sunday departure

This morning instead of attending church like usual in our regular building we were fortunate enough to do like the Pioneers and attend our meeting at This Is the Place park. It was an enjoyable departure from the norm, but also a wonderful experience to have while honoring our heritage and the Mormon saints who sacrificed so much to travel west.

Among the talks I heard one thing that stood out to me was, we all have a story to tell and have the responsibility to share it. I guess it was validation to me as to why I spend time to remember moments on my blog, take everyday photographs, and write down my thoughts in my journal. It's not so much that I want to be remembered by my children, grandchildren, and so on, it's that I want to be able to make a difference in their life through the things I share about my life, about today and the time I live.

I believe we all have a purpose to our lives, but it wasn't until today that I thought part our purpose could be beneficial to those who come after us. It's strange to think one day the life you lived will be important to one of your great great grandchildren. It's actually quite a daunting thought, but I love it still. It's definitely given me a push to continue and make sure to be better about sharing the woman I am with my children today and for future generations.

Do you think about telling your story?

tell me a story

Lately the girls have been asking questions about when they were little. You know, question like, "Tell me what I was like when I was little?" Once Adam or I finished telling one of them a story someone else would chime in wanting to hear stories about them. They laugh and laugh with and at each other at the stuff they use to do. With so many inquiries from them and not wanting to disappoint, I started looking through photos as a way to jog my memory. I don't know what it is about taking pictures, but I can remember exactly where I was and the circumstances of when I took it (too bad I don't remember the date).


[I took this with my first ever digital camera I got for Christmas in 2001. Oh my if you could see this old Sony camera now. I don't even know what happened to it. The photos were 640x480 pixels 72dpi (super small printing 1.5"x2") and it wrote the pictures onto a 3.5" floppy disc. It's crazy to think of now, but I loved having it.]

When I saw this photo of Bella and Tess I was immediately reminded of what we used to do during the day. Bella was a very calm little girl (luckily, because she was not a calm baby) and she was always satisfied by sitting and reading with me. It worked out marvelously when Tess came along because, as you can imagine, I was sitting a lot with a newborn. So Bella and I would read, and we wouldn't just read anything, we read No Matter What by Debi Gliori. It was one of her favorite books at the time so we read it over and over again. Now, if you know Bella then it's no surprise she had the book memorized after the third time through (she is still like that) and there was absolutely no way I could skip a part or miss a page. So after Tess was feed and happy Bella would sit next to her on my bed and read to her.

After remember and sharing this story with my girls I thought, I really should buy this book again (after so many times through it got ruined). A few weeks went by and I sort of forgot about it until I was at the library yesterday with Megan. It just occurred to me to look for the book and I was lucky enough to find a copy. So I brought it home to surprise my girls. When I originally told the story to Bella she didn't remember the book, but when she saw it again it brought back all her memories (of the story, not of reading it to Tess).



So this morning when I woke up, later than usual, I found the three of them cozy on the chair listening while Bella read them the story. It was a sweet sight for me to see and one I always hoped I would find since 2002 when I watched Bella reading to her sister for the very first time.

personal history

This is the lesson I gave today in YW. I was actually really excited to give it and it went very well. The girls were really receptive to my thoughts and my passion for documenting life. I told them about my Grandmother I am named after that I believe I am a lot alike. I don't have journals of her's to read, but I do know the things she loved to do. Things that I am also interested in and it makes me feel closer to her. Makes me feel like I am connected to her even though I never met her in this life.

So while preparing for this lesson I was amazed at how much I am documenting my life for my children and those to come. My blog is a great example of course of a continuous journal. A place that really holds my true thoughts emotions and what I am going through right now in my life. I hope it will be invaluable to my girls as they become mothers. Scrapbooking is also a really great way I am document life. I didn't say "my life" because I have few pages of myself, but I am challenging myself to do more. I certainly have learned a lot about "me" through the few layouts I have created. I love them and look forward to my girls knowing who I am through my art. Next photography. I see photography as a great way of docuementing life. It's a visual way of seeing what life was like and how I lived and what was important to me.

I have never been so great at keeping a journal, though when I do, I love the freedom it gives me. It is my best friend at times, which is why often I feel there are entries that need to be burned. Times I was too critical or too frustrated and don't want anyone to read it. But honestly, that is me. That is real. That is my life and I wouldn't want to take that away.

So I applaud you all for keeping a journal by writing in your blog. For opening up and sharing something for all of us to learn from. For learning about yourself. For giving this gift to your family. The gift of you.

I love being apart of this.

our story...10 yrs

it's been 10 years since we met or i should say ten years from our first date. its been a crazy, amazing ten years full of funny moments, tears, & laughter.

excerpt from scrapbook:

It all began May 9th 1995, or did it? It looks as if fate was on our side and our story began much earlier. It seems we met in the fall of 1994 or at least I should say you meet me. I was oblivious. On a crisp fall day you skipped your American Heritage class to follow me, who knows if you were going to talk to me that day, but curiosity got the better of you and you left your sister and American Heritage. As it turns out you didn’t talk to me that day, very intuitive on your part; I was never good with cold approaches from men.

You lived in the Riv so you had to walk through Helaman Halls daily to get to campus. This is where you saw me once again; you now knew where I lived. You even walked behind me to class one day and found out my name when a good friend called out to me. It does seem fate was on our side; however, still no approaches. You saw me occasionally during the fall and winter semesters, but many times did not, until two weeks before school got out for the summer. You happened to be walking with your brother-in-law (Randy) through Helaman Halls and saw me with my friends. You paused, thought about talking to me, this was to be your last opportunity, you would not see me again as school was ending, but hesitate and moved along. In your mind I was just a fond memory. This was to be our last encounter, or so you thought. It does seem fate was on our side, two weeks later you went to work without a thought of me and suddenly I showed up. You see it was my first day. I had once again walked into your life. Coincidence...never. We were meant to be a part of each others life.

i love this man with all of my being. he is everything in my life.