the lowdown.

So here are the facts real quick.

1. I love love Sundays. My heart is so full of joy to have a day to just feel the spirit. To meet my family at church. They really are my brothers and sisters and I love them and they lift me up. Every Sunday after church I am filled with new excitement to be a better person. I leave with new goals and resolve. I especially have tender feelings today on this memorial weekend for those men and women who "have more than self their country loved." How blessed I feel to live in this great nation, with all of the opportunities it provides.

2. I have been spending ALOT of time taking my photography business to the next level. I am learning new skills like crazy, getting new equipment, finding the products that I want to use like albums etc., and working on my new website. So there will be some upcoming changes. I also am so sore today from taking pictures all day yesterday. I had a family photo shoot in the morning (by the way I used the new chair and I can't wait to show how awesome it worked), and than I had a wedding all afternoon and evening. My legs and back are sore from all the weird contorting I do and the up and down. ha. Plus my hands and forearms are killing me from using this new heavy lens I have. How pitiful am I?

3. I am totally getting into essential oils. More info about that in the future. I am a part of a new company who's goal it is to have the purest essential oils for sale on the market and to mainstream them with modern medicine. The company doesn't officially launch until Sept. I just got my first set of oils in the mail this past week and all of us are hooked. The kids love them as much as I do. Currently we are all fighting over the peppermint. It is amazing! I have been using it for the pain in my arms and it is heavenly. So anyway, more on that as well later.

4. School is out in a week and I can't wait! I can't wait to not have so many scheduled things. No more sports, plays, dance, violin lessons etc. We have lots of fun plans for the summer. I can't wait to see my family. Oh I have the most fun sisters on earth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OK, my brothers aren't that bad either.

5. I just found out that the prophet announced that they are going to build a temple in phoenix. The location exactly hasn't been told. I AM SO EXCITED!! This will be the 3rd new one in the area that they are planning to build. The temple is a little piece of heaven on earth. Yes, heaven will be closer! smile.

6. I plan on doing serious scrapbooking. I don't have any of our pictures from the past probably 4 years where the kids can see them, and that is one our favorite things to do is sit and look through pictures together (the kids and I). I have been so busy with so many other things. But I am going to carve out time.

7. The women's support group that i started back in January has been life changing for me. My intention initially was to help others that were on my mind and heart. Turns out that it has probably helped me the most. We all came with big goals, and than realized after we initially failed at trying to do it all at once that we needed to break it all down into the very smallest of baby steps. Literally. I thought it wouldn't make a difference, but it has!!! So amazing. I am accomplishing things that I never thought possible, like going to bed earlier, reading scriptures and praying with Dave in the morning, exercising at home, eating healthy. I have had increased discipline that I always struggle with. It has come so slowly the ability to overcome my weaknesses that I have only realized recently just how far I have come. I have been more consistently getting closer to having that balance I am always wanting. I am such a crazy person, it is really hard to harness all that craziness for good. ha.

I said this would be real quick. oops. I need to get ready for church and I just realized that I was planning on having baby shower invitations ready to pass out in church today for my friend Amy. OK. so one last thought that I have hanging up next to me at my desk. It is in regards to how to receive answers to your prayers. Who doesn't want to know the answer to that! But are you ready for it? Because like everything of worth and value it takes work and that all annoying discipline that I struggle with. (what can I say the flesh is weak! ha) So are you ready for the answer? Of course you are.

"Receiving personal revelation is not a passive process. We must repent, ask through prayer, be obedient, search the scriptures, fast, think pure thoughts, and develop a spirit of reverence."

-Elder Lionel Kendrick

Those things take time. We can't be lazy if we want answers to our prayers. We can't be lazy if we want to be close to Heavenly Father. We can't be lazy if we want all he has to offer us. It takes some initiative. We never appreciate things that are easy to get. We need to take the initiative, to work for it. Heavenly Father promises us all that he has, and in case you didn't know that is quite a bit. Are we really going to give it all up out of laziness!!! NOT I!!! ARe you with me???

Tomorrow, get ready to be inspired! I am going to tell you about the coolest book I found that is so motivating to really live life to the fullest! For now peace out!