A Brand New Year

What a great time to be alive. During 2008 I spent much of my time studying natural laws and how they work in our lives. One of these laws is the Law of Polarity. This law states that Everything has an opposite. A bad situation is equally good. Therefore we can choose to focus on the good in EVERYTHING. Also the word equally is important. There is no denying that the forces of evil are strong among us. But if we look to the Law of Polarity we can see that the forces of good have to be just as strong among us. With that in mind I choose to focus on the forces of good.

The Church-meaning the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints- has just come out with a new program for the youth including it's own website. It is great for youth, parents of youth and anyone that knows youth. Check it out. www.abrandnewyear.lds.org

Merry Christmas

It's the most wonderful time of the year. This Christmas season has been truly joyful as we have been surrounded by good friends and wonderful family members. Jeshua has gotten really excited over all the lights and was our reminder every evening to turn on ours. Every one else has had fun baking cookies and partying.

What a great way to end the year with a reminder of our Savior and His great love for us. May we remember Him through out the coming year and live our lives in a manner that reflects His light.

Thanks Grandma for the yummy Christmas Eve dinner and the wonderful traditions and memories we share with you and Grandpa.

Christmas morning-presents here we come.

10 Secrets for a Happy Marriage

Last Friday night Antonio and I were asked to come to the Relief Society enrichment meeting and give a class on how to cultivate love and friendship in marriage. I based my talk on 10 things I have come to call 10 secrets of a happy marriage. I want to share them so here goes.

1. Kiss each other often

2. Be each others best friend

3. Practice tolerance

4. Forgive

5. Avoid criticism

6. Put God first

7. Find time to spend alone with each other

8. See your spouse with eternal eyes

9. Be a place of refuge for your spouse

10. Love always

It has been wonderful reflecting on this theme for the last 6 weeks. I love my husband very much and the last 13+ years have been the best so far.

Summer vacation

Here are some pictures of a trip we took this summer to Utah.

Singing in the rain

The kids had so much fun playing in this down pour. There was a lot of thunder thus the plugging of the ears.

Matthew's Birthday

Matthew and his birthday cake, Sept. 19, 2008.

I'm In A Hurry

I heard the song on the radio the other day with the words "I'm in a hurry to get things done so I rush and rush until life's no fun." And that described perfectly my life lately. I feel like I jump out of bed and say "ready, set, go!" and I am off. When I fall into bed at night I am so exhausted I can't see straight. Last week I rebelled. I decided that I have a had enough rushing and I re-evaluated my life goals and what I was really here to accomplish. I feel much better, thus I am posting. I planned on posting weekly, but when school, swim team, and acting classes started, Oh and I was selling tamales every Saturday to help pay for some of these things, life became too much.

Now I am back. I don't have any new pictures this post, but thought I would catch you all up on our life. Matthew turned 1 on Friday. He is such a cutie. I think he is the most spoiled baby on the block with everyone around to care for him, but we love him. He is taking a few steps, but with all the arms to carry him around why walk.

Linda, Gabby and Becca are swimming for Desert Storm swim team. It is good exercise for them everyday. Next month is their first swim meet. Olympics here we come.

Becca and Andrea are in Hollywood kids. They are taking musical theater classes and preparing for Alladin Jr.

On Mondays we all attend Pillar of Light Academy. The older 3 are studying Shakespear with a focus on King Lear. In the spring they will participate in a play. The middle 3 are in a class of Love of Learners and they are taking a trip around the world and learning about different countries, the younger 3 spend the day at Grandma's. I took them one week, but they prefer to play at Grandma's . I am taking a 5 pillars tutorial. We read classics, give speeches, and write. It all goes hand in hand with the Thomas Jefferson Education Model.

Antonio is still working his 2 jobs. We enjoy him when he is home.