The days are long, but the years are short

As you get older (ahem, I am not calling myself old I am just saying) the years fly by in the blink of an eye. Andrew has been gone for 6 days now. Not that long but long enough for me. Yesterday was a hard day and I am starting to get burnt out...for those I know whose husbands are gone much longer, you are amazing!

My frustration and exasperated patience got me thinking about how much I love being a mom. Sure the days are long, almost every minute is focused on someone else and the to-do list is never ending but there is really nothing else I would rather be doing because with the exhaustion comes joy and with the trails and mistakes of raising children there are invaluable lessons are learned.

For me and probably every other mom out there sometimes the days just seems to drag but they are over before you know it. I am grateful to have spend two years with Carson watching him grow, learn and explore the big world around him and I look forward to many more "short" years.

Here's to another day in paradise!

The last little while Carson seems to have a shoe fetish and will try on any shoe he finds and walk around. One particular day his choice of shoe was the red ladybug.

You see he has these rather manly rain boots that are too big for him and they don't fit into his shoe holder in his closet so they are on his closet floor-easy access I guess. He loved roaming the house with a swagger in his step all the while saying, "my boots, boots, my boots" in his itty bitty sweet voice. I thought it was cute enough to share...but when do I not?!

Always Improving

"Just do the best you can, but be sure it is your very best."
-Gordon B. Hinckley

Since the beginning of last year, instead of picking and choosing what Ensign articles to read I have read each issue from cover to cover. By doing so I know that by doing so my testimony has been strengthened. Much thought goes into each article and no matter the topic, or your life circumstance, each article is in the Ensign for a reason.

Today I was reading an article in February's Ensign titled "Achieving Your Full Potential" and it offered the reassurance and motivation that I needed and reinforced choices I am making.
Here are a few points that I especially loved that I thought I would share.

-Each of us can and should do more to meet the Lord's expectations of us.

-Complete your degree or vocational training no matter the intellecttual or financial strggles you encounter along the way. (no excuses)

-Education is a vital key to the dooe of opportunity

-Stay focused and stay on course-to finish what we have started.

-Satan's biggest tool is distraction and discouragement. He finds ways to help us make excuses about why we can't do this or that. He blurs our focus by diverting our attention.

-Staying focused, discipline, and committed to meaningful goals, both spiritually and temporally, is an important-in fact, an essential-key to your success here in this life and in the eternitites to come.

-"Behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."-Mosiah 2:17

If I had more time I could explain what each sentence meant to me but I won't go that deep. I try not to get preachy on the blog, but I felt the need to share so maybe this will mean something to someone else as well.

Carry On

President Gordon B. Hinckley passed away on the evening of January 27 will be missed by our family. We loved his emphasis on families and temples, his sense of humor, and we appreciated his simplistic concepts.

After being sustained as prophet of our church more than 20 years ago a reporter asked President Hinckley: "What will be your focus? What will be the theme of your administration?"

Instinctively, he answered, "Carry on. Yes. Our theme will be to carry on the great work which has been furthered by our predecessors.

My friend Sheena posted this quote from him on her blog and it was one that I had never remembered hearing before, but now love:

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up tp be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are often more dull" than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail journey-delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful landscapes and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

for more on my church, go here

BYU remembers the prophet with a 5 min. photo slideshow.
Funeral services for President Gordon B. Hinckley, will be held Saturday, February 2. For a listing of worldwide broadcast times and options (including Church satellite, television, and Internet), see the broadcast schedule.