Simply Happy...

I'm sorry I haven't updated our family blog for so long! Life has been so busy!

I just spoke in sacrament a couple weeks ago on trials and adversity and I felt like I wanted to share this with my friends and family as well.

I know most of you know what a long year it has been for us. About a year ago I was in a place of such sadness, and hopelessness that I didn't think happiness would ever fill my heart again. Sometimes you plan your life out, and you expect it to go just as planned and be perfect. Then all of a sudden your faced with trials that you would have never in a million years thought you would ever be faced with. It's taken me a while to finally realize that we will each face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face them but how we face them.

My favorite song is Where Can I Turn for Peace. I listened to this song over and over and over when I needed to feel comfort.

Where Can I turn for peace,
Where is my solace when other sources cease to make me whole.
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart, searching my soul

Where, when my aching grows,
Where when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand
He, only One.

He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching,
In my Gethsemane,
Savior and Friend
Gentle the peace he finds
for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind
Love without end.

This past year, even though it has been bumpy, I have learned and grown more than I could have ever even imagined. I am happy to say that I have graduated school as a medical esthetician and accepted a great job with a company called Glymed Plus as the colorado Rep. I have met so many amazing people who have enriched and blessed my life forever. I am more independent and much more humble. I am a better mother. I cannot explain in words the love I have for my sweet children. We have laughed together, cried together and been angry together. I live for the ballet recitals, baseball games and dancing around the kitchen to music while we clean. Nothing else matters but the simple things in life. Their little spirits keep me going and I love being their mommy! I can't wait for the day when Heavenly Father blesses me with more children...yes, I said more children! Most importantly, I have developed a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father that I had not known before. I appreciate aspects of the gospel and the atonement that I did not understand before. I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and without it I would not know true happiness. Life is good and I am simply happy. I know the Lord has a plan for me. I obviously look forward to the day when a righteous man will accept me and my imperfections and I can be married again. Until then, I will be patient and live life to its fullest!

Cassidy in her ballet recital. She was recently in Pinocchio and just tried out and made show choir at her theater school.

Chillin at the pool

The kids are begging me for another dog!

About to show Jaydan where he really gets his athletic talent

My good friend Mary

Jaydan's team went all the way to state
and qualified for the Colorado World Series

We have a 3 wk break then it's time for football

Been soooo Long!

I cannot believe that it has taken me so long to update my blog!! I will just start to fill you in on what we have been up to these past few months:
Well, after a wonderful Christmas and New Year's spent in Utah, we came home and have been busy ever since. I started school in January and graduate in June as a medical aesthetician. If you are curious what that means, it means I can work under a doctor, or plastic surgeon doing laser hair removal, injections/botox, permanent makeup and a bunch of other fun stuff. For those of you who know me, know this is right up my alley and I am loving every minute of it! I sold my home business, Divine Nature Cosmetics, to a great mother and daughter team and it has been awesome to see how they have grown it into an even bigger business. Other than going to school full time, I taxi the kids around to baseball, scouts, theater class, and ballet. We keep very busy! The kids are very lucky that their dad lives only 10 minutes away from us, and is very involved and helpful in taking care of the kids! We are looking forward to the summer and enjoy spending time with our cousins Genesee, Leslie and Shauna who live very close to us!

My wonderful classmates

This is what I wake up to a few times a week. I'm really trying to get them to all sleep in their own beds all night! Mom gets no sleep!

My boy!

Crazy Sambrano's

Happy Holidays!!!

Happy Holidays Everyone! So far this holiday season has been wonderful! Halloween was so fun! The kids had a wonderful time. I went to Utah for Thanksgiving and had an awesome time!! It was a little bit hard too because it was my first holiday away from the kids. The kids were with their daddy at Mt. Rushmore and just love to tell the story about how everything was closed on Thanksgiving day and they had soda pop and gas station food for Thanksgiving dinner. They had a blast!!

Christmas is my favorite time of year! The kids and I kicked off December by decorating the house and our xmas tree!

Football season if finally over...Jaydan's team was one game away from going to the Carnation Bowl. They did awesome!

Apparently I'm the most embarrassing mom on the team...
hmmm I just can't imagine why at all!

Kayleigh feeding a goat at White fence farmCassidy being silly

We love that our cousins moved near us!!

Craziness!

Life has been so crazy lately! Which is probably a good thing for me! I really need to keep busy at this time in my life.

So, Jaydan started football again, Cassidy is now taking theatre classes, which include singing, dancing and acting lessons. Kayleigh started pre-school 2 times a week, and I am...adjusting to new changes in our life.

Football game. Jaydan is #55

My good friend Savina. Our sons have been on the same sports teams for the past 4 yrs. Everyone thinks we are sisters.

First day of school! Hallelujah!

Field Day...Jaydan showing of all of his 1st place ribbons.

Here is a cute story from field day that melted my heart...

Jaydan was trying to break his "blue ribbon record" this year and get more 1st place ribbons than he did last year. Well, he did break his record! He got 2 more blue ribbons than he did last yr. He saw a boy in his class who is not very athletic, and had no blue ribbons. Jaydan said, "mom, he just looked so sad that he couldn't win any blue ribbons!" So, Jaydan went up to this little boy and said, "here! have these two blue ribbons." The little boy ran to his mom and jaydan said he was jumping up and down from happiness! In the end, Jaydan did not bring home his extra blue ribbons, but he made his mom cry and made the day of a little boy who will probably never forget that simple gesture.

She's just a little ball of fire!

Cassidy at field day

Summer is coming to an end...

I hate that summer is coming to an end so fast! On the other hand, I'm so ready for school to start! We are back in Colorado and ready to start our routines again! Here are a few pics of some of our summer fun!

The kids loved going up to the Provo Temple on Sunday afternoon. Especially to the "secret garden" in the back of the temple.

I love this picture because I had the kids sitting in front of the fountain by themselves and some elders came up and asked if they could get in the picture. The kids thought that was very cool!

Spent the day up at East Canyon with the most amazing people in the world! The Newman Family!

Swimming with Grandma Newman

The famous Cassidy Newman who took 1st place at the rodeo in Mutton Bustin! (it was a very proud moment for me ok!)

July 4th- Stadium of Fire! Trev, elise and mom and dad waiting for Shedaisy and The Jonas Brothers

Jaida and Cassidy. Still waiting for the Jonas Brothers...

Anouncing the Jonas Brothers...

And the moms having way to much fun rockin to the jonas brothers!

At the river. Jaydan getting kisses from Shey and Linds

Mom and kids

My baby

Grandma, kayleigh and Jaydan

My girls

I would like to start off by saying how grateful and blessed I feel to have such wonderful family and friends who love and support my family unconditionally!
Sadly, I also feel that some judgment has been passed recently...
As in most situations, it is very easy to speculate and give opinions on what could have and should have been done. I guess I realize this because I have done this to other people myself. I realize now that I was absolutely wrong for passing judgment, or speculating on someone or something that I had no idea what was really going on. The fact of the matter is, unless you have walked in that persons shoes, no one should be passing judgment on someones situation. Or saying, "they're justified in getting a divorce, but they're not." Which is a saying I have heard a few times now.
The last thing I want is for this post to sound mean. It's just hurtful to hear things and judgmental comments during an already extremely painful time.
With that said....
We have had a great summer so far, and I'm so sad it is quickly coming to an end! We have been spending almost everyday at a pool a water park or the movies. Entertaining kids is a full time job! I'm just having such a great time with my family and old friends!

I can't forget to mention my little rodeo cowgirl Cassidy who won first place in mutton bustin at the rodeo last week! I'll post a pic later

I never thought in all of my life that I would be sitting down and writing this message to our dear friends and family...

Sadly, after months of trying, Jeff and I have come to a joint decision to get a divorce and move on in the most amicable way possible. Neither Jeff or I feel it is healthy to dwell on "what went wrong" or try to rehash blame. We both have faults, we both have strengths and we both have tried very hard for a very long time to make it work. We plan to work very closely together in parenting our children with unity and maintaining friendly terms with eachother will be crucial to having that work successfully.

I love the Lord with all my heart and soul. I feel his love and presence during this difficult time. I still have great faith in family, marriage and in love. Jeff and I have these wonderful children whom we adore. The people I love more than any other on the face of the earth, and the people he loves more than any other on the face of the earth, are the same people. Bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. So we're still inextricably tied together. What's wrong with this picture? All the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put it back together again.

Thank you all for your support, love and prayers.