"to live or to be lived by others"

~"to live or to be lived by others"~

i heard that quote today and thought it to be perfectly appropriate for this post. 

i'm not saying that skydiving was that one moment that i decided how to live my life, but i felt it was a great example for this yearning for life and adventure in my soul. 

and i sure am grateful my mama shares that yearning

i love to live.

more specifically, i love to experience. you see, no matter what circumstances you find yourself in, you are constantly gaining more experiences (and better stories) that allow you to learn. perhaps you find yourself running for middle school class president with one night to prepare a speech for the school and your mom convinces you to concoct a smoothie of food that would make you a cheese-y and nutty but eggcellent president. perhaps you see all of your opponents in suits with flashcards and you are about to make a  concoction on the school monitor without a practice round...using string cheese and peanuts as great political propaganda. what do you do?

you do it. you live.

then you smile for the camera and run to the school bathroom as quick as you can before that smoothie lands on the carpet. 

so i didn't become president (embarrassing to admit that was a true story, but it was), but i lived. 

and i learned that a smoothie is always more exciting than a stack of flashcards.

~my mom's a rockstar~

maybe someday i will be as cool as her

one thumbs up + another thumbs up + one more thumbs up = excited!

sidenote: sister, when you make your first jump out of a plan, you better throw a thumbs up in my remembrance

mama found some cheap groupons online for skydiving and asked me to go with her. 

you can guess my response. it included a lot of jumping and squealing.

if you have the opportunity, please do it. 

that first step out of the plane is unlike anything i have ever experienced. and then free falling through the clouds with the earth underneath you...wow. 

my first jump is definitely not my last.

i am so glad i shared this experience with the one person on earth who understands me best: my mama.

goodness, i'm nearly teary eyed just typing out this dedicatory post to my mother. i truly could not love this lady more. her enthusiasm for life, her ability to make any situation seem golden, her deep love for her Savior and constant sacrifice for others make her one heck of a woman. how did i get so lucky to be raised by this mama o' mine? 

thank you mama.

thank you for your constant laughter, your bedtime snuggles, your birthday fasts, your help with last minute school projects, your big-fat-kisses and your example of love for the Lord and service to others. 

thank you thank you thank you