Wednesday, April 16, 2008

30 & Loving It!

~ ~ ~ My computer DIED on me, therefore I only have access to a computer when Scott gets home at night, but then I'm getting dinner ready, we go out to play, and/or he needs to use the computer for work...so I haven't had much of a chance to check in on many of my friends blogs or update my own. They have a business center here at the apt, but I can't login to my own blog, nor can I get to many of my friends blogs...??? not cool...anyway, we're looking into getting me another, but it will be awhile, I'll check in when I can. Love ya! ~ ~ ~



OK folks, WARNING, there will be much meandering in this post. I won't promise that it will make a lot of sense, you'll most likely shake your head in confusion and browse to the "Jelly of the Month Club"(see video) page, to find more thought provoking entertainment...You've been warned... :-)

Ok, so I've been 30 years old for almost a year...that would make me closer to 31 than 30 but, it's the last 1-2 years that has lead to me sharing what I'm going to share...

I personally didn't have a hard time with it. I was asked why I didn't mind being 30? The first thing that came out was, "I was young and dumb, now I'm young and wiser." But, I've been thinking a lot about my life lately, and pondering about that statement...

WARNING WARNING WARNING Jelly of the Month Club is sounding better every moment...

I'm not saying that I should go into "The Guinness Book of World Records" for being in the top 10 of most wise people or anything, I'm just comparing myself to myself.

I've thought a lot about when I really started to feel a change. I've been blessed with many amazing "ah-ha" moments, I can't share them all with you..well I could but it would take me months, if not years to write...for I'm long winded...ANYWAY... Comparing myself:

-1st day in the MTC vs. the 1st morning I woke up in 18 months and didn't put my name tag on
-1st time Scott Woolsey asked me to dance vs. 1st dance as Mr. & Mrs Scott Woolsey
-1st day on the job with Alpine School District vs. the 1st day in Louisiana as a homemaker
-1st day at an orphanage in Haiti vs. 1st reluctant step onto the plain to return to the U.S.A

This isn't even the beginning, but I hope it gives you, as the reader, a better idea of what I classify as to being "wiser".

As Scott and I have moved out to Louisiana and have been packing up our "stuff", it's amazing all the memories you find. Yesterday, I was going through all my mission stuff, letters, tapes, pictures, journals and a wonderful scrapbook/s my mother made for me. Many times I lost focus on my project, but it was worth it. I read through letters from my parents/family, and my friends...I even popped in a few cassette tapes to hear voices from the past. It was awesome. It's amazing how much I have forgotten. There were so many small little things that brought back big memories. Seeing the faces of the friends I made in the MTC, in Portugal and in Cabo Verde, (Africa) brought so much love into my heart.

I'm amazed at how much more love I have felt at 30 compared to 20. I've learned that the more I experience life, the more I love, the more I love, the more I feel love from those around me. When I say I feel the love from those around me, it's not necessarily they love they have for me, but the love they feel for what surrounds them; their family, friends, etc. It's awesome!

Anyway, I have much on my mind but I will have mercy upon all of you and sign off now, but I will close with...

- Be more concerned about what God thinks about you than what peple think about you.
- Faith makes things possible not easy.
- Love is a journey, not a destination.
- A positive attitude brings strength, energy and initiative.
- Two things are hard on the heart - running up stairs and running down people.
- You can make more friends with your ears than with your mouth.
- You never saw a fish on the wall with its mouth shut.
- Your success reflects the sacrifice you're willing to make.
- Look for the small miricles and you'll see them everywhere.
- Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.
- Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair.
- Smile, smile, smile...it increases face value.

"You can't define me by my look, but by my spirit, listen, hear it."

Friday, April 4, 2008

Visit to Kanab...

So, I've got a bunch of pictures to share...

The dolls:

Tiny:
So Bean & Kris are Disney fans; so to prepare their little ones Kris will mimic the favorite rides at Disney Land as he lifts the little ones up into the air in his arms. The favorite ones seem to be "Splash Mt." and "Tower of Terror". As creative as Kris is he went a step further the last couple days I was there. He hooked up this dolphin swing-thing to a zip line and ran it across the yard-needless to say she LOVES it!



One of her FAVORITE things to say is "HI" and adds a cute little wave, especially to her new little sister.



Tiny 2 - Oh, the amazing wonder and ahh the inocence of a new born can bring into a persons soul.



While in Kanab, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and some of the local hiking trails.

HOG CANYON:


BUNTING TRAIL: (and my hiking/running partner, I miss him too)


Scott came out to visit for a few days & while he was here we went to Zion to get into the mountains before heading back to the beautiful, flat, wetlands of Louisiana.






I can't get enough of Southern Utah, It's my most favorite place. So when the opportunity came up to go Rhino-Ride'n with Stephanie and her family; I was all up for it. Travel'n the back-hills of Kanab brought back a flood of memories for Steph and I. Needless to say we had a lot of fun. There's noth'n like growing up in a small town surrounded by so much beauty and adventure!






So for Easter we planned to go to the Grand Canyon, well it was closed...the Grand Canyon Closed? What do they put a tarp over it? :-) Anyway, it was a beautiful drive and we picniced anyway.



Signs, Signs, everywhere signs... I get a kick out of the little figures; I'm in no way rebeling against the importance of warning signs, they are indeed important. Non-the-less I find them amusing...even entertaining.



Since I was flying out of S.L.C, I headed north for a couple of days to take care of a few things, the most important: spend an afternoon with my Grandpa Beazer. He's one of the greatest men I've ever known. Now, when I was younger I would have thought this afternoon was the most boring, but in my "mature" years I found it to be very interesting and rewarding. He took me for a drive to see the homes and the areas in which my mother and her siblings grew up. I took some snap-shots of the areas and took some notes on his stories. I sure love that man!!



So, this was my trip to Utah...I've been blessed with many opportunities to travel and see some beautiful places; man made and natural. Yet, no matter where I go, Utah, Southern Utah is the most beautiful & unique of all areas. I know it may sound weird, but it has such an amazing divers beauty to it that it reminds me of Gods great power and His love for His children, you & I. I know God has created all the beauty in this world to remind us each and every day of His love for us, no matter where you may be. It's just that Southern Utah, the sands of Lake Powell the highest peaks of Zion and the deepest canyons of the Grand Canyon is where I feel it the most.

Hait-through the eyes of my own camera - 2003