The Face of God (Warning: This Gets Churchy)

I think that everyone on occasion feels that their lives kind of catch up with them. Meaning that you feel a little ahead of the pack most days, only to suddenly find yourself at the rear of the pack for what feels like forever. To sum up: Discouragement. Both Jameson and myself have felt like this for quite some time. Maybe it is the immense pressure to be/feel that we CAN do it all (we can't -- mostly laziness). We (meaning Jameson and myself) be an awesome Mom/Dad, homemaker/breadwinner, stay up on current affairs, read all the books we want, see every movie ever made to make sure we get the references on Psych . . . the list goes on. Maybe it is unrealistic expectations that we set for ourselves. Whatever the reason, we both feel a little discouraged.

This is my ultimate conclusion: We need to stop the pity party. For Real. There are so many people facing worse problems that we are (ours are of the 1st world nation variety: eat too much, watch too much TV). That doesn't mean we can't feel a little sorry for ourselves, we just have to get over it and move on. Do the stuff we don't want to, and realize it is okay when we occasionally screw up royally.

I came to this conclusion after we went and watched Les Miserables. There are MANY lessons to be taught by this book, play, movie, musical. However, the one that I want to highlight is the restorative power of faith. If we have faith in God and Jesus Christ, that they exist and love us, we have faith that they can help to change us. We can overcome our demons, whatever they may be, and find peace, hope, and love in this life. We can become better people. While this may not change our circumstances, we can work to change the circumstances of others, and truly love another person.



This video is a tad long, but it is a good medley of the music from the musical. This is from the 25th anniversary video. Nothing against the movie, but the voices are better on this one.

"To love another person is to see the face of God"

I love lots of people in my life that I love dearly, but here are some pictures of the one that probably brings the most sunshine into it:

Me and Bug on a walk

Packer's usual position as he is getting ready to crawl. Either this on flat on his face . . .

Ya Trick! Ya!

Our little English Gentleman getting ready for church

I am not going to recommend a book or movie right here, because I think everyone should read Les Miserables by Victor Hugo or watch the movie! (this means the list will be longer next week)

Hidden Falls/Our Valentine Apocalypse

This week was packed with good stuff. For those of you who are unaware, I am NOT a girl who is opposed in any way to Valentine's Day. I do not call it Singles Awareness Day (except for the first year I heard it, thought it was clever, subsequently overused it and think the phrase is a more than a bit passe now), I don't wear black, and I make sure that my loved ones know this. Is there anything better in the world than celebrating love, in ALL it's forms? I think NOT!! We are super broke, so we didn't really do very much this year -- Jameson got home with the cutest card EVER and we dropped Packer off with my mother in law then tried to go to Jalisco's (closed for Valentines -- I made up a super romantic story in my head involving the elderly couple that owns it and how he made a special dinner and closed the restaurant on Valentines for his cute little wife that works so hard. P.S. I don't know if an elderly couple owns it). So we ended up at La Morelia, and while the food wasn't great, we sat on the same side of the booth and cuddled while we ate. We didn't really say a whole ton, just enjoyed the quiet and one another's company. Then we picked Packer up, put him to bed and played games and read books all night. AWESOME!!

Onward, Saturday was a gorgeous day in Salt Lake. Hazy, but beautifully warm. We decided to go for a little hike. Edit, I decided to go for a hike and dragged my two boys into it.

At least Jameson is pretending to be happy about it . . .

Anyway, we went to Hidden Falls, which, as the website points out is not a hike, but a short stroll. But it is up in the mountains, so I counted it at Packer's first hike. Super fun. Turned into a photo shoot with Packer -- but it also reminded me how much I love the outdoors, and how much I missed being in it this winter. Note to self: take up snow shoeing.

This is my favorite photo of the whole lot. Packer's hat is kind of in the way, but they have the same expression on their face.

In order to get to the falls, you have to cross a log -- Also Packer is wearing his little hiking boots from Jameson's coworker Annette, it was so cute!!

I just loved how his little hand was on the rock. He was so tentative about touching the rock, it was rather sweet.

We are working on photo shopping Jameson's hand out of the photo . . . but he looks like a wicked cool rock climber!

I know that his eyes are closed, but I am so proud that he can sit on his own, on an uneven rock, with a waterfall behind him.

Jameson was just so cute with his little man here the whole trip. He is so good and fun with him.

I kind of look half Asian here, but I'm not.

Good Books to Read: Totally Cliche by Mormon Mommy Writers -- This is a collection of short stories that are a lot of fun. My friend, Jennie Bennett has a story in there. I am so proud of her and the story is great! Another great book is Reasons I Fell for the Fat Funny Friend by Becca Ann -- this is a funny quick read that is really empowering for women who aren't a size 2 or less.

Favorite song right now: Thrift Shop by Macklemore -- this is a cleaned up version, just know that the video is so incredibly funny, but the language is pretty bad. So if you don't mind some f-bombs, look up the official video.

We Have Kept Packer Alive for 7 Months!

I know -- it's a miracle. With how flaky I am and Jameson's frankly blatant disregard of detail, it seems that we would at the very least forget our child at a gas station. Well, we proved you all wrong, and Packer is a happy, well adjusted 7 month old wonder to behold!

Currently, his favorite past times include putting anything but food in his mouth and gumming it. If there isn't a toy nearby, he will sit and clap his hands together (I tried capturing this adorable activity on video, but Packer isn't really into performing). He also loves to get two small toys in his hands and clank them together, but sometimes he misses, and hits his hands instead. He is capable of babbling, but he hasn't really done that since I had laryngitis, and he couldn't have a babbling conversation with me. He is back to some rather loud high pitched screams to get his point across. It is remarkably effective. Especially with his Dad.

As far as our lives are concerned, we have finally eradicated the nasty viruses that have been lurking in every corner of our home. I went to our niece Cloie's birthday party on Saturday (I made this delicious soup -- seriously, the easiest thing to make EVER) and it was our first outing in almost two weeks. Oh the glory of the wind on my face! Jameson has applied to work as an assistant branch manager in Tooele. So if that happens, we might start looking at homes in the Grantsville area starting in about a year. I think he has some pretty good chances of getting the position. He is a little apprehensive about working in such a small town, as there just aren't as many businesses for loans, accounts, and such. Our Relief Society Presidency was changed, but I am still in it. I am really excited to work with all the new ladies, as always, church is a bit of an adventure for me.

Here are the latest photos from our life:

Packer playing the drums with Jameson, poor kid doesn't stand a chance with another instrument.

There was a nice day last week, and I went outside with Packer Man. He was killing it, eating grass and whatnot.

Good Series to Watch: Death Valley -- Reno 911 meets crazy killer vampires, werewolves and zombies. A little dirty, so be forewarned.

Good Book to Read: Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling -- I am trying to get through this. It feels very much like a Harlan Coban novel, and it isn't really gripping me, but I will prevail!!

Influenza - just add a baby and this is our life