The Gift of Today

For the last couple of weeks I have really been reflecting on the gift of each day. Two Monday's ago a family I know lost their 17-year-old son suddenly and tragically as a victim in a violent crime and since that day I have found myself much more pensive and thoughtful about each day that we are given and how we use that gift.

This young man, Eric, made an obvious impact on so many lives. As news that he was in critical condition after being shot by burglers in his home reached the community, friends and family began to flock together seeking ways to comfort and be there for one another.

When it became obvious that Eric would not recover from this incident, and as his family made the decision to give life to others by donating his organs, the circle of supporters grew even larger and a memorial was organized for and attended by hundreds of youth from church and school who felt the impact of this tragedy.

Then, when Eric's life on this earth was no more, visitation and funeral services brought hundreds and hundreds of people who in some way had felt the impact of this one life.

The funeral was a powerful experience. Despite the intensely overwhelming sadness of losing such an amazing young man, the Lord's Spirit was even more intense and love and hope wound their way into the hearts of everyone there.

The eulogy delivered by his older brother was beautiful, the scriptures shared by his sister who was also at the house during the shooting were powerful, the excerpts of letters written by family members about Eric and read by his oldest sister were joyful, and the message of Christ's love and the power of His Atonement for each of us that was shared by his bishop (and my dad) brought hope to all.

Eric's swim coach also took part in the funeral service and shared the quote, "you can count the seeds in an apple, but you can't count the apples that will come from one seed in that apple."

And so, I have been reflecting. There is no way to tell the impact that each of us can have on any given day. We all interact with countless numbers of individuals, in a variety of experiences and situations. Some people we know, some we don't. Some situations are positive and happy experiences, while others are trials from which we must grow.

The question I ask myself as I think about the obvious impact that this one young man had at the age of 17 on such a diverse range of people from varying age groups, ethnicities, races, and religions is this:

What am I doing today to make a difference?

And with this question in my mind and in my heart, I hope that I will continue to be more aware of "the gift of today."

Spring is all about new life!

I love Spring!

Winter is coming to an end, warmer days are enjoyable, the sun stays out longer, people are outdoors and wave or smile (or both) when they see you, blades of green grass start to appear, the birds are chirping, flowers bloom,windows are open, there is a smell of lemony freshness that comes with hurculean efforts of cleaning the house, the world just feels happy. Of course, I also love that I still have Spring Break (see previous posts) - a benefit you get when you stay in school ALL your life!

Spring just brings a new sense of life to the world.

This is also the time of year when we celebrate Easter and remember the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave all of us a new life by conquering death for each of us. What a gift! One for which I am truly grateful.

This spring is extra special with a new little life, my nephew Hudson, joining my family.

(7 lbs 6 oz & 20 inches long with LOTS of hair and a killer grip!)

My seester and I had the awesome opportunity to actually be in the delivery room when The Little Guy was born. It was incredible! I couldn't help it, I cried when he was born. How could I not! And by cry I mean big tears swelling up in my eyes... a huge lump in the throat that I couldn't swallow... I was overwhelmed! Then HE cried and I just joined in!

My sis-in-law was a ROCK STAR... surriously!



It was amazing to see my brother in the role of husband, coach, supporter, and new dad. I can't believe that this guy is MY "baby" brother!

Not only did I get to be there when The Little Guy was born, but his Big Sis stayed with us through the weekend and had Brian and I laughing a lot!






The Madster always makes you feel like you are important ("Helwooo!"as she runs at you full speed to hug you), she's helpful ("Come on, Kirsten. Kirsten, come on!" with her hand out to help you get up so you can play or dance), she's thoughtful ("Want some?" as she offers you the string cheese where she has taken a bite from the middle), she's concerned about others ("You happy?"), and she's loving ("I WUV YOU!" full voice with a big squeeze around the neck).





I think Mike and D are doing a great job raising Maddy and I know that she will help them teach these lessons to "Baby Hudson".



She will be a GREAT big sister!

I know because I'm the expert on being the Big Sis!!!

Welcome to our family, Baby Hudson!

The Inevitable End of Spring Break

- EDITED: I forgot to include Friday night (Sorry D, my brain might be scrambled after the first day back to school.) So if you read this earlier than scroll down to read more about Day 5 -

The end of any break always comes too soon! Despite the inevitable ending of Spring Break, I am just grateful for the simple fact that I had a break from work with time to reconnect to my home environment, opportunities to do good, and the chance to sleep in!

The end of Spring Break came quickly and I neglected to wrap-up the week with the same gusto that I started with (tell me that happens to other people too!).

Anyway, I concluded my week off with...

• A trip to the podiatrist, complete with shot and anti-inflammatory pills to try and get a flared up nerve in my foot back under control. There was no denying that I had to seek outside help when I woke up on Thursday morning and couldn't walk... Seriously. I crawled to the bathroom... For reals. It made me realize that #1 I don't like crawling and that #2 I need to dust the baseboards in the hallway. After sitting on some ice for awhile (my foot, that is), I was able to get to the doctor for the aforementioned treatment - which DOES.NOT.FEEL.GOOD. I mean, there is this huge needle moving in and out of the nerve that is screaming and even with some good ol' numbing medicine, it still freaking hurts when it starts, but... I am grateful that I could get in and that the shot did it's job. Otherwise I could have been crawling a lot longer... and who knows what else I would have seen at ground level!
  
  
  
• Rested, iced my foot (see previous bullet filled with sarcasm), took anti-inflammatory medicine, rested, iced my foot (see previous bullet filled with sarcasm. Felt sorry for myself for just a minute because I.HAD.SO.MUCH.TO.DO. and Spring Break is only one week long (yeah, I know, for some that week doesn't exist anymore. Sorry). I did finally get in some good t.v. time but I'd like to state for the record that I was really working hard to avoid that all week. It was only because of this unseen event that the t.v. came on. Really. I'm serious.
  
  
  
• I did get the chance to have a great visit with my KLK-Clack friends (they know who they are!) They are also my awesome visiting teachers who came over, shared a great spiritual message with me, and hung out to chat for awhile knowing that B was off to training and I was "pitifully" alone (well, except for the cat and she's ALWAYS around, even when I wish she'd go lay down somewhere else). You girls are AWESOME!
  
  
  
• Had dinner with my sis who shared how excited, amazed, shocked the NICU moms and staff were with all of the scrapbook goodies I had donated.THAT made my day - in spite of the crawling, the shot, the medicine, the dusty baseboards.
  
  
  
• Friday rolled around (Sake's Alive, it's Day 5!) and I ran some errands in the morning. Well, didn't really run (see bullet #1), it was more like hobbled, but hey - it wasn't crawling! Then I went to see "The Bounty Hunter" with Laura and Karin, who after visiting me (see bullet #3) on Thursday in my shot-induced state of pity, decided that my Spring Break could not end on that note. Told ya' they are awesome!
  
  
  
• Got home from the movies and B was home from his week long training. Boy, I missed that boy! Of course, the cat was a pest as always, but that's how things roll in our little family!
  
  
  
• Friday night was a blast with Mike, D, and the Madster. Grabbing Mexican food and delicious queso for dinner was a perk, but hanging out afterwards was even more fun. We headed back to my house and had a few fun-filled rounds of hunting for eggs! Even though the eggs were empty (to start with), Maddy was hilarious "hiding" them (in plain sight) and then hunting for them herself. I was cracking up (Get it, "cracking" up! Bwahaha!). Of course no evening at my house is complete without repeated readings of whatever book(s) have caught Maddy's attention, so we visited and revisited No, David! and David Gets in Trouble by David Shannon a few times and had to discuss "wha happent" with each illustration. I love being an aunt!
  
  

See, it really was a GREAT break!

Hard to believe but... it's Day 3!

Day #3 of my Spring Break was another beautiful day and I have a pretty good "I Did-It!" List of events from the day...

1. Finished the final sort of my scrapbook stash - organized it, labeled it, boxed it to go with Jenny tomorrow. It feels GREAT to help out in some small way to such a great activity as the scrapbook group for the moms who have babies in the NICU at Children's Medical!
   
   
2. Put some more books into the hands of young readers and added to their personal libraries. It has been so much fun, actually it has been gratifying, to pass along books from my personal collection of children's lit and share my passion for reading with so many great families.
   
   
3. Organized and cleaned the middle bedroom so that the door can actually stay open when people enter the house - amazing, I know! Also had room to set out the materials to finish a project that I kept moving around because my work table was more like "dump city" - now I know that I can get that journal done!
   
   
4. Power washed the deck and back door - apparently a roosting bird has enjoyed flying over our deck after breakfast/lunch/dinner and left a bit of a mess that needed to be cleaned up. I don't think I'm really a fan of birds - especially when they leave a calling card!
   
   
5. Went on a walk with my seester - BEAUTIFUL DAY for it!
   
   
6. Ate a yummy dinner at Mi Cocina - the goal of eating at home has kind-of been blown this week. BUT... the weekend brings the opportunity to get back on track and have some meals at home.
   
   
7. Oh yeah... did laundry again. I'm really bad at forgetting when I have a load in the dryer and so there are multiple times when after I suddenly remember, I end up having to do a fluff cycle, like today!
   
   
8. No blog surfing today - just didn't have time (the horror!!!).
   
   
9. Talked with B - we have THE BEST conversations. Actually, I think we have THE BEST marriage!
   
   
10. Enjoyed the beauty of the day, the awesome weather, and my great neigborhood.

Spring Break - Day 2

Today's Did-It List...

1. Entertain the Madster while D is at a doctor's appointment. Oh wait, Maddy entertained me with her excitement over a really quick egg hunt I pulled out of the closet and how much she loved playing her own version of checkers: put Elmo, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird on the checkerboard and then stomp the board with your foot so they fall off. Don't forget to throw your head back and laugh hysterically at yourself!
   
   
2. Talk with D while she "shops" my scrapbook supplies - Encourage/force her to take what she wants since I am "exfoliating" my stash of materials - Convince her that I'm not really using them right now so she should use them- Feel a surge of excitement to see the supplies I have purchased in the past going to someone I love!
   
   
3. More laundry - Specifically the big blankets that need extra time to wash and dry. Isn't it nice to know that the laundry is always there, waiting anxiously for attention? Kinda makes me feel special.
   
   
4. Clean the bathrooms - Scratch that, SCRUB the bathrooms - Hands and knees kind of scrub- The kind of clean that happens ...well, on Spring Break!
   
   
5. Pick up the den - The goal is to actually see the coffee table (Random Question: why is it even called a "coffee" table?)
   
   
6. Blog surf - But just for a little bit - Still trying to avoid BIC this week
   
   
7. Have a great phone conversation with LaLaLaLeesa (who never really updates her blog... what, are ya busy or something?!?).
   
   
8. Talk with Karin - Remind her of what a great friend I am because of the awe-some email I sent her today! No seriously, talk to her about books for her kids.
   
   
9. Dinner with JoAnn - I love that even without B, I can go have a great dinner with his mom. She's an AWESOME mother-in-law (or she could be an out-law... if she wanted!).
   
   
10. "Exfoliate" the remainder of my scrapbook stash for the NICU at Children's Medical Center where my seester is an intern. The moms who have babies in the NICU scrapbook each week and the supplies that they have available at the hospital come only through donations.
    
    I can't even imagine (for many reasons) having a baby in NICU - but my friend Sharla can and I think she totally earned ROCK STAR status for the level of strength she had during that time. So, I want to do something to help other moms in this situation and making a donation of scrapbook supplies is something I can do!
    
    
11. Talk with B... talk with B... talk with B!
    
    
12. Stay up too late - It's a tradition - Or maybe a bad habit - Whatever it is, it just happens!