The end of summer...

“The spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest, so that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families, there are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesn’t really matter what the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds open. Only forgiveness heals. George Herbert, an early 17th-century poet, wrote these lines: ‘He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need of forgiveness.’” - Thomas S. Monson


So much has taken place since I completed my first 5k. I developed a stress fracture on my leg and had to rest it for awhile... I have to say that getting back into a routine that sticks has been near impossible. I need to find motivation and determination, instead all I find is hesitation!! HELP! :) My goal this week is to get out at least three times to do a 40 minutes of walking/jogging. It feels wonderful when I do, I just need to do it enough to make it a habit.

WOW - The end of summer has arrived and the kids are getting ready to go back to school. I can't believe how quickly 2011 has passed and it amazes me that the summer came and is now almost gone. We were blessed to have Colton out here this summer for an amazing 5 weeks. We did a lot of swimming, fishing and even a little camping. I had BIG plans for this summer and I am so sad to say that time got away from me and I'm about as tan now as I was when the summer started.

Here are a few pictures of our summer fun!

Running... Running... Running....

I heart RUNNING! My time is not noteworthy, however my accomplishment of reaching the finish line is!! It was hard and at times I felt discouraged especially when I saw how many people were in front of me, but I kept going!! I wasn't able to run the whole 3.1 miles and I have the convenient excuse that I had Austin running with me who wanted to end at mile 2 and sit on a curb and wait for me to come pick him up, but the truth is that was how I was feeling myself.

I am a lucky lady and have surrounded myself with four other ladies that are aspiring to run the Boulder Boulder with me and we have all started to train for the 10k race on Memorial Day. WHOOT WHOOT!! So with that being said, I have set my next goal. 10k on Memorial Day!!

Keep me motivated friends, I need all the positive thoughts and good cheer sent my way. I'm hoping that by keeping a blog of my achievements and goals that I will not get lost or leave my goal in the dust.

My first 5k

I am excited and nervous for my first 5k that I am participating in tomorrow. This has been a goal of mine for about a year and to finally attempt this goal is a little frightening! I am lucky to have my son Austin, sister Christina, niece Nicole and great friends LeAnn and Heidi with me to run/walk and keep me motivated to do my best and keep going.

This event has got me thinking about goal's in my life. After realizing that I am about to reach this goal (no matter the results) it has made me want to set more goals and set them soon. My weight has been an issue since I had baby number three. As I just never could get back down to my comfortable weight that I so desperately want to be. I started thinking about it and realized that these were only wishes and I only half attempted to lose weight and I NEVER stuck with a real healthy eating plan or exercise routine.

Hopefully these thoughts and motivation stay with me tomorrow and through the weekend as I plan my next goal and plan the actions I need to take to make them happen.

Back to the Basics

I think that in every marriage people tend to lose track of the importance of intimacy. We become so comfortable with our spouse that we find intimacy in other ways or places.

Friendships are so extremely important, but when we confide in our friends more than our husbands we are truly doing our marriages a huge disservice. With the realization of how easy and fast a marriage can breakdown we need to be ever more vigilant in feeding our spouses with the love, kindness and compassion that should exist in every eternal marriage. I am the last one to preach on marriage as I will be the first to admit that we have seen our share of rough and trying times, but that is what makes me willing to admit and step up to the plate and share some of my experiences with others.

We have taken our family back to the basics. We have always eaten our meals at the dinner table. This was so important to me as I started my own family, because it wasn't what I did growing up and I envied my friends who's parents did this. We have made a new rules at our home.

1. The dinner table is a safe place where we only talk about how our day has been. I am getting a better understanding of how my children really are doing with school and friends and it has given them an outlet to vent and not feel judged.

2. We are doing Family Home Evening and family prayer faithfully. It has become such a routine that our children actually look forward to this time and let us know with DEEP disappointment when try and be lazy and get out of doing it. They keep us in check and make sure this is done.

3. We make time for each other every night even if it is only for 20 minutes to reconnect. It can be as easy and holding hands and watching T.V. or talking about our day or the coming days.

I have to say that these little changes have made the biggest impact on our family in a positive way. We still have a long way to go and I will say that I still make my fair share of mistakes in being a wife and mother, but I am human and I allow myself to know that I am far from perfect and far from ever being perfect... It is so liberating to admit those things!

The Philosophy of Liz

They say that life happens, I happen to agree. Our society is a funny make-up of happy, giving, kind, loyal, crazy, confused and at times self-righteous souls all trying to get along. We all think that we have the best ideas and are so quick to offer advise to others instead of listening and walking a mile in their paths. How we deal with each other, show each other compassion and love is what I believe defines us all as people. We all make mistakes, we all fall down, we all face humiliation to some degree and it is how we deal with it that defines our character. Do we learn from our mistakes and move on or do we fall in a rut and make the same mistakes over and over and dig ourselves deeper and deeper? I will admit that I have fallen, many times in fact and I have broken and hopes and dreams for others by my selfish actions. It's time that we stop criticizing, chastising and loathing others in this world. We are all human and were told to love one another, not tear one another apart. I have always accepted my faults, apologized to those I have hurt and moved on... This life is TOO short to live in the past or live in pain by blaming others for what we are not willing to work on in ourselves to become better people.