God's NOT Dead

We watched the movie "God's Not Dead" recently and I loved it. Dramatic examples of why we need God in our lives, but still very true and poignant and fascinating.

What I took away from it is that while maybe I can't scientifically prove that God exists, neither can anyone else prove that He does not. There are so many things that science cannot explain and more things that are discovered every year. The scope of the universe is amazing and to me, the most logical explanation for why things are the way they are is because there is a God.

Also, that God allows free will. He cannot stop bad things from happening without also happening good things. Just because bad things happen doesn't mean there isn't a God - in fact, to me it helps to prove an existence of God who loves us and allows us to choose.

One of those choices we are given is whether or not we will believe in God. I have chosen to believe in Him and follow Him the best way that I can. If another person chooses not to follow God, I am sad for them, but cannot and will not force them to change. It is their choice - a choice given to them BY God. Amazing, isn't it?

If you haven't seen "God's Not Dead", I recommend it. Of course there were times when I wanted to tell the characters "And there is MORE!" but it was a beautiful story in the end as many different people learned a bit about God and His importance.

If you, or anyone you know, have questions about God - you can visit mormon.org or even ask me! I'd love to share with you some of the things I know about our loving Heavenly Father. Not that I know a lot, but I'll share what I do know. :)

Lots of love to you!

Hannalyn Sings

From the title of this post, I'm sure you'd hope for a movie. Unfortunately I didn't realize that I wasn't filming when I took the first of these pictures so missed out. But she is still cute, anyway! When Daniel saw these he asked if Hannalyn was singing or eating the mic. I said yes. She is.

Hannalyn loves singing and music. She definitely takes after both of us in that way and I love it! We sing all the time - probably more than talking together. Hannalyn's favorites are Itsy Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know It, and Round and Round the Garden. I love singing with her all the time and watching her pick up this microphone and know exactly what to do with it (even without being shown) was hilarious and wonderful.

In other news, Hannalyn is solidly in 18 month clothes though I have pulled out her winter 24 month clothes so she has a chance to wear them before she grows for summer time. It amazes me that for how much she eats she is still so tiny. I guess it's because she has a TON of energy and is always on the move. Tiny and feisty. That's my girl. :)

Time

Uhm... Who decided that January could go that fast? Certainly not me. I would like a second go, please! Not because I want to go through the dark and ugly cold again or the stress. I do want more time, though.

However, that is not how life goes. We have to do the best we can with the time we've got. And sitting around wishing for more time is the perfect way to waste time. So I need to be proactive about making sure that I know how many hours are in the day and using them the best way I can.

Overall, January has been a very good month. We have been successful in everything that we have begun and enjoyed spending time together and with family. I feel like the month just started, though. It's really crazy that the older I get the faster time goes. I really noticed it this month especially. Here is to catching up and finishing the month strong.

And staying warm, too.

Living the Dream

I had someone tell me the other day, "You're really living your dream, aren't you?"

I kind of laughed and said "Yeah, sort of" while through my head runs thoughts of all the stress and imperfections that happen every day and wishes and desires that do not happen.

Later that night as I was putting Hannalyn to bed, I realized that I was perfectly happy. I was so grateful for the one-on-one time I was having with my baby girl. I feel so blessed to be able to still hold and rock my kid to sleep every night. It is the best bonding time. We have our own schedule and do our own things. We make a great pair, she and I. We complement each other really well and have a great life. I was so grateful at that time for all of this time I've gotten to spend just with her - to get to know the beautiful person that Hannalyn is.

I was still sad though, thinking about the children that I want to have and the theater that seems to be in a rut and the house that I want to buy but probably can't afford yet.

It was a similar conversation with a different person the next night that made me realize - again - how blessed I am. While I was talking with this person about how much I love the time I get every day with Hannalyn and how she wished she could have had that time with all her kids and not just her oldest, my thoughts started to wander. I realized that I don't have to have three or more children to be a mom - I AM a mom. Now, that may sound silly, but for some reason I have always been so focused on the number of children I wanted that I stopped appreciating the one that I already have. Does that make more sense?

It took me back to that question of living my dream. Five years ago, when Daniel and I got married (WHAT?!), if you had asked me what my dream was I would have said to be a mom and someday have a performing arts theater/group/thing for kids. I realized: I have all of those things! I AM a mom and I HAVE a performing arts group - TaVaci! It all clicked and it hit me that I am living my dream.

It kind of freaked me out for a minute - 25 years old and doing what I always wanted and imagined myself doing? What do I do with the rest of my life? But I calmed down pretty quickly and just got excited. There are not many people in the world who can say that they are exactly where they want to be in life. I am one of those few. I feel so blessed with my family and with the business endeavors we've been prompted to take. I love being a mom to Hannalyn and we're going to keep trying to have a baby, but that doesn't mean that I'm not already a mom now. Being with Hannalyn is perfect and fulfilling and having only one kid doesn't make me any less of a mother than those with more. It just makes me a different one. I like being different.

You know, life really is good. God is good. He takes good care of us and I am so grateful for Him.

I love Daniel & Hannalyn. I love where I am in life. 

:)

2016 so far

Hello! Welcome to 2016. There have been so many posts that I've been meaning to write and haven't that I have lost track and decided to just start where I am.

2016 has been passing in a blur. My calendar was blissfully empty for about 12 hours. So it goes.

The last week has been crazy. I've been teaching and learning, organizing and cleaning, packing and unpacking. We set up a studio upstairs at my parent's house for TaVaci and made lots of copies of lots of lesson plans. Hannalyn and I have been doing lots of reading and singing. She loves animals and books and dancing. She has recently started carrying around a pencil and pad of paper and writing wherever she goes. It's hilarious and adorable.

On this 8th day of January I am dog paddling and keeping my head above water as best as possible. I'm trying to remember everything that I am supposed to do over the next couple of weeks so that I can get it done on time. I am working on being better organized this year and not procrastinating. I'm not sure how I'm doing so far...but there are lots more weeks this year to improve, right?

I hope your new year is going well. Ours is so far. We're hoping it keeps looking up. :)

Happy 2016. Love to you.

Book Review: LOST KING

My auntie Heather is the author of this fantastic book. I just have to mention that because I'm proud. ;)

Lost King is the second story featuring Omar Zagouri - a man of many talents, specifically the finding of and restoring to their correct owners ancient artifacts. In Finding Sheba, we followed Omar through the life of the Queen of Sheba. In Lost King, we read about the she-pharaoh Hatshepsut. Both books are fascinating. This thriller was fast-paced and really 'thrilling'. It had great characters and a wonderful story line that led to a really exciting conclusion. Moore masterfully web a tale that had me itching to take up the story again and again. I loved reading this book.

Find LOST KING on Amazon and Goodreads