Moving to Georgia, y'all!!

Well, this post marks the end of an amazing chapter and the beginning of a whole new one for the Harpers.  When I renamed this blog 4 years ago, we decided to put USA in the name, because deep down somewhere we knew we would be leaving beautiful AZ for a new adventure with our family.  Well, here we are, and we are getting ready to say goodbye for a while to our close friends and family, then start a new life and new adventure in a whole new area in Georgia.  I will be at home with the kids, and Tim will be working full time and it will be away from family and most things familiar.  It will push us all out of our comfort zones, but we are up for the challenge.  One of my goals at home will be to record all our amazing adventures, and what better place than to revitalized my USA blog and share our adventures with our family and friends. We are excited, scared, humbled, nervous, sad, and most of all ready for a great adventure. Come along with us!!

In my quest to discover and nurture my "passions" (I learned about this from a passion guru) I am trying to be more in tune with the way I feel when I talk about something I do or like or am interested in.  What is a passion you ask? It is something you would do every day if you never got paid. I've defined 2 today, well I've known about them, but they came out of the mist and cleared up in my head as actual passions in my life. They are as follows, (with more to be revealed later):

• My kids and husband
• Health and wellness
• Running. period.

I separated health and wellness from running because I get a different "feeling" when I think of running than when I think of health and wellness. When I think of running, I get all tingly.  When I plan for a run, I am happy and look forward to it.  I define a 'good' run as putting on my shoes and treading long enough to get sweaty and clear my head. Sometimes it takes only 20 minutes, sometimes it goes for an hour.  It doesn't matter how fast or slow I go, or how many "pick-ups" or "sprints" I complete, just that I feel like I've centered my head for the day. 

I stopped, or fell out of habit of this blog because it wasn't my passion.  I felt it was taking me away from my passion, which is my kids and Tim.  I discovered recently a blog and the author has a way of writing and cutting through the distractions and defining how to make the most of time to be spent on what matters most.

That is my passion.

I knew it all along, but have just realized it. Good thing it's not too late. I can make the most of today, today. Yay!!  So, as I make realizations, I'll share what I can. I haven't been totally off the record, I actually dusted off my old Journal out of my bedside table and have been writing in that consistently since January.  I continue to search for clarity, and now have decided that the search can be as amazing as the discovery.  

Hopefully more to come soon! 

I found hands free mama blog online. It is my new favorite. I'll find the link, the other  one was broken or wrong.
 Here it is: it is the facebook, with links I think...
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Hands-Free-Revolution/148689625181672

Here's the album.... Cross your fingers it works....!

What's up with the Harper's? Click to explore...


Open the album and click on the slideshow, hopefully I'll figure out how to add a slideshow directly to the blog, but this is a huge step for me.  There is more, but this is a small snippit.  We are so blessed to have healthy girls and a happy family, and I love to share and document as much as I can.

What we've really been up to...

I think I've managed to make a picasa web album of our doings of late, at least some of them.  That is coming... but most importantly is Emma's baptism today.  She was so beautiful and the day was nearly perfect.  Emma was really in tune with the Spirit, and was just so sweet.  She has a special spirit about her, she is one of those Spiritual Giants who just knows. 

Where are we?

That is a GREAT question!  When I have the answer, I'll let you know.  We are a busy family.  I don't know how we got to this point.  I guess it's not a point, rather it's a phase of our family. I'm so blessed to be working 5 days a week right now.  It's a kicker on the body, but at least the finances are not as scary.  Emma is out of school and just turned 8. Her baptism is scheduled for July 9th and we are so happy for her.  Audrey and Kennedy are just so much fun at ages 5 and 3.  They all keep us busy, more Tim at home with all of them while he's working on graduate school/employment/cars/being amazing.  I'm running a little bit still, planning for a half marathon again in November, but the hardest thing for me is the time away from my family when I go training.  I have terrible "working mom" guilt.  I'm sure that it's just in my head and I should just forget it, but that's easier said than done.  Until then, I try to spend as much quality time with Tim and the girls.  My life feels like a bullet point list these days.  Most of it stuff I feel like I need, but don't want to afford (example:  new running shoes and possibly a visit to the chiropractor because of an injury caused by my 350 miles old shoes...etc! both of which will cost $hundreds$) But, it is all important, so trying to decide what is not as important is really difficult for me.

 My biggest challenge lately is the time vaccuum of digital toys...ie music/mp3photos.  I would love to be able to listen to the latest and greatest music and I love to listen to the Ensign Magazine on my phone, and share amazing pictures of my girls and family, but I am seriously BACKWARD when it comes to that kind of technology.  I don't know if it's because I am not into buying the latest greatest mp3 or phones to do it (because I am a Frugal Franny) or what, but I end up spending time I don't have (which at this point is more valuable than the money).  Maybe I just need validation that it really does take a lot of time to do that junk, but I can't see how it is worthwhile to waste that much time.  I never thought I'd say this but I wish I had my old cassette walkman and my mix tape recorded form the radio!!  I'd rather believe I'm just so technologically declined it doesn't work for me, because it's me. And that's all the time and patience I have to talk about it.

realization

It is Easter.  I am so thankful for the gift of the Atonement and Resurrection of my Savior Jesus Christ.  I know He lives.  I KNOW! I do know by the tender mercies I experience every day in my life.  I want to share one this  morning.  Backup, last week we went to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple with the girls.  They LOVED it.  Audrey kept asking if they really did that to Jesus (having difficulty distinguishing between the actor and the actual story) but I could tell she could feel the Spirit witness to her.  So, this morning I showed them an amazing montage on Mormon messages about how Jesus had to Stand Alone based on a talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland.  Similar images were depicted in the film that Audrey saw in the Pageant.  She asked the same questions.  I told her He loved us SOO much he endured all that for you and me and everyone on Earth.  Wheels started to turn... and I don't remember exactly what I asked, but I something about how the Holy Spirit feels when we feel it, and she turned so quietly to me and said, "Mom, It is what I feel right now."  I could tell she was having a spiritual experience, and I didn't want it to pass by without remembering it.  I let that happen too often, so now it is recorded, and I set a goal again to strive to make moments remembered by writing it down.  Audrey's birthday is tomorrow, and She'll be 5 years old.  I love her so much.  She asks good questions.  She asks questions I don't even begin to fathom asking, and yet at her young age, she is like an old soul.  I am thankful she can identify how the Holy Ghost feels when she feels it and that will help her to seek and find truth.

"I'm Lovin' San Diego... This place is off the Shizam!" - Marty from movie Madagascar

Kennedy has been saying that all week. We're here in Escondido and Lovin' it!  The weather has been less than stellar, but we've had enough sun to feel like we're really on vacation.  It was raining the moment we arrived on Sunday (after a 2 hour detour because we had NO map, NO GPS, No IDEA where we turned wrong from our printed directions, some nice people in Julian CA directed us 60 miles back on track!!).  We finally made it to the Welk Resort in Escondido.

 Monday it rained most of the day, we made it to the grocery store and Costco (which if you thought it was busy in AZ, you ain't seen NOTHIN"!).  We stopped by the beach at Buccaneer park in Oceanside to check the surf, and it was higher than we've ever seen, and higher than the locals had seen it too.  Probably related to the tsunami and the moon being closest to the earth in 20 years.  They said it was 6 feet higher than normal.  It was crazy, but beautiful.

Tuesday we went to Sea World.  It hasn't changed much, except for commercialization.  It was great for the kids, and the dolphin show was part "Cirque De Dolfin" and it was great, Shamu show was a bummer because the trainers can't get into the water due to the accident a while back where the whale killed the trainer.  So, that was a bummer.  All the whales did was jump out of the water and splash.  Oh well, the kids really enjoyed it.

Wednesday we stopped by the beach to check it out, and couldn't help ourselves.  We didn't have any swim stuff or towels or anything (or camera), so after the kids ran around in the surf and soaked themselves in their clothes, we went back to the resort and went swimming.  It was great.  Tim has been cooking like the amazing gourmet chef he is and the food has been spectacular!!

Thursday (today) we hit up the beach (after all night rain and hazy morning, the weather after 10 was sunny but the surf was high, and riptide was strong. We all just ran around the surf and sat on the rocks because there was still no dry beach.  The girls loved it, and Audrey actually got washed upside down and took it like a champ.  So, then we came home after a few hours and ate lunch and went back to the pool where we played another couple of hours till the girls were almost asleep on the poolside chairs.  Now we're back resting getting ready for the evening and the next few wonderful days we have here.  I will figure out how to make a public album to share all the pictures. They are great!