i noticed my life!

Does life ever just 'occur' to you?  All the sudden you feel like you're having an awakening?  You think, "Wow.  This is life.  This is MY life.  Cool beans.  It occurs to me that my life is pretty awesome today.  What's happening in MY life today is super great and it makes me happy...AND I NOTICED!"  Well, that happened to me...just now. 

CJ chillin' at the Nuuk Airport...Greenland

CJ is in Greenland right now.  After 4 days of travel chaos, he finally arrived in the prehistoric and remote area he will be hunting in.  On his list of animals to hunt is a musk ox and a caribou.  He has wanted to hunt caribou since he was 7 years old.  Today, his dream came true...he shot a huge caribou!!!  I was so thrilled for him, I wanted to burst into tears of joy!  He will now spend the next 5 days searching out a massive musk ox.  Oh how excited I am that he is on this adventure.  Oh how grateful I am that he has amazing opportunities to go adventure hunting.  He loves it so much.

All the odd shaped circles (balls!)...Ava's!

This afternoon Ava drew, on purpose, a ball.  She asked me to draw a ball, so, mindlessly I drew one on the white board and said, "It looks like a circle."  I turned in my chair and continued talking to Cait. A couple seconds later I happened to look back over my shoulder and noticed Ava had drawn 3 more "balls."  I clapped my hands furiously and cheered, "Ava!  You drew a circle!"  She looked at me, sort of blankly, and said, "It's a ball."  Then she smiled and attempted to draw at least 50 more!  She usually draws lines, just lines.  I'm so proud of her focus and determination.  I'm just sure she thinks I'm pretty lame for thinking her 'ball' was just a 'circle'...duh nana.  It's a miracle watching her grow and learn.  It really tickles me pink!

"I love to see the Temple" :]

Although the task of staining a wood block temple the color gray and then tying a white bow around it is so super simple...the point is that I made time to craft.  I don't craft, ever.  I used to, but not even close to lately.  It just made me happy that I had time to create something just for me.  That's a pretty amazing thing for me to do on an ordinary weekday.  I love it so much because of what it represents.  I thought it only appropriate to nestle my little temple in among my angels and underneath Moroni...exactly where it should be.

Today has just been another usual day...but it definitely occurred to me that it was wonderful.  I'm so grateful I noticed 'life' today.  Happiness abides in all the normal places, that's why it's so great.  Gautama Buddha said, "There is no path to happiness; happiness is the path." Spot on Buddha.

Keep your sunny side up!

Lisa Lucille :]

attitude of gratitude?...

Sometimes it's hard to remember that there is so much to be grateful for.  Life takes over, the adversary pokes at your heart, chaos ensues or one wrong word punches you in the gut.  This life action is all to familiar for everyone...yes, everyone.  So, "whatever is there to be grateful for?!!?" Oh, so very much!

I'm having a rough go at life, not gonna lie.  But, I'm sick and tired of complaining and sulking.  In the spirit of Christmas I've decided to pump up my feel goods, be grateful and smile.  My life is a blessed one.  It's full of family, love, laughter and goodness.  I have a testimony that my Father in Heaven loves me...should that not be enough?  Sadly, sometimes I forget that it IS enough.

President Thomas Monson once gave a talk called "Attitude of Gratitude" and, as usual, it was phenomenal.  So, I'm taking his quote 'have an attitude of gratitude' and applying to my christams week.  I am grateful for small moments of creativity and wonder.  For example: finding out that 2 shots of peppermint syrup are so delightful in a regular hot chocolate; my husband stomping out, in the fresh fallen snow, a message "I love LP"; gathering and delivering small and silly gifts for my neighbor family; substituting the Sunbeam class.  I will be searching for more small moments of wonder during the week.  I know I will find many.

He loves me.
He must...it was 11 degrees outside when he did this!

I am grateful.  I will strive to be grateful.  I can't miss out on the blessings.

Keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille

love language

Love: noun - an intense feeling of deep affection.

According to some really smart people, who conduct intense testing of personalities, there are 5 love languages...1) Words of Affirmation, 2) Acts of Service, 3) Receiving Gifts, 4) Quality Time and 5) Physical Touch.  Which one are you....5 Love Languages?

Quality Time is the love language my personality is drawn to.  This means that I love undivided attention from my handsome man, CJ.  Not a huge surprise!  CJ is my best friend and favorite person, there is no one I'd rather spend my time with.  It's because of the special attention CJ has shown and given me (especially in times of heartache and darkness), that I am a happy human being!  I don't crave attention from anyone else...just my handsome man.

me and my favorite person
...and I'm betting his language is Acts of Service?

After reading up on each of the Love Languages I took a second to think of the people I love and what their love language might be?  It's interesting to me that we all receive love differently.  Maybe that's why so many get confused with their relationships, because they give love the way they would like to receive it.  It's not a bad thing to show love in any form, if it is sincere.  However, maybe we should consider more often that our favorite people need to receive love in a whole different way than we ourselves need to receive it???  Take a second to look at the 5 Love Languages above and think about which language your favorite person might be?  You may be spot on, you might not?  But, I believe, just thinking about the different love languages might open your mind to doing something a little different that might make your favorite person a little happier.

Keep it real!
Lisa Lucille


   

what's your connection?

What do you feel connected to?

 I feel powerfully connected to the sky.

The sun, moon, stars and clouds.  

Years ago I received a blessing which eluded to the fact that it was in my best interest to pay attention to nature.  At the time I was taken back a bit because I was not the "tree hugger" type, so what could that mean?  I pondered it a lot, so much so that it became a little bit of an obsession.  So I began to read articles and watch videos or tv specials specifically about the elements of nature.  I turned to learning a little bit about earth sciences and started truly noticing all the little things around me when I would go for walks, hikes or drives.  In 2011, on vacation to the Teton Valley, it became very clear...I got it!  I knew what my blessing meant and how interested and invested I already was with it!  The elements of nature have a divine and significant meaning.

I came to believe that everyones spirit connects to an earthly element.  For example - My Sadoe Potato connects to the trees, she feels a comfort in them.  She also loves the water, she claims it makes her feel peaceful.  My Momma Cait's heart is always open to animals, she loves and cares for them intensely.  My Handsome Man is very much a kin to the earth, he is addicted to and thrives on outdoor adventure.  After many inquiries I have found people who love dirt, people who love rocks and people who are drawn to rivers.  When people understand what I am asking them, and are willing to answer me, they become very detailed and speak with a sense of excited reverence about their particular connection.  It's very cool.

Genesis 2:7 describes man was made from the earth itself.  So why wouldn't we feel a connection to it?  I believe ALL that the earth and heavens provide are specifically designed for our use and learning.  Just as we are blessed with unique talents and wisdom, I can't help but believe we are also blessed with very individual connections to God's beautiful earthly creations.

So, on days which I lay on my lawn and gaze into the big blue sky...or sit on my porch in the middle of the night just to see the stars, I will SMILE and say thank you for the blessing of my connection to it.  When I travel back to the Teton Valley (as I try to do every single summer), I will be humbled by the blessings of it's overwhelming magnitude...and then I will SMILE and be grateful for it all!

What are you connected to?  Don't take it for granted, don't think it's silly.  It's a blessing!  Immerse yourself in it, smile and be grateful for the connection.

Keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille

a child smiles 400 times a day

Mother Teresa said, "I will never understand all the good that a smile can accomplish."  A woman who reigns supreme over sharing compassion and joy couldn't even comprehend the power of a simple smile.  A smile is certainly a phenomenal thing.

Little Pineapple and Momma Cait
photo credit Laura McBride

Above is my Precious Pineapple and her momma Cait.  Pineapple has a smile that consumes her face.  Her eye's squint, her nose crinkles and her cheeks are pushed to their very limits. It's an adorable thing, a true treasure.  And every child has that same charm!   One can not resist the infection of a child's smile, it's contagious...you WILL catch it.  In all my years of serving children and watching them grow, it's their smiles that catch me off guard the most.  They are pure and sincere.

As we grow, life blesses us with challenges that test our purest and most sincere of smiles.  We get used to "fake" smiling just to appease another.  Our laughter becomes more gratuitous and our giggles fade into sinister chuckles.  This makes me sad, which is the opposite of happy, which means I'm not smiling right now.  So, I studied up...yep, I studied the science of a smile.  And it's real stuff, scientifically proven stuff!

Ron Gutman is legit.  He graduated from Stanford University and is the CEO and founder of Health Tap (an interactive health company), so he knows his stuff.  I specifically studied his research because he wasn't boring to listen to and he is super motivated.  There are a few of his findings I would like to share...
*  babies smile in the womb - it can be seen on ultra sound imaging!
*  smiling rewards your senses more than any other 'thing' can (i.e..chocolate, ice cream, new shoes).
*  smiling makes you healthier...reduces cortisol and increases endorphins.
*  when you smile you appear to be confident (great advice for job interviews)
*  SMALL CHILDREN SMILE MORE THAN 400 TIMES PER DAY!  (that's my favorite!)
For more uplifting smile information, look up Ron Gutman: the hidden power of smiling.  I can't seem to copy a link to this blog...so google him!

Sharing a smile is a valid act of service.  Though we may not have 400 smiles a day in us anymore, we can certainly try for 100.  We would have the ability to infect 100 people a day with smile, what a divine infection!  More over, a glorious cure!  Someday, I pray, we will all smile more.  Let the children be our example and let us be thankful for every smile they gift us.

What puts the smile on your face???  Go ahead...let me know, comment below :]

Keep your sunny side up!
Lisa Lucille