Light Overcomes Darkness.

"Yes, we will make mistakes.

Yes, we will falter.

But as we seek to increase our love for God and strive to love our neighbor,
the light of the gospel will surround and uplift us. The darkness will surely fade,
because it cannot exist in the presence of light. As we draw near to God,
He will draw near to us. And day by day, the hope of God’s light will
grow within us, “brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”

To all who feel they walk in darkness, I invite you to rely on this certain
promise spoken by the Savior of mankind:
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

You'll find the rest of his message here.

My New Jewlery Box

"One of the greatest influences a person can have in this world is to influence a child. 

Children’s beliefs and self-worth are shaped early in their lives. Everyone within 

the sound of my voice has the power to increase a child’s confidence in himself or 

herself and to increase a child’s faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through 

the words they speak."

Rosmary M. Wixom

Primary General President

Her whole message is found here.

Thank you uncle Blaine for influencing Cade, and helping him start 

to learn how to build. I told Cade I wanted him to make me a jewelry box 

for my Birthday. 

He and Camryn worked hard on this. I love it!

purposefully living each day.

Camryn hand washing dishes.

self evaluation.

What am I doing in my life that I will regret when I die?

What am I not doing in my life that I will regret not doing when I die?

How would I feel about my life if I died tomorrow?

Am I being present in my kids lives?

Am I living intentionally?

Am I doing what God sent me here to do? If not, how can a get there?

Am I as happy as I could be? If not, how can I get there?

inspiring- to say the least.

Incredible words by Natalie Norton found here. 

Seriously, check it out.

AND

a favorite image I took awhile back

Yep. This is one of several going on the wall. :)

filter out the static

Dear Kids: 

Listening to, reading, and following this message will make ALL the difference in your life.

The full and written version of this message is here. 

You will never in a million years regret it if you read it. 

Keep in mind, this was written back in 2006.  Think about how much worse the static has gotten since then, and will continue to get.

Internet World and Percy Jackson

Do you remember the scene in Percy Jackson where the three kids go to the casino/hotel. They are presumably having a great time. The three of them are being served the Lotus flowers that taste so good. They get offered them often, and are able to eat as many as they want. While they are eating them, more and more time goes by without them noticing. 

Suddenly Percy wakes up. He snaps out of it. Percy wakes up from the perceived world he is in, and hears the voice of his Father. He then realizes that the world or state he is in is not real and the flowers they are serving him are keeping him in this state of perceived happiness, distracting him, and keeping him from accomplishing the mission he has to fulfill.

I get on the internet almost every day. For years I have done this. I’ll jump on the internet and suddenly I’m out of reality and into a different world. One that is not real. I look at people’s photography I don’t know. I read about people I’ve never met or have not seen in years, and I look at things I would like to have or wish I could have.  I write and post things I would like people to comment on, and whether or not I get comments affects me, and how I feel about myself.

Photography blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, email, you name it. They are all there at the click of a button. I can get on the internet and begin clicking and clicking until time literally stands still. Before I know it, I’m sucked in. Sucked into something.  Something that lulls me to sleep in a way. When I wake up, most of the time, I have nothing to show for it but wasted time. Wasted time, and discouragement from comparing myself to others. 

Pretty soon, my morning is gone, and my kids stand waiting for attention. 

My real world friends stand waiting for a helping hand and a listening ear.

I wonder if the internet is like that Lotus flower in Percy Jackson.

I wonder if distraction is all it takes to keep us from doing what God wants us to do 

and becoming who God wants us to become.

It’s time for me to snap out of it.

It’s time for me to wake up.

Real life is waiting.

Real people are waiting.

Camryn getting home from school one day.

Success.

I was in the junior high with my seventh grader a while back and read this quote on the glass.

"Success is liking yourself,

liking what you do,

and liking how you do it."

Maya Angelou

I just love this. 

Too often we let others define our success.

These crack me up.
This is what you have to do sometimes when you are
trying to experiment with your photography and your subject is
your baby:).She started squeezing her own cheeks after I was
squeezing them to try and get her to look ;).

 

Be yourself.

I was in Hobby Lobby the other day and saw a wall sign that said this:

"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken."

 This saying is the greatest! 

We all have our own strengths and personalities.

We all have things we are great at and others we are not so great at. 

It helps me remember that I should be sharing the strengths I have, 

instead of trying to BE someone else.

GRANDMA.

I had the chance to visit my grandma over Christmas break. She is an incredible person.

Her life has not always been easy, but she has always continued to smile.

This video and these images are a treasure to me and will be to generations to come.

Dear Grandma:

When I was young, I loved when you would make us your homemade wheat pancakes.

I felt loved when she would rock me in your big overstuffed chair.

I am so grateful that for years you would spend so much time either making or picking out a gift for every single grandchild.

It was so fun to see when I walked in your house that there were still pictures of your grandchildren

displayed EVERYWHERE.

I love you so much and I am so thankful that you raised my mom, who has been such

a blessing in my life and my children's lives. 

I love the power of STORY.
In this short video Grandma is telling a story about my grandpa, whom she loved so much.
Thank you so much to my amazing and talented uncle Wayne Wilson for the music he created and
allows me to use for my videos.