Life Lessons from a friends example

I love BRAVE GIRLS CLUB. 

I love my friend MELODY 

and I love the things that I learn from her and her example

want just a glimpse of who she is click {HERE}

Each night as I lay down to bed I hear a little "ding" from my inbox and it is a message from another BRAVE GIRL sister. And magically it always seems to speak to my heart !!! For instance -

Dear Phenomenal Girl,

We all have parts of ourselves that need working on. We all think thoughts that aren't the best thoughts we could be thinking. We all do things we wish we would have done better, or differently, or not at all. We all make mistakes, every single day, every single one of us. And then, we all wake up every day with lots of chances to start over. It is one of the miracles of life.

When mistakes hold us back, they become bigger mistakes. In fact, holding back could really be an even bigger mistake than the mistake that we originally made! When we do something that we wish we would have done differently, or not at all, we need to do the best we can to make it right, and then let it go. We need to keep moving forward.

Let's not make the bigger mistake of keeping us from the future that is meant for us. You are not your mistakes. You are not your bad mood or your careless act or any of the other labels that come when mistakes are made. You are a human being, and you are learning something new every day. You are getting better and wiser and more equipped. You are doing a great job.

Let yesterday go. Be done with it. Walk onto your light-filled path and make today a better day.

You are so loved!

xoxo

For my Friends . . . .

I have some friends who are having really hard times right now and I just want them to know that I love them, but more importantly they have someone else who loves them even more.

Chicago - Chicago

So excited to be going to Chicago for CHA. A time that I feel really injects some energy into our industry and brings such excitement. We get to see friends that we only see twice a year and enjoy the fabulous creative juices of many talented crafters. 

There is only one sad part . . .

I will miss this cute girl by about a week

She is moving to Chicago !!!

Her boyfriend Christopher has been accepted into grad school at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)  

So they are moving to the windy city !!! I thought we might be lucky enough for our trips to overlap - but no such luck. Just means I am going to have to go back and visit and devote my time to seeing their new life in Chicago. I think I am going to have to make some connections and set up some teaching gigs to go back often !!!

Something to think about . . . . the affects of social media

So I was reading this article by FLYLADY because I have been thinking alot lately what makes people have the want and need to criticize certain things and behave in ways that they do ?

I always grew up with the teaching                                                                                                             "if you can't say something nice then say nothing at all" 

 How I wish this was taught and practiced more often. Especially on the Internet. I do believe indeed that many times when you find someone who has a need to constantly tear someone else or something else down it is just their insecurities screaming out. Because truly if one is happy in their own life they do not have the time or would they want to spend their energy spreading around negativity or hurtful things. I was reminded of this just recently when one of my boys was unable to get a movie ticket to transformers and decided to take it out on his face book status and let the entire world know how angry he was. After chatting with him about how words affect other people I thought How many times have I done this? (this is a reminder to me to let him back on face book to change that status. Because I had told him that I really didn't think that the Internet was the appropriate place for expressing his anger at the moment) Luckily he was just expressing his frustration at the situation. But many times I will see those express their feelings or words in a negative way towards people. It takes longer to heal from words than bruises, especially those coming from a loved or respected person in your life. So we all just need to be careful what we put out there. Becuase once we have put it out on the world wide web it is there forever (even if we delete it)

Have you ever tried to understand how your words affect others?  I think it is something that we all need to be a little bit more aware of. There is enough bad stuff out there on the Internet. Let's not contribute to it. Let's try to be contributors for the good. 

One of my favorite quotes

“That upon which we choose to focus determines our perspective.”  Dhammapada.

I will try to focus more on the "good things" in life 

Being a Missionary Mom

MISSIONARY MOM

Can't wait till they get called

Can't stand to let them go

Can't stop talking about them

Can't wait till they get home

That really does seem to sum it up. But I have to be honest, even though I miss my boy I don't want to rush it for him or me. We are already feeling the one year mark creeping up on us and it seems totally unbelievable that it has already almost been a year. He loves the people of Peru and he loves serving. He is so happy and making the most of this mission.

I too have been so blessed being a missionary mom. When Dylan got his call I found out about an email group called MISSIONARY MOMS. It groups moms together according to where there children are serving. So I am in an email group with probably 50 -75 moms from the all over North America who have children serving in Peru. We have been able to share experiences with each other, comfort each other, celebrate with each other and support each other through this journey. My son has come to love the missionaries he is serving with and I have come to love their mothers. I have even been able to become really good friends with his trainers mom. (A trainer is a senior companion that is with a missionary when he first enters the field.) Elder Diaz was Dylan's trainer and he is an amazing young man. He taught Dylan first hand how to be the best missionary ever. Dylan thought very highly of Elder Diaz and his work ethic as a missionary. 100% obedient and he puts 110% into everything he does. He has a deep gospel knowledge of the scriptures and a burning testimony of the gospel. Elder Diaz is from Chile' and he immediately got his mom my email and she helped me learn to put all my fears to rest and put my faith in my Heavenly Father where our missionaries are concerned. She has come to be a wonderful friend and I hope that one day I will be able to meet her.

Elder Paolacci & Elder Diaz

This is my friend Marcela - Elder Diaz' mom

She has taught me much about having faith. She is a true example of what the pure love of Christ looks like. I have shared some of my struggles with her and her advice is always filled with pure love. She is a wonderful example to me.

There is only one obstacle with our friendship and that is a language barrier. But I have learned to use google translate like a pro. It may not translate perfectly, but I get the gist of what she is saying. And then it types what I am saying into Spanish.

Saturday morning I was concerned because I saw her facebook status say

 "Necesito ayuda del Cielo.......:("

Which translated into English is 

"I need Heaven's help"

This is so unlike her and I knew something must be wrong. So I emailed her to find out what was going on. She had received word from someone in Peru that Elder Diaz was being transferred to Huanuco to train a new missionary. During the transport to this new area he was robbed and someone stole EVERYTHING he had except for the clothes on his body. If you know anything about missionary transfers, you know that they pack EVERYTHING they own into 2 suitcases and head to their next area.  She felt lost and helpless. As a mom she was worried about making sure her son had what he needed. EVERYTHING was gone. But so grateful he was safe and unharmed. As mom she was also so concerned about how she would be able to get her son the things he needed so he could finish his mission. As a missionary mom I know how much all that stuff was. I immediately knew that her missionary mom friends could make this happen. With a few emails to other missionary moms yesterday everyone jumped into action and within a few hours  we were able to  gather items that Elder Diaz would need to finish the last 6 months of his mission. We were even excited to find out that Vanessa, our shipping contact in Salt Lake was flying to Peru on Friday and we would be able to send a big box for Elder Diaz.

Well a few hours later I received this email asking us to please not send the stuff we had gathered. That the church has insurance to replace stolen items. And a fund to take care of missionaries in these situations. They knew where our heart was and that we were only trying to help our friend. But they have seen many situations in these poverty stricken countries where people might get word that we have shipped all this stuff over and might actually hound our missionaries and put them at risk. The last thing I would ever want to do is risk the safety of our North American Missionaries.  

After some long hours of prayer last night I wrote to my missionary mom friends and believe it or not many of us were still awake in the middle of the night. We agreed that no matter how much we wanted to be the ones to help our friend Marcella provide for her son. We needed to follow the guidelines that have been set up for everyone's safety. I wrote an email to my friend  and assured her that the Lord will provide. That I am sure when we hear from our missionaries tomorrow morning , Elder Diaz will assure his mom that all is well .

I  know we all had our hearts in the right place and our intentions were pure. We are so grateful for the wonderful missionary Elder Diaz is and appreciate his love and devotion to the work of the Lord. We just wanted to take this opportunity to show him how much we love and appreciate him. 

I am proud to be part of a group of such wonderful sisters and at a time of need we were able to pull together quickly to come to the aide of another sister in need.  Even though it did not turn out exactly the way we wanted,  I am grateful for the spirit that I felt and the peace I feel knowing that Elder Diaz will be taken care of so he can continue to be the wonderful missionary he is and example to all those he comes in contact with.

I am excited tomorrow is Monday and look forward to hearing from my missionary !!!

Just a thought . . .

Need I Say More . . . . .

BECOME

every morning,

ask yourself not "what do i need to DO today?"

but "how do i need to BE today?"

 

focus on how you can be YOUR authentic, best self.

~shannon mcfayden

Thanks to my dear friend Connie for posting this quote. What a wonderful reminder for me every morning. In fact I think I will print it and laminate it and put it on bathroom mirrors.

Just last night our family home evening lesson was on the difference between DOING and BECOMING and so this was just the perfect quote to sum it all up. Coleton brought home an EFY DVD that has 6 Family Home Evening lessons on them and the first one was 

"BECOME"

it taught that there is a BIG difference in DOING and BECOMING. And our goal is to BECOME. For instance, a person can go and participate in a service project, but that doesn't always mean they are SERVING unless they are doing it out of love. A person can attend church without really worshipping. A person can be nice to someone without forgiving them for something and they could possibly still be holding in hard feelings. 

So my goal is to really work on BECOMING and not just DOING.

What an amazing week Coleton had at EFY - I am sooo happy he went.

Way Back "Whensday"

So many things I LOVE about this picture.

I LOVE those two precious little girls. Marissa was 3 and Morgan was about 20 months. It was right before Dylan was due and I was on bed rest, so that cute daddy you see there was busy helping me alot. I LOVE their cute bows and white socks and tights. I remember every Sunday morning doing their hair and having two of the cutest little girls that you ever saw walk into church. This Sunday was a special one because it was the day  of Jason's mission farewell. They were both super friendly outgoing little girls and Marissa could carry on a conversation with anyone. Especially all of her Uncle Jason's friends at that time. She had a super big crush on a few of his friends. You know how 3 year old girls LOVE 19 year old boys. At least mine did. One favorite memory of Marissa at this time was she was so fascinated with her Uncle Jason going on a mission and his best friend Rob. Oh Marissa had the biggest crush on Rob. I can remember the day Rob got his mission call to Hungary, Marissa announced to all the world "If Rob can go on a mission to hungry, then when I grow up I am going on a mission to "MILKSHAKE". Probably not to funny to anyone but me.  She had the cutest personality. And there was Morgan right there behind her doing everything her big sister did. One of the best memories of this picture is that it was in my parents backyard. The place where we spent many Sunday afternoons together as a family. 

Sweet memories.

I also look at this picture and I think of the two precious little granddaughters I am going to have and how fun it will be for Morgan and Trent to raise two little girls close together. I LOVED it. It was a little bit of heaven. I know that Malorie will be just as good of a big sister as Marissa was and she will LOVE her younger siblings. 

I could look at this picture for hours - I LOVE them so much !!!! 

Can't believe my baby girls are in their 20's

No Matter Where You Are . . . .

You are always in my heart and I'll be here for you !!! 

What a beautiful message from my all time favorite music artist - Donny Osmond.

As a parent sometimes it is hard to let the apron strings loose, whether they are going on a mission, going away to school
 or getting married. 

I miss my kids terribly and sometimes don't cope very well with them being so far away. I am sure I will be learning the life lessons of being a parent until the day I return to live with my Heavenly Father. 

But this I know

 "I love being a mom"

And I also know this

I am not perfect and I make many mistakes. 

But make no mistake

I LOVE my children with ALL my heart.

And I will always be there for them and the door to home 


is ALWAYS open - no matter how many children 


or pets they ever want to bring with them.

"Whenever Your In Trouble"

(click this link to listen)

Thank You Donny !!!

I Can Only Imagine . . .

I absolutely love this song !!! It is one of my very favorites. It makes you really think about what it will be like to meet our Savior. It helps to remind me that I need to step away from the business of this world we live in and remember those things in this life that have eternal consequences that will bring me to the point where I will be able to stand before my Savior. Am I ready ? I am a work in progress. Will I ever be ready ? I sure hope so.  I know that my Savior loves me and knows me and my struggles and if I will turn to him he will help to guide my path in all I do. Sometimes though I must admit that I get so busy and caught up in life that I just try to do it all on my own and then things don't always go as I wish. I love the peace I feel when I include my Savior and my Heavenly Father in my daily life. 

 I know that if I live according to the righteous desires of my heart and do all the things which I know will bring me closer to my Savior then when this day comes it will be an amazing experience.

20 years ago today . . . .

As I look back at my journaling from 20 years ago the thoughts and emotions all come rolling back. I had a somewhat difficult pregnancy. We had been expecting what we thought was our 3rd little girl. Her name was going to be McKenzie. On May 12th, at only 33 weeks pregnant I went into preterm labor and was hospitalized. They had put me on medication to stop the labor. I just remember how yucky it made me feel. The 2nd day that I was in the hospital I remember them wheeling me into a very cold radiology room to do an ultrasound and check my amniotic fluid. As the ultrasound tech was taking a look around she said "so do you know what you are having" I said "yes, we are expecting our 3rd girl" she then said "really, how do you feel about that" and I explained I was happy. I had two little girls at home a 3 1/2 year old and almost 2 year old. Who wouldn't be excited to have another girl ? Well she said how is your husband in a house full of girls ? I told her he was used to it, because he had lot's of sisters. She said "well from what I am seeing he is going to have another boy join the ranks". What ? How can that be ? My doctor told me it was another girl ! She then said

 "that's why he studied how to be a doctor and I studied how to be a radiologists." 

She showed me and sure enough it was a boy !!! Needless to say Don was thrilled. 

They were successful at keeping my labor stopped until I was 36 weeks 5 days and then I began to develop toxemia so I had to be induced for my sake and the baby's. 

Dylan Thomas Paolacci was born shortly after midnight on June 13, 1991 weighing in at just under 9lbs. His initial apgars were 9/9 but within about 15 minutes they noticed he was struggling to breathe. He went to the NICU and when I was able to go down to the NICU after recovery a neonatoligist came out to tell me that my baby had respiratory distress. His lungs were not strong enough to support an almost 9lb body. He spent the first 10 days of his life in the NICU as his lungs got stronger. I just remember how I pleaded with my Heavenly Father to help my baby survive and grow to be strong and healthy. I think Heavenly Father had some big plans for this little guy.

He was the biggest baby in the NICU and one of the only ones struggling to breathe since he was so big!

Celebrating his 3rd Birthday !!!

Grandpa Paolacci, Don, Dylan, Coleton and Logan

Grandpa Paolacci is sure proud of his grandsons !!! 

These are the boys that will carry on the Paolacci name.

Kelly, Dylan & Grant with Grandpa Harper

Senior !

Dylan and Karleigh at Graduation 

Dylan and Coy as Coy prepares to enter the mission field

He is an amazing sno skier

He has a passion for wake boarding !

He is a great big brother !

He is one of my amazing kids !!!

He was thrilled to open his mission call to serve in the Peru Lima East Mission

He has an amazing mission president

He is a wonderful young man serving the people of Peru !!!

Happy Birthday Dylan - We love you

Thank You for being you !!!!

Friday's Favorite Photo

I love this picture of Karleigh. it was just taken yesterday. If you know Karleigh you know that this encompasses the things she loves. She loves whales and she loves the water. Ever since she was a little girl she dreamed of becoming a lifeguard. And last summer that dream became a reality. Karleigh is now on her second season of being a lifeguard and swim instructor. She does amazing.

Operation We R Grateful

Operation We R Grateful is being sponsored by one of my very favorite manufactures that I work for.  It is an effort to give back to our nation's servicemen and women! We are collecting blank, homemade cards to send to deployed troops to write home on, through our partner Operation Write Home.

You can find out more information {HERE}

Be Happy

The time to be happy is now, 

the place to be happy is here. 

Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life. 

Come what may and LOVE it!

{Grateful}

As I sat her worried tonight about my dear friend Connie and hoping she is safe from these fires I came across this post on her blog and let's just say the Lord truly does work in mysterious ways because in the quiet of my home tonight (way too quiet) Many of these touched my heart and spoke straight to my soul. Thank you friend for sharing. Since I am closer now to 45 than I am to 40 this is very appropriate !!!

Grateful for the 45 life Lessons!                                                  Written by Regina Brett,of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio 
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. 
It is the most requested column I've ever written.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.
    Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come...
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift!!

Monday !