sometimes it seems like all we see in the media is all the bad and corrupt things happening around us. on a daily basis, i think about what the world will be like when dallin and ella are teenagers. what will i be facing as a parent? how will i teach them to want to choose good over evil when evil will be more attractive?
i admit sometimes i’m sort of a doomsday thinker and i wonder how i can be positive about the future.
BUT…all it takes is for me to see something good happening and i realize that if we look for the good, we will find it. (how’s that for being pollyanna, eh?)
and so, a wonderful "pollyanna" mission companion sent me a link to something incredible today. i was moved and inspired. it renewed my faith in the good.
click the pic.

and for a little more background on dick and rick hoyt watch this.
i think i’ll go out and be "pollyanna" today. how about you?

Marriage just has to be our number
one priority – over extended family and even over children….. if our marriage
fails, it doesn’t matter what great care we took of the children.  SO,
go love up your spouse!  Give him/her a big hug and a nice kiss!  Ask
him/her if s/he’s happy in the marriage and what you can do to help him/her be
happier!  Then, DO IT!!!!!  If it’s really, really hard, ask Heavenly
Father to help you change!  In your couple prayers, ask to become
better friends, better support to each other, to recognize and respect each
other’s strengths.  Pray for and work on your marriages!  Attend the
temple together often!  If you’re feeling frustrated or discouraged, don’t
be afraid to go to a marriage counselor!  I’ll cheer for you!  We
don’t have to think that having a rough spot in marriage is a bad thing – it’s
normal.  We just have to know the tools to work through it.  (advice from shelle 7.10.06)

thanks, shelle for pearls of wisdom. a great reminder for me today that a marriage must ALWAYS be nurtured. if i get complacent thinking that i’m a wonderful wife…i’m in big trouble.

so, i’m gonna make sure he knows he’s numero uno today. hubba hubba. 🙂

what are the chances of us seeing two movies on their opening nights these past few weeks? seeing as how we have not been to a movie in almost 6 months. talk about living it up! these once die-hard-movie-every-weekend fans have definitely been experiencing famine since we had children. but, man, we’ve been indulging this summer. and loving it! yes, we did drive all the way to oxnard just to get babysitters. but all was totally worth it.
last night…pirates. and what did you expect from a pirate-loving girl?

how we miss you. granny and grandpa were with us all this week and just left this morning. ughh… goodbyes are for the birds. especially when we only get to see them twice a year or so. we all have a lingering twinge of sadness when they go.
BUT…we are so grateful for their willingness to serve because we are all better for it. we feel blessed in their absence and enriched in their presence.
we have had such a FUN week. visits with great friends. the hollywood bowl. fantastic fireworks from our backyard. nacho libre. movie nights. pizookies. pool fun. and popsicles. oh, the popsicles.
even if it did all end too soon, we loved every minute of it while we could.

we love you, granny and grandpa! we can’t wait to play again.
a few pics just for fun

…my mac will come.
along with a handy dandy canon 30d.

aren’t they just dreamy to look at? 
hmmm…i’m convinced that this is what happens when i’m on bed rest and spending too much time in front of the computer.
at least just looking at them makes me happy.
got my trusty piggy bank saving up pennies for these beauties.
let’s see. a penny a day should take approximately 30 years?
here’s to hoping somebody plants a money tree out back pretty quick! 😉

nothing like spending your 30th birthday in the hospital to REALLY make you feel over the hill. 🙂
but i guess it has been quite a birthday to remember. last week, my leg was about twice it’s normally large size. 😉  we suspected something was going wrong with my clot. i called a couple of doctors and they advised us to head to the ER. not a fun thought. so, reluctantly i went with jeff by my side. and that’s when all the fun began.

the entire hospital was full and the ER as well with patients waiting for beds upstairs to open up. they kept me in a supply room with 2 other people. and that was half the fun. the old guy next to me had been in a car accident. poor guy was pretty beat up. he kept trying to get up, get dressed and get out. the nurses kept coming in only to find his bed was empty and they ended up chasing him down the hall. the other little lady was so sweet. cute little grandma. although her darn machine kept beeping and beeping and BEEPING at all hours of the night. not like i could sleep anyhow because people were in and out all night getting supplies, turning on the lights, and leaving the door open so we could hear the excitment out in the hall.

it really was a great hospital though. one of the main reasons why they
are so busy is because they are ranked one of the top 50 in the U.S.
hence, everyone comes there knowing they will get good care.
the next morning, jeff brought me a few goodies to celebrate 30. yippee! so we had a rockin’ party with us and the little old man next door that told me i had ants crawling all over my sheets. i asked him what color they were. but he didn’t seem to know. 🙂

luckily, the nurses decided to give me a birthday present too and bumped me up on the list to get a bed upstairs. talk about being grateful for the little things. it was miraculous to be in a quiet room all to ourselves. again, another fun birthday treat.

the vascular surgeon came by a little later and gave us his thoughts on what was happening. he was extremely thorough and knowledgeable. he felt that this was most likely the old clot causing trouble with my circulation. he ordered some testing to be done on my blood and told us we could go home. hallelujah! so we frantically got stuff together so we could spend the last few hours of my birthday somewhere other than the hospital bed.

so, here i am today. at home. leg up. taking it ee-cee (said nacho style). still in pain. but hopefully on the road to getting more answers regarding my health. once we get results back, we’ll think about next steps. and just keep on keeping on.

one thing i do know…i am overwhelmed with gratitude and humility with the outpouring of concern, love, service, and prayers on our behalf. so thank you. thank you ALL so much. truly, thank you.

i think we go through life not really knowing the full effect of our existence. i am thankful that through this trial, i am feeling the love of the Lord through all those around me. if only i could wrap it all up and stock pile it for the times when i forget. too easily, i forget. and then once again, i am reminded. and i make a new resolve to love more completely. serve more selflessly. and receive service more willingly.
and so these experiences will keep coming around until i figure it all out. which could be a while. but for now, i’m here. and that’s good.

still laughing. still cracking up.
we saw nacho libre on jeff’s birthday and these die-hard napoleon fans we’re not disappointed in the least! i was crying on several occasions. and, honestly, i can’t wait to see it again.
and so here’s my ode to nacho.

nos gusta el nacho
el es muy chistoso
nos hizo reir hasta que estuvimos mocoso
gracias por darnos una noche muy bueno
y con gusto gritamos, que viva el gordo!

translation goes a little something like this:
we like nacho
he is very funny
he made us laugh until our noses were runny
thank you for giving us a wonderful night
and with praises we shout, long live the fat guy.

don’t worry, it doesn’t make much sense. but then again, neither do i. 🙂

today. i still beat him though. i love being married to a younger man. and i love that he is home on his birthday. but having him gone this past week did allow me to get a fun little birthday gift together…

did some all-nighter paint and deco jobs to make our house a home. he wanted aqua in his office. and that’s precisely what he got. 🙂  happy birthday, love!
see more here

i think it’s safe to say…

she really likes the beach! 
and do you see those curls? yum-a-licious!
here are a few more from our visit to zuma beach with rhonna and fam.
zuma beach