My new business venture!

Around Thanksgiving time, Meredith invited me to her spa to introduce a new product that she started to sell.  She said, "I have over 5000 products in my warehouse and I have never seen such fast results as I have with L'dara.  The picture here is of Morgan, a gal who served with Meredith's sister in Alabama.  Morgan was getting married and had a skin issue that she had spend 1000s of dollars on it nothing was working.  

Enter Meredith.  With 30 days, Morgan looked like this:

There were countless pictures of Meredith's clients and others on the L'dara website that impressed me.  I thought a lot about joining Meredith's team throughout December and made my final decision on December 31st, just a few hours before we rang in 2016.  

I am not a sales person by nature, but I do know quality products!  I  am just a few weeks into using the L'dara product myself and I'm LOVING the results on me. Here's to a successful launch!

A Blast from Dave's Past!

Last week, I received a private message on Facebook from a gal I had never met.  She explained she was a friend of Dave's from high school and that she had wanted to reach out to some friends who were part of great memories.  I asked Dave if he recognized her name and he did.  Minutes later, she sent me this picture:

...and so the trip down memory lane began!
Dave spent much of the night reconnecting with friends in this picture and enjoying the laughs of their times together.  

Say CHEEEEEESE!

 A few days before Christmas, our annual fondue dinner with the returned sisters from the Zürich Switzerland Mission was canceled due to horrible weather.  We chose to reschedule for January. 

We met at our home at 6:30pm.  Kate, Deniece, and Marianne's families attended.  We ate yummy food and enjoyed even better conversation (if that is even possible).  I love that my family can annually experience a little taste of the food and culture from a country that I deeply love.  

Where The Wild Things Are!

 Austin was recently invited to a birthday party for a friend's little nephew.  The theme was "Where The Wild Things Are" and therefore, they planned to have animals brought in for the kids to interact with in their home.  The Bracken's sent me these pictures of Austin.  So cute!

Just a little #selfie I found on my phone that I didn't take. 

Sweet Taylor!

Another Brace Face in the family

 I picked up Jaxson from school at 11:00 and headed to Dr. Arnold for Jaxson to get his braces.  He was a little nervous.  Jax took pictures throughout the process to send to me and Dave.  Dave reported that he almost wrecked when he saw the following picture:

Still my handsome son!

Another "Disneyland trip" on a child's mouth.

Yes, it is worth it.

My 2016 Theme

Choosing a word or a theme to live by during the course of a year has deeply impacted different aspects of my life.  Since choosing the word, "embrace" in 2010, I have quit wishing different phases away and have literally embraced life's phases with my heart.  And that has brought me enormous happiness.  A few years ago, I chose the word, "forgiveness", inspired to mend my own heart after having felt (and been) victimized.  It was by far one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life, but the pay-off has allowed me to partake of indescribable spiritual blessings and healing.  I will forever be grateful to my father for encouraging me to walk this road.

About 2 months ago, I had my 2016 all picked out, ready to go.  I had my powerful word, fearless in every way:  #bold.  I was so excited to explore the word and see how it could affect my life.

And then I heard a talk in church that caused me to reflect deeply, to analyze and ponder what I want more than anything for me and for my family.  Not just want, but something my family and I need!  In that moment on the hard, cold seats toward the back the gym, I knew that "bold" would be put on the back burner for a time so I could focus on what was spoken to my heart during a talk in church one Sunday.

And so my "word" for 2016 will be: 

 

 My family needs this.  I need it.  For 2016 and beyond, the phrase, "Christ is the center of our home" will drive the things we do and don't do in our home.

During a recent self-reflection, I realized that one truth I know to be real is that it is the little things that bring great success/reward or great failure over time. This simple concept has been proven over and over again for me during my life in the areas of finance, weight gain/loss, time management, and spiritual growth/decline.

One thing I have started to do with my 2 older children is to have a 15 minute study of either the scriptures or a conference talk before I leave for work each morning.  We are LOVING it already!  Both Jaxson and Taylor arrive at the table with such great attitudes each morning as we dive into the day's theme.  Dave has been sick since New Year's and just said to me this morning that he will be joining us in the morning or reading with the younger two children.  I feel that my older children need something different than the younger ones right now. Therefore, we will study this way until inspired differently.

Yelling.  Dave is a yeller.  Jaxson totally is too.  Austin it.  I yell as well, because nobody moves until I get mad and yell. :) SERIOUSLY!  We all hate it.  Especially me.  We don't yell all of the time, but it seems that in order to get the children's attention, we revert to yelling.  Obviously, a Christ-centered home uses other methods to communicate so we are exploring those now as a family.  The effects have been already positive.  Our home has been more peaceful. We will continue to improve in this area.

I am excited to focus on the things that really, REALLY matter this year so I can plant the seeds in my children's hearts to help their testimonies grow.   

Happy New Year 2016!

 We set our alarms for 4:30am, arose at 4:45 and were out the door by 5:15am en route to Las Vegas for New Year's Day at Brandon's house.  Dave wanted to leave early so he could feel he spent New Year's Day anywhere but in a car.  LOL!  Agreed!

Since we left so early and avoided traffic, we made amazing travel time.  As we approached Hoover Dam, I mentioned to Dave that we ought to stop there since it was 9:10am and nobody was on the road.  He agreed and the adventure began.  

Hoover Dam is impressive and powerful.  Our children were in awe of the bridge and the dam.  We took lots of pictures and simply enjoyed gazing on the majesty of it all.