happy tribute

today the world lost a wonderful man, a hero of mine & a very special person...
my sweet grandpa dent. 

my heart is broken and aching in a very unfamiliar way, and today i've been grieving.

there is such happiness and peace that comes from knowing that he is in a beautiful, wonderful place - reunited with family and friends.

that inspires me to honor his legacy as i finish my work on this earth.

he will be in my heart always. 

til we meet again,
gramps....i love you so much.♥

happy twins

liv and i both chose red plaid outfits for the day, without the other person even knowing it. :) *great minds think alike, style.*

she thought it was very, very neat that "we'd be twins!"

we were even more twins than we thought...because nearly every picture we snapped to document the occasion, looked just about like this one. :)

happy surprise

one of my very favorite things about chloe is that she is easily delighted.

i surprised her with a set of cheapy unicorn earrings for picture day this morning &
it was as if i gave her a real unicorn. *she flipped

simple pleasures. ♥

happy vision

i love having a vision board.

to remind me of my goals
& most importants. 

i started a new one today.

it lives in my room &
makes me happy. 

past vision boards
here
here &
here

happy prayer

"god bless us to do those small & simple things that need to be done by our hands and do them with a cheerful heart." -marjorie pay hinckley

happy owls

added a couple new sweeties to my collection.
can you guess which one myron & the girls named mr. sparkletubs?

happy promptings

{baby me, circa 1983}

i had an experience today,
as i was sitting in the doctors office waiting room,
that really reminded me how human we all are.

and by that, i mean,
everyone, no matter how they may seem or act,
or what choices they make,
or how they portray themselves or percieve the world around them,

is a person,
with feelings.

a person with expiriences.
and a set of circumstances and past defining moments
that have made them who they are
& have shaped their belief system.

this reminder brought feelings of times
i have certainly felt judged for my life choices & beliefs...
times i have felt belittled and betrayed...hurt and mistreated. 
times when i felt completely misunderstood/misrepresented.
times i felt out of control and disappointed.

it also brought memories of times i have wronged and hurt others.
times i have let pride get in the way of people.
times i have let fear rule my love & faith. 
experiences where i totally didn't handle things right,
simply because: i am human.

we are all human.

and i think, for the most part,
we all do the best we can with what we've got.

we, as humans, tend to put each other inside boxes to protect ourselves.
and sometimes it's to protect ourselves from things the other person doesn't even know exsists.

i don't believe the person who says they don't judge anyone.
you do. we all do.
we are human.
 
we all have stuff.

my struggle is different than yours.
maybe my struggle conflicts with yours.
maybe you don't know about my struggle, and i don't know about yours.

i'm grateful for that prompting today,
during a quiet moment of peace in the doctor's office,
that encouraged compassion in the face of confusion,
love in the face of conflict,
and charity, being, the pure love of christ. 

i can preach all this & tell you with confidence-
that i definitely do not & will not always succeed at remembering this advice.

but i promise to "demand of myself improvement" &
try to break down boxes that i have built around people -

and seek to love and build
the best i can, with what i have.
♥