Mosiah 2:41

...I would desire that ye should consider on the 

blessed and happy state of those that

keep the commandments of God.  For behold, 

they are blessed in all things,

both temporal and spiritual; 

and if they hold out faithful to the end

they are received into heaven,

that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of 

never-ending happiness...

A new favorite.

8 Virtues for a Dominant Life

Look at this article!!

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2014/01/the-best-time-to-plant-a-tree?cid=HPWE010114311&im=true&lang=eng

It's perfect for the New Year, for resolutions to be better and it's just an overall feel good message!  One of my favorite quotes is:

"Even though we might fall short of our finish line, 

just continuing the journey will make us greater than we were before."

Aahh so great :]

Normally I would set aside a list of goals that I'd like to accomplish this year, but when I reflected on my poor success rate in the past and the fact I was having a hard time coming up with goals (other than play bingo at a retirement home), I decided to take a different approach this year.  Going along with my theme for 2014, I have come up with 8 virtues that I want to live by this year.  I am copying Benjamin Franklin a bit, but instead of keeping them for life, I'm going to work on them for a year and then make adjustments. [If you're interested, this guy gives a good explanation of Benji's 13 virtues] 

Hailey's 8 Virtues for a Dominant Life: 

1. Perspective - To avoid getting caught up in the irrational and unimportant by remembering to refocus on the bigger picture.
2. Humor - Live, Laugh, Love. Find the good in the world. 
3. Curiosity - Always progress, find new passions and continue learning. 
4. Sincerity - 100% in everything I say and do.
5. Honesty - To be realistic with myself and honest in my intentions. Separate between wants and needs.
6. Confidence - Unwavering belief in myself, others and God
7. Service - To focus on the needs of others and to ACT. 
8. Tenacity - To be strong spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally

I'm really excited to give this a try. I have a feeling this year is going to bring a lot of changes and I want one of those to be that I have changed into an outstanding human being.  

"You don't need to wait for permission to become the person you were designed to be."

-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Well, He's Off!

There was so much that built up to this day, but it never really seems real until the moment it's actually happening.  This morning we dropped Parker off at the airport and hugged him for the last time for the next two years.

Parker is heading to the MTC in Preston, England so this drop off at the airport was a lot different than Jordan's was at the Provo MTC.  We had time to sit and wait before Parker had to go through security which was good, but prolonging the inevitable didn't help my turning stomach. Once Parker left us and walked through security, I lost it.  My name is Hailey and I am a cry baby.

The thing is that we have a small family.  There are only three of us and then my parents.  When one person is gone it leaves a huge hole. (I'm sure this is the same for a big family too) Not only that, but PK is the baby of the family.  He's the youngest, so thankfully that means this is the last time we have to do this, but it's still so sad knowing that it'll be another 2 years until I get to see him again.

I am going to miss Parker so much.  He's one of my best friends and we've really had a chance to get really close these past few years while Jordan was gone.  With all that aside, Parker is going to DOMINATE his mission! Parker is a great kid and I'm excited to hear how he changes and grows throughout his mission.

Good luck bro.  See you in two.

Squirming, Twirling and Giggling

This video was shown to me back in my Seminary days and I'm so glad I could find it again!  Shout out to YouTube! Holla!  If you have never seen this, you need to.  Stop reading and press play on the video below.

If you have seen this already, you could watch it again if you'd like.  It's that good.  The reason I post this is mostly for what happens at about 06:15 until 07:25. On Sunday Parker and I had the opportunity to teach the 5 year old Primary class.  That little segment of the video just about sums up how Sharing Time was: chaotic but wildly entertaining. haha  Right from the very beginning of Sharing Time we had one girl who was crying and hyperventilating because her mom said, "She has a hard time with change and she really liked her old teachers."  Hmm.  After a lot of convincing and sweet talking she finally calmed down. Once she was calm she ended up sitting on my lap buried in my arms throughout the rest of Sharing Time.  #heartmelted

Alright, this isn't so bad!  I can do this!  Kids like me!  ....right?  

The other kids in our class were constantly bouncing and tapping and poking and making random sound effects WHILE folding their arms so the coined "Okay, fold your arms and listen" phrase didn't do much good to settle them down.  During one song we were supposed to stand up and turn around to sing. Simple, right?  Well between the girl who wouldn't release herself from my lap and another boy, continuing to turn in circles all the way to the front of the class and spin so much that he fell straight onto another boy and then onto a chair, I couldn't keep them all together more or less SINGING.  It was at this moment that I realized straight jackets or velcro bottoms just might be the greatest thing the church will ever invest in.

I guess after awhile of doing this every Sunday you get used to it because some of the other teachers were cool as cucumbers as they leaned over, picked up their wiggly 4 year old to plop them on their seat again, only for this to be repeated another 8 times before the song was over.  I did feel bad for the Sharing Time leaders though because while all of this craziness is happening, they are trying to teach about repenting and being forgiven to a room full of kids not listening to them.  To the teacher's credit, it was a great lesson, very creative and I had to hold back my urge to blurt out the answers to her questions.  #oops

Somehow we made it through Sharing Time and I almost forgot we still had class to go to.  I was already exhausted.  It's been awhile since my babysitting days and I work every day at a law firm ..I haven't been conditioned for that much non-stop energy all at once.   I was excited to get in a smaller group so that we could see what these little 5 year olds knew and what (if anything) Parker and I could teach them.  Parker and I introduced ourselves and then we asked each of them to tell us their names and something about themselves. First up, "My name is Porter and my dad died."

Uhhhhhhh..... Parker and I just sat there for a second.  LUCKILY he just kept talking about other things and acted as if it wasn't a big deal, but rather just a fact of his life.  While he was talking little hands kept shooting into the air and waiving for their turn to talk.  Next up, "My name is Seth and today is my birthday and for my birthday I got a Razer scooter and the Razer scooter is a hot wheels scooter because I love hot wheels and that's what I wanted for my birthday do you want to come see my scooter it's right outside my mom let me ride it to church today and I can't wait until church is out so I can ride my scooter do you want to go see it I'll ride really fast and show you how cool it is."  See picture above.  You'll notice that this sentence was extremely hard to read (and type) due to the lack of punctuation, breathing or any indication of stopping.  These kids are masters when it comes to talking!  Even when they are taking in a breath they are still talking.  It's actually quite amazing.

Does anyone remember the show "Kids Say the Darndest Things" with Bill Cosby?

This kid is a prime example of the talents these little kids have.  They can talk about anything!  I can't imagine what is going on inside of their heads - actually I take that back, I can imagine because they say whatever thought comes in their head no matter the relevancy.  haha I don't know what Parker and I were so worried about, teaching kids is a piece of cake!  Just sit back and let them talk.  Done and done.

Then the next girl was up and after discussing about how her cousin lives in California she said, "my cousin's parents are broke up."     .............................................................

We all think that gossip in the ward comes from Relief Society, but that is not the case.  These little kids are dangerous when equip with secrets.  They pick up on more than we realize and are happy to share it with anyone who will listen. Without skipping a beat, a boy said, "what does broke up mean?"  Oh crap.  Before I had a chance to think of something diplomatic to say another boy started singing, "We are never, ever, ever getting..." and then clamped his hands over his mouth.  Saved by Taylor Swift! haha I couldn't help but laugh at the perfect timing and even though he was embarrassed I had to admit, he was right on.  See, these kids don't miss a beat.  The other kids didn't really know what was going on and so we quickly moved on to start the lesson.  Whew.

We were given Lesson 22: The Atonement.  Again, see picture above.  Man that gif has worked so many times for this!  Basically shows how I feel all the time about kids but...anyways....  How were we to teach these 5 year olds about the Atonement?!  They weren't even baptized yet.   Instead, we decided to focus on Choosing the Right.  I had planned this awesome lesson complete with coloring at the end because we all know coloring is a staple in Primary.  We started the lesson and one kid raised his hand and said in the sweetest most polite voice, "Umm excuse me (I melted), did you bring us treats? Our last teacher always brought treats."  Deer in the headlights.  Crickets.  #oops  We had forgotten the treats! The one easy thing we could have done to make them instantly like us and we failed miserably.  I am not above bribing for love so I'm surprised I didn't think about this!  face --> palm.  I promised them we would bring treats next week and apologized many times to those sad little faces.

Well.... my brilliantly planned out lesson lasted a whopping 15 minutes and I had no idea what else to do.  Parker looked at me and then said, "Who wants to color?!"

Like terrible teachers, those kids colored for the better part of 40 minutes because we didn't have enough planned.  I tried to have them draw instances where they were choosing the right (I know, it was a stretch) but without looking up one girl said, "No, I'm going to draw a rainbow." And so they drew rainbows, whales, bugs, trees, dogs, play houses and whatever else they wanted.  It was adorable.  Parker is super great and had them also drawing on the chalkboard with everyone adding something different to the masterpiece.  He certainly is good with kids!

At the end, the shy girl from the beginning came up and hugged my leg.  For the millionth time in those two hours my heart melted.  These little kids are handfuls, but they sure are cute.  Overall I LOVED it and I'm glad I had that experience.  I went home and passed out on the couch; I was beyond exhausted and could only think of how bad I felt for all of the moms and dads who now had to take those rambunctious kids HOME and entertain them all day, every day.  I have SO much more respect for parents and I consequently learned that my kids are going to be screwed.  Sorry kids! :]

P.S. Oh and sorry little girl who just got used to me being her new teacher.... I won't be there anymore since I was only subbing for my mom.  #heartbreaker #oops

PK Fire

On Sunday I had the opportunity to sit in on Parker's patriarchal blessing.  It has been a LONG time since I received mine and so it was really good to remember how special these blessings are. Sometimes I get caught up feeling as if I'm alone in this world, alone in my decisions, alone in my hopes and desires.  Yes, I do have family and friends to share things with, but they don't have a crystal ball either.  darn it!  I don't like not knowing what the future will hold for me and so it causes me a lot of stress and anxiety to venture out into the unknown.  Well this weekend I remembered that I do have a map for my journey through this earthly life.  I do have insight into my strengths and weaknesses.  I do have promises of blessings upon following the commandments and I do have specific responsibilities or duties to accomplish while here.   All of these things and more are found in my patriarchal blessing. It's pretty amazing to me that I received my blessing when I was 15, and it is STILL accurate and pertinent to my life today.  Also, despite whatever I'm going through at the time (good or bad) something new (but relevant) always seems to come to light when I read it.  Reading my patriarchal blessing helps me keep perspective and realize my potential and worth.

Listening to Parker's was such a blessing for me because it just reiterated a few things that I already knew about him:

• He's such a good kid, guy, man with SUCH a bright future ahead of him
• He's genuinely nice and sweet with a great sense of humor
• He will definitely be making a big impact on the world #watchout    
• AND I'm grateful to have him as my brother

As if there aren't enough awesome things about Parker, it's his birthday on Sunday!!  CELEBRATE!!  If you didn't know already, PK is kind of a big deal.  Love him. :)


Happy Friday!

Reality Check

Every once and awhile I need a good wake up call.  Thankfully this one didn't have to come in the form of a terrible event happening.  Whew.  With my fantastic weekend with my best friends (post to come shortly), many prayers answered after a rough day, Austen's post HERE, Sierra's post HERE and the sun shining outside my window I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and perspective.  Know that feeling?

I'm going to share the video that Sierra posted because it had such an impact on me.  

WARNING: If you're feeling slightly emotional make sure you watch this in private... thankfully I watched it in my office and had a second to regain composure before I had to go back to work, because there were some serious waterfalls happening over here.  

 Side note: I'd like to think that if

I were to watch it under different circumstances

 I wouldn't have been such a cry baby.... hopefully.

We can never know what other people are dealing with in their lives and so this was a great reminder to me to be kind and slow to be annoyed or impatient with people.   To be grateful for what I do have.  To be grateful for my own trials because I know I couldn't deal with some things others have placed in their laps.  I'm grateful for the power each of us has inside of us to overcome any trial we are given, especially with a little help from our best friend. To be grateful for and realize the little things in life that make us TRULY happy. 

You know what, I think it's going to be a good day. :] I hope you can make yours just as great!

Woops

So today is Friday.... and yesterday was Thursday.... which means I missed my Weekly Domination post because I was too lazy to do anything.... fail. I'm already re-thinking my frail commitment of doing this post every week, but I'll give it another go for now.

So without further ado... Here's a list of a few awesome things that dominated my week!

• Mom & Me time on Saturday
• I love my mom. :)  Plus I bought myself my first infinity scarf!!
• Holli and I researching my new singles ward.  
• Conclusion: sexy men, they don't discriminate against us "old folk," really friendly and welcoming, great vibe and fantastic bishopric! Score!
• Jazz v. Heat game with a super cool date! 
• Finally met baby Jensen!
• Katie and Dave sure do know how to make one cute kid
• Bailed on my soccer game so that I could go out to eat with my parentals and PK.  
• Worth it! 
• Had a minor breakdown about my living situation/options. 
• Thank heavens I have the smartest parents on the planet.  My dad listened to me and helped me think logically about the situation.  My mom pegged me real good.  She observed that I was stressing out just like I am now when I was trying to decide if I wanted to go back to school or not. I tend to get caught up in what the 'smart' or 'right' thing to do is, but those things are what everyone else thinks or says is the 'smart' or the 'right' thing to do.  I'm wired a little differently, and I know when I'm not ready for something.  Unfortunately I try to fight it and convince myself to follow what is 'smart' and 'right' and it ends up stressing me out of my mind.  Thankfully I have great friends and family to help me wallow in my indecisiveness.  I'm not ready yet, but one day I will be, and I'm finally content with that. :)

Looking forward to this weekend and next week, but also learning to be happy where I'm at (sitting in my office and happily working).  

P.S. I did research the saying "without further ado" just to make sure I was saying it right.  Look at this golden nugget I found: 

Now you know! 

The Winds of Change

Life has given me a huge change in direction recently.  A change that has taken me through many different emotions, ranging from overjoyed to dreading the next 'adventure' in my life.  A few weeks ago certain events transpired and information was discovered which resulted in my relationship status to be......single.  This was my decision, and one that I really felt was necessary - despite the year and a half investment we both had made.

For the first week or so, straight up anger got me through.  I didn't even allow myself to feel hurt or betrayed because I was so mad.  Honestly, anger makes it so much easier to move on but unfortunately it doesn't last.  Well I guess it could, but in order for me to still be me, I couldn't live with that anger inside of me.  Finally I would start to feel little glimpses of sadness or hurt with the big question of WHY?!  Even though I felt nothing towards him anymore, I still just could not wrap my mind around what happened.  These questions of "Why?!" were not feelings of sadness that he was no longer in my life, but more because I could not understand how it had gotten to that point.

Quickly however, it became very evident that this change was a huge blessing in disguise instead of a tragedy.  Was it really 'wasted time' to spend a year and a half getting to know someone and realizing that it wasn't right?  No way.  I learned a lot from our time together.  I gained new friends and experienced new things with him and his family.  His family taught me a lot by their instant acceptance and kindness towards me.  I learned a lot about my own family dynamic and once again was reminded of how awesome they are and how much I love them.  I figured more out about myself and what I want and need. 

Even if it was a hard way to end, haven't I been praying and fasting for answers on where to go with our relationship ("should I stay or should I go")?  Well I received my answer, and received it in a way that my Heavenly Father knew I would understand.  For that, I am extremely grateful.  More than grateful.

Things in life may not make sense now, or sometimes even ever.  I do know though, that I have been able to gain perspective, have peace of mind, and feel good about whatever trial or blessing that has come into my life when I am actively trying to strengthen my testimony.  When I read my scriptures or other church doctrine/literature, when I make it a conscious effort to pray throughout the day, when I look for ways to serve my family and those around me, when I go to church and engage my mind in what is being taught and when I just smile and be happy - I am able to handle whatever waves come my way. 

I've tried to do it the opposite way.  Where you deal with things that come, do what you can and trudge along.  I'm a reasonable person; grounded and usually can figure out a good way through life.  I tried it by myself, but couldn't do it alone.  Then I turned back and figured out that I can't do it alone, nor do I want to.  It seems like a lot of work to keep up on all the stuff I mentioned earlier, and if I think about all that I could or should be doing, it is more than overwhelming.  But for me it is worth every sleepy prayer, or the 5 minutes to read a conference talk, or to do what ever I can.  Sure I can make excuses that I don't have time to read my scriptures, but I know that's a lie.  I know I am capable of more than excuses.  So I'll do what I can, and try.  When I look at what I've gone through the past few months, I KNOW that I would have never survived the way I have without the help of my best friend, my Heavenly Father.  I have been blessed with certain people in my life who are also keeping in tune to what is important that have been answers to my small prayers and comforts in my life.   I hope to do what they have done for me, to others that may need a little something that only I could give them.  (Whoa how did I get on that tangent?)

ANYWAYS - I am strong and grateful for all that has happened to me in my life.  I look forward to what the future holds for me and it's refreshing to start over.  I'm looking into moving to a new place, I'm hitting up the singles ward like it's no ones bizness, and already have a date lined up for this weekend. (Thanks Kay!)

I decided to blog about this not because I wanted to bash on him (even though I'm sure that would make me feel better for a second), but to help me realize the major blessings that have already come from this, and the blessings that continue to come.  The blessings are there in everything that we are going through, we just have to pray to have the eye to find them.  I'm grateful for all the caring advice, comfort and support I have received from so many people.  Now, I'm off to go start a new chapter in my book.  :)

DOMINATION.

Quote the Quip

"Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line

that we fail to find joy in the journey."

 

 

Well said Pres. Uchtdorf.  Courtesy of his talk "Of Regrets and Resolutions" from the October 2012 general conference.

 

Or how about this golden nugget from the same talk:

 

"I pray that we will not wait until we are ready to die

before we truly learn to live."

 

Also, I learned a new word today!  QUIP.  [1- a clever or witty remark or comment. 2- a sharp, sarcastic remark; a cutting jest. 3- a quibble. 4- an odd or fantastic action or thing.]

 

This little lovely scored me 27 points in Words with Friends.  Booyah!   Then I looked it up to see what the heck it meant.  Honestly I had confused it with the word quiver (the thing you hold arrows in... right?), but I was just excited to be using a Q on a DL tile.  Not the greatest point value, but not too bad when you consider the amount of life points I get from learning a new word!

 

P.S. Look back at the definition of this word.  I think quip will become a statement word in my vocabulary.  "Oh that was so quip!"  Yeah.  Not bad, not bad at all.  Or maybe I'll just consider myself a quip.  According to the definition, I just might be the cookie straight from this cutter.  ....see #4.

 

That is all. Have a good weekend :)

Some good amongst the bad...

Found this video today on this blog.  I'm sharing it because after watching it, it was nice to realize the good things that are happening in this world.  The news generally shows the bad, all the destruction, chaos, and mess this recent natural disaster has thrown at New York.  Which is there, and very real.  I don't want to discount what is happening, and my prayers and thoughts go out to the people that have been effected by this tragedy.  It was good though for me to see that amongst all that bad, there is a lot of good being done. 

Additionally, this was good to also bring me back to the understanding that this is exactly what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is all about.  I am grateful to be apart of this church, and hope that anyone who reads this, and watches the movie, may either gain a better understanding of our core values, or will be reminded of what we believe and what we can do to help.   There is a lot to be said for those that are giving TIME.

Click Here: http://vimeo.com/joshuabrown/hurricanesandy  or watch the video below. 

Please take a second to watch it, you won't regret it.

Oh What a Wonderful Weeekenddd!!

I'm still hurting from this weekend, but man it was a good one!  Friday night PK, J-bird, Jessica Rabbit (inside joke... sorry mom) and I went to dinner then hit the Quarry for some weekend climbing!  I was a little wary when Parker said he wanted to go rock climbing, because the only memories that have ever stuck with me about this activity is PAIN.  The next day I always have a hard time holding on to anything because my weak arm muscles have been destroyed.  However, Parker was dead set on the idea so we went!

Look kids! Spiderman!

Look who we bumped into! What's up Levi!

Almost over the ledge!

Domination.

 

 

Notice how the majority of the pictures are of Parker..... that should give you a good clue as to who had the most endurance.  Me... duh.  Belaying is hard work people! ;)  Well despite being extremely tired afterwards, I did have a lot of fun!  I might even do it again!  I think that this is something that if you did it often enough, you'd have a killer body in no time. 

 

Saturday morning my family and my cousins next door all helped my grandparents out by winterizing their front and back yards.  We filled two trailers full of weeds and dead things!  It was a lot of work, and it did quite a number on my already sore hands, arms and shoulders, but in the end it looked sooo good!  Grandpa was still out there helping where he could, but I'm glad we could do this for him. He's 91 for crying out loud, the guy deserves a break!

 

Sunday brought church with Holli (it only took us 3 tries and a lot of wandering to find a singles ward in Provo), lounging around to rest our poor muscles and a history making tournament of Yahtzee!  In 2 games, we totaled 10 Yahtzees between all of us!  What the?!  The first game no one got a Yahtzee, and by the end dad had 3 Yahtzees in one game! Wow, it was so crazy and so much fun.  Every single time someone would get a Yahtzee we would throw our hands up in the air screaming while the lucky man/woman would dance around the table.  And, would you guess that my Yahztee was with all 4's?  That's right, I'm kind of a big deal. :)

 

 

Daybreak

Guess where I was able to go yesterday?! 

Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temple

This was my first trip to South Jordan and can I just say I was more than impressed.   The Oquirrh Mountain temple always scared me with it's odd name.  Is that terrible of me to say? It's terrible huh? Face into palm. Usually I don't trust things I can't spell.  So I practiced the spelling a few times, got down the pronunciation and I was good to go! :)  First off, this temple is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!  I don't know if you're supposed to pick favorites, but my mom said it was okay, so it's settled, this is my new favorite.  It's on top of a hill, right in Daybreak and is just so aesthetically appealing.  Secondly, Daybreak..... WOW.  I had heard that it was quite fantastic, but no one prepared me for how adorable every single house was.  They were still pretty good sized houses for being so close together, and the whole neighborhood was immaculately clean - decorated in the style I currently can only Pin about.   Seeing all those cute houses made me want my own so badly!  I have to admit, I've been looking at them all morning.  Yeah.... looks like I'll just have to keep pinning my Daybreak house dreams for awhile. :)

I am so grateful that I was able to go to the temple yesterday.  I can't even describe the overwhelming peace, happiness and spirit that I felt the instant I walked through those doors.   I need that peace in my busy life, and I need it more consistently.   I've made an October resolution, that I will go to the temple every Thursday to do Baptisms.  We'll see how it turns out, but I'm really excited to give it a try! 

Here's to a good weekend - and a happy birthday Mr. Mitchell!