Wildflower Season

I've been trying to make it down south for the last several weeks (wildflower season doesn't last long in Capitol Reef), but things always seemed to come up. Finally I made it down there yesterday. It was a really lovely day, the drive was nice and the canyon was beautiful. On my way into Cohab I passed about 15 people coming out and then...no one I had the whole trail to myself all afternoon. It was really relaxing. Here are my photo's ;)

You'll have to forgive me...I don't get to teach Gospel Doctrine any more and since I really wanted to share this I'm blogging about it ;)

I started reading "The Continuous Atonement" a few weeks ago after it was recommended and subsequently lent to me. It's excellent and I also highly recommend it. The book offers valuable insights about God, Christ and our relationship with them.

Anyway I was reading it today and came across two quotes that I wanted to share. The chapter I'm on is called "After All We Can Do". It talks about the general misunderstanding of that phrase and in particular the word after -as if it were time related. Brad Wilcox shares " I believed I had to do all I possibly could and then grace would kick in--as if it were a finishing touch to all I had to first accomplish alone." He goes on to say that the gift of grace is not limited in time to after all we can do. We receive his help before during and after, it is continuous.

A little later in the chapter he examines the word/concept all in the phrase "after all we can do" and I love what he teaches us...

"In those anxious moments,[when I want to beat myself up for not being better] the greatest comfort I have found is in knowing any effort is pleasing to God even if He and I both know it's not my all or my best. It may be far from an acceptable offering, but God accepts it nonetheless because ultimately He is more concerned with the offerer than the offering."

Easter is always a time of great reflection for me. I am so grateful for the blessing of our Savior's atonement and for the opportunity that we have to strengthen our personal relationship with Him and our Heavenly Father. Happy Easter Everyone!

Adele

So when things get a little crazy and I need some down time I usually find new music. This is a fantastic song with an amazing video. Even if you don't care for the early 60's revival, you should still watch this video! Enjoy.

J. Kirk Richards

I experienced a small miracle on Wednesday night. I was at school attending a lecture for one of my classes and afterwards went to the library to do a little research. I accidental ended up on the wrong floor, the 3rd floor which I've never been too, and happened upon a J. Kirk Richards Exhibit. It’s being shown as part of the "Mormon Scholars in the Humanities" conference going on at UVU. For anyone who doesn't know he's pretty much my favorite LDS artist (right there with Walter Rane of course). I LOVE his art so it was a really neat surprise. There were 10 large pieces, and 6 smaller portraits of Christ(they are quite small, about 3"x 5"). If you have the chance I highly recommend it. It should be up for a few weeks.

His website: http://jkirkrichards.com/

Just two more that I love...

These were not part of the exhibit, but I just love them...

Songs of the Heart

Concourse of Angels

Having some fun with Colby!

By Popular Demand

I'm posting this one for Airie...here's Kaya's priceless cranky face. Check out that snarl! (Kaya's favorite toy is a purple ball of yarn. I got this shot right after Dexter tried to come play with it while Kaya had it.)

Went to Gardner's Village with a group of friends last weekend to attend their Queen of Hearts Event. Did some shopping, enjoyed being serenaded by a Barber Shop Quartet that sang "Some Where Over the Rainbow" to us, ate some chocolate, painted our faces and had a lovely time.

Look Again This is NOT One of My Cats

For anyone that didn't know...we temporarily fostered Dexter, a stray cat, for a about a month. He followed Kaya home one night and was so starved that he was barely managing. We didn't have the heart to turn him away so he stayed with us till we found him a home. He was a sweet, social, playful addition that actually helped Maki and Kaya get along better. A cute college student named Josh answered our add on craigslist and Dexter now has a new home and we're thrilled because the two seemed perfect together. It was a wonderful happy ending kind of story ;)

out with the old and in with the new...

Christmas Eve

We had enchilada's for dinner ;)

The top of the tree...and guess what was at the bottom...

besides the presents what else do we find?

Kaya of course in her favorite spot

-Don't worry that angel looks a lot closer to the candle than she really was ;)

Maki was just trying to settle in for her long winter's nap

Your Laugh For the Day...

Ani For Halloween

This is what I was going for ...


...I think next year I'll dress up as the bass player ;)

A special thank you to Baron for the exact replica of Ani's tattoo ;)

A Year Ago Today...

-phish festival 8 10.31.09 The costume set "exile on main street" Rolling Stones. Amazing music, 40,000 hippies in costume -best Halloween party ever. (at least watch the last minute ;)

Gatitude Retreat

My dear friend Jessica who moved back to Canada a few months ago was in town last weekend. Jess worked as a therapist in my office and also recently became a licenced yoga instructor. While Jess was in town she and her good friend Terri hosted a gratitude retreat that I was invited to. It was a wonderful night of sharing, bonding and recharging. We had a chakra potluck to start then had a series of activities including group discussion, journaling, aroma therapy massage, yoga etc. I already knew half the women invited and really enjoyed getting to know the other half. It was so wonderful to see Jessica and to spend a night with some amazing women. Here are some pics Terri sent us...

left to right: Hailey, Terri, Brynn, Nikki, Jess, Maryann, Kate, Kendra, Me, Brita

It was a beautiful weekend, I know it rained the whole weekend, but I really loved it. On Saturday I was out running errands in the rain when on a whim I took a drive up Provo Canyon. The rain barely stopped as I entered the canyon...it was beautiful. I'm still kicking myself for not having a camera. The fall colors are so much more vivid when it has rained and everything is wet, the earth and tree bark turn dark almost black and the leaves almost look florescent against them. Low clouds dotted the back side of Timp where the hills are covered with deep reds and golds. I drove up above Sundance before turning back and met a herd of wild turkeys. It was a beautiful drive. A bit later in the day I stopped on Center Street in Provo and took a few shots of an apple tree...