Grateful today.

I'm feeling a lot of gratitude today for my many blessings.

I am so grateful to live in a wonderful home, and feeling fortunate to have purchased it when we did at nearly the lowest of low. It may not be a grand house and it may not be decorated but I have a beautiful home with nice things filled with a wonderful spirit of love and happiness.

I am grateful to have a car that is reliable and that can take us places COMFORTABLY because we travel between Utah and California so frequently.

I am grateful for Adam's job that is secure. The world will always need teachers so we are set (Until the Apocalypse;)

I am grateful to live in Las Vegas, surrounded by wonderful people, very strong women that I have grown to love who are raising good children who can be a good example to my child. People who take care of me and love me and want me to hang around :)

I am grateful for my membership in the church. Not just because I am able to know the gospel of Jesus Christ, to feel the spirit and to feel His love, but also because of the JOY it brings to feel secure in friendship--united with those around me and to feel the security that the gospel brings.

I am grateful for a HEALTHY HAPPY WONDERFUL baby girl who has brought me more joy than I ever thought I could experience in this lifetime. I'm grateful to be her mommy and to be able to teacher her and guide her through life.

Most especially I am grateful for a loving, helpful, kind husband who not only provides for our families financial needs but is also PRESENT in our home and family, who loves me for who knows why and who loves and cares for every need of our daughter. I'm also lucky to have a husband who is always serving me, always willing to hop up and help me out with whatever needs to get done and does so without complaint. I love him.

In case you were wondering what caused this spontaneous expression of gratitude I was recently "on lifes billows feeling tempest tossed...discouraged thinking all was lost" as I stood in line for 3.5 hours at the DMV so I counted my blessings ;)

Summer is officially upon us...

In Utah the weather should be changing shortly...March and April introduce the beautiful springy weather with a little bit of a tease here and there (Mom said they used snowplows last week...) but for the most part, spring has sprung and everyone in Utah is happy.

Down here in Vegas however, Summer is here. There is no turning back. Today it reached a high of 80 degrees, yesterday even higher. The weatherman said "enjoy this week, it will be one of the prettiest of the year." I guess that's what you get when you live in Vegas. I labored and gave birth on a day that got up to 118 degrees.

We have been taking advantage of the absolutely GORGEOUS weather Hannah and I (along with Adam today) have spent the last three days in three different parks. Hannah loves the sunshine and takes off on the lawn (she is used to the prickly grass by now).

People tell me that I should love the weather, not understanding that living in 112-120 degrees in the summer is as crippling to those who live in harsh winters (we often get warnings to stay in doors) but for now I will love the daily stroller rides (that Hannah and I have enjoyed daily since January) and the lazy days in the park. Until we are confined indoors...or at least to the free water parks ;)

Oh...I got my first sunburn today.

{Ghost of Lovers Past}

Recently I've had the chance to reflect on the past, especially as I have stumbled upon Adam's missionary journal at the Turney's this past trip to California.

How strange it is to read about my missionary. Yes, although I didn't write to him, Adam was, is, and always will be my missionary. I know that as I read about myself in the pages of his journal. He talks about me a lot. He writes things like "We had to work in the rain today. I hope that means the Lord is preparing an amazing woman that I am working for."

For a long time he thought there was a special someone in mind. He wrote:

"There is only one girl that I have known in all my life that has done that [smile at the thought of her] to me. Jessica Lea Wooten. My best friend, my angel, girlfriend, first love and kiss, my listening friend, my comforter, my greatest example of what I want in a wife and companion for all eternity. She is the one that has made me happy and that I have dedicated my personal time to."

Ok...so you have to laugh a little...Adam was so romantic to call her his "listening friend" and I can't believe he would even "dedicate his personal time" to her.

I guess I can't mock too much...we all have a past :) Here is one of MY journal entries (to be fair).

October 2nd 2001
Justin broke up with me. I'm fine. Maybe we will end up together, maybe not. All I know is that I have to be worthy of him so I am going to straighten out my life to be worthy of him. Then maybe I won't feel so bad about myself. I'm fine. (To be fair to myself, at 15, almost 16 I really didn't have to pull much together and was pretty friggen worthy of anyone...I wish I could tell that to past self.)

October 3rd 2001 (the VERY next day)
He wants me back. I'm going to be REALLY fine now!

Seriously. What a dork was I hahaha.

Shocked/Amazed/Proud

I have never known anyone to drink as much diet soda as my mother in law Kris. Never. People may think they know someone to drink more but you honestly don't. On average I'd say she drinks about 64 oz a day. She is never more than 10 feet from a soda. When I went out shopping with her the other day she got a Diet Dr. Pepper at Target for the shop and finished it, then we ran to Costco and she got another one, again finishing it during the shop, and then we ran over to Chipotle and she guzzled down another (not to mention the 12 pack in the fridge that was consumed in two days) and those three were consumed in two hours.

Holy. Cow.

Adam has been begging her to give them up. That is SOOOOOOOOOOOO bad for you to do to your body. She loves them though.

Today she stops for one year. No more soda. She wanted to do a sacrifice since Terry is going to Iraq for a year. I've done this for about three years, and Adam has done this before but this is a TRUE SACRIFICE! I think she'll do it. It will be hard...it is probably already hard since she has a diet coke every morning for breakfast, but I think it will be awesome. We are proud of you!