***VOTE PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!****

Hi to all my friends! My sister Amy has been entered into a contest to win a $50,000 homemakeover! I would really appreciate it if you would all please take the time to read her husbands story down below and then follow the link at the end of the story to vote for their family! They need this so much and I know that registering your name on a site sounds unappealing but it only takes a minute and I think that living your life in a wheelchair in a house that you can't get around in -sounds even more unappealing! I love you all and appreciate your friendship and willingness to help!
Smiles and Love , Jen ( Oh by the way you can vote every day till the contest closes so go back again and again!)

Four years ago my 26 year old husband owned his own construction company and remodeled homes for others. He was a dedicated, hard-working, generous contractor and husband. We were looking forward to the birth of our 4th child and living in the home that he built for us.
Scott wasn't one to visit the doctor frequently, but had an MRI scheduled after suffering severe headaches and dizziness that were preventing him from working the long days he was used to.

Together we went to the hospital, I went in for my ultrasound and found out we'd be having our 3rd boy and Scott went in for an MRI.
The news of another son was as wonderful as the news that Scott had a brain tumor on his brainstem was painful. After visiting with many doctors and multiple MRI's in a matter of days Scott was admitted to the hospital and scheduled for brain surgery that would save his life. We were ill-prepared and feared how we would make ends meet while he recovered.
During his 5 1/2 hour surgery my sweet husband lost a great deal of blood and suffered a stroke.
In the months ahead it became apparent that this experience would forever change our lives and Scott would battle for years to regain some of the ability he once had. He has pushed himself through endless hours of therapy learning to sit-up, swallow, hold a spoon, and coordinate his movements.

After 3 years Scott still battles double vision, complete numbness on his right side, loss of hearing, and poor balance but he continues to expect more of himself and moves forward with courage, direction and determination. He recently finished his first semester at the University of Utah with all it's challenges and triumphs.

Our family, friends, and loving neighbors have been everything we needed to keep our heads above water and give us the hope to continue. We love our neighborhood, but our home presents some daily frustrations for Scott. Our home is on 3 levels and to get from one level to the next he has to crawl on his hands and knees. This caused water on the knee (which thankfully he couldn't feel because it was on his right side!) His wheelchair won't fit through the main bathroom doorway, and so more crawling. If we could make improvements that would help him reach a cup in the kitchen, wash his face at the sink, and visit his children's rooms with ease this would be a blessing. Scott built this house as a gift to his family. I would love to extend that gift by making our home more comfortable for him.

www.americahometoday.com/homemakeover/stories.php

MOTHER I LOVE YOU - MOTHER I DO!!!

To my Mother: Bonnie Kay (Lemond) Anderson

My Mom is a crazy fun person, she is wild about flowers and gardening all together, she adores babies ,especially her own grandbabies, she has a fiesty spirit that allows her to sing at the top of her lungs in the kitchen. My Mom is a great housekeeper , who would always expect us to make our beds before we caught the bus. Expert cook - who would always make us a hot breakfast before school. Compassionate Service is her middle name - I don't ever remember a time when she wasn't making cookies or brownies or pies for somebody. She cries for others when she knows they are struggling. She gave birth to 8 children and that is no small task! Might I add 7 of them were girls and that makes the task even bigger! Mom, I think your amazing! You have showed me endless love and in that taught me how to love ! Thanks for all the times you pulled me out of school just to go have a fun day together and for always packing Dad a lunch in his big black lunch pail, and for allowing me to be in drama, clogging, voice lessons and piano.

I Love You Mom - Happy Mothers Day!!!

xoxooxoxxo Jenny

(the pictures above of me and my kiddos were suppose to go down here - anyone know how to do that? Amy?)

Now I just can't stop here because I too am a Mother and I just want to share some of my own feelings on that. One of my favorite quotes I must share here:

"Making the decision to have a

child is momentous. It is to

decide forever to have your heart go

walking around outside your body."

*Elizabeth Stone*

From the time I was little I always wanted nothing more than to be a mother. I am so glad that my Heavenly Father has entrusted me with 3 and nearly 4 of his most precious Daughters and Sons ! It is such a scary and rewarding task to be a mother. Your heart does truly walk around unprotected I might add outside your body! Sometimes when I look at my children - ok most times when I look at my children, my heart is in my throat because it scares me so to think am I doing this right, am I teaching them what they need to make it through life and more importantly back to their father in heaven. Wow, I'm just greatful that I don't have to do this mother thing all by myself - of course my children are blessed with the most wonderful Father in all the land and of course I couldn't and wouldn't be able to do this without the constant direction from my Father in Heaven who I know wants me to be the best mother that I can be.

Paige, Anna, Zander, baby boy (unnamed) - I love you so much and I LOVE being YOUR Mother!

Love you always Mommy

Anna - The Light in the Room!

You know I've blogged about Jared and then it was Paige and now it's Anna's turn and after all her birthday is this Thursday May 8th. My Annie bug is going to be six years old! Who can believe that! YIKES! I hate it when time goes by like that!

Bannana ba noooo, Annie boo, sweet Annie Bug, Annie Bananie! She has alot of fun names but it's not her names that make her fun! This girl is : "THE LIGHT IN THE ROOM"! Anyone who has met Anna would agree that she has a smile and personality that just brings light to a room ! You will rarely see her without a grin from ear to ear. She is genuinely happy ALLLLLL of the time! She is a bit of a worry wort but she doesn't let that stop her from exuding joy out of every part of her. You can tell when you watch this girl in action that life is good! When she talks she uses funny voices, when she walks she has a spring and bounce to her step, she can tap dance better than any six year old I've see and NO she hasn't had tap dance lessons - she taught herself and it is GOOD STUFF! I'm serious! When she is very excited about something she will bit down on her tongue which is partially sticking out of her mouth as if she can't contain herself! The black and white picture of her and Paige shows an example of this! She has done it since she was very little.

Anna is the most easy going girl I've met. If someone wants something Anna has - NO problem it's theirs! No fight , no tears - she just wants to make others happy and she does! If Anna gets hurt she isn't going to sit around and waste time crying - oH no not her she almost immediately gets over it and moves on to being happy again!

She LOVES TREATS! Her favorite phrase and she says it daily, " I Like Treats"! Boy does she! The minute she is done with any meal she says to me Mom are we aloud to have a treat now! LOL!

Anna is a bit of a worry wort - she doesn't like to swing high, she doesn't want to swim without her water wings (even though she is the best swimmer in her class -without water wings), she doesn't want to sit on top of a stool that is perched on a chair ( Aim knows what I'm talking about here) , she doesn't want to flush the toilet because it might flood out on her. You get the idea!

Anyhow, I just want to say that I LOVE this Anna girl , she has brought so much joy to our lives and our family wouldn't be the same without her. I know that she will be someone who always lifts the heads that hang down and that her positive outlook on life will bless her own life as much as it will bless others.

Happy Birthday my Sweet Annie Bug!

Love you, Mommy!