A late 'by the way'

Hey ! In case any one was wondering George Washington is/was taller than Cami! Haha – you know in case you were wondering.

This was a picture from when we were at Mt. Vernon. It was really neat there! I am so glad we had a chance to take that site in!

Jammin'

Yesterday Porter, Bryant, & Meagan were in a talent show. So I caught some images of them throwin’ it down :-)
Porter was totally rockin’ the drums
Bryant jammmin' on the guitar and Meagan belted it out…
Heidi starred in a show all of her own !
This was a great talent show! I love to see them showing off their skillz!

Check out the sheer joy in Bry's face! haha

PS - I wish that everyone could see how much Porter is the image of Phil. I call him Phil way to often! - It's not a bad thing! He's and awsome kid, that all are!

Heavy Heart

What is it about a broken heart? Why is that once you’ve been there it’s like a mere shimmer can take you back? Like the smell of rain before it pours, or seeing that your about to crash and knowing there is nothing you can do to stop it. And suddenly it happens. Then it hits and for one split-second it hurts so bad you can’t breath and you don’t even feel….. any thing, and then you feel Everything like a brick wall and your immersed in a wave that is so big your not sure if you are going up or down- you don’t even know how you’ll get your next breath and just when you know your drowning and your about to breath water instead of air you get a little break and for a split second you surface to suck in as much air as you can before you go under again.
Those are feelings you never forget and when you see it happen to those you love… you don’t just see it-- You hear it, smell it, taste it, breath it, ache it, die in it, live in it.

Then the morning comes again with the Amazing Grace of a fresh day. And though you feel like you’ll Never be whole again, you can look back on the night before knowing it’s only through tender mercies you’ve made to see this light, and somehow realize you jut took a baby step though it felt like a journey of a thousand years and you get to do the same thing today.

And why is it so important to have a broken heart? It hurts Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamnit!

Is it the surest way to know Godly sorrow? Is it the immediate connection that forces us to our knees for direction through our suffering? Is it the learning to know we can be stronger?
All I know for myself about it for certain is that it’s hard and aches into my soul.

My AMAZING MOM!

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!
Each day I am grateful to have been blessed by the guidance of my mother! Her love and kindness towards others has made me strive to offer that in my relationships. Her faith is an inspiration to me. I am so amazed at the strength it would take to decide as a teenager that you wanted to join the church – with all of the other things a teenager could be pursuing. My Mom was a pioneer for her family and I am so grateful! Her faith has made mine possible.
To become a member of the church at 18 and marry my Dad, and have Ken so shortly after I can only imagine what a year that would be! She is such a servant of truth and light.
The depth that she feels love for her family and others is so tangible. She is always serving, whether it’s Sunday dinner, visits to those in need, spending time with her grandchildren… she just makes this world a better place.
I tell her that the older I get the more I become like her each day… and I am so glad! I am so grateful for the part that I just do without thinking because “that’s how My Mom does it!” I am grateful for the legacy that will live on from the valiant habits she has with out even recognizing it.
I love that have inherited funny little quirks too – like her ability to just sleep when she gets tired ;-) Or to see people for who they really are, and want to see then reach their divine potential and cheer them on.
My Mom has natural curiosity and wonder that she gave to her children, she is Christ-like and childlike all at once.
I love My Mom, I am so glad you are mine and I am yours!

50 first dates... or 101.. or more then you can count...

I have thought for a while that we should start a blog of it’s own called 50 1st dates and we could just blog about all the funny dating stories that happen. Being 30, single, and ‘not-shy” about the dating experience I feel like I have had my share of funny, awkward, odd and “take a step back” kind of dating experiences and that we could all get lots of entertainment from a blog like that. Well I had a date recently that was just the opposite of all those and I thought – “Hey! That was great!” That kind that makes all those other funny, awkward, odd….. moments so worth it!

We west on a hike in “God’s Country” haha – Who says that? Maybe only folks over 75 and others who shouldn’t, but it was the first thing that came to mind with the beauty of the desertscape. We went to a state park that is really tucked away. It was so close, it was ‘in my back yard’ - and I had no idea it was there. We started about an hour before sunset so while we were on the trail the sun began to set… and Wow. I could not have wanted to be in a more perfect scene. .. you know the kind where all the world feels calm and right even if you are in this amazing bubble that God created just for you-- the kind that you feel like that act of the play was truly meant just for you because it was so perfect. We were both sad we didn’t bring a camera, … next time :-)
The scenery was incredibly awesome and the company was even better!

Don, if it just takes 3…. One down, haha

So here is to amazing new hikes and great 1st dates -

“Connection”

I love that word. Not, the ‘word’ so much as in the syllables and the sounds it makes – but all that is in the meaning, and representation it is.
I have been taking a Life Coaching class as many of you know and I LOVE it! This week I had the opportunity to work with someone in the class that I have observed over the course of several weeks. I have watched this person’s demeanor and character and come to think of him as a man of great passion, integrity and conviction.
We had an exercise this week where we were to pair up with another class-mate and he chose to work with me.
As we talked and worked on our assignment we had the opportunity to really “connect”. I came to feel even more that he is a man that is very close to “his creator”, “the spirit”, he lives “on purpose” he is “connected”. In general talking and reflecting on the purpose and journey in his life gave me confirmation again the I am right where I need to be. I Love uplifting people! I love the opportunity to share those moments of clarity.
Thank you Phil for our morning talks! Thank you Mike for our morning talks! Thank you Christy for your incredible spiritual strength! I love my family and the ‘connection’ we have and the connection you help me recognize.

Central Park

Hangin' in Central Park

Mom and I at the watchtower

We are Hip in our Harlem Pad!

Loving it!

Ummmm NICE New Yorkers

Well - I was swept off my feet! What more can a girl ask for?

Visuals of some high-lights

The Poo incident... haha - Thanks Jan for taking that!

New York, Washington DC, Maryland,Pennsylvania

So, since about a month plus has passed since then I feel like there were so many stories and Jan and Cami captured lots of highlights so I’m not sure where to start but I just have to give a few of my memories –
1.Mediterranean food anyone? Thanks for being brave!, I guess next time it will just be baklava for one L
2. Harlem. Yep Harlem, For REAL! We took out Mothers to Harlem ( ok that is where we stayed) and they can hang with the best of them! Mom and Beth are bad to the bone
;-) haha Just kidding it turned out to be a GREAT apartment and the people were so nice! We were super close to the subway, which meant super close to EVERYTHING. We crammed a LOT in two days of NYC…
Complete city tour including Stature of Liberty, Ground Zero, 5th AVE, A funny Broadway show – “Curtains” – TWO meals of NY hot dogs and the best little pizza joint.
3. Jan got pooped on. There was not much that was incidentally funnier than that.
Smeared down her hair .. on to the back pack full on pooped on. Geeeeeeeeeeeee.
4.Are we there yet? Are we there Yet? … How close are we? -um who know that apparently after you turn 33 (?) your attention span for traveling is about two minutes longer than a 2 year old? Ok, that my be a slight exaggeration, it might be three minutes longer. – lesson learned. Learn the route before we go and if there is a car ride longer than 2 hrs.. we better have a pretty great activity in the middle somewhere! Snacks didn’t even help!... maybe next time we’ll bring a Dora show?
5. Mt Vernon. Ummmmmmm who likes hiking? That’s nice, because it’s not a real “mountain”! duh. I felt like I really was disconnected with history when we got there I got educated in a hurry. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was so inspirational regarding the morals and principals that our country was founded on.
It was uplifting and I am so glad we went there.
6. Cherry Blossoms – it was the cherry blossom parade while we were there. We did not go to the parade, but we did see all the blossoms in bloom and it was beautiful
7. Mom, Beth, Jan and Cami – Thank you for being my adventure, best friends and laughing mates on this trip it was so much fun. I love you all and I love the memories and times that were created there. THANK YOU for enriching my life daily!

EYES

I am amazed at the time that people create to blog! It’s awesome, and I need to take lessons. In the mean time I will get to it so sporadically :-)

There are so many wonderful thing is my life right now...
I CAN SEE! WITHOUT GLASSES! It’s such a blessing! I LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to get up, open my eyes and just… seeeeeeeeeee! Nothing is blurry anymore. It was a little slow going at first. And my left eye took quite a bit longer to catch up – but seems to be doing great.
I love that I can drive or read without them – camping, hiking, swimming…. ( not that I have done much of any of that really recently , but I can with out glasses! YAY!