A new life

I'm sitting in my hotel room, looking out at the Pacific Ocean. The sun shines brightly on its surface, people stroll across the breach; a kite resembling a prehistoric bird soars throught he air, while a more traditionally built kite with a long tail soars far above that one. Children call to each other as they enjoy the peacefulness of this moment. Seagulls in search of nuggets of abandoned food hunt the beach, screaching at each other as they search, "No, that one was mine!" "Was not, I saw it first!"

My husband gently slumbers beside me as we enjoy a quiet rest after a rejuvenating bike ride and an hour of listening to General Conference. Soon we'll bike through the town of Seaside Oregon, enjoying again the little shops, the other tourists who have come, as we have, to take a break from their lives.

And life has been a little too intense for this peace-loving person! It's hard to put to rest your mother, old and ill though she was. The process hurts, even if she IS in a better place, and IS with my father and her parents, and DID need the suffering to end. Even if I needed my OWN suffering and discomfort to end of caring someone who required round the clock attention the last few weeks. It hurts to see her go. It hurts that there is such a thing as death in this life where there are SO many good things: so much beauty, so much peace, so much love. And yet, as Elder Russell M Nelson has said, "The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life." Not worth it. I love so many people in my life! And it's worth the risk.

I was comforted in that same article with these words: "The sense of tragedy may be related to age. Generally the younger the victim, the greater the grief. Yet even when the elderly or infirm have been afforded merciful relief, their loved ones are rarely ready to let go. The only length of life that seems to satisfy the longings of the human heart is life everlasting."

It hurts even if she was old! Even if she was sometimes grouchy. Even if she needed to go; even if we prayed for her to be able to go, even if we received some financial compensation for caring for her, and as a result of her death. It hurts. But I know in Whom I trust. I believe this will all get better. It has with my dad; it has with other loved ones who have died: my friend Nancy, my niece Jennie, my sister-in-law Marie. These losses have gotten better for ME anyway, and I'm sure that in time, this loss will get easier. I believe that those who die are really not very far away, that they never stop caring, nor loving. I believe that when it comes time for ME to die, I could NOT stop loving my family!

So being next to the ocean offers a diversion, a sense of peace. But true peace will come in time, and by allowing myself to feel the pain if I need to feel it. I loved my mother, I still do love my mother. I guess far more than I knew! But I will see her again someday. And that I know.

Meanwhile, time to finish this small vacation! And then to go back to real life, I hope, ready to face it again. AND enjoy it!

At this moment, I'm sitting across from my mom who has Alzheimer's. The past few days she has declined in functioning quite a bit; hardly walks, lost some interest in food and drink. From all I've read, the signs are indicating that she's getting close to the end of her life. Which is still difficult for me to think about, despite her age and deteriorating health. I have complete faith that she will live again after she dies, that her spirit won't die, but she'll be with Dad again and be happy. No doubt. So why do I get sad? For years, I've held resentments over her imperfections, but it seems like that doesn't matter so much now. I know many of the hurts she has caused have not been intentional. She DID mean well, over and over.

So now, as she is staying with me, very likely until her death, I keep considering all the good things I DID learn from her. And really, there were many.

I learned, first and foremost, that I was loved, by her and my Dad. I learned about the Gospel: Mom has been so dedicated to her testimony, in particular, to her testimony of Jesus Christ. I believe it was that faith that got her through years of depression and anxiety. She would always encourage us to have faith also; and taught us to pray, to go to Church, and to keep the commandments. Perhaps she at times was too compelling at times, but we knew she KNEW that the Gospel is true. Nearly all of us have some level of testimony. It was that testimony that got me through my somewhat rocky teen years till I met my amazing husband and was able to marry him in the temple.

She taught me to think through problems. I believe all of us had experiences where she would listen to us and come up with suggestions of solutions to problems. This may be where my interest in counseling began.

She loved family history; spending hours and hours on her computer journal; organizing pictures for each one of us; and spending thousands of hours writing biographies of ancestors and doing genealogy work. I love journaling and writing, whether in print or type or by hand. This I must have learned from her also.

She always kept a neat house, and hard to believe, it took me years but now that we are empty nesters, I too like a neat house. She enjoyed getting to know new people; something I too enjoy. She liked traveling, she and my Dad traveled overseas on several occasions. Most of her children enjoy traveling also. She loved music, loved playing the piano and singing. Some of my favorite memories growing up were singing around the piano as a family whether at Christmas or on a Sunday afternoon; something I have attempted to implement [with limited success!] with my family. She taught me to love the temple; it seemed that after she and Dad returned from an Oakland Temple trip, they came back happier, and nearly glowing. While I can't say I GLOW when I come back from the temple, I love the peace I find there.

She too loved babies and grandchildren, and spent hours playing games with them when they would come to her house, back in the days she could play games. I love my grandkids and love spending time with them, though games are not my thing.

She and Dad had a close relationship; though I would say that my relationship with my husband is different in many ways from theirs; I am too blessed with that closeness to my husband. I so enjoyed seeing she and Dad go on walks many times together.

She loved being outdoors and walking and walking and walking. (Ken tells us that in Idaho Falls, his neighbors dubbed her the "Walking Lady.") I love being outside on a bike and enjoying the outdoors.

I know she wasn't perfect, I know she knew that, but I know she tried hard despite her weaknesses to love and accept her children. As I look back over my journals, I find many instances where I mentioned, "I talked to Mother, and she told me..." She made such a difference in my life. When I was at BYU, she wrote me a letter and said, "Karen, for some reason I think you're going to achieve great spiritual strength in your lifetime." Well, I don't know if that's happened, but I've learned, and occasionally try to apply this to my children, if you want good things from them, let them know you believe in them.

I feel badly in ways I haven't appreciated her as much as I should or could over my lifetime. But I choose from now to remember the good in her life, of which there was much, and to learn from and forgive her mistakes, as I hope my children will do of me!

It's Sandwich TIme!!

They call our stage of life the sandwich generation; and we're pretty much the turkey on the bread. I'm here, resting in bed, listening, via baby monitor, as my senile mother putters around her room. It's harder than even I thought to be yelled at one second, told, "I'm going to kill you!" and then the next second, to be receiving a hug and a kiss and an "I love you." (Make up your mind, all ready!) I even asked, "How would you kill me?" just to see how developed this plan could possibly be in her mind that can't hold a thought for a second. She replied, "I don't know, but I'll find a way!" and the next second, I'm leaning (gingerly) over her to tuck her in bed and give her a good night kiss. (Well, getting one, always with the complaint, "Let me get your hair out of the way!)

Tomorrow hospice people come and see if she would qualify for that support. Next stop for her will be a nursing facility. It will be a hard to see her go there, but I guess I value my sanity just a little bit. Looking ahead, if I'm ever this difficult and out of it, my dear children, go ahead and put me in a nursing home, especially if there's a way to pay for it!

Bishop-ness

Interesting thing two weeks ago, Mark became a Bishop. I mean, I know he's a good person and all, and I always knew this could happen. But it sure is a different experience. We both kind of feel like we are now living someone else's life. Soneone says, "Bishop!" and lately, they are usually talking to him!

I'm not sure if I'm a total fan of all this. We had some of his ward members (20) of them over last night for FHE; that was fun, and always is. It's just, deep down, we're kind of lazy! Well, we DREAM about being lazy and vegging. Not that we do it all that much. We get up early, like 6:30 or 7 (kay, it's not that early) but then we bike 6 miles to work, Mark bikes an extra 5 to his and back to pick me up about 5 p.m., and bike home together; home at 6; sometimes play with or watch grandkids, and now he'll be off to the Church at least one night per week, usually more than that, with long Sundays. I don't really mind having free time to hang out and work on some of my home projects, of which I have quite a few. But it DOES take quite a bit of time. Bottom line, we want to do whatever we can to help other people, so for now, this is it. Later in life we will get to be more lazy. So we'll try to have fun, despite the busy-ness, and enjoy life NOW. You just never know what the future will bring!

Uphill and into the Wind!

The wind on our (short) bike ride this Saturday was pretty furious. Even when you're going downhill or on the flats, you have to work a lot harder when you're going into the wind. And don't even get me started about uphill and into the wind! So much harder.

Seems like life has been like that lately; uphill; into the wind. Call me a wimp, but I much prefer the opposite. I don't really like the trials of life; lately it's been business worries (who doesn't have those?) and troubles with family and neighbors. Not a pretty combination. I've heard trials come in threes, and this week, they hit almost all at once. I'm worn out. But they will get better, they always do. I keep trying to turn to the Lord, and He helps so much! It's when I forget that things get more difficult. But, I know that just like biking into the wind, uphill, or both, exercises more muscles, I guess the hard times in life do the same.

But I don't have to like it, do I?

Ocean = Peace

Mark and I are here in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, a beautiful place on the Outer Banks. I’m sitting on the balcony of my hotel, enjoying the peacefulness and vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. I’m watching people meander along the sand in both directions; friends, sisters; mother and daughter, retired couple, who just now reached out to hold hands. There is a peacefulness here that I only find when I go to the temple. I think it’s because it’s a connection that is so much larger than myself; the ocean to me has always represented eternity. And nature always seems to be testifying of God. They know their Creator, better, I believe, than most humans. Right now I’m watching large black birds soar across the water, and occasionally one of them will dive into the water to attack its prey. Something they have always done since the creation of the world.

I love the sound of the roaring surf; I love that these strangers love the ocean as I do. I’m so grateful that I know the purpose of life, but I wish I could share it with more people. I wish I could let all the world know and understand why we are here; that it’s not just about getting by each day, but that they ARE loved, and there IS life after this, and through repentance and belief on the Savior it can be a very JOYOUS life after this. Of that I have no doubt.

The Ocean

Easter

This weekend we have just about the whole family come up, except for Lisa, who is going to be hanging out with David I think. He should get his call this next week. I hope Lisa handles that well. I had yesterday (Friday) off too, for Good Friday, and Sarah and Sophia were up so that was nice.

First we started the day at our small town's Easter Egg hunt. Mark's kind of activity; over in 5 minutes. Then colored eggs with 5 of the 7 grandkids; then we had a treasure hunt for Easter Baskets, and then a hunt for easter eggs on the front lawn, which was fun. Then a nice dinner with almost everyone, and Mark’s birthday present, a Kindle, which is an electronic book reader, and internet thing. Then many of us went to see Grandma at the nursing home. And just now Garden, who was dancing to a nice song on her video (Prince of Egypt) came here and said, “Did you see that? Have you ever seen that? I was dancing for Jesus, and I do things for Jesus.” I gave her a hug after that. She’s so cute. And a very expressive dancer. A girl after my own heart! I so enjoy each of my grandkids. What sweetness, even in their independence. And, to add to the ambience, I have Pride and Prejudice music playing. So there is some peace after a very hectic, busy, fun filled day.

Typical Utah Spring!

I'm nestled on my living room couch, watching the storm change from blowing rain to sideways snow. Just your normal spring day in Utah. Already our front yard is covered in snow. Yesterday we had another brief taste of the kind of spring I WISH we were having, warm enough weather to be go on a nice bike ride with Mark and warm enough to chase the grandkids around the yard in. I sat with Sophia on a rock on our hill (she can walk, but I didn't take the time to get her shoes on) while Nathan ran around on the hill, sliding down the slide.) My mind wandered briefly to all the yard work I want to do, and had the gall to momentarily hope for a chance to start working on the yard soon! Visions of flowers, vegetables, new bushes and trees danced through my head. This is the year for adding flourishes like flowering plants and a real vegetable garden. And I REALLY want a very kid friendly yard, with more than just a slide, but a swingset/playhouse combo. And especially a fence! So wish me luck. It all sounds expensive, though, so if anyone has cheap and amazing ideas, please share. And let's ALL hope for an early spring!

Random pictures this year

Blessing Day

On Sunday, we got all the family together for Anna and Lance's kids' blessings. The older three hadn't had their blessing either, so Jayden was blessed in Church, then the kids at home afterwards. It was great to have our whole family together in the same house for several hours, and all together at church. But we aren't a perfect family. I'm not perfect; sometimes I say the wrong things; and I DEFINITELY worry too much. Mostly about our children. HOWEVER, I do believe in each one of them- ultimately I think each one will figure out his or her own life. Truthfully, I'm glad I don't have to be in charge of anyone else but me!

We had fun on Sunday kicking around ways to stay more involved with each other despite the distance between us. It was agreed that we MIGHT consider a book club. Course we have several in college, which makes it difficult for them to read anything but text books right now. SO I'm going to look at an amazing deal on something interesting on Amazon, and send people out our first selection. Can't see it working for long, for as ADHD we tend to be, but you never know! But bottom line, we enjoy being around each other. And we all enjoy having our own space and time too. Two good things!

Grandkids!

I love my grandchildren: Josh, the enthusiastic way he hugs me when he sees me, his prickly damp hair after a hard game of basketball, his cute drawings he makes for me to hang on the refrigerator; Ashlyn, her sparkly eyes, her caring compassionate ways she asks, "I'm good, how are YOU??"; her frequent desire to please; Kylee, her enthusiasm for life, her desire to do it all herself RIGHT NOW!; her willingness and interest in learning; Garden, the way she articulates so clearly, recites her memorized poems and nursery rhymes with expressive gusto! her sweet hugs and giggles; Nathan, when he stops running long enough to say, "I love you Grandma," and you know he feels it; that he ALWAYS want to stay busy, like me!; that he loves his little brother and treats him with a gentleness we don't see very often!; Sophia, with how she bubbles up with joy when she sees me or her brother and sister, or other family; how she signs everything she wants, even though she is barely 1, how she is so easily entertained and pleasant to be around; and little Jayden, who takes everything in with such an interested expression, like you just know he is trying to understand all the chaos and activity milling around him, and planning his future in it all; and the sweet smiles that just melt your heart! Ahh, it's great being a grandma!

The Circle of Life

Tonight I learned that my mother, already in the throes of dementia, and apparently Alzheimer's, has had several serious strokes lately. My brother, Ken, says she probably has been having them for awhile now. It is possible this may be the last year of her life; if not months or weeks. For years now, her memory has been gone. Conversations with her over the phone, go in circles, "Who is this? Where do you live now? What do you do?"

Tonight, I talked with her, and she responded in a frail voice, with the same questions. And then she said, "Do a good job. Stick to the Gospel." Apparently she tells that to just about everyone.

My mother has not been perfect; she has had her difficult moments, and caused difficult moments for others on occasion. But overall, she has taught me to love the Lord, to want to help others, and to be committed to what I know in my heart to be true. None of us are perfect parents, I guess.

So when she dies, I will be sad, probably more than I know. But happy, that she will get to be with my Dad again, and be free of her faulty mind and body. Free to be happy again.

Vacation

So we're back from our little jaunt to the West Coast. Running around San Francisco was fun; seeing Mark's father and his family was okay. Hanging out with my sister was fun, as always. Being with Sarah, Sophia and Lisa was fun nearly all the time. AND Rachael and Kevin's wedding was very nice. Did miss Kylee's 7th birthday party, which was sad, and missed people here. Hard to be gone from that aspect, but I do like a change of pace!

Take no thought what ye shall eat

I've set a goal this year to lose 18 pounds by June 30th, and 25 pounds this year. So far, I've not made a lot of progress. And one of the problems about being on vacation is that it's easy to lose track of food consumption.

So sitting at this computer I turned to the New Testament. I'm reading in Luke, where the Savior says, "Consider the lilies, take no thought what ye shall eat or drink..." And I thought, how might this apply to me? Does it just apply to the apostles in the New Testament? Because when I take no thought, I tend to overdo it!

And then I tried to think about this in the larger picture. He said, Take no thought... but instead think about the Kingdom. So instead of focusing on the food, or, even the hunger, think about the Lord, or say a prayer, or use something spiritual?

The first Sunday of the month in our Church is Fast Sunday, and I try to go 2 meals without food. Hard to do, but one way it is easier is when I start to feel really hungry, I begin to pray about the thing I'm fasting for, and the hunger seems to ease. Could this apply to everyday life? If so, how?

Well, I'm a therapist, and it is often my job to help people come up with solutions for their lives. But I'm not a therapist here, so I welcome your ideas. Does this scripture apply to us generally? I realize it probably was given to apostles, and missionaries, but even Peter asks, "Does this mean just us, or to us all?" It seemed that in the Savior's answer, it was to those who are truly seeking to do what He would want. Which category I TRY to fall into. Thoughts, comments, concerns? Thanks for your help and for reading my random thoughts. Have a great day!

On Vacation

Here we are in Santa Rosa. I'm typing in a dark room; Sarah and Lisa are asleep in one bed; Sophia is in her crib (I can hear little sucking sounds, does she suck her thumb? I don't know); and Mark is asleep behind me. We had a fun day in San Francisco yesterday; despite fog, mist, and coolness. When I get out in the real world away from the seclusion of our little Valley, I feel more in touch with the pulse of humanity. There are so many different kinds of people in the world! And so many things to see. I love seeing it all. And hopefully, visiting family members in the next few day will ALSO be a pleasant experience! Wish us luck!

Weekends, Music, and Family

I love weekends. I love free time, but of course, there would be no appreciating free time without the busy-ness of life! There needs to be opposition in all things, as the Book of Mormon says, if we are to grow.

And I love music. For example, on the TV right now, (KBYU commercial) is "I Hope you Dance." I love that song, and I love dancing to music I love. (Not that I let anyone but the grandkids see. They tend not to notice that my dancing looks like dancing from the 70s and 80s!) But music can definitely affect my moods. Just listened to last week's Mormon Tab broadcast; the final song was one composed for the choir by John Williams, Call of the Champions, the theme for the 2002 Olympics. It was amazing, as is his music. And the song before that, Redeemer of Israel-- with the choir and a full orchestra. I think, more than anything else, music can bring the Spirit of the Lord more quickly, and help people feel the true purpose of life more readily than words. However, I've been reading the New Testament lately. I love reading the words of the Savior-- I hope to know Him better.

I'm grateful for the positive power of music! I'm so impressed with people who compose amazing music, like Lisa's boyfriend, David Stillman. He's a wonderful composer, and not even 19 yet. Can't wait to see where his career goes after his mission. My son, Kevin, is a very gifted composer also. I also expect great things out of each of children and their spouses though. Can't wait to see where they all head in life--they don't always realize it, but they are each very loving, talented and amazing people, and I am so grateful to have them in our family!

My predictions for THEIR future: Brian is going to marry a wonderful woman, and find a career he really loves; Anna is going to graduate with her wonderful husband Lance's help and she will help many people throughout her career; and their children are going to grow up to be happy people; Kevin is going to become a great film director and Michelle is going to find a job she loves, and eventually they will have happy children too; Sarah and Gary are going to find a home they can settle down in and raise their beautiful children together; Lisa is going to get married to the man of her dreams, and find happiness and success in whatever she decides to do. And we will be together a forever family, for which, above all things, I am most grateful.

I am home from work. My nice husband is in the kitchen fixing our dinner (he's pretty good at that), and I'm looking forward to potentially FOUR hours before I fall asleep on the couch during a show I am sure I have been dying to see. What should I do for four hours? Mop the floor? It's been waiting for me for awhile. Type up a new post? Okay, I'm doing that. Sew something? Kylee's birthday is next week, I could surprise her with a new dress. But that involves a lot of thought and work. Play the piano? Scrapbook? I'm out of the piano/scrapbook habit. Read my John Grisham novel? Maybe. Exercise? No, did that already. Hmm, what is worse than free time, with no clear way to spend it? (No free time? yes, I think so.) I think I'll sew Kylee a dress. After dinner. Maybe.

I'm a very decisive person.

A new week begins!

It was a crazy busy weekend: Sarah and Gary were up with their adorable daughter Sophia, who we were lucky enough to have here on her first birthday. She loved her presents, all, and took off walking with her new stroller/walker. She'll be taking her first steps soon. We always enjoy having Anna and Lance's children here, they are all so cute, and ALL busy. Being a grandma is great, you get the best parts and only SOME of the worst parts of parenting. (And yes, then you get to send them home!)


So now a new weeks starts. As a mental health therapist, so many people ask, "How do you DO what you do?" Or they tell me, "I could never do what you do." I admit, sometimes I wonder myself WHY I do what I do. At the community mental health agency where I work we get some of the most critically mentally ill, as well as those with more "normal" mental health issues we all struggle with from time to time. Issues range from depression and anxiety (and who doesn't on occasion have these? including ME!) to schizophrenia, dissociative disorders, bipolar disorder. Some have hallucinations on a regular basis, or have been horribly abused. Truthfully, though, I learn a LOT from clients. (And I'm not just saying that because I'm blogging.) I have thought, briefly, about writing a book entitled, "What I've Learned from My Clients." Mostly, I'm so impressed with many of my clients' ability to hang in there despite SO hard of challenges! I feel privileged to work with them. I'm not always sure what I would be like if my life had been as difficult as some of theirs.

AND let me tell you, I try not to do this alone. Though it's difficult to admit, because like most of us, I DO keep my religous/spiritual feelings fairly well hidden (okay, not to my own family so much), I get a lot of help from Heavenly Father. So many times I'm on my way downstairs to pick up a new client, and I find myself praying, "Okay, Heavenly Father, I really don't know what to do with this one, will you help me?" And He does. I get thoughts of what to say, or a direction I need to take with the client that day. And I'm grateful for that.

So there you go, I start off talking about how it feels to be a therapist, and launch into my spiritual beliefs. BUT part of the reason I'm doing this blog is so that I CAN share some of my beliefs, that generally speaking, I keep well hidden. With clients, we talk about how spirituality impacts their lives (it's a growing field in mental health counseling, fortunately). But generally speaking, I don't bring up my beliefs. With co-workers, it's actually written INTO the code of conduct at work not to talk about religion. Even with my family, they know Mark and I attend church religiously (that's a pun); but I rarely share with them my deeper feelings. And interestingly, though we live in a community that is probably 80% LDS, and VERY active, other than in church, religion doesn't get talked about much. What's up with that?

So back to therapy, I LOVE doing it! I constantly wish I were better at it, and I know I have SO much to learn. But I think that is part of the reason I love it, and every client is a new opportunity to share what I know, to help him or her, and to learn from the client about how they have survived. (There are definitely times when therapy IS the worst job, however, like when a client decides NOT to survive anymore. I've lost one that way, which was SO difficult, but that's another blog, maybe, for another day.)

So for the most part, however, for one who needs variety in life, this is the perfect job, because no two clients are just alike. And do I bring their lives home with me? Sometimes, when a session has been very difficult, but generally speaking, I come home and put the therapy behind me. I do something completely different, like clean my house (that's always fun--not); or scrapbook, or exercise, or talk to my kids, grandkids, and hubby. Generally, clients' lives do NOT affect me like my own family members' lives do--and that's probably good, or I wouldn't be able to keep doing this. I'm just grateful to be able to be a therapist, but more important, a wife, a mom, a daughter of God, and well, me. OH, and just so you know? I don't therapize family members or friends, well, hardly ever! Once I've left the office, I leave that behind me, and become just a regular ol' person who tries not to think too much! It's better that way.

So, happy Monday, all!

Karen

I started my blog, sort of, one year ago. Must have been a New Year's resolution last year too! But I decided to try it out, to let people know a little bit more about me.

Some people may think we live a rather boring life: quiet, small town in Northern Utah, though we have had our share of living in more densely populated areas: especially Sacramento, where four of our five children were born. Only one of our children, our youngest, was also born in Utah, and ironically, in the same hospital in which I was born, only 31 years later.

So my husband and I met in California at a church dance, 30 years ago this summer. I was waiting for a missionary to return, and fairly certain I was going to marry him, but instead, met and then married my sweet husband. I didn't know a relationship could feel so right until we decided to get married. It has been a very good choice: we are very compatible, and get along most of the time. (There are those exceptions, like with everyone.)

I did the traditional Mormon wife and mother thing, I stayed home, for the most part, and had our five children in the space of ten years. But during that time I would continue to take a few classes, work a few small jobs on the side, while I tried hard to enjoy our children. (Anyone with children KNOWS that sometimes is a LOT harder than it looks.) Then, after fifteen years of marriage, I decided to go back to school, got my degree in Social Work, and then six years later, completed my graduate degree in Social Work. In the past 8 years I have been a practicing mental health therapist, a career I thoroughly enjoy.

Still, my main joy is my family, which I believe, since I am a very active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is eternal, a privilege that anyone in the world can enjoy now or in the future, if they would like. (And yes, often times I DO want to live with them forever!) Our family has grown to 17 people now! Five children, three of whom are married to great people, with seven grandchildren, who I completely, head over heels love!! (Of course, I don't have to raise them on a daily basis, for which I am ALSO profoundly grateful.)

Now, lest you think I am somehow thinking we are PERFECT or even somewhere in that general neighborhood, no. We are far from perfect, but we keep trying, and, thank goodness for repentance!!

So that's the background of my life. The setting is a very pretty town in a valley in Northern Utah, and at this moment, I can see from my den window, a beautiful view of snow covered Rocky Mountains, tinged with pink from the setting sun. My yard out the window is small, but also picturesque as snow decorates everything in sparkling white. It's cold outside, and though it doesn't allow my husband Mark and I to go on our much loved bike rides, at least we can look outside and enjoy the beauty of this beautiful Valley.