This is why I have one of the COOLEST family ever. Gosh, I miss them.
Watch this. Seriously.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Sometimes central district
1. I'm tired.
2. Don't judge spelling or grammar errors.
3. I'm that tired.
I'm not sure why I keep expecting this life to be easy. It's not that my life is particularly difficult right now, but when it is, I find myself asking why it has to be so hard. Is it funny that I've been taught my whole life, that this life is a test, and yet it just finally really hit me what that means? And really it's only scraped the surface of what that means.
Life. Living life. It wasn't ALWAYS meant to be rainbows, sunshine, and roses. If it was, we wouldn't even appreciate it because we wouldn't know any differently. Instead, life was meant to be difficult. It was meant to be challenging and exhausting. It was meant to bring us to our knees. But it's from these experiences that we grow and learn the most. And from these experiences, we learn to truly appreciate and embrace those days of sunshine and happiness. We can recognize the days that are wonderful! So while I want my life to be smooth-sailing until I'm 102, I need to stop and recognize now that the storms are coming. The weather always changes. And it's not because Heavenly Father doesn't love me. I chose to come to this earth and experience this life. In the pre-existence, I knew that it would be hard. It's just taken me a little bit longer to figure that out here. So yes, the storms are coming. But for now, the sun is shining and I need to love my life and my girls with all my heart. I just need to trust my Heavenly Father that when the storms come that I will have enough faith and trust in Him to make it through.
My other thought: husbands. I LOVE mine. And I'm so lucky that I found an incredible guy. Getting married isn't about finding the most attractive or the most brilliant or the most potentially wealthy trophy husband on the planet. It's not a contest to see who can marry the best husband. Really, it's about finding someone you can love so much, who loves you, who loves the Lord, and who is willing to weather the crazy storms with you. You and your husband will go through SO SO much together. You'll deal with sick kids, financial stress, emotional waves, etc. I was blessed to find an incredible husband who trusts in our Heavenly Father so much. I swear, with him, we could do absolutely anything.
And my last thought: The lesson I'm preparing this week for Young Women is on strengthening extended family relationships. I have the best extended family ever. Really. I LOVE them. And no surprise, I cried while preparing the lesson. I miss my family and extended family so much already. I didn't even see a lot of them that often. I realize how much I took those opportunities for granted. Now I'll probably see those family members every couple years, if I'm lucky. While I was working on the lesson, I was trying to think of some ways I've helped extended family. Um, hello? How dumb am I that it took me almost two days to remember that, while I don't have an impressive resume when helping extended family, I had the opportunity to RECEIVE a substantial amount of love and help from family last summer.
So thank you to my extended family. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I will always, always remember your love and support. Thank you for being there for me. Just knowing that you love me and my family meant everything to me. You're the best. Yes, you know who you are. You, and you, and you. Yep, and you too. LOVE YOU.
I know, I didn't add a picture. I should take one for you. My babies are so darn adorable. It almost makes me cry--Claire reaching out to share her soggy graham cracker, or Abby wearing not one, but two (has attempted three) leotards to dance in while singing "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled.
Abby moment:
Abby is out digging in the dirt with one of her best friends, J. I called out to her to come back so we could leave.
"But mom! We are building a temple out of sticks and mud and paint! We're almost finished with our temple!"
Me: "Oh wow! A temple! What color are you painting it?"
Abby: "Lellow and white."
J (very frankly): "And black."
Abby looked at J and then looked back at me. "And black." She turned around to run back and yelled, "Come on J---, we have to build the temple!"
Oh, my wonderful daughter. :)
2. Don't judge spelling or grammar errors.
3. I'm that tired.
I'm not sure why I keep expecting this life to be easy. It's not that my life is particularly difficult right now, but when it is, I find myself asking why it has to be so hard. Is it funny that I've been taught my whole life, that this life is a test, and yet it just finally really hit me what that means? And really it's only scraped the surface of what that means.
Life. Living life. It wasn't ALWAYS meant to be rainbows, sunshine, and roses. If it was, we wouldn't even appreciate it because we wouldn't know any differently. Instead, life was meant to be difficult. It was meant to be challenging and exhausting. It was meant to bring us to our knees. But it's from these experiences that we grow and learn the most. And from these experiences, we learn to truly appreciate and embrace those days of sunshine and happiness. We can recognize the days that are wonderful! So while I want my life to be smooth-sailing until I'm 102, I need to stop and recognize now that the storms are coming. The weather always changes. And it's not because Heavenly Father doesn't love me. I chose to come to this earth and experience this life. In the pre-existence, I knew that it would be hard. It's just taken me a little bit longer to figure that out here. So yes, the storms are coming. But for now, the sun is shining and I need to love my life and my girls with all my heart. I just need to trust my Heavenly Father that when the storms come that I will have enough faith and trust in Him to make it through.
My other thought: husbands. I LOVE mine. And I'm so lucky that I found an incredible guy. Getting married isn't about finding the most attractive or the most brilliant or the most potentially wealthy trophy husband on the planet. It's not a contest to see who can marry the best husband. Really, it's about finding someone you can love so much, who loves you, who loves the Lord, and who is willing to weather the crazy storms with you. You and your husband will go through SO SO much together. You'll deal with sick kids, financial stress, emotional waves, etc. I was blessed to find an incredible husband who trusts in our Heavenly Father so much. I swear, with him, we could do absolutely anything.
And my last thought: The lesson I'm preparing this week for Young Women is on strengthening extended family relationships. I have the best extended family ever. Really. I LOVE them. And no surprise, I cried while preparing the lesson. I miss my family and extended family so much already. I didn't even see a lot of them that often. I realize how much I took those opportunities for granted. Now I'll probably see those family members every couple years, if I'm lucky. While I was working on the lesson, I was trying to think of some ways I've helped extended family. Um, hello? How dumb am I that it took me almost two days to remember that, while I don't have an impressive resume when helping extended family, I had the opportunity to RECEIVE a substantial amount of love and help from family last summer.
So thank you to my extended family. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I will always, always remember your love and support. Thank you for being there for me. Just knowing that you love me and my family meant everything to me. You're the best. Yes, you know who you are. You, and you, and you. Yep, and you too. LOVE YOU.
I know, I didn't add a picture. I should take one for you. My babies are so darn adorable. It almost makes me cry--Claire reaching out to share her soggy graham cracker, or Abby wearing not one, but two (has attempted three) leotards to dance in while singing "When Will My Life Begin" from Tangled.
Abby moment:
Abby is out digging in the dirt with one of her best friends, J. I called out to her to come back so we could leave.
"But mom! We are building a temple out of sticks and mud and paint! We're almost finished with our temple!"
Me: "Oh wow! A temple! What color are you painting it?"
Abby: "Lellow and white."
J (very frankly): "And black."
Abby looked at J and then looked back at me. "And black." She turned around to run back and yelled, "Come on J---, we have to build the temple!"
Oh, my wonderful daughter. :)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Danny Boy
You probably won't appreciate this if you're not a Muppets lover. A family friend posted this on facebook and I cracked up. My dad is a great Swedish chef and my brothers are wonderful Animals. We just need a Beaker. We watch Muppets every Christmas... and usually a few more in between. :) It's a good reminder of home.
The Muppets.
Enjoy.
The Muppets.
Enjoy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)