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Today I came back from visiting in California. My Papa had a stroke about seven years ago, so every moment with him is o'so precious (this is on my mom's side of the family). I saw my relatives on my mom's side and learned a lot about my past; where I came from. Now, remember my parents are divorced, so I am going to make this short so no confusion of who is related to who happens :)
I saw my Grandparents, Aunt's, Uncles, and a couple of cousins. Mom and I drove a 12 hour drive and arrived Friday afternoon. There were 12 of us in one house and lets just say mom and I are pretty relieved to be home.
I also saw my Grama Sharon, Great Grandma, Aunt and Uncle, and small cousin. (this is on my dad's side of the family). Are you still with me? :)

My mom's side of the family HATES taking pictures sooo...no pictures were taken there. I did get a picture with my Grama Sharon and small cousin.

Grama Sharon, Me, and Isabel
This day was consisted of Starbucks, lunch, cookies, and crispers. Remember Aunt Sandi and Uncle Jim who sent me to bed with milk and brownies? Grama Sharon is Aunt Sandi's sister. Now do you see where the sweet tooth comes from?? Dad's side of the family is all about sweets! My Nana and I had multiple cookies each! We just could not stop eating them :)

This morning Mom and I left back to Idaho at 2:15 in the morning so it is my bed time! Surprisingly, when Mom and I left that early in the morning we talked because I was WIDE awake. Funny how that happens. What I have learned is that some of the best conversations happen when the rest of the world is sleeping. Mom always helps and is always great to talk to!

I was given a daily devotional book from a friend. I will start posting them on the blog! They are awesome. 

Sweet Dreams :)

5,400 seconds of rest

As I said last night, here is a longer blog about what is going on! :)

My computer was in the shop because it needed some repairs. It just needed a little tune up, but it is back now so I can blog.

This is how the computer tune up started. I figured I can get my computer tuned up because I had the money to. I had my car, I was saving gas from driving my car and not my truck, and I still had money to spare. Now, two weeks later I am back to square one. Not even square one...negative squares. My car situation is terrible. First it over heated so I had to replace the radiator. It was running great! Then on the way to work on Friday it threw a rod in my engine. In other words, my motor is done for. I need a new motor...I am now thousands of dollars less than what I started with, and I will most likely need to start from scratch. There are no motors for my model of car available here, or in any other surrounding state. What luck huh? Depending on how things go I am going to sell it for a parts car and start over again. 

So where does this land in how I think it is a blessing from God? 

Here is what I honestly believe. I have been blessed my entire life when it comes to budgeting and working. I hope this does not come off wrong, but I have always been a smart spender. I see this situation as 

1. A lesson learned on being patient

and

2. Really do the research myself on a car before I buy one. I honestly do think that God blessed me with something great and that the enemy took it away. I trust that God knows what he is doing and that this is all going to work out. It isn't that I am worried, more disappointed. But regardless, I do believe that God works in mysterious ways, and this is a part of life. 

Since this summer so far has been a summer of learning and lessons, I have also been learning other things but in a more positive way. 

1. Do things because you want to do them; not for other people. I can relate to this personally when I workout. I noticed that I have been working out not for myself, but to impress others. Impress them with track, or impress them with how strong I am. I am learning that doing it for others has been holding me back. I need to do it for myself. 

2. Control your emotions, don't let your emotions control you. Don't act out of sadness and don't act out of anger. Control your emotions, your fears, your heart. Sometimes you need to think with your mind and act with your heart. Everyone always says "follow your heart," but sometimes your heart doesn't always think things through. Follow your heart, but let your mind guide you. Your mind has better instincts than you think.

I have Bible readings that I would love to put on but I don't have my Bible with me! A great place to read for a quick bible post is my friend Susanna's blog. She always has great posts about what she has read that day. Here is her link:

 http://susannafleming.blogspot.com/

Have an amazing day! 

Have an amazing week! 

...no matter what happens. 

   

Falling Behind

1. This post is going to be super fast.

2. I am so sorry I have not been able to post a lot! My computer has been in the shop.

3. It has been a hard couple of weeks. 

4. I will post in detail soon!

5. I hope you enjoy my numbered points for a post :) 

Day In and Day Out

The days go by so fast! I have a routine of the same thing...

work, workout, Kelsey, eat, shower, then get ready for the next day. Where are my days going? It is absolutely crazy! 

Before I wind down, here is what I read before bed last night...it blew my mind. I love it.

Matthew 24: ALL OF IT

 All I have to say it read it. It is amazing. It speaks about Jesus foretelling the future and what it will be like before he comes back. 

"Nation will go to war against nation"

"There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world."

"No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows." 

"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat."

The message of Matthew 24 is so powerful.

Our God is a loving God, but he is also a fearful and powerful God as well. 

Here are other versus that touched my heart: 

You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it. Matthew 21: 22

You must love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. Matthew 22: 37

Prayer Requests: 

Please pray for my dad. He is working SSOOO much (today he put in 15 hours) and his throat is super sour. He can't afford to get sick!

One day tucked away for bed, and another is about to wake up for tomorrow :) 

Motivation

Okay, so another week has started and Christi the Nanny is in full mode. To finish up my weekend Dad and I went to a new store near called Barnucopia. Everything is organic and locally produced. It is my new favorite store! 

This totally goes towards my going green resolution. 

This morning I did a workout at 5:15 a.m. and left for work at 7:30. 

I wasn't late...but I adore this clock!

My days are coming and going, but I love every moment of it. I saw Mom, Vanessa, and Rocki this evening before I was with Dad, Gramps, and Granny. 

I found a website that I love for workouts. She started her workout site by blogging (this is my understanding) and is now broadcasting. I am now studying her workouts and getting to work tomorrow morning. 

http://www.jillybeantv.com/

It is time to start winding down (it's only 8:00 and I am already thinking about bed time!) and starting to turn off my mind (biggest challenge EVER). A huge storm is passing through (the largest part has seemed to pass so I have my computer charging) and everything around me is winding down. 

This is a picture of the storm that hit. 

I am not sure how many people read my blog, or how many followers I might have, but I realized that I need to be consistent. Even if it is a small post, I still need to keep updating! :)

Here is to another week of business, life, and enjoyment. Be prepared for what is to go wrong this week, but smile, sing, and enjoy the ride because life only happens once :)

Beautiful Imperfections

Today has been a great day. 

The entire time I have been home it has been great. 

So far I have bought a car (her name is Roxy. She isn't the most beautiful car in the world, but she gets me from  point A to point B with amazing gas mileage! I love her!), started my new job being a nanny, and have been spending time with family and friends.

That is what has been on mind lately; imperfections. My car isn't perfect, my family isn't perfect, life isn't perfect, and I am far from being perfect. I started to think today about the Saturday Market and taking Dad to it. He wanted me to look for avocados at a good price, but didn't see any. That led me to just inviting him to go with me down to the market. One thing is that my parents are divorced. So my time is spread when I am home from living at my grandparents, seeing my mom, and seeing my dad. Along comes visiting my sisters, and making sure that I see everyone before I go back to school. This can be extremely hard at times, also stressful. But as I become older it becomes easier. Going to the Saturday Market with Dad is a way to spend quality time together and do something we would both enjoy. Because my parents were divorced, one of my HUGE goals in life is to have a imperfect, crazy fun, trusting, beautiful family. A family that goes to see Grandma and Grandpa, a family that has games nights, and a family that eats at the table to talk about their day (not sit and watch TV). What I don't want to do is make it sound like I had a terrible life. This is not the case. All of the trials I faced while growing up has lead me to where I am today, and I do not regret one thing. What it does do is motivate me to work for what I want not only for my life, but my families lives. That is waayyy far in the future, but it is just a tangent thought. One positive thing about my parents being divorced, even though many people would say that divorce is all bad, is that I have strong relationships with each of my parents. My Mom is my biggest fan and my Dad is always by my side. I can talk to both of them about anything, and I can be completely honest. The Saturday Market is something that I can take my Mom or Dad to and have a bonding day. Mom says we are already completely bonded, but we always can have more bonding time! :)
So life is imperfect, so what. Life is hard at times, but what I have learned is that tomorrow is coming and no matter how hard we try, life won't change if something is meant to be. We can't take control of other people's problems. What we can do is help everyone, and support people who seek us. We can be there for someone who needs our hand, and stand by their side showing them that they are not abandoned.
I saw a quote the other day and it explained my life, and I am sure a lot of other's peoples lives perfectly. It said:
"Don't judge me because I am committing a different sin from you."
Wow! This spoke to me with so much power. This is because I am not perfect, no where close to it, and neither is anyone else on this world. Every sin is a sin.
Life is full of surprises. Some surprises that we don't want, and some that we absolutely love. Grama Sharon tells me that when life is going smoothly be weary. Dad tells me to always hope for the best, but always expect the worse. Mom tells me to trust in Jesus, and everything will come into place.

With that small window looking into my crazy, busy, active brain of mine...today Granny, Gramps, Dad, and I are getting ready for a BBQ for this evening. The pork ribs are ready to cook on the grill, baked beans are on the stove, and salad is being mixed in the kitchen.
It's a beautiful day for an evening of family.