To Wonderful Friends!

"Of all the things which wisdom provides to make us entirely happy,
much the greatest is the possession of friendship."
Epicurus

Over the past few weeks I said "goodbye" to a lot of dear friends. Each goodbye said got harder and harder as the finality of the close of a wonderful chapter of our lives struck me. So many fabulous memories over the past few years, especially while Dan was in Law School. I have made some of my dearest, best friends, and now am having to leave them, not knowing exactly when I'll see them again. It has been hard to say goodbye for Josh too. He keeps asking when he can play with his friends again. I gently tell him that we won't be back for a long time, but that we'll make new friends in Germany; to which he puts on his best pout face and mopes around for a minute, then gets distracted and runs off to something else... I miss my friends so much! I miss the accessibility of having a friend right down the road, someone I know I could just always drop by to see, to talk, to laugh with. True friendship is of the greatest worth to my soul, oh where would I be without such dear friends! Thank you for your friendship.

Friendly People in airports

Here's to the friendly people in airports and on airplanes! As a young mother nothing causes so much stress as to travel with 2 small kids, all of the luggage, car seats, snacks, toys, diapers, etc. by myself. It isn't easy. I really appreciate when kind strangers lend a helping hand; picking up my bag and carrying it for me as I carry my two crying kids, repositioning my luggage and car seats after they topple to the ground from the cart, being willing to sit by the me and the kids with a smile and helping out during the flight, flight attendants who go out of their way to make the kids feel comfortable and have fun, pilots who let Josh rattle off as many questions as he can think of about all the buttons in the cockpit (even letting him go in the cockpit!) or just people who smile at us with genuine interest or entertainment (I'm sure it is a spectacle to behold!) instead of giving me a disapproving look that says "why on earth did you have children, and why did you bring them on the flight I'm going to be on!" I love my kids and I love traveling. It is tough to travel with kids, but the more you do it the better you get, as well as the kids get used to traveling. My kids have become very flexible with different time zones, different housing arrangements, patience in the airport, and getting a hands-on geograpy lesson. So here's to all of those kind strangers that make traveling with kids easier to handle, a big THANKS!!! It really means so much to a young mom to have a little help!

#1 Movies

This week I am grateful for movies! I am currently living in Montgomery, Alabama while my husband is in the Air Force JAG training school for 9 weeks. I have two small children, which I absolutely adore. We haven't been able to find a whole lot to do in Montgomery indoors since it has been unseasonable cold and rainy, so we have watched a lot of movies. I signed up for Blockbuster online, from which we get 3 movies at a time, also I have borrowed movies from the library on base. It has been a great way for me to catch up on movies that I've heard were good but never got a chance to see. I love watching movies! I love escaping from reality for an hour and a half to another world in the movie. I love familiar characters from stories brought to life, characters that make me laugh, make me think, or make me fall in love all over again with my wonderful husband. I love the costumes, the makeup, the music, the story, the passion, the comedy, the inspiration and portrayal of triumph of the human spirit in movies. I love all types or movies, except horror movies, you couldn't pay me to go to a scary movie! My favorite are romantic comedies. One of the best romantic comedies I've seen in the past few months is "When in Rome" that movie is absolutely hilarious! I was crying, my cheeks and tummy hurt, I laughed so hard in the theater! I can't wait for it to come out on DVD!

Come what may, I love it!

The title for my blog and hopefully my life is "Come what may, I love it!" It was inspired by a speech given by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. (can be found at LDS.org) In it he says "Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don’t sing and bells don’t ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result. . . If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness." That is what I hope to aspire to do . . . to look adversity in the eye and still find happiness. Elder Wirthlin suggests four things to do to approach adversity wisely:
The first thing we can do is learn to laugh.
The second thing we can do is seek for the eternal.
The third thing we can do is understand the principle of compensation. The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss.
The fourth thing we can do is put our trust in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

I was deeply moved by this speech and it has helped me a lot in the past turbulent year. I wanted to add one more suggestion to the list, being grateful. So my goal is to post once a week something that I am grateful for. Let's see how long I can make the list!