Hi, I’m Amy, and just like Olaf in the Disney movie Frozen, I like warm hugs. I’m a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger. I hug people I know…I hug new people I meet…I pretty much hug everyone… I just love hugs! And apparently all that hugging has been far more beneficial than I ever …

My day today consisted of spending time with Politicians, then rushing off to see a Princess and hearing about the Possible… By politicians I am referring to the Vice President of the Unites States, Mike Pence, and Utah Governor Gary Herbert.  The Vice President flew into Utah today on Air Force Two and I was …

I’ve spent my day sick and unable to get anything done, which is a real bummer considering I just got back from being gone ten days and then immediately went up to Logan to speak at the University so today was supposed to be my first day of catch up, but that’s clearly going to …

Today I traveled up to Utah State University in Logan Utah to give the keynote speech to several hundred incoming freshman students to kick-off Orientation.  The event was held in a big auditorium and the students filed into the auditorium in their different orientation groups.  As the program began the emcee let everyone know he …

It was nine days ago and my husband and I had just arrived down to our houseboat on Lake Powell to prepare things for the group of families we would be hosting for the upcoming week.  I began unloading groceries as my husband climbed down into the hull of the boat to check our tanks …

 “Have you ever heard someone use a swear word and thought how intelligent they sounded or how much more you respected them?” That was the question an older friend once asked me in my younger years.  His question was meant to teach a lesson and it worked.  Although I’d never used the really harsh profane …

Choosing your close friends is a serious business because the people you choose to associate closely with are the people you are most likely to emulate. I love the advice given by Gordon B. Hinckley on the importance of choosing your friends carefully: “Choose your friends carefully. It is they who will lead you in …

“When we believe or say we have been offended, we usually mean we feel insulted, mistreated, snubbed, or disrespected. And certainly clumsy, embarrassing, unprincipled, and mean-spirited things do occur in our interactions with other people that would allow us to take offense. However, it ultimately is impossible for another person to offend you or to …

“I don’t know how”, therefore, we avoid doing it.  The question is whether we genuinely don’t know how, or is it that we think we might know how but we’re afraid we won’t be good at it?  And the reason not being good at it matters is we’re afraid to look silly in front of …

“I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be. Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them.” …

Why does it feel like every year the school year starting encroaches earlier and earlier into the summer?!  Seriously, when I heard kids are having to start back to school already I was like – BUT IT’S STILL SUMMER!!!???  Quite frankly, I’m just not ready for summer to come to an end because I haven’t …

It had been a rough day…you know that kind of day where everything seems to go wrong?  I’d been up til 4am working on a really important project in order to solve a problem. Finally I got so tired I couldn’t even finish my own sentences and decided to call it for the night…surely tomorrow …

“The heights by great men reached and kept Were not attained by sudden flight, But they, while their companions slept, Were toiling upward in the night.” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Achieving greatness, whether in business, or a talent, or our personal lives, takes work….loads and loads of hard, dedicated, crazy amounts of work. And there will …

“To press on in noble endeavors, even while surrounded by a cloud of depression, will eventually bring you out on top into the sunshine. – Ezra Taft Benson Ezra Taft Benson also suggests several things we can do to help pull us out of a cloud of depression and help bring us out into the sunshine: …

One of my very favorite poems, that has helped me through several difficult times in my life, was written by Dee Groberg and is titled “The Race” (I am posting it below…it will inspire you to never give up…): “Quit! Give up! You’re beaten!” they shout at me, and plead.  “There’s just too much against …

It’s so easy to give up before we even try…especially when you start thinking through all the barriers you are going to have to overcome to accomplish something. Your head starts spinning with the “well I probably couldn’t make this work” or “I wouldn’t know how to overcome that” etc, and before you know it …

Every Sunday our family has a tradition that as we sit around the kitchen table for dinner together we always go around the table and each take a turn sharing something that touched us in church that day. Then we discuss the thoughts shared.  This tradition is something we value tremendously because it’s a time …

I swear the day goes by so ridiculously fast when you are working on things you love to do.  The days I spend my time trying to help others and give back in meaningful ways literally fly by so fast that I’m always blown away to look at the clock and realize the day is …

Last week my family and I went and stayed at a cabin in Kamas, Utah for some much needed family bonding time. I planned several fun activities for us such as attending a Queen Nation concert (a cover band that performs music from Queen), boating on the lake, watching a small town parade, playing card …

7 UP-lifting Ways To Start This Week off right: 1. Wake UP – and Decide to have a good day. 2. Dress UP – The best way to dress up is to put on a smile! 3. Cheer UP – say nice things and have a positive attitude. 4. Stand UP – For what you …

A few years ago we were playing games with several couples. One of the people playing the game got really frustrated when someone on their same team did something that caused them to lose their points.  In a fit of frustration this person yelled a reminder to the other player, “We are on the SAME …

Have you ever had a time when, for lack of a better description, you just feel stuck?  Unsure of how to go forward, but aware you can’t stand still?  Feeling stuck is actually a clear indication that something in our lives needs to change. Whenever I find myself feeling stuck it’s because I have a …

July 24th may be just a regular day for most of the world, but here in Utah it’s a State holiday called Pioneer Day when we celebrate the fact that on July 24, 1847, the Pioneers first arrived to settle the State of Utah.  If you are not familiar with the story of what these …

We all love going on vacation – Why? Because vacations are our opportunity to throw normal routines out the window and give ourselves permission to venture out and do new things without feeling weighed down by any day-to-day expectations, and without feeling the tremendous guilt of forgoing them. We allow ourselves to ignore the cell …

My Mother is a woman of many talents. She writes poetry, she’s written song lyrics, she’s published a book, she draws, she does beautiful sculptures, and the list of her talents goes on and on, but at the top of that list has to be raising ten children. Having raised two children myself I can …

I’m one of those people that when I know I have something coming due in the future, that I haven’t had time to do yet, it weighs on me like a big ball of stress just waiting to smack me in the gut.  I find I have a hard time relaxing and enjoying anything if …

Years ago someone shared an article with me titled “Only 3 Words” that reads as follows: “There are many things that you can do to strengthen your relationships. Often the most effective thing you can do involves saying just three words…The following three-word phrases can be tools to help develop every relationship. 1.Let me help …

Last night my I went and saw the musical Freaky Friday with my daughter. I would guess all of you are familiar with the storyline from the Disney movie Freaky Friday already, but just in case your not, it’s about a mother and her teenage daughter who have been struggling to get along (as many …

“One day, a western anthropologist went to Africa to study the social behavior of an indigenous tribe. He proposed a game to the children and they willingly agreed to be part of it. He put a basket filled with fruits underneath a tree and told the children that whoever would reach the basket first would …

I moved every few years as a kid. My father’s work took us from Oregon, to Washington, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, California and then Utah. Every time we moved and I had to say goodbye to my friends it was hard. That gave me a special appreciation for the fact that from the time my …