Britney's Big Day

When Chris was about 18yrs, he started working for a small family owned business. That family soon took him in and they became his "family". Britney and Tara were 3 & 4, and Nick had to have been around 7 or 8. Well last weekend we attended Britney's wedding. How time flies! I cannot believe all 3 of them are now married! I feel so old! These kids have been like little siblings to Chris, and Beckey and Spencer have been like parents. They showed him what it was like to grow up in a loving, stable home. I don't think they'll ever really know what they did for Chris and how he models that for his own family today.

Britney & Zac

Bonnie, (Nick's wife, 2nd from left), and Tara (far right)

The bride. She was beautiful!
The wedding was in Spence & Beckey's backyard. It was so pretty.
I love the flower balls that hung from the gazebo.
Look at the back of her dress. SO PRETTY!
Nick & Chris
Our babies were born 1 month apart.
So weird to think of Nick as a dad!!
He and Bonnie make very cute parents!

Anna's picture of me and Abby!

Britney and Spence/Father-Daughter dance
I got teary-eyed watching them dance.
Next to me and my dad, Spence has the best relationship with his girls.
That's something Chris will have with his, because he learned it from Spence.

Congratulations Britney & Zac!!

Blog Template Help!!

Alright so I tried to get creative and went into the *NEW* designer field on blogspot. And now I cannot get my old templates back from Cutest Blog or any other 3rd party template provider.

If anyone knows how to convert back the template and webpage designs...please email me at CCPERKINS132@MSN.COM

That's what I get for trying to be creative!!

Thank You

Thank you for all the prayers and calls of concern for my sister Tannia.

She is okay and is receiving the help she needs.

Thanks again to everyone who posted flyers or drove around looking for her.

For the prayers said, the words of encouragement or the simple hugs.

I love you all!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to the best dad and husband around!

***

Chris and AnnaChris and Abby
*** Go ahead and ask Chris what he got for Father's day.
Ask him!
Oh let me just tell you! He got a bumper for his Jeep.

Or so I thought.

We ended up having to buy him a NEW pontoon fishing boat since his last one was ruined.
Two years ago it fell off the back of a truck and ripped the bladder.
TWO years ago.
He left for Flaming Gorge father's day night.
Ask me when they started fixing his old boat?
SATURDAY!!!
Ask me when he finally told me "guess I'll need a new boat!"
TWO HOURS BEFORE HE WAS TO LEAVE!!!

So yes. Chris got a new bumper for his Jeep AND a new pontoon boat.
(I got a yoga outfit and flowers for Mother's day. And I bought the yoga outfit myself ON CLEARANCE!!!)

Need the publics help finding my sister!

My sister Tannia was last seen on Tuesday, June 15th, around 4pm in the Taylorsville area. She believe her to be emotionally unstable and we fear for her safety. She was driving a green 1996 Ford Escort 689ZJW.

She has been officially classified as a missing person with the Salt Lake County Sheriff's office, but we are having a hard time getting media attention for this. I ask that you keep my family in your prayers. Tannia is the mother to five beautiful children who love and miss her dearly.

If you would like a copy of the flyer to send out, please email me at ccperkins132@msn.com

We love and miss you Tannia and just want you home!

I'm Making a Lemonade Smoothie

Alright. I'll admit it. I like to read into things. Not everything, but I'll come across something and think to myself "there's a reason". Maybe it's my way of telling myself there is something greater than you and I out there. Controlling our destiny. Creating that path that we are meant to travel down.

I love fortune cookies. Not for the cookie itself, I could do without the extra calories (as compared to the thousand I'll intake during a single Chinese meal!!) Nope. I love the cookies for the fortune. What will it say? What will guide me this week? What secret code is going to be in there just waiting for me to crack?

Well over my 2 years at Citi I've had my share of Chinese food (and probably yours too!) But one thing I did keep in addition to the extra pounds I added, was the fortunes that I thought had some meaning.

Now let me add a little twist to this. The fortunes below...I received AFTER I became a Mary Kay consultant. A decision I made to help bring me home with my girls.

*There are plenty of promises and hope floating around you.

*Don't put off till tomorrow what can be enjoyed today.

*Your hard is about to pay off.

*Listen these next few days to your friends to get answers you seek.

And my favorite
*Your fondest dream will come true within this year.
(I got this one right after I returned from maternity leave and made a strong decision to be home by Nov in time for Abby's first birthday!!)

This one isn't a fortune cookie, but I've had it on my desk below my keyboard for about a year and half now.
"It's never to late to be what you wanted to be." George Eliot (It serves as a daily reminder of what I can still have and be.)

So be careful what you pray/wish for! You might not always like the answer you receive or how you receive it.

It's no secret that I've longed to be a stay at home mom since I first found out I was pregnant with Anna. All I've wanted was to be home with my girls. As much as I love our Nina (our daycare provider), I wanted to be the one they were with all day. I hated taking them to daycare each day so someone else could tell me "she spoke today" or "she took a step today".

Last week I got news that CitiFinancial was closing a bunch of branches and laying off employees. Basically the company is dividing in two and my position is no longer needed. My job will end on June 30 at which time I will be what the company calls a "non-working, active employee". I'm on the payroll for 60 days, but I don't actually work. After that I will receive a severance.

So am I taking this as a sign? YOU BETCHA! Am I taking this as an answer to a prayer? YES! Am I happy it came about this way? Not really. But knowing that I have 3 months of pay coming at me, 3 months to bust my butt and really build my Mary Kay business, 3 months to spend at home with my girls...is a complete blessing.

Luckily for me, I already had a plan in place to get out of corporate America. I wasn't too shocked that this all came about with my job. I had a "gut" feeling (another sign??) I am blessed that I have such an amazing husband who tells me everyday that I can do it. Chris has believed in me since day 1. In fact he was the one who actually encouraged me to sign up to do Mary Kay. He's my biggest cheerleader.

So a shout out to my directors Debi and Erica for never giving up on me. For encouraging me, supporting me and putting up with me! I'm trading my hiking boots (more like casual black shoes!!) for running shoes girls!

So when life gives you lemons...go out and make some awesome lemonade!