fall so far

noah in a field

the first soccer practice/game...

bret's first time coaching anything. he was really nervous,

which i thought was cute considering he never gets nervous.

he loves soccer... i hope he sticks with it.

noah's #7 and his two best friends who are on his team are

#6 and #8. i think it's cute.

grandpa came. so did mima & papa.

the only shot i was able to get of luke playing.

out to lunch at Stella - four generations!!

oh wait... two sisters their daughters. my bad. ;)

me on my bike

Sports Night at the hansons

much to my dismay - i think luke might be more cut out for

football than soccer.

i have to sabotage it somehow...

violet and her dad.

good times in the backyard.

it's nice to see all this stuff actually getting used.

soccer... the action was going on at the other end of the

field but i really love their awesome stances.

luke playing the bongo drum at his first day of preschool.

he was wary at first but warmed up to the place in about two minutes.

some of noah's recent artwork. (posted for grandma rose)

these are all different vehicles driving on the freeway.

Noah's Dove

(a song... no, noah did not get a dove.)

this is one of my all-time favorite songs/albums. natalie merchant's voice is amazing.

my weekend

Yesterday was a good day. i had the opportunity to participate in the 7th annual NAMI (national alliance on mental illness) walk with my good friend gigi, her husband dave, daughter gwynne, and gwynne's dog chloe. it is a 5K walk that raises money and awareness for those with mental disabilities. so many people are affected, either directly or indirectly, by mental illness and i am grateful for organizations like this that shed light on these diseases and those who suffer from them. it was a great thing to be surrounded by people who are empathetic, supportive, loving, and who are passionate about a really great cause.

Then last night i watched the general relief society broadcast. all the speakers gave great talks but man... dieter uchtdorf is amazing. he talked about forget-me-nots (those tiny blue flowers) and used their five petals as metaphors for five things we should not forget to do. two points that stuck out to me... 1- (in his words) "Be patient with yourself. God knows you’re not perfect, and God also knows that person you’re comparing yourself is not perfect, so stop punishing yourself. Don’t forget your tiny successes — God doesn’t." and 2- Don't forget to be happy NOW. don't put it off until the 'something' that you are waiting for to happen happens. there is a lot of happiness to be found in the random little things & everyday moments that make up our lives. while it is important and essential that we have faith in good things to come and work towards those things, we have to try to see & experience all the beauty that is around us now, EVERY DAY. both of these are things that i struggle with A LOT. some days are more discouraging and overwhelming than others, but i am almost always comforted and reassured in knowing that i will be ok... that i can do better- that it can BE better- if i continue to have faith in God and to acknowledge His presence in my life and the blessings that he bestows upon me and my family every day.

(here's his talk. he says it way better than me.)

and one other worth-mentioning thing that i did this weekend was ate at the dodo for the first time. our friend eric is their accountant so we got a lot of really great food... for FREE. because i LOVE food- i feel it is important to include what i got there. first- the appetizer- hummus with feta cheese & greek olives and delicious pita bread; then the main dish- a blackened chicken salad with tons of good stuff in it and a really good orange vinaigrette dressing; and, the best part of the night- a chocolate almond mousse pie with a nutty graham crackery crust and heaps of whipped cream. wow that thing was good. fortunately for me, or maybe not, bret was sick and so i got to eat like 80 percent of it. (we were good and shared something.) oh and i also got a diet coke with lemon... something that i rarely do but i was really splurging on this outing.

despite the fact that today was a rough day for me- i'm getting sick and am feeling a bit down- it was a really good weekend. i'm grateful that i was able to be immersed in so much love and so much good.

(there were a few good things about today... one being the fact that luke kicked it all day in his soccer uniform and church loafers.)

an excerpt

from a book i am reading right now...

"... When I noticed someone teetering near the edge, I would pray for them to walk around the abyss. Now I pray for something different. I pray that each one of us stays awake as we fall. I pray that we choose to go into the abyss willingly and that our fall is cushioned by faith--faith that at the bottom we will be caught and taught and turned toward the light. I pray that we don't waste precious energy feeling ashamed of our mistakes, or embarrassed by our flaws. After years of teaching, I know only a few things for sure. One is this: We are chunks of dense matter that need to be cracked open. Our errors and failings are chinks in the heart's armor through which our true colors can shine."

-Elizabeth Lesser, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow

F U N. (and a few other things)

first day of first grade...

noah excited; luke not.

the Favorite Toy for a few days

"For a good time, i'll first get my hair wet...

...then i'll comb it. this sure is a blast."

(he loves to hang out in the bathroom with me while i'm in the shower.

i love the things he comes up with to do.)

Happy.

primary program picture Take #1

(fail)

Labor Day boating on Utah Lake

addicted to fun.

gloves + gun + hat + backpack = don't mess with me

our backyard friend

homemade sword night...

the first blow

Revenge is sweet.

Saturday morning project

Life is Grand.

happy birthday to me.

Yesterday was my birthday. i turned 33. since this blog is a journal of sorts, i'm going to write what the highlights of the day were.

- luke's first day of preschool

- appt. with my beloved therapist, peggy

- lunch with tiff

- phone calls from mom & dad, doug & rose (my other parents), and my awesome bishop.

- new wardrobe from jeni :) (due to her being pregnant.)

- sunday birthday dinner at james & jeni's

- tres leches from michael

- flowers from bret

- cookies from angela

- phone call, card, photos, $25 gift card to target, and $5 gift card to starbucks from jeff. (SCORE)

- facebook love

- bike ride. sunset down to my right, the moon up to my left... perfect.

'twas a great day. i am very blessed.

xo

my boys

pictures taken at church today for the primary program...

i figure the grandparents would want to see these. :)

noah - 6 years

luke - 3 years

(aunt Jeni thinks that noah looks like he's running for office.)

el heffay

it is a known fact that, along with being an awesome person, brother, and uncle, my bro Jeff is an AMAZING photographer. i feel lucky to have someone to aspire to be like and to be able to talk to about photography. we've always really enjoyed looking at each other's stuff and giving each other feedback - i love that i have someone to do this with and that there's someone out there who genuinely appreciates my work. here are some photos he's taken in Oregon over the past few months.

(i think it is safe to say that he loves mountains & clouds.)

;)

september 2nd

DON'T WASTE TIME ON JEALOUSY. SOMETIMES YOU'RE AHEAD, SOMETIMES YOU'RE BEHIND. THE RACE IS LONG AND, IN THE END, IT'S ONLY WITH YOURSELF. -BAZ LUHRMAN