Stress.

Last night we watched a documentary, courtesy of netflix, about STRESS. It was very very interesting. The documentary was based on the studies on a professor (who's name I don't remember right now) who studies the human brain and what stress does to our bodies. He thought a great way to figure things out, was to look at wild baboons, since they are much like us. Every test result he got from the baboons, he got the same result for humans. Basically, stress is really bad for you. The wrong kind of stress, anyways. Stress clogs your arteries, stress limits the functioning of the part of your brain for learning and memory, raises your heart beat and your blood pressure, not to mention it makes you an uptight person. In that documentary, another professor mentioned that the world seems to, for some reason, look up to those who live a life full of stress, or admire them. For some reason we look at an extremely busy person who can multitask and have 20 things on their plate at once, and wish we could do the same. Why, exactly? So we can get sick? So we can be unhappy? People need to recognize when enough is enough and learn how to have and how to appreciate a balanced life style. Too much work (if it stresses you out) is actually NOT good for you. Another random tidbit I found interested was about mother's who raise children with some form of disability. A professor did a study on a group of mothers with a 'disabled' child, and what they found was that 1 year of taking care of that child, packed on 6 years of 'stress' related problems to their bodies. SIX years. Now, maybe you aren't in that type of situation, but maybe you still feel as stressed as you could be. You may not even realize it, but you are doing damage to your body by doing so! Of course, there are always going to be stressful situations in life, and difficult days, but the key is your attitude. That is really the only thing you can do about it! That is the one thing you have total control over, your attitude and how you react to situations, and that can be one of two ways - negatively or positively. You might not have control over what happens in life, or at work, school, with your family, but you have control over your reaction. React positively! Another key point is to try your best to be a good person - to focus on giving, rather than receiving, in any way possible.

ps. Did you know, when you get stuck in a traffic jam, or your child spills his cheerios all over the floor, you release the exact same stress hormone a Zebra does, when it's being cashed by an enemy and running for it's life? Calm down.

Moving on

Very soon we will be long gone from Jacksonville!!!!! Kyle's early out got accepted so he is EAS-ing on the 20th of this month!!! We are both very excited. We are going to be driving to Michigan and on the way there stop at a few places in New York. I'm super excited to go to Palmyra with Kyle and visit the church history places. I have been once before but it will be his first time and I think he will really like it.

In the mean time we have a lot to wrap up here before we can go. We've got a list made of everything we need to do and it seems like a lot! But, I think that's just because it's all written down on a little calender..so it looks super jam packed. I think we will be okay though! We have already started getting rid of things from the apartment, either selling them or giving them away to the donation center (or the trash can!). It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate that you don't even need...

"Of Things That Matter Most"

I watched this video earlier today of a talk that President Uchtdorf gave at the last General Conference. It is a really good talk, listen to him! It is all too easy to get caught up with being busy, and very often we aren't busy with what is even important! Take time to think and meditate. Take time to be with your loved ones, to actually spend time with them - without the TV on, or anything else to distract you. President Uchtdorf reminds us of the simple every day things we need to do - the ones that matter most. He also reminds us in this talk, how important it is to slow down and be still! Do not run faster than you have strength to run. Life really isn't so bad, but when you feel like things are piling up on you, when you start to feel stressed, take a break! Look for the positives, and just be happy.

A Resolution

"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."

"Let us from this day forward be a little better, love one another a little more, treat one another with greater kindness, and look to God and live."

There is always room for everyone to do better :) Try your best, and Heavenly Father takes care of everything else.



It is now a new month!!! Happy March 2nd. We are still waiting to find out about Kyle's early out package, it's at the last level of approval and this is the one that takes the longest. Kyle's battalion deployed yesterday. I can't say much about it, but most of the Marines will be gone for a few months. Thankfully, Kyle ended up not having to go. We are both so happy about that! We have been trying to sell some of our furniture since we are moving soon. Everything is going well with us! I think we are both very excited that soon we can get out of Jacksonville, for good.

We made cookies and I can't stop eating them.