a year of happy

on being a morning person

Morning in El Salvador by "A", my 17 year old son

..
List 8: What I Love About Morning

• the sounds of the early birds outside my window, especially when it's warm enough to sleep with the window open.
• watching the sunrise.
• being up before anyone else. ("D" is more of a morning person than me, so I rarely beat him up. But still. I used to love getting up before my kids...I'd try to quietly ease out of bed in hopes that I could do it without waking them up!)
• quiet streets.
• getting an early start. (Anything you get done before breakfast feels like a win!)
• waking up early enough to read in bed.
• hearing the murmurs of groups of women walking early on a cool summer morning. 
• watching the world wake up.
• on a clear day, that band of pink and blue that rings the horizon at dawn.

Why do I have mornings on my mind? This week our theme for Team Up Thursday is "Morning". How do you say morning with just one photo? Check back tomorrow to see how I say it in Utah and Arizaphale says it in Australia!

Are you a morning person?
What do you love about mornings?

running free

"A's" favorite activity
is parkour or free running.

Have you heard of it?

This is the Wikipedia definition:

Parkour is the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one's path by adapting one's movements to the environment. It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to negotiate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, as if moving in an emergency situation.

Skills such as jumping and climbing, or the more specific parkour moves are employed. The object of parkour is to get from one place to another using only the human body and the objects in the environment. The obstacles can be anything in one's environment, but parkour is often seen practiced in urban areas because of the many suitable public structures available such as buildings and rails.

The term freerunning is sometimes used interchangeably with parkour. While superficially similar, freerunning places more emphasis on the aesthetics of movement and finding creative ways to overcome obstacles than on efficiency and simplicity.

"A" and his friends
love to practice their
free running skills.

They're getting strong by
doing handstands
every day during their lunch hour.





They like to go to Discovery Park
which has lots of wooden obstacles
they can run and jump over.

They also go to a gym
that has pads
where they can practice
without getting hurt.
(That makes their mothers happy!)

And they each have their
own signature trick.

"A's" is a side flip.
We decided to try to get some
action shots of his moves.











Pretty cool, don't you think?!

finding happy in march

blooming buds
melting snow
a beautiful sunrise

early birds at play
children outside laughing
a brisk walk
signs of green

open windows
spring cleaning

quick storms
warm sunshine
a peaceful heart 


What has made
you happy in March?

be strong and of a good courage

Last night,
we had the wonderful opportunity
of attending the
General Young Women's Meeting
at the Conference Center
in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The theme for the meeting was:
"Be strong and of a good courage,"
a scripture found in Joshua 1:9.

I've mentioned before
that I serve as a leader
for the 12-13 year old girls
in our Church group.

Every March, our Church
holds a worldwide meeting
for the young women ages 12-18.

Many local young women gather
in the Conference Center
with their mothers and leaders.
But most watch the meeting
from their local churches
as the meeting is broadcast
to church buildings all across the world.

Usually we watch from our church,
but this time a friend got tickets
and we were able to take
a couple of our young women and attend.

What an awesome experience.
It's an amazing feeling
to gather with 21,000 women
who believe the same way you do,
and listen to speakers
who motivate and encourage
the young women to be strong and
to stay close to the Savior
in these troubled times.

One of my favorite quotes
from the meeting
was by Elaine S. Dalton:

"The world places so much emphasis on our physical attractiveness and would have you believe that you are to look like the elusive model on the cover of a magazine," she said. "The Lord would tell you that you are each uniquely beautiful. When you are virtuous, chaste and morally clean, your inner beauty glows in your eyes and in your face."

I love how our Church
focuses on these young women.
With a great goal setting program
called Personal Progress
and activities that center around
spirituality and
self-improvement
and service,
these girls are given
great tools to help them
negotiate their way
through their teenage years
and into adulthood.

Every Sunday,
Young Women groups
all across the world
meet together and we say
the Young Women theme,
which goes like this:

We are daughters
of our Heavenly Father,
who loves us, and we love Him.
We will "stand as witnesses of God
at all times and in all things,
and in all places" as we strive to live
the Young Women values, which are:
Faith
Divine Nature
Individual Worth
Knowledge
Choice and Accountability
Good Works
Integrity and
Virtue.
We believe as we come to
accept and act upon these values,
we will be prepared to
strengthen home and family,
make and keep sacred covenants,
receive the ordinances of the temple,
and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

Every time they say this theme,
they remember who they are,
why they are here,
and where they are going.

I think it's beautiful.

________________________

someday

Last year, I took my son
to a new doctor's office
down in Provo.

On the walls hung
the most amazing paintings.
They were huge
and just filled up the space
with their beauty.
I couldn't take my eyes off them.





Finally I went to ask
the girls at the desk
if they knew
anything about the artist.
I decided I really wanted one
of these paintings for my home.

It took a bit of tracking down,
but I finally found out
that the artist is local
and his name is Christopher Young.

And I discovered
that a painting I had
fallen in love with years ago
was also by this same artist.





I haven't yet been able to
get one of these paintings for my home--
but someday, someday,
I hope to have a huge
40" x 60" painting
hanging front and center.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?!

Visit Christopher Young Art
and view all of his beautiful paintings--
then I'd love it if you'd come back
and tell me what is your favorite!

My favorites are his landscapes
and scenes from Italy in Gallery 1.
Be sure to look at
"Venetian Boats" and
"Duomo, Firenze."

I wish you could see them
in all their full size glory--
the computer screen
just can't do them justice!

totally random

I've got some
totally random thoughts
running through my head today.

Want a peek?

1. American Idol. I used to be a "never miss it" kind of fan, but I have a conflict this year and can't see it much. I saw it Tuesday night--let's just say I think I already know who the winner is going to be. Have you seen Crystal Bowersox? Yup--I think she's going all the way!
   .
2. Art. My 17 year old son is in two local art shows this month. We're off to check out the displays. If I can get some good photos, I'll show you tomorrow.
   .
3. Photo Blogs. I found another great photo blog. The photographer is Ken and he blogs at One Planet. This guy is *muy talented. Take a look here and here. See what I mean?
   .
4. Learning Spanish. *As you can see from above, I am feverishly working to learn a bit of Spanish before our humanitarian trip to Central America next month. I'm using Rosetta Stone, and I really like it. It uses the principle of immersion--in some ways good, but I've found that it also helps to get a good book with rules and conjugations so you can make more sense of what they're teaching you. I'm starting to pop a Spanish word into conversation here and there...do you think that will be enough?
   .
5. Random photo. The stone gators on the grounds of our resort in El Salvador. Just a tiny bit creepy...
   
   
   
   

What's going through
your mind today?
Anything exciting?

mellow yellow

click on the photo for a full size view

This week, our theme
for Team Up Thursday
is YELLOW!

And by our photos,
you can tell that
Arizaphale and I
live on opposite ends of the earth.

Arizaphale is from down under.
Her photo on the right
shows a grapefruit
growing in her very own
grapefruit tree!

I am officially jealous--
grapefruit is one of my
favorite fruits!

My photo on the right
is the early spring forsythia
that I saw blooming
when I was in Boise, Idaho last week.

Arizaphale says it's
way too hot where she is
to grow forsythia.
But around here,
it's one of the very first
signs of spring.
When the forsythia blooms,
you know winter is finally over!

Arizaphale and I
are having a great time
working together
on our weekly project.

Want to play along?
Visit Melody or Megan's blogs
and find out how to get started!

You can view other diptychs
from Team Up Thursday here.

a saying for every occasion

"D's" Grandma Brown
is legendary for her
traditional sayings
that have been passed down
through the generations.

Her daughters remember them all
and they use them too.
It seems like for every occasion,
there's an old adage to go with it!





For instance, if a couple got married
who didn't seem well-matched,
Grandma Brown might say,
"She probably
married him
to get rid of him!"
Or:
"There's a Jack for every Jill."
Or even:
"She jumped over
all of the daisies
and landed in a cow pie!"

She had sayings
to go with housework too.
When her children were playing
when there was work to be done,
she'd say,
"This and better might do,
but this and worse will never do."

And if one of her children
tried to take a short-cut on chores,
and had to come back to do it again?
"Lazy people always
have to work the hardest."

For today's list,
I'm going to give you
a whole slew of
Grandma Brown's sayings.

We'll call it:

List 7: Grandma Brown's
Sayings for Every Occasion

• A stitch in time saves nine.
  .
  
• That's the pot calling the kettle black.
  .
  
• Pretty is as pretty does.
  .
  
• What doesn't fatten helps to fill.
  .
  
• There is no disgrace in honest labor.
  .
  
• Birds of a feather flock together.
  .
  
• There is no use crying over spilled milk.
  .
• No use closing the barn door after the horse is out.
  .
  
• Kids and fools should never see anything until it is finished.
  .
  
• It's not what you want that makes you fat, its what you get.
  .
  
• Waste not; want not.
  .
  

I'm sure you've heard
some old sayings
that aren't on my list.
Please share--
I'm sure Grandma Brown
probably said it
at one time or another!

nature outtakes

Last week,
I spent an afternoon
wandering around with my camera.

I got back to my computer
to look at my photos more closely,
and had a good laugh
when I saw these shots.

I thought it would be fun
to share them with you.





These birds had somehow
found their way
into the airport....
and were watching
the planes take off and land
as if they were
right where they belonged!



 


This little guy
was playing tag
with his friend
until he realized
I was watching.
Then he scrambled
to a high branch
and kept his eye on me
until I finally left.


_________



Then I spied some geese
wandering around a
small grassy area.

Really, no room to fly....

Wait for it....

wait for it....





Nope--he made it!

But from the look of things,
I thought it was going to be
a head-on collision with the tree!



Then there was one of his buddies,
who had had just about enough.





He was angrily honking
at that other goose,
who just stood there
and took it all in.
Never even got flustered.





(I always thought
geese were such
graceful creatures....)



If you want to get
a closer look
at any of these shots,
click on the photos.
They really are better close up!


Do you have any photos
that will give us
a good laugh today?
Leave a link in the comments!

what it's all about

What would you consider
a necessity
in your kitchen?

The fridge?
The microwave?

How about the
dishwasher?

After our trip
to Central America,
even running water
seems like a luxury.

We visited the homes
of some sweet people
who are in great need.

Here's where
they get their
water....

and this is their
faucet
and sink.

___________________________

I have struggled
since I came home
getting it all
in perspective.

Why am I
blessed
with so much?

Do I have
too much?

Am I grateful enough?

What should
I do about it?

I can't say
that I've figured
it out.
I'm still struggling.

But a friend who is
serving an LDS mission
in a poverty-stricken area
wrote this, and it helps:

"Serving in this mission,
we have seen people live without.
Without electricity,
running water,
plumbing,
an assortment of
food, cars, and jobs.

"We've wondered aloud,
why we have been
blessed with so much back home?

"Should we feel guilty
for the excess
we have always taken
for granted?

"We don't have the answers...
but we believe we should
enjoy what we have been
blessed with,
share it,
and thank
Heavenly Father
for all that we have
been given."

_______________________


I wrote this post last year,
after our trip to Guatemala.
Since then, we went to El Salvador
on another humanitarian trip.
The same questions filled my mind
as we served and worked with
those wonderful people.

One early morning,
I woke up with these words
ringing in my head,
"You are so blessed
so you can give."

You are so blessed
so you can give.
It makes sense, doesn't it?

I have been given so much,
so I can share it with others.

Not just so I can have more.

It's good to step out
of your comfort zone
once in awhile
to learn life's lessons
that really can change everything.

.