It's been a year

Hey, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?  Now, let’s not sit here and accuse any particular person for not writing on their blog.  I know, I could have done better but honestly I didn’t care. 

I’ve decided that I ‘m not going to make writing on this blog a New Year’s resolution.  We all know that I won’t keep it.  I’ve been trying to do it every day for the past… oh let’s say three or four years.  I’m just going to try and write as much as I can and if anybody doubts it they couldn’t be more wrong.

Why don’t I take a few moments and recap what the past year has brought to the Sorensen household. 2015 was full of fun times and hardships.  We lost Melissa’s grandpa, a man that I wish I had gotten to know better.  My mom moved to Idaho, making keeping in touch a nearly impossible venture.  But, she is happier, and that’s all any son could ask for, for their parents.  Paige started school and I am convinced that she likes it more than being at home.  Parker grew a little attitude and started questioning everything.  Preston learned to walk, run, and is starting to talk.

He is also a little turd but I might be a bit biased. 

 I also started to cook/bake more.  If you haven’t noticed my Facebook and Instagram blowing up with photos of the creations I have come up with, you must be living under a rock.  We went to Yellowstone in late spring, what I call the tour of southern Utah/North Arizona in late fall, and had Christmas (I only added Christmas because I didn’t know what else to say). 

 We saw buffalo, lizards, deer, elk, and a bunch of tourists.  We went into a canyon named after an antelope,

 and got to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Grand Canyon.   

We moved from my in-laws one bedroom apartment into a nice two bedroom apartment.  We almost bought a house…twice.  I was accepted into the Culinary Institute of America, only to back out because of personal family problems.  However, I did enroll back into USU in order to finally finish the degree I started a long time ago.  Melissa didn’t have a baby nor did she get pregnant.  That right there is news in itself.  It seemed the last few years were baby making years.  We’re pretty convinced that time in our lives is over.  In general, I’d say that 2015 was a quiet year for us.  We went on more family trips than we are used to, but other than that nothing really happened. 

Now, you all know that I make outrageous resolutions, only to have them fall short after a few months.  This year is no different, except I am making them a little more personal.  This year, I want to feel better again.  I haven’t felt good in a very long time.  I’m slowly starting to eliminate toxic things from my body and it’s slowly starting to help.  I’m six days strong in a lot of my goals, which is nice for me.  I also want to develop a personal relationship with my Savior.  I want to know Him for who I believe He is, and not what a religion tells that He is.  I want to be a better husband and father.  I also want to blow up my Facebook and other social media with more of my creations.  I have ideas on how I’m going to do each other these things but I won’t discuss them here.

Where I work, they have this thing called “livewell”.  The idea behind it is to help you live the healthiest life that you can.  I’ve worked for this company for over 2 years now and I haven’t participated.  I decided that this year would be the year that I did.  They give you categories that they feel will help you “livewell”.  They range from “live happy”, “live secure”, and so on, each one targeting a specific area in your life that will help you live a better one.  Each quarter, every few months, you have the opportunity to choose an area to focus on.  I have chosen for the first quarter “live happy”.  The task that I have assigned myself is to write in my journal i.e. my blog, three things that have made me happy during the day.  I am instructed to do this for 20 days.  After the 20 days are over, I will write how this exercise has helped me be a happier person.  Tonight is the starting night for me.  The following are three things that have made me happy today.

1.        When I got to work today, I noticed that the person who worked yesterday was able to get the things done that they needed to.  This helped me be able to accomplish other tasks and get my work done on time. 

2.       I was able to make Melissa a lunch for work.  I also had the energy to make her a cake. 

3.       My children were extremely well-behaved tonight.  Also, Preston didn’t have a poopy, Parker didn’t have a meltdown, and Paige didn’t have an attitude.  I was a happy daddy. 

What helped you be happy today?  I hope it was reading this blog. 

-Jer