Never Been Like This

I just have to say that I have NEVER BEEN This BUSY in my ENTIRE LIFE!!!

Is that a good thing?  Well, MOST of what I'm busy with is family or church service related so I guess it's a good thing.  It's exhausting!  But in many ways I LOVE it!  I love meeting people and being an influence for good and positive change where I can be.

This month was my birthday!  I turned 44!  Dang, that sounds SOO much older than I feel.  But I focused on the number FOUR and had a celebration with FOUR of us (me and 3 pals), and we went and had a FABULOUS hike up to Stewart falls!  It was pretty easy, only an hour each way and the waterfall was incredible!  The path was mostly shaded and not crowded at all.  We ate some snacks at the falls and enjoyed the wonderful views.

It was a beautiful day too!  Then we came back to a meal that I was craving:  Sweet Pork Nacho's and fresh fruit!  Yes, I was saving my calories for such a wonderful birthday meal.  I got the sweet pork from Costa Vida and my daughter had it all ready for us by the time we got back.

 Then we each wore FOUR crazy items:  fake arm tattoo, fake mustache, fake ring, and fake hair extension.  We were set up for lots of laffing and playing games.  We played one of my favorites:  Spoons, and also White Lies, Farkle, and Scum.  It was fun just to be zany!

We ended with banana splits choosing from FOUR different kinds of ice cream and FOUR different kinds of toppings.  It was pretty EPIC!  I feel so thankful to have friends I can celebrate with.  It wasn't an exclusive party by any means... I would love to have had a ton of friends over... but just felt I'd stick to a small number  this time and focus on FOUR.  (I wasn't up to hosting a large group this time, but anther time - yes!)

It was ONE YEAR ago on my birthday that we PULLED our moving Truck and loaded down GMC into our new house and neighborhood here.  We didn't know a single soul here!  We arrived completely broke!  We were packed so tight, we had left a bit of our furniture and items because they just didn't fit.  So now it's been a full year and I actually have awesome friends and neighbors to celebrate with!!  Brent was so nice to let me have this day. :)

Right now my life is FULL of Girls Camp Planning and work (we go next week), Relief Society Planning & all that contains, Family errands & needs, Computer Work, Late nights.... AND.... BASKETBALL.  Seriously, that's the ONE THING I just do for myself.  I try to get a run in when I can too.  It is SO fun to play basketball with the ladies here.  We have so much fun and are so comfortable with each other yet play aggressively - and my daughter joins us most of the time which I absolutely LOVE.  

There are big trials, some drama, hurt feelings, issues that crop up and things that bring me down... and I will say that  my life is also quite HARD and downright more CHALLENGING than ever right now.

BUT, my life is also SOOOO GOOOOD!

I think because I do struggle with certain things,
it makes the good times and blessings SOOO much sweeter to me!

And I know I can do hard things.
And so can YOU!

Much Love and Warmest Wishes to you!!

XoxoXO ~Margene