Thanks to you....

Nicole, Vanessa, Colleen, me, Samantha, (the rest of the table was getting their salads!!  Hi Deborah in the back ground!)

This was the RS broad cast.  These cup cakes were DIVINE!!  V got the recipes!  

We have been in Florida for 10 years now.  I would never have guessed that we would stay here as long as we have.  No way.  At times I really miss being close to  our families in Utah.  I am sad about all of the events and fun times we are missing by being so far away from them.    

I am a girl that LOVES change.  I seek after it.  So yes, I would love to be getting the heck out of here.  Out of this house.  Out of Florida.....to anywhere.  (Preferably closer to UT.)  

But then I really stop and think about what I am saying, or thinking.....AM I.....Crazy??  I do love it here.  Our home is fine....it is sufficient for our needs, which is of course what matters.  I am surrounded by wonderful women whom I respect, admire, and enjoy.  I would be a lost lonely sole without them.  There would not be a single reason to stay put right where we are  (except for the fact that the kids can ride to school on their bikes, and we are on a safe street w/out a bunch of freaks, we did just find a pretty sweet piano teacher (not as amazing as you Liz!) and the fact that Kevin's job is still here, and we have that little company we started also......) if it weren't for them.

Our family has been very blessed by our associations....Thanks for being the best part of Florida!!!  These pictures are just a few of these ladies.....I am missing so many....all my girls from GNO, Church friends, my Visiting Teaching partner, my girls I get to visit, running buddies, but this is a start....

When I look at my list of wonderful women in my life.....it is impossible not to notice all of our many differences, strengths and weaknesses.  You inspire me.

(Excerpt from Diapers and Divinity Blog - she says it much better than I could)

  Yep, you may do lots of things better than I do, and I’m so glad for your family that you do.  There are things I do differently, and I know they bless my family.  I teach them, love them, lead them in the ways God made me able.  There’s so much we have in common, all the mothers in the world and me:  we are daughters of God, we love and care for His children, and we have His help.  And yet, we all do it so differently because we have different gifts.  This is why President Monson’s recent counsel to stop judging each other and comparing ourselves is so important. (Remember that the process of “judging” always places us either above or below others.)  I believe our Heavenly Father would rather that we honor one another’s gifts and draw strength from them.  I believe He wants us to ask about, discover, and develop our own gifts so that we can reach our potential and bless others to our fullest capacity, especially our families.  I believe He already knows we do some things “worse” than others do and still sees the beauty in our individuality. I believe He loves us and wants us to do a better job of loving ourselves and loving each other.

“God, who oversees the interlacings of galaxies, stars, and worlds, asks us to confess His hand in our personal lives, too. Have we not been reassured about the fall of one sparrow and that the very hairs of our heads are numbered?  God is in the details! Just as the Lord knows all of His vast creations, He also knows and loves each in any crowd—indeed, He knows and loves each and all of mankind!”  ~ Elder Neal A. Maxwel

Tina and I - this was for Shelly's T-party baby shower....forever ago!

(not to brag but......I won best hat prize!!!...you can see why :)

This is Vanessa.  Displaying the amazing actress that she is.

(See...no sound!  How do I turn that on?)

I love you ladies....

p.s. we are not going anywhere. 

no plans to leave our house, or FL any time in the near or remote future.

p.s.s.  If this post makes it sounds like I hang out tons with any of these girls I don't.  It is just that I know that they are available at any moment if I need them to be.  It is a support system that is comfortable just to have in place.  It is the little unexpected emails or phone call.  The once a month GNO, the occasional birthday lunches or just a random compliment that boosts me up.  It is a shared personal experience that makes me feel trusted and needed.  It's Just enough.