my heart

i bid these two little lovers farewell in the morning, as we head up north, to attend a funeral of a dear family friend, who passed away unexpectedly at a young age.

my heart hurts. it has been a long december.

times like these really remind me what is ultimately important in my little world.

makes me want to hold these girls so close. makes me wonder if i'm doing right by them.

makes me want to never lose my temper over lame things like spilled goldfish or their tendency to sneak into my bed every.single.night.

oh how i cherish them.

life is so beautiful & fragile & such a humbling gift. ♥

my "one little word" 2013-edition

every year i pick one little word.
wasn't my idea.
but i love the concept of choosing a word as a theme/goal for the new year.


my word for 2013 is: PEACE.

i want to always
go where the peace is. 

♥ i will experience more peace in my heart by spending quiet time everyday in devotion to my god.

♥ i will cultivate more peace within my home through learning, service, and structure.

♥ i will develop peace within relationships by seeking heavenly help and forgiveness.

♥ i will obtain peace with my body, by accepting who i am & taking sufficient care of myself.

♥ i will surround myself with people, things, work/projects that bring me peace and remind me of truth.


here's to another 365-day trip around the sun!
happy new year everyone! ♥ 

it's christmas eve!

chloe & liv are off with holly & dillon to visit with santa....

putting in their
last minute wishes.♥

merry christmas!

didn't make a christmas card this year-
so i thought i'd shout-out on the blog a
little merry christmas from our hearts to yours!

i love this time of year, that we focus on the savior.
i am so grateful that he was born in such a humble way, lived a perfect life,
& paid the price that we might live forever with those we love.

i'm so thankful for the quiet peace
& true freedom that christ's birth+sacrifice afford me.
i'm thankful for the many blessings i have been given.

i know that jesus lives. i know that he loves me.
all glory be to his name.

wishing you a very merry christmas!
♥-angie [myron, chloe & olivia]

happy lessons

today i had the special opportunity to volunteer at a facility called the randolph training center in coolidge, arizona. it's a campus of cottages where a group of wonderful, special spirits live....friends who experience a variety of physical, emotional & mental needs. all of the residents are 40+ years old & each is in a unique situation. my church's youth group, along with their leaders attended today to spend some one-on-one time with the residents. we sang songs and laughed and shared stories.

i will admit, i was nervous to attend, due to my own insecurities. those insecurities were completely swallowed up in the love i felt for [& from!] these people. and mostly, the love i felt for & from, my savior jesus christ.

i witnessed youth climb out of their shells to reach & give their hearts to these friends. some were unable to talk. some just wanted you to hold their hand. my heart swelled with love, as i watched 12-16 year old teenagers [boys & girls] put their arms around complete strangers, clap, sing, dance, serve, embrace and dedicate their hearts to something greater than themselves.

the couple i was assigned to were 60 year old brother & sister.. they couldn't speak & could barely move & had been in wheelchairs their whole lives. but the pure love of christ exuded from their eyes & smiles & changed something inside of me that i can't quite explain.

i've asked myself.....a few times this week....not neccessarily in doubt, but just pondering....why does god allow hard, difficult things to happen? why must this life be so scary sometimes?

i don't claim to know all the answers. but i believe that god doesn't cause, but merely allows the difficult things to happen, so we can fully appreciate the opposite: joy.

i felt so much joy in my heart today. suddenly, little problems & difficult dilemas i have been facing in my day-to-day life, were dissolved in the perspective that we are not alone on this earth. i felt god's love and presence in that auditorium today. i felt the his spirit confirm to me that he loves ALL his children on this earth, no matter what their circumstance. i know he is profoundly aware of each of us, even at times we perhaps don't feel it.

today i took with me the lesson of love.
love is what it's all about.
i'm so far from being an expert with the whole love thing.
and for that i am grateful i have the savior,
who is the master of love and the healer of my soul. ♥

happy shout-out

this is my mother.
on ET's body.
and this is my mother's facebook profile picture.
why?
because she's 100% hilarious.

i am so blessed to have claudia dixon in my life. 

i've had a particularly challenging week...
had some hard times,
-nothing tragic-

i'm lucky to have the best friends & family ever invented.

my mom was especially saintly in her selfless service to me.
watched my kids, ran my errands, picked up all my slack, checked on me &
was an ever-available shoulder to cry on.

and she makes me laugh.
...like i said, she's hilarious...

love you mama....
thanks for gettin' me through. :)
♥

happy picture

life is better when i count my blessings, not my burdens.
here are numbers one, two and three.
love them so very much. ♥

happy crafting

just busted out my christmas prints to commence in some holiday card making. 
sometimes it pays to be a craft hoarder.

happiness is that + finishing up season two of my latest tv show obsession.
i won't tell you when i started season one.
because that would be slightly embarrassing.

cheers!

happy face

love this baby of mine. ♥

happy messmaker

not sure i'll ever understand why the food storage, or the garbage, or the sink, or the  giant pile of pea gravel in the backyard, or cutting her own hair- is more intriguing to livy than the MASSIVE AMMOUNTS of toys in the hall closet. 

i will probably never understand.

what i do understand is that her free spirit & creative energy are a blessing to our family. i try to keep that in perspective [though i'm not always successful] when i'm up against hurricane-katrina-caliber messes to clean up.

i mean, look at that face....what a little lover. ♥