Play On, Nashville!

Jon got me a ticket yesterday afternoon for yesterday nights show at the Grand Ole Opry.
So I went.. alone... and it was AWESOME!!!
The show commemorated the 1yr of the Nashville flood... just 1 yr before, the Opry house was under 4ft of water! Crazy to think that!
The line up was amazing!!!

Started with Luke Bryan (YUM)





Then of course the adorable and funny as heck Little Jimmy Dickens!



Dierks Bentley took the stage next and I just love love love him!!!




I loved him on Apprentice and I love him now! The VERY big with a very deep voice...Trace Adkins!



Then a band came on that I have been listening to since I was a little girl... and fell in love with again watching Coyote Ugly. Charlie Daniels Band!!!
And they did Devil went down to Georgia! Timeless!!


And last but not least... okay I will admit he's not my favorite singer but seeing him live and so close was pretty unforgettable!
Brad Paisley!!!





It really was amazing!!! Thank you Jon for getting me the ticket and for taking such good care of the kids while I was away!

My town!

With company being in town, we decided to show them some of our favorite sights in Nashville. This truely is a beautiful city! I love it here and had a blast seeing it from tourist eyes!
Here's a few of my favorite places in Nashville!

The Parthenon








Gaylord Opry Hotel






The Grand Ole Opry house




We also went to the Loveless Cafe.. no pics there but it's our usual place we like to take out of town guests. YUMMMY southern food!

Country Music Marathon Weekend

Wonderful weekend full of medals and goal achieving..
starting with Reese running the ING Kids marathon for the 2nd time. They run 25miles at home and then the last mile together. It is always so fun.. thousands of kids do it and they treat the kids like they just ran a full! Shirts, medals, swag bags, etc!

The next morning was a super early start for us. At at 4am, left the house at 4:45 and after an hr waiting in traffic, we finally got to the LP Field to be able to park and catch a shuttle to Centennial Park and the starting line.

Finally made it to the starting line.. us and 25,000 other people! It was insane!! The lines for the port-a-jons (sorry honey) seemed almost as long as trying to get started! And they were nasty!! I couldn't do it but the others were stronger than I! They should have gotten medals for that!




Jeremy was in a different coral so he got a start earlier than us. But once we got going, it was on!

First timers!

Karissa had a sprained ankle and I didn't train so we were quite the team! Slow and steady. This was Jons first half and so we did it together which was wonderful for us. Because never in our wildest dreams would we have ever thought to do this!

Only 3.1 more to go!

Blurry but 10miles was Jons longest run.. he was about to do something never done before.

The signs cracked me up!!

We walked in memory of our dad

Jeremy made it in 2:15, Karissa in 3:25 and Jon and I crossed hand in hand in 3:30. Not my best time BUT the point of us doing this is to finish. And we did!!
We started together and we finished together!

Exhausted and so glad it's over
First finishers medal!
OUCH!!!!!! -Karissas ankle!

After we got rested up, we got a sitter for the kids and headed downtown for dinner and a post-race concert with Montgomery Gentry!

Hold On

I needed this today.
Whoever wrote this... thank you!

Hold On

What you've got to do is
Finish what you have begun,
I don't know just how,
But it's not over 'til you've won!

When you see the storm is coming,
See the lightning part the skies,
It's too late to run-
There's terror in your eyes!
What you do then is remember
This old thing you heard me say:
"It's the storm, not you,
That's bound to blow away."

Hold on,
Hold on to someone standing by.
Hold on.
Don't even ask how long or why!
Child, hold on to what you know is true,
Hold on 'til you get through.
Child, oh child!
Hold on!

When you feel your heart is poundin',
Fear a devil's at your door.
There's no place to hide-
You're frozen to the floor!
What you do then is you force yourself
To wake up, and you say:
"It's this dream, not me,
that's bound to go away."

Hold on,
Hold on, the night will soon be by.
Hold on,
Until there's nothing left to try.
Child, hold on, There's angels on their way!
Hold on and hear them say,
"Child, oh child!"

And it doesn't even matter
If the danger and the doom
Come from up above or down below,
Or just come flying
At you from across the room!

When you see a man who's raging,
And he's jealous and he fears
That you've walked through walls
He's hid behind for years.
What you do then is you tell yourself to wait it out
And say it's this day, not me,
That's bound to go away.

Child, oh hold on.
It's this day, not you,
That's bound to go away!

Learning to love myself... a challenge

I am going to admit something to the world..
I do not love myself.
In fact, a lot of the times, I can barely stand myself. I may show on the outside that I got it together but inside, I'm beating myself up over every word I say and every choice I make!

And because I realize this and it's affecting who I am trying to become, I found a challenge.
I'm going to learn to love myself one day at a time through this 10day/step process.
Begins tomorrow. I'll let ya'll know how it goes!

DAY ONE

~ ~ STOP ALL CRITICISM ~ ~

CRITICISM NEVER CHANGES A THING.
REFUSE TO CRITICIZE YOURSELF.
ACCEPT YOURSELF EXACTLY AS YOU ARE.
EVERYBODY CHANGES.
WHEN YOU CRITICIZE YOURSELF,
YOUR CHANGES ARE NEGATIVE.
WHEN YOU APPROVE OF YOURSELF,
YOUR CHANGES ARE POSITIVE



DAY TWO

~ ~ DON'T SCARE YOURSELF ~ ~

DON'T SCARE YOURSELF.
STOP TERRORIZING YOURSELF
WITH YOUR THOUGHTS.
IT'S A DREADFUL WAY TO LIVE!
FIND A MENTAL IMAGE THAT GIVES YOU PLEASURE
( MINE IS A WATERFALL),
AND IMMEDIATLEY SWITCH YOUR SCARY THOUGHT
TO A PLEASURABLE THOUGHT.



DAY THREE

~ ~ BE GENTLE AND KIND AND PATIENT ~ ~

BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF.
BE KIND TO YOURSELF.
BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF
AS YOU LEARN THE NEW WAYS OF THINKING.
TREAT YOURSELF AS YOU WOULD
SOMEONE YOU REALLY, REALLY LOVED.



DAY FOUR

~ ~ BE KIND TO YOUR MIND ~ ~

SELF HATRED IS ONLY HATING
YOUR OWN THOUGHTS.
DON'T HATE YOURSELF
FOR HAVING BAD THOUGHTS.
GENTLY CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS.



DAY FIVE

~ ~ PRAISE YOURSELF~ ~

CRITICISM BREAKS DOWN THE INNER SPIRIT.
PRAISE BUILDS IT UP.
PRAISE YOURSELF AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
TELL YOURSELF HOW WELL YOU ARE DOING
WITH EACH AND EVERY LITTLE THING.



DAY SIX

~ ~ SUPPORT YOURSELF ~ ~

FIND WAYS TO SUPPORT YOURSELF.
REACH OUT TO FRIENDS AND
ALLOW THEM TO HELP YOU.
IT IS BEING STRONG
TO ASK FOR HELP
WHEN YOU NEED IT.



DAY SEVEN

~ ~ BE LOVING TO YOUR NEGATIVES ~ ~

ACKNOWLEDGE THAT
YOU CREATED THEM
TO FULFILL A NEED.
NOW YOU ARE FINDING NEW,
POSITIVE WAYS
TO FULFILL THOSE NEEDS.
SO, LOVINGLY RELEASE
THE OLD NEGATIVE PATTERNS.



DAY EIGHT

~ ~ TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY ~ ~

LEARN ABOUT NUTRITION.
WHAT KIND OF FUEL DOES
YOUR BODY NEED TO HAVE FOR
OPTIMUM ENERGY AND VITALITY?
LEARN ABOUT EXERCISE.
WHAT KIND OF EXERCISE CAN YOU ENJOY
AND TOLERATE ACCORDING TO YOUR ILLNESS?
CHERISH AND REVERE THE TEMPLE YOU LIVE IN.



DAY NINE

~ ~ MIRROR WORK ~ ~

LOOK INTO YOUR EYES OFTEN.
EXPRESS THIS GROWING SENSE OF LOVE
YOU HAVE FOR YOURSELF.
FORGIVE YOURSELF,
LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR.
TALK TO YOUR PARENTS AND LOVED ONES,
LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR.
FORGIVE THEM TOO.
AT LEAST ONCE A DAY SAY:
"I LOVE YOU.
I REALLY LOVE YOU"



DAY TEN

~ ~ LOVE YOURSELF ~ ~

DO IT NOW!
DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU GET WELL,
OR LOSE THE WEIGHT,
OR GET THE NEW JOB,
OR THE NEW RELATIONSHIP.
BEGIN NOW....
AND DO THE BEST YOU CAN!

I did it... I'm a Heritage Makers consultant!!!

If you didn't get the email I sent out, it's just cuz I didn't have your email address handy or I don't even know you and you're reading my blog anyways. But since you are reading, I'm going to copy my intro email here. Basically this is my plea for you all to check out this company! And if you do end up joining, please do it under me!

Hey my friends!!! As most of you know, I've been a paper crafter for years! And those that have been to my house also know I have accumulated literally TONS of supplies and tools of every shape and size in the hopes of getting my memories preserved. Not only that but I had it in my head that I would always be up to date with my scrapbooking.

But stepping out of a perfect world, that just isn't happening. But what was is happening instead is life! And in my life I'm a mom, a wife, a school volunteer, a homemaker, a facebook stalker, a couponer, a church goer, etc.... and sadly what was getting forgotten was preserving these precious memories I'm making in my life! In fact, my scrapbook room just became a source of stress because I did get so behind.

And then I found Heritage Makers. I'm a cheapo... and all I could think of when I was first debating about joining was that I have everything to make my own albums! But sitting on that thought was only going to cause me to do just that.. sit on it! And with ClubHM, I'd be getting way more than I'm paying for.

So I took the jump and joined ClubHM and let me tell you friends- I'm never looking back! I have been able to make awesome album pages in no time at all while I'm sitting watching whatever I dvr'd the night before! And I'm saving money already by not having to print out a zillion pictures. I still have my room of goodies because I'm a card maker but now I can have my cards and scrapbooks too!!! PLUS it's not just scrapbooks! It's canvas pictures, cards, invites, a deck of cards, etc!! All custom made by YOU!

Because I love this company, I decided to be a consultant so I can share this with you! I've been a consultant of another company before and it wasn't my thing.. but I'm extremely passionate about the importance of preserving and sharing my families memories. I'm not doing it for money or recognition. I'm doing it because I am wow'd by what I can now create!

There are many options when joining Heritage Makers.

You can start out by creating a free account and still make some great albums. BUT you don't have access to everything HM offers.

That's when the premiere account comes in. For $20/mo, you then have unlimited photo storage and thousands of templates and embellishments! And then you buy what you want to print- same as the free acct.

However, here's an even better deal! Join Club HM!!! For just $10 more/mo (so $30), you get the premiere account AND 40 publishing points each month which is equivalent to $40..each month! And you can stack your points because they don't expire for 2yrs! Basically you're saving $30 by doing that.

And it goes on from there.

If you already use Heritage Makers, you then already know how awesome it is so go log on and create some works of art! If you're unsure about it, you have nothing to loose by creating your own account for free and checking it out! There's something for everyone and I'm sure you will love it like I do!

Head on over to www.heritagemakers.com/522355 (that'll be changed to something cooler soon) and cruise around.

The template gallery has some amazing stuff that other people have designed and you can use to change their pictures to yours!

Thanks for reading and if nothing else, I made you all think of me for a few minutes!!

Much love!

Shannon Harris

PS- forward this on to friends and family that you may think would be interested. It'll help me get my business up and running and good karma for you!

Ensign Article on Infertility

We finally got a subscription to the Ensign and I think that was definately inspired.

In it was an article on Infertility.

"Infertility is not uncommon—some 15 percent of couples in the United States have difficulty conceiving a child; other countries throughout the world show similar figures. In 40 percent of instances, the wife is infertile. In another 40 percent, the problem rests with the husband. In 10 percent of cases, both are infertile, and in the remaining 10 percent, the cause is unknown. In the context of the Church, where the family is celebrated as the fundamental unit of society, not having children can be an especially difficult challenge."

In our case, not having any more children can be difficult. We definately have truely been blessed with 2 that we fortunately didn't struggle conceiving with and are so in love with them and couldn't imagine life without them.

But as you all know.. secondary infertility has been definately a struggle for us.. more so in the past few months. And lately I've been pretty lonely and subdued because of it. Jon is very supportive but he too is hurting- just doesn't show it in the way I do.

It's hard to talk about it and try to make people see that yes it sucks but it's not a disibility. I'm not an emotionally unstable person unable to function in a world of growing populations. But I don't hide it because it's something I have no control over.

I've also entered a very uncomfortable place in my life that because I don't have young children (under the kindergarten age anyways), that I suddenly don't fit in with those that do. I'm 31yrs old and I'm too old to hang out now with people my age and too young to hang out with people in my position. Why? Because I don't have small children. I don't get invited to anything! Activities and playdates go on around me with people I consider friends but because I'm alone in the day without my children..not by choice, I am completely forgotten about. It's a struggle because even though my kids are now schoolage, I'm still a relatively young mom. And moms-no matter the situation- need support. And I can't help but wonder if part of the reason I don't get included in even lunch get togethers or hang outs at the parks in the afternoons is because people don't think I can handle being around young kids. And don't want to hear my sob story. Again- I'm not a leper! And I don't want to steal children! I just want to have friends!! And I am loosing out on so many friendships because of this.. which sucks for me and for them because I'm pretty cool.

I was told once that people don't say anything to me because they don't know what to say since they have never been there. So not only have I been ostrasized because of my lack to produce anymore but I am also left out of any social gatherings because those that I have produced are no longer of age. And darn it, when I do things at my house during the day, I don't exclude anyone with kids! They are always welcomed. So I just don't get it I guess. Oh well.. just a new season in life I entered into unwillingly and too soon that I need to get used to.

Needless to say, it's been a trying time. But I'll get through it. Round 1 of the fertility treatments failed. So here's to round 2.. more charting and timing and pills and blood tests. But whatever it takes!

The other day, a friend actually asked me how I was doing with the ovulating (because I finally am with the help of clomid- not that it did any good). She didn't try to offer me advise on how to have a baby or say anything to make me feel bad for not being able to- she just listened and said "you know, I don't know what you're going through but I am so sorry you are dealing with this- it has to be so hard". And it was genuine!! Then the subject was changed and I felt so good that even though she doesn't relate, she's not ignoring me or avoiding me because of it.

Another common misconception of those struggling with this is people thinking we don't want to be around babies. For the record, I love babies. I love being around them. Believe it or not, children are healing. Being around them doesn't make me bitter. They make me happy-envious but happy. Pregnancy and children are truely miracles and blessings and if I can't become a mother to any more, I welcome the chance to give that love to other children.

I do get sad about my lot in life right now. And I do get jealous...totally normal. And admittingly, I get extremely angry! But I am still human! And what people forget is that it's so much more common than they know. And if you get tired of hearing about it.. how do you think I feel dealing with it? It gets old! :)

Anyways the purpose of this post was to talk about the article. Not to go off on a tangent of my new outcastness but it's kind of how I roll. I encourage anyone to read this article if you haven't already:)

And here's hopeing next month brings a little baby dust to the Harris family! http://lds.org/ensign/2011/04/faith-and-infertility?lang=eng