A Few of my Favorite books and cds!!! (caution: LONG post)

Ok, so normally I'm only into Anita Stansfield, Twilight, and other romantic books, but along with our Herbalife business came an amazing lady. Our coach Helen Huntsman. This woman has a WHOLE different "library" for me read now on a daily basis. It has turned my outlook on books entirely!

I'll be the first to admit some of the titles of these books I now love, even their covers, I would have passed by in the store or never even thought to have read. (Goes to show that I DO judge a book by it's cover...shame on me) But every book she has reccommended for me to read or listen to, has changed me for life! In just 13 months I've gained a whole new understanding of The Gospel of Jesus Christ, my marriage, my kids, and me.

I hope to one day be able to write about the changes I've gone through in a way that is composed and so you can understand my babbling, but for now I'll just tell you a few of the books I read (or listen to) on a daily basis. I hope one day you'll read them and find the joy in them that I do.

First book I read:

"The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems" By Tracy Hogg

The title says it all! Being a first time mom, I didn't realize how in depth it is to raise a child of your own. Thankfully we have mom's of our own, but this book dug a little deeper since, of course, no child is the same. Jace is a champ eater and sleeper thanks to this book! I can't wait to use the same techniques on Kayden when he gets here! p.s. Yes this is one of my baby gifts to ALL new mommies!

Second book I listened to:

"The Best Live Performances By Connie Podesta"

This woman...I could listen to over and over and learn something new about myself. She focuses a lot on self esteem in her first cd called "Making Choices That Count" that really made me look in the mirror and come alive. I love her cd "Life Would Be Easy If It Weren't For Other People". HAHAHA!!! She gives such powerful lessons that you can only gain by listening, so if you're looking for something new, GET HER!!!

Third book I listened to:

"How To Hug A Teenage Porcupine" By John Lund

Being a step-mom isn't easy. Having Isaac for the summers used to be easy, but as our family grew and HE grew, so did our attitudes and old ways that worked with him. Helen had me listen to this to help mostly with Isaac. Of course, like everything else she gave me, it has really changed our family for the better. Isaac and I have a great relationship now because of this book/cd. My favorite quote is: "You will never carry out the Lord's plan in the Devil's way". WOW.

Fourth book I listened to:

"For All Eternity" By John & Bonnie Lund

This is my new wedding gift. When I listened to this, I felt a HUGE relief! Everyone told me that marriage wasn't all flowers and chocolates and happy days. I knew that. But no one told me what marriage wasn't. And that's the way it should be. It's different for everyone. So to help Ryan and I as a couple, Helen sent this. I LOVE LOVE LOVE their insights!!! Their counsel is priceless and their stories brighten my day. When I'm frustrated with Ryan, or myself, I put them in and in a minute the spirit comes into my soul and whatever I was frustrated at, isn't important anymore. I love my husband more than I ever knew I could and it's because of this book/cd.

Fifth book I read:

"Finding Daylight" By Kimberly Webb

If ever there was a book I would have passed in the store, it would have been this one. Yet it is the first one I cried with. Like soul cried. There are a lot of things I don't quite understand with life and where I'm going. Why things happen the way they do, why prayers seem to take you down a bumpy road and end up being what you really needed. This book seemed to affirm what I thought all along. Heavenly Father sometimes gives you a "wrong" answer so that when you face the right answer, you have the knowledge that no matter how hard it may be, it's still right. The example Kimbery gives is with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's son Matt. At 12 years old he and his dad were returning from an exploring trip on backcountry roads. It goes on:

"We came to a fork and could not remember which road to take. It was late in the day, and they knew darkness would be enveloping them in unfamiliar territory. Seizing a teaching moment, Jeffrey Holland asked his son to pray for direction...Matt replied that he felt strongly they should go to the left. Replying that he felt the same way, his father turned the truck to the left. Ten minutes later, they came to a dead end and returned to take the other route.

"Matt thought for atime and then asked his father why they would get that kind of answer to a prayer. His father replied that with the sun going down, that was undoubtedly the quickest way for the Lord to give them information-in this case, which one was the wrong road. Now, though the other road might not be familiar and could be difficult in places, they could proceed confidently, knowing it was the right one, even in the dark".

Many times I have felt like Matt. Wondering why I would get an answer that led me down the wrong road. But then also like Matt and his father, I have felt the joy and comfort knowing that when I "turn around" and the road is hard, it was in the end the right way to go.

I have so many more that I listen to or read, and maybe one day I'll write more, but for now these are the ones that have been chosen. I'm so thankful...for the things I have learned over the last year. And I'm thankful that Helen puts up with me and Ryan and is ready-and-willing to hand out ANYTHING to make us not "grumpy" to work with. It has been an AMAZING journey...hard sometimes, but amazing in the end.

Take some time to yourself and get one of these books/cds. Give yourself something to laugh at and in the process learn something new.

From Jace's View

I have the cutest son ever! Even when he frustrates me by getting into EVERYTHING (like: Toilet paper, dog food, movies for the 3rd time, his clothes, my make-up, and games that have TONS of little pieces) Need I say more???

The other day he managed to get my camera, turn it on, and take a couple of pictures:





When I looked at them, my first thought was, "Great. Now he can take pictures. What's next?" But then I REALLY looked at them. I realized how different we see the world. Him: a world of BIG things and BIG wonders to be explored and tested and tried. Me:(at least for now) a world where messes never end and the small things tend to make me want to scream sometimes. I'm glad I got this moment to see Jace's view of things. It makes me remember that he won't be small forever and to just laugh through my tears of frustration. The toilet paper doesn't need to be perfectly rolled to use it, the dog will always be fed, the movies won't always be in my OCD order, my son will learn on his own how to dress himself, my make-up can always be replaced, and games will go on being played. Even with knick-knacks for the missing pieces.



I love you son!

A few of our family pictures...

This was my Valentines gift from Ryan:







(Isn't he the best??) I love you Ryan!

A Day with Dad!

Yesterday we got to run errands with Ryan. We went to the bank, post office, and to the dry cleaners. Jace LOVES getting out of the house, and now that it's warm outside we can go to the park as well! Which was our last stop. It was a lot of fun and just what we needed as a family. Time together.

Old Video

So I've been going through old videos from my camera that I haven't labeled or looked at since Jace was born. I've got everything from Jace cooing to his first steps. I couldn't pass up posting one from when he was a month old. Good thing I'm pregnant. I'm SO baby hungry for this:

Nursery Idea

So now that I actually HAVE a nursery, I've been looking for color schemes or themes for it. I thought about doing a blue room with airplanes, but never really settled on it. Then I came across this:



I LOVE this color sheme! The last few weeks I've wanted green for the walls, but never found any good colors. So I searched on the internet at Babies-R-Us and TA DA!!! I'm really excited to put this all together before Kayden gets here!!!