Lunch Hour Adventure

Today during my lunch hour I picked up the dogs after they were done being groomed to run them home. After I picked them up I realized I didn't have enough gas to get home so I pulled into Sam's Club to fill up my car. As I was pulling in I was prompted to remember to grab the car keys in case the dogs stepped on the lock and locked the car. After pulling up to the gas pump the first thing I did was grab the keys. I was trying to keep Teddy and Benji in the car while I slipped out the door. Benji is notorious for running away and he is a fast little guy. So I am successfully accomplishing this when all of a sudden Lilly (the black & white dog) comes from the backseat, jumps onto the floor, runs under my legs and scrambles out the door. I pretty much threw the other 2 dogs into the passenger seat and jumped out of the car to give chase. She ran across the parking lot over to Wendy's. She went around and under several cars in the drive-thru, around the building, and across the parking lot on the other side. I finally caught her in the Shopko parking lot where they set up their garden center. I can only imagine what all the people who saw me during my mad dash were thinking.

When we got back to the car the other 2 dogs had successfully locked themselves in the car. Had I not been prompted to grab the keys I would have been standing in the Sam's Club parking lot holding Lilly until I could get some help. Wouldn't that have been fun? I think I may have experienced a small fraction of the terror a parent must feel when their child is doing something dangerous and they can do nothing to stop them.

I did successfully deliver the dogs to my Mom at home and headed back to work. As I was driving down main street I was following a truck with some long 2 x 12' boards on it. It moved into the other lane and right after doing so 2 of the boards slid backwards off of the truck. If he had been a few seconds slower in changing lanes they definitely would have hit me. Luckily no one was behind the truck at the time. I'm pretty sure I aged 10 years during my lunch hour today and didn't even succeed in getting anything to eat.

Changed For The Good

Last night I went to the musical "Wicked" in Salt Lake with a group of my incredible family and friends. It was so amazing and I really enjoyed it. I knew nothing about this musical before last night other than it had something to do with the witches from the Wizard of Oz. Towards the end of the musical there is a song the two witches sing together called "For Good". Who knew they were actually friends? I don't recall ever having heard this song before. The lyrics really stuck with me. I have included part of the song below. Then during lunch I was reading my cousin Makenzie's facebook page and she had a quote on there about there being a reason the people in your past didn't make it to your future. It started me thinking again about how I firmly believe that everyone who comes into my life comes into it for a reason. Each person who touches my life teaches me something. Some of those lessons are hard to learn and others have brought me incredible joy and happiness. Even when people have come into my life and later left leaving a trail of tears and heartache I can't regret having known them due to the lessons I learned. So I just wanted to take a minute and thank all of you wonderful and amazing people out there who have come into my life. Because I have known you I have been changed for the good. Thank you for being my friend!

"For Good"

by Stephen Schwartz

I've heard it said

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are led

To those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well, I don't know if I believe that's true

Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit

As it passes a sun

Like a stream that meets a boulder

Halfway through the wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

I have been changed for good

It well may be

That we will never meet again

In this lifetime

So let me say before we part

So much of me

Is made of what I learned from you

You'll be with me

Like a handprint on my heart

And now whatever way our stories end

I know you have re-written mine

By being my friend...

Like a ship blown from its mooring

By a wind off the sea

Like a seed dropped by a skybird

In a distant wood

Who can say if I've been changed for the better?

But because I knew you

I have been changed for good

A Perfect Moment

"This Is A Perfect Moment"

I spent over 2 hours last night walking the reef with my bucket looking for shells and whatever other treasures I might happen upon. As I walked along the waves washed over my feet and the sun begin to set. All I could hear was the sound of the waves hitting the reef and the seagulls as they flew around. I thought to myself that it was a perfect moment. I was at complete peace with myself and the world around me if only for a couple of hours. I had nothing to worry about and nothing more important that I needed to be doing. It was just me and the beautiful world our Heavenly Father created. As I looked at all the incredible creations around me I was in awe of our Heavenly Father and the great vision he must have had when he put our world together. I have 2 favorite places in this world and they couldn't be more different. I love to go to Yellowstone National Park. To me it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I feel an incredible peace sitting around a campfire in the forest. The other is here on the beach in Puerto Penasco. I love to walk the reef looking for shells and sit on the beach by the fire and watch the sun sink into the ocean. I am grateful for the opportunities I have to experience the creations of my Heavenly Father and feel of his presence in the beauty of the world around me.

Blessed In Many Ways

Today as we were driving around Puerto Penasco and I was looking at the conditions that the people live in down here I was forced to reflect on all the many things that I take for granted. It makes me sick to see the darling little kids down here living in such squalor. Some houses are literally made out of cardboard.

I would like to be able to say that I won't take such things as having a bathroom and running water for granted ever again. But I'm sure that as soon as I get back home in my warm and comfortable house that it won't take long for me to forget the things I have seen on this trip. I'm not proud of that, but it's the reality of the situation.

So as I sit here in my comfy trailer I am going to take a few minutes to thank my Heavenly Father for the many things I have been blessed with in my life and when I go to negotiate the price on a souvenir and I don't get as good as deal as I would like I'm going to think about how much more that extra dollar will help them than it will me and I'm going to walk away with a smile. Because I'm blessed that I can afford to even take this vacation let alone buy souvenirs.

I am truly blessed in more ways than I could ever count and I am grateful for those blessings.