Perspective

As my little man is napping, I thought I would take a second and write a post I have been thinking about lately. A couple weeks ago we had a really bad snow storm that we woke up to on Sunday morning. Because of Richards calling he is gone by 7am and I am left to get myself and Liam ready, fed, dressed and out the door on time for our 9am church (ha). After rushing around we finally left only to be greeted by tons of snow and more coming down. Walking to our car I was thinking nasty thoughts about the place we lived, the horrible almost year long winters, wishing places with weather like this didn't exist but mostly worried about Liam whose face was being blown by cold wind, freezing snow falling all over his little nose and his eyes turning red because of that horrible wind. I went as fast as I could (meanwhile having to step in a snow bank to get to my car as high as my knees with a knee length skirt and no tights on) and we finally made it to the car which gave us some relief. Soon the heater was blowing and the car was warm. Then as I was thinking thoughts of "poor little me" a single painting came to my mind:

Instantly I was humbled and my thoughts of "my life is so hard" turned to "I am so blessed". Sure it was cold, but we had jackets, hats, shoes, and a nice car and house with a warm heater. Once my mind went through all the ways I am blessed beyond measure, I realized how incredibly thankful I am. I have ancestors who sacrificed their lives and multiple family members on the trek to Salt Lake knowing that what they were doing was worth the sacrifice. They faced winters like I was experiencing with NO relief. They lost lives because of the exposure. They had to hope the blanket they wrapped their baby in was enough to keep them alive during the night. And that was just the beginning of their worries and struggles. Yet despite it all their faith was so strong, and they knew that God was leading them. I realized that their loved ones and their own lives were sacrificed so I could have the freedom to go to church, learn about the gospel and have my testimony strengthened. It was largely because of them that I have the foundation of the gospel in my life and a knowledge of my Savior. I cannot even begin to imagine what it was like. But I am so grateful that they made the ultimate sacrifice, even for unworthy and whiny people like me. 

And then I realized: Life is all about perspective.

Headstone of one my ancestors who sacrificed their lives

And on a whole different note, because we can't have a post without a picture of Little Man:

Little man with his beloved puppy dog. Gosh I love that little face so much.

O and its worth noting. Today is the beginning of the second trimester for me!! Hooray! Hope it means the return of my energy and motivation to do more than sleep whenever I can...