“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy I love Thanksgiving because it is such an amazing reminder for all of us to focus on our blessings and to remember to appreciate all that we have in […]
Thank You! Two simple words that are said to be the most powerful words in the universe. “Thank You” is an acknowledgement that you appreciate the other person’s time, kindness, and talents they devoted to doing something. Saying “Thank You” is an expression to of love and kind thoughts. It`s the best way to say […]
Last week was a rough one. I was down sick the entire week and then Friday I had to haul myself out of bed and get down to Bryce Canyon Utah to attend the Open House for my son and his new bride. I made it through the evening and then crashed again, sick as […]
I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is only a week away! Time has flown this season! As I laid in bed super sick again today (grrrr…..) it hit me that I hadn’t even taken one moment to think about Thanksgiving yet. I have been so wrapped up in my son’s recent wedding that the holidays had […]
I was talking with someone the other day who was sharing how much fun they had at a Halloween party our family threw in our driveway. I was thanking them for coming to the party and I agreed with them that it was a really fun time. They then made a comment that really stuck with me […]
I have learned through the years that family isn’t just made up of blood…it is made up of those people in your life who build you up while giving you input on how you can improve, those who help put a smile on your face, those who pick you up when you’re feeling down, those […]
I received an email from a gentleman I have never met before, but he reads my blogs and was letting me know he appreciated some particular thoughts I had shared. As we were emailing back and forth we were discussing our shared view on the fact that we don’t believe there are coincidences in life. We both believe that everything happens for […]
Appreciation is one of life’s greatest motivators, so when we take the time to let people know that we value them, it inspires them to continue doing even more. That is precisely why gratitude is the ultimate gift that keeps on giving. “A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected.” […]
Today I was involved in the President’s Leadership Council board meeting down at Brigham Young University. As part of the program a great speaker named Brad Wilcox gave an inspiring talk. There were a few comments he shared that really stood out to me and I couldn’t wait to share them with you. First he […]
As a child I was taught the importance of respect – we were taught showing respect for other people, showing respect for other’s cultures, showing respect for people’s position of authority, showing respect for a venue, showing respect for an event, etc. This principle was emphasized greatly in my home and it is something I […]
Dare to Be When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully. When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light. When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it. When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway. When life seems to beat you down, dare to […]
Within any given week we are going to have good days, and bad ones. Rarely is an entire week perfect…at least I’ve never had a week like that myself. There are up days, and down days…there are stressful days and fun days…there are monotonous tasks that have to get done and there are new and […]
How could I have been so naïve? Here I have been thinking that the older our children get, the easier it is to parent them… FALSE! Sure when they were babies they kept you up all night and barfed on every nice outfit you owned, and then as toddlers they threw themselves on the ground […]
Life is full of ordinary miracles. Sometimes we recognize them and sometimes we don’t even realize they have happened until much later. Back in July of 2011 my family was headed down to Lake Powell when we experienced some pretty cool ordinary miracles happened to us. I shared the experience in a blog I wrote […]
Over the weekend I thought quite a bit about gratitude and our ability to completely change our thinking and perspective of situations that would be easy to be upset about or frustrated about to instead see a situation where there is something to feel truly grateful for. I realize that as easy as it sounds for me to say […]
Happy Labor Day everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic holiday away from work today…you gotta love that we celebrate work by not working today – PERFECT! Today I was able to spend time with good friends and their families and it was a very welcome break from all the madness the last few […]
“Learn to be satisfied. It is just as easy as being dissatisfied – and much more pleasant.” -Jacob de Jager For over five years now I have been writing a daily blog. The topic of each blog typically stems from something I went through or experienced during that particular day that stuck in my mind […]
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” So often in life we get so sucked into thinking about every little thing we still want that we totally lose sight of just how blessed we […]
I cannot believe that summer is coming to an end and fall is beginning. Our summer vacations have come to an end, most everyone’s kids are back to school at this point, and we all have to get back into our normal routines again. In some ways it’s sad to have summer playtime behind us […]
As those of you who follow my blog know, my son Dalton recently got engaged to his sweetheart and we are now in full blown wedding preparation mode. Because they want a short engagement it is like wedding planning central at our house with invitation selections, picking colors for the reception, figuring out venues, booking […]
Some days things happen that throw us for a total loop. When that happens it often causes you to feel totally out of sorts. You can find yourself questioning things that you used to feel certain about. You notice let fear and doubt creeping in. The picture in your head seems suddenly erased and you’re […]
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward Tonight I have been thinking a lot about Gratitude. My life has been a huge whirlwind the last several months. Some things I have experienced have been amazing and some things I have experienced have been […]
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We dream of some magical rose garden over the horizon – instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our window today.” -Dale Carnegie I totally agree that too often we put off […]
“I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there […]
Every now and then you just have to schedule a Clean-Up Day! A Clean-Up Day is a day where you literally spend an entire day cleaning up all the things that have been piling up for far too long and that have managed to make your space feel like total chaos. To begin your clean-up […]
“Right now, there are people all over the world who are just like you. They’re lonely. They’re missing somebody. They’re in love with someone they probably shouldn’t be in love with. They have secrets you wouldn’t believe. They wish, dream, hope, and they look out the window whenever they’re in the car or on a […]
Over this last few days my husband and I were able to go and visit his family up in Idaho where he is from for his family reunion. His family, like mine, is large and spread out to several states across the country so it becomes increasingly more difficult to get everyone together in one […]
Here we are on August 3rd and I am suddenly aware of the fact that this is our last month of summer vacation before our kids go back to school again…And even though we can’t change the fact that summer vacay will be coming to an end in a few weeks for all our children […]
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” –C.S. Lewis Last week was a great experience. My husband and I took both our sets of parents as well as several other couples we are friends with along with our son Dalton and […]
“Your value does not decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” –unknown I LOVE LOVE LOVE that quote and I think everyone in the world needs to hear that quote and know that it is true. Far too often we allow other people’s opinions to impact our own feelings of self-worth. I especially […]
