Phew! What a summer! Our household was a buzz all summer long with projects & road trips & youth camps. Everyone was going in a different direction. I am calling it our
"summer of improvements".
Some of my favorite television shows are the ones where some old, beat up or neglected house is fixed up or a dirty house is cleaned up & made beautiful again. I feel the same way about people. To watch someone who struggles with one thing or another, come to learn who they are (a child of God) and make changes in their life that leads to their progression is so inspiring to me. I love when something old is made new again. I love when something or someone damaged is made whole again. I guess you can say I am a HUGE fan of improvement!
My husband Derron went with our 14 yr. old son, Niclaas, and his scout group to Philmont in New Mexico. Philmont is a leadership camp owned & run by the Boy Scouts of America. They hiked approximately 90 miles over 10 days, showering only twice, once on the 5th day & the other before they loaded up the vans & headed home (thank goodness). It was such an important experience for them. It was tough but isn't that when we learn our greatest lessons? Long story short...my son came home a different boy, an improved boy.
My 17 yr. old daughter went to "Especially For Youth" at the BYU Provo, UT campus. Another fantastic program. She had a great "building" experience. If you want to read a story of progression & improvement click here for an inspiring story, oh...and don't forget to check the "comments". I love when you get to hear the back story.
A long awaited home improvement project was finished....hallelujah! I have been looking at a pile of sandstone & dreaming of a patio for several years now. Well...it is FINALLY done! In the end I moved over 9,000 lbs. ( yes...I did mean to write 3 zeros) of sandstone & moved a dump truck load of sand with my shovel & wheel barrow. The backyard is greatly improved & so is my physic! So many people have been wondering what I've been doing to look so trim...well that's it. I always refer to my yard as my gym & this summer it definitely was. The great thing about "working out" in your yard is that in the end the improvement is two fold...the yard looks great & so do YOU! You'll never see me in an aerobics class but you will see me pushing a mower & hauling rocks & hoeing weeds.
The week before school started it was my turn for a get away. I went with two of my friends to the Barbara Barrington Jones "Especially For Women" at Thanksgiving Point in Utah. I went thinking it would be a fun trip with fun friends. What I didn't realize was that this was going to be the very best thing I've ever done for myself. That's the best way I can describe it. I'll never forget this experience. I am forever changed because of it and what I learned their will be improving me from this point on.
