person lives!

~ The feeling of sand between my toes (and that usually that means I am at the beach, so that makes me VERY happy)

~ The sound of the key opening the front door every night (because that means Nick is home!)

~ Fresh painted nails.... a nice maincure and pedicure can do wonders!

~ Spring time in Arizona....the beautiful weather, outdoor activities...everything!!!

~ Lovin on my sweet Nieces....I have 3 of them and love them more than anything!!!

~ The smell of Jergens Original scent lotion...it will forever make me think of my Momma!!

~ Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with original lays potato chips (not on the sandwich, but as a side) Yummy :)

~ Thinking of how I met my husband and the wonderful week we had together before he left for the Army ;)

~Getting free things....okay not that I am cheap, but I love when I get a free pen, or a goody bag of some sort...I just love things ( okay, this may be my weirdest confession ;)

~I love hearing a song on the radio that I havn't heard in a while!

~Watching my husband play video games...when he is playing a game that is really intense, he makes really cute facial features and moves his mouth in a really funny way....I just love it..it makes me smile :)

Well I am going to stop there....I may continue this on another post! I could be here forever thinking of all the things in my life that I love!

I am blessed to have such a loving husband, family and friends! I have to give all my thanks to God and the road that he is leading me on... I will forever be faithful to him and trust that he knows the plans he has for me!!