Sunshine

The sun has come out in Utah!  Growing up in San Diego, I love the sun.  I literally felt so happy this week.  It has been in the 40's and 50's- so I took my kids to the park everyday this week and let the sun warm my face.

It is funny how our perspective can change.  In California if the weather was 60 degrees I forced my children to wear pants and warm jackets.  The first thing I would ask them when they got home was if they were cold at school.  Today Kori went to the park in shorts in 48 degree weather.  It was a good reminder that we can see things differently- that things are not always as they seem.  We can change. It also reminded me that two people could feel two different things in the same "weather."
Unless we value the differences in our perceptions, unless we value each other and give credence to the possibility that we're both right, that life is not always a dichotomous either/or, that there are almost always third alternatives, we will never be able to transcend the limits of that conditioning.
Stephan Covey

Don't these pictures just make you happy!  Thank you for coming back sun, please stay awhile.

Happy Valentine's Day

                                                                      To my Boo:

To my kiddies:

and

                                                                    To my friends:

                                                                         To YOU:

Love

I loved this quote, because at the end of my day taking care of 4 kiddies and running my household, I don't think my boo gets my best self most days.  I think that is why I look forward to our date nights every Friday, where it is just us two and we catch up from the busy week.  Matt and I have been asked to teach the Marriage class at our church- NOT because we are experts, but honestly probably because we have been married the longest in our ward (14 years).  Most members in our church where we live are college students, just freshly married and ready to conquer the world.  They sit so close together and have that twinkle in their eye.  It has been so fun to teach this class, basically we just tell them all the things we have done wrong and ask that they don't make the same mistakes.  I feel like the overall theme is just keep trying and put in the work.  Anything worth it takes our attention, and our spouse is worth it.  More quotes to come, because I love Valentine's day- not just because of my boo, but to celebrate all the people we love in our lives.

                                          This is us...

                                          but, this is really us.

Itchy legs

This is not my leg, but it is a nice one.  I picked up running again as part of my workouts.  Every time I start to run again, I get really bad itchy legs.  Apparently it is caused by our capillaries expanding from our rapid heart beat and faster blood flow- who knew?  Once I start running more often, the itchy legs go away.  But even if I miss for a week, then I will have them for that first run.  I'm itching myself just thinking about it.  Anywho- yesterday during my "itchy legs" run, which lasts about 5 mins, I wanted to scream and just run off the treadmill.  However, I know that once the itchiness goes away, then I feel a major runner's high and feel like I could run for miles.  How many of us are giving up when it starts to itch, without waiting it out for the awesome high afterwards?  I think about how many times I don't want to go out of my comfort zone, so I can avoid having "itchy legs", even if it only lasts 5 mins in a 30 min run.  The more we push ourselves out of our comfort, the greater the reward.  None of us on this Earth were meant to be mediocre, not when we were designed after God.  So...Push yourself and go get your legs itchy!