One Thousand Heroes

This is my mom. She is my HERO.

She is looking for 1,000 heroes to donate $18.00 each (one dollar for every step of elevation she climbed on her trek to the Base Camp of Mt. Everest) to raise a total of $18,000 for Cystic Fibrosis research. She decided to take GREAT STRIDES to a new level this year by literally taking GREAT STRIDES up a mountain! She explains why she decided to take this journey on her GREAT STRIDES webpage.

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/ColletteLarsen

Would you like to be one of her heroes (and one of mine!)?

Click on the link above or on the GREAT STRIDES Widget to the right to join us! Give... and be a HERO!

Happy Father's Day!!

A few days ago I said to Harrison as I was getting him ready for his nap, "I just love you so much, are we best buddies or what?" He replied that we were not best buddies. When I asked him who his best buddy was, he said, "Daddy!"

These two truly are best buddies and nothing could make me happier! I am so grateful for a day to celebrate Ryan and the awesome Father that he is to Harrison. Happy Father's Day honey, we love you so much!

Take my Breath Away!

I have put off writing this post because it's a little embarrassing to write about winning an award. However, it was such a special experience for me and as I accepted the 2010 Woman Who Takes Our Breath Away Award, I got to say a few words. Because I was not expecting to win, I was completely unprepared and fumbled through what felt like a very awkward acceptance and "thank you." This is what I was really feeling:

I am no different or ANY more deserving of this award than the all the others that were nominated or than the other amazing 4 finalists. I am constantly in awe of people I meet and/or hear about or read about in the Cystic Fibrosis community. I marvel at how strong we are, what fighters we are, and how positive we are as a community. We love our lives, appreciate our blessings and find joy in the different healing and self-discovery journeys we are on. I know and love so many that are either patients themselves, spouses, parents, siblings, extended family members and friends of C.F.ers that literally take make breath away with the love and passion they have for life and living it to the fullest despite the challenges that come with either having this disease or loving someone with this disease.

Of course I was so touched and humbled that many of my friends and family members would take the time and energy to nominate me. I appreciate the love and support I feel everyday that buoys me up and keeps me going but I am no different or more special than all those affected by this disease.

I do not believe I am still here because of my attitude or because I am a positive person, have a lot of faith, and love my life. There is one reason I am still here: my mission is not complete and I am not done learning and growing, Heavenly Father is not ready for me to come home and when he is I will die. If being a positive person and having enough faith were enough to survive Cystic Fibrosis, Lexi would still be here. I believe the REASON I have such a great attitude and am such a positive person and love my life so much is because I am surrounded by love and joy. I believe I have been sent "angels," (hence the blog title) who love me, lift me, encourage me, inspire me, teach me, support me, believe in me and bring me joy to help me on my journey. I believe I am surrounded by angels here on earth and angels that I cannot see but whose presence I can feel, like Lexi and others that I love who have already passed on. It is because of my angels and my belief in Jesus Christ and his gospel of hope and salvation that I can bear with gladness and gratitude the burdens that are a reality of living with Cystic Fibrosis.

Having said this, I am not ungrateful for the award. I appreciate the love for sure and had such a fun day with some of my favorite women who were there to cheer me on!

Here are some pictures of the special day:

It was fun to get a box of these in the mail. I got one of these beautiful certificates for every one who nominated me...completely caught me off guard!

Just a few of those angels I was talking about! I wish I had photos of every one who came with me...

A picture of me in front of a big poster of my face...hello?! And, I also found a big poster of my mom's face!! They announced that she will be the recipient of the prestigious Breath of Life Award at this years annual Gala! She wasn't able to be at this event because she was on her way to Kathmandu! We all missed her!

I got to invite all the attendees to the Gala in September where my mom will be honored and I've been asked to speak. This event was a great preview of what is in store for the Gala, it will be a fabulous night to give hope and raise awareness and funds to CURE CF!!

Happy 31derful Years!!

One of my sweet angels turned 31 today!! Somer and I have been friends for almost 15 years and she is such a blessing in my life. I personally feel like Lexi sent her straight to me because she knew I would need somebody in my life that could understand what I was going through and be there for me through anything. Somer, I look forward to MANY MANY years of laughter and memories with you...I love you!


31 things I love about Somer:

1. Her NAME: Somer Love--are you kidding me with that name, so awesome!
2. The love she has for her friends: Somer is the most loyal, thoughtful friend. Always thinking of others before herself.
3. The amazing mom she is to her "babies," Oscar and Lily: they are so loved and so adorable!!
4. Our shared love of lime sherbet : )
5. Her obsession with Madonna: I will never see or hear anything related to Madonna again without thinking of Somer and smiling.
6. Her style: no matter what, she always looks like she just walked out of Nordstroms!
7. Her absolute passion for life: every day seems to be a celebration, she truly LOVES life!!
8. The adorable auntie she is to Makena and River: they are so lucky to have her!
9. I love that Somer wouldn't let me have a bite of her tiramisu because she was afraid it had alcohol in it...she keeps me honest : )
10. Her VESPA!! If I ever need cheering up, I can think of Somer riding her vespa. It just makes me happy!
11. Her unending, tireless work to raise awareness and funds for Cystic Fibrosis: Check out her website.
12: Her incredible artistic talent: I am moved by her paintings. I am honored to have one that graces the entryway in my home. They are spectacular!
13. The way she connects people: I learned about "connectors" in the Tipping Point, Somer is definitely a connector.
14. Her listening skills: I feel so blessed to have someone to confide in that I know knows what it is really like to live and deal with C.F. She is ALWAYS there no matter what!
15. Her School Spirit: Go Utes!
16. Her laugh: Simply contagious!
17. Her quick wit: the story about the guys in the elevator looking at her port still makes me laugh out loud : )
18. Her sexy TOBI voice
19. Our shared fear of germs: She definitely wins though...Harrison has mellowed me out!
20. I love and cherish our late night talks
21. I love that she rented a car, changed all her plans, and drove to be by my side at the C.F. Ladies Luncheon. It meant so much to me that she was there!
22. I love the "BCF" bracelet she gave to me that morning, I wear it with pride!!
23. Her love for her parents and her siblings: Family is everything to Somer.
24. How her hospital room is a total party: Every time she gets admitted, her family decorates her room in a new "theme" and it's a total party, so Somer.
24. How she calls the hospital "the joint." I didn't know what she was talking about at first, I thought she got arrested : )
25. Her confidence and sense of self worth: she knows she's awesome but isn't the least bit cocky : )
26. Her Blog: Always brightens my day
27. How she makes everybody feel like they are the most important person in the world, she never loses an opportunity to lift someone and make them feel so special.
28. I love how she can make instant friends with anyone and everyone. Everyone who meets her LOVES her!!
29. I respect how proactive and diligent she is with her treatments. She doesn't take her health for granted and she works very hard at staying healthy, it's an inspiration.
30. Her spunk: it serves her very well : )
31. I especially love our friendship, it blesses my life so much!!!

Happy Birthday BCF!!

Recipe for a fun afternoon...

***Just add a heaping spoonful of Mads!***

I love this girl! Having her live with us these past 9 months has been such a blessing. She has filled this home with laughter and love. We decided to be super domestic one day and make homemade strawberry jam. We donned our Mr. and Mrs. Kaltenbach aprons which Ryan didn't think was as funny as we did : ) and got to work mashing, stirring and mostly adding sugar!


Let's just say it was a good first attempt. Definitely room for improvement (cut sugar in half!!) However, no matter how our jam turned out it was another memory with Maddie that I will cherish forever. We've made lots of them these past months and what a gift each of those moments are to me. Maddie, I love you hon.

I get by with a little help from my friends...

Tina and Jackson, Brooke and Zachary, Me and Harrison, Laurie, Steph with Brady (Brooke's) and Keri and Noah

I am lucky enough to have a group of friends that have remained in touch since High School. Actually I knew most of them in elementary school. They are some of my most precious angels. My love and respect for them only deepens with time and I treasure every get-together we pull off! We missed the girls that couldn't make it but are determined to persevere until we can all be together in one place at the same time : )

This last get-together was especially fun as all the moms brought the babies along and the crazy thing is....they are ALL boys!! What are the odds?! We had five little boys with us and we were missing Jess's two! Here are some pictures from our fun day which started out with brunch at Stephs and ended with a late lunch at our favorite Encinitas hang out, Ricos!

There was a lot of picture taking going on!

Keri and Noah

Brooke and Brady

Tina and Jackson

Adorable Aunties!

Harrison and Zack bonded over trains and cars

All the gabbing women were making Harrison tired : )

Ryan made a surprise visit to snuggle the kiddos!

Time for lunch!!!

Ted surprised us with shirts for all the boys: our initials and "My mom is prettier than your mom!"

I can't wait for the next girls day...or trip : )

All his Eggs in one basket...

Easter Catch up!

Easter is always such a special holiday for me. I love the significance of this holiday and what it means to me personally. I love the opportunity to reflect upon the Atonement of my Savior and the reminder to me of His love, grace and presence in my life. Because of the knowledge that I have of Him and his sacrifice for me and for all of us, I experience peace and hope no matter what circumstances I encounter in my life, what a precious blessing this is. I know that because he rose on the third day and conquered death, that I too will live again and be with my family forever. I came to appreciate this gift with a deeper intensity after Lexi's death. I was comforted and buoyed up by the Faith that we would be reunited again. I cherish holidays that help solidify my Faith and Testimony of Jesus Christ. I also cherish every second I get to spend with my family and this Easter was a day filled with reflection, gratitude, hope and family.

Easter Brunch at Grammy and Grandpa's

Easter Egg Hunt...very successful!

He named all the letters in his name one by one and at the end when I asked him what those letters spelled he exclaimed with confidence, "MONSTER TRUCK!!"

Easter Dinner at Grandma Coco's

Buddies! (that's what they call each other)

Jaydn and Addie making cookie masterpieces

Classic Beck and Zachy

Soph and Grandma Coco

Loving my Boy