Tag Archives: children

Our Own Worst Critic

Most all of us are our own worst critic. We pick ourselves apart, we put ourselves down, we stress over every flaw and imperfection. And heaven knows we women are far worse than the men when it comes to vocally putting ourselves down, although I happen to believe that men are just as hard on […]

Being a good person does not guarantee a trouble free life

“Expecting a trouble-free life because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.” It’s so easy in life to think that because you are trying to live your life right and do good things that therefore nothing bad should happen to you. I mean […]

PUT ON YOUR CAPE!

“There is a superhero inside all of us. We just need the courage to put on a cape.” Today I saw a documentary at Sundance that showed the story of normal man who had the courage to put on his cape and become a superhero to many children who were being abused and taken advantage […]

“Never Say Anything About Yourself That You Don’t Want To Come True” (Forbes Article)

I still remember as a child seeing my mother standing in the kitchen talking to herself. No joke. She would literally have entire conversations with herself. At the time I just assumed my Mom must be a little bit crazy, after all the woman had ten children so by rights she was entitled to be […]

“No matter how you feel…Get up. Dress up. Show up. And never Give up.”

“No matter how you feel…Get up. Dress up. Show up. And never Give up.” That is going to be my mantra for the next few days to help me get through things. As any of you who follow my blog know, today I sent my daughter off on a mission for The Church of Jesus […]

“To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”

We grow up looking at our parents as the strongest people in our world. They handle everything, they take care of everything, and they can do everything.  Then you grow up and as you grow older, unfortunately so do they. Then one day you wake up and realize that your parents can no longer handle […]

“Please pass me that parenting book. I need to smack my kid with it.”

The quote in today’s title pretty much sums up my day today…just kidding…only kind of…. We have known for the past several months that my daughter is going to be leaving us for 18 months to serve a mission. We have been given checklists of what to pack and prepare and all the things that […]

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most space in your heart.”

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most space in your heart.” That quote from Winnie the Pooh is so true. In life it is those little things that are so meaningful to us and become our favorite memories. Growing up I remember our family dinners most. Every night we would all surround our huge […]

“Everybody deserves somebody who makes them look forward to tomorrow.”

Back when I was single someone shared this quote with me: “Don’t marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him.” That really made me rethink the men I was dating in my life. I hadn’t thought of them in that light before. Would I be proud to have […]

Always Act Like You Are Wearing An Invisible Crown

I love that! Maybe because I am a girl and every little girl is born thinking she is a princess, so the crown just seems natural to us 🙂 Today was my daughter Ashley’s farewell talk that she gave in our church meeting in preparation to leave on her mission. The subject of her talk […]

It’s Never Too Late To Start A New Tradition

Happy Christmas Eve to all of you! I want to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday! Each of you touch my life and I am so grateful for all of you reading this. Thank you for being a part of my life and my life story as […]

In The Famous Words From Disney’s Frozen “Let it Go”

There are just three short days until we celebrate Christmas! This weekend was fantastic. Our kids came home from college and we went to an awesome Christmas concert by pianist Kurt Bestor. During the concert he brought out a children’s choir and one little girl sang the famous song “Let it Go” from the Disney […]

A little laughter to brighten your day

Sometimes something as simple as a funny little quote can totally make you laugh and brighten your entire day. I love it when I am having a down day and then someone comes along with a funny quote that makes me laugh out of the blue.  My kids send me hysterical quotes in text messages […]

Take a trip down memory lane

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” One of my goals for this year was to get all my photos that were taken “pre-digital” on old-school printed photos, and scan them in so I could have digital copies of all of them. […]

Do It In Memory Of

For many people the holiday season is the happiest time of year, but for many people who have lost someone they love to death it can also be an incredibly difficult time of year. I was reminded of this over the last several days as a dear friend of mine lost his father and then […]

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Welcome back everyone! I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday! I definitely loved the time with my family. The food was amazing, although I ate so much I am quite certain I won’t be able to fit into my clothes tomorrow…sadly…one thing I don’t love about the holidays is the aftermath that […]

Stop and Thank the People Who Make A Difference in our Lives

On this week that we celebrate Thanksgiving, I cannot think of a better way to honor this holiday than to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. When I stop and really think about all the people who have made a difference in my life I am overwhelmed with how […]

Life’s Milestones

Milestones are something we all have in common with one another.  There are several milestones that are the exact same for all of us, like birthdays.  Then there are milestones that are the same for the majority of us, such as:  graduating from high school, falling in love for the first time, getting our heart […]

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

Life is ever changing, and sometimes it is hard to let go of the past we loved in order to make room for the future ahead.  We hold on to things tightly, dreading the thought of letting things go that we cherish so deeply.  But what we have to recognize is that as much as […]

Get Candy, Get Candy, Get Candy

Okay so I have to start today’s blog by taking a moment to recognize my favorite candy, Candy Corn, because for those of you who failed to remember, today was National Candy Corn Day!  How cool is it that my favorite candy has its very own holiday to recognize it!  Yes I love me some […]

Quit Waiting!

“People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness.” Waiting…I am so not good at waiting…it kills me.  I have been really working on patience, but I am like a little kid on Christmas Eve trying to go to sleep when it comes to waiting for things…I am ridiculously impatient […]

Writing Your Own Life Story – Pass it On

This weekend I received a copy of the life history of my Great Uncle Mel.   My Great Uncle Mel Dalton is in his 90’s living down in Moab, Utah and I have heard stories about him from the time I was a little girl.  He is the brother to my Grandmother, who was my best […]

The Best Part of Life is When Your Family Becomes Your Best Friend

There is very little in life that we value more than a true friend.  And if you are truly lucky in life, you get to have the privilege of having that true friend also be a member of your own family. This afternoon some things happened that made for a really tough day emotionally. Toward […]

The Cure for Frustration

There are about a zillion things that could cause us frustration in any given day.  The traffic, the weather, the line at the grocery store, your spouse forgot to do something you asked them to do, your kids didn’t listen, your boss is grumpy, your employees are slacking, and the list goes on and on…all […]

Sometimes you just gotta cross your fingers and pray

This afternoon my daughter called me from college to tell me she was coming home to spend the weekend with us.  I was super excited until she said “Yeah, and Dad is taking us repelling tonight”.  WHAT?!  Repelling??  That thing where you dangle from the edge of a cliff with nothing but a clip attaching […]

What Legacy Will You Leave Behind?

Four years ago, October 16th of 2010, I received a phone call telling me that one of my very best friends, Steve Gasser, had died suddenly while participating in a bike race down in St. George, Utah.  I was at Disneyland when I answered that call and I literally crumbled to the ground when I […]

The Friends We Choose

“If you find yourself racing through life, slow down long enough to take along some good friends.”  – L. Tom Perry This last week I was reminded of how blessed I am to have amazing friends in my life.  My husband and I were able to spend last week with a group of 15 friends […]

Children are Happy Because

“Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their minds called, “All the Things That Could Go Wrong.”  – Marianne Williamson That is SO TRUE!  You don’t see little kids worried about what could go wrong!  They are far too busy being focused on what they plan to accomplish.  Kids create, they get […]

“Love your Parents. We are so busy growing up, we often forget they are also growing old.”

Life the past few months has been a reminder that I am growing older, especially facing an empty nest.  However, in all my focus to deal with seeing my own children grow older I have honestly lost sight of the fact that my own parents are also growing old… My parents stopped by the other […]

Give An Irrevocable Gift To The Next Generation

“Education is our greatest opportunity to give an irrevocable gift to the next generation.” – Ernie Fletcher Teaching our children is our most important we work we do in life.  When my children were young I was focused on teaching them good values and morals. Then as they grew older I focused on teaching them […]