What do you choose? How do you react to life?

The following thought was written by our friend Chris Wei. I really enjoyed reading it because no matter what life throws at us.... it's up to us to be happy or unhappy with it. It's up to us to choose and we will be judged by our reactions to situations. So I am working so hard to choose this... my attitude is great... life is great even though it's sooooo stinkin' hard! What do you choose? Something to think about for the New Year.

There are several people that I do admire so much though. They always seem to be positive despite the major trials they go through. There are many many people but I would like to name a few right now....
-Brian and Sandy Larsen.... Sandy has been so majorly sick for such a long time and no matter how she's feeling with her 102.5 temp or if she's throwing up, she still has a smile on her face and she's still more concerned about how others are doing. She has finally figured out that one of the meds that she was taking was the thing that was destroying her liver. She has gotten off of that and is feeling so much better now. But as I've shared, they just got in a car accident and now they're back to the drawing board. When I saw Sandy in the hospital the other night, she had such a big smile on her face despite the pain she was experiencing. And she was asking how we were doing instead of having the attitude "poor me poor me". And Brian... as you know, he is legally blind. But that doesn't stop him from accomplishing anything. He has decided to be a Chiropractor and after many many hours and years of hard work and studying and taking care of his wife, he passed his tests. The year that we lived in Roseville, I was very close to him and I never ever once heard him complain about how hard life was for him and Sandy. Even though life was throwing boulders at him, he was always willing to serve and always willing to do what he could to help us and others. These 2 are such a great example to me and I admire them both so much and want to be like them! They have chosen to be thankful for life and they have chosen to be positive, no matter what has been thrown at them.
-One last person I want to mention is Katie Lowry Call. Katie has been diagnosed with Lymes Disease and has mulitple other health problems on top of that. She has been in so much pain and is so sick all the time. She is constantly going to Dr.'s and what not. But no matter what, she still tries to check in on her friends and family and is always making some typical funny Katie Lowry comment. She makes me laugh so much and I love that about her. I love how strong she is! It would be so easy for her to crawl up in a ball and just want to give up and say I'm too sick to email people or I'm too sick to even care about anyone else. But she's not consumed with her own problems.... she's thinking of others first. Thanks Proct... You rock!

I guess with the New Years coming I am trying to look at my own life and what I can do to improve it. And this is something that I really want to do. I used to be thankful and never whine about stuff. But it seems as though that's all I do now... thanks Wei for your article... it got the wheels turning in my head.

Written by Chris Wei
Two statements:
A. Life is great, isn't it?
B. Life sucks, doesn't it?

...Odds are, at any given moment you will agree with one of the above statements. Also, at any given moment there is someone else in this world who will disagree with your choice, no matter which it is.

We might be tempted to sum up with "life is so flexible, isn't it?" Well, no; not really. It's not life that changes, but our attitude. It's not like "life" really is much different on a day when you're unhappy than it is on a day that you're happy. The general ingredients that make you consider yourself alive (as opposed to dead) are all pretty much the same. The real difference is, on one day you're choosing to be unhappy, and on the other day, you're choosing to be happy.

So the real choice of statements ought to be more like the following:
A. My attitude is great, isn't it?
B. My attitude sucks, doesn't it?

...And that's the choice that it boils down to.

Things happen. What are you going to do about it? Better question: what are you going to feel about it? Because let's face it, sometimes our ability to change what we DO is limited. But we're all in control of our thoughts (Je pense; donc, je suis. Right?).

Please keep Brian & Sandy Larsen in your prayers!

When I got home from church today, I listened to a message on our voicemail that my dad had left while we were at church. As soon as I heard my dad's voice, I knew something was wrong.... because he never calls us while we're at church. Yesterday was Brian Larsen's (my cousin) birthday. He and Sandy (his wife), went over to my other cousin's house, Jared, to celebrate. On their way home they were hit by a drunk driver that was speeding. The drunk driver hit them and another car. The driver tried to flee the scene by foot, but was caught. Sandy said she didn't see anyone come out of the other car as she was sitting in her car waiting for help. So hopefully the other people in the car are ok. Both Brian and Sandy are in the hospital in Roseville. Brian is in ICU right now with a bruised liver, broken ribs, and punctured lungs. Sandy's has some swelling in her spine, uncontrollable throwing up, and they believe she has head trauma. Please keep them both in your prayers. Sandy said that when it happened she felt as though someone was holding her body down in the car. They were definately protected! I'll keep you updated on everything when I find out more. I won't go off about how much I hate alcohol.... but I do. There is nothing ever good that comes from it! Just please keep them in your prayers! Thanks guys!

The Meyer's and the Larsen's... together again!

My Aunt Judy (my mom's sister) and my Uncle Scott came to visit 2 of their kids in Roseville/Orangevale during christmas. So we decided to have a get together at our house, since it was right in between Roseville and Oroville. Growing up we did everything with the Larsen's and the Meyer's since we all lived in the same town. Holidays, birthdays, weekly visits. I miss my cousins and aunts and uncles so much sometimes. So we had a blast having everyone over and it was so nice catching up. I love my family so much!! I miss having extended family around. Here are some pics from the night.... PS I just saw how my comments about the pics aren't matched up with the right pics. I'm not sure why it did that, but it did and I don't have time to change it right now. I'm surte you can figure it all out! ;-)
Bri & Loni hovering around the food. hahha just joking

Jared, Mom, and Elijah

The girls catching up....

Christina, Dustin, Joel, Derek and Elijah.... we were all so tired, but had a blast!

Brian & Jason kickin' like they used to in Roseville. They're always talking about electronics and cars and music and stuff like that.

Elijah slept through pretty much the whole party in his carseat in the middle of it all.

Joseph and ???? oh wait, that's Isaiah... the kid is obsessed!

Pretty in pink! We have some cute girls in our family. Sadee, Shelby, Maci, Brooklynn, and Sophia!

Aubrey (Jared's wife) and Sandy (Brian's wife)... I love how the both can fit in the chair together!

Mom & Aunt Judy

Derek & Uncle Scott playing Sudoku... Scott is so good at this game!

Pete (Bri's boyfriend), Bri, and Raquel just chillin...

Light Parade Part 1

We went to the light parade in Oroville. WE couldn't believe how long it was! An hour and 10 mins! Thats big for the ville. It was quite chilly, but we had a blast! Here are some pics from it......

 

Here are Danny and Raquel in Danny's baby (landcruiser) The 4x4 club they belong too entered and they all did such a good job decorating their rigs.

 

 

 

Light Parade Part 2

 

 

 

 

Oroville 1st Ward Christmas Breakfast

We went up to Oroville for the day and attended Oroville 1st Ward's Christmas Breakfast. It was a mini family reunion... we were just missing Spencer. We had a lot of fun though. They cooked 40 lbs. of bacon!! It's always fun going back to the roots....
Big cousins are so nice to have..... Shelby with the kids.

 

Santa and the kids!

 

Katie, Cami, and Cari hanging out with Sadee and Elijah

 

Here are the younger kids in the family. Everyone but Elijah.

 

AKA

So I was watching House the other night and kept hearing all the nicknames they have for eachother. I started thinking about my nicknames throughout the years and how they all came about.... Brittney Meyer McOmber AKA....

Bert - yes, it is a strange one. When I was in 8th grade, I was hanging out with Jana Robertson and Nichole Studley all the time. And we decided to all have B nicknames. Nichole's was Bo, but I can't remember Jana's. (Jana, what was it?) But Bert has totally stuck throughout the years and my "back in the day" friends know me as that.

Claudia - thanks to Brian Cherry, Claudia Schiffer came about. Brian used to mock me because I was tall and blond and he and some of the other guys would mock me by pretending to be me walking down the runway. Especially when we would go into a grocery store together. They would even be so loud in the stores and say,"Claudia Schiffer, oh Claudia, can I get your autograph?" ARGH! They called me Claudia Schiffer for awhile and then just Claudia. And that's how Claudia came about. I have a few friends that still call me that, but not too many.

Brittney Cakes - I can't even remember how this one came about. It has something to do with Brent Collins and Monsieur Lanctot's french class!

Britt - for those that despise Britney Spears and don't even want to bring up her name. hahah... nah, I think it's just the lazy way of saying Brittney.

Brittney Mama - on eof my old roomates, Jacqie gave me this one. Only my "Provo Sparks Apartment friends" call me this

Mommy - well, now do we really need to say how that nickname came about?

That tall blond with glasses - yes, thats what I am.... but I'm starting to shrink... ahhhhhh!!!!!

The lady with the kids that look just like her husband/their dad - I hear this all the time. After seeing a video of me as a baby and a toddler, I have definately realized that our children look nothing like me. They resemble some traits from my family, but not mine. Strangers will even ask.. "Are they your kids?" or speaking to the kids "You kids must look just like your dad." Its true, I am just the carrier. But its all good... cause thats more than I could ever ask for.

Brittney Bundles - I used to dislike this name when I was little. But now I love it. Only 2 people called me this... Grandma & Grandpa King. When I was a teenager, they also called me "our little missionary". Grandma & Grandpa are now on the other side, but sometimes in my mind I can hear their voices calling me Brittney Bundles.

Cutting down the Christmas Tree.. McOmber Style

This year we went up towards Buck's Lake with the McOmber Family to cut down our Christmas Tree. I love how organized the McOmber family is. They've really taught me a lot! We started out in the ville and it was so foggy and cold. As we started driving up the mountain, we got above the fog and the sun was out. It was beautiful! Unfortuantely, we had a some car sickness issues. Baylee and Isaiah both puked in the car..... it was nasty! I'm definately getting ginger snaps for next year! Anyway, one of the big disagreements between Jason and I is that he wants a 4x4 family vehicle.. example Suburban or an Expedition. I want a gas friendly family vehicle... example a minivan. We'll eventually have to get a Suburban because of the growth of our family. But as for now, I want to enjoy getting decent gas mileage. I always tell him that a minivan can go on dirt roads in the mountains without any problems.... well, this time I was wrong. AS we were driving on the dirt road to our spot... there was a deceivingly large rock that rolled up under our van. It kept scraping and it sounded awful! Jason, being the amazing rock crawler that he is, got off of the stone safely and looked under the car and relized that this rock made a huge dent in the oil pan under the transmission, or whatever it's called. He was also concerned that it made a whole in the gas tank, but thankfully didn't. And so the dent and scratch marks were the only damage, thank goodness!!! He didn't have to say anything... I knew what he was thinking. But my thinking is that we only go to the mountains like that 3 or 4 times a year and I drive to town and back 300 times a year. So I'm still all for the minivan. hahahah.... Anyway, we had a blast up there though and the kids were all so good. I love being able to spend time with family and creating happy fun memories. Well, here are some pics from our day....
Here is a picture of all of us! It's been 4 years since we've gotten a picture with all of us together! We're rarely altogether at the same time. Now that I think about it, it's been 4 years since we've had a pic together with the Meyer family too.

 

Tim is amazing! He brought his stove up and made scrambled eggs and Danny made hot chocolate. It definately hit the spot and was delicious!!

 

Brooklynn & Baylee love their cousin Elijah!

 

 

The girls staying warm.

 

Here are 3 Generations of McOmbers.... Steve, Jason, & Elijah

 

Our Familia

 

Loading the trees up in the truck

 

Random Pics

Friday morning we got up at my grandma's house and decided to put her tree up for her and decorate it. The kids had so much fun and Grandma did as well. The kids put the majority of the decorations at the bottom of the tree. It is a very unique looking tree with how the kids decorated it. But Grandma wants to keep it the way it is. She's such a great example to me. So here is a picture of Sadee and her 6 ornaments that she put on one branch. She's so funny.

 

Before & After
Here's a before picture of Christina and I 6 weeks before we had our babies.

 

And here is the after picture...... what handsome little boys!

 

Thanksgiving Fun at the Meyer's

Cam, Spencer, Dustin, and Dad playing Take Two

 

Oh the craziness of having a big family

 

Maci, Sophia, Joseph, & Isaiah practicing to audition for the Rockettes! hahaha

 

At the end of the day....

 

Elijah

Here is Elijah and his cousin Joel. They're 1 week apart and are already the best of friends!

 

Elijah loved being outside while we were getting our Christmas Tree

 

Elijah and Grandma McOmber staying warm while cutting down the tree.