Mystery Man in San Fran

The Smartest Eight-Year-Old I've Ever Met

I met the smartest eight-year-old I've ever met on Saturday. Sometimes I get to go play my music at the soup kitchen while people eat. It's probably my favorite place to play...I leave with a lot of good memories and a reminder to be grateful for my blessings. It's a less formal "show" and people just come talk to me in the middle of my songs. I love it! So I sang there on Saturday evening and met some wonderful people. This one guy came up during "Handshake," and started making up his own version of the song, Indian style. It was great. :) He said next time I come, he's going to write a song for me and him to sing together. Watch out for that one! :)

I have a soft spot for 8-yr-old Ann. She's smart and beautiful. Her eyes shine with determination to do great things with her life. Her heart is pure and innocent, but she hasn't had an easy life. I found out Ann's parents divorced when she was four, so that's been really tough for her. Just talking to her for 15 minutes, I could feel that Ann is a very special and valiant daughter of God who was sent here to make a difference. She opened her heart to me and told me about her dreams. She said, "Sometimes people fight about such silly things. I don't get it. But I want to help people and change that." She told me about a boy at school who got in a fight over a bag of chips, and she said, "It's not worth it to fight! Especially over chips! And the kind of chips he had were a disgusting kind too!" :) Seriously, this 8-yr-old has a heart of gold. I was so impressed that at such a young age, she was trying to figure out how she could make a difference. She wants to go places and she has big dreams. But with the fire she has inside her to go places, she will get to those dreams and beyond. Ann really made me think about my own dreams. Am I doing everything I can to make them come true? How can I make a difference?

Thanks, Ann, for reminding me about using each day for the things that really matter. I know that each one of us has a purpose in being on the earth at this time and things that Heavenly Father has specifically sent us here to do. We are here to make a difference - to love deeply, to change lives, to take risks and grow and learn. It's never going to be a piece of cake. But finding our purpose and living to fulfill that is more rewarding than anything else.

Memories on Marco Island

I haven't posted for a few days cuz I was in FLORIDA. We stayed on Marco Island and it's gorgeous.
Favorite memories on Marco Island:
~Parasailing with my brothers and seeing dolphins
~Watching the sunset with my mom almost every night. I could watch the sunset over and over. God is an amazing artist. It's so cool how every night it's different and breathtaking.
~Going down the water slide at least 50 times with my family
~Collecting sea shells early in the morning with Mom and Dad
~Seeing starfish for the first time! (besides in pictures and movies)
~Our crazy parasailing guides who told me to "don't move - seriously don't move!" when I was getting out of the boat, pretending there was something dangerous in the water that I was about to be attacked by. Scared the living daylights out of me until I realized they were joking. Whew! Boy were they jokesters (and good at it too)! :)
~Alligators! There were tons in the everglades and brave little turtles were all around them too.
~My brothers and Dad eating alligator tail. Yuck! But interesting. They said it tastes like chicken. I like chicken but I'm not so sure about this alligator tail.

I highly recommend going to Marco Island. Beautiful, relaxing and renewing. Here are a few pictures...

Scott and Brian on the boat after parasailing

This is a very common part of the vacation where Brian and Scott wrestle each other. Boys and wrestling...I just don't get it. :) But gotta love em!

Dolphin!!! Mr. Flipper! I was so excited! If I had to be an animal, I would be a dolphin. Why? They're smart, cute, jump in the water, and are pretty much at the top of the food chain! I bet now I've convinced you to be a dolphin...

Brian & I parasailing

Those shadows are the clouds...you might have figured that out already.

Scooter and I parasailing. When we came down they dunked us in the water a little! That was my favorite part. So fun! They said they would have gotten us more if Scotty didn't have the camera with him. Oh well! Next time. Parasailing made me want to go skydiving. Are you game?


I can't figure out how to rotate this pic. Hmm.


"Have you ever watched a sunset and felt you could not breathe? What if it's Him? What if it's God speaking? Who knows how He'll get ahold of us. Get our attention, to prove He is enough. He'll do and He'll use whatever He wants to. To tell us, I love you." -Lyrics from one of my fave songs called "God Speaking" written by Ronnie Freeman, performed by Mandisa. You can listen to it here. I brought my ipod and listened to this song while watching the sunset. God is in everything. He created so many amazing things for us to enjoy and also so that we remember Him. I know He loves you and me.


"As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made." ~ D&C 88: 7

Cool Blog - Give Away Today

A few weeks ago I discovered this really unique and cool blog. There was an article in the Daily Universe about this blog called "Give Away Today." They give away something (or sometimes several things) every single day! Pretty rad, right?!

Anyone can enter - usually each person can enter up to three times a day (see the instructions on their site on how to enter). It's really simple to enter and is totally worth it. Plus you get to learn about unique things that you might be interested in and not know about otherwise...unique clothing stores, photographers, jewelry, music, etc. Three of my CDs are going to be given away as part of their Mother's Day give away next Friday. You should check out the site here...who knows, maybe you'll win something!