Sister-In-Law and five-year-olds

A couple of nights ago, I went over to my brother's house to have some drinks with my sister-in-law. We had such a great talk and she gave me some words of wisdom that I found to be so true and so inspiring. Whether we like it or not, Laura and my conversations usually end up with me talking to her about boys and her giving me pieces of advice that she has acquired through her own experiences. After I told her about an experience I went through a few years back she started to talk to me about how one day I will be grateful of that time that I went through. She said that every time a person experiences pain, a little piece is cut deeper in them. Then once happiness comes, that hole needs to be filled. So, if I experience little bits of pain throughout my life, it will just make room for more happiness to fill that hole in the future. If a person never experiences sadness and pain, they will just have surface-level happiness. Of course she said it a little better than I did but it just made me feel so good to hear those words. She is just one of those people that is always able to cheer me up and I really appreciate that about her. So one of my goals in 2010 is to remember those words.

On a totally different note, I had a wonderful day today with the kids that I babysit, Abby and Hannah. I took them to get haircuts and Hannah said the cutest thing. She had decided that she wanted to cut her hair short and told her hairdresser that she wanted her hair to look like mine so that she could get attention from a boy named Max in her kindergarten class. It definitely brought a smile to my face and it reminded me of the days of being a five year old and having adults influence me so much. I just love those girls and cherish every moment I get to spend with them!

Christmas

It's so funny how things have changed over the years. I thought a lot about this yesterday. I have always known that Christmas is a time to be with family and appreciate the ones who love you in the name of our Lord. But in reality, I always treated Christmas as most people do, a time to open presents and be so wrapped up in the anticipation of Santa's arrival. One would think that it shouldn't take me til the age of 23 to change my thoughts but I have finally come to appreciate how truly important family is and the whole gift thing is simply an addition to a time shared with loved ones.

So I'm totally not trying to sound preachy but I am so excited that I let myself see the real meaning of Christmas this year. I have a wonderful family and it shouldn't take one day out of the year to acknowledge it. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

A new start....in blogging and in life....

So here I am blogging. I never really thought I would call myself a "blogger". In fact, I never really quite understood why people blog. But I had a change of heart tonight when I went to dinner with one of my favorite people in the world and my dear friend Holly. She talked to me about how much she has enjoyed blogging and giving the world a small taste of her life. I started to think about how it might just be what I need in my life right now. So this is me attempting to blog just to give the whoever might want to listen, what is going on in this brain of mine.

So I know you're dying to know what is on my mind today....

I have always known that I have amazing friends. I try to thank God everyday for these great friends because I have chosen amazing people to share memories with. I knew I needed my friends last night and they exceeded all of my expectations. Any break up is expected to be hard and my friends were just what I needed. So as I started my day today, I feel full of love from the people that matter the most to me...my family and friends. I love them and hope I am truly blessed that they are in my life. Afterall, they will always be there.

Welcome to my blog....it will be full of magic...hopefully the Disney World of blogs.