If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

So, we began to notice Hays starting to dress nicer in November.  It was a great new look.  He headed to Denver for a big theater competition and he came home talking about this girl who was wonderful. In December, he and Erin had their first date.  Her dad met him for dinner before and I was immediately sold.  While we were in Cabo he was very anxious to buy the perfect Christmas gift for Erin and even more anxious to get home. . . . A couple of weeks ago, he crawled in bed with me and we had a fantastic talk about what it means to be a boyfriend and to have a girlfriend.  I suggested that he call Erin's dad and ask his permission before he asked Erin to be his girlfriend and much to my surprise, he did it.  I was so impressed with him!  What an amazing young man he is turning into.  Well, her dad gave his blessing and Hays now has a girlfriend. Now it was my turn to meet Erin.  She came over last Friday and I love her!  She is adorable and sweet and easy going.  She's gr

I'm doing a pretty pathetic job of staying up to date on my blog in 2015.  Maybe when grad school is over I'll be better at it again!  Oops! This blog is about Braner x-rays this week. Dax broke his collar bone this week.  He was at snowboarding practice and fell off a box and snapped his collar bone in two.  Of course, I was out of town--I was out of town when Hays crashed in 2011 and out of town this time. Maggie got braces.  She was so excited to get them (more excited to get them so she could get them off before Senior Pictures).  Once they got on, I think she was much less excited.  The x-ray revealed that the orthodontist has lots of work to do, so we're glad we got started!

Wow!  What a weekend!  We are in the season of jam packed weekends filled with fun, competitions, tournaments and road trips!  It is crazy and exciting and fun and exhausting and we've only just begun!  We have Grand Junction (4 times), Powderhorn (twice), Crested Butte and Copper Mountain all before Easter! Dax had a snowboarding competition (at Purg thankfully) Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  He raced in the Slalom and Giant Slalom.  It was his first time to race and he did great!  He raced six times and got first once and second five times!  He also qualified for Nationals at Copper Mountain and improved his GS time by more than a minute over the weekend.  I'm so proud of him!  It was fun to watch and to be a part of! Maggie had a volleyball tournament in Colorado Springs.  The plan was to not go watch, but I couldn't stand it, so I left early Sunday morning and got to watch four of her seven games.  She played SO WELL.  I'm so proud of her.  (As a team t

One of my core needs is to feel valued.  It is a deep need that affects me to the core of my being.  And because it is such a core need of mine, I am very aware (to a fault) when I am not valued.  I need to feel valued as a wife, as a mother, as a student, as an employee, as a friend. . . the list is endless.  I have an almost desperate need to feel valued.  And I realize that the fact that it is "almost desperate" makes it a potential for downfall as well. This need is something that I have been realizing I have recently.  It has always been there, but I haven't been able to put a name to it.  Over the past five years, I have become more aware of it, but again, without being able to label it, I wasn't able to appreciate when I was valued as easily.  But over the past couple of months--as I have felt valued by a few people, I have begun to realize just how important it is for me to feel like I am of value to people. As a mom and a wife, that is pretty easy to

So, as most of you know, I work for 2 different companies.  I work for KIVU, the company my husband and I started and I sell health and wellness products. These past two weeks have been BLARING examples (like a really loud stereo system) of how important it is to work for companies who CARE and selflessly put their team (family) first. Of course, I believe in KIVU and what it stands for.  (I better.)  These past few weeks I have watch the KIVU family pull tougher (again) as two of our past staff struggle in their marriage.  I have watched guys hop on planes and get there to support them.  I have watched Skype video chats happen and heard the text message beep go off at all hours.  I have been blown away (again) by the family that KIVU is and how important that is--so much more important than rafting and mountain biking.  I am so thankful for this company and the family that we are. And at the exact same time, I have been blown away by this health and wellness company--maybe even