remember why i am...

after my post on friday about the craziness my job entails and the anxiety of the application process, my friend joni said, "I have to rewind sometimes and remember why I am where I am and what it took to get here in order to be grateful for it all" thank you joni for the inspiration and the reminder that i need to be more grateful.

my life is wonderful. i have been so blessed. that's not to say that i haven't had obstacles to overcome and mountains to climb, because i have... but there have been lessons learned and through all of those challenges, i have had the love of an amazing support system cheering me along. Not only love, but also examples of righteous, humble, inteligent and caring individuals.

this new job is a big step for me. and, so amidst all of the crazy toddlers, i need to rewind and remember why i am there and what it took to get me there. as i reflected on why i am where i am i was drawn to the faces of that support system. friends and family who have lifted me up and held my hand along my path, who have embraced me for who i am and given me strength to rise up and be who i need to be.

while reflecting i was reading one of my favorite blogs, and i followed the link she shared to a beautiful talk by president uchtdorf. talks and inspiration like this are another big part of why i am where i am.

the whole talk is wonderful and i would suggest you take the time to read it in it's entirety, but this part really impacted me:

{"May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. But don’t reach beyond your capacity. Don’t set goals beyond your capacity to achieve. Don’t feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don’t compare yourself with others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones. The virtue of your own life will be a light to those who sit in darkness, because you are a living witness of the fullness of the gospel (see D&C 45:28). Wherever you have been planted on this beautiful but often troubled earth of ours, you can be the one to “succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).

My dear sisters, as you live your daily life with all its blessings and challenges, let me assure you that the Lord loves you. He knows you. He listens to your prayers, and He answers those prayers, wherever on this world you may be. He wants you to succeed in this life and in eternity."

click here for the complete talk by President Uchtdorf}

i love how he points out to not reach beyond our capacity. i am so guilty of this, and in return only cause myself more stress and frustration. while i was talking to a friend tonight, we got on the subject of blogs- and how most of the time we put "our best self" out there for the world to see. but, when we read other blogs, we compare our worst to others bests. why do we do this to ourselves? once again, i am so guilty of this. i read these blogs of my amazing friends and incredible strangers who are talented, inspirational and creative... who are super moms and wives, cook like betty crocker, craft like martha and look like a beauty queen while doing it all. i get discouraged and feel crummy about myself... until i remember all of these amazing people are people, just like me. we're all trying to put our best self out there. i need to remember that's what i can do, and all i can do- my best. and that i love reading blogs to be inspired and admire the talent of so many, but not to let it make me feel the need to reach beyond my own personal capacity. and to remember that a lot of these people have had a part in helping me get to the point of where i am.

when it comes down to it all, we are put on this earth to help each other succeed and find happiness. i am so grateful for each of you who have helped me find my place in this world and find my way to where i am.

and for all of you who help me remember how i got here.

mom and dad

happy anniversary!

thanks for getting married. i'm so glad you did. not only do i get to be your daughter, but you gave me two amazing sisters as well. thanks for showing us how to love and respect. i hope you two have a wonderful day! we love you!

friday favorites: auntie amy adventures

i love my nieces. absolutely adore them to pieces. (haha i rhymed.)

i took each of them on an "auntie amy adventure" this week. they chose the journey, i just provided.

kirra wanted to go to the park, so to the park we went. we didn't last too long because it was so hot! but, it was fun and she enjoyed pulling silly faces for the camera. then she chose to go to chic-fil-a to play in their little play area and eat ice cream. which by the way, if you haven't had their soft serve, it is pretty darn tasty.

i picked kena up from school and she chose to go to McDonald's for chicken nuggets. she was so excited to eat them! i had so much fun just watching her be happy and trying to figure out the shapes of each nugget. then she too chose to go to the park. once we were there we hopped on the squirrel and the horse and took a journey to nicaragua- it was a long one!

we had lots of fun on our adventures. these girls make me so happy! they are two of the cutest and best friends a girl could ask for and i'm lucky enough to be their aunt- wow, seriously- lucky me!

would you like a spot of tea?

last week tiff wanted to take me to lunch for my birthday on tuesday. she called to reschedule tuesday morning for wednesday... okay, sure no problem. whenever it is, lunch with the sister is always a good time.

wednesday afternoon we meet up and drive, and drive... i had no idea where we were going. she asked if i had anywhere i wanted to go, and i didn't. so i wondered if she was taking me to carolina for lunch or something. but, we ended up walking into a cute "tea room". i walked in and started looking at the cute decorations they had and trinkets they were selling. after a minute i noticed some friends sitting at another table. my first thought, what a coincidence that they would be here too. then i realized... duh amy, they're here for you too!

so it was a surprise tea party! i had no idea, especially with the tricky reschedule thrown in the loop. it was so much fun. the food was yummy, the room was cute and the company was fabulous. we laughed and chatted, and ate and sipped on our tea with our pinkies up!

thanks tiffi for such a fun birthday surprise, i loved it.

and thanks to all the friends who joined in- it was a great way to celebrate!

to our loving grandparents,

we are so grateful to have you in our lives.

we are so blessed by your love and kindness.

we wish we could be closer to all of you and share this special day together.

we hope you have a great day and remember how much we love and appreciate all you do, and all you are!

{happy grandparents day, we love you!}

arf arf, bow wow wow

arf arf arf

bow wow

ruff ruff ruff arf

translation: happy 3rd birthday ziggie! thanks for being my buddy!

yesterday i took ziggie to celebrate with his uncle chiso, and the packer family. we had a doggone good time. (haha, so i pretend to be funny every once in a while... humor me a little)

(above is zig on the way to his party.... he could barely contain his excitement.)

we made puppy cupcakes- cupcakes for humans, that looked like puppies.

we mixed and stirred...

licked and got messy...

frosted and decorated...

and yes, we do it all in style and on the counter...

the finished product:

and then we ate cupcakes.... this was reef's favorite part.

we wore birthday hats and sang silly songs.

ziggie brought the kids birthday party favors and he got a new toy.

we had a great time and the birthday boy was happy.

another birthday success!

chasin' Bill

4:00am rolled around a week ago today, and we were up and at 'em, on our way to the Packer's house to drop off Ziggie and travel to Cocoa Beach in search of some good waves for our surfer dudes. Thanks to Hurricane Bill the swell was supposed to bring 8-12 foot waves. To say the guys were excited would be quite the understatement.

Jeff and Rand got out there for some fun waves and had a good time. Unfortunately they weren't the dream waves they were hoping for, but they had fun.

Tiff and I hung out with the little munchkins on the beach for a little bit, walked around Ron Jon's, and ate lunch at Subway and a treat at DQ. Reef stole Tiff's ice cream cone... seriously, grabbed it right out of her hands and continued to practically inhale the entire cone. She managed to sneak it away for a quick second and swipe off some of the ice cream so he didn't get brain freeze and sugar over load. He was in heaven with that thing!

We swam in the pool at the hotel and had a great time. It started to rain while we were swimming and the sound of the rain under the water was so relaxing. sounds weird, i know, but it was great. We showered and headed off for some Mexican food... my carne asada was delicious! It was quite an entertaining dinner with a giant cup of horchata splashin across the table, Kirra practically chocked on some enchilada but managed to cough it up on her own... just for it to fly across the table as well. Quite the entertainment our little family makes.

When we came back from dinner Jeff and I sat out on the patio and watched the lightning streak across the sky. The beauty of this world always leaves me awe struck. I am amazed how lightning works... how it can flash across the sky and then spark down to the ground. It's strange to me how something so dangerous can also be so beautiful. The flashes had me completely enthralled in their power and radiance. I wish it was possible to freeze it in a photograph.

It was a lot of fun to get away for a little while.... just relax and enjoy being with the family. It's fun to be able to take advantage of the opportunity we have to travel together. I loved it! It was a great weekend! Thanks for comin' along Packer fam- we love you!

girls just wanna have fun

Last week I was lucky enough to have a fun sleepover with my nieces.

we LOVE sleepovers!

We have so much fun together being goofy. I had talked to the girls earlier in the week and asked them what they wanted to do... Mekena had it all planned out. We were going to eat Angel Hair for dinner (because that's her favorite. not spaghetti, not pasta... angel hair.) play games, color, watch a movie, eat dessert, watch another movie and eat popcorn. Then in the morning we'd eat waffles, watch a movie, and play more games.

We started the night with a trip to Blockbuster and the market. Each girl picked out a movie to rent, their choice of cereal and their choice of treat. Mekena chose "Mickey Mouse: Halloween Fun", Reese's Puffs and chocolate ice cream. Kirra chose "a Bug's Life", Lucky Charms and popsicles. As you can see, the girls thoroughly enjoyed the popsicles and wanted to do a little photo shoot once I pulled out the camera.

We also had some fun with photo booth. (don't mind the no makeup and lack of picture quality... the photos are full of happy memories and that's all that matters to me anyways)

Of course we watched movies and ate popcorn as well.

The next morning the girls had a pillow fight with Uncle Jeffy, we ate some yummy waffles (and cereal), colored, jumped on the couch, and took a trip to the library and read some good Strega nona books.

I love these little girls. We have so much fun together. They are two of my best friends and I am so lucky to be able to have this time to be so close to them.

Thanks Mekena and Kirra for always knowing how to bring a smile to my face and warm my heart. I love you lots and lots!

kindergarten, here she comes

Yesterday was Mekena's very first day of school. ever. in her whole school career- yesterday was the first of the first.

and she loved it!

I drove over to the Packer's house early in the morning to join in the fun. The whole family loaded up and drove to the school.

Mekena was lookin' so cute in her little uniform! We walked to her class, (which coincidentally is the exact same classroom I was in when I worked at that elementary school... what are the odds?! It brought back some fun memories and made me wish I was back in the classroom workin' with the little kids.... someday.) she quickly found her seat and was ready to start learning.

We all said our goodbyes and left... mostly dry eyed. Little Kirra did not want to leave. She wanted to stay and color with Kena and was so sad to have to leave her for the whole day. Those two are best buddies!

The end of the school day came and we loaded back up in the car and we were off. Kirra was so excited to see Mekena! You would've thought they had been separated for years! She couldn't wait to see her little booty back in that empty car seat.

We went straight to Mekenita to see Rand and celebrate with a "first day flan", which was delicious! These little kids are so dang cute! Mekena is an amazing big sister... and it shows by how much her little brother and sister missed her while she was away for a few hours.

Mekena loved her first day! She told me all about a story they read about a little girl who ate too many cupcakes and turned pink. She was a good girl all day so her card stayed on green. Her favorite part of the day was recess, lunch and play time. Today she got to play with the blocks but hopes tomorrow to be able to play in the kitchen. She met lots of new friends, but she said she forgot to ask them their names. She is adorable and will be the greatest little student ever!

{oh little Kena, how can it be that you're already in kindergarten?! i am so lucky to be your aunt. thanks for letting me be part of your special day. i love you past the moon.}

party time

last week we celebrated my sweet nephew's first birthday! We had a great time and it was so fun to see him enjoy his little dump truck we bought him.

Everybody was ready to party and have a good time! Even Chiso wanted to join in on the fun!! Oh wait, not everybody.... the birthday boy was a little sleepy. Should we party with out him?

He could either read our minds or smell the chocolate cake because he woke up just in time!

He fixed up his party hat and was anxiously awaiting to get his hands on some chocolate.

oh.... the yumminess is gettin' closer.

...he's almost got it!

here's uncle jeffy and kirra celebrating with some cupcakes.

I LOVED watching Reef eat his cake- it was one of the best things ever!

thanks little man for letting us be a part of your special day.

we love you!