{light bulbs}

There has been a lot going on these past few weeks, and there will be even more going on over these next few months. I am sure most of you already know that we will be finishing up Steve's 4th yr of rotations in Utah. Our "new" game plan is that I am going to be driving out with my boys (with the help of my dad) on Aug. 1st. Steve has Step 2 of Boards that he needs to take as well as finish up his last rotation here in Iowa, that goes until the 3rd week of August. So he is going to stay back and study for Boards, and then his family is going to come out and help him pack up the moving truck, and make the long trek back to Utah.

That means I have a whole lot to do these next 2 months to get ready for all the chaos. Like sell our Townhouse. Clean. Organize. Pack. Job hunt. (you get the idea) I also will be going back to work full time so that will definitely be a huge adjustment for all of us. I have loved staying at home with my boys these past 2 years, and even though it will be a challenge to go back to work as a nurse again, I know the sacrifices will pay off.

I was telling Steve the other day, that these past (almost) 7 years spent being married together definitely have not been boring! Every year has brought new adventures and there is no doubt there will be many more adventures ahead.

So I was reading this conference talk from the Priesthood session the other day, by Pres. Uchtdorf. You can read it {here} I highly recommend it. Without going into a lot of details, he shares a story about a jumbo jet that crashed in the Everglades killing over 100 people. The crew and pilot had noticed a "light bulb" that wasn't lighting up. They became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below. By the time someone noticed what was happening, it was too late to avoid disaster. After the accident, investigators determined that the plane was in perfect mechanical condition. Everything--except one single burned out light bulb. That tiny light bulb--worth about 20 cents--started the chain of events that led to the plane crashing. The moral of the story: is that this tragedy happened, because the crew placed it's focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment, while losing sight of what mattered most.

{I made this handout for my VT this month}

This story is a great reminder to me, of all the many "light bulbs" that I will encounter over these next few months as I prepare to accept the challenges ahead. I will try my best to focus on what is most important, and not let myself get caught up in the stress of it all. Not an easy thing for me to do...trust me! But I will try.

Okay, so this next issue is a really big "light bulb" for me right now. Tanner is still not walking on his own yet. This has been really frustrating for me, and I know at some point in time he will quit being so stubborn and walk on his own. But when??????? He is almost 19 months old and is getting annoyingly heavy to carry around. (and for those of you who may think I carry him around all day, and that is why he isn't walking...trust me ---SO NOT the case.) So next month, we are going to get him into a specialist to see if they can figure out what my little Tanner bug is being such a stinker.

{can't you just see the little smirk on his face, that says he totally knows how much it frustrates me that he won't cooperate?}

So from this point forward, I am going to really try and focus my thoughts and efforts toward this next picture, and realize how much I love these two little peanuts!

And ignore the light bulbs.