My last post was about faith and I shared two experiences from my life. I want my children to know that my faith started growing long before those events happened. I believe faith starts growing as a child. Eight year olds make the decision to be baptized in our church. I feel that is a decision of faith. Maybe it starts even before that? I can't really remember when my faith started to grow but it has to happen sometime when we are young. That I truly believe.
I remember a lot of my experiences from my youth. My mother had a huge part in building my testimony and growing my faith. My first experience of truly knowing my testimony for myself happened at girls camp. I was pretty lucky in the fact that my mother was the young womens president for majority of the time I was in young womens. Bless that women for putting up with me! :) I know I was not easy to deal with but I'm so grateful for all the time and effort she put into that calling. She always went above and beyond the required duties. She loved the girls and she always did extra things for us. She was an incredible leader and I'm so grateful for those memories with her. She really did shape the women I have become.
Anyways, back to girls camp. It had to be my second year at camp and it was a stake camp that year. There was a special presentation one night and different bishops dressed up like old prophets from the scriptures. They all had assigned lines that they were to to speak. I honestly don't remember what any of them said except for one. My bishop. He was a man that I loved and adored, Bishop Hughes, such a good man. He got up to do his part and he stumbled over his words. He was struggling to remember what his lines were. Finally he gave up on the assigned speaking part and just started bearing his testimony about the gospel of Jesus Christ. He ended with How do you know it is true? I believe he said this line a couple times. He really wanted us to ponder on How do I know it is true? This really hit me in the heart and caused me to question myself and my belief. How did I know? Was church something that I just did because my parents did? How did I know?
My heart was troubled. I was in tears. I couldn't find my own answer. Did I know the gospel was true? I didn't know. I struggled the rest of the night. My mom noticed and pulled me aside to talk. She talked with me for awhile. She assured me that I knew the gospel was true. She shared stories with me from my childhood about how faithful I was. I was always wanting to do family home evening, family scripture study and prayer ever since I was young because I knew what good it did for our family. I could feel it. She ended the conversation with encouraging me to ask Heavenly Father this question in prayer. Even though she settled a lot of my fears with her words she wanted me to know for myself. She knew that God would answer my prayers and I would get the answers that I needed. She told me to go off into the woods by myself and pray. She told me I would get my answer.
Due to weather that came that night I never made it into the woods. I'm deathly afraid of thunder and lighting, especially when camping. My mom let me come sleep in her tent that night at her feet (it was a small tent and that was the only place there was room). I prayed that night snuggled up in my sleeping bag trying to ignore the storm. My answer came. I just knew it was true. There was peace. My heart was not troubled. I slept so soundly that night and woke up in the morning soaking wet from the rain coming in the tent. It was a great night.
Since that point I knew for myself that the gospel of Jesus Christ was here on the Earth. I knew it was true. My testimony continued to grow as life went on through my teen years. I can look back and see God's hand in my life from an early age. There were many tender mercies that happened in high school. I also learned that there are many gifts of the spirit. I have a gift to just know things are right and true. I'm grateful for that gift. It has helped me so much in my life.
It is true that faith starts out as a tiny mustard seed. If we nurture that seed it will continue to grow. Faith takes works. We must ask questions. We must seek Him. We must search for Him. He will answer us. Today I'm grateful for a wonderful mother who knew and understood this. I'm grateful for taking me to church each week. I'm grateful for her example. She has always done her church callings to the best of her ability. She has always done what has been asked of her (that takes faith)! I'm grateful she understood just what I needed that night at girls camp. I'm thankful for an awesome bishop during my teenage years. I'm grateful for his testimony and the man that he is. I'm grateful for the church programs for the youth. Girls camp is one of my very favorite things that would happen each summer. I have such fond memories of each year. Some spiritual and some just plain good fun! I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who loves me unconditionally. He is always there for me and I know I am His daughter. What a blessing! So much to be grateful for!
Gratitude All Year
The Lord has promised, “He who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious” (D&C 78:19). Gratitude is an uplifting, exalting attitude. People are generally happier when they have gratitude in their hearts. We cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when we are grateful.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Faith
It's been awhile! 3 months! Wow... I'm sad I have missed out on so much writing. I haven't completely forgotten about this blog. So many times I have thought that I should write a post... there is so much to be grateful for and so many stories to share with my children. Today I'm sharing about faith. I'm so grateful for faith and what it teaches us. I'm grateful for my Savior and Heavenly Father for whom I put my faith in.
Our ward has been talking a lot about faith the last month or so. The bishop encouraged each visiting teacher to talk with the each sister about "How do you increase your faith?" So my faithful VT showed up for May and asked me this question. One added in "you are young you may not have experiences with faith." (I have older ladies who come to visit me so I seem really young to them I'm sure) WHAT!?! That comment shocked me! I know I'm young and I know I look younger than what I really am but really? Who hasn't had faith experiences? Being the quiet person that I am (so much sarcasm there) I replied, "Oh I may be young but everyone needs to grow their faith and I have definitely had experiences where my faith has been tried and grown."
I proceeded to share just briefly about the reasons why my faith has grown but not necessarily the experiences themselves. As I have thought about this conversation I have decided I want my children to know these stories.
November 2012 we were in the stage of life where Jared was graduated from college and we were applying and trying to get into a PA school. His first interview came up in Albuquerque, NM. Jared had a brother who lived there with his family so I thought we would make a family vacation and the girls visit their cousins. As we made that journey in the car we had so much fun and enjoyed every minute. This is not normal for me. I usually really hate long car rides. As we were coming into the Albuquerque city limits I had this really strong feeling. I turned to Jared and said, "This is going to be home." I had no doubt in my mind that we were about to move here. I had never been to Albuquerque before so I soaked in every thing I could on the drive through the city and looked at all the names of the apartments that were in the area close to family so I could find us a home to live in when it came time.
Jared had his interview and he felt really good about this place. He too thought that he would get in and that we would be moving here the next month. He was told at his interview that we should hear from them in 2-3 weeks on what their decision was.
Once we were back home in Cedar City, UT I began to clean out our house. We were in a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom/2 car garage home and I knew we would not have that much space in ABQ. I began to get rid of things and down grading our stuff. 3 weeks went by and no phone call from the school! Little doubts began to creep into my mind. Are we really going? 4 weeks... still no call. This is when I was getting anxious for an answer. Week 5... FINALLY an answer! Apparently we had been put on the wait list and they had sent that decision in the mail. We never received that piece of mail. But they called and invited Jared to attend their school and he accepted right away.
My parents had planned a family vacation for Christmas that year to go to Disneyland. We had 5 days to pack up our house and move before that vacation was to start! Talk about crazy! Thankfully I had been preparing for the move but it was still A LOT of work. Thanks so much to family and friends who helped us. We could have never done this without their help! We enjoyed our Disneyland vacation. It was so much fun to be there at Christmas time and with all my family. It was so fun for Jared and I to have this last vacation before we started this crazy adventure of PA school.... we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Andali and Lydia had a great time too.
After the vacation we went to Jared's parents house to celebrate Christmas and then we made our way to ABQ. We were homeless. Thanks to Michael and Kristen who let us stay at their house during that time. They were on holiday vacation still so it was so kind of them to let us take over their house. We were able to get an apartment after a few days and then Jared's dad drove up our trailer of stuff and moved us in. We only had a couple days to get the apartment set up and then Jared was beginning his schooling. Everything happened so fast in that few weeks we had but we did it and we were so grateful to be moving forward with our lives and dreams.
SO many faith promoting experiences happened during PA school. I feel like from this point to the end of PA school that there was so much growing happening in our family and in me. Many stories that I will have to save for another time as this is already getting lengthy. But I want to share one last story.
PA school ended in April 2015. Jared took his board test in May 2015 and passed. Then it took time to get certified and find a job. He had applied for his dream job. It was an ENT office and he had worked with this company during his rotations in school. He loved the work atmosphere, the people, and the hours. It was definitely a family friendly job. He was interviewed for the position and he felt really good about accepting this job. We both did and we were very excited about it. Well the phone call came and he was told they had given the position to someone else but that they would like him to interview again in the future as they are expanding and growing their company. Needless to say we were both very disappointed because it had felt so right.
Meanwhile our landlords who we thought were friends (long story) had given us a 30 day notice saying they wanted us out of the house because they wanted to put it on the market for new renters. That was a big mess and a lot of hurt feelings but through that time I just KNEW everything would work out. I didn't know how but I just KNEW it would. We looked at a job in Arizona and planned a trip for the interview. I should mention that we had NO MONEY at this point. Our last loan installment was in January 2015 so we were spreading thin and we knew this trip would take the last of what we had left. Thankfully before we left for the trip we get another call from the ENT office offering Jared a position! WHAT!?! We were both so excited and accepted the job right away! It felt so right. Everything fell into place quickly once again. We were able to move out of that house within the 30 day notice and moved into our new location. The house we are renting was only on the market for 2 days. I should mention that it is NOT easy to find places to rent in Los Alamos in the summer time. LA is a place where majority work at the labs. They get a lot of summer interns and they take all the apartments/housing that is for rent. We were so blessed to find this house that we did! Our landlords are the sweetest old couple. We couldn't have asked for better landlords after the last ones we had. We were blessed in so many ways and everything DID work out.
What does this have to do with faith? Well, as I have reflected on these events, and many others I realize how much my faith has grown. This is what grows my faith as well. Experiences where I get promptings and know what we should be doing. We get told "No" from people in the world but we still act on our feelings and trust that everything will work out. We continue to act on those promptings and it has always led us to the place we needed to be. Everything ALWAYS works out. I know both of these situations ended in the way we wanted it to but I know that is because we were open to do whatever the Lord wanted us to do and that our will was aligned with His. He wanted these things for us too.
I'm not sure if those words are coming out the way I want them to. I know that sometimes prayers don't get answered the way we would like them too. That is the hard way of learning faith and times where my faith had been questioned. I know that putting our faith in Him will lead us to the best things in the future, even if it is hard to accept what is required of us. I'm so grateful for the testimony I have built through faith. I KNOW everything always works out and we are always blessed with far more than we deserve.
One last question for you to think about that I have been pondering is.... What have you learned ONLY by faith?
Our ward has been talking a lot about faith the last month or so. The bishop encouraged each visiting teacher to talk with the each sister about "How do you increase your faith?" So my faithful VT showed up for May and asked me this question. One added in "you are young you may not have experiences with faith." (I have older ladies who come to visit me so I seem really young to them I'm sure) WHAT!?! That comment shocked me! I know I'm young and I know I look younger than what I really am but really? Who hasn't had faith experiences? Being the quiet person that I am (so much sarcasm there) I replied, "Oh I may be young but everyone needs to grow their faith and I have definitely had experiences where my faith has been tried and grown."
I proceeded to share just briefly about the reasons why my faith has grown but not necessarily the experiences themselves. As I have thought about this conversation I have decided I want my children to know these stories.
November 2012 we were in the stage of life where Jared was graduated from college and we were applying and trying to get into a PA school. His first interview came up in Albuquerque, NM. Jared had a brother who lived there with his family so I thought we would make a family vacation and the girls visit their cousins. As we made that journey in the car we had so much fun and enjoyed every minute. This is not normal for me. I usually really hate long car rides. As we were coming into the Albuquerque city limits I had this really strong feeling. I turned to Jared and said, "This is going to be home." I had no doubt in my mind that we were about to move here. I had never been to Albuquerque before so I soaked in every thing I could on the drive through the city and looked at all the names of the apartments that were in the area close to family so I could find us a home to live in when it came time.
Jared had his interview and he felt really good about this place. He too thought that he would get in and that we would be moving here the next month. He was told at his interview that we should hear from them in 2-3 weeks on what their decision was.
Once we were back home in Cedar City, UT I began to clean out our house. We were in a 3 bedroom/2 bathroom/2 car garage home and I knew we would not have that much space in ABQ. I began to get rid of things and down grading our stuff. 3 weeks went by and no phone call from the school! Little doubts began to creep into my mind. Are we really going? 4 weeks... still no call. This is when I was getting anxious for an answer. Week 5... FINALLY an answer! Apparently we had been put on the wait list and they had sent that decision in the mail. We never received that piece of mail. But they called and invited Jared to attend their school and he accepted right away.
My parents had planned a family vacation for Christmas that year to go to Disneyland. We had 5 days to pack up our house and move before that vacation was to start! Talk about crazy! Thankfully I had been preparing for the move but it was still A LOT of work. Thanks so much to family and friends who helped us. We could have never done this without their help! We enjoyed our Disneyland vacation. It was so much fun to be there at Christmas time and with all my family. It was so fun for Jared and I to have this last vacation before we started this crazy adventure of PA school.... we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Andali and Lydia had a great time too.
After the vacation we went to Jared's parents house to celebrate Christmas and then we made our way to ABQ. We were homeless. Thanks to Michael and Kristen who let us stay at their house during that time. They were on holiday vacation still so it was so kind of them to let us take over their house. We were able to get an apartment after a few days and then Jared's dad drove up our trailer of stuff and moved us in. We only had a couple days to get the apartment set up and then Jared was beginning his schooling. Everything happened so fast in that few weeks we had but we did it and we were so grateful to be moving forward with our lives and dreams.
SO many faith promoting experiences happened during PA school. I feel like from this point to the end of PA school that there was so much growing happening in our family and in me. Many stories that I will have to save for another time as this is already getting lengthy. But I want to share one last story.
PA school ended in April 2015. Jared took his board test in May 2015 and passed. Then it took time to get certified and find a job. He had applied for his dream job. It was an ENT office and he had worked with this company during his rotations in school. He loved the work atmosphere, the people, and the hours. It was definitely a family friendly job. He was interviewed for the position and he felt really good about accepting this job. We both did and we were very excited about it. Well the phone call came and he was told they had given the position to someone else but that they would like him to interview again in the future as they are expanding and growing their company. Needless to say we were both very disappointed because it had felt so right.
Meanwhile our landlords who we thought were friends (long story) had given us a 30 day notice saying they wanted us out of the house because they wanted to put it on the market for new renters. That was a big mess and a lot of hurt feelings but through that time I just KNEW everything would work out. I didn't know how but I just KNEW it would. We looked at a job in Arizona and planned a trip for the interview. I should mention that we had NO MONEY at this point. Our last loan installment was in January 2015 so we were spreading thin and we knew this trip would take the last of what we had left. Thankfully before we left for the trip we get another call from the ENT office offering Jared a position! WHAT!?! We were both so excited and accepted the job right away! It felt so right. Everything fell into place quickly once again. We were able to move out of that house within the 30 day notice and moved into our new location. The house we are renting was only on the market for 2 days. I should mention that it is NOT easy to find places to rent in Los Alamos in the summer time. LA is a place where majority work at the labs. They get a lot of summer interns and they take all the apartments/housing that is for rent. We were so blessed to find this house that we did! Our landlords are the sweetest old couple. We couldn't have asked for better landlords after the last ones we had. We were blessed in so many ways and everything DID work out.
What does this have to do with faith? Well, as I have reflected on these events, and many others I realize how much my faith has grown. This is what grows my faith as well. Experiences where I get promptings and know what we should be doing. We get told "No" from people in the world but we still act on our feelings and trust that everything will work out. We continue to act on those promptings and it has always led us to the place we needed to be. Everything ALWAYS works out. I know both of these situations ended in the way we wanted it to but I know that is because we were open to do whatever the Lord wanted us to do and that our will was aligned with His. He wanted these things for us too.
I'm not sure if those words are coming out the way I want them to. I know that sometimes prayers don't get answered the way we would like them too. That is the hard way of learning faith and times where my faith had been questioned. I know that putting our faith in Him will lead us to the best things in the future, even if it is hard to accept what is required of us. I'm so grateful for the testimony I have built through faith. I KNOW everything always works out and we are always blessed with far more than we deserve.
One last question for you to think about that I have been pondering is.... What have you learned ONLY by faith?
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Star Date
Last night the kids and I had a star date. We took our giant, warm sleeping bags and laid out on the trampoline. It was cloudy so it was hard to see stars in the beginning. We waited patiently and within a couple minutes the cloud had moved and the night sky was full of stars.
Seth is the one that brought on this idea of watching stars with the kids. On Friday night we were out late and when we got home he looked up at the sky and exclaimed "WOW!" He had his head cranked back as far as he could go to get a good look. He kept pointing and repeated "WOW!" over and over again. It was super adorable. Last night was no disappointment as he continued to be amazed at all the stars in the heaven.
It was such a special night and I'm extremely grateful for the time we were able to spend together. We witnessed 2 shooting stars and that was so exciting! I also was able to spend time talking with my kids. We talked about heaven and stars. We named a few stars. We talked about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Questions were exchanged. Answers were given to the best of our abilities.
The best part was after about 20 minutes of star watching, Seth and Lydia were finished so they went back inside. I then was able to spend one on one time with Andali. There I was cuddled up in a sleeping bag with her just looking at the sky in amazement and wonder. We were able to talk about her and her life. She is almost 7! Only another year until she will be baptized! I felt gratitude for this beautiful girl. She is growing up so fast and there are moments where she is so well behaved and seems so mature for her age and then there are moments were she it totally childish.
As we laid there on the tramp she pleaded that we stay at her elementary school for 2nd and 3rd grade. She told me how much she loved school and how she didn't want to move. I told her that is our plan but we would have to see. In that moment I was just so grateful that she loved school. She is not advanced in her education but she does love to learn. I'm grateful that she loves it even though she isn't the best one in her class. She is a very competitive girl so I'm grateful that hasn't deterred her in her learning.
She is a great girl and growing too fast. I'm grateful that she still loves to be around me. I'm grateful that she still loves to cuddled up to me and feel of my love for her. I know these days are getting numbered so I'm extremely grateful that I still have a part of my little girl.
She asked if we could have another star date tonight. It must have been good for both of us. I see many more star dates in the near future.
I'm also grateful for the stars. They never seize to amaze me. It is always a great reminder to me of how small this Earth really is. How little I really am in the grand scheme of things. Yet, there is a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ who thinks I'm worth saving. Who thinks that I'm worth having back home. They have given us this beautiful Earth to live on and yet it's just a small detail to the full plan of eternity. We are so loved. I'm so grateful.
Seth is the one that brought on this idea of watching stars with the kids. On Friday night we were out late and when we got home he looked up at the sky and exclaimed "WOW!" He had his head cranked back as far as he could go to get a good look. He kept pointing and repeated "WOW!" over and over again. It was super adorable. Last night was no disappointment as he continued to be amazed at all the stars in the heaven.
It was such a special night and I'm extremely grateful for the time we were able to spend together. We witnessed 2 shooting stars and that was so exciting! I also was able to spend time talking with my kids. We talked about heaven and stars. We named a few stars. We talked about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Questions were exchanged. Answers were given to the best of our abilities.
The best part was after about 20 minutes of star watching, Seth and Lydia were finished so they went back inside. I then was able to spend one on one time with Andali. There I was cuddled up in a sleeping bag with her just looking at the sky in amazement and wonder. We were able to talk about her and her life. She is almost 7! Only another year until she will be baptized! I felt gratitude for this beautiful girl. She is growing up so fast and there are moments where she is so well behaved and seems so mature for her age and then there are moments were she it totally childish.
As we laid there on the tramp she pleaded that we stay at her elementary school for 2nd and 3rd grade. She told me how much she loved school and how she didn't want to move. I told her that is our plan but we would have to see. In that moment I was just so grateful that she loved school. She is not advanced in her education but she does love to learn. I'm grateful that she loves it even though she isn't the best one in her class. She is a very competitive girl so I'm grateful that hasn't deterred her in her learning.
She is a great girl and growing too fast. I'm grateful that she still loves to be around me. I'm grateful that she still loves to cuddled up to me and feel of my love for her. I know these days are getting numbered so I'm extremely grateful that I still have a part of my little girl.
She asked if we could have another star date tonight. It must have been good for both of us. I see many more star dates in the near future.
I'm also grateful for the stars. They never seize to amaze me. It is always a great reminder to me of how small this Earth really is. How little I really am in the grand scheme of things. Yet, there is a loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ who thinks I'm worth saving. Who thinks that I'm worth having back home. They have given us this beautiful Earth to live on and yet it's just a small detail to the full plan of eternity. We are so loved. I'm so grateful.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
My Hands
His Hands - Words and Music by Kenneth Cope
His hands, tools of creation, stronger than nations, power without end, And yet through them, we find our truest friend. His hands, sermons of kindness, healing men's blindness, halting years of pain, Children waiting to be held again.
His hands would serve His whole life through, showing man what hands might do, giving, ever giving endlessly. Each day was filled with selflessness and I'll not rest 'til I make of my hands what they could be, 'Til these hands become like those from Galilee.
His hands, warning a beggar, lifting a leper, calling back the dead, Breaking bread, five thousand fed.
His hands, hushing contention, pointing to heaven, ever free of sin, Then bidding men to follow Him.
His hands would serve His whole life through, showing man that hands might do, giving, ever giving endlessly. Each day was filled with selflessness and I'll not rest 'til I make of my hands what they could be, 'Til these hands become like those from Galilee.
His hands clasp in agony as He lay pleading bleeding in the garden, While must moments away other hands betray Him out of greed, shameful greed. And then His hand are trembling, straining to carry the beam that they'd be nailed to, As He stumbles through the streets heading or the hill on which He'd die, He would die.
They take His hands, His mighty hands, those gentle hands, And then they pierce them, they pierce them, He lets them because of love. From birth to death was selflessness and clearly now I see Him with His Hands calling to me, And though I'm not yet as I would be, He has shown me how I could be. I will make my hands like those from Galilee.
I'm so very grateful for my hands. My hands do a lot... I'll get to more on that in a minute.
This year started out with trials and it continues to this day. Several things have happened in my life recently that I like to call growing moments. Really hard choices, some confusion, life changing moments.
In January we went to the temple to search out answers. To find help and guidance. I was expecting to get answers and hope for our future. However, my prayers were answered in a different way than I was expecting. A phrase that I heard over and over and over as I did the work was about my hands. My hands? It had nothing to do with the problem we were facing. But my hands is what stuck the whole time we were there. Not the answer I would have ever guessed. I did leave the temple with hope and peace but still not an exact answer. I had some pondering to do.
Since then more trials have come. Life is hard sometimes.
I have been so blessed throughout this time though. Pondering my hands and what they do. My hands do A LOT! When I took the time to pay attention of what my hands actually do in a days time... it's A LOT! Put that over a course of a week, month, year... I can only be more grateful for my hands. My hands do a lot of good. It was a blessing to recognize my choices I was making and my hands were involved in those actions. Seriously pay attention and make a note in your head of just 1 day of all the things your hands do. It taught me some things.
It taught me all the good that I was doing. I needed that reminder.
It taught me that I comfort my children using my hands. Holding them, brushing their hair, wiping tears away, playing with them.
It taught me that I love with my hands. Tickling a back or tummy, squeezing a hand, making them smile.
It taught me that I work and give much of my time to work.
It taught me of the things that I needed to change. I have heard the song I typed aove, before but I just ran across my piano music of it. I played and sung the words. It was what I needed today.
From birth to death was selflessness and clearly now I see Him with His Hands calling to me, And though I'm not yet as I would be, He has shown me how I could be. I will make my hands like those from Galilee.
This I know. If we ask our Heavenly Father in whatsoever thing we need. He will answer and it will be the most perfect answer. I know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, lifts and comforts us with His hands. We learn line upon line, precept upon precept. Take what we know and move forward in the growing process.
My favorite scripture is Alma 7:23-24
And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things; being diligent in keeping the commandments of God at all times; asking for whatsoever things ye stand in need, both spiritual and temporal; always returning thanks unto God for whatsoever things ye do receive.
And see that ye have faith, hope and charity, and then ye shall always abound in good works.
I look to this scripture and love this scripture. It is so full of hope and love. We have a loving Heavenly Father. We have a loving brother who did atone for us. He covers everything in our lives. I know that as I try to live this scripture that I'm blessed beyond measure. Is that hard to do sometimes? Of course. There have been many questions and decisions, especially these last 2 weeks! We are needing a lot of faith right now. Faith in the Lord and faith in other people. We hope for the best but I know everything will work out no matter what the outcome is. He always takes care of us. It's okay to ask questions. He will answer. Just listen to the answer and be willing to do what is asked. That is sometimes hard. It will be a blessing if you do.
As I was reading my scriptures, I read a scripture that became a personal meaning to me. This won't be the exact scripture but a ponderized version.... Jacob 3:1 Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto Him with exceeding faith, and He will console you in your afflictions and he will plead your cause. I believe these words.
My hands are used to pray. I'm learning that this is one of the greatest things I can teach my children to use their hands for. What a blessing. Hands are wonderful and I'm grateful that I have 2.
Friday, February 19, 2016
FIVE!
So much has happened since I last posted three weeks ago! I have thought of SO MANY posts that I should write but never took the time to do it. Many good things have happened over the last few weeks. Also a few trials. However, I don't have the time to back track now. Maybe another time I can share the stories, lessons and gratitude but today I'm focusing on my little lady.
I'm so grateful to have Lydia in my life. I'm grateful for the joy and happiness that she brings. All my kids are different in personality and I can't imagine not having my Lydia. She is my little sweetheart.
That is how old my little girl is now! It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home to our family. These kids of mine are growing up WAY too fast! Her birthday was earlier this week and the day of she asked "can I go to school now mom?" My thoughts were... SLOW DOWN!!! I still get a few more months with you before you go to kindergarten!
Lydia is such a sweetie. She loves to be tickled and cuddled all the time. She gives great hugs and kisses. She is the first to jump up and help me when I need it. My favorite thing that she does right now is unload the dishwasher without being asked! She wants to be like Jesus and loves to help others. (Those are her words). She is the first to help. She is a peace maker. She is willing to share her things with her siblings and often is being more than generous to them. She is my big helper.
Her smile... oh how I love that girls smile.
She loves to sing and dance around the house all day.
She loves to hear stories about when she was little. She thinks they are hilarious!
She loves to dress up.
She loves to read books and is starting to learn how to sound out words.
She would love to be a ballerina and take dance classes.
She often says, "I'm going to miss you when I grow up. I will come visit you and you can come visit me. My kids with be your grand kids and you will love them." It cracks me up every time she says this.
I'm so grateful to have Lydia in my life. I'm grateful for the joy and happiness that she brings. All my kids are different in personality and I can't imagine not having my Lydia. She is my little sweetheart.
FIVE!
That is how old my little girl is now! It seems like yesterday that we were bringing her home to our family. These kids of mine are growing up WAY too fast! Her birthday was earlier this week and the day of she asked "can I go to school now mom?" My thoughts were... SLOW DOWN!!! I still get a few more months with you before you go to kindergarten!
Lydia is such a sweetie. She loves to be tickled and cuddled all the time. She gives great hugs and kisses. She is the first to jump up and help me when I need it. My favorite thing that she does right now is unload the dishwasher without being asked! She wants to be like Jesus and loves to help others. (Those are her words). She is the first to help. She is a peace maker. She is willing to share her things with her siblings and often is being more than generous to them. She is my big helper.
Her smile... oh how I love that girls smile.
She loves to sing and dance around the house all day.
She loves to hear stories about when she was little. She thinks they are hilarious!
She loves to dress up.
She loves to read books and is starting to learn how to sound out words.
She would love to be a ballerina and take dance classes.
She often says, "I'm going to miss you when I grow up. I will come visit you and you can come visit me. My kids with be your grand kids and you will love them." It cracks me up every time she says this.
I'm so grateful for this beautiful, smart, kind and loving girl. We are so blessed to have her in our family. She is a great daughter and such a wonderful sister! We sure love our liddybugs!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
200,000 miles
This last week our van hit 200,000 miles! I always said it would die once it did. I watched the meter climb slowly to 200,000 miles and then slowly to 200,001. It didn't die! I know that sounds silly but this van has been a champ. It's been a huge blessing to have a vehicle to have it with no payments. It is the van that my parents had when we were growing up so it has had some good use.
Well the following day we headed to Albuquerque to go to the temple. The van ran great on the way down. We didn't have babysitters this time so we did a switch. Jared went in first while I had the kids and then I went in once he was finished. We had finished up at the temple and we were on our way to our friends house to help them out. She is pregnant and has HG during her pregnancies. We like to go visit them and help out any way we can. On the way there we get a text saying that today may not be a good day for us to come. I try calling her right away, no answer. We get closer to the freeway to head home. We didn't have much left to do in Albuquerque so we thought that maybe we should just head home. When it came time to get on the exit we decided to just keep going towards their house. I'm thankful we did.
We stopped at walmart to get dishwasher soap, bananas and minutes for my phone. We were out of dog food but petco was in the next parking lot so we went there next. As we were pulling into a parking spot our steering wheel became hard to turn and was making a grinding noise. Jared thought right away that maybe the steering fluid was empty. He ran in, bought the dog food, and headed back to walmart again to get fluid. He came out with a couple containers of steering fluid and a couple containers of oil as well. That ended up being a blessing too.
He filled up the steering fluid and it was a lot better so we headed up to our friends house about 10 minutes away. By the time we got there we were having problems again. After searching for the problem in more detail we found that it was a hose that had a leak. Jared worked all night trying to replace it. It took a lot of hours... and he didn't have a coat.... and it got dark. It was cold. I felt bad for him. He finally gave up and decided he would try again the next day when there was light.
He fixed one hose to find that another one was leaking. He started working on that one as well. He spent a couple more hours trying to get the dang thing off. The hose would NOT come off no matter how hard he tried. He finally gave it up and decided it would be worth to just get it towed and have a mechanic fix it. As he was cleaning up his mess he showed me our tires. The tread on the tires does not exist. They are so bald! And as he was pointing that out we found a nail in our tire. I don't believe in coincidences. I'm not for sure what the reason is that Jared couldn't get that hose off but I know it will work out the way it needs to. It might cost more money this way but maybe it is the safest way.
It was a little stressful to begin with. We have a New Years goal with our finances and I have been doing SO GOOD at keeping it. Which means I have not been spending money. (which is sometimes hard to do.) I was a little annoyed that all the money that I had worked so hard to save would go do something dumb like this. ha ha! But I realize what a blessing that we do have the money to get it fixed. If we had not made this goal, we would not have the money to do so.
Another tender mercy was that since my friend is HG she is on a ton of medications. She has not been able to drive her van for a long time. She doesn't go anywhere without her husband taking her so her van has just been sitting in the garage. They were so kind to offer it to us. At first I declined. I hate borrowing big expensive things because we have been taught to replace anything that we damage. A vehicle can be very expensive. I pray that nothing happens while we have it. I finally accepted their offer when we saw that there was no other option. It was such a blessing to have a vehicle that we could use to get home and to use. They are not in a rush to get there vehicle back so it is now less stressful to figure things out in a hurry. I'm so grateful for these friends. (and not only because of the van... they are great people!)
Before we left in their van they decided to check the fluids. The oil was EMPTY! The oil didn't even touch the dip stick. I was so grateful that Jared and bought some oil! They filled it up and we were able to be on our way. What a blessing!
The van is still stranded in Albuquerque. We still have not figured out what we are going to do. It is still a bit stressful not knowing what is going to happen but I know it will be alright. It's just material things right!?! We are safe and blessed. I'm grateful for all the tender mercies that we have had this last weekend. I'm grateful we were able to make it to the temple and that all the van problems started after we had attended. If it had happened before I don't know if we would have gone. I'm thankful for that temple trip. It was good and much needed. The spirit is so strong there. I felt peace and happiness. There are so many blessings that we have been promised. We are given so much from a loving Heavenly Father. I love that it doesn't end after we die. The blessings and promises carry on into the eternities. What a blessing. But of course since I'm living here and now... I'm so grateful for those blessings in this life. It has really blessed, strengthened and supported me in my life. Life is good.
Well the following day we headed to Albuquerque to go to the temple. The van ran great on the way down. We didn't have babysitters this time so we did a switch. Jared went in first while I had the kids and then I went in once he was finished. We had finished up at the temple and we were on our way to our friends house to help them out. She is pregnant and has HG during her pregnancies. We like to go visit them and help out any way we can. On the way there we get a text saying that today may not be a good day for us to come. I try calling her right away, no answer. We get closer to the freeway to head home. We didn't have much left to do in Albuquerque so we thought that maybe we should just head home. When it came time to get on the exit we decided to just keep going towards their house. I'm thankful we did.
We stopped at walmart to get dishwasher soap, bananas and minutes for my phone. We were out of dog food but petco was in the next parking lot so we went there next. As we were pulling into a parking spot our steering wheel became hard to turn and was making a grinding noise. Jared thought right away that maybe the steering fluid was empty. He ran in, bought the dog food, and headed back to walmart again to get fluid. He came out with a couple containers of steering fluid and a couple containers of oil as well. That ended up being a blessing too.
He filled up the steering fluid and it was a lot better so we headed up to our friends house about 10 minutes away. By the time we got there we were having problems again. After searching for the problem in more detail we found that it was a hose that had a leak. Jared worked all night trying to replace it. It took a lot of hours... and he didn't have a coat.... and it got dark. It was cold. I felt bad for him. He finally gave up and decided he would try again the next day when there was light.
He fixed one hose to find that another one was leaking. He started working on that one as well. He spent a couple more hours trying to get the dang thing off. The hose would NOT come off no matter how hard he tried. He finally gave it up and decided it would be worth to just get it towed and have a mechanic fix it. As he was cleaning up his mess he showed me our tires. The tread on the tires does not exist. They are so bald! And as he was pointing that out we found a nail in our tire. I don't believe in coincidences. I'm not for sure what the reason is that Jared couldn't get that hose off but I know it will work out the way it needs to. It might cost more money this way but maybe it is the safest way.
It was a little stressful to begin with. We have a New Years goal with our finances and I have been doing SO GOOD at keeping it. Which means I have not been spending money. (which is sometimes hard to do.) I was a little annoyed that all the money that I had worked so hard to save would go do something dumb like this. ha ha! But I realize what a blessing that we do have the money to get it fixed. If we had not made this goal, we would not have the money to do so.
Another tender mercy was that since my friend is HG she is on a ton of medications. She has not been able to drive her van for a long time. She doesn't go anywhere without her husband taking her so her van has just been sitting in the garage. They were so kind to offer it to us. At first I declined. I hate borrowing big expensive things because we have been taught to replace anything that we damage. A vehicle can be very expensive. I pray that nothing happens while we have it. I finally accepted their offer when we saw that there was no other option. It was such a blessing to have a vehicle that we could use to get home and to use. They are not in a rush to get there vehicle back so it is now less stressful to figure things out in a hurry. I'm so grateful for these friends. (and not only because of the van... they are great people!)
Before we left in their van they decided to check the fluids. The oil was EMPTY! The oil didn't even touch the dip stick. I was so grateful that Jared and bought some oil! They filled it up and we were able to be on our way. What a blessing!
The van is still stranded in Albuquerque. We still have not figured out what we are going to do. It is still a bit stressful not knowing what is going to happen but I know it will be alright. It's just material things right!?! We are safe and blessed. I'm grateful for all the tender mercies that we have had this last weekend. I'm grateful we were able to make it to the temple and that all the van problems started after we had attended. If it had happened before I don't know if we would have gone. I'm thankful for that temple trip. It was good and much needed. The spirit is so strong there. I felt peace and happiness. There are so many blessings that we have been promised. We are given so much from a loving Heavenly Father. I love that it doesn't end after we die. The blessings and promises carry on into the eternities. What a blessing. But of course since I'm living here and now... I'm so grateful for those blessings in this life. It has really blessed, strengthened and supported me in my life. Life is good.
Friday, January 22, 2016
"Live The Life That You Have Always Imagined"
Kids are so great! Before I had my own, I used to adore other peoples kids. Any time a kid came around it was easy for me to be their buddy. I loved playing with them and listening to what they had to say. Kids say the most honest, cutest and silliest things. I was never too old to babysit. All through high school and college I had the privilege of always having something in my life where kids were involved. My favorite, was my little gymnasts. They were the cutest and sweetest little girls with such big dreams. It was my privilege to be able to coach them for a few years. I had the greatest job in college! Monday-Thursday, 5:30- 8:30pm.You can't beat that! The sad thing is now they are all so grown up! I coached gymnastics for 5 years. My first group of girls are all in college and my last group of girls are in high school! WHAT!?! They grow up too fast. I miss that job and those girls.
I went to college and studied early childhood development. I taught in preschools. I volunteered at elementary schools. I met kids who were struggling with reading. I met kids who had behavior problems. I met kids who came from abusive parents. I met kids who excelled and were way above their years. I met kids who had the biggest imaginations. I met kids who were wild. I met kids who were shy. With all the kids that I met... I still remember their names... well a lot of them. I can remember the ones who would give me the biggest smiles. I can remember the ones that adored me the most. I can remember the ones who I struggled with in class. A lot of names and a lot of faces!
I finished my college degree and found that I like kids... but not as much as I used to. That was after I started having kids of my own. I'm not sure why that happened. I still like other peoples kids but I don't love them like I did growing up. My kids though... oh man... I kiss their cheeks all day. My kids are the greatest. Ha! I know... I'm really biased!
I'm SO grateful for my kids that I get to raise in my home. They are the greatest kids in the whole world and they teach me so many things and I'm grateful or the chance to teach them as well! I'm grateful that I get to experience life with them. The ups and downs and all the in betweens. I'm so blessed to be their mother. All of them have similarities and yet each child is so different. I'm grateful that they are different.
I have a plaque that says "live the life that you have always imagined." When I first saw this sign I LOVED it because it taught me that I get to choose what life I get to live. It's up to me. Choice is a great blessing. I have this plaque up on the desk as decorations but although it's there... I hardly ever ponder on those words. Today however, I'm grateful for the thoughts it has brought to me. I AM living the life that I have ALWAYS imagined myself living. I'm married to a wonderful man. I'm a mother to the most amazing kids. They are good kids. We have turned off the tv at our house which means we have a lot of time to spend together. I go to bed dead tired because of all the time and effort that I put into our days. However, I have found how much more I love my family by doing this. We play A LOT of games together. We are silly together. We jump on the tramp together. We build forts together. We read books together. Life is so great. We are so blessed.
Now I understand life doesn't always go according to our plans. Many people don't have the life that they pictured as a kid...or maybe they do but maybe it doesn't come as easy to them as they always imagined it would. Life is hard but good. These are the other thoughts that I pondered today. I feel gratitude and the only other thoughts I can share is to live the life you can imagine with the circumstances that you are in. Ask Heavenly Father to help you picture what your life can be like with the trials that you may be going through. Align your will with His and all will be well. He will carry you. You can still live a good life. One of joy and satisfaction. He wants us to be happy and He is willing to help us if we ask.
This blog post isn't going in the direction that I wanted it to when I started but I have found that I am out of time. I was going to be grateful for my kids and write all about them. I guess that is going to have to wait for another day. I truly do think my kids are the greatest and I'm so grateful they are mine. I am blessed to have three beautiful, fun, loving, crazy, wild, helpful, sweet, creative and healthy kids.
I'm grateful to be livin' life!
I went to college and studied early childhood development. I taught in preschools. I volunteered at elementary schools. I met kids who were struggling with reading. I met kids who had behavior problems. I met kids who came from abusive parents. I met kids who excelled and were way above their years. I met kids who had the biggest imaginations. I met kids who were wild. I met kids who were shy. With all the kids that I met... I still remember their names... well a lot of them. I can remember the ones who would give me the biggest smiles. I can remember the ones that adored me the most. I can remember the ones who I struggled with in class. A lot of names and a lot of faces!
I finished my college degree and found that I like kids... but not as much as I used to. That was after I started having kids of my own. I'm not sure why that happened. I still like other peoples kids but I don't love them like I did growing up. My kids though... oh man... I kiss their cheeks all day. My kids are the greatest. Ha! I know... I'm really biased!
I'm SO grateful for my kids that I get to raise in my home. They are the greatest kids in the whole world and they teach me so many things and I'm grateful or the chance to teach them as well! I'm grateful that I get to experience life with them. The ups and downs and all the in betweens. I'm so blessed to be their mother. All of them have similarities and yet each child is so different. I'm grateful that they are different.
I have a plaque that says "live the life that you have always imagined." When I first saw this sign I LOVED it because it taught me that I get to choose what life I get to live. It's up to me. Choice is a great blessing. I have this plaque up on the desk as decorations but although it's there... I hardly ever ponder on those words. Today however, I'm grateful for the thoughts it has brought to me. I AM living the life that I have ALWAYS imagined myself living. I'm married to a wonderful man. I'm a mother to the most amazing kids. They are good kids. We have turned off the tv at our house which means we have a lot of time to spend together. I go to bed dead tired because of all the time and effort that I put into our days. However, I have found how much more I love my family by doing this. We play A LOT of games together. We are silly together. We jump on the tramp together. We build forts together. We read books together. Life is so great. We are so blessed.
Now I understand life doesn't always go according to our plans. Many people don't have the life that they pictured as a kid...or maybe they do but maybe it doesn't come as easy to them as they always imagined it would. Life is hard but good. These are the other thoughts that I pondered today. I feel gratitude and the only other thoughts I can share is to live the life you can imagine with the circumstances that you are in. Ask Heavenly Father to help you picture what your life can be like with the trials that you may be going through. Align your will with His and all will be well. He will carry you. You can still live a good life. One of joy and satisfaction. He wants us to be happy and He is willing to help us if we ask.
This blog post isn't going in the direction that I wanted it to when I started but I have found that I am out of time. I was going to be grateful for my kids and write all about them. I guess that is going to have to wait for another day. I truly do think my kids are the greatest and I'm so grateful they are mine. I am blessed to have three beautiful, fun, loving, crazy, wild, helpful, sweet, creative and healthy kids.
I'm grateful to be livin' life!
Monday, January 18, 2016
My Peace I Give Unto You
I know I have already written a little bit about peace during Christmas but I just have to share again. Have you ever had those weeks where EVERYTHING is going right? That life is so good and grand? Things seem to be going our way. From a week ago Sunday to now... that has been my life. I have been happy and content with my life and the things that I have. I have felt overwhelmed with gratitude for each day that I have lived in this past week. It all started with Sunday. It was a wonderful Sabbath. We went to church and I felt the spirit several times teach me and testify to me. It felt so good. We also had great talks and lessons. During the Sunday School lesson some things were said that I disagreed with. My belief did not match up with some individuals and it seemed that everyone agreed with them, including the teacher, so I came home searched it out. I had discussions with Jared. It was nice to have those talks with him and figure out what I felt was true. I'm grateful for personal revelation. The truth can be given to us through the Holy Ghost if we seek it.
Then Monday came around. I searched the Mormon Channel for a talk to listen to before I started my cleaning for the day and I came across THIS one. It is Sister Nelson and Elder Nelson talking at the YSA in January. IT CHANGED MY LIFE!!! This spirit was pounding in my heart. I knew the words they spoke were from God. Sister Nelson's talk has an ending that is extraordinary and I didn't want her to stop talking! She said things I needed to hear. I was prompted to make changes and I decided to not delay. I honestly didn't think Elder Nelson could do better than what she had just said. His talk started out a little slow for me but I patiently waited and listened to hear what he had to say. As his talk kept going the better it got. Then it became REALLY REALLY GOOD! The spirit was once again present. I felt so much joy as the spirit testified to me what he was saying was true.
There were several other points that I'm not going to make on this blog. I just HIGHLY recommend you go watch it for yourself. The talk is filled with the spirit. I've watched it twice since then and I LOVE the spirit that I feel every time I watch it. It feels so good. Again HERE IS THE LINK!
I can't say enough good things about it!
As soon as the talk was over I didn't delay a second what I had been prompted to change in my life. Sister Nelson talked of giving up your "favorite sin." I felt immediately what I needed to do when she said that. I have committed myself to give it up for good as she has suggested. So far I have seen the blessings from doing so. I only hope I continue to feel the blessings and make the choice to continue to live this way.
My week has been good. I have had some neat and personal experiences but since this is public blog I feel the need to just leave it at that. God is good. God is real. He loves me and has a plan that is made just for me, as he does for all his children. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father.
This week I'm grateful for the peace as I spend time with my children. I'm grateful for the peace that I have felt in my choices. I'm grateful for the spirit I have felt throughout the week. I'm grateful for the scriptures and what they have taught me. There is peace. I have been witnessing several promised blessings from past and present prophets and apostles. When they promise something.... it is a promise that is kept. We just have to heed their counsel. It's our choice.
Then came this past weekend. Jared's parents came to visit and that was such an enjoyable time. I didn't want it to end. It was good discussions and lessons learned. There were many great stories shared from the past. It is always so much fun to hear stories from their childhood. Memories of missions were shared. We had some fun new memories made this weekend. I will have to share on another night though. It was really enjoyable to have them in our home.
Sunday rolled around again and I was excited to go to church again! I wanted to feel the same way that I did the week before. But guess what? I didn't. I think I had stayed up too late the night before talking away with Jared and His mom. It was worth it though. I was a little sleepy through church but it was good for me to see the importance of sleep and how it affects my spirit. After the week I had and then the experience at church... it only confirmed what I had been learning all week. Choices are important. The spirit is can be present by the choices we make and by the way that we seek it. I did prepare for the Relief Society lesson during the week and there were a few quotes that stood out to me. Thankfully during the lesson I felt the spirit present again very strongly. I learned once again some new things about me and my life experiences.
"If you, yourself, resist... temptations and determine to pay the daily price, to live the law of the Harvest by clean, moral thoughts and practices, by upright, honest dealings, by integrity and conscientiousness in your studies, by fasting, prayer and worship, you will reap the harvest of freedom and inner peace and prosperity.
... This peace can come only through living the principles of the gospel. These principles constitute the program of the Prince of Peace." (teachings of the president of the church- Howard W. Hunter, pg 54)
Then Monday came around. I searched the Mormon Channel for a talk to listen to before I started my cleaning for the day and I came across THIS one. It is Sister Nelson and Elder Nelson talking at the YSA in January. IT CHANGED MY LIFE!!! This spirit was pounding in my heart. I knew the words they spoke were from God. Sister Nelson's talk has an ending that is extraordinary and I didn't want her to stop talking! She said things I needed to hear. I was prompted to make changes and I decided to not delay. I honestly didn't think Elder Nelson could do better than what she had just said. His talk started out a little slow for me but I patiently waited and listened to hear what he had to say. As his talk kept going the better it got. Then it became REALLY REALLY GOOD! The spirit was once again present. I felt so much joy as the spirit testified to me what he was saying was true.
There is a living prophet and he gives us warnings. If we choose to follow the prophet we will be blessed. I know that God speaks to His prophet and what the prophet says comes from Him.
Christ is coming to the earth again. Prepare myself now for his coming. We ARE in the 11th hour. I can feel a great urgency to prepare for Christ. To teach my children of His coming.
Hard things will come. Prepare for hard things. Expect them to happen.
Sometimes we don't know what doors are being opened for the future by the choices we make today. Things happen for a reason. And sometimes in life we get the privilege of seeing years later the blessings from those choices. We get to see God's plan and how he blessed us in the past to prepare us for today. Obedience and choices really do matter every single day.
There were several other points that I'm not going to make on this blog. I just HIGHLY recommend you go watch it for yourself. The talk is filled with the spirit. I've watched it twice since then and I LOVE the spirit that I feel every time I watch it. It feels so good. Again HERE IS THE LINK!
I can't say enough good things about it!
As soon as the talk was over I didn't delay a second what I had been prompted to change in my life. Sister Nelson talked of giving up your "favorite sin." I felt immediately what I needed to do when she said that. I have committed myself to give it up for good as she has suggested. So far I have seen the blessings from doing so. I only hope I continue to feel the blessings and make the choice to continue to live this way.
My week has been good. I have had some neat and personal experiences but since this is public blog I feel the need to just leave it at that. God is good. God is real. He loves me and has a plan that is made just for me, as he does for all his children. I'm grateful for a loving Heavenly Father.
This week I'm grateful for the peace as I spend time with my children. I'm grateful for the peace that I have felt in my choices. I'm grateful for the spirit I have felt throughout the week. I'm grateful for the scriptures and what they have taught me. There is peace. I have been witnessing several promised blessings from past and present prophets and apostles. When they promise something.... it is a promise that is kept. We just have to heed their counsel. It's our choice.
Then came this past weekend. Jared's parents came to visit and that was such an enjoyable time. I didn't want it to end. It was good discussions and lessons learned. There were many great stories shared from the past. It is always so much fun to hear stories from their childhood. Memories of missions were shared. We had some fun new memories made this weekend. I will have to share on another night though. It was really enjoyable to have them in our home.
Sunday rolled around again and I was excited to go to church again! I wanted to feel the same way that I did the week before. But guess what? I didn't. I think I had stayed up too late the night before talking away with Jared and His mom. It was worth it though. I was a little sleepy through church but it was good for me to see the importance of sleep and how it affects my spirit. After the week I had and then the experience at church... it only confirmed what I had been learning all week. Choices are important. The spirit is can be present by the choices we make and by the way that we seek it. I did prepare for the Relief Society lesson during the week and there were a few quotes that stood out to me. Thankfully during the lesson I felt the spirit present again very strongly. I learned once again some new things about me and my life experiences.
"If you, yourself, resist... temptations and determine to pay the daily price, to live the law of the Harvest by clean, moral thoughts and practices, by upright, honest dealings, by integrity and conscientiousness in your studies, by fasting, prayer and worship, you will reap the harvest of freedom and inner peace and prosperity.
... This peace can come only through living the principles of the gospel. These principles constitute the program of the Prince of Peace." (teachings of the president of the church- Howard W. Hunter, pg 54)
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world give them give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
"Peace can come to an individual only by an unconditional surrender- surrender to him who is the Prince of peace, who has the power to confer peace." (teachings of the president of the church- Howard W. Hunter, pg 49)
Also to take the time to ponder the account of Peter walking on the water. What an incredible story and lesson to learn. I can relate to Peter. It is important that we fix our eyes on Jesus and ask Him to save us. "Be of good cheer, it is I; be not afraid." (Matthew 14:27)
I'm grateful for His peace. I'm grateful for Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Grocery shopping with kids
Today I'm grateful for the successful grocery shopping trip that we made as a family. Usually those kinds of trips are awful! I usually really hate grocery shopping with my kids. There is usually tears, fits, added things to the cart, big scenes, dirty looks and stare downs from strangers. Okay, so I might be exaggerating just a little bit. It's not always that bad but sometimes... sometimes it can be bad.
Tonight we went to the store with a plan. We had a shopping list and we stuck to it. Every kid had a job. Andali wrote down all the prices of everything we put into the cart. She loves making list and keeping track of things so this was a perfect job. Lydia she is our fruit and vegetables girl. Her job is to pick out the produce, and she did a great job. Seth just rode in the cart. Usually he cries when we are in the produce section. He always wants to eat the bananas, grapes, apples, oranges or whatever else is in the cart before we pay for it. Usually this is where the tears and fits come in. I was so grateful tonight. We did eat dinner right before going so that we would be shopping on a full stomach. However, the store had a free snack in the produce section. It was so AWESOME! The sign said "kids enjoy a free healthy snack while you shop." Then on the display it had bananas, oranges, apples, and pears. My kids LOVED this and so did I. It was so kind of Smith's to do this. They must have witnessed our fits one too many times. :) I was so grateful for the free snack.
I'm grateful for Jared's help in the store too. I am on a no spending strike this month. It's part of our financial goals for this year and basically I have to go the month of January without spending money. It's been 9 days and I'm super proud of myself. Only 22 more days to go. Point of this is I'm grateful for goals. I'm grateful for the accomplishment and the joy I feel for doing my goals. It is hard sometimes but I know if I do this it will help us so much. I know in the end I will feel so great. I'm grateful for the time we took to plan together. I'm grateful for sticking with our goals while INSIDE the store. I was worried I would spend a lot more money than what we did. I stayed under my budget and for that I'm grateful... and happy! It was a great shopping trip. I'm grateful to end the night on a happy note.
Tonight we went to the store with a plan. We had a shopping list and we stuck to it. Every kid had a job. Andali wrote down all the prices of everything we put into the cart. She loves making list and keeping track of things so this was a perfect job. Lydia she is our fruit and vegetables girl. Her job is to pick out the produce, and she did a great job. Seth just rode in the cart. Usually he cries when we are in the produce section. He always wants to eat the bananas, grapes, apples, oranges or whatever else is in the cart before we pay for it. Usually this is where the tears and fits come in. I was so grateful tonight. We did eat dinner right before going so that we would be shopping on a full stomach. However, the store had a free snack in the produce section. It was so AWESOME! The sign said "kids enjoy a free healthy snack while you shop." Then on the display it had bananas, oranges, apples, and pears. My kids LOVED this and so did I. It was so kind of Smith's to do this. They must have witnessed our fits one too many times. :) I was so grateful for the free snack.
I'm grateful for Jared's help in the store too. I am on a no spending strike this month. It's part of our financial goals for this year and basically I have to go the month of January without spending money. It's been 9 days and I'm super proud of myself. Only 22 more days to go. Point of this is I'm grateful for goals. I'm grateful for the accomplishment and the joy I feel for doing my goals. It is hard sometimes but I know if I do this it will help us so much. I know in the end I will feel so great. I'm grateful for the time we took to plan together. I'm grateful for sticking with our goals while INSIDE the store. I was worried I would spend a lot more money than what we did. I stayed under my budget and for that I'm grateful... and happy! It was a great shopping trip. I'm grateful to end the night on a happy note.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Some People Are Worth Melting For
Today I'm grateful for warmth. It has been snowing on and off all week. I've been wishing for a snow day where school is cancelled but it never happened! I had high hopes on Tuesday night. We had received an email from Andi's principal saying to check the weather in the morning because if a delay was posted then school would be cancelled all together. I had REALLY high hopes. I had hopes so high that we didn't wake up until 7:50am. (school starts at 8:20... Ha!) Yeah that was a good way to pop my bubble of hope. We rushed that morning with my dreams crushed BUT she made it on time still!.... barely.
With that said we have had to go to school everyday this week. The only time I have gone outside is to go pick her up from school and OH MAN IT IS COLD!!! I'm so grateful for a warm van (yeah I don't do snow... I totally picked her up... which is so lame because I live so close... but yeah... no snow for me.) I'm grateful for a home that has heating. I'm grateful for warm blankets that we can snuggle up in. I'm grateful that I don't feel guilty on snow days for laying around all day long in a blanket. Warmth is a legit reason to be lazy in my book.
Baby it is Cold Outside!!! I'm so grateful to be inside. In a nice warm house. We are so blessed.
And what does the phrase "Some people are worth melting for" have to do with this post.... absolutely nothing. I just always think of Olaf and his song, "Summer". "Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle but put me in summer and I'll be a.... Happy Snowman!" Me too Olaf... me too.
With that said we have had to go to school everyday this week. The only time I have gone outside is to go pick her up from school and OH MAN IT IS COLD!!! I'm so grateful for a warm van (yeah I don't do snow... I totally picked her up... which is so lame because I live so close... but yeah... no snow for me.) I'm grateful for a home that has heating. I'm grateful for warm blankets that we can snuggle up in. I'm grateful that I don't feel guilty on snow days for laying around all day long in a blanket. Warmth is a legit reason to be lazy in my book.
Baby it is Cold Outside!!! I'm so grateful to be inside. In a nice warm house. We are so blessed.
And what does the phrase "Some people are worth melting for" have to do with this post.... absolutely nothing. I just always think of Olaf and his song, "Summer". "Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle but put me in summer and I'll be a.... Happy Snowman!" Me too Olaf... me too.
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