Disappointment

Yesterday I received a letter from someone about something I had done. I think they meant it to be constructive criticism, but it left me feeling sad and hurt.
After a few minutes of sulking and talking with my husband I realized I had two choices. I could either give up on what I was trying to do, or I could learn more about it and try and improve.
I've decided to learn more and improve! I hope that I only become stronger and better because of that letter.

I read once that "the human experience is an exercise in collecting disappointments and mistakes, ruminating on them for a little bit, and turning them into wisdom and growth."
I love that thought. Failure and disappointment is what makes us want to improve. It is how we can find joy in  being able to finally achieve something after all of our hard work. It is what pushes us to try harder and be better.
So, today, I am grateful for feeling like I failed and being disappointed in myself.
It has made me want to try even harder to be better.

"We would never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world."

-Helen Keller

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And for some happiness here are some pictures of us enjoying another day of Spring Break!

Spring Break

I think the only thing I'll miss about Brad being a student is being able to enjoy the school breaks as a family. It is so nice that he has a full week off and we have been enjoying it so far!
We didn't do much today, although we were able to sleep in since the kids haven't really adjusted yet to daylight savings time. Other than that it was a pretty normal day. Played games, danced, had a pizza party for dinner, and video chatted with Grandma and Grandpa Hobson.
I'm so looking forward to the rest of the week!

Divinity

It can be so easy to look at our faults and weaknesses or the faults and weaknesses of others, but when we really understand that each person here on Earth is a daughter or son of God then we realize that there is good in every one of us and a great potential we can each reach. President Lorenzo Snow taught:

"I believe that we are the sons and daughters of God, and that He has bestowed upon us the capacity for infinte wisdom and knowledge, because He has given us a portion of Himself. 

We have divinity within ourselves; we have immortality within ourselves; our spiritual organism is immortal; it cannot be destroyed; it cannot be annihilated. We will live from all eternity to all eternity."

It is so amazing and empowering to think of ourselves and others this way. We have divinity within ourselves! We have the capacity for infinite wisdom and knowledge! I just so wish I could overcome my 'natural man' tendencies and become the person I really am and hopefully will be again someday. President Snow also said:

"We are apt to forget these things in the midst of the cares and vexations of life, and we do not fully understand that it is our privilege, and that the Lord has placed it in our reach to pursue that gospel whereby we may have peace within us continually.

Let us never allow our prospects to become dimmed;let them be fresh before us by day and by night, and I will assure you that if we will do this our growth from day to day and from year to year will be marvelous."

This thought reminds me of a beautiful song written by Janice Kapp Perry, My Nature is Divine. My sister and I used to sing it together while she played the piano. We used to sing a lot of songs together while she accompanied us on the piano. But the words are so perfect:

"Why is it when I hear a baby cry,

My arms reach out, in love I can't deny?

Why is it when I see my neighbors need,

My heart is touched to do a kindly deed?

Why is it when I see someone alone,

My instinct is to share the love I've known?

Why is it when I sing a hymn of praise

My spirit yearns to follow in His ways?

Could it be oh could it be a sign,

That deep within this simple soul of mine,

I sense by some miraculous design

My nature is divine?

Why is it when I touch a fevered brow,

I know that I must give relief somehow?

Why is it when I see someone with less,

I'm urged within to share my goods and bless?

Why is it when I see a soul in sin,

I long to share the light I have within?

Why is it that a joy beyond compare,

Distills upon me when I kneel in prayer?

Could it be oh could it be a sign,

That deep within this simple soul of mine,

I sense by some miraculous design

My nature is divine?

 We all have our moments of giving in to temptation and not being as good as we want to be, but we all have the potential and the ability to be better, especially with the help of the Lord. I'm so grateful for my divine nature, and I'm especially grateful for the atonement so that when I fail to be my best self I can keep trying and trying again to reach my divinity.

Charity

Today was such an amazing day! I was able to help out at an Everything Sale that went to benefit the family of Damond Farar who passed away suddenly in December.
We were up early at 5 am to set up all the donated items and I was amazed at all the things that were donated! It was awesome. Volunteers worked until 6 pm helping keep the items organized, answering shoppers questions and even holding a BBQ! People gave so much of their time and their money. Even complete strangers to the Farar family were so willing to give extra money to help them out.
There are truly so many giving and charitable people in this world! And charity really is the pure love of Christ because I felt the love of Christ surrounding me all day today. It was a beautiful day.
To end the sale we had a balloon launch. It was so neat to see the balloons fly away.
I hope this is a day that remains with Kade as a similar one did with me that I had when I was his age.
When I was in Preschool, my preschool teacher passed away during the school year. I remember going to her home for school and having red koolaid and animal crackers for snacks. I remember what a nice lady she was. And I remember after she died we were each able to send a balloon up into the sky to her. I watched my balloon fly away forever and I fully believed that I might just see her hand poke through the clouds and catch my balloon because I knew that she wasn't gone forever, but that she was in Heaven and we'd see her again.
I'm grateful that that belief has turned to knowledge. I know we will be with our families forever and we will see our loved ones again. We have to endure this hard separation here on Earth, but we will meet them again.

Daydreaming

Sometimes I can't help but daydream about our future. Where we'll live, what our house will look like, what our neighborhood will look like, what Kade and Tenley will look like as teenagers, what our future children will be like, etc. I love to think ahead and plan and I did a lot of that the other day while the kids and I were at the Children's Museum.
The kids were having so much fun playing in the tree-house, having a tea party in the playhouse, and dancing in the colorful light room. It made me want those things in our future home.
I'm pretty sure Brad wouldn't be on board for a a dance room with strobe lights, but maybe the kids and I can talk him into it! And it would be so fun to have a playhouse in the backyard that the kids and I could escape to and play games in.
It will be really fun to see how it all happens and works out! But since we aren't really in the planning stages yet, I'll just keep on daydreaming!

Early Morning Runs

These past few weeks I've been going running at 6:15 am every few days with my friends Becca and Danielle. I was apprehensive about doing it at first, but it is something I look forward to now! It feels good to get up early and get my workout finished before my children wake up, and I actually feel more rejuvenated for the day than when I sleep in!
I'm so grateful for my cute friends and their desire to go running early in the morning and for the fact that they talked me into doing it with them too!

See you tomorrow at 6:00 am girls!

Playgroup

We've been able to go to a lot of playgroups so far this year and it has been so fun! It helps the weeks go by fast and it is nice to have something fun to do during these cold winter months.

This is my favorite picture! These two need to date when they are older!!

Electricity

Tonight we lost power for 50 minutes and I realized that you never do know how great something is until it is gone!
It happened right after the kids went to bed and I was ready to check some emails and play on my digital piano. But instead I got to have some quiet time watching the snow fall outside our window.
It was a good break that I shouldn't be forced into. I need to have more quiet moments like that! But at the same time, I am very grateful that the power is back on and we will be warm tonight!

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Here are some cute pictures from preschool on Monday. I got to teach the cute boys about music! We had fun dancing around with ribbons sticks and making our own instruments (paper plates with beans inside and pretzel sticks with marshmallows on top for drumsticks). It was a fun day!

Hiking

I love hiking! That is one of the reasons I miss home so much. There were so many fun hikes that I loved to do in Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon. Whenever my friends and I had a chance we would be up in the canyon.
This is Kesler Peak:

It is right behind my grandparents cabin and that is a really fun hike to do if you have all day!
I just love being in the mountains!

Although there aren't any huge mountains to climb here, there are still some beautiful places to go walking around in nature. Kade loves to go hiking in the forest!
Over the weekend our friends invited us to Eagle Creek Park with them. It was beautiful! And the cold temperatures kept everyone away so it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

Kade loved using the binoculars to look at the birds.

"Sword Fighting" with Joe.

Kade and his walking stick.

Racing!

Testimonies

A few Sundays ago Kade was watching me get ready for church and he told me that he didn't want to go to church. I tried to explain to him that since Jesus loves us and we love him we need to show him that we love him by going to church. His answer to that was, "Jesus doesn't love me!"
That made me so sad to hear him say that. So I stopped what I was doing and got down on the floor with him and I was able to share with him my testimony, that I know Jesus lives and that I know he loves us.
It was a simple moment, but it was powerful to me. Kade thought about it for a moment, but never said anything and went back to talking about other things. But he never again said that he didn't want to go to church or that Jesus didn't love him. I hope he now understands that Jesus does love us.

I'm grateful for testimonies. I'm grateful that my parents shared their testimonies with me. And I'm grateful for all those that are so willing to share their own testimonies. I really enjoy Fast and Testimony meeting because I always feel strengthened by the testimonies of others.

Good News

We got the best news this afternoon! Brad passed his Part 1 National Board Dental Exam!
We had just gotten home from being out and Brad decided to go check the mail and his scores were in there. I watched as he walked up to the door and opened the scores on the way, and then I saw his face and heard him say, "YES!" I was so happy for him!!!
We have been waiting for a few weeks to get the news and Brad was getting pretty nervous, but I was confident that he would pass! YAY!! I can't wait to go celebrate with him now sometime soon!

The Weekend

Who is excited for the weekend?!

We are!

Especially since Brad finished his test this morning and we will have lots of time with him. Yay!!

New Friends

I made a new friend today.
I got to go and meet/visit her with one of my "old" friends. She really was one of the sweetest, kindest, coolest people I have ever met!
She loves to travel and it was fun to hear all about where she has been. I can't wait to travel someday. My grandparents traveled the world and I always admired them for their adventures that they had. I can't wait to be the one sharing my traveling stories with someone!
Her kids are all grown and out of the house, but she has decided to start taking piano lessons! I think that it is incredible. It seems that most older people tend not to try new things because of their age, but why not?! I don't think you are ever too old to learn or try something new.
And she was so sweet to my kids. I truly enjoyed our visit and I can't wait to talk to her more!

After our visit the kids and I went grocery shopping. This is how I do it with two kids:

It is pretty crazy especially when I have a lot of food to get, but it was worth it today because I found my favorite childhood game Candy Land on a good sale! 

Brad even took a few minutes away from his studies to play with Kade. Kade loves the game! 

Happiness

Today was such a happy day! We didn't even do anything out of the ordinary but my children and I were all in great moods so it made for such a great day!
Early this morning before the kids woke up I was able to go for a quick run with my friends Becca and Danielle. It felt good to go running and to get my workout done before the kids woke up.

It is super dark at 6 am!

After breakfast the kids helped me clean the bathrooms and then played together quietly while I showered. Then we got to go play at our friend Heather's house with Kade's friends Jackson and Jakoby. Kade sat and played Hungry, Hungry Hippos with his friends for an hour and a half! It was amazing how much he loved that game.
After lunch we had a dance party, but poor Tenley was so tired that she mainly just watched the music videos.

Then Tenley took a nap for 3 hours and Kade helped me make dinner: Cheesy Chicken Lasagna and Pizza Factory bread sticks (I really miss The Pizza Factory.)

And after dinner we, of course, danced some more with Dad. Then bath time and bed time for the kids.

It was such a great day! Although it would be even better if right now my hot husband wasn't studying by himself and he was able to hang out with me!

But really, I am truly so grateful for my family. They bring me so much happiness! It really is true that money can't buy you happiness. In our humble little home with our tight budget and so many dreams and future plans left to happen I can honestly say that I am truly happy! 

Mommy Adventures

I love adventures! I love trying new things and going new places. Growing up my adventures usually consisted of the outdoors; biking, hiking, skiing, road trips, and camping trips.
But now my adventures seem to be more simple, like trying to squeeze 3 car seats into the back of my car in the pouring rain so we could take my friend and her son with us to the church to play the organ. Poor Becca got soaked! And then trying to make sure the kids stayed entertained while we tried to actually play the organ. It was a fun and exciting day! Much better than playing inside at home!

And then this afternoon I needed to take Tenley back to the hospital to get her staples out. I had originally planned on leaving Kade with Brad, but Brad really needed to study, so I took Kade with me. I was nervous that we would be there forever and that it would be painful for Tenley and Kade would get bored, but it went so quickly and smoothly! We were in and out within thirty minutes! And it wasn't even that painful for Tenley. Much better than actually getting the staples. Kade was such a big helper too! He read a book to her and told her everything would be all right! He even held her hand on the car ride home. He can be such a big sweetheart sometimes! I am one lucky mamma to be able to have such fun adventures with my cute kids!

Kade was trying to tast the raindrops on the way into the hospital.

P.S. Tonight ended so well. Test weeks are no fun for me and definitely no fun for Brad, but I didn't realize how much the kids miss having their Dad around to play games with or even watch T.V. with. Kade has been asking for time with his Daddy all day! Luckily after dinner Brad offered to have a little dance party with us before he had to go back upstairs to study. It made our day!!

Homemade Pizza

I look forward to Monday nights now that they are our pizza nights. It has become such a fun tradition that we all love! I'm grateful for Paula Deens's awesome pizza dough recipe. It makes for some great pizza crust. And we've made some yummy pizzas and have been able to try lots of different sauces and toppings.
Tonight, though, was the typical pepperoni, sausage, onion, and olive pizza. It was delicious!

We had an "indoor picnic" (thank you to my amazing friend Becca for the idea!) and watched Curious George while we ate our pizza. Yum!