The life you wish to live

I just read the most touching article. It is about a girl named Jessie who has CF. Incredible story of courage and the embracing of life to it's fullest.
http://en.chatelaine.com/english/weekend/article.jsp?content=20080808_120014_13808

Many of us take it for granted that we will live to see our 50th birthday and many others may even get to see their 80th or their 100th birthday. So what would you do if you knew that your life was to be cut short? Would you live differently than you do today? Are we just filling our lives with meaningless endevors because we "think" we have tons of time left to do the important things. How would your life change if you knew you wouldn't live to see your 50th? Would you continue to spend your time the way you do now or would you make some substantial changes?

The theme of living life seems to keep popping up for me. As I have reflected for sometime now I believe that life is about time management. It is not about doing more in less time but instead about living better. It's about making each day count and going to bed each night knowing that you put the important things first. This doesn't mean not taking the garbage out or cleaning the house but it does mean ensuring that our time is focussed to include time with friends and family. It means having fun and time spent appreciating the world around us. For me this means planning trips to explore the world and keeping on top of the issues affecting humanity on a global scale. It also means warm pancakes on a Saturday morning and late nights reading journal articles. It's about taking pictures to capture the beauty around me and spending time loving my pets. It's about worship through song and quiet moments before bed. It's about combining the incredible with the day to day to create an integrated whole.

So what will you do today? Are you living a life of balance and healthy priorities? A few small changes may be all that is needed. Let Jessie's life inspire you. :)

Life is getting sweeter by the day! My DH and I just welcomed two new additions to our family and we couldn't be happier! It's something else to experience the pitter patter of little feet on the hardwood and have to watch where you walk so you don't end up tripping over the small balls of fur that never tire of chasing you around.

This one here is Rida. Her name comes from the Saskatchewan Rough Riders. Rider just wasn't much of a girls name so she ended up being Rida. She is fully of energy and loves to tease her brother. :) She will bark at him and then yelps when he pounces to play. She is also a real cuddle bug and will often climb into your lap to sleep.

And this sweet one is Sketch. He's named after my love of scrapbooking and scrapbooking sketches! He is sweet as well but has less energy than his crazy sister. :) He loves to have his belly rubbed and is a little shy when it comes to loud noises and other dogs. He's very hard to get a picture of though because his fur is so dark.

These two love to cuddle as well. They sleep curled up in a ball every night. I guess that is the way it was in the litter so the tradition continues!

Here's to our two balls of loveable fur and our live that will never be the same!

Already July

So here I am sitting in the airport in North Carolina and wondering what to do........what better time to blog. I have been up since 3am MST and running on a bag of Doritos along with a raspberry cereal bar that I had while getting dressed this morning.

We are heading back from vacation today. It seems like they always pass by so fast in a whirlwind of suitcases, suntans, attractions and plane rides. I write down what I do each day on vacation so that later I can reminisce about all the fun I had that I don't remember as clearly as I would like to. Don't misinterpret what I am saying here, drunken binges are not the reason I have problems remembering. It is really more about doing so many new things in such a short amount of time that I have problems remembering all the details about what happened when and where I say "such and such". For this reason I am thoroughly thankful for my camera. I love looking back at the freeze frames of my vacation. These pictures help take me back to the way the water smelled during the moonlit walk on the beach or how fun that third loop in the rollercoaster was and most importantly reminds me of all the reasons I take vacations. They are not only a get away from everyday life but a chance to discover yourself within the context of a new culture or a new setting.

I learn a lot about myself while on vacation and force myself to stretch my comfort boundaries that everyday life provides. It is really for these reasons, more than just an escape from everyday life, that I love vacations. It also doesn't hurt that I find it therapeutic to look through all the pictures and chose which ones I will forever pay homage to through my scrapbook pages.

So please watch here for pics of my vacation. I will post shortly after I get home. Just two more flights. :) Until then, here's to enjoying the journeys we embark on and to discovery of the people inside.

Some Pictures

I just picked up a new Cannon Rebel XSi and played with it on a walk around the river valley. Here are a few shots from the walk. Enjoy!

And here we are.......

I have been wanting to start a blog for some time now. I have a passion to create and to have others create with me. Creativity allows for discovery and questioning of who we are and our purpose in this life. Enjoy visiting here and feel free to leave your comments and links to your creations in whatever form they exist: word, picture, etc.