Surrounded

I have a beautiful print hanging in my room and I love it, "She Will Find That Which Is Lost" by Brian Kershisnik.  At the beginning of the year I stumbled across this painting in a blog post.  I had seen it before but in January it spoke to me in a new way. I find it beautiful, comforting and inspiring.  The idea that there are so many people to support and love a person is a wonderful thought.  I was struck by the woman, she looks down.  It seems that her grief is consuming and that she may not even realize the unseen forces that are surrounding her. The love may be felt but not completely understood.  The original is currently hanging in the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.  Troy and I were there about a month ago and took a minute to view this lovely piece.  I was amazed at the feelings that it evoked. I had tears in my eyes, the idea of my own unseen force created a sense of belonging.  I hope it's true.  I hope there are people who care so much for me and my well being that they will surround me with this same kind of love and support.  There are moments I feel this way, and I hold on to those feelings and cherish them.

Rylee's wedding cake

This was a lot of fun to do.  The flowers were both made out of gum paste and had an enormous learning curve.  But I'm so glad I got to experiment with that new skill.

I love this couple so much, they have such a bright, fun future together.  I wish them all the best.

Grandma's 90th

On March 1st we went to celebrate Grandma Petterborg's 90th birthday.  They had a big birthday party, so many people showed up.  It was obvious that she is very loved.  I'm glad I got a picture of the kids with her.  They are among those that love her.  Troy's mom and dad were sad they couldn't be there but we were able to Skype with them and they got to see most of the people that showed up.  We love Grandma!!

It was fantastic to visit with family all evening.

Sara and Kendalyn were in charge of keeping Grandma and Grandpa company and make sure they got to see everything.  So they carried the computer around all night.

A great family picture.

There were all sorts of memorabilia set up.  It was fun to catch a glimpse into her history.

The beauty of it all

I love sunsets.  I so wish that I could look out my window and enjoy them every night.  However, there are many things blocking my view, buildings, trees and frankly a lack of windows on the west side of my home.  But every once in awhile I am fortunate enough to catch a beauty on my way home.  Last night was one of those nights.  I pulled into the parking lot near my home and just took a minute to soak it in.  The thing that makes sunsets so incredibly beautiful to me is the variation.  The variation in color and tone.  The darkness and the light blending together to create a beautiful, breathing moment of real life art.  I believe that is the same with life.  The shining moments of our lives are quite obviously beautiful.  They create wonderful memories that make us smile.  They are recalled with fondness.  Dark moments are different.  I don't like the darkness that is inevitable in our lives.  Yet, only with the darkness can the light be made so much brighter and beautiful.  Though darkness is uncomfortable, and discouraging there is beauty in it.  There is beauty in it because it creates the variation in our own lives. For me, I find I can recall moments of darkness with fondness as well.  It takes longer to get to that point, but often those moments are filled with life lessons, and love from angels, both earthly and those that have gone before.  No, I don't look forward to dark times and I long for them to pass but because of the darkness 

I can see the beauty of it all.

20 days left...missionary packages

Our family is super blessed to have a lot of missionaries out serving.  In fact at one point this year there were seven names we had to remember in our prayers.  For what ever reason this is a great night, we write letters to the missionaries from our ward and our family.  I think  of something small and clever ;),  to send them and we wrap a whole lot of love into it and send them on their way. 

This is the clever part, get it, "open your MOUTHS" and we sent mints.  I thought it was so smart, (I know small things make me happy).

I know how much you can miss home, especially at Christmas time.  I hope this helps them to know that we are thinking of them.

21 days left...Memory Tree

When Troy and I were first married I decided that I wanted to create a tradition on my birthday that would always be doable, (read super inexpensive for our poor college pockets).  So I decided that decorating the tree sounded fantastic.  Well, a few years into our marriage I realized that I wanted to decorate my main tree a little sooner and I wanted to have a different tree to hold everything that held special meaning, hence the "memory tree" was born.  I love this little tree, it actually was the tree my dad used so even the tree itself holds special meaning.  This year our box that the kids opened was overflowing.  Our trip back east was a treasure trove.  We actually had a bet going on how many ornaments would be purchased.

My hope is that when my kids grow up and these are divided among them, that they will hold a special place in their heart like they do in mine.

22 days left...Christmas past

There is not a lot better than little kids at Christmas time.  My kids aren't super old yet but I can't help but remember fondly to when they were really little.  I wanted to capture that a little this year, I found some old photos of each of the kids and enlarged them so I could hang them on the wall for the month of December.

They are pretty sweet, I think my iron tree needs some Christmas ribbon.  Maybe I  will be done decorating by the 23rd.