Life Update

• We have been landscaping our yard for the last couple of weekends. I am completely sick of picking up rocks.
• We should be able to close on our house this Wednesday!! and move in Thursday!!!!!!!!

{This is the most current pic I have of the house, but it is done now!}

• Matt and I just got back from a rained out Youth Conference. We were the goodly parents of 9 teenagers. If you thought it was cold last weekend in the Salt Lake valley, it was really cold up in the Uintahs.
  
• For the three months we lived in the Bluffdale First Ward, we were both called to be on the activities committee, substitute primary teachers, and asked to go to Youth Conference. Plus, as a parting gift, they asked us to speak in sacrament meeting last Sunday. I don't know why they decided to pick on us...Maybe because my dad is the ward clerk...perhaps he had something to do with it.
• Matt and I are running the Ragnar Wasatch Back this weekend. A team of 12 runs from Logan to Park City (188 miles).

Matt

• Matt just graduated from the University of Phoenix with his bachelor degree in Accounting. Yay!!
  
• He was accepted to the Weber State MBA program and will be starting this fall.
• Matt is training for the Ragnar relay race. Matt will be running three legs that equal 18 miles. And he will be doing it in these bad boys:

{these are not Matt's feet, but they are his funny-looking shoes}

Ashley

• I finished up the school year with AMES and I'm not sure what I'll be doing next year.
• I've gained 7 lbs living at my parents house. Good thing I'm moving this week.
• I decided last minute to join Matt's Ragnar team. I will be running a total of 13 miles as runner #4 (hopefully I don't die mid-stride). I haven't run much since the Marathon in September. In fact, I will only have 1 1/2 weeks of training for this weekend. Fortunately, it is one of the easiest legs.
  

Parker

• Basketball was so last month. Now, it's all about baseball.
• Parker LOVES to sing. He sings Hallelujah, ABCs, and his very first original song. It goes like this: mama (high), dada (low), mama (high), dada (low)
• He love the alphabet almost as much as he loves sports. Every time we drive anywhere and he sees building signs, he starts pointing at the letters and saying "A, O, B.." http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo

Inspiration for today

What an inspiration! Any complaint that I've ever had in life seems silly compared to the hardships that Stephanie has and continues to endure day to day.

I love how she said that motherhood and beauty are the same thing. I think, as a woman, I always want to be beautiful. I spend time, money, and energy trying my best to fit the world's definition of beauty and I'm never really satisfied. There is always something I would change about myself if I could, but when I look into Parker's eyes and when I feel his kisses I feel more beauty than any amount of money could buy or any amount of time could produce. I spend way too much time thinking of ways to improve myself, never quite living up to my expectations, but when I tickle Parker and hear his infectious laugh I don't think of inadequacies. I think about how blessed I am. I think about love. I think that is why motherhood is synonymous with beauty. Nothing is more beautiful.

50 special moments in 2009

1. Running my first 5K and almost dying in the process
2. Parker being pretty much the chubbiest baby I've ever seen
3. Parker learning to crawl
4. Successfully implementing cloth diapers
5. Lots and lots of running
   
6. Still not having all our doors properly installed in our home (we've lived here 3 years)
   
7. Going to the zoo with Parker. He didn't care too much, but I had fun.
   
8. Matt losing 36 lbs in 13 weeks and winning the title of biggest loser
   
9. "Vacationing" at the Grand Canyon and by vacationing I mean "boot camp"
10. Sharing a pork salad at cafe rio. . . a lot (did you know they give you a free "kid's quesadilla?)
    
11. Still being just as in love as the day we got married (actually, more in love)
    
12. Taking Parker up in the mountain often, and exposing him to climbing early
13. Did I mention I ran a lot?
    
14. Taking Parker swimming for the first time. He didn't like it at first.
    
15. Running my first half marathon in 2:05 at Bear Lake and NOT almost dying from it. Best Race Ever.
    
16. Matt redpointing his first 5.12
17. Going to the Temple almost but not quite once a month (maybe more like every 2 months)
    
18. Even more rock climbing
19. Piano students stealing Matt's ipod...and my favorite piano book. grrrr
    
20. Hanging with Matt's family in St. George
21. Redpointing a 5.9
    
22. Parker pointing at everything. Literally everything.
23. Doing a little photography on the side
    
24. Matt's promotion to Senior Accountant even though he doesn't have his degree yet (coming this May!)
    
25. Singing a song I wrote to the Young Women while playing the guitar. Scary.
    
26. Climbing with my best friend to the top of the Grand Teton and almost dying in the process
    
27. Reaching the car after we finished the Grand Teton
28. Attempting to "go organic"... ok, it's a small attempt, but I'm still working on it
    
29. Accepting a new job to teach the science fair class at AMES
30. Wishing I hadn't accepted a new job to teach the science fair class at AMES (even though I like it... most of the time)
31. Getting the biggest kisses from my little boy
    
32. Crossing the finish line at the top of Utah Marathon and almost dying in the process
33. Parker learning to walk (0r wobble. However you want to look at it.)
    
34. Parker turning 1 and having his first birthday party with family and friends (what a popular little guy)
35. Sewing my Halloween costume and having the cutest Toy Story family ever
    
36. Being called as the Young Women President just when I thought my life was busy enough
37. Matt being called, the very next week, to be the Executive Secretary even though his life is busier than mine
    
38. Parker swallowing my wedding ring
    
39. The very next week, Parker swells up like a balloon because of a peanut allergy
40. Matt learning and implementing the concept of "barefoot running"
41. Dancing in the kitchen with the cutest kid I know
    
42. Giving up on cooking dinner for practically the whole month of december
    
43. Parker learning to talk "ba ba ba ba..."
44. Matt achieving "Employee of the Year" for the accounting department
    
45. Parker's fear of action figures
    
46. Having the opportunity to participate in the "Sub for Santa" for our ward and feeling the gratitude of others
    
47. Matt's first bouldering competition and taking 5th in his division
    
48. Giving Parker tons of gifts for Christmas and him loving the cheap "hit the ball with a hammer" one I got from walmart for, like, 10 bucks
    
49. Watching Movies in "The New Room"
50. Continuing to live "happily ever after" one day at a time
    

Must Read

Please read this article about Stephanie Nielson who survived a plane crash. She is so inspirational. I first learned about her by reading her blog.

She inspires me to focus on my most important role in this life, which is motherhood. I have a tendency to try to be everything to everybody. I also hate mediocrity, so I try to be the best at everything, which I've learned from experience, is impossible. The more things I try to do, the more mediocre I become at all of them. "Jack of all trades, but master of none."

When I read her blog, I don't care about anything else except for my role as a mother and a wife. When everything is said and done, it doesn't matter how many cool things I have done. When I leave this life, all I will have with my on the other side is my family. So I better do good job of taking care of my family. I love my son and husband so much. They are everything to me.

Sometimes my brain doesn't work

This is for you, Tamara...

So I was pretty stressed out last Sunday. It was "Young Women in Excellence" and I just happen to be the Young Women's President. Fortunately I have great councilors, advisors, and a great secretary. But, nonetheless, I get super stressed about things like this. In fact, all I could dream about the night before the event was about how everything would go wrong. I was tossing and turning, probably muttering things like "Oh, no. We forgot 'Integrity.'"

So one of the things I was in charge of making was tags for each of the values. I tried to make them really cute by gluing the name of the value onto a pretty rectangle of glittery, rainbow scrapbook paper and then gluing that onto a white piece of cardstock folded in half. My husband was laughing at me while I was meticulously cutting and gluing. I'm sure he was thinking something like, "If men were in charge of this, they would just scribble the words on a piece of lined paper, rip it out the notebook and fold it in half so it would sort of stand up."

At the time, I didn't think much of it, but some reason, the paper didn't stick very well.

I went to the church early and started setting up with my whole young women posse and I put the tags out. My secretary, Tamara, mentioned that we needed glue because some of the names were falling off. I get all proud of myself, for being prepared, and pulled out the gluestick. Tamara takes one look at it and starts laughing. "That's chapstick!"

Yes, I tried to glue paper together using chapstick. It worked surprisingly better than you think it would.

Besides the whole using lip moisturizer as an adhesive, the event went really well. Even though I get stressed out because of my responsibilities as the Young Women's President, I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. I was so proud of all of the young women.

Healthy and Happy

What more can you ask for than health and happiness?

I love listening/reading about how Utah compares in various categories. One of the more recent studies concluded that Utah is the happiest state. They interviewed 355,000 people to make this conclusion and it was based on a variety of factors life satisfaction, work quality, healthy behavior, physical health, emotional health, and basic access to necessities like food and shelter. Some contribute this Utah's low unemployment rate which is 4.6% compared to the national rate of 7.6%.

In addition to being the happiest state, Utah is also considered the 2nd healthiest state by another recent study. I know that I've heard the whole "fat mormon" stereotype, but it simply isn't true. In fact, Utah ranks 8th lowest in obesity rates and lowest in childhood obesity rates. Another important contributing factor, believe it or not, is our location by the mountains. It follows the trend that mountain states are more health than states without mountains (in general).

I can't really say that Utah is both healthy and happy because of the large percentage of LDS people living here, but I believe it is a contributing factor. The fact that the LDS church discourages smoking and drinking and encourages its members to have a healthy body makes a huge difference in the lives of many people, leaving them to live healthier, happier lives. "By their fruits, ye shall know them."

Read here for my past post on the past US census (which also, undoubtedly, contributes to the happiness of the people in this state.)

What's the Purpose?

I'm sure everybody asks the question at some point: "What's the purpose of life?" I ask it sometimes, too. I am LDS and I know all the Sunday School answers (get a body, have a family, show faith, live worthy), but I'm more concerned about application than anything else. I mean "get a body," check; "have a family," check; and the other concepts are so abstract.

I, like most people, try to fill my life up with good things and surround myself with good people. I get caught up in achieving good goals and work towards becoming an accomplished person. I try to keep my house clean and stay updated on Parker's scrapbook. I have even found a way to continue working part-time. But how important are these things anyway? They are all good, but are they important.

I think as members of the church, or I should say, members of the human race, we get caught up in these types of things and sometimes forget the all-important and obvious things we should be concerned about. Many LDS people can quote scriptures like there's no tomorrow, but (unfortunately) many have a hard time living the MOST important principle. Christ has taught us that the most important thing is love. Yeah, it's obvious, but it sometimes becomes a lost priority as it gets mixed up in the cares of the world.

I get so depressed when I see people being mean to each other, saying negative comments about each other, and just generally not caring about what happens to other people. We are all in this together and I can't think of a single reason to hate somebody or intentionally hurt them. Not that I'm without fault: I find myself gossiping or saying negative things, giving in to my own selfish pride. I hate that I'm not perfect in this one thing. If I could choose one thing to be perfect in, it would be love or something better than love. Charity. Christ's love.

I guess I'm getting all up on my soap box because I teach Young Women's in my ward and tonight some of the girls were talking bad about each other. I mean, come on. These are your sisters! They need your love. I realize though, that it is not just teenage girls who have this problem.

So I don't really know what I'm trying to say here. I'm just getting some thoughts out. I guess I want to say sorry to those of you who I haven't been completely there for you. I picture myself as this person who others can talk to or someone who drops off thank you letters and cookies, but I am not that person yet. I'm trying. I wish I could be that type of friend. I also want to say thank you to those of you who are that type of friend to me. I also want to say "I love you" to everyone who reads this blog. Not in a creepy sort of way, but sincerely I do. Maybe there are some random people who read this, but I doubt it. For the most part you are my friends and maybe we're not that close, but the truth is I wish we were closer and I care about you and wish the best for all of you.

I guess I'm in this place in my life where I appreciate more all the love I get, even if it is a simple smile or a phone call and I hope I can be that type of loving person too. This may sound cheesy (this whole post probably does), but I think that is the type of thing that Heavenly Father really cares about.

Happy Easter

What a wonderful reminder about the true meaning of Easter.

I thought this article was interesting in regard to this video.

Temple Square

I know, I know...these pictures are a little old, but I thought, "Better late than never." I want you to notice how darn cute Parker is.

The Year of Unstoppable Me

I am a HUGE goal person, so, of course, New Years is an excellent opportunity for me to write resolutions. On Sunday, I was teaching my Young Women how to set S.M.A.R.T goals. That is: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals. It got me thinking about my goals and posting them in public forum. A goal is only a wish if it isn't written down and I thought I might take it a step further by sharing my goals with everyone (I could use all the motivation possible, even if it is harassment by my friends).

PHYSICAL
-run a marathon 9/19
-climb a 5.11a 10/1
-lead a 5.10a 10/1
-do a pull up 10/1
-weigh my ideal weight +/- 5 lbs (depending on fat loss & muscle gain) 2/1
-maintain weight throughout year

MENTAL
-learn 3 new Spanish words a week
-read 25 books this year
-learn 4 piano songs
-learn 4 guitar songs

EMOTIONAL
-Never criticize my appearance
-Say "I love you" every day to Parker and Matt (This is an easy one)

SPIRITUAL
-Read the Book of Mormon 6/1
-Pray 2x a day
-Read scriptures daily (no exceptions)
-Go to the temple once a month

Maybe I'm being a bit ambitions, but I'd rather reach for the stars and land in the trees than reach for the trees and land in the mud.

Utah Rocks: Thoughts on the New US Census

I've heard a lot of people complain about how they don't like Utah. My first thought is, of course, "then live somewhere else." I don't understand these people. It seems logical to me. I do, on the other hand, understand that they might not like some things about Utah (the weather, the traffic, the huge Mormon majority), but they should give credit where credit is due and admit that Utah is pretty cool when it comes to many things.

I just read an article in the Deseret News about Utah's rankings in the new census. The first thing they mention is how Utah is number one in family size and has the lowest marriage age. They contribute this to the LDS emphasis on family and, to a smaller extent, immigrants. "No Surprise Here" is the title of the article and that is how I felt as well. I personally don't want a huge family. I was planning on 4 kids. Now that I'm nine months pregnant, I have downgraded my dream family to 3 kids. I think that one's family size is up to them. I don't care if couples decide on zero or twelve kids (as long as they take care of them!) It really is the other statistics that caught my attention.

Utah is ranked 43rd in percent of people below poverty level. That is pretty darn good, if you ask me.

Utah is ranked 45th in percent of households receiving cash public assistance. Not Bad!

Utah is ranked 10th in percent of housing units that are owner occupied. We all know that owning is, like, a kagillion times better than renting.

Utah is ranked 13th for median household income. Not the highest, but still competitive.

Utah has the LOWEST percentage of children under age 6 with all parents in the work force. This is an important factor in understanding the causation of many of these rankings.

Utah is ranked 6th in percent of people age 25 and older who completed high school. Pretty good in a state where funding education always seems to be a problem.

Utah is ranked 18th in percent of people age 25 and older who received a bachelor's degree. This really isn't that high of a ranking, but I thought it notable.

So why is Utah so awesome? I'll be the first to tell you that correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation, but it stands to reason that many of these great ranking are related to Utah's emphasis on family. As a former educator, I clearly saw the impact that involved parents had on their child's education. Kids need a support system to help them succeed. I believe that all the other ranking are, at least in part, a result of an educated population with a strong emphasis on families.

The government spends A LOT of money on welfare (among other things). I have always thought that the best way to decrease the amount of welfare is improve education. There will always be a need to help those who can not provide for themselves, but unfortunately this is not the case for FAR TOO MANY people on welfare. If only they could learn responsibility, marketable skills, work ethic...things that should be taught in the public school system.

I could go on and on and on with commentary on this or that, but I'm just going to force myself to stop here with my conclusion.

Whether or not you are LDS, you would have to be blind not to see the benefit on society of having strong families. Functional families create strong individuals. Strong individuals create an educated, self-sufficient society...that is something we should all be working towards.

Seriously (Predictably), So Blessed!

The Deseret News has fairly recently developed a new section of their newspaper every Thursday called "The Mormon Times." I thought this was rather presumptuous of them. Do they assume all of their readers are LDS? Well, being LDS, I decided to enjoy it.

During my traditional read-the-newspaper-while-eating-cereal morning routine, I came across an article in the Mormon Times about a blog. But this blog was more than it at first seemed. It is a satire on all "mormon mommy" blogs...blogs like this one. I can see how some people might be easily offended by her satirical posts, but she explains that it is not mean spirited, just observational.

The blog is titled "Seriously, So Blessed." She follows the predictable life of Tiffany/Amber/Megan/Nicole (she might as well add Ashley) and her marriage to Jordan/Jason/Wes/Taylor. They are a young mormon couple. She goes to hair school/teaches 2nd grade and he is in medical/dental/business school. Of course she is in the Young Womens and is pregnant. She loves scrapbooking and.....bragging endlessly about her oh, so perfect life.

Reading her blog made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Yes, I and everyone I know is reading "Twilight" just like Tiffany/Amber/Megan/Nicole (TAMN for short). I do honest think my husband is the best in the world just like TAMN does. I determined my life is fairly predictable.

There are, however, some major differences. I, for one, taught high school NOT second grade and I am 7 months pregnant NOT 3 weeks pregnant. Obviously, we are very different.

So check it out at http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Angel on Earth

I have a very special sister-in-law. She has a very strong testimony of Jesus Christ even though she can't verbally share it. In fact, she doesn't speak at all. She was born with a rare condition where she is missing part of her brain, the corpus callosum, which is responsible for the communication between the two hemispheres of the brain. This has left her innocent and child-like even though she is now 17. She can do few things on her own. She can crawl, eat, mimic a few words, clap, and is learning to wheel around in her wheel chair.

Celeste at the pool

She does enjoy playing games with others. One of her favorites is pushing someone and seeing their exaggerated reactions of spinning out of control or falling down. She loves hearing funny noises like burping. Also, she loves receiving applause in which she reacts with clapping and a loud "Yeah!" and then she expects others to repeat. This cycle of clapping could go on forever if you let it. Sometimes we feel bad stopping because she seems to enjoy it so much.

Celeste playing with her brother, Matt

She also loves some toys -- some pretty unconventional ones. Although she likes Barney and talking stuffed animals like most children she also adores carrying around a bottle of Windex. I don't know why, but there is something about that swishy blue water she enjoys. And most unusually, she loves to carry around a picture of Jesus.

Celeste Playing With the Talking Puppy

I'm not sure that she even recognizes my own face, but she will spend hours a day staring at the face of our Savior. Her parents never pushed this on her. She just found one of her mom's church handbooks and saw a picture of Jesus and ever since she looks for His face everyday. Because she drags it along with her where ever she goes, her parents have found that in order to spare them replacing the picture semi-weekly, they have glued the picture to a piece of wood. This last significantly longer, but they do have backups in case one is lost, which sometimes happens. If Celeste wants her Jesus and can't find it, all heck breaks loose. She starts screaming. She is VERY attached to Jesus. For fun, I sometimes try to pull the picture of Christ away from her (I know I'm cruel), but she just holds tight and pulls it close. She has quite the grip! Sometimes she is just content to hold it, other times she eyes it from all angles, but it is almost always in her possessions or nearby in case she needs it.

Celeste looking at her picture of Jesus Christ

Knowing Celeste has strengthened my testimony of our Savior and of His love for each and everyone of us. Seeing Celeste look at the picture of "Christ in a Red Robe" is enough evidence for me to know that Christ knows us and we, undoubtedly, knew Him before we came to Earth. Like I said, Celeste isn't completely aware of everything around us. She didn't recognize Matt when he came home from his mission, but she recognizes Christ from the pre-mortal life. I'm sure all of us, like her, must have had a very strong bond with our Savior and elder brother. I wish I had those memories, but I must rely on my Faith in Jesus Christ and in His Love and Atonement for us.

Hiking with the Girls

Last Saturday I was in charge of taking the Young Women of my ward on a 5 mile hike. Next year I don't think they will put me in charge...I chose a hike that was a little over 5 miles and beautiful: Lake Blanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I guess it was a little steep too. I didn't really think much of it since, you know, it is hiking and is not supposed to be easy. Well, it was a little too hard for most of the girls. Three girls never made it to the top and the rest of them took 7 hours to finish it. There is no reason it should have taken 7 hours to do that hike unless you stop to rest every 15 minutes, which I guess they did.

I unfortunately didn't go all the way to the top because I had to take a couple of girls down, but (just to brag for a minute) I could have easily made it to the top in less than 7 hours and I am 6 months pregnant. Well, that was a little boost to my ego that even pregnant I am in better shape than most 13 year old girls.

Other than taking too long and the few that had to turn back, we had fun and it was beautiful!!

I should also note that I am married to the best man on Earth. Matt helped me out and came against his will even though he suffered a major mountain biking crash the day before (pictures to come). The girls loved him.