Sunshine Sunday!

You Are Not Alone

"There are those among you who, although young, have already suffered a full measure of grief and sorrow. My heart is filled with compassion and love for you. How dear you are to the Church. How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Your Happily Ever After," Ensign, May 2010, 126

Topics: Faith

Sunshine Sunday!

Today I decided to share something that is close to my heart, and something that is often not understood by members not of my faith.  This is the topic of Temples and how sacred (not secret) they are to us. 

Here is a picture of my husband and I when we were married on May 11, 2007 in the Mesa Arizona Temple for time and all eternity.  I love my husband so much.  He is my best friend and the person I tell EVERYTHING.  I cannot imagine being married until death do us part.   I don't want to have to live in eternity without him, what a sad life that would be. 

I have always had a hard time expressing the beauty and divinity of the Temple, while also keeping it sacred and non confusing (I am not good with words).  But I saw this article floating around Facebook and decided to take a look.  This article is actually written by a female Episcopal priest, and I think she explained it beautifully.  It is always nice to get a positive view point from someone not of our faith. I highly recommend you read this article (member of our faith or not) and gain some insight as to why Temples are so important to us. 

Click HERE for the article.

I am so excited for the new Temple that is currently being built a couple minutes from my house in Gilbert. I have enjoyed watching it grow, from the groundbreaking to what it is now, and eventually until it is completely built. When it is finished, and before it is dedicated, we will ALL (member or not) be able to tour the temple and see its majesty.  I encourage you to take that opportunity to go inside and see for yourself what it is all about.  If you would like more information, please let me know.

Here is an artists rendition of what the new temple will look like (although the outside of the structure is pretty much done already)

I cannot wait to have this beauty in my background, and hope that you all will enjoy its beauty too.

7x7 Award

I was recently "awarded" by two people actually (I guess I am super special lol) the 7x7 blogger award. So thank you to the wonderful Tyah at Humble Haro Abode and Carissa at T is for Townsend for giving me this award. Although I am not really sure what this is, or what it means, I decided I would participate anyway. Sounds like fun right?? I am supposed to share 7 facts about myself, share 7 blog links and then award 7 more blogs for this award! So here it goes!

7 facts

1. I am afraid of the dark. No really, like I am SUPER afraid of the dark. Like once all the lights are of in the house, I DO NOT leave my room. If I need something, or baby girl needs something Kenny is the one who has to deal with it. If I am ever home alone at night, chances are there are 4 or 5 lights on in the house, and every TV is on as well. I also am known to lock myself in my room, as if that is going to save me from the impending thief. It is so bad that I don't even like to drive alone at night, I get this intense anxiety and feel like everybody is following me home, or just waiting for me too look at them wrong so they can shoot me. I know, I know completely ridiculous but I can't help it.

2. I have a love/hate relationship with scary movies. Because of my #1 fear of the dark, obviously scary movies are not good for my mental sanity. But I LOVE scary movies (the suspenseful, non-gory, non-bloody ones) my favorite one being "When a Stranger Calls" the newest one. I think I slept with the lights on after seeing it, and refused to babysit at night ever again, but there is something about the suspense and being on the edge of my seat that I absolutely LOVE!

3. I LOVE Disneyland. Like seriously LOVE. If I could have an annual pass (financially) I totally would. I want to go during the Christmas season, it is on my list of things to do before I die. I also want to go Disney world, eventually when I win the lottery (oh wait I guess I don't play the lottery) I want to travel to all the Disneylands/worlds wouldn't that be AWESOME!?!

4. I am very shy and don't like talking about myself. Which is making this very hard....so bear with me.

5. I started babysitting when I was 9 years old. People in my church would always ask my mom if I could babysit, she would then tell them I was only 9 but would be fine babysitting, so they took her up on the offer. People have always thought I was older than I really am. I can remember many times while babysitting at night, after the kids were in bed, being so afraid (refer back to number 1) that I would have to seriously focus on the TV or book I was reading (with the TV on for sound of course) in order to get the fear in my stomach to subside.

6. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can read more about ithere and here. I love my faith and would not trade it for anything in the world. Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer, and if it wasn't for him, we would not be here, life would not be possible. Faith keeps me going and I am strengthened every Sunday when I attend church. I love being sealed to my family for eternity, and cannot imagine leaving them when I die. I am so thankful for temples and am grateful for the beautiful one being built within 5 minutes of my house.

7. I HATE, HATE, HATE change. I just don't do well with it. You would think after the crazy married life/military life I would be used to it. But I still HATE it. I feel like the world is closing around me, things are never gonna be the same and that life can never be as good after the change. I know it is completely irrational, but I still don't like it! :)

7 blog entries

1. A little about us at: A blog link-up

2. A little bit of life at: Real Life Law and Order

3. Graduating at: Six years and a baby later

4. Life Changes at: Transitions

5. A little military perspective at: Time Limit

6. Thoughts on my little girl at: There is sunshine in my soul

7. Sharing some blessings at: Blessed

7 more award winners

1. Sally at Our Ordinary is Extraordinary

2. Micaela at The Schell Family

3. Stephanie at Dax and Steph (it's been too long since you blogged about your cute family!)

4. Sam at Phillips Family

5. Tasha at The Fleming Family

6. Amber at In the Life of Bob and Amber

7. Kris at Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Good luck to all the winners! Can't wait to read your fun blogs!

Sunday Sunshine!

Source: carolsheirloomcollection.blogspot.com via Kayla on Pinterest

Meet my brother Skyler

So I decided it would be appropriate to introduce you to my family since they are a huge part of my life. My brother Skyler happens to be the first on the list, simply because his prom was tonight and I can't believe he is old enough to be attending his Senior Prom. Seriously where does the time go?? Anyways here is my super awesome brother Skyler with his prom date Ashley.

I know, this is my younger brother, although he is much taller than me.

I thought I would give you the some reasons why I think Skyler is tied for best brother in the world (because my other brother Chris is also the best brother in the world).

1.) He can get along with ANYONE. And when I say anyone, I mean it. He is kind to everyone and can get along with any type of personality. This is a great characteristic and one that I have always admired. His carefree spirit is amazing.

2.) He is kind to EVERYONE. I guess this kind of ties in with number one, but I think it deserves its own number. Skyler is respectful, kind, helpful, and understanding. He will befriend anyone and always makes sure that everyone feels welcome. Also an amazing characteristic.

3. He loves kids. Which is not usual for a teenage boy. But he is so good with them. Kenzi sure loves her Uncle Sky and makes sure that he knows that. He will take Kenzi outside to play with him, let her {pretend} to play xbox with him, and even play blocks with her. We also have nephews that he plays basketball with, and builds towers with. The kids love this and it is definitely something they will remember about their Uncle Sky. {Side Note: I remember, before I knew I was going to have a girl, my brothers would always say "you're gonna have a boy so we can teach him sports and how to be a pro at them... then, finding out she was a girl, they simple said, well we can still teach her how to play volleyball and soccer haha, I don't think they minded me having a girl now}

4. He is faithful. Being faithful in this day and age is not usually "cool" or "popular" or easy for that matter. Kids/teens these days go through so many trials and tribulations that are ridiculously hard. There is so much filth in this world, unfortunately the media just gets more desensitized and the girls wear less and less clothing. I cannot imagine being in high school in this day and age. And as hard as it is, especially because my brother is popular, he continues to be faithful. Case and point:

Every week, before the game, after running on the field with his teammates Skyler would run off to the side of the field and pray. Every game. Why? Because he felt the need to express his thanks for his blessings, for the ability to play a game that he loved. He didn't care if anyone was watching, or if they thought it was uncool (which actually most people admired him for it) the only thing that mattered was that he thanked his Father in Heaven, for his amazing talent and blessing. He often tells a story, about being at Football camp, and once they found out he was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, they would have him say all the prayers, cause they said that he knew how to pray. Seriously, gives me goosebumps.

5. As I am sure you can gather from the first 4 reasons, he is a great example. He is aware that younger eyes are always watching him. I could not think of any reason why you would not look up to him. Amazing example to everyone.

6. He is smart. He refrains from drinking, smoking, drugs etc because he simply doesn't need them. He has enough fun with his friends without having to add that nasty stuff to his agenda. He sees no point in them, and that is another hard thing to restrain from these days, because it seems like "everyone" is doing it.

7. He has goals. Dreams for the future, what he wants to major in, where he sees his life going. This is so important, keep those goals in mind Sky, you WILL one day achieve them.

8. He is fun.

My list could seriously go on forever, but I won't because...well that would just take up forever. :) Sky and I have always had a good relationship, maybe because there are so many years in between us, maybe because I helped raise him, and maybe because he is just so awesome and cool that it's hard not to have a good relationship. Seriously if you get the chance to meet him you'll see exactly what I am talking about.

I love you Sky! and am seriously blessed to be your sister!

Happy Easter!

(Kenzi's Easter basket)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Ours was pretty low key. We did not hide eggs because we were not sure that Kenz would get the point, or that she would really enjoy it. Luckily, she has some cousins on Kenny's side of the family that are old enough to look for eggs so we sent her out to see what she would do. After showing her a couple of eggs and telling her what to do she got the hang of it. So cute, but so sad that my little baby is not so little anymore.

The next picture is the best one I could get of her in her Easter dress. This girl is ALWAYS on the move and it is pretty much impossible to get her to sit/stand still long enough to get a picture so this will have to do.

Here is a picture of her reaction to the Easter Bunny. As you can tell, she was NOT a fan. After this lip she began to cry and try to climb away from the bunny. My mom and I decided it was not worth trying to get her to sit on his lap. I would never want to make her do something that scares her like that. I did not want her to be traumatized and felt that the introduction was bad enough. But I LOVE this picture that my mom captured, cute little lip and all.

Sunshine Sunday!

“When the challenges of mortality come, and they come for all of us, it may seem hard to keep believing. At these times, only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement can bring us peace, hope, and understanding. Only faith that He suffered for our sakes will give us the strength to endure to the end. When we gain this faith, we experience a mighty change of heart, and, like Enos, we become stronger and begin to feel a desire for the welfare of our brothers and sisters. We pray for them, that they too will be strengthened through faith on the Atonement of our Savior.”

Find this amazing message here.

I hope everyone had an amazing Easter, and I hope you were able to celebrate the true meaning, along with all the traditional fun ones.