A piece of me.

Lately I have really been thinking about my life and why I am the way I am.  A lot of who I am today comes from having Emily as my little sister for the past 18 years of my life. I remember being very young when I first realized that my only little sister was not going to "be like everybody else". I hesitate to even use the phrase "be like everybody else" because I think what the world defines as "normal" and "acceptable" is distorted and wrong, but at a young age that was the phrase that came to my mind. I must have been only about seven or eight years old when I realized Emily had a disability. I remember being worried if she and I would ever be able to do things together like most sisters do. Would we hang out when we were teenagers? Do each others hair? Go shopping and help each other pick out clothes? Would we talk for hours on end late into the night? So many things went through my mind and I remember at that moment in my life being so worried what life would be like with her as my little sister.

But for those of you that know Emily and I, know that she and I have spent a lot of time together over the years. Thinking that we wouldn't be able to do sisterly things together was the silliest thing I ever could have imagined! We talk every single day, without fail. And if we happen to miss a day, which happens from time to time, you would think that her world would have ended. Isn't it hard to have her demanding so much of your time? What is she going to do once you get married? People have asked me those questions a few times and to be completely honest, no. Sometimes I'm busier than other times and can't talk for as long as she would like to but besides family, Emily doesn't have friends that call her and talk to her throughout the day. So when people question if it is hard for me to do each day, I can't help but feel my heart breaking for them. If we are only focusing on ourselves, we are missing out on doing so much good in the lives of others. For me, it's easy. Emily enjoys talking to me and I in turn enjoy talking to her and learn so much from her. She reminds me to find joy in simplicity. She teaches me to set goals and try hard to achieve the unimaginable. She encourages me to be outgoing with her confident, energetic and happy lifestyle. (If only I could be brave enough to bust a move in front of so many strangers at Five Guys or yell that loud at a BYU football game. haha) She has blessed my life in more ways than I can even begin to count.

And as for "what is she going to do once you get married?", that was a big adjustment for all of us. It definitely took some trial and error and adjusting. But lucky for me, I have THE BEST husband around. We just spent UEA weekend with Emily and he literally hung out with her more than I did. Every night while I was at work, they were playing - shopping, volleyball, cooking, you name it! He is honestly the best, hands down. I love him more than anything in this whole wide world!

Yes, at times having a sister like I do can be hard. But more often than not, it is so easy. She reminds me to be sensitive to the needs of others and not to judge others harshly. Emily has influenced so much of who I have become. One of my biggest desires is to have Emily bless other people's lives like she has blessed mine and my families. I am eternally grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with Emily as my sister.

The Tiger.

Oh my husband, he is quite the little prankster. This past weekend I went to a flea market and some yard sales with some friends and Preston stayed home. Well, while I was gone Preston decided to do some yard sale hunting of his own. That is where he found that lovely Tiger you see up above. And fyi - I am not into Tigers or any other sort of animal for that matter hanging on my walls. Some people might be but its just not my thing. Not to mention that this Tiger looks like it belongs in Las Vegas or in Hugh Hefner's bedroom. haha. 

Anyways, when I got home, I mentioned to Preston that I just wasn't feeling well and he suggested that I go lay down on the bed. I didn't think too much of it except for "wow, he sure is being compassionate". lol. So I go into our bedroom and the first thing I notice is not the gargantuous new addition to our bedroom wall but the fact that Preston had made the bed so well. I proceeded to lay down on the bed and make a phone call while I rested. While I am laying there talking on the phone, Preston comes in with the camera and tells me how cute I look laying there on the bed and then he takes my picture. Again, I don't think much of it and think he is just being sweet. A little odd, but sweet. :) Ten minutes goes by and I decide to go see if I really looked as "cute" as he says. I can't imagine I looked that cute laying down but just wanted to check and see. haha. (I still haven't seen the Tiger by this point) 

I turn on the camera and see this picture. I look at it, think to myself: "I don't look cute at all! That's a terrible picture!", and then click to look at other pictures he has taken recently. And that's when I see the close up of the tiger painting. All I could think is, "what the heck is that??" "when did he take that picture?!?". Then I scroll back to the picture of me on the bed and cannot believe I did not even notice the Tiger hanging above my head!! All I could do was bust up laughing! Preston thought he was going to get this huge reaction out of me when I got home and it seriously took me forever to even see it! Haha I am so oblivious. He found it at a yard sale and just thought it would be the funniest thing to get to hang above our bed as a joke. We had been talking about getting something to hang above our bed, but that isn't exactly what I had in mind. I'm thinking I could keep the frame and paint it a cute color but as far as the Tiger painting goes, it's gotta go. Any animal lovers out there?? I have a Tiger here with your name written all over it. :-)

Motivation.

I swear, every morning me and my alarm clock battle it out for a good two hours. The sad thing is, my alarm goes off every ten minutes each time I press snooze, so it's a bit pathetic I just don't get up the first time it goes off. It's not like I'm even sleeping during this time, just laying in bed. ha!


It's a vicious cycle I seem to be stuck in. Every night I'm super ambitious and set my alarm for 6 am to get up and go to the gym. And every morning when my little alarm sounds, I press snooze and justify needing more sleep. I'm pathetic. 


Why is it so hard to do the things that are good for us? It's so easy to waste hours and hours pinning away on pinterest but it's like the hardest thing to get in the car, drive to the gym and work out for an hour. Ugh,  why can't it be the other way around?? I guess I need to look at my "exercise inspiration" board a little more, it is seriously so motivating and would be super beneficial if I would take it seriously more often. Here are just a couple of things that make me want to hop right out of bed and sprint right to the gym: 

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Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be at the gym. :)

I {heart} weekends.

Weekends are the best. We spent ours down in Moab huntin' a deer and we even got ourselves one! It's was so big I can't even fit the picture into this post....haha. Just kidding, it was quite the opposite actually. But at least we have some meat to last us through the winter! 


We also found a little something to remind us of our roots. :)

photo courtesy of Tom Till 

We spent lots of time visiting with family, eating way too much food, and being inspired by General Conference. I am always edified and renewed after listening to our leaders. Now we are off to another busy week of school and work! Hopefully another fun weekend is in store for us soon! :)