And so it begins

The Sweet life of R and R has officially started and so far it is just that...the sweet life. We don't have too much to say other than we are so blessed by the many generosities of those who have supported us.

As for the lack of postings...I can just say that right now it is a higher priority for me to make the house look presentable so when I can sit on the couch and not have to climb over things to get there I will get back to more regular postings. For now just know that we are happy and life is Sweet~

PS. as a side note can you believe that a year ago today I was flying back from my trip to the Mediterranean? How the time flies...

Still Alive...

Yes for anyone who follows my blog I am still alive.

Life has gotten really busy and seems to be flying right past me, but what a wonderful time it has been. Planning and planning and moving and renting out the house and...I could go on and on about all that has been going on. Instead I am going to just say that it has been so much fun and I am having a wonderful time.

I look forward to seeing many family and friends in the upcoming weeks!

Mr & Mrs (soon to be)....

For all of you who have requested photos - this is when we were in Washington DC this last May.

I am so thrilled and couldn't have asked for a better man to marry. He is so amazing and I am truly blessed.

Core Values

I have been doing some thinking this morning on the importance of being raised with core values. I think that it is vitally important to be raised in an environment where you know what is to be expected of you (what is life without some expectation of/for the future) and that you have a strong set of values. I personally feel that the best method to use as a starting point is religion.

I was taught many things as a child some of the ones I would consider of high importance are:

• testimony of the Gospel
• moral cleanliness
• taking care of my body by what I eat/drink and how exercise
• honesty
• integrity
• hard work
• service to others

(I could probably make the list go on and one) my point being that I was taught values at a young age and they are now ingrained in me today. There are things that I would never do as a result of the values that I was taught as a young girl.

The more I look at the world around me I am beginning to see more and more evidences that the world is getting increasingly bad. Evil is everywhere you look, even checking my email I feel like I need to cover up the other half of the monitor where there are flashing ads of images that I would prefer to not look at. I hardly ever turn on the television (in fact I didn't realize the switch from analog already happened...), and movies. What happened to the good old days when three were movies like, The Journey of Natty Gann???

An evening out...

Last week I went to Enrichment with "L" (from work). It was very informative and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There was a guest speaker who had graduated from the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts. She taught us relaxation techniques and we talked a lot on the need to have balance in our lives...physical, emotional, mental and spiritual...Mind, Body, Spirit.

After one of the exercises I could literally feel the stress lifting from my shoulders. So wonderful as life seems to have been piling up on me. (Don't worry...just regular stuff)

One thing that she mentioned on breathing was to try to inhale for at least 4 seconds and exhale for 6 seconds...start with that and then try to increase both of those to see how long you can inhale and exhale. After only a few times I could feel myself relaxing and becoming calmer.

She ended her presentation with a video that was taken from a talk given at BYU in May 1996 by Elder Busche entitled "Unleashing the Dormant Spirit". Very good article. The video captured a portion towards the end of his talk where he states a several ways to help us reach our vision of true discipleship.

Some of those things he suggested are:

• Embrace this day with an enthusiastic welcome, no matter how it looks. The covenant with God to which you are true enables you to become enlightened by him, and nothing is impossible for you
• When you are physically sick, tired, or in despair, steer your thoughts away from yourself and directed 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.
• First and foremost, you are a spirit child of God. If you neglect to feed your spirit, you will reap unhappiness. Don't permit anything to detract you from this awareness.
• Put all frustrations, hurt feelings, and grumblings into the perspective of your eternal hope. Light will flow into your soul
• God knows you are not perfect. As you suffer about your imperfections, he will give you comfort and suggestions of where to improve.
• God knows better than you what you need. He always attempts to speak to you. Listen and follow the uncomfortable suggestions that he makes to us - everything will fall into its place
• Avoid any fear like your worst enemy, but magnify your fear about the consequences of sin
• The pain of sacrifice lasts only one moment. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes you hesitate to do it.

There are other's I am not going to list them all here.

~Enjoy

Last 10 Years...

So I was at lunch today and someone mentioned to think about what you have done in the last 10 years and try and imagine what the next 10 years will bring. So...here is a short list of things that I can think of that I have done.

1- Moved to Arizona
2- Had 33 different roommates {currently looking to fill an open room with the 34th} only 7 of them I don't know how to contact
3- Lived in 8 different places in AZ
4- Moved to Utah and Back to AZ
5- Received my Endowments
6- Attended at least 12 different Temples
7- Started exercising on a regular basis
8- Bought a house
9- Bought a new car
10- Visited Europe 3 times
11- Travelled to New Zealand
12- Travelled to Mexico
13- Travelled to the East Coast 5 times (I think)
14- Jumped out of an airplane at 13,000 feet two times
15- Served as Relief Society President
16- Served as Stake Relief Society Secretary
17- Served as Young Women's Secretary
18- Taught Temple Prep for 2 years
19- Spoke in Stake Conference
20- Ran in 3 separate 5K's (I think...could be 4 of them)
21- Ran a 10K
22- Had 4 different jobs
23- Comforted a friend at a siblings funeral
24- Found an armful of lasting friends!
25- Had a personal trainer for a year

That is where I am going to stop the list now that I have put them on a list I feel like I might need to go and take a nap?!?!

Anyway just food for thought today. Have a GREAT one!!!