A Different Perspective

I may be a little bias, but I just have to say that I really feel like I have the best job ever. I get to take care of new moms and babies everyday and get paid for it!  I'm telling you, it's wonderful.  I mean don't get me wrong, I have my fair share of hard days, but really for the most part, I love what I do.  And one of my favorite parts of my job is being the one who gets to hand a brand new baby to his/her mother for the very first time!  There is nothing like it.  I love to stand aside and watch how enamored parents are with their newest addition, and I'm always amazed at how much of an affect someone so tiny can have on a family.
The past couple of weeks as Christmas has come and gone, and I've handed many new babies to many new mothers, I have thought a lot about the humble birth of our Savior and how Mary must have felt that first Christmas night as she held her newborn son.  I'm sure she felt a little fearful and overwhelmed as she thought about raising the Savior of the World.  And despite all of her feelings of anxiety and inadequacy (as I'm sure all parents feel when they bring a new spirit into this wicked world), I'd like to think that in a lowly stable on that first Christmas night, the young mother Mary unwrapped her baby from his swaddling clothes and counted his ten tiny toes, smiled at his wrinkly skin, let him wrap his little hand around her finger and just adored him not only has the man who she knew would ultimately save her, but simply as her tiny baby boy whom God had sent for her to raise.  And I also believe (as I'm sure all mothers do) she offered a prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father for trusting her enough to raise one of His children and plead for His help in doing so.
I'm not a mother yet, and maybe I'm not qualified to be making such assumptions but I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with new babies and mothers, and although people come from different backgrounds and cultures, from my perspective, the reactions of parents when they meet their perfect little baby for the first time is universal, and I feel so grateful to be a part of it!

Country Music Speaks to My Soul...

Okay folks. I'm back and I've made a personal goal to update this blog at least once a month. However, I'm not making any promises, because this blogging goal might go over just about as well as my budgeting and not-eating-sugar-only-on-Sundays goals, which to say the least have not been going well at all! But I guess it's a step in the right direction.

Anyway, I've been dying to post pics and tell all about my magical summer of country music concerts and about how I actually got to touch Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw (not even kidding). I have pics to prove it!

BRAD PAISLEY:  Our summer concert series started with Brad Paisley at the Stadium of Fire. And I can't go without giving a little background on how we scored such perfect seats. To make a long story short, I bought a few nosebleed tickets on KSL for super cheap and we were super excited that we got such a great deal, even though the seats weren't stellar. Anyway, about two hours before the show started, we got a text from our friends (who work for the freedom festival) saying they had six second row seats for six super fans! Needless to say, we were beyond thrilled to accept his offer and even more thrilled to receive a personal wink from Mr. Paisley himself! Oh and by the way, these pics are not zoomed in. We were actually this close!

We may or may not have trampled a few toddlers and knocked over a chair or two to obtain this picture!

KENNY CHESNEY:  Concert number two of the summer concert series was Mr. Kenny Chesney. I don't have any wild stories to share about this one, but I will say that the man can sport a denim cutoff shirt with skin tight denim jeans (typically a fashion no-no) and look like a total knockout!  I love Kenny :)

TIM MCGRAW:  The peak of our country loving summer was when Tania and I got to stand in "The Pit" at the Tim McGraw concert...A dream come true for both of us.  Not kidding, if I were to be on a the Make a Wish Foundation, that's what I would choose!  But that's beside the point.  The point is, we got to touch Tim (multiple times) and I'm 98% sure we made legit eye contact at one point in the show!  And can I just say the man is even better looking in person.  He is 44 years old, and doesn't look a day over 30.  And when he goes down on his knees and dances around in those skin tight jeans...Be still my soul!  Anyway, all that being said, August 6, 2011 will go down in history as one of the best days of our lives!



We were leaning on the stage!


RASCAL FLATTS:  About a month after Tim, we celebrated Flatts Fest, and thanks to Tania's cousin who works for USANA, we scored VIP passes complete with a pre-concert dinner and tickets in a suite next to two cute Idaho country boys!  The show was fabulous.  However I will say that Gary's (the lead singer) stylist should be fired.  A man of his stature should never wear sparkly jeans and a maternity looking shirt.  It does nothing for him.  That's all.



See what I mean about the horrifying outfit?  Maybe the pic doesn't do it justice but believe me, it was bad!




JASON ALDEAN:  The series ended with our favorite country boy Jason Aldean!  He makes me proud to have redneck country roots, and makes driving a tractor and shooting a gun sound glamorous.  He's my kind of man!


Don't you love our shirts? We're true fans



Well needless to say, Summer 2011 was one of the best ones yet!

Top 10 of 2010 (in no particular order)...

Okay people, don't judge me. I know it's been forever since I've posted anything. I have no excuse other than I've just had other things to do. But I've come up with a list of the best things of the year 2010! PS...I tried to upload a picture for each event, but I'm technologcially inept and I can't figure out how to upload more than five pictures. I need some serious blog intervention. But that's beside the point. Anyway, the top 10 of 2010 are...Drum Roll please...

1. Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley concerts with the besties. Country music speaks to my soul!






2. Mom and Dad being the Grand Marshals of the Moroni July 4th parade






3. Bear Lake






4. Making Christmas chocolates with grandma






5. Bachelorette Finale party with my sisters complete with real roses, fake margaritas, and a whole lotta banter!






6. 24th Birthday trip to Vegas






7. Making an entire Thanksgiving dinner all by myself (okay so that's a lie...Not all by myself. With the help of my darling roommate Tania, and about 42 calls home to mom . Longest 12 hours of my life)!






8. Buying a car and getting a Costco card (I'm officially an adult)






9. Having a real Christmas Tree and decorating it with a sparkly hot pink/lime green polka dot bow. Not to mention our five bundles of mistletoe dotted all over the apartment (because in the UC, one mistletoe plant per apartment just doesn't cut it if you know what I mean ;)






10. Life changing experience in Zambia, Africa