Attitude of Gratitude

I am going to be the first to admit that I am not always the most optimistic member of my household. Sometimes I get feeling down about something and Jason the optimist will say "try to be positive", or "Life's great so act like it". Well these words feel more like scorning to me than encouraging and I get mad when he tells them to me. However, I have been trying lately to see the good side of things and during my spin class today I was trying extra hard to be grateful. As I thought about all the things in my life that I am eternally grateful for I started to smile and understand how Jason can look at a situation totally different than me with his optimistic eyes. Here are some examples.....

1st the weather here in Ol' Evanston, WY is still acting like WINTER.... It's the middle of May and it snowed just yesterday. I've been having a hard time loving it but this morning as I watched on the news about the drought in Texas I was so grateful to live here. They showed the animals dying of dehydration. My heart hurt for the people there that I'm sure have been praying continually for rain and here I am wishing that our moisture would just stop for a while. The reality is that I live in a great place that has been abundantly blessed this winter with lots of moisture.

2nd I have had a hard time being pregnant lately. Not because I don't want this child because I do more than anything but because I hate the way I feel about my growing self. I don't like to look in the mirror and sometimes I wish that I was a normal pregnant woman that just gained weight to show she's having a baby. However, nobody can even tell that I'm pregnant unless they know. Most people just look at me and the weight I've gained in my hips and other places that are totally not cool and think I've been eating a lot. At least that's how I feel. However, I've been trying to be grateful for my body and the abilities that I have been given because of it. I know that if I grew differently I might not have been able to run a half marathon and a 10k half way through my pregnancy. I also know that this is my body and I can't change it so I need to look at the amazing health that I have and be grateful to Heavenly father for it. Lastly, I know that some women are unable to have children and I am eternally grateful that I have been blessed with this gift to be able to have healthy babies.

For those of you who are still with me after all of my rambling I realize how blessed I am to have all of the things that I do and a few wonderful people that love me. This past weekend I was able to run a 10k as mentioned before with my amazing mother. Ever since I started running 4 years ago I've been trying to talk my mom into doing a race with me. She finally consented to running the half marathon with me in April but as training progressed she started having major hip problems which set her back. She still wanted to run a race so we found a 10k and she continued to work through her hip pain and train for this race. For those who don't know a 10k is 6.2miles. We ran the race together the whole way and my mom never stopped to walk once. We beat the goal time that we had set and my mom finished 4th in her age group. I was so proud of her!! I'm not sure how she feels about it but I know that when I run further than I've ever ran or set a goal and complete it I feel like I can do anything that I set my mind to. I was also proud of my dad who we saw 5 times during the race and each time he would run to my mom and give her encouragement and a high five. Of course my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter were there cheering us on to which always helps.

These are just a few things that are on my mind lately. Gratitude and optimism are some things that I know I will never be perfect at but I am trying.

Thanksgiving Point Half-Marathon

This morning I had the privilege of running the Thanksgiving point half-marathon in the freezing cold 30 degree weather that Utah had to offer on this late April day. Once again the race did not disappoint. I ran my slowest time yet at 2 hrs 5 min and 15 sec but I am okay with it. I was able to run the majority of the race with my best friend from childhood and she was amazing. When I think of people that I would like to complete a race with and wanting them to feel the awesome feeling that you feel to accomplish something like it she is on the top of my list. I am so proud of her for training in the freezing cold wind this winter/spring and powering through this challenging course today. Natasha, when you read this I just want to thank you for being what a friend truly is and I want you to know how amazing I think you are for running this race.

AND...... This is the shirt I sported during my run. Don't mind my lovely love handles in the pic.

YES IT'S True baby # 2 is on the way. Scheduled to arrive September 26th. I know I am crazy to run this race being almost 19 weeks pregnant but I feel good and my doctor gave me permission so I did it. I'm truly amazed at the love Heavenly Father has for us in sending another one of his angels to join our family. I'm nervous to have 2 kids but I know that Jason and I are not alone and have help from him in this most important task. We had our ultrasound on Friday and I will post pics but once again we are going to keep the gender a secret until it arrives. So I end this post saying we are INCREDIBLY BLESSED!!!!

April happenings

We have been patiently waiting for spring/summer to get here and in the mean while we decided to try to have fun inside. For family home evening we took Jaylin swimming which she LOVED!




I'm still running and training for my race. One day when I was stretching after a run Jaylin came over to the wall to stretch with me it was funny.

Deciding to be brave we ventured out into the cold for a nice walk one afternoon.

Aunt McKell and Grandpa let us accompany them to pick out McKell's pig for fair. Jay didn't know what to think.

She loves cooking.. (not quite sure where that gene came from... must be from Jason's Grandma Hermese). Anytime something is in the oven she just watches and waits for it to get done.

We were able to color easter eggs and Jaylin wasn't really sure what to think.

She decided that eating her colored egg might be more enjoyable.

Here she is sporting her easter dress... I think she is adorable.

Jaylin Loves to read!!! She'll bring us books all day long. She even takes her books and tries to read them to Hunter.

I can't believe how much love I have for this little girl. She is learning and growing so fast and sometimes I am worried about teaching her the right things and the example that I am to her. I have to brag about my wonderful husband. He is such a good dad! He is always willing to help me take care of Jaylin when he gets home. He is also the best worker and works so many long hours to provide for our little family. I never hear him complain about work or his church calling and the time that they take. Instead he just presses forward with a positive attitude and leads our family faithfully. As I have been training for my race the past 12 weeks he has made sure I have time to go running. Some Saturdays I have gone on 2 hour runs and he will take care of Jaylin and wait for me. I just love him so much and don't know if anyone else could possibly have as good of a husband. I feel very blessed beyond what I deserve!