Friday, July 31, 2009

[read to me]


pink room

Oh, what could be better
Than reading in bed,
Or thinking about
All the books that you've read?

pink room

With someone who loves you,
A father, a mother,
A doll, or a pet,
Or a sister or brother,

A grandma, a grandpa, an uncle or aunt -
(Can you think of anything better?
I can't!)


pink room

While outside the sky
Is all twinkling with light,
From stars that shine down
As we sleep through the night.

Oh, what could be better
Than sleepin' in bed,
When the books that you love
Fill the dreams in your head?

by Helen H. Moore


amelia

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

[capri suns]





country2

okay, so my sister kate taught me this genius capri sun trick!
i'm sure others have already been implementing this facility with their toddlers, but i'm just glad i discovered it!
finally no squeezing out the entire beverage!
thanks sis!

amelia

Monday, July 27, 2009

[adversity]




.saturday my little nephew was to be baptized at noon.
we were struggling to get out the door, hoping we wouldn't fail to witness this very special ordinance.
we were agitated, irritable and hot. for whatever reason, the air conditioning didn't eleviate the tension.
after traveling a while, our car reminded us that our fuel was low. we decided we'd better stop and remedy the situation. stressed and short, we made it in time to see nathan baptized & confirmed a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
our cares, frustrations & attitudes melted as peace filled our hearts.
what a great opportunity we had to be a part of his special day.
after visiting with family & friends, we began our way back home.

well, for whatever reason, no matter what sam & i said to eachother, we couldn't agree on anything!
it seems like every couple of months, our communication clashes.
i told sam it's like we have a marital menstral cycle.
we just can't understand one another. we're out of sync & it drives me crazy. it generally doesn't seem to last very long, but while it's here, it's horrible.
does anyone else experience this?
i know this heightens when we're super busy, and that we've been these days!
nonetheless, we couldn't figure out what we wanted to accomplish that afternoon & boy we were disheartened.
i was really angry at sam. i don't remember the last time i felt so far away from him.
finally after talking it out, we were ready to work together.
i truly believe the Adversary works carefully to bring us down, especially families!

during sunday school yesterday, our always prepared teacher gave a remarkable lesson on adversity.
"what can we learn from adversity?" he questioned.
so we made a huge long list on the whiteboard.

here are a few we jotted down:
-patience
-humility
-thankfulness
-self evalutaion
-change
-empathy
-prayer
-service
-appreciation for good
-can bring families or communities closer
-sacrifice
.the list continued.

brother sorenson respectfully mentioned that the Lord is very smart!
"how else can we learn all these lessons so well?" he added.
i was reminded that much good can come from trials. as tough and tumultuous as they may be, like these scriptures say below, our attitude is everything. we must take the high road, face our frustrations & pain and move forward with determination to fight.
okay, it's a lot easier said than done, but never impossible.
with the Lord on our side, we can be buoyed up and carried through fire.


Doctrine and Covenants 121:
7 My son, apeace be unto thy soul; thine badversity and thine afflictions shall be but a csmall moment;
8 And then, if thou aendure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy bfoes.
9 Thy afriends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.


then in relief society, my good friend mandy gave our lesson for the second week in row; what a gift she has! she has a special way of inviting such a warm sweet spirit to the class, touching the hearts of every woman in the room! never a dry eye! her lesson was about President Eyring's "Man Down!" what a great lesson of service, love and devotion to our fellow man. we're hear for each other for a reason. we need eachother! let us help brighten the lives of others always, especially when they're down!

these two lessons were placed perfectly for me yesterday. hearing these divinely inspired words helped me immensly. i love being at the right place at the right time!

thank you to all of my family, friends, teachers and leaders
& readers! i love and need you :)



Monday, July 20, 2009

[the hardest golf ball]





we drove up to our country mountain hideaway, bemused and delighted to finally be away!
"everyone out!" we called, leaping to our feet. anxiously enthusiastic to check out the place, we ran in, stared a little while, and smiled because it was beautiful!

we hadn't been there for more than about twenty minutes, brought in maybe three bags, and
out of nowhere a mean white golf ball strikes lulu.

paniked, we rushed to her aid and inspected our daughter.
she was trying to scream, but gasping for air in the same breath.
horrified, we realized what had just taken place.

there was a golf course behind this retreat of ours and while standing in the driveway this "ball" comes soaring over the top of the house, bounces once on the pavement and right up to punch lulu's neck!

how could that happen? a total freak accident!

thankfully she calmed down and was able to tell us how she felt which helped everyone asses the affliction. i was terrified her throat would swell and cut off her airways. we immediately called our family member doctor who happens to be and E.N.T. (thank you dear uncle)
and after deliberating, we decided to give her a priesthood blessing, load her up on some IB Proferen, and literally ice the hell out of her neck.

.sweet little thing.
she quickly recovered with not even a bruise!
what a start to our vacation!

our bad luck flew away and on to better days...
we had a very nice trip!

here are some more photos like i promised :)

amelia

Thursday, July 16, 2009

[countrytime]




.tranquility.











i'm back! we returned home after a week long trip to the country.
ahhh, it was so fabulous!
.irresistably charming.
warm sunny days, pastures and trees...
quiet & quaint, what a dream! i'm ready to move there!

.here are a few of th
e beautiful views .

















































i'm anxious to post more on .brightsides photography. in the next couple of days!


Tuesday, July 7, 2009

[paper dolls]



good tuesday to you!

a little update: i started a photo blog, posting some of my favorite shot's i've taken.
this link sits right under my welcome in the right column.

i'd love your input! i have so much to learn, so if you have any helpful hints, please tell me :)
since every monitor is different, they may be really light. they look perfect on my screen, so it's hard to know. it's amazing how changing it, even a hair, can make it or break it. i wish we all could view them the same...
i'm anxious to print them and see how they "really" look!

looking for a fun, unique afternoon activity?
i found these vintage paper doll sheets on mer mag and
my girls & i just love them!
you can go here for all designs and printable pdf format.
I printed them out on a satin card stock paper and they turned out beautifully!












Thursday, July 2, 2009

[women to women]







i have to tell you, a few nights ago i met my sister-in-laws for a chick flick downtown. well, after the show we stood in the parking lot laughing and carrying on about this, that and the other when all of the sudden out of nowhere comes a young mother holding a small baby. embarrassed, she asked us to help her pay for a hotel room that night. she was gaunt, but beautiful. she was sad, scared and had nowhere to go.
it made me so troubled inside. i don't know her situation, if she was being truthful or not, but i know there are many women out there who need a lot of help!

i've been so blessed! little glimpses like this really make me stop and reflect on how great i have it!
my dear friend jodi posted a little "shout out" on her blog about "BrightSides" and i thanked her for spreading the word! our conversation turned to charity work and where i would donate to. she suggested that a particular women's shelter in our town would be appropriate considering most of my readers are ladies; i concurred, thinking that would be wonderful. then my homeless mom encounter happened along with my remembrances of volunteering several years ago at the YWCA, and that solid
ified my decision. my first donation will go to a local women's shelter! if you haven't done so already, link me up & help spread some heart!
**my button code is at the bottom of this homepage

love you guys!