Dear Friend-Of-A-Friend,

A friend of mine got in touch with me today about a situation one of their friend's was in and they were looking for guidance... After pondering about it all day I finally decided I just needed to write out what was on my mind.
So here it is--addressed to "My friend's friend":

I may not know your story but I do know mine. I had loving parents who divorced when I was young but they still supported me as best they could. They tried to teach me everyday about family, love, integrity, hard work, patience, and about God’s love for me. Despite everything they taught, I still made mistakes—all of us do. Sometimes they are bigger, other times minor. And the world teaches us that its ok… that everyone makes mistakes. While that is true, it should not be justification for knowingly doing something that you know to be wrong. It is important to think about the consequences of your actions now BEFORE you reach a point-of-no-return.

Would you listen blindly when someone tells you not to “jump off a bridge”?  Or would you question—How far off the ground is the bridge? Will I get hurt? Will I die? Has anyone else jumped off the Bridge? Is there a cushion at the bottom? Is it fun? Who is going to do it with me? Is someone taping this?

Stop.

The only question you should be asking is:

Why would you put yourself in a situation where you could be hurt in the first place? The world teaches us to question, to test the limits, and if we get hurt or make a mistake, its okay that’s what “second chances” are for. “Second Chances” are a gift. Given to you by someone who suffered more than any other person that you know. He suffered so that you could repent, be forgiven, and return to live in Heaven with him. So, WHY would you make that gamble with your eternal life? So many of life’s mistakes are preventable, if we would only listen to our own moral compass, who is screaming at us to stay on the straight and narrow path, but we refuse to listen. How will you learn? How will you stay on the straight and narrow path? If you know the consequences ahead of time, and we do, why would you do it any way? It is far easier to make the right choices the first time, than to suffer through the repentance process.

Trust me.

Having made my share of mistakes I would hope that my siblings, friends, family members, or anyone else reading this will learn from it, so they will not have to suffer as I have suffered.

I know what it is like to have a broken heart and contrite spirit. The repentance process took me longer than I thought it would. But changing the desires of your heart is hard. It was not fast. It was not easy.

Our generation is one of “instant messenger” “drive-thrus” “instant video streaming”. Quick and Easy. Satan wants you to believe Life is all about “Quick and Easy” and I will tell you here and now that if you do not have a firm foundation BUILT in righteousness and in making good choices the only thing that is “Quick and Easy” is the fall into Satan’s grasp—into misery, loneliness, depression, lust, and shame. Satan uses illusions of happiness and love and warmth but his delights of the body are only temporary. They do not last and they will leave you feeling emptier and hollowed, and pulled even farther from the Spirit.

I testify to you now, with all the knowledge that I have gained down my long and bumpy road in life, that the good things are WORTH waiting for. That Satan only has power over you if you allow him to.

I am grateful for Christ’s Atonement, because despite all the mistakes I made along the way, I WAS able to be forgiven. I have been able to feel the everlasting warmth, light and love that the gospel has to offer, and to know of Heavenly Father’s unquestionable love for me. And because I made the choice to Stop and Turn My Life to Him, I am happier than I ever could have imagined. I am closer to Him and I rely on Him more and more when trials, questions and hard times come up in my life. Today, I am happily married and sealed to my beloved eternal companion, who is my best friend and father to our children. We are a Christ-Centered family, who also know of the power and love Heavenly Father has for each of us. There is hope and happiness for those who want to change and who make the commitment to do so. I do not know your specific circumstance or situation, but I do know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, and that means you are loved; and there is always someone on your side even when you feel alone. He knows you personally, better than you probably know yourself; he knows your needs and the desires of your heart. You are worth more than you know. Through the Atonement, and the long and hard repentance process, you too can gain a testimony of His love. You can change the path and direction of your life. Agency is Heavenly Father’s Gift to you.  

The choice is yours… What will you do with it?

July--Party Time!

July was just as crazy as June! Nana and Papaw, Auntie and Monkey Chad moved in and just like that the population of our house doubled!

But we had a lot of fun on 4th of July: 

And we had fun the rest of the month too! 

Potty Training! 

Story time with Nana!

Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A!

 Floating the Boise River... (never again).

Our Newest Backyard Addition--The Tramp! 

The Princess is 18 Months Old!! And Off to Nursery!

 The Loves of my Life! Growing up so fast! 

The Whirlwind of June!

June was mostly spent in the Backyard  in the pool, playing in the sprinkler, or in the tree house...

even Awesome joined in on the fun! 

But the best part of June was Little Man's Pirate Birthday! 

I had so much fun making the decorations for this party! It was a blast! 

 Happy Birthday Buddy!! 

May 2014 in a Post!

May was a much busier month for us!  

We had our besties come a visit on their move to Colorado... so glad they came and played for a few days! 

Here is a picture of Little Man and his buddy!

 And all of the munchkins at Zoo Boise!

Zoo Boise Party! 

Then we played some more....

Got to Skype with the other Gaughan's who are on missions!

 And Lastly we flew to Colorado to help pack, and see Auntie and Monkey Chad graduate high school. This was an adventure by itself. Flying by myself with the munchkins. Never. Again.

 We said good-bye to Pikes Peak. 

 Fed the giraffes at the Cheyenne Mtn. Zoo. And Came HOME!

Mother's Day 2014

 My favorites. 

Good month but the adventures of this summer are just beginning! 

April in a Post!

April was just another month here in the Gaughan House! We played outside and had fun as a family enjoying everything that Spring in Idaho has to offer! 

Here is the Princess in her tutu 

and Little Man and his many personalities!

 Nice Sunscreen Hair-do!

 Spring at our House! 

We love our backyard!! 

Nana came for a visit and a job interview! 

Dad teaching how to fly a kite!

Easter Egg hunt! 

 and lastly my two littlest loves. 

March 2014!

March was a great month! It was my birthday, Spring Break and National Craft Month so needless to say it was BUSY! The beginning of the month we drove down to Provo to say goodbye to Awesome's parents because we were so sick the week that they left that we never got to say goodbye. And Provo was really only a 5-6 hour drive and the kids did AMAZING in the car. We got in around dinner time and went out to dinner with them and Awesome's brother who also lives in Provo. It was a great night. 

While also in Salt Lake we were able to go to Ikea! My fave store ever. Awesome's least favorite. But he went anyway and I was able to get some craft project items that I had been wanting so I was stoked about that.

We also were able to see some friends before heading home which was so nice. The last time we were able to see them Ky was only a few months old! Way too long. 

The rest of the month for my was focused on crafts (see my crafting blog for more updates on what I made and how!) There were a few contests going on so I was very busy with those. I also had a birthday in there, but once you are over 21 birthdays are really just another day. Especially when you have kids. 

We did some reorganizing for Spring Cleaning. Lil Man has stopped napping so he needed some books, puzzles and "quiet" toys in his room for quiet time. So we made his bed a bunk bed again and moved some toys and storage up to his room which helped make room for the new stuff I wanted in the playroom. Here are Princess and Lil Man playing in his room! 

And here is the playroom! (Which is now probably my favorite room in the house!) I found that easel at Ikea for only $14! I'm so excited to use it. Haven't gotten there yet. But soon. 

And that little play kitchen? Craigslist for $20! It came with a ton of extras, like food, pots/pans, AND a musical tea set! Tea Parties are in my future and I'm so excited about it! Also check out that reading corner! All finished and I LOVE IT! 

But I will have to say that my favorite part of March was when my family came out for Spring Break! My little bro and sis are seniors in high school this year so tearing them away from their friends was a sacrifice on their part but I'm so glad they came! We went to the zoo: 

And my favorite part of their stay was driving out to the BLM land to go shooting! It was the first time we've been out there and it was a blast! 

I love my family. Those near and far. I'm so grateful for the gospel and that our family is forever. 

February in a Post

February in our house had some highs and lows for us... The beginning of the month was actually pretty good! We geared up for Valentines Day which was a success: 

Just adorable! And both munchkins were fairly cooperative which is always a nice bonus!! 

 

Meanwhile Awesome's parents are getting closer and closer to leaving for Provo and then the plague hit our house... Okay maybe it wasn't really the plague but it was horrible. It started first for Wildman the Saturday before my in laws were leaving. He came into our room saying he got sick in his bed ad sure enough he DID. We got out the portable toddler cot (one of the best investments we've made) and set it up in our room. We got him all cleaned up and changed, got a bucket, and no sooner did we do that he got sick over everything we had just laid out and his new clothes. We re-did everything again and same thing about 20-30 minutes later. We were very quickly running out of towels and extra sheets. We decided instead of just changing him again we would try a bath. He even got sick in the bath but at least I was prepared with a bucket to catch this time. After the bath, I got him dressed and him back on the bed in our room and had a prompting to go check on Princess. (By this time Awesome had already left for work :-/ ) The first thing I noticed when I opened her door was the smell... I went to her and Lil Princess was lying face-down in a big pile of sick and my heart stopped. Worst fears were racing through my head until I saw her move then I knew she was just fast asleep. I got her up and in the tub. Once she was cleaned up, I stripped her bed... Now the 4 or 5 load waiting for the washer. Yuck. This was my life for the next two weeks.

Let me take a quick moment and just be incredibly grateful for my washer and dryer. Especially in times like these. 

Side note: it's March 15 & I'm STILL not caught up on the laundry from this. One day...

Ok focus. 

So this sickmaggedon lasted in our house 9 days for each person and cycled through everyone. Vomiting, diarrhea, more and more random bouts of vomiting. I'm not sure if I left the house during that time. And to make it all worse, Awesome's parents left for Provo and we never got to say goodbye. 

This was towards the end... Poor kid you can see how tired and sick he still looks. 

The Princess on the other hand bounced back!

The end of February was not great. I'm grateful to Awesome's Mama who even though her plate was FULL packing and preparing for her mission... She STILL was willing to drop off some "feel better goodies" from the store. She is an incredible and selfless woman and I don't know what I'm going to do without her for 12 months!!! 

This takes us all the way in to March... Stay tuned!