Randomness

I have been bad at taking pictures lately and have been bad at keeping my blog updated...so here are are few random pictures to catch you up. 

1-11-11 at 11:11 seemed like a perfectly good reason to take a picture.  That is a lot of ones! I think I will have to throw a party on 11-11-11 so we can get a picture at 11:11... good idea?  

I got to tend these cute kids a couple weeks ago.  We had a fun day! 

Yesterday (Saturday) I finally made it up to the mountains to go snowshoeing! It is the first time this winter... if you can really call it winter that is.  I went running on Friday and it was 60+ degrees.  I loved it!

There is just something nice about snowshoeing where you get to enjoy the beautiful day, the beautiful scenery, and spend time with friends.  Such fun!

Who needs a sled? We had a good time butt sledding!

St. Mary's Glacier lake was completly frozen... too bad I didn't bring my skates!

A snowshowing excursion would not be complete if we didn't do snow angels!



I think it is only supposed to be a high of *Zero* (weather update) on Tuesday... so perhaps it is still winter afterall! 

Friends

“What greater gift does thou bestow, what greater goodness can we know than Christ-like friends, whose gentle ways strengthen our faith, enrich our days.” (Hymn 293)


When I got back to Denver after the holidays I was excited to see people after being away and I was sorely disappointed when I realized that perhaps I have been kidding myself into thinking I had a lot of friends.  A more accurate statement is to say I know a lot of people. I realized that those who I felt I could call upon to go on a walk, go to dinner, or go do something with me have moved or have gotten married. I was sad to think that there are very few people who live nearby who I would consider a close friend. To add salt to the wound, I also realized that unless there is a ward sponsored event, a formal party that someone is putting on, or me throwing, planning, or initiating the event that I really don’t ever have plans. This made me question if I have any friends at all. So, to prove to myself that I have no friends I refused to be proactive and seek others out to go do something. In reality, I wanted to be wrong, I wanted to believe that people really do care, and I longed to have a friend invite me to do something for a change.

Needless to say I was feeling pretty sorry for myself this past week, especially with how things were shaping up. It was looking more and more like I was correct in thinking I have no friends, only a lot of acquaintances and people I know. I started questioning why I was still in Denver. I felt that my usefulness here has come to an end and perhaps I should start actively pursuing other options.

On Friday, after I just updated my blog, a friend (who has moved), wrote on my Facebook wall saying, “Have I ever mentioned how much I love your blog? Well I do! It's almost like I still get to see you every once in a while. Glad to see life is treating you well.” A simple, yet very timely message. The very next day I was feeling down since I had no plans on a Saturday night because I was being stubborn and was not going to be the one to make plans. That evening I received a text inviting me to go on a Blizzard run (to DQ… not literally a run in the freezing cold which is not my idea of a good time). I am always amazed at the timeliness of things… coincidence? I don’t think so. One of my favorite quotes is from C.S. Lewis:

“In friendship, we think we have chosen our peers… in reality a few years difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, the accident topic being raised or not raised at the first meeting, any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, ‘Ye have not chosen me, I have chosen you,’ can truly say to every group of Christian friends, ‘Ye have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another.’ The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of others.”

Good friends are a gift from the Lord. I cherish the good friends I have had over the years and the impact they have had in my life. I thank my friends for truly caring, for asking questions and wanting to get to know me, for allowing me to feel comfortable venting about stresses in life, for helping me resolve dilemmas, but mostly, I thank them for the kind word here and there or a thoughtful gesture which lets me know you care.

The Lord is very mindful of us and knows exactly what we need at the exact minute we need it. I needed to be reminded of the fact that I am blessed to be associated with so many amazing people whom I consider my friends. Reading my scriptures tonight I read 1 Nephi 21: 15, “ For can a woman forget her sucking child… yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee…” The tender mercies of the Lord are very real and they come in many different ways, even in something seemingly insignificant as a text message! All we have to do is watch for them and recognize them when they are given so we can give credit where credit is due.

Christmas and New Years Recap

Another year has past, but what a fun year this has been! It was a great end to a fun year, too.  I flew out on Friday, December 24th and spent a wonderful 10 days in Utah.  I love being with Mom, Jessica and her cute family.  I am glad I get to see them so often, but I still wish I could be with them more often. 

There were so many pictures to choose from, and I was having a hard time cutting any out.... so I decided to include all of them! Here is my holiday recap told in pictures. 

As is tradition in Jessica's family they all get new pajamas on Christmas Eve. 

Even the grown ups get new PJ's!

The kids woke up around 7:00am and it was off to play with all the fun toys that Santa brought.

Jackson didn't really care for the lion stuffed animal that Santa brought, but he sure was happy about that candy cane!

Santa how did you know that a barbie umbrella would be the perfect gift for Rylee?

Pure Christmas Joy in Jayson's eyes as he played with his new airplane geotrax!

Tayler and Rylee... up and coming divas!

Time to open the gifts under the tree! I had to laugh at how Sean wrapped Jessica's gifts.

Christmas explosion!

Great minds think alike... I gave Mom the same DVD (Journey of Faith)!

Jess got quite the stash! 

Little Jackson is already a BYU fan... I'm sure he will be singing the fight song before he talks! 

What do two crazy sisters do after all the festivities have died down on Christmas Day? You get out Jessica's Chile stuff and allow her to reminisce about her mission! Nice wool dress! I do like the hat and gloves though- cute!

Mom and I braved the snow storm and headed home Sunday afternoon.  We went shopping on Monday- it was even a successful shopping excursion! We saved over $150.00 because of the great sale at Maurice's.  We could go broke saving so much money!

Monday evening I meet up with Jess, Sean, and the kids in Bountiful and went.... ICE SKATING! I love ice skating! I found the old, double bladed skates that I learned on.  Oh, such memories skating on the golf course ponds!

The whole family ... even Jackson got to "skate"!

The kids did really well.  They will be pros in no time!

  Or perhaps Tay is already a pro?

Rylee was fearless- you go girl!

Jayson liked to go fast! It was tiring skating him around the rink, good thing Jess helped!

Too cute!

Driving home Monday evening was extremely foggy! It is a good thing I am very familiar with the roads, because I'm pretty sure I would have missed the exit in a couple places if I hadn't been! It was kinda scary, but so worth going and getting to ice skate!

Tuesday Mom and I spent the day in the SLC Temple.  It was great! Afterwards Jess and the kids met up with us and we had dinner at the new Nauvoo Cafe before facing the cold and seeing the lights on Temple Square. 

What a babe!  

Wednesday the weather man was predicting a huge storm, so Mom and I had planned on staying in and baking.  Can't think of a better thing to do on a cold day! Well, it did snow, but it wasn't this treacherous storm as predicted.  We made a delicious cherry pie as well as some bagels.  Fun! Fun!

I'm glad it wasn't a scary storm because that allowed my friend Kristy (Questy) to come visit for a while on Thursday.  Jess and the kids also came out and stayed over Thursday night. 

It was great to visit with Questy and meet her daughter, Andrea.  

Thursday evening the kids and I got all bundled up and went outside to build a snowman.  Meet Frosty! I know, so original, but that is the name that won over Smokey Bartholomew. 

Mom and Jackson enjoyed watching from the warmth of the indoors!

It snowed just enough to allow us to go sledding Friday morning! I was definitely looking forward to going sledding and was quite sad when there was no snow on the ground when I arrived in Utah.  The kids were sad when I was in Kuwait and I was not able to go sledding with them, so I was excited that I could slide down a frozen hill with them this year. 

Jessica and Jayson at the top of the hill.....

Jess and Jayson at the bottom of the hill.  Look at all that great Utah powder!

And now it is Tayler's turn...

Her attempt did not go as well!

 Stuck in the powder!

Such fun! Cold and miserable when that snow hits you in the face, but oh so worth it!

Mom was my date on New Year's Eve! We got all dressed up and went to a new restaurant called Sostanza.  It was pretty tasty- I was impressed! I had Fillet Mignon and Mom had halibut.  It was very nice. 

We came home and ate pie and ice cream while watching the new Robin Hood (with Russell Crowe) movie.  I can attest that Mom's eyes were open at Midnight and we said HAPPY NEW YEAR! She was, however, asleep off and on long before midnight.  You're funny Mom!

Alas, just as 2010 had to end, my vacation also had to come to an end.  Jess and the kids met me at the airport to say good-bye.  It was a fabulous trip and I loved relaxing, playing, shopping, eating good food, and mostly enjoying the great company!

So, with little Jackson, let's drive on to a new year.  Here is hoping 2011 is a great one! Love you all!