My 26th Year

These are posts that I usually leave for my journal. Posts that will bore some and be way too long for others, however, I felt I needed to proclaim my happiness and blessings of the year. So once a year, around my birthday I will give my year in review. What I have learned. Enjoy for those who like novels. Looking back, I am happy to announce that my 26th has been the BEST year of my life and this is why....
1. My marriage. I love who I married. Everyday I feel blessed to be in a stable marriage full of love, communication and respect.
2. Scott. Toddlerhood is magical. Scott has a constant love for us that makes you strive to be the best parent and example each and everyday. I have friends and family that would do anything for kids and my heart hurts for them. It is a privledge to be a mom and I want to be the best mom I can for my kids. They grow up so fast. Stages go too fast. I cherish being with my boys all day.
3. Tyler. Where to begin? We can't begin to explain the blessings he has brought our family. He has taught me to treasure everyday. I don't sweat the small stuff anymore. I laugh about the insignificant things that once worried me. I surround myself with happy people.
4. Our life. I love our condo and location. I used to look forward to living in a house. Not anymore. A park is my backyard, downtown Walnut Creek is a 5 minute walk and we are always close to each other at home. I cherish the simplicity of our life. I don't spend all day cleaning, we aren't financially stressed, life is so easy right now. We get to enjoy doing fun things. We have adventures every week to beautiful places that surround our area.
5. Work. We love our jobs. Danny comes home excited about how he is progressing as a dentist and how much he loves his job. His assistants talk about the excellent clinician he is and I am so very proud of him. It took him 2 years to find practices where he was truly happy, progressing, busy and fulfilled. I am so happy for him. I love my job. I love the friends and kids I coach at Aquabears.
6. Our faith. The details are in the Lords hands. That is comforting, brings peace and hope that I don't know what I would do without. The things that we have gone through as a family this year have drawn us closer to each other and the Lord. Looking back, the year was hard. Probably the hardest year of my life. We have gone on months of sleep deprivation, thought we lost our son, dealt with unethical job situations which all added stress, however, were sustained and uplifted through it all. The Lord knew what our family needed. I thought that the year I got baptized was the best year of my life, than my mission years, than my first year of marriage, but nothing has compared to this year. My 26th year. The year we welcomed a special little guy into our lives and grew in ways that have eternally blessed us. I live in the now and cherish everyday I have with my family. I used to look forward to the future, or what it would be like when... Now I realize that everyday and every situation we are dealt is for our good. Sure, there are tough times, but that doesn't mean that we need to be down or look at the tomorrows as better days. I love Elder Wirthlins talk, "Live in Thanksgiving Daily." He says, "Be grateful. Every day is a new canvas—a new opportunity. Our beloved President Gordon B. Hinckley has said: “My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we ‘accentuate the positive.’ I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort” (Standing for Something [2000], 101). Choice blessings await those who live in thanksgiving daily. I am grateful for this experience of mortality. I am grateful for the gospel and for the life and testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am grateful for my wonderful wife, my dear children and grandchildren. I am grateful for the support and love shown to me by countless friends and members of the Church throughout the world. I am grateful for life and even more grateful for the glorious promise of eternal life to come. Not everyone can be a star quarterback; not everyone can be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company; not everyone can win a gold medal at the Olympics; but everyone—everyone—can live in thanksgiving daily." This realization is what has happened to me this year. I live in thanksgiving. I am grateful for my family and for Tyler's special heart. He has blessed us in ways that no other child would be able to bless us. I am grateful for sweet boy Scott is. I am grateful for my husband, parents, sister, in-laws and friends. I am grateful for life. These realizations have made my 26th year the best year of my life.