Thanks for the invite

Dear Kara and Brett,
I love your Blog and especially seeing the pictures and seeing the things you are doing. I want to adopt the words you wrote. What a wonderful motto for life and so insightful. This last week in Sacrament we sang "God will protect you then do what is right." It really stood out to me and as the week went by I knew that God was protecting me and I came to feel he has alway been there to protect me and I have faced some dangerous situations that I know of and I believe many more when I happily went on with no notice that I could have had problems. I also thought this week how we sing, "Lead me, quide me, walk beside me, help me find the way." I truely know this is what I see to have my Savior do for me. I love you both more than you know.
Love, Aunt Claudia

People....

Our opinion of people depends less upon what we see in them than upon what they make us see in ourselves.”   Mary Sarah Grand

I love these pictures. 

These are just a few of the people who inspire me to be a better person,

to live in the moment and celebrate life.  Thank you!

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." - Jim Ryun

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body - but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, soda pop in the other, body thoroughly used up - totally worn out and screaming, "Woo hoo, what a ride!"

Sunrises...

"Watching a sunrise, we open ourselves up to the beauty that

Nature creates, knowing it will never repeat itself just like this again."

~ Jake Rajs

ACS AT HOME CHRISTMAS PARTY BUFFET

The buffet table.....

Crab Pasta Salad for Karalee

Meatballs with pasta for Brett

Little Smokies

Veggies

Rhodes Rolls

Pretzels

Almonds and Peanuts

CHOCOLATE -------YUM YUM YUM

One of the holiday tradtions that I enjoyed about working in an office was the holiday treat day.

I decided to have one of my own and I invited Brett.

 It took us a couple of days to finish but we had a good time.

Flowers - A gift from Heavenly Father

I just love photographing flowers.  These were taken from the flowers at my Uncle Jerry's funeral.  I think they are beautiful. 

The sunflower reminds me of summer.  The rose is beautiful and intricate.  I am not sure what the last flower is but I think is pretty too. 

I anticipate with great excitement when the flowers return to our beautiful state of Utah.

Grateful list....

I was writing my gratefuls and it was helping me to get out of my head but then the computer just shut down automatically so I guess that's not what I was suppossed to share.


This past week has been difficult for me to be aware of the things that I have been grateful for. I have had to really take my time in coming up with the things I have been grateful for.

Today I decided that I wanted to have a more grateful heart. I wanted to be aware of the little things in my life that Heavenly Father has blessed me with.

I am grateful for....

Breathing....It's a simple thing that my body does for me. I am grateful for the clean air that we have to breathe now. I am grateful that deep breaths can calm my troubled heart.

Learning .... I am grateful that my mind continues to work. I am grateful for learning from the scriptures, from the news, from my family, from Brett. I am grateful that I am teachable.

Praying... I am grateful that I get to communicate with my Heavenly Father and that he communicates with me. I am grateful to be able to share my thoughts with him about anything.

Laughing....Laralynn sent that cute video about laughing. Laughing is so good for my soul. It gets me to smile. Which can brighten my heart.

Singing...I love to sing. I love to hear others sing. I love music. I love to be touched by music. I love to move when I hear music.

Loving...I am grateful to love Brett. He is an amazing husband. He is so kind to me. I am grateful for love my sisters and their families. I am amazed at the love they show me back. I am grateful to love my dad. I am grateful to accept his love in return. I am grateful to love people, things and experiences.


Living...I am grateful to be alive. I am grateful for the experiences I have in life that bring me joy, sorrow, happiness, pain, understanding.


Gratitude...I am grateful for learning to have gratitude for all things. I am grateful for the opportunity to share the things that I am grateful. I am grateful that expressing gratitude makes me aware of the many blessings I have.

Inspiration....

Inspiration comes from so many places. 

I have a blog that I like to visit by Andrea Haylen.  She and her daughter are fans of the Jonas Brothers.  As I read the blog post below I was inspired so I wanted to share it with you. 

An impulse to express: Nick J and the Administration Jan 8, 2010
Have you ever had something bubbling up inside of you that is so powerful, the idea of not expressing it feels like you may burst! Did you follow that impulse?

Barbara Marx Hubbard is a world class futurist, an evolutionary educator and social innovator. She has been speaking for years about the set of crises we are facing actually being an evolutionary driver to awaken us to a deeper life purpose and a passion to co create a new and better world.

So, what does this have to do with Nick Jonas? Nick has been responding to a call within him to awaken a deeper passion and life purpose. He has been writing songs that speak about making it through hard times, about loving more, about Being who you. And that impulse within him has not stopped with the incredible success he has had as one of Jonas Brothers. Nick Jonas is teaching us all something with his new band, NickJ and the Administration.

He listened to his heart. As much as he loves his brothers, there was another dream, a passion that was bubbling up. This part of him had to be expressed. And he knew that he was taking a risk. The first interviews and concerts showed us all a vulnerability of this risk. He wasn't sure if his fans would embrace this other side of him. But, to bury this dream would mean letting a piece of him die.
So, what did he do?

First he allowed the music to flow through him. He didn't limit writing this music because it wouldn't fit with a brother band. He embraced it, let it flow and opened to the inspiration.

Second, he talked with the Management Team of the Jonas Brothers. He shared the idea of a side project band where he would share the music that expressed his inner world, a world he wanted to share with others. When he had their support and a basic plan, he went to each of his brothers and talked to them individually. He shared the dream that was in his heart and they talked about it. He received individual blessings from both Kevin and Joe.

Third, he surrounded himself with experienced, amazing musicians who could help him take his music to the next level of brilliance. Each piece of this has been an open hearted, inspired action event.

The last piece is how the family is demonstrating supporting each other's dreams. When Nick called Joe and Kevin onto the stage tonight, Joe did not take center stage when he started to sing. Without any hesitation, he motioned for Nick to move to the center. Nick hesitated for a minute and then stepped into that place.

It doesn't matter how successful you are or what you have in your life, when there is something bubbling inside you, an expression of who you are, You must express it.

At the concert tonight, NickJ shared his musical talent, his passion for life, his deeper message of living life with the audience. His joy radiated and rippled through the Beacon Theater. You could feel it.

I leave you with one question. What is bubbling up inside of you and when are you going to let yourself express it?

Writing this blog helps me to express myself.  Another way is taking pictures. 

Celebrating the present. The here and now

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn the past, not to worry about the future, nor to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly" - Buddha

I found this quote on an inspiration board at "The Happiness Project" website. 

I want to live more in the here and now. 

I want to be a champion......

"Passion and hard work makes a great player,but the Courage to get up every time you fall is what makes a champion."  ~ Jeanette Lee

Today I celebrate going to the doctor.

I didn't want to go.  In fact I cancelled two appointments because I didn't want to go.  The reason I didn't want to go was because I lost the order to get my blood tested.   I am glad I went.   Dr. Legant gave me a short lecture and then it was over. 

My platelet level is at a 67.  My iron level is down a little bit but staying steady. 
I go back in two months to have my blood tested. 

I will celebrate putting me first.
I will celebrate feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
I will celebrate taking control.

Mackay Manor - Breakfast pictures

Belgian Waffle breakfast

Doesn't this look yummy???

Don't you wish you had reservations there this weekend?

Can't wait to take pictures of the french pastries?

This is a rose from one of the flower wreaths from Uncle Jerry's funeral.  Isn't it beautiful?  Roses are so delicate and I love taking pictures of them.

Leave something good in every day."~ Dolly Parton


"One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity." ~ Albert Schweitzer

A new day to forgive and forget ....

"Face a challenge and find joy in the capacity to meet it."  ~ Ayn Rand

I found this beautiful quote today and I just had to share.  I am grateful for this next process of tearing back the layers of my onion skin and removing the old and bitter ones and reaching inward to the fresh parts of my onion skin.

Forgiveness is the most powerful thing you can do to get on the spiritual path. If you can’t do it, you can forget about getting to higher levels of awareness and creating real magic in your life. ~ Wayne Dyer


Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. ~ Paul Boese


In our society, forgiveness is often seen as weakness. People who forgive those who have hurt them or their family are made to look as if they really don't care about their loved ones. But forgiveness is tremendous strength. ~ Helen Prejean



If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life and it all begins with your very own power of choice. ~ Jim Rohn


The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. ~ Stephen Covey

Celebrating Me

I have made a goal not to watch televison on sunday anymore and since I can only nap for so long if I want to sleep through the night so I am trying to find things to do when Brett is on the computer.  I have decided I am going to make a scrapbook all about me.  I recently aquired pictures that my mom had of me from when I was younger so this will help.  I have a box full of papers and pictures by my scrapbook desk so today I decided to go through it. 

Most of the pictures and papers brought back happy memories.  Events that I want to celebrate and remember.  But there were something's that I had written down or letters I received that were hurtful and painful to remember.  At first I wanted to throw them away and pretend that the experiences never happened but I decided to hold off while I thought and processed the memories.

I had written back when I was 10 or 11 about depression.  My feelings of not being enough and feeling less than my friends and family.  I look back over 30 plus years and I still struggle with these same issues today.  The past is there to help us move forward.  I know that I need to learn from these experiences but not dwell on them.  I need to reach out to my Savior and ask for His help to heal my broken heart and spirit.  I know that he will.  I know that the Atonement is real and that it is for the here and now and not just for judgement day. 

I can't believe that after all these years these things still affect the way I think of myself.  I am up for this journey back into my past to record my life.  I will accept the bad and celebrate the good.  I hope that I won't stay in the past but look forward to the future.

Playing hookey from the Olympics - Let's celebrate 2010

Well,  I played hookey from the Olympics "office scramble" today.  Instead I had a beautiful morning with my husband at the temple, worked for a couple of hours, then went and got a haircut, did some shopping, took dinner to a new mom and made a yummy chicken alfredo pizza with Brett for dinner. 

It was a great self care day.  I am grateful I am learning to live in the moment and that I can enjoy those moments more. 

So I celebrated me today and it felt good.

6 changes

I was reading a blog today by Leo.  He is the author of blog Zen Habits and the author of a book "The power of less".  This post was about deciding on 6 changes you wanted to make in 2010.  I think it's a great idea for deciding what 6 changes/habits that I want to incorporate into my life this year.

http://6changes.com/post/288806664/suggested

My six 6 Changes

The 6 Changes Method

So what are we to do? I’ve created the 6 Changes Method, along with a new site called 6Changes.com, to solve these problems:
We only focus on one habit change at a time, so our focus and energies aren’t spread thinly.
We implement the habit changes gradually, so we don’t run out of steam.
We start out really, really easily, so it isn’t intimidating.
We focus on enjoyable activities, so we don’t need “discipline”.
We have two months to do the habit change, so if something comes up, it’s but a small bump in the road. And because we’re publicly committed, we’re going to get back on track.
We have a very specific plan with actions built in, using proven habit change techniques.
If you stick with the method, you’ll do much better than you’ve done in the past with New Year’s Resolutions. You’ll focus on creating long-lasting habits rather than trying to reach a short-term goal that fails. You’ll maintain your enthusiasm for longer and not become overwhelmed by the difficulty of change. You’ll have habits that will change your life, and that’s no small feat.
The Method
So how does the 6 Changes method work?
It’s simple:
Pick 6 habits for 2010.
Pick 1 of the 6 habits to start with.
Commit as publicly as possible to creating this new habit in 2 months.
Break the habit into 8 baby steps, starting with a ridiculously easy step. Example: if you want to floss, the first step is just to get out a piece of floss at the same time each night.
Choose a trigger for your habit – something already in your routine that will immediately precede the habit. Examples: eating breakfast, brushing your teeth, showering, waking up, arriving at the office, leaving the office, getting home in the evening.
Do the 1st, really easy baby step for one week, right after the trigger. Post your progress publicly. (Read more.)
Each week, move on to a slightly harder step. You’ll want to progress faster, but don’t. You’re building a new habit. Repeat this until you’ve done 8 weeks.
You now have a new habit! Commit to Habit No. 2 and repeat the process.
‘It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.’ ~ Confucius

1ST MEDAL CEREMONY TONIGHT....

SO I GOT THE GOLD MEDAL IN THE FOLLOWING AREAS.....

SORTING - I WAS SO FAST THAT NO ONE ELSE CAME CLOSE

WASHING - I ACCOMPLISHED ALL THE TASKS - ALL THE WASHING IS DONE

DRYING - THE LAST BATCH OF TOWELS IS DRYING AS I WRITE....

HANG UP - I WAS SO GOOD THAT I STILL HAVE HANGERS LEFT OVER....

BONUS ROUND - I GOT DINNER IN THE CROCKPOT AND THE HOUSE SURE SMELLS NICE AND I ALSO GOT A HEAD START ON THE "OFFICE SCRAMBLE" GAME FOR TOMORROW.  YES, I FILLED ONE TRASH BAG FULL - YEAH!!!! 

Thanks to everyone for their fun texts back.  It felt great to accomplish things.  Now, I am grateful that my other job's work is finally starting to drop so I can get the rest of my hours in and I get to watch a bowl game while I work so score!!!
I will post my gold medals at the end of the week. Love ya, Karalee

"A HOUSE OF ORDER" OLYMPIC CELEBRATION....

Last night in our couple reading we were reading in the D&C where it talkes about "a house of order". This inspired me to decide that this week will be a celebration of "A house of order". I started this morning by putting away the clothes that were clean in our bedroom. I had tripped over the basket this past weekend so I decided this was a great place to start. Then I gathered the dirty clothes and brought them downstairs. I have a theme for my celebration based on the olympics. The winter Olympics are coming in February so I am treating each task as an olympic event. Today I will climb my mountain of clothes and have smooth sailing as I complete this task. I will be awarded the gold medal. I will succeed.


Now it's off to my olympic time trial for sorting. I bet I will be #1....
I will post pictures later of my olympic events....

Have a great day. 

The Best is yet to be.....

I have a more pictures to post but I wanted to write a little about what I have learned today.

I have decided this year to not just celebrate moments,  holidays and occasions but to celebrate becoming a better me.  One of the things that I have been thinking about in relation to this was to improve my spiritual self.  I have made a few goals in this area.  I have a greater desire to spend time each day in personal prayer, studying the scriptures and learning to listen to the promptings from the Holy Ghost to guide me in serving others.  I have also wanted to talk with Brett about holding FHE and striving to do better in our couple prayer and couple scripture study.  It took me about a week to work up the courage to speak with Brett about it.  I finally took the opportunity today and he had been feeling the same things.  I need to remember to communicate better.  While lunch was cooking we took the opportunity to snuggle and he read an article from the Ensign called "The best is yet to be".   What a hopeful title.  As I look forward to what this new year will hold for me.  I know the best is yet to be.  I look forward to recording and celebrating those moments. 

A couple of quotes from the talk really stood out to me and I want to share them so I can look back and remember. 

"God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go. ....This is an important matter to consider at the start of a new year and a new life.  Such is the wonder of faith, repentance, and the miracle of the gospel of Jesus Christ".

The poet Robert Browning wrote:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in his hand

Who saith, "A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God:

see all, nor be afraid!

"Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the "high priest of good things to come" (Hebrews 9:11)

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away.  Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow and forever. "

"Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there.  Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us."

The best is yet to be... I am grateful for all the things I am learning.  I am grateful for growth.  I am grateful to feel peace.  I am grateful for this journey of discovery I am on. 

Love, Karalee

A special Surprise - Treat Day - December 19th, 2009

Laralynn and Steve made us all a cookbook for recipes written in mom's own handwriting along with pictures of her.  It will be cherished book throughout our lives.  Thanks for the time and effort  you put into making these for each of us.

Ward Christmas party - December 12, 2009

Brett Mackay

Karale Mackay

Ray and Vonda Patton

Sidnee and Ron Stone

Me MC'ing the Christmas program

The primary kids you sang....

As if December 12th couldn't hold one more thing.  We had our ward christmas party this night.  It was a fun night.  I had the chance to fill peoples water glasses and keep their pitchers full throughout the party.  It helped me to focus on the reason for the season - celebrating our saviors birth and life.  I enjoyed every

minute of it.  I got to be the MC for the christmas program.  We sang christmas carols with the children singing and also the rest of the ward.  It was a fun way to celebrate the season.

Lisa Bee's Christmas Open House - December 12th, 2009

Lisa B the designer her self

Her trusty sign maker - Laralynn

And of course a few of her beautiful crafts....

More fun memories

Doesn't Sam look happy to be held by Laralynn

They look so cute together....

Aubrie and Laralynn playing together...

I think Sam is a little sad that he

couldn't help out with the sugar cookies....

What do you think????

Even the bear on his shirt looks sad...

I think Allie is ready to be a babysitter....

Sam and her watching TV...

Cooking with Kara - December 12, 2009

'

Ellee's

Allie and I's

Jag

We stopped at Jan's house after going to the cemetary.  Jan had made cookie dough for the kids to make sugar cookies.  Jan let me help them I started talking to them like I was on a cooking show.  It brought back fond memories of doing this in our kitchen as I was growing up.  We ended up needing lots of Jan's help (THANKS).  I was amazed when we just had a little dough and I suggested to Allie that we should make a snowman with our remaining dough.  Here's what Allie & I, Jag and Elee came up with.