Tag Archives: mission

What We Reflect to Others

“We Judge Ourselves by our Intentions Others Judge us based on our Behavior.” How true is that?  I think many of us tend to justify our actions by what our intensions were.  Even if in our hearts we know that our behavior was wrong.  It is a trap that is easy to fall into. But […]

Finally Time To Sit Back and Relax and Enjoy!

Today was my son’s formal homecoming talk that return missionaries give at our church meeting once they return from their LDS Mission.  We had loads of family members fly and drive into town on both my side of the family and Rollin’s side of the family so they could attend our church meeting today and […]

I Hope That Heaven is as Good as Today Was

My son Dalton arrived HOME today from having been gone for two very long years on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!  As we gathered at the airport with family and close friends to await his arrival the excitement was building like crazy. We had a huge welcome home sign […]

Like a Little Kid On Christmas Eve with Some Advice to Adults

I feel like a five year old kid on Christmas Eve night!  I am so excited for tomorrow that I am jumping out of my skin!  MY SON COMES HOME TOMORROW!  After two LOOOONNNNGGGG years of only being able to write him once a week and only being able to talk to him on Christmas […]

“Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what the heck happened!?

Do you ever look in the mirror and feel shocked to see a grown up staring back at you? Do you ever look in the mirror and realize that you can no longer pretend that you are still young, cool, and hip, and you are forced to face the fact that instead of being hip, […]

Growing Up

Growing Up Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what’s to come. But then you realize that it is time to let go of what has been and look ahead to what will be. But letting go isn’t always easy. In every aspect it is hard at times […]

To All Chief Inspiring Officers

Happy Mother’s Day!  I had to get that out there very first thing because there is nothing more important today than stating appreciation for all the Mother’s and future Mother’s and single Father’s playing the role of Mother.  THANK YOU!  For loving us, inspiring us, putting up with us, taking care of us, fixing our […]

One Person Can Change Your Life Forever

21 years ago today I lay in a hospital room giving birth to a 9 pound 7 ounce beautiful baby boy.  It was my very first child. I was only 21 years myself when I gave birth that day, and now today, 21 years later, it is my son’s 21st birthday.  Crazy. I remember the […]

Making a House a Home

We did it!  We actually spent our very first night in our new house.  We are still surrounded by boxes and papers to unpack and put away, and there is still a punch list of “to be finished or fixed items”, but we have officially begun living in our new house. So I have to […]

“What I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it.”

I finished my day off today after going a million miles an hour non-stop from the moment I jumped out of bed (okay “jumped” might be a bit of an exaggeration, it was more of a begrudging stagger if I am totally truthful).  I was trying to respond to a hundred emails, answer a constant […]

At All Times, In All Places…Live By Example

Today I was able to see a video someone had taken of my 20 year old son who is out serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The LDS Church).  It did my heart good to see his amazing smile as he was talking to families throughout the Jackson, […]

Alive Inside – the Power of Music in Our Lives

It is rare for me to be so passionate about a movie that I want to tell the entire world that they MUST go and see it – but today that is exactly what I am about to do.  As those following my blog know I am involved with the Sundance Film Festival and have […]

Embrace Sentiment

Packrat, hoarder, collector….we have all heard the terms.  Some of us even relate to the terms.  Maybe not to the extent that we see on the TV show Hoarders, but somewhere between that and a packrat.  My son is someone who I have teased for years as being somewhat of a packrat.  He saves every […]

I Wish You A Merry Christmas!

We made it!  It is finally upon us – Christmas Eve followed by Christmas Day.  My favorite holiday of the entire year.  I am so excited for tomorrow.  I even stayed up late wrapping every gift tonight so that tomorrow I can enjoy my time with my family without stressing over the mounds of gifts […]

True Christmas Joy

Only 10 days til Christmas!  I can’t even believe it!  How did that happen so quickly??!  Good heavens I am not even kind of ready yet!  Thank heavens for Amazon Prime two day shipping is all I can say! Maybe I am the only one that feels this way, but picking out Christmas presents is […]

People Who Change The World and the Help Media Exposure Has Given Them

Today I am in San Francisco for the TED Women 2013 Conference.  I am here because several months ago I was blessed to meet Pat Mitchell at the home of a friend for dinner where we spent the evening getting to know one another.  Pat is the CEO of The Paley Center for Media.  She […]

The Healing Power of Human Connection

Today started out rough.  I had to deal with a situation related to someone from the past that I once considered to be a friend, but who turned out to be an incredibly dishonest person who did a lot of horrible things that caused a lot of damage to a lot of people. Not exactly […]

My Solution to the Government Shutdown – Send In The Mothers!

“Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world”. -Marilyn Monroe Before I explain the title of today’s blog, let me give you a quick recap of last Friday.  Last Friday I was asked to be a speaker for Senator Hatch’s Women’s Conference.  Senator Hatch has been a long-time friend that I […]

Don’t Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit- Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.   Life is […]

We Weren’t Meant To Do It Alone

So as many of you are aware, my 20 year old son is serving a 2 year mission for the LDS church in Mississippi right now.  Each week I get an email from him letting me know how things are going out in the field.  This week he sent an email that had an AMAZING […]

The Happiest Place On Earth

And no, I am not talking about Disneyland.  I am talking about Lake Powell…that is the happiest place on earth in my opinion!  I was blessed to be able to spend the entire week there last week with my family and several of our dear friends.  We spent the week wakeboarding and surfing (oh, and […]

Remember the Mothers!

This Sunday will be Mother’s Day, so I wanted to give everyone a reminder a few days early so you can start now picking out a special gift for the Mothers in your life.  This is especially a friendly hint to all the husbands out there whose wives are raising your children :).  Everyone has […]

“Is What I am Doing Right Now Leading Me To___?”

In the world of business we spend a significant amount of time coming up with company mission statements and company values.  We then set company goals that we believe will help us achieve our company purpose.   In companies it’s just expected that every company has gone through that exercise.  But when is the last time […]

“The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”

Today my Grandmother Helen Rees passed away after having a stroke.  She had lived a beautiful and long life full of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren.  She had lost her husband many years ago and since then she had longed for the day that she could be together again with him on the other […]

Funniest Christmas Present Ever

For Christmas today my daughter Ashley made a home video to send to her brother Dalton who is serving a mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Mississippi and therefore he couldn’t be home with us this year.  She started making this video prior to her ACL surgery and she […]