Of Shoes--and Ships--and Sealing-Wax

 

I've never been one to believe that things make you happy . I think that people and experiences~and the lessons and blessings that come from them~are what makes us happy people. So I'm a happy person.

 

But. There are some things that can bring a quick smile to my face! I have a pair of shoes on the way and I can hardly wait to get them. I've had my eye on them for a long time;waiting for the price to go down so I could feel good about buying them. I'm so excited. Now I want a pair in every color! *blush*

I've said that I wear a piece of jewelry every day that connects me to someone I love. I found the cutest ring right before my birthday. I wanted it because it just seemed so cute and magical. My sweet husband, along with my parents and in-laws, ordered it for me. I received it a week ago. I love it. It makes me smile EVERY time I look at it! It makes me wistfully remember all the fun Disney time my family has had together and makes me believe in magic all over again. It connects me to so many people I love!

 

Smells are a strong memory trigger for me. I've had a stuffy nose my entire life but I can almost always smell anything around me. Fall and Christmas smells are my favorites and I am a hoarder when it comes to candles, sprays and lotions that can capture those times of the year for me. One of my favorite compliments is to be told I smell good. It's amazing to me how many of my kids at school tell me they love to hug me because I smell good. A good smell is a splurge I can almost always fit in my budget. Because memories are worth a mint!

Bath and Body Works Candles. My stash is much, much bigger.

 

My Dad

So like most little girls who grow up believing they are a princess (I was Cinderella) I have a wonderful father who made me feel like one.

My dad has loved my mom since they were 14. They live a true love story. Above all else I have always known that my dad loves my mom, and loves all of us. My dad is funny. He embellishes stories like no one I've ever known, but in doing so, he always makes the story much better than it was to begin with. My dad has a wonderful imagination. My entire life he told Christmas stories to us on Sunday evenings. Stories that he created. In the summer we'd listen to his Christmas stories while munching on pan-popped popcorn and drinking Kool-aid. In the winter we'd replace the Kool-aid with my mom's homemade cocoa. It was magical. Now my girls get the magic from him when they hear his stories.

My dad is a believer. In God, in goodness, in doing what is right. He believes in being charitable and literally giving the coat off his back. He believes in Santa, and has always wanted to be "the real Santa" for his real job. My dad believes in wonder and magic and good ideals. He can be crass at times, and loves to let loose with "potty talk" when the situation calls for it, but he is loveable anyway!

My dad loves to give everyone a good scare often. He has repeatedly cheated death with his health and by just plain living. But he always attributes his miracles to the mercy of God and the enduring faith and pleadings of my mother. He is cheating death again as I write. I'm so grateful to still have him as my dad and as the head of our family. I'm grateful he knows and understands that no one is perfect. He has shown me what unconditional love is and with my beautiful, sweet mother made a happy, if not perfect home for my sisters and I to grow up in. I'm grateful my Heavenly Father blessed me with such wonderful earthly parents. I realize what I have in them.

Elder Summers

This is my family in 1988!

Me and my sisters circa 1984



His Girl

I remember the first time Chad called me his girl. It melted my heart. I've been his girl for 21 years of marriage now~we're celebrating our anniversary today.

I remember the first time I saw Chad. My car was broken down~AGAIN. When we were at the mechanic shop-Autohaus- I saw Chad in one of the bays. I told my mom I thought he was cute. She said, "Well you'd better get him to ask you out because you're going to marry him." And she was right! I wish it hadn't taken me 2 years beyond that day to get him to ask me out!!!

We got married in the Logan temple. It's where he proposed to me on bended knee. He set my world on fire!

I love Chad. I love being married. Although I think it's cute when people say they married their best friend (and yes, I consider Chad one of my best friends) I am happy to say I married my soul mate. My other half. My passion. The one who completes me. The one who made a promise with me that we'd find each other on earth and be together forever. My joy, my happiness, the one I want to escape with.......I could go on and get even mushier but I think you catch my drift. I love this man. I cannot believe how blessed I am that he loves me back!

One of our wedding songs

My Special Box

91-100

-Cleaning puts things in perspective for me.

-I admit it-I love "edgy" things. Not naughty. Edgy. That growl in a singer's voice, a primal scream, a great guitar rif, the thought of doing something a little nervy. I think it lets me vicariously live out my "wild side".         *side note-The song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons illustrates this perfectly!

-I know without a doubt that it truly takes a village to raise a child. I have great, wonderful people in my childrens' villages.

-But I also know that it takes a truly dedicated parent with a sense of right and wrong, with strong,  traditional values, and enormous responsibility to raise a child. And TONS of love.

-I am one of those people who tries to put something together first~and then reads the instructions.

-I am efficient.

-I love fireworks and floating sky lanterns.

-I cry during the fireworks shows at Disneyland.

-I believe in God. I believe that everything I am and everything I have came from Him.

-I love life. It scares me to death. But I love it.

 

I'm mixing it up today. It makes more sense after you know the rest of my list...

I need to go on a cleaning binge like no other. I need perspective. I need my special box.

I had a good day. It was long and busy and full of darling children. I made it. I was so excited to come home and see my wonderful family.  I came home beat, but not feeling too bad about myself....It's amazing how instantaneous a day can change from one seemingly small act. I plummeted. I'm angry with myself for letting it affect me.

I'm determined to move forward. Be happy. Spread joy. I am determined that this be an uplifting place to be. I am going to tell you about my special box. Sometimes it saves me. Mentally, physically, spiritually. Definitely emotionally.It is full of letters and quotes and scraps of paper. It contains any physical piece of written evidence I own that validates me. I have cards from children at school, letters from my children and husband, notes from co-workers and friends, awards, a mini #1MOM trophy, and countless other items that tell me I really am worth something. It now contains a nickel and dime that I received from a couple of 2nd graders that wanted to "tip" me for being great in the lunch room. I have letters from my parents in it. I have it out in front of me.

I'm going to ecourage you to do something for yourself. Make your own little box or special place for valuables like mine. I'm breathing again. I feel like I'm a really good person who cares deeply (and that's what gets me in trouble) about others. I'm going to carry on. I'm going to love as fiercely as I ever have. Because I believe that's what counts.    *my ringtone is Carry On by Fun. It inspires me!



 

 

 

A Little Romance

Someone I love dearly is getting married soon. I  have marriage on the mind this week; alot because of her and the excitement I have for her, but also because on Wednesday it is my 21st wedding anniversary. Both things are very exciting to me.

Our Engagement Photo



I married Chad on May 8th 1992. We chose the 8th because our first kiss was on our 8th date.  That should have been my first clue that he was "the one"~waiting that long for a kiss was kind of a record for me ;)

I love being married. It is one of the smartest moves I ever made. I love the companionship and passion it brings. I love the things we get to do and dream together. I love having children because of my marriage. I love learning how to problem solve and work together. I love knowing we have the same goals.  I LOVE LAUGHING with Chad. It is one of the things we do the most in our house. I love having someone to be a nerd with;and we can get oh-so-nerdy at our house.  I love being in love. I love it that when Chad walks across a room I still get all tingly in the fact that he is mine.  I think marriage is a gift and I'm so grateful for that gift in my life.

Just look at us now!



 

In the final countdown  81-90

 

-If Bath and Body Works ran out of inventory they could probably call me for back-up.

-I'm very claustrophobic. I got stuck in Logan Cave one time and truly thought I was going to die in there because I was in such a tight space.

-The color blue calms me.

-So does being in Chad's arms.

-I believe in The Constitution.

-I believe in traditional marriage.

-I've had a scary brush with Ovarian Cancer and I received a miracle in the process.

-I absolutely love fairy tales, romances, and happy endings.

-I don't think one can ever take too many pictures. I'm always upset I didn't take more after any given event.

-I love to bake.

Attitude of Gratitude

I try to be a grateful person. I have a gratitude journal that I write at least 5 things in every day. I love my life. I know what I have and what I have been blessed with. I know that whatever challenges I am facing at any given time could be so much worse. I know that I have experienced wonderful things in my life that some people in the world will never see or know. When I use a fresh towel after a hot shower I realize there are people on earth that will never know what that feels like. When I take a drink of clean, fresh, cold water I know there are places that will never know the feeling of drinking what I get to drink every day. It's very humbling to me.

I could start listing all the things I am grateful for and my list would never end. Today I am grateful for the amazing, wonderful, kind, generous people I am surrounded by in my home, my job, my community, my church. If I ever start feeling that there isn't any goodness left in the world I need to make sure to look around me first. I am blessed. I am grateful.

We're getting closer....71-80

-I love history, especially when it's personal, and involves someone I can relate to, or am related to.

-I cry when I hear children sing. Every stinkin time.

-I'm a germ freak. Especially since my children have developed my asthma. Chad teases me that I have a Lysol Trigger Finger.

-I do not blame anything I have done on the way I was raised. Anything good I have accomplished occurred because of great parenting on my parents' part.

-I dream about cake. I love cake.

-My family and I are always quoting movies that probably no one else gets the reference to~but we do it anyway.

-I am not afraid of age. It's just a number. But I do not like it that my body won't work as efficiently as it used to. I don't like wearing knee braces on the treadmill.

-I don't like mean people.

-I tend to stock-pile.

-One of my favorite words is CLEARANCE.

 

Some of the movies you will hear my family quoting...

The Muppet Christmas Carol-one of the greatest movies of all time!

 

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The Princess Bride

Elf

Pirates of the Carribean

Heroes

How do you define a hero? We all have them. I have many, many heroes both on the page and in real life.  Here is what defines a hero for me.

My heroes give their hearts. They know broken hearts can be part of the package of living, but they also know it's worth the price of loving. My heroes do what's right in the face of scrutiny and danger, and political correctness is not in their vocabulary.My heroes are kind.They fight for goodness and decency, no matter what is popular. My heroes keep God at the head of their armies. They only fight when there is no other choice. My heroes lift and love, give and serve, work hard, are not afraid of feelings or sentiment, and see the goodness in life. They make sure the good guy wins. They inspire. I want to be a hero.


Getting through...61-70

-I cry about people I don't even know.

-I cannot stand others suffering or being tortured. I don't have to read about or relive or see pictures of atrocities to understand what happened. I can picture it just fine on my own.

-I do love it when the good guy wins and evil is defeated.

-I take things personally and too much to heart. I assume blame too easily. I'm working on that.

-I want to be a person that never says anything negative about anyone. I'm working on that too.

-I'm a trained dental assistant, but I like working with children much more than dental assisting.

-So I'm a teacher's aide instead.

-Strings in music pierce my very soul. I just love them.

-A good song can change a bad day for me in an instant.

-So can a hug.

 

This is just a tiny sampling of my heroes. To put all of them on here would make a never-ending post!

 

My sweet friend Halee

Walt Disney

Gordon B. Hinckley

My sweet Grandmother, Sarah

My sweet family

 

 

The sweet Wilson Family

The Kailings