Happiness

I've been listening to Oprah's Podcast Super Soul Conversations like a dry desert plant up much needed water after a rain storm. I have no idea why! I don't know if I am thirsty for spiritual conversation or if this is just a new kick that I am on. Either way, I am LOVING it!  I find myself pausing it, thinking about certain quotes and then turning it back on again. I also rewind to catch a good phrase or quote. Open yourself to the grace that is within you. Adyashanti spoke about opening up to God and telling Him that he would take anything that God had to give him. He had a rough five years after that but he wouldn't change anything for the world because of the things that he learned. Often the people interviewed don't share my traditional view of who God is. And that's okay. We can all learn from each other. Everyone has bits and pieces of truth that we can gain from. I've listened to interviews with Ekhart Tolle, Adyashanti, and others. I st...

Lately I’ve been trying to remind myself to be like a broken vessel. Humble, imperfect, accepting of who I am. In California I had people who knew me and loved me and accepted me for who I am. Here I kinda have to introduce myself all over again. It’s hard work. It’s tough to put yourself out there. But it’s doable. I’ve done it before. I can do it again. With God’s help. God has helped me make so many new transitions. Move after move. He can help me make this transition too. And make it better than I ever thought possible.

Arizona is HOT! I thought it would be- I mean, we lived here for 3 years 4 years ago. I was NOT prepared for this kind of heat. The kind of heat that hits 101 at 9 am in the morning. The other day I went to go grocery shopping at 10 am and went right back inside because it was way too hot. Way too hot!! Right now it is 108 and I am happy that it is not 115! We don't go outside unless it is to go to a store or do drop offs at school. The other day I walked around the school track at 6 am. That was nice! Lately I have been so tired, I have been falling asleep at 9:30 pm and waking up at 4 am. Then I am so tired from waking up at 4, that I fall asleep at 9. It's a vicious cycle. But it's a cool cycle. Literally cooler. It doesn't help that the above ground pool that our home came with broke. I look at the empty hole in the ground with just dirt in it's place and mourn it's loss. Josh is LOVING his job and now I feel like I need a job to LOVE too. I l...

Declan goes to preschool with Miss Stacy. He loves it! She lives nearby and he likes making friends and getting treats. He already asks for a play date when the day is done. Some mornings he doesn’t want to go, but when it’s time he always goes happily. He took our fish to show and tell. When it was time to clean up, he promptly put the little fishy in it’s Tupperware in his backpack! The fish survived and now we know he’s a pretty obedient little kid!

  Our burst pool    The pool from our downstairs living room. On Saturday morning, our above/below ground pool burst. It was not too much of a surprise since we had seen a bulge on the side a week earlier. We had shown our owner (we are renting) and she didn't seem too worried. The last four nights we had major rain storms at night and that should have been a warning! Josh, Elizabeth and Declan were home at the time. I had taken the 3 boys to Deseret Book to buy scriptures for Seminary. We were so glad no one was swimming at the time since they usually would have been. Josh heard a big whoosing sound and saw water whoosing down the stairs. He went outside and put plastic wrap on the outside of the door to prevent it from coming in. Elizabeth got towels and began soaking everything up. It worked pretty good and the water reached only about 6 x 10 ft of the floor inside. It rushed around both side of the house and into the street and into our garage...

when my boys were little   I just added my blog to Bloglovin' ! If you don't follow them, they are a website that puts all of your favorite blogs in one place and you can read them on a daily basis. I usually read my once or twice a week and I love it! Check it out!

I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately since I've been doing a lot of packing and unpacking. The other day I listened to Oprah's Soul Search Podcast episode with Eckhart Tolle who is the Author of A New Earth. He mentioned something about regret. He said to not regret anything that you have done in the past.  The person you were made the best decision with all of the learning and knowledge you had at the time. That decision helped you be who you are today and everything is as it should be. I love that- Everything is as it should be. Good luck today. Make it a good day! "You are not your mind." Ekhart Tolle

         I don't know if I have told you about my Dad's Miraculous Miracle yet. Just a little background on the story- a little over 10 years ago my Dad John was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia also known as CLL (I wrote about it here ). He was 58 years old. It is common for males to get this later in life- if they do get it at all. At first I didn't know it was cancer. Yes, it had the name Leukemia in it, but since it also had the word Chronic, I felt that it wasn't dangerous and that we would overcome it within a short time. I distinctly remember the time someone mentioned the word "Cancer". It was probably about 6 months into his diagnosis and I was surprised that no one had said it before. It was like we were dancing around the subject.        Earlier this year, my Dad had run out of options and was still fighting CLL. He had tried all of the trial drugs and the only option left was a CarT cell transplant. This is whe...

My last child will be starting preschool on Wednesday. I will have some free time to myself! No “Mom, look at this.” “Mom, what about that?” I am sitting here under the fan in 99 degree weather- make that 100 degrees- at 8:30 in the morning and I am trying to convince myself that this is a good thing. He looks so cute- dressed up in his new shirt that I got him and still clean from his Sunday bath. His Open House is at 10 today and he keeps asking “Is it 10 yet?” He is oh so excited and so am I! Excited for him to make new friends, to leave the nest and go out into the world. He already does that at Church once a week for two hours. That was good practice and this is the real thing. The real deal- preschool. And I’ve got this!

More to follow!