My sweet Caleb boy.

I want to write about my sweet Caleb boy. I know my words wont do him justice, but I want to savor every little moment I have with him. (You can read a bit about his stupid cancer here.)

Last Friday, I left work as soon as I could. My weeks are too busy, and I wanted to spend as much time with Caleb as I possibly could. We cuddled on the couch, watched whatever he wanted to on TV, and I scratched his freckled back between his naps. His silly giggles are contagious, even when they're because of Spongebob. I can't put into words how much I love this sweet boy. Knowing him is proof enough for me, that God lives and He loves.

When his dad came home, Caleb greeted him with hugs and kisses, even though his frail body was uncomfortable and tired. He gladly headed upstairs for a nap before some visitors came over a little later. When the volunteers from Make a Wish introduced themselves to Caleb, they were so kind, and surely impressed with the way he greeted them by name, with a handshake. As I listened to the informal interview take place, I was touched by the simplicity of Caleb's wishes. With the opportunity to wish for literally anything in the world, he mentioned wanting to be a cop for a day, just like his dad. In between questions, he blew me kisses across the table. He had a tough time thinking of anything else he really wanted. Such a happy little boy. And such a huge example to me.

Caleb was exhausted before the process was through. I walked him upstairs and tucked him into bed. "Do you want me to read you a story?" "No. That's okay." "I'm really bad at singing, but I can sing to you?" (Giggles) "Nooo." "Well, can I pray with you?" "Yeah..." I kneeled by the side of his bunk bed and held his hands. (I love the way he always squeezes back.) I began praying for Caleb to feel how much he is loved. I thought I was doing a pretty good job of holding it together, but my sweet boy started rubbing the side of my face. I attempted to continue, but then he pulled my face closer to his. He could sense my sadness, and just hugged my face in silence. He gently moved my hair from my face and scratched my head, as I tried to finish. And when I started crying, he whispered, "Shhhh." I felt completely overwhelmed by the love, overflowing from this sweet little boy. When I managed to close my prayer of very few words, I asked him behind buckets of tears, "Caleb, you know I love you right?" He responded with a confident, "Yes." Then he rolled over to the other side of the bed, and quickly fell asleep.

I'm so grateful to have felt God's love so profoundly through my sweet 9-year-old nephew, hero, and angel. I am trying to be more like him every day.

Our day with him on Sunday in a music video. 

I dare you to watch this video without smiling.

These cuties crack me up. I'm so lucky to be their aunt.

If you are wondering who kept filming, while they were being so rudely interrupted... that would be me.

To sculpt and be sculpted.

I read the most beautiful story, a while ago. It's a story of when Michelangelo finished his now famous Pietà sculpture of Mary holding the body of Jesus. An admirer was praising his marvelous work, and he responded simply by saying that the sculpture was already inside the piece of marble. God had created it. All Michelangelo did was remove the excess gunk off the outside.

Such a powerful analogy for me. God created all of us. We are His sculptures hiding inside our own unique pieces marble. That's why he is able to love all of us - equally, because He sees us as we really are. As it turns out, we have a lot of gunk on the outside - some of us more than others. And that gunk can be so many things - our wounds, our weaknesses, our circumstances, our fears, our pain. Sometimes God sends other people to help us remove it. Sometimes He asks us to remove it ourselves. While other times, some of that gunk is so stubborn that only He can get rid of it.

I just love thinking of myself and others in that way. It helps me better understand my role on this Earth - to heal and be healed, to sculpt and be sculpted.

Hope you all have a wonderful week. XOXO.

story from here.

picture from here.

A Return to Love.

 I recently read "A Return to Love" by Marianne Williamson. It quickly became one of my very favorite books and helped me gain a much needed perspective shift. There were so many passages I highlighted and wrote notes next to, but here are a few of my favorites.

"Knowing who you are and why you came here - that you are a child of God and that you came here to heal and be healed - is more important than knowing what you want to do. What you want to do is not the important question. The question to ask is, 'When I do anything, how should I do it?' And the answer is [always], 'Kindly.'"

"It's not our job to figure out how to accomplish God's purposes on earth. That's not help; it's interference. It is merely our job to so deeply align our hearts and minds with His spirit within us, that our lives then become involuntary instruments of His will."

"People who have the most to teach us are often the ones who reflect back to us the limits to our own capacity to love, those who consciously or unconsciously challenge our fearful positions. They show us our walls. Our walls are our wounds - the places where we feel we can't love any more, can't connect any more deeply, can't forgive past a certain point. We are in each other's lives in order to help us see where we most need healing, and in order to help us heal."

Such a good read. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 

Check me out today on my dear friend Catherine's fabulous blog, FEST. She writes beautifully about food, style, and travel - some of my favorite things! I wrote about the most important lesson I learned, while traveling in Guatemala two years ago. And actually, it's the most important lesson I've ever learned while traveling. Click the image below to go directly to the post.

  

Hope you all are enjoying your summers. I am loving mine, even though the Vegas heat is baking me. XOXO.

Pictures by me, a couple months ago in Utah.

Some of my favorite quotes lately.

Not sure of the sources. Sorry about that.

Somehow they just end up in my iphoto library,
and they remind me exactly when they are supposed to.

XOXO.

Best vacation ever.

 I had such a wonderful time in Cancun. Wishing I could magically transport myself back to that turquoise water right about now. Here were some of the highlights. Only a month and a half later.

I danced merengue on the boat, with the tour guide. 

Then he nuzzled in my bosom. 

We snorkeled, if you can't tell from the mask lines. Definitely made my top-ten-list of coolest things I have ever done. No doubt about it. We found these starfishies on our little adventure, along with seemingly every other creature on "Finding Nemo." Don't worry though, we didn't keep 'em.

 I kissed a shark.

 And danced salsa all. night. long. to this amazing Cubano band. I'd post a picture of me salsa dancing, but I was one hot, sweaty, mess. So, no gracias. Live salsa music does something for my soul. I can't even tell you how much I loved this night.

 I bird-watched.

 And beach-bummed with my bestie.

Yeah. Best vacation ever.

Trip to the Grand Canyon.

It seems like every time I go out of the country, the minute I tell someone I'm from Las Vegas, their first question is "What hotel do you live in?" Their second question is usually, "You've been to the Grand Canyon, right?" Up until a couple months ago, my standard answers were "The Bellagio" and "No."

It was the Sunday morning before President's Day. I asked my sister, "Do you have school tomorrow?" She answered no. "Work?" No. "Let's go to the Grand Canyon." Um...Okay. So we packed our bags, kidnapped her fiance, stole homemade goodies from Grama Linda, and started driving later that night. We loved star gazing and music sharing all along the way.

We checked into a fabulous lodge around midnight. (By fabulous I mean kind of creepy, but very convenient and reasonably priced.) It was a perfect place to rest before our big day, even though we heard weird noises during the night.

We spent the next day driving all the trails in Grand Canyon National Park - South Rim. We decided against hiking because we wanted to see everything in one day. Hopefully next time, there will be mule riding to the base of the Canyon!

President's Day was the perfect time to go. Not too crowded, and we could drive our own car around the park, instead of taking a tour bus. (Definitely a plus to going in the winter months.) The views were breathtaking, gorgeous, overwhelming, beautiful... all of the adjectives I heard from everyone else, who had already been there. It really did live up to the hype. Actually, my very first glimpse of the Canyon literally took my breath away. (The last time I remember that happening was when I saw Cristiano Ronaldo play soccer on the TV for the first time. Hehe.)

So the picture above was taken in very bright sunlight. Hence the cheesy face. 

And the picture below was suggested by me. (As you can see, the almost marrieds didn't complain.)

We had such a wonderful trip. I'm so grateful I have people, who support me in my crazy, spontaneous ideas and trips. Love you, Ally and Steve. Thanks for being my adventure buddies. Where should we go next?

Side note: While the sun was setting, Ally and Steve reenacted their proposal, just so I could video the reactions of onlookers. That video is a gem, and I will make it viral ASAP.

Welcome to the world, baby quail.

I don't know if I've ever witnessed an event as beautiful as life being born into this world. When I was in Mexico a few weeks ago, with the lovely Miss Rachel Dyer, we took a day trip to XCaret in Playa del Carmen. XCaret is a very nice, upscale animal adventure park. We had a great time hanging out with all the animals and snorkeling through underwater caves and in enclosed ocean bays. Yeah, super cool. I'll be sure to post more pictures eventually, but this little moment was likely our very favorite from the day.

Can you spot the little hairball in the middle? Keep an eye on him.

We crowded around a glass-covered incubator with a handful of other tourists, and watched as a quail hatched from it's speckled egg. I did the best I could to document each little step in the process with my camera. I'm pretty sure when Rachel and I looked up at each other afterwards, we were both teary-eyed. It was just so fascinating, almost unreal, watching this little guy transform from a wobbling egg to a staring-me-down / what-are-you-looking-at type of bird.

See what I mean? 
Totally a staring-me-down / what-are-you-looking-at type of bird.

Welcome to the world, baby quail! Awesome, right?

Baby sister got married.

I loved March 17th. My baby sister got married to her sweetheart, and I couldn't have been happier for her. Just like any other relationship that matters, they had their ups and downs. Seven years worth. But all along, it was easy to see that a big piece of Ally's heart was always with Steve. I'm so happy for them - that the timing was finally right, so they could make their love for each other official.

As big sister, maid of honor, and best friend, it was wonderful to see Ally so calm and at peace on her wedding day. She was glowing. Everyone knew, she knew it was right. I mean, look at that  big, beautiful, genuine smile.

If you know my mom, you know the details of the wedding came together perfectly. But you'll have to wait for the professional pictures from Jennie to see for certain. These are just a few snapshots I took at the temple. But seriously, how cute are my parents? Ally and Steve got married on their 36th wedding anniversary, so there was a special dance at the reception to celebrate.

Levi was the wedding mascot. Obviously. (Bottom right.)

And Olivia and Kate were the pretty flower girls. 

Congrats again Ally and Steve. I love you mucho mucho and wish you all the peace, love, and happiness in the world.

Gorgeous girl.

I had so much fun with this sweet girl at the Provo temple on Monday.

Her mom wanted some pictures of her in her pretty dress

before her baptism on Saturday. Every time she heard my camera click,

she struck a different pose. Soft smile, head tilt, hand on hip, laugh.

Seriously, one of the cutest things I've ever seen. 

Isn't she gorgeous?

 

Happy birthday to my pretty momma.

 

You are the perfect mom for me,

and I'm grateful for you in more ways than I can count.

Hope you feel just how loved and appreciated you are today.

XOXO,

Amy Roonie

 

I don't even know which baby this is,

but you are one hot momma.

And you just keep getting hotter with age.