Time Out!!

April is gone and we are already well into May! My little man will be 4 years old in two weeks! It just amazes me how time just escapes before we realize we have it! These are a few fun pictures to sum up the rest of April. I use these large totes for laundry baskets and Taysum and Bailey love to be in them!

I just though this was kind of fun and gives a good taste of her personality! :)

The kids love to box with their Dad...and eachother!


Team Cutler

This is a table that Ken built with his friend, Kent, this past weekend. I was gone, so he loaded up the kids, went to Cody (1hr away) got the lumber, survived Burger King and went to Kent's house to build this table. Kent is Taysum's new buddy. All he talked about that day was going to Kent's house and he even mentioned it in his prayers that night. So, what is this amazing table for? Ken wanted to build it for Taysum to put his trains on. He has a plan to paint it and make it a place he can build all his tracks and have his own personal island of Sodor (Thomas the Train). So this is his birthday present and he already loves it. Sunday morning he woke up asking about the table and just had to go check on it...as you can see, Bailey loves it as well!!

Now for the "Time Out" part of this post. I had the life changing opportunity to participate in Time Out for Women. This is a program put on by Deseret Book Company just for women. It started in 2003 and only toured a few cities in the US. Two years ago, they did a trial in Billings, MT (1 1/2 hrs away) and recieved such a phenomenal response, they have put us on the circuit permanently!! It's kind of like a mini EFY for women. They have incredible presenters, uplifting, inspirational music and just a whole lot of fun!! The presentors this time were (left to right, top row to bottom) Hilary Weeks, DeAnne Flynn, Chris Stewart, Kim Nelson & Kris Belcher. (Thanks Lindsay and Jill...I poached from your blogs ;) )

My sister, Lindsay, and our Mom had been talking about doing this together for a few months. They bought my ticket for me for my birthday (thank you forever!!) It was so great to have the drive up there together and to get to spend the day up there together. Not only did we get to participate in this incredible event, we also went to lunch together at our favorite, Johnny Carino's and afterward we stopped by Cold Stone! It was just a perfect day!

I also had the privilege of getting to sit next to some more of my favorite women! My dear friend Jill, her sister-in-law Echo (just as amazing) and Echo's Mom were there as well. They were so sweet and saved us seats. (I had to work that morning and we just made it.) We were so close to the front and were able to see the presenters really well. There were people from all over WY, the Dakotas, MT and even ID. It was a great group! This is a picture of the incredible Jill and I.

Unfortunately, the rest of the pictures aren't that great...all I have is my camera phone and they didn't turn out as great as I had hoped. I PROMISE Hilary Weeks IS standing with us in this one!!

She was so fun, down-to-earth, encouraging, amazing and talented!! I ended up getting a little star struck and bought 2 of her CDs and her book (which is just incredible!!) and I had her sign my book. She was probably my favorite along with Kim Nelson. His message really touched me and I bought his book as well and got him to sign it. I had it all planned out to say something clever, but when I got to him all that came out was an akward, "My name is Kim, too..." He was so kind and personable. He asked where I was from and (long story short) it turns out his brother is Richard Nelson, has lived in Lovell forever and was one of my Middle School teachers!! What are the odds?!

It was all one inspirational, life-changing, heart-lifting, sacred, FUN experience that I'll never forget! One of the greatest moments was when Sis. Weeks told us she was going to play (and WOW can she PLAY) a song that had no lyrics and she wanted us to just take that time and do what ever we do to connect with our Heavenly Father. So, she gave us this wonderful, inspirational set-up and began to play "Jessica's Theme" from "The Man From Snowy River." It was so amazing and I was loving it! (It was also neat that it was that song, because my sis-in-law, Jessica had her baby boy, Cooper Jack that day as well! Congrats!! We love you guys!!) So I was enjoying the music and two women behind me began to chat...I tried to tune them out...but lost it when one of them said, "All I'm picturing is running horses..." Oh well! There are so many messages and moments I would like to share, but for the sake of time, words and space, I'll just share a few.

This is from Hilary Weeks' book, "Don't worry about what others think of you. Worry about what they think of themselves when they are with you."

Kim Nelson, "If you saw a mother treating her daughter the way you treat yourself, what would you think of that mother?"

DeAnne Flynn, "We were meant to THRIVE, not just survive."

Kim Nelson, "Be hopeful, be genuine, be yourself...it IS enough."

Kris Belcher, "There may not be a cure, but there is always healing."

Hilary Weeks, "All the Good"

She forgets about

The good things she's done

The kind words she said

The tiny victories that no one sees

And the changes she's made

When the count comes in

As she's adding up the day

In the midst of the coulds and shoulds

Help her remember

All the good

Time Out for Women Theme: Sweet Assurance...the certainty that comes when you know life's truths. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith..." - Hebrews 10:22