That's what friends are for......

"What is a friend, 1 soul dwelling in two people"

I am generally a private person. I don't easily open myself up to others. I am quite content living in a world where I have a few close friends and my family. I have 4 kids and a husband. I don't have much time to socialize and party every day of the week with play dates and nights out. My husband is working away right now. My life is very simple and fairly quiet. AND I LIKE IT THAT WAY!

Even as a child, I would come home from school crying because too many people wanted to be my friend and I didn't like that. I don't know how to maintain so many friendships, lets face it, I can barely maintain myself and my family ha ha.

I appreciate the friends that know me and love me anyways. I keep my circle small because that is how I feel safe. I am not a snob, I do not think I am better then anyone else. I try to be kind to others. 

I am imperfect. I am a work in progress. I make mistakes everyday and I have for my whole life. I put my trust in people who I find out I shouldn't. I am often sarcastic sometimes, I believe it is a coping mechanism (some enjoy this others do not). I am a sensitive girl whose feelings get hurt from time to time. And all of this is OKAY. 

I am so happy that there are a group of women that I can trust to be my friend. To laugh with me and cry with me. To eat healthy with and to dig into the treats if needed. To give me a hug or help me with my kids. To let me serve them and reap some blessings. They are examples of strength, faith, courage, softness, love, compassion, laughter, kindness and everything I need in my world.

It's ok for me to surround myself with the people that bring me up and encourage me to do my best. It's ok for me to eliminate the toxic people and relationships that drain me and bring me down. It's ok to take care of me. My friends know this and love me for being me. 

I am grateful for learning about boundaries to protect myself and my family. We cannot control others around us but we can do our best to control ourselves and how we react to others or situations.

We learn, we grow, we forgive, we progress and we continue on. I am grateful for all of this. 

Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!

I love that song from White Christmas where Betty and Judy sing about how much they love and need each other but also how to make sure "you don't come between me and my man!". It's a favorite at my house and my sisters and I will sing it for fun sometimes.

I have two wonderful sisters by blood. Dana and Megan. One older and one younger. They have both taught me a lot and continue to remind me about learning and growth. I am grateful for both of them. We don't always see eye to eye on everything and we certainly have different beliefs and opinions in life. But when all is said and done I know that I have 2 pretty awesome ladies who have my back.

I'm grateful for the journey we've been able to take through childhood, the teen years and now into our 30's. We've all changed a lot over the years but there are some fundamental things that may never change. Like Dana being the bossy oldest, myself being the pot stirring middle child and Megan being the "baby". We all play a role in our family. Sometimes an appreciated role and other times we'd like to rip each others heads off. But that's what we do. It's the dance of our relationship. Ever gliding, turning, dipping, falling, and changing.

I see my Mom with her sisters and I see the relationships around me of my friends or relatives with their sisters. I see things I love and things I hope will never happen to us. I want to be close with my sisters for always. We are ever connected (whether we like it or not ha ha) and we are forever!

It's Dana's birthday today, Megan's tomorrow and then my Mom's on Thursday. Growing up, I felt like everyone had a birthday except me and I would sometimes have the "birthday blues". I don't feel like that anymore (haven't for quite some time). I enjoy being able to celebrate them and reflect on our relationships and look at pictures.

I love them all so much and I am so grateful for amazing women in my life to love me no matter what!

Happy Birthday to my January girls

It's a New Year 2015

Sometimes I make a goal and achieve it and other times I fail miserably. That's just life I suppose. I am an imperfect person as we all are because hey lets face it, we are still here!
I've made some mental goals for the new year and one of them was to do better with my journal writing. Much happened with our family last year but I did a terrible job of documenting those things. BUT, I am great with taking pictures so I took a million and one pictures so I guess I didn't fail miserably as I said before. Pictures = Journal :)
I am very blessed! I have so many blessings it is hard to count them all. I need to focus on them because it is easy (especially during dreary January) to feel down. So my goal is to try to blog more. Take time to recognize the good and enjoy the moments. Life is going by in a blur and I want to keep up.

Some of my goals for 2015:
-blog more
-update (hmm hmm or start) baby books for my kids
-organize my pictures
-paint, paint, paint (living room, hallway, etc...)
-read more books
-read my scriptures more often
-keep in better touch with friends I've lost touch with
-spend more outside time with my kids
-improve my physical, mental, spiritual, emotional self

We make goals because that is what this life is for, to learn, improve and grow!

I CAN DO IT!!!!!!
WE DO HARD THINGS!!!!
YOU GO GIRL!!!!! (That's for you Chelsea ;) )

Photos from Sept 2015 Vanessa Lust Photography