Inspiration..

Every once in a while I find something that I know will inspire me for years to come and often I find that inspiration in books. I just read a book called Led By Faith. It's a sequel to Left To Tell which is the MOST amazing book I've ever read. This book talks about a woman's experience during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. What a terrifying display of human suffering, yet there is beauty and love found in this tragedy and this woman's faith will forever touch my heart. I couldn't help but post some of my favorite quotes from this book. Perhaps it will inspire you as much as it uplifts and inspires me..

But my entire family is gone! Whom can I love now?
Go back into the world and find someone to bless with that same type of love. Give it to someone who has no love at all, such as the homeless, the sick, or the orphaned. Look for the beauty of God in the eyes of a little boy or girl. Find a child whose heart has been shattered, and give him or her some happiness. Remember, all love begins with a smile.
Immaculee Ilibagiza, Led By Faith, p.37

…when we suffer a loss too great to bear, our hearts and minds are open to miracles…
Immaculee Ilibagiza, Led By Faith, p.76

Hatred, anger, mistrust, and fear enter our lives every day in a thousand different ways. We’re all wounded by these evils, but we can all be healed through the power of love and forgiveness—a power readily available to all of us when we have faith.
Immaculee Ilibagiza, Led By Faith, p.192

Faith is a living thing that must be nurtured every day through prayer, kindness, and acts of love. It will lead us through our darkest days and restore love and light to even the most troubled soul in the most dire of circumstances.
Immaculee Ilibagiza, Led By Faith, p.192

She lived with pain, but she also lived with hope. She had faith that God would make each day better than the last, and that was the beginning of happiness.
Immaculee Ilibagiza, Led By Faith, p.196

If the evil that was unleashed here could be conquered with love, where could evil not be conquered? If the hearts of Rwanda could be healed through forgiveness, then what heart couldn’t?
Immaculee Ilibagiza, Led By Faith, p.200

Summer o' fun!

Wow it has been such a fun summer and I have failed to write about any of it! I can't believe August is already here and I leave in a month for Hawaii!! AHH!! This summer I have done my best to fill each and every moment with fun! Here are some pictures of some of the adventures I have had this summer, including random hikes and 4 in the morning, Dancing until one in the morning every night, nannying the cutest kids on the planet, boating every weekend, and much much more!

Sending Rachel off on her mission to the New York, New York Spanish speaking mission! Good luck bud! :) She'll be great!
This is the cute little girl named Breelyn that I babysit for my summer job. We have so much fun! I just adore her!
Hiking Angel's landing with my family! It was such a fun hike!
I went to New York City with my best friend in the world Kelly! We had so much fun! This is us in Times Square. What a blast! Love ya Kell!


Here is Andrea and I about to go boating! We have WAY too much fun together!


Four-wheeling up at the cabin every weekend with my cute little dog Mooshie!!

I couldn't help but put a picture of my cute little cat Bum up here. This is probably his last summer seeing as he looks diseased and he's only half alive. I just love BUM!!

Summer is great! I'll be sure to post more pictures of my adventures later.. but I'm too lazy to do more now :) Enjoy!

For My Bestest Buddy..

I know two blogs in a week.. crazy! But I promised my little buddy I would show her pictures of my most recent mud wrestling fight. It's been raining all week which is rare for Utah! It's been great! I texted everyone in my phone to go mud wrestling and only two people could go.. shame. But it was a blast anyways! Little buddy, just imagine yourself right in this picture all covered in mud with us :) I would somehow edit you in there, but I don't know how, so you get to use your imagination! I love you dearly and am SO SO SO excited for you to come home and play with me! Enjoy!

I found other mud wrestling pics and couldn't help but put them on also.. man we've had some good times! :)

There's many many more just not on my computer at this moment :)

Road to Insanity

Sometimes my life can be really interesting. On Saturday my sister insisted that I drive down to Sandy to pick her up from her friends house and I reluctantly agreed as long as it didn't take too long.. yeah right. The drive down was okay.. it only took about an hour to get there although I'm not gonna lie I was in quite a bad mood by the time I did. Then as we start heading back up I realized my hopes of getting anything done that day would be dashed. Traffic was horrendous! I don't know if any of you have had the chance to drive northbound on I-15 but they closed off the entire freeway. Rachel and I were stuck in stand still traffic for 3 hours. Obviously we had to find new ways of entertaining ourselves. We began to dance like crazy people. Rachel got out her makeup bag and we began to draw on each others faces with eyeliner. We made each other each have a huge unibrow, a mustash and a beard. That combined with our insane dancing and singing at the top of our lungs with the windows down was plenty of entertainment for those around us. Suddenly I realized I had to go to the bathroom and could no longer hold it. We were no where near an exit and it would be at least an hour before the next one. I saw no other option but going in the bushes! I made Rachel switch into the driver seat while the car was still moving through traffic. I ran out of the car and dodged the slow moving cars to get to the side of the road. I hopped over the barrier and into a bunch of long cat tails. Obviously every car on that strip of freeway saw me go into the bushes and they all knew what I was doing. The bushes were full of mud and I came out covered in mud, with a big grin on my now hairy looking face. I ran back into the car where Rachel sat laughing uncontrollably. Needless to say the cars around us were giving us all kinds of looks, but I think we may have brightened their day by entertaining them while stuck in traffic. Just to make matters worse Rachel and I decided to go to IHOP before we went home because we were starving from all that dancing in the car. We went into IHOP with unibrows, mustaches, and beards and I was covered in mud. The waitress avoided eye contact with us and the looks we got were priceless. Although I spent 4 hours just driving on Saturday I have to say it was quite the adventure!

Mud, Mud, Mud!!

I've always been a huge fan of mud wrestling. As many of my friends know it involves tackling each other in the mud and of course the steam roller! Once we finish we have to walk home covered in mud as people driving past gawk at the mud monsters walking by. I've reached the ultimate mud wrestling experience now.. mud wrestling in the front yard! How convenient! You don't even have to leave your property to get muddy! Our front lawn is being replaced so we currently have dirt for a lawn.. and when it rains we have MUD! The perfect mud to wrestle in. Rachel and I discovered this late one night and just couldn't resist the temptation. After watching Nacho Libre we had to try out the new moves we learned! Mud wrestling will never get old. I've loved it all my life and will continue to love it forever! My kids better like getting dirty because they won't have much of a choice with me! ;)

The Power of Music

My whole life I've always loved music. Dancing, singing, playing paino, anything. I love it. Yet sometimes I am still so surprised at the power music has over my soul. I still am amazed at the feeling I get when I listen to something that empowers me. I can't even express in words the ability music has to affect my life. I don't think anyone can quite express the power music has over mankind. Of course there is the music that can so easily bring your spirit down, but when you hear that music that has the ability to lift it back up it's amazing the results you get. I listen to music constantly. At work, at school, while I exercise, while I clean, everywhere. I am so grateful for such an uplifting gift in my life. Music is my inspiration. It's what keeps me motivated in life.

Hee Hee..