Family means Love

With today being Valentines Day, I wanted to write about the people I love....and since it's Throwback Thursday I am posting some old pictures of those people. 

I recently read a statement that said, "Family: Today's little moments become tomorrow's precious memories." That is exactly how I feel about my family. I have so many precious memories with these people that are so close to me. Memories I hope to never forget. 

The members of my family are definitely my best friends. For me family truly means love. It means loving and being loved for the rest of your life...no matter what. Family means always having someone there to talk to, and always having someone there to listen. It means you are part of something extraordinary. Family means always having someone to laugh with and laugh at. It is the purest form of love that exists. 

Families are not always perfect and mine is no exception, but with every bump in the road we experience we grow closer together. It's because of the hard things we've had to go through that I know my family members are always there to lean on. I know I can call them any time day or night and they will be there to help me in times of need. Watching members of my family hit hard times and then fight their way back means that I know I can do it too. We are all there to support and encourage one another. We come together in the trials. 

My family is kind of crazy. We like to have fun and that means lots of laughs. Families are the people you can act like a complete fool around and they'll still love you the next day...but in my family it also means that they'll join you in acting like a fool. In the picture below you'll see a photo of my mom and I playing in the ocean in our street clothes. I remember that day like it was yesterday. We had just arrived in San Diego and wanted to quickly check out the beach, but didn't plan on playing in it just yet. However, the temptation to get our feet wet was too enticing and before you know it we were in up to our knees. People were looking at us like we were nuts and as we walked back to the hotel someone asked why in the world we had done it. We just smiled and laughed and said "Why not?" It was crazy, but it was fun, and it is a wonderful memory. I have so many other memories like this. Road trips with my brother, dance parties with my sister, laughs upon laughs upon laughs!

I love my family to the moon and back and I know they feel the same way. 

One Word

Life is a journey of discovery and change. We all have goals, dreams, desires. We have things we want to do in our future, and things we want to quit doing. For one reason or another we all want to do better, be better, grow, develop, and change. This desire for growth is something I believe is in all of us. The things we want to change are different for everyone. We all have our own unique strengths and weakness. We all have different things we need to change and/or improve on in order to grow and reach our full potential. One thing I have learned is that the more we grow and improve upon our personal weaknesses the more we become who we were meant to be...who we truly are on the inside. 

Think of some ways in which you want to grow. Is there a certain thing you need to change in order to find that growth? Is there something you feel is missing from your life that you want to find and hold onto until it becomes a part of you? Is there specific goal you want to achieve? 

Now, that you've been thinking about what it is you need in order to further develop into the person you want to be I have another question for you... How would you describe that in one simple word?? 

I am getting ready to start on a project, a personal journey of discovery. It is a year long journey focused on one thing. In fact it is all focused on one word. The basic idea of this project is that you choose one word to focus on for the year. Then each month there are certain mini projects that you do to help this word take life in you. The goal is to really take time to cultivate what this word means for you and your personal desires for growth and by the end of the year it is something that you have not only learned from, but that has changed you, helped you to breathe deeper, see clearer, grow, and become more of the real you. 

As I prepare to begin this year long journey I am trying to decide what word I am going to choose for this project. I have had many words come to mind and am trying to choose the one that will mean the most to me. Here are a few of the words I'm trying to choose from: hope, happiness, faith, love, and peace. 

What would your word be? Please comment on this blog or my facebook post and let me know. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this. Also keep in mind that I may be blogging about this journey I'm embarking on several times throughout the year...just a head's up! 

Luvs & Hugs

Tiff

Hidden Talents??

Throwback Thursday: I've been reading through some of my old journals lately and love reminiscing about the past and looking at how it has or hasn't affected who I am today. I decided that every Thursday I'm going to write a blog post about something in my past. Could be from when I was little or maybe it was just last year. I don't know, we're just going to try it and see how it goes. 

When I was in elementary school we had to write a poem about wishes for Language class. I recently came across the poem I wrote and couldn't help but chuckle.

 If I Had A Wish

If I had a wish then it would be that I had more wishes

one, two, three

The first one I'd use would be for others. 

For all abused children, I'd wish them kinder fathers and mothers

The second one would be for my family

My sister, my brother, my father and mother.

That we would grow closer in kindness and love,

So we can be together forever above.

The best wish of all I'd save until last.

All my friends and I to my house we will flock,

To hear a song being sung to me by 

New Kids on the Block!

I used to be SO obsessed with New Kids On The Block. I had NKOTB backpack, lunchbox, tons of albums, and even a doll that looked like the lead singer. They were the One Direction of my day and it makes me laugh to look back now at how crazy and obsessed I was over them. I can definitely say this was a stage I grew out of. 

Looking back on this poem though I realize how much I loved to write even at a young age. I was too busy being a kid to realize it, but the passion for writing was always there. When I was in second grade I submitted a writing piece for my school's Reflections contest. A contest where students are encouraged to use their creative talents to express themselves in an original piece of work. I don't think I really understood all of that when I was six, but I was encouraged by my teacher and my parents to participate, so I did. The theme that year was "I'm Proud To Be...". I wrote an essay on how proud I was to be the sister of a child with Down Syndrome. I honestly didn't think it was anything special when I submitted it to my teacher. Then came the shocking news that I had won in my category. I felt special and have kept that essay all these years. When I was young I had no idea how much writing would mean to me as I got older. I had no idea how this talent would play a role in my life. I also didn't realize how much this writing thing was a part of my life when I was a child until recently when I came across this poem and took time to sit and think about all the writing I did as a kid. I thought my love of writing started when I was in high school, but the more I think about it I realize that it started much earlier than that. 

God has given each of us gifts and talents. Some of us know exactly what those talents are and how to use them, others of us are still trying to figure it out. I know He has not left us alone in this search. If you are one who is still trying to figure out what your special talent is I encourage you to go read your patriarchal blessing, read through old journals, take an inventory of things you enjoy, and things you are naturally good at, and most importantly pray about it. I'm still trying to figure out what it is I'm supposed to be doing with my writing and how the Lord wants me to be using this talent. It is a life-long process, but there is joy in the journey as we discover more about ourselves and the amazing things we can do. 

Now, I'll leave you with a small piece of my old obsession.... :)