and I learned first hand what I'm truly capable of
after the busiest and craziest week
I have had thus far in 2013!
A LOT about a quote that I read when we were on our President's Day weekend.
"Life begins where
your comfort zone ends"!
Now that I have my crazy week behind me I can totally see how much
I have truly grown in leaps and bounds
by having to majorly step outside my comfort zone and really take on some tough challenges.
I also learned that no matter how crazy and busy life gets, there is ALWAYS beauty to see each day and simple things to enjoy, if you just take the time to notice them!
The biggest challenge this week was having to perfect a piano solo to be able to perform it at our Stake Conference on Saturday evening April 27th.
It seems silly that I would have taken on this challenge, especially, since I have only been taking piano lessons for 4 months.
However, when the girl called and asked if I would do a musical number, I really couldn't turn her down, because I have been in her shoes before, having to get people to do musical numbers for our meetings. I would have loved to have sang, but I have been dealing with a tickle in my throat and didn't want to risk losing my voice and not being able to sing.
SO, I started practicing on the 16th and have played the song at least 20 times everyday trying to get it without mistakes.
SO, with that said, here is my week in photos with descriptions of our events!
I went from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm with not much stopping at all!
Sunday was a rather WINDY and gloomy day.
However, as the evening came,
we got to enjoy a gorgeous sky and a beautiful sunset!
Oh, it's a welcome thing to be able to see such beauty!
We truly live in a beautiful place for sure!
I loved how the bubbles in the water
looked in the vase that held a single yellow tulip
that was sunshine on our table for the majority of the week!
My life has been SO crazy and busy,
that dusting hasn't been done for awhile.
I noticed that my sweet husband had drawn a heart in the dust. Every time I looked at it throughout the week,
it always made me SMILE!!
I'm truly lucky to be married to someone who puts forth a daily effort to show me and tell me how much he appreciates and adores me. It is something that I NEVER take for granted!
It was a stressful Tuesday morning
as we awoke to another scary sight...
that of my sweet Jade experiencing another Grand Mal seizure!
It wasn't bad enough that he had one, but he had two of them and the second one his ankle was underneath the rim of our parlor stove and as I was getting ready, I heard a loud bang and came out to him having another seizure. When I saw where his legs were I instantly grabbed them and held them so they wouldn't bang anymore, but, unfortunately, damage had been done and he had a burn on his ankle and it was all cut up. AND he also bit the end of his tongue so bad it was all gnarly looking! :-(
Oh the stress and worry of a parent.
Jade was out of it pretty much all day and wasn't aware of life until dinner time.
Here is a sweet note that
Tracy posted on Facebook about our day:
"I
have never been one to let people see my worry or sadness. I usually
mask my worry behind humor and prosaic statements like, "things will
work out... they always do"... and to be honest, I really don't worry
that much because usually things really do work out but today my heart
is truly heavy for my sweet son Jade. He's been having a pretty tough time lately. I have seen a side of him that speaks
to some real inner stress, worry and turmoil as he sees others his age
preparing to launch into life and go out to seek their "fortune"...
whatever that may be. He hasn't said anything but he hasn't needed to.
He just hasn't been himself. In the wee hours of the morning today, he
had a bad seizure and then another. He banged up his ankle pretty bad
and bit his tongue. I am using a vacation day to spend the day with him
along with Kimberly. I sure love that young man!"
making tie-dye shirts with his class at school today,
that I helped him make a shirt
at home that night after he woke up.
I Love the vibrant colors he chose!
It's a brand new day!
...I woke up to happy, healthy kids and hubby!!
...It's SUNNY and beautiful outside!
...There is NO wind and it's supposed to get up to 55 degrees, which means PE kids get to enjoy being outside for activities today!
...As I walked out to my car this morning, with a cup of green smoothie in my hand and the sun shining so brightly on my face, I had an overwhelming sense of gratitude, realizing more than ever how truly and deeply blessed I am and how abundant and rich my life is in all the things that truly matter... Life is SO good!!
WEDNESDAY April 24th was our
Youth Etiquette Dinner that I was in charge of!
(and wouldn't you know it, it was SO hectic getting it all set up and put together that I didn't end up with ONE Single photo!)
It was a success, nonetheless!
Beautifully decorated tables! (thanks to the amazing and talented women that I work with!)Fun learning about table manners, how to properly eat a formal dinner
and how to show respect to each other!
The boys drew a girls name out of a bag and escorted her to a table in the gym.
Delicious dinner of salad, rolls, baked potato with all the fixins', ham and dessert!
Kids had a ball and learned a lot of great thing!
These handouts on being a Gentleman and a Lady were what we gave them at the very end.
OH and they also each got a
Chocolate Dipped Strawberry to enjoy as well!
This old silver colander full of apples
caught my eye
in the lunch line at school today.
It's such a great thing to see FRESH fruit
being served to the young kids!
a beautiful FULL moon!
(Yeah, I know, this photo doesn't do it justice, but, that little white dot, is indeed a full moon and I very much enjoyed it nonetheless!
This cool old building is part of the hair salon.
I LOVE the lichen covered rocks, partial standing wall and old Hotel sign!
WARM SUNSHINE
on both my face AND feet today!
I LOVE THE SUN!
I SPY...
a blooming Geranium along with a handsome face
when I stopped by my hubby's office today!
Amazing how a little splash of color
and lunch with your best friend
can brighten your day.
Simple things bring so much JOY!
Picked up Jade's graduation announcements...
They are SO cool looking and turned out awesome!
Can't wait to get them addressed and in the mail to family and friends!
(here for photos and details of our wonderful evening!)
Saturday morning, I spent ALL day long practicing and practicing my piano solo.
I got the biggest and most exciting surprise EVER!
Tracy came over to church where I was practicing
and he knocked on the window
and informed me
he bought
Depeche Mode Concert tickets for October 2nd...
Los Angeles,
California at the Staples Center!!
OH HAPPY DAY!!!!
I thought we were weren't going to be able to make it to another concert of theirs, but thanks to Tracy, I will get to experience one more thing on my bucket list!
I think by the time the day was over
I had played my song over 60 times!
(I'm pretty sure my family was sick of it!)
but, I pulled out my ruffle shirt, my crystal necklace, my black skirt and tights and got all gussied up to go and play my piano solo!
This was a mirror in one of the rooms of the church that I did a quick practice on the piano before the meeting started.
I loved the message and frame and so I took a quick photo!
DID I do a perfect job on my song...
well to be honest, NO!
I did make some mistakes, but all in all I felt good about it, especially, since I haven't played the piano in front of an audience in over 27 years and I only had less than a week and a half to perfect it!
I can now breathe...
I DID IT!
I accomplished some REALLY hard things this week!I FOUND out what I'm MADE OF!
Life is great...
AND hopefully, I won't have another week
with so many demands all at once!
(at least for awhile)
whom, I LOVE AND ADORE
and who truly are the sunshine and the apples of my life, who are my biggest supports and who are always there to CHEER me on, whatever it is I'm doing!
Life...
It's Awesome, Wonderful and OH so Happy!
