sunday.

"When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and direct them, in gratitude and love, toward God. In your life there have to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger, or they can destroy you. But you make the decision of which road you take...If someone hurts you so much that your feelings seem to choke you, forgive and you will be free again. " --Elder Busche

Today is a day of remembrance--something that is very important in our lives. It is the anneversary of a life changing, horribly tragic event. I encourage you to not only remember those who have died for our country, but to remember who you are--a Spirit child of Heavenly Father, having lived for thousands of years. Remember why you are here on Earth. Remember the plan of salvation--remember where all who died ten years ago today have gone. Remember how deeply Heavenly Father loves you, and how deeply He loves all of His children. I testify that those who died on this day are well cared for now. I know that we will see our loved ones again. I have felt the piercing Spirit testify that I will see my loved ones again. That I will live with them again. That Heavenly Father loves them and takes care of them. That knowledge brings me great happiness.

Namaste :)

sunday.

“Testimony isn't something you have today, and you are going to have always. A testimony is fragile. It is as hard to hold as a moonbeam. It is something you have to recapture every day of your life.” --Harold B. Lee

sunday.

sunday.

wow. incredible.

Okay. This is kind of weird, but I was just looking through a friend's wedding pictures, and found these ones in the same album. Credit: Arielle Aimee Photography. You can browse her photography blog here: http://arielleaimeephotography.blogspot.com/

Her pictures are so incredibly amazing.

Makiya

I am very blessed to be blessed with so many nieces and one nephew. If I understood correctly (I was listening to spanish) Makiya was 8 lbs 4 oz and 19 in. Eight llbs and four oozes. Becca is doing well also.

I have such a good life :)

fathers day.

I really don't know what to say for father's day.


I still remember those nights
when I would purposely fall asleep on your bed
just so you would carry me down the stairs
and put me in my own bed.

I'm pretty sure you knew,
but you carried me anyway.

And you continue to carry me
all the time.

I love you.

pickles are gross.

A presentation given by a guest speaker in my career class really struck me. He mostly talked about how our generation has a lot of bad qualities when searching for a job, but there were a few good qualities in there like globally aware and technologically advanced. He threw out some terms that I guess are pretty big right now. Helicopter parents was a big one. Kid's parents are playing huge roles in their kid's lives nowadays.

Studies show that people are not 'coming of age' and making their own decisions until age 29, and a lot of that has to do with parents being too sheltering. Lets face it, most of our parents are texting us every day and wanting to know what we are doing and how we are doing (mine definitely do not fit into this category, but a lot of parents now do). He pointed out that parents are paying for their children's education now, and they want to make sure their investments reap benefits. They make sure every class signed up for is appropriate, and that we do well on each and every assignment and test. Most people my age have a security net in that they are welcomed to move back home with their parents at any time.

This helicopter parent syndrome is actually causing children to be less motivated, and less likely to make decisions, which ultimately leads to employers not wanting to hire my generation. They don't want to waste time and money by hiring someone that will leave in six months or even two years--often before the training period is even complete. An employee must stay with a business for at least four years before they are shown to be profitable to the company. Previous generations are more prone to making the decision and sticking with that decision for at least five years. The average person nowadays changes careers seven times in their lifetime.

Taking a look back into history, children were even on their own at fourteen or fifteen without parental support. This concept is just very interesting to me. Employers actually don't want to hire from my generation because we are less likely to make choices, less likely to stick to our choices and impatient. On the opposite side of the scale, we are more advanced in technology and we also are thinking globally, which is something all businesses are starting to pick up.

I think my parents are exempt, for the most part, from being "helicopter parents." I do have many of the securities of my generation, but from an early age I was learning to be independent. At this point in my life where I don't know which path to choose, my parents won't even help me make a decision at ALL. Sometimes, I wish they just would. At the same time though, I hate people telling me what to do. My aunt always talks about how independent I am. A lot of times that same independence gets me in trouble though.

So. Mainly my point of this post that the discussion was great, and that you should tell me what to do with my life because my parents are not helicopter parents. Mmkay thanks.

my nieces are cute-er than yours.

I saw the CUTEST little girl at work today who looked JUST like Emma in a few years. The little girl ran over to the isle I was on, plopped a princess toy down on the ground in the middle of the walkway, and ran away again. Just as I was about to pick it up and put it away, I heard her pattering over again. She dropped a princess coloring book on the pile and disappeared. Later she came back over with more toys and started playing with all of them, always turning around to make sure her mom wasn't going to see her and take her prizes away. She reminded me so much of Emma :)

I'm going to shadow a couple of yoga classes (eight hours worth actually) for my career class. Hello best job on the planet. I'm so excited.

In other news, I am swamped with crap to do. I mean homework. Wow how did I get those mixed up?...

Namaste.

i love you mom.

What makes a mother good? What makes her mission successful?

My mother is just great. I would say the greatest, but that is what everyone says about their mom and it becomes a little cliche. Or a lot. So she's just great. And by just, I mean amazingly wonderfully.

I've been taking this career class in school and they keep asking us what our mission is in life. I guess I can see everyone else's missions, but not my own. I can see my mom's mission, and every day she takes a step closer to accomplishing it. I've also been thinking about how my life has made me dislike children. I get to see a lot of snotty nosed brats working retail and being in Utah. However, when my sister in law had Stryker, I fell in love. I think being around him from the beginning of his life and seeing him growing up gave me a deep love for him. I love that kid with all my heart. We used to just fall asleep together on the couch when he was a little baby and we would take hour long naps. I guess when I see those kids come in to work or when I have to deal with kids in other situations, that loving bond is not present.

I have always felt that bond from my mom. I have always known that she loves me, and that is something that sets her apart from a lot of other moms--the fact that she does love me, and that I knew and know through her actions that she does.

I am so grateful for her. I'm grateful that she put up with me when I was so little that I told lies that were completely obvious. I'm grateful that she allowed me to dream, and that she taught me that I could be anything I wanted to be. I'm grateful that she put up with me through my teenage years of PMS and hormones. Man even just that was a huge accomplishment. I'm grateful that even now, I can call her and get her advice that helps me to know just what to do. I'm grateful that I can feel her love for me through just the simple things she does every day that she probably doesn't even realize she's doing, but that make a huge difference to me.

Just a few childhood memories:

I used to come home from school crying. Often actually. My mom would just sit with me on my bed and hug me until I would tell her what was wrong. And then she would sit there and hug me more.

When I needed a friend, my mom wouldn't say anything but "Do you want to go shopping?" and it would take my mind off of things. My mom became my best friend. Most girls go shopping with their friends, and I did some of that, but mostly I just loved to shop with my mom. And that is another thing that sets her apart from other moms.

When I fell on glass or cut my eyebrow and was bleeding all over the place, my mom cleaned it up.

My mom got all five kids to church every stinkin week without my dad being there in the morning. Every week. On top of that, she would have a young women or primary lesson planned for her class that very day. What an astounding woman.

When my little brother was old enough and in school, my mom went back to school herself to pursue a passion she had had for a while and had put aside to raise a family. She achieved a degree while constantly being annoyed by five kids while she was trying to do homework.

My mom is a bishop's wife. That says a lot. How hard and taxing it is! She does it wonderfully. She sacrifices so much to help my dad in his calling. She also supports him in everything he does. When there is a need in the ward, my mom will give up her luxuries to give to them.

Those experiences are just a few. And by few, I mean a terrible representation of eighteen years of my life where my mom did these things over and over for me.

My mom is the sweetest, most beautiful, selfless, generous person I know. I love you mom. I always have and I always will. Happy mothers day.