All You Need Is Love!

I don't expect this to be profound or revolutionary but I heard someone reference another person the other day and the reference went something like this: She had a long list of people she hated.

Simply put, that made me sad.

Jesus said to love one another. There are countless poems about it. I believe that it is a topic in most movies, books and songs. And, people have made a career on the topic (think Hallmark).

I truly believe that it is in the human condition to love others. I think that if you look into another person's eyes and truly try and see where they are coming from then it is pretty hard to hate someone.

I believe that if you think about it, you will find that it is much more difficult and it takes so much extra energy to hate others. In fact, if we quit using our extra energy to hate, dislike and pick others apart, we may actually be able to be more productive and naturally make a positive impact on this world.

Life is too short to spend your time making enemies and writing lists of people you hate/dislike. Save yourself some time and energy and appreciate the differences that make us unique (even if those differences annoy you a bit).

Love is a choice you make from moment to moment. ~Barbara De Angelis

My How Time Flies

I think it's been two weeks or so since my last post. Things got away from me. I'll try not to make this too long.

Last weekend Mark and I decided to take a impromptu camping trip. We packed up the jeep and loaded the dogs to head to Pace Bend Park. Pace Bend is our 'go to' when we forget to make reservations at another park or don't have time to find something different. We didn't do much while we were out there: a little swimming, a lot of talking (no campfires since we have a burn ban), watched some lightning. The main point of the trip: grasping onto simplicity. Life has gotten so hectic and we both know that it will only get crazier. Sometimes you just need to take a moment to reflect on the basics. Here are some pictures.This weekend was 4th of July! We spent Friday afternoon on the sailboat with Mark's friend Landon. We swam, cooked out on the boat and had a pretty good time. We missed the fireworks since his lights didn't work, we had to go back to the dock before dark. (Sorry, no pictures)

Lastly, yesterday was our friend Chris' 28th birthday! His girlfriend, Katie, had an amazing summer bash planned for him. This was the 2nd year in a row for his slip-n-slide birthday. They rented a huge blow-up slip-n-slide. The party was a blast but this year was disastrous for the Grantham family. Why?

First, Mark lost his wedding ring. He tried to find it but the yard was so muddy and wet that it was a lost cause (he's going to rent a metal detector to try and find it but I'm pretty resigned to the fact that it's gone). Second, I had my face smashed by the birthday boy himself.

Long story, short: After the 'big boys' were done playing on the slide, the girls decided it would be safe to take a few runs. Next up, Kim! I take off down the yard and jump to make my slide. I don't remember much but when I got to the end of the slide, my face was hurting pretty bad and I was bleeding everywhere. I had enough sense to get off the slide so the small children wouldn't be scarred for life. There was a lot of commotion but after deciding that there was no need to go to the hospital, it was time to enjoy the party. So we did!

Come to find out, the birthday boy decided to jump over the side of the slide to tackle me as I was sliding. He underestimated how fast I was going and dove straight into my face with his head. Ooops is an understatement but I'm not mad. Chris is pretty endearing.

Today the face is a little sore and swollen but I'm going to live...so that's always good ;)!