Priesthood Session

General Conference was this last weekend. Corbin is not quite 12 but he will be in 3 weeks so it was his turn to join the family tradition of the men gathering at temple square for priesthood session. In true Corbin fashion, he was worried about me being all alone :) He had such a good time and I think he was excited to be a big kid. As well as Ross and my boys, my dad has become a part of this tradition too.

I think the above picture is proof that one righteous man can make a huge difference in the life of his family, and mine. Thank you Dixon for being that man.

Ask and You Shall Receive

I admit that I am a over protective mother. I want to know where my kids are, who they are with and what they will be doing. It's really not because I want to control them, it's just that well, they are my kids. I don't know what I would do if something ever happened to one of them.

Never-the-less, I know that there comes a time in life when you kind of need to cut the apron strings and let them fly. I have prayed many times to Heavenly Father that I would know when that time comes and that I would have the ability to do it.

Last night, I was laying by Tyson before bed. We were just talking. He is a pretty private kid. He doesn't often share things that are close to his heart. Out of the blue he started sharing. I was so happy that I took the opportunity to listen. Closely. I won't tell you everything but the gist of it is that I knew it was time. The spirit whispered it to me. It's time for Ty to fly.

I know that he will always need me but it's ok for him to become the man he is supposed to be. I can let go as much as he needs me to. But I just want to say that, dangit, it's hard.

Awake

I have been asleep for 4 months. Almost to the day. There are trials, that each of us have, that make us go into sleep mode I think. Where we are exerting just enough energy to exist and make it to the next day. Until something makes us realize there's more that we are missing and if we come out of our stupor, it will be worth it.

I didn't realize until a couple of weeks ago that I had been in sleep mode. Sometimes it's what you have to do to deal with whatever you are facing. I decided that 4 months was too much time to lose. I fervently asked Heavenly Father to re-awaken my spirit so I can be productive and live this happy life that I want to be in.

He answered my prayer. And I am present. And thankful. :)

Friendship

I think about what friendship means quite often. I put a lot of time and effort into being a good friend. I have to admit though, that I have not been a very good friend to everyone lately.

This last year was a hard one for me and my family on a lot of different levels. I have struggled with feelings of being lost. I am not sure exactly my path right now or where I fit. It's funny when you are struggling, who reveals theirself(?) as a true friend. I have those people in my life that I know will be there no matter what. I have also had a few surprises. Like people that I didn't expect showing up for me and like people that I thought for sure would, who didn't.

I got the opportunity to go to dinner last night with 3 friends of mine that have been there through thick and thin, heaven and hell, no matter what. I always come away from those times being lifted up and inspired and so thankful for their presence in my life. They make me want to be a better wife, mom and person.

I know it's time to break out of this cocoon that I have put myself in and start reaching out again. I want to be the kind of friend that I have in Ross and those 3 girls.

It's Official

There is officially another teenager in the house. What the?! How is this possible? Jaden is 13 today.

As you can see from the pic above, he is a lot like his mom in the fact that he cannot pull a straight face for the camera. Where's the fun in that?

I am constantly amazed by this kid. He has so much energy. He doesn't stop until his head hits the pillow at night and then there is no waking him. He gets really ticked if he sleeps past 8 am though. He thinks he is missing out on life.

Soccer, friends and the gospel are this kids life. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy birthday J-dog!

Experience of a Lifetime

I don't even know where to begin this post! The last weekend of my life was the craziest whirlwind you can imagine!
Last October, I ran the St. George marathon with my friend Jamie. You can read about it here.
Jamie's mom happened to read my post and she was very touched by the part about the little boy that handed me the popsicle. She also happens to be on the board of director's for America First Credit Union and decided to use my story in a training meeting. She wanted to talk about the boy with the popsicle and how we can all be that person who doesn't have to help people but do because we can.
I guess this story has been passed around quite a bit within America First. They have decided to make the green popsicle a sort of icon in their company this year and someone thought it would be great if they could get a production company to film a little movie about it that they can use within America First as a sort of motivational thing.
Jamie and I got a call from her mom on Wednesday. They wanted to fly Jamie and I to Las Vegas for the weekend. There was a marathon going on by Lake Mead and they thought it was the perfect opportunity to film this movie about us.
The stars somehow aligned and we were all on board. They paid all of our expenses; food, hotel, flight. It was quite an unreal trip. I am telling you that I could get used to the life of a movie star ;)
Saturday morning was spent filming Jamie and I re-creating my marathon experience. It was a total blast! We had a riot. There were tears from laughing so hard and tears from remembering. We will each get a copy of the finished product. I am excited/nervous to see it!
Who would have thought that a blog post could take me on such an unforgettable experience. Thank you to Linda Carver and America First for taking the best care of us and to Ross for hanging with our boys this weekend. I can't wait to tell my grandkids about this someday. :)

Be Happy!

"I am here tonight to tell you that despair, doom, and discouragement are not an acceptable view of life for a Latter-day Saint. However high on the charts they are on the hit parade of contemporary news, we must not walk on our lower lip every time a few difficult moments happen to confront us. …

“Knowing what we know, and living as we are supposed to live, we really have no place, no excuse, for pessimism and despair.

“In my lifetime I have seen two world wars. … I have worked my way through the Depression and managed to go to law school while starting a young family at the same time. I have seen stock markets and world economics go crazy, and I have seen a few despots and tyrants go crazy, all of which causes quite a bit of trouble around the world in the process.

“So I am frank to say tonight that I hope you won’t believe all the world’s difficulties have been wedged into your decade, or that things have never been worse than they are for you personally, or that they will never get better." -Howard W. Hunter