Guys Just Need to Listen

I start talking to Paul about something I learned on Dr. Laura and agreed with...and he said oh, that reminds me of something I need to show you. That's when he pulled up this video!

Managing Mood for a Lifetime

"Managing Mood for a Lifetime" was the theme of last night's Enrichment (I don't know what else to call it) meeting. It was taught my a husband (psychiatrist) and wife (psychologist) who made a great teaching team. I guess a year ago they taught about depression and this night was a sequel. I learned that many of us our effected by depression and can be affected during various times of our lives. It can especially appear during prementrual dysphoric disorder (which is a dramatic form of PMS), postpartum and perimenapause. But it does effect many throughtout their lives.

• If one experiences postpartum depression, it can worsen after each child.
• It is critical to spend time with other women, especially with depression.
• Seek for spiritual sources of support (prayer, temple, love, service, forgiveness, atonement)
• It is critical to been seen by a doctor if their is any impairment in your ability to live (day to day things), love, or work (managing household, etc). I thought that was a very concise way of looking at it.

Here are some Ensign articles that they gave us that talk about this topic of depression. I have attached all the links for you! :-)

James E. Faust. Refined in Our Trials. Ensign, Feb 2006

Ezra Taft Benson. Do Not Despair. Ensign, oct. 1986

Kathleen H. Hughes. Blessed by Living Water. Ensign, May 2003

John H. Grobery. The Power of God's Love. Ensign, Nov 2004

Dennis E. Simmons. But If Not... Ensign, May 2004

Dallin H. Oaks. He Heals the Heavy Laden. Ensign, Nov 2006

Jeffrey R. Holland. For Times of Trouble. New Era, Oct 1980

Robert D. Hales. We Can't Do it Alone. Ensign, Nov 1975

David G. Weight. Why is My Wife (or Husband) Depressed? Ensign, Mar 1990

Sean E. Brotherson. When Your Child is Depressed. Ensign, Aug 2004

Steve Gilliland. Awake My Soul! Dealing Firmly with Depression. Ensign, Aug 1978

Alexander B. Morrison. Myths about Mental Illness. Ensign, Oct 2005

Mollie H. Sorenson. My Battle with Depression. Ensign, Feb 1984

I think it is important to share with each other so that we know we are not alone. Several years ago, I experienced clinical depression. It was confirmed to me after attending an Enrichment night where we learned about the signs of clinical depression and what to do. Even though I knew this was affecting my life in every way (in my ability to love, work and live) I struggled with going to talk to a specialist....I never went but I should have. I didn't want to spend the $85+ per counseling session, let alone the monthly medication expense (no insurance coverage for mental illness). Anyway, it took me a long time to climb out of that hole.

At the time I had two friends who totally understood depression and were struggling just like me- so I could talk with them and not worry about being judged. Since I know that this is something that I struggle with from time to time, I try not to let myself get very far down that road. I know what triggers this for me - it is having too much change at once (like moving!), too much on my plate (unrealistic expectations), too much worry and not taking time for myself. Exercising is my daily medication, it is what rejuvenates me and keeps me happy!

No Pet, Just a Visitor

Smokey (the name we call him) likes to visit our home, especially in the mornings. He usually shows up by the front door and looks in the side window as he waits to escort Corbin part way to the bus stop. Then he returns and waits by the back door, hoping for more attention from the other children. He really wants to come in but I refuse let him in or feed him. It's like having a pet visitor without the hassle!

Corbin's Latest Stop Motion Video

Corbin made this stop motion video about a week ago. It is a little jumpy because he didn't have the tripod with him. Enjoy!

General Conference is around the Corner

General Conference is coming up this weekend. Rather than redo my last post entirely, please refer to this post about making a conference box, visiting teaching goodie bags, and to this post about taking the conference challenge.

Great activity links:

LDS General Conference activities extensive list from SugarDoodle

April 2009 General Conference Packet created by Melanie of SugarDoodle.net

April 2009 General Conference Packet created by earl-girl8086

The Friend - General Conference Activities -6 links in right hand column

Kids Conference baskets

Current Apostle Cards

Conference goodie bags for visiting teaching.

Making Conference Memorable

General Conference Notebook from lds.org

Lots more from the Idea Door

What are your family traditions for General Conference weekend?

Monday Menu

My weekend tip: I have to tell you that every Saturday for the past three weeks we have been enjoying bagel sandwiches from Sunshine Bagel for $1.00! That's right every Saturday they have a special (now through December)- and you can have a lunch sandwich or a breakfast sandwich with all the toppings - they are huge! It's really true. I ordered an extra three breakfast sandwiches and put them in the fridge for the following morning.

Monday - Ranch hamburgers, potato wedges, broccoli with dip (Only hot day of the week - we have to enjoy it with another BBQ - plus the kids loved the burgers I made last week. I am going to try a new recipe from one of my new cookbooks)

Tuesday- Crockpot soup with dumplings (we didn't make this last week after all)

Wednesday - pizza, carrots, and something else healthy

Thursday/Friday - No School so we are off on an adventure!

Be a Keeper of the Light

Tonight the youth of our (new to us) stake presented a beautiful musical fireside. Most of the songs came from his album created by Jenny Phillips. They sang eleven songs including the following six that are on her album (shown above), including:

Lighthouse In the Night

Fit For His Kingdom

Firm in the Faith

He is the Way

I Will Be Ready

Hold Our Torches High

The following is a video to the song, Light Keeper. I hope you enjoy it!

Reflect Righteousness

I really liked this quote from Spencer W. Kimball that was shared by Sister Silvia H. Allred at the Relief Society General Broadcast last night:

"Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world. Among the real heroines in the world who will come into the Church are women who are more concerned with being righteous than with being selfish. These real heroines have true humility, which places a higher value on integrity than on visibility...Thus it will be that female exemplars of the Church will be a significant force in both the numerical and the spiritual growth of the Church in the last days." Click here for the full article: (Spencer W. Kimball, “The Role of Righteous Women,” Ensign, Nov 1979, 102)


Don't you just love that quote? Reread it and never underestimate the role that you play as a righteous woman of God.

Here is the video stream if you missed last nights meeting.

New Muffin Recipe

This morning I tried a new recipe with some of the fresh raspberries a ward member gave me earlier in the week. They turned out delicious! Click here for the recipe!

The Blue Star Garnets

Porter loves soccer and is an awesome player!

Do you notice Tisha and Olivia in the background? Assistant Coach Anderson is getting everyone organized for photos.

Porter is practicing in the goal. He rarely lets anything get by him.

Here is the team!

You'll never believe that Porter lucked out on being on the same team as Brigham and Cooper Anderson. Clay is the assistant coach, the head coach wasn't present for pictures. It's fun to watch their games and practices plus Salina and I get to visit while the kids play. They have a great team. After the game today, Porter told me their team scored 14 points to the other teams 4 - not that he was counting! Next time I will have to get some video footage of their great teamwork and plays. Anyone is welcome to come to the games on Saturday morning - just let me know!

Flu Shots, Not a Good Idea on Fridays

Yesterday I approached Corbin and told him that we were going to get a flu shot at Rite Aid. Of course, he was not excited about the idea. But I went ahead and called the pharmacy and asked if we could come in (it's a good idea to call ahead so you don't go at their busiest time and to make sure they have someone available to give shots- this is much quicker than scheduling an appt. with your doctor. ). Corbin's response to my idea was "it's Friday and I have a party tonight". What? I don't get what that has to do with anything. I guess shots are not allowed on Fridays. I teased him a bit....hum, I wonder what other excuses there could have been.

We went and got the shot. Corbin wanted me to go first. During the shot, I yelled out "I'm dying" as a joke. We both survived. I'm waiting to get the rest of the kids done (they have to have a prescription from the doctor for the shot - or wait until the doctors office has a flu shot clinic). Paul will be getting his today after his league football game.

On the Cover of Time

Glenn's on the cover of Time Magazine. I searched several stores for a copy - but they are gone! So I found this online. I listen daily to Glenn - usually while I am working out on cardio- machines (thanks to my ipod and Insider subscription) and even during class. I can't stand the blare of loud music, so I insert my headphones and listen to what I want to listen to. I also listen while I am doing boring household chores...you've got to make use of that time!

Oh, yesterday Olivia and I made a special trip to Costco to pick up his latest book. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet but I am excited!

Volleyball, I Have Missed You

Last night Paul and I played co-ed volleyball at the church. It was a blast! We walked onto the court totally cold and out of practice for the past three years but we still had a great time. After playing 5 1/2 games (to 25) I was totally sweaty. In our old Liberty Ward we had some great volleyball fun. After playing I realized that I have really missed it these past several years. I look forward to the next volleyball season (next week is there last game and we won't be able to attend). It takes me a few weeks of practice and game playing to really get into the groove. Oh, I wish this was the beginning and not the end.

Fun Strategy Game

This morning Porter was all ready for school by 7:05 am. I think he woke up around 5:30 am because I heard a lot of banging around in the kitchen, since the kitchen is on the other side of our bedroom wall (not a good arrangement). I finally came out at 5:40 and reminded him that he can't come out until 6:00am -don't you think that is early enough?

Since he was off to an early start we were able to sneak in a game, our newest family favorite, Dominion. Corbin received the game for his birthday. It is a unique strategy game that changes with every game because of the various set up options. The first couple times I played the game I got spanked, but now I can hold my own and sometimes even claim victory! This game can be addicting - watch out!

Let Me Choose My Flavor

I picked up Olivia early from school because she threw up at recess. So we stopped at Albertsons to buy her a 7up soda, actually a no-name brand cheap store soda. I inserted my coins into the machine and instantly out came a cola soda. It didn't even give me time to punch the button and choose my own flavor! Wow! If it would have been a different flavor I would have probably just walked away. But with no more coins to try again, we walked into the store and explained the problem. She gave me back my money and out we went to try again - but this time it wouldn't let me buy any soda! So back into the store we went where they graciously gave us a chilled Sprite in exchange. Thank you Albertons, you are my store!

This soda incident had me thinking about choices. It seems that these days our choices are trying to be taken from us because others think they know better than we do. The people said "no" to the bailout and we got a massive bailout, the people are saying"no" to the health care bill and they still want to push it through. We must be free to choose, even if it's just a soda!

We are Welcomed!

Last Sunday we went to our new ward. The ward is changing a bit this coming Sunday - they have realigned the boundaries to make a new ward in the stake. The wonderful thing is that the house we are currently in and the house we hope to build soon are in the same ward boundaries! (Prior to the boundary changes they were in two different wards.) I was very impressed with the friendliness of the ward members and the neighborhood. We have already received a plate of chocolate chip cookies, many people stopping to introduce themselves, and this morning a ward member stopped and gave me a zucchini (I have wanted one all summer - this is the first), a container of raspberries, fresh green beans, and some tomatoes! Wow, I am so thankful for the warm welcome from everyone. It definitely has been a nice surprise.

The Coupon Bug Has Bit Again

I took several weeks off of couponing because of moving and being overwhelmed! But I have to say that I have taken it up again. It's becoming a little more difficult with only one fridge (I am use to two). This is what I bought on my last trip to Albertsons tonight and it cost me a total of $6.23 for it all- and that is including tax! I follow a few different coupon blogs along with Pinching Your Pennies to get all the deals and some I find on my own.

One more peach dessert

Tonight I prepared two freezer peach pies. I am trying to clear out my fridge once again. I'm hoping that when we actually bake and eat the pies that they are delicious because they sure are easy!

Click here for Freezer Peach Pie Filling

Monday Menu

Saturday I bought four new recipe books at Seagull Books. Here they are:













The 1st book has delicious breakfast recipes. The last two books I may save for Corbin's Christmas stocking (I hope he isn't reading this) because they are great cookbooks for children with great illustrations of the food and ingredients.


Monday - Porter wants to have macaroni and pizza (his two favorites) along with broccoli and ranch . I am adding the Roquefort Pear Salad (the salad dressing is amazing). He is planning FHE along with dinner!

Tuesday - Grilled hotdogs and Wisconsin Cheese Stuffed Burgers (new recipe trial), fruit smoothie, veggie

Wednesday - Tacos and Spanish Rice

Thursday- Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings Paul has requested this again!

Friday- Shrimp Skewers (new recipe trial), Baked potato wedges on grill, veggie

Saturday- Leftovers because I will be at RS General Broadcast and dinner!

I made two desserts yesterday!

I am trying to make room in the fridge. For the past three years we have enjoyed having two fridges - one was in the garage. However,with our move out of our last home we are down to one fridge because we sold it to the family that moved in. We still have food that we are moving over from the summer home we enjoyed. Pears and peaches have been taking lots of room in my fridge - so I tried these two recipes. Both are delicious. Check them out on our recipe blog, click the links below.

Southern Peach Cobbler

Pear Bundt Cake

Easiest Dinner Yet

Last night I made Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings. I didn't follow the recipe this time - I simplified it! I dumped 3 cans of Progresso Chicken Corn Chower and 1 can of Progresso Chicken Noodle soup into the crockpot at 3pm. Then at 4:30 pm I added my final ingredient - refrigerated biscuits torn up in bite sizes on top of the soup. (Add two small cans of biscuits or one giant can, which I still have from a great sale months ago). We ate dinner after returning from Olivia's ballet class at 5:30 pm and it was done and delicious! All I did was cut up some fresh pears and peaches and dinner was served! Paul oohed and aahed over how much he liked it! This is something that any of the children could have made! It was a hit - I am thrilled because it is my less than 5 minute dinner plan.

How to Leave a Comment

I copied this directly from Fabulessly Frugal (a great money saving blog- check it out) because some of you may find this helpful.

"Tonight I met our reader Caitlin who had a great tip, but didn't have a "google account" to leave a comment, and she wasn't sure how to set one up so she COULD leave a comment!

I've heard this from class attendees as well (and just got an email from another reader with the same comment!), so I thought today was a fabulous day to teach some of you HOW to do this!

And guess what??? You DO NOT have to make a new google email address (although, gmail is so stinkin cool, you really should consider it!) in order to set up a google account!

SO - Let's say you read a post and have your own fabulous tip to add to it. First thing you're going to do is look at the bottom of the post for this:

If you just click on those words (sometimes it says 1 Comment, 7 comments...) a new box will pop up that will look like this:

Now here it is telling me to enter my username and password for a Google Account. In my prebogging days, that is where I stopped. I didn't want to open some new account!

But it's easy peasy! I'm going to show you what to do.

1. Click on "Sign Up Here" as shown in the window above.


2. First thing you'll do is input your existing email address (msn, yahoo, hotmail, all of those will work for this!) - they'll have you enter it twice.


3. Then create a password. This is for your "google account". It is linked to the email you enter. You are NOT making a new email account.


4. Pick a "display name". This is what people will see next to your comment... some people do something fun (aka: Hiccups) or just their first name. I don't recommend using your full name for this though.


5. Click (or unclick) the "email notifications" box.


6. Then you'll have to do the whole word verification thing. These are annoying I know. And a lot of times I can't even tell what the letters are! If you get it wrong, they'll just put a new set of letters up, so don't worry about it. Eventually you'll get one that you can actually read!


7. Click on the box to accept the terms of service and then click on "continue".


8. The next thing that will happen, it will take you to the comment form! And there you can tell us all what you want to say, and you'll see your nice little display name!


9. Also, you can click on the option to have follow-up comments emailed to you, which is sometimes a nice little feature!


10. Then just click "Publish Your Comment" and there you go!

At this point, you'll see your comment with your name right above it. If you click on your name, you'll see your own profile. Since you are still logged in, you can click on the box "edit profile" and from here you have a lot of things you can do if you wish. For example, you can upload a picture, change your user name, or make your profile private if you wish."

Thank you, Fabulessly Frugal. I hope this helps someone!

Birthday Club at Toys R Us

I just signed up for this fun birthday offer. The kids will love getting a birthday phone call from Jeffrey and a birthday card with a $3 gift card. Here is the link.

Making Memories Warehouse Sale

I have been to this sale before and stocked up. It's so much fun to buy cute things at a great price! I just wanted to let you know if you are headed to Utah. Warehouse Sale The excitement begins when the doors open on Saturday, September 26th at 9:00 AM. As always, we are offering great paper crafting products from Making Memories. Check out our HUGE collection of new papers, embellishments, and tools from your favorite collections such as Making Memories' Just Chillin and Love Notes. If organization is more of your thing, look for overstock embellishment centers, desktop organizers, storage jars, and ribbon boxes. Shop early to get the best selection. You don't want to miss this event! Prizes, Prizes, and MORE Prizes We're offering much more than just savings, though! To add to the frenzy, we're giving away prizes every day. Giveaways will be announced each day at noon and 4 PM. Raffle tickets will be given away a half-hour prior to each drawing. You must be present to win. To top it off, if you spend more than $150, we'll give you a free pre-designed album - a $20 value. In addition, if you spend more than $300 we'll give you a free Desktop Carousel - a $40 value. Visit Making Memories' website for a printable coupon that will allow you to receive a free gift just for attending the sale. Simply print the coupon and bring it with you to redeem your Blossoms sample (valued at $8). Only one gift per person please. Make sure you email all your friends so they can join in on the fun. Location, Dates, and Hours Location: 1168 West 500 North Centerville, Utah 84014 (Centerville Exit, West of I-15) Dates and Hours: Saturday, September 26: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Monday, September 28: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Tuesday, September 29: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Taste of Idaho

We attended the Taste of Idaho where we sampled lots of food and left with a heavy bag of food (onions, corn on the cob, caramel samples, apples, peaches, flavored milk, string cheese, etc). Adults and children 12+ cost $5.00 each and the younger ones were free. It was a fun outing and very tasty!

Fun Shoe Store

Today we bought some new ballet shoes for Olivia at Little Feet. It was the cutest store. I found the cutest socks ever that looked like Mary Jane shoes (take a look below). I asked her if I could take a picture.... and then I took a few more. I just love little shoes. Check it out! They boast themselves on having the largest selection of children's shoes in the valley.

End of the Summer Fun

We had so much fun floating the B. River with the Richael's a couple weeks ago. We rented our raft (nearly $60 - I would recommend looking into buying one because after a few rentals you would have paid for one) at the rental center at the park. It was the perfect day - not too hot and not too cold. We had fun splashing each other with our paddles. We got totally drenched and had to call a truce. I have to say that the Richael's were a little better at maneuvering their raft (maybe they have more practice) than Paul and me. We barely cleared some dangerous rocks, logs and side brush! We look forward to some more float trips next summer!

Read Me!!!!

This is a repost from a few months ago. Many of you need to change your settings (April, Missy, Jody, Nikki - just to name a few of you! :-)

The comments you leave on my blog are automatically forwarded to me email account. I need your help so that I can respond to your comments, emails, and questions. Please follow these easy directions:

1- On your Blogger dashboard, select the "Settings" option. From the settings page, select the "Comments" tab.

2- This will bring up a new page, scroll to the bottom and you will see "Comments Notification Email" at the very bottom with a box to enter your email address in.

3- Add your email address and save your new settings.

I am notified of all your comments even if they are left on old posts. This way (after you follow those three easy steps) I can respond directly to you through my email account to yours.

Please make this adjust on your blogger dashboard! Thank you!

Apples?

I would like to know where you get your apples. I would love some apples to make a couple apple pies. Is anyone (near me) going to an orchard or know of a great deal on apples? Please let me know!

Menu Monday

Monday - Greek Gyros, fruit

Tuesday - Chili Verde and cornbread

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

Thursday - Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas, tortillas chips and bean dip

Friday- mini pizzas

Saturday ?
Sunday?

Power in Prayer

It was just last week that Chay (my brother) and April (his wife) were visiting the ward with us. In Sunday School, Brother Leckie asked if there were any volunteers to give the opening prayer. With no hesitation my brother rose his hand in response. I was pleasantly surprised until I heard Chay say “my sister will give the prayer” as he pointed to me! That shocked me but my response was quick as I said “and my brother would like to say the closing prayer”. Oh, that was all fun and games until Brother Woodruff, a member of the bishopric caught me immediately after class and asked if I would give a talk on prayer. I guess I need a little more practice and instruction!

So yesterday Paul and I gave talks in sacrament meeting on prayer. I had fought with the idea of giving a talk most of the week. I just didn't think I had it in me to prepare and gather my thoughts with all the chaos in my life right now. I have to say that I did offer more sincere prayers this week - since that topic was on my mind. The following is the outline of what I shared - read on if you would like!

President Henneman, our Stake President, spoke two weeks ago in Stake Conference about creating defenses against the adversary for our families, he gave 12 points of advice. One of his points was a reminder to have daily family prayer. If you want to see the other 11 points - scroll down below for my notes on his talk. President Gordon B. Hinckley said that " daily prayer in the homes of the nation would, in just one generation, lift our heads above the flood that is engulfing us.” There is power in prayer.

Some of my earliest recollections of prayer in my own childhood include: saying a prayer of gratitude after my dad rescued a hotdog that was lodged in my throat, praying for the dinner meal and being very thankful for the pizza because it was from Pizza Hut, praying for a lost dog (Tigger) to come home, kneeling with my Clark grandparents at meal time, learning the power of praying for help during exams at school from my friend, Marci Lear, in Wasilla, Alaska.

Another person that prayed from the time of his youth was our first president, George Washington. “This man of great faith was not motivated to pray at Valley Forge simply because of the horrors of that winter. Washington prayer at Valley Forge in large part because it was his habit to pray. As his grandson later wrote, “Throughout the war, as it was understood in his military family, he gave a part of every day to private prayer and devotion.” George Washington prayed from time he was a young boy and he continued that practice throughout his life.

We also know of another young man who was taught to pray as a youth. In the home of Joseph Smith (when he was a young boy) his parents honored the Bible and made prayer a part of daily life. The prophet’s brother, William said, “ I was called to listen to prayers both night and morning…. My parents poured out their souls to God…to keep and guard their children and to keep them from sin and from all evil works.” And he continues to say that “we always have family prayers since I can remember”. President Monson says “As a people aren’t we grateful that family prayer is not an out of date practice with us? There is no more beautiful sight in all this world than to see a family praying together. There is real meaning behind the quote “The family that prays together stays together.” These are two great examples of the power of prayer from men of God!

Sunday morning as I was pondering on this subject, I sat down at the piano and looked up all the songs about prayer in the Hymn book. I played through each one of them as I read the words. Here are some phrases that stood out to me:

Awake ye saints of God, Awake. Call on the Lord in mighty prayer. And bring to naught the tempter’s snare (# 17).

Shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answers to thy prayers (130).

Did you sue for loving favor as a shield today? Did you think to pray? (140)

Praying daily in our home, we’ll feel his love divine (298).

Joseph’s humble prayer was answered, and he listened to the Lord (26).

May my heart be turned to pray, pray in secret day by day, that his boon to mortal’s given, may unite my soul with heaven.


President Hinckley says "a return to prayer would do more good than any other single thing to strengthen us for the inevitable challenges that lie ahead. He says that prayer is a time-honored and time-tested and increasingly neglected principle."

Are we forgetting what prayer is and to whom we are praying? Prayer is communication to Heavenly Father from his sons and daughters on earth. From the Bible Dictionary, we read: “As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely God is our Father and we are his children) then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship.” Prayer becomes meaningful as we remember our relationship with Diety and heed the admonition to:

36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Recently President Uchtdort spoke about prayer in his article “Prayer and the Blue Horizon”. He first explained that in order it get an airplane off the ground there must be lift. That is when the air pressure under an airplane wing is greater than the pressure above. When the upward lift exceeds the downward pull of gravity, the plane rises from the ground and achieves flight.” He likened this to us by saying that we can create a spiritual lift in our lives through prayer. Prayer is a heavenly gift that has the power to elevate us from our worldly cares, to lift us up through the clouds of despair and darkness into a bright and clear horizon.

One of the greatest blessings and privileges and opportunities we have as children of our Heavenly Father is that we can communicate with Him. We can speak to Him of our life experiences, trials and blessings. We can listen for and receive celestial guidance from the holy spirit. We can offer our petitions to heaven and receive an assurance that our prayers have been heard and that He will answer them as a loving and wise Father.

Our family had the opportunity to pray for a young nephew named Joseph. Joseph rapidly lost vision in both eyes and was unable to get around without help from his family. Finally after finding the right doctor to help Joseph, he was told that he could have a surgery on his eyes – one at a time. This surgery would either work or leave him blind. Our extended family fasted and prayed for young Joseph. We remember him in every prayer uttered. A few days after the surgery, we were all curious about Joseph so we gathered around the phone was we called his mother. She shared with the miraculous story of his healing. Our family continues to others – even many of you in this ward. Praying for others can build your testimony of prayer along with your children -what a great experience.

Story of a nation praying together– from Pres. Hinckleys’ book "Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues that Will Heal our Hearts and Homes"

Bible Dictionary -"...Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings".

Richard G. Scott reminds us that "a key to improved prayer is to learn to ask the right questions. Consider changing from asking for the things you want to honestly seeking that He wants for you. Then as you learn His will, pray that you will be led to have the strength to fulfill it."

Sherri Dew shares some insight on prayer in her book, No One Can Take Your Place. Our challenge is not getting the Lord to speak to us; our challenge is understand what He has to say. (D & C 6:14) She was looking for an answer and went to a friend. The friend asked her “have you asked the Lord to teach you how he communicates with you? She hadn’t so she began praying daily that He would. Not long after, while reading Nephi building a ship, she couldn’t help but notice how clearly Nephi understood the Lord’s instructions. With that Sherri says, “I began to hunt for scriptural evidences of direct communication between God and man. At each one I made a little red x in the margin of my scriptures. Now many years later, my scriptures are littered with little red x’s, each one an indication that the Lord does communicate with His people—and often. The scriptures are the handbook for the language of revelation. They are our personal Liahona. If we will regularly immerse ourselves in the scriptures we’ll get clearer, more frequent answers to our prayers".

There are many great blessings can be ours through the power of prayer.

Hebrews 11:6 “he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

D & C 19:38 “pray always and I will pour out my spirit upon you and great shall be your blessing..”

D&C 42:61 “if thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things.”

Revelations 3:20 "the prayer of the faithful shall be heard"

I know there is power in prayer and I am grateful for this gift that I have to communicate with my Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ. I have recognized the Lord's hand in my life as I turn to Him for answers and guidance and I continue to plead with Him for strength and support for my family, my friends, our country, and for other people's needs as they are brought to my attention. I can say that now I am grateful for the opportunity to study this topic more in depth and to feel of the love that my Heavenly Father has for me and for each one of you. Go to him, he is your Father and he is anxious to visit with you!

Back to Menu Planning

Oh, I think I have taken the whole summer off of menu planning. Why did I do that? Menu's simplify my life and give me direction. So here goes - once again planned according to the weather.

Thursday- (89 degrees) Breakfast for dinner - scrambled eggs in a tortilla, hashbrowns, fruit smoothie, toast - I have had cold cereal, yogurt, and oatmeal too many days in a row.

Friday-(90) Grilled Blue Cheese Steak (on the grill), herbed rice, veggie, salad

Saturday - (91) Movie night at church with concession stand items for dinner! The kids love it!

Sunday- (91) Roast Beef with carrots and potatoes (in crockpot) with gravy, bread in breadmaker, and jello dessert.

I hope to get back on track for Monday Menus - watch for next week. I'm in the mood for trying some new recipes so I will search my recipe books and let you know what I find! If you have tried something fabulous lately, please share!

A Day of Labor!

To celebrate Labor Day we worked our buns off to move into our next home. With much help from April today, we were able to put the house together. I can't believe all that we accomplished while the guys had the kids at the park. Thank you so much April, I couldn't have done it without you. I needed another woman to find a place for everything. Then Tisha came over and helped pack up the laundry room and other misc. stuff in the kitchen and around. A big thank you to you also - I was so exhausted, you saved the day! All of this progress and help boosted Paul's motivation so he had this strong desire to move our mattresses over (we have been sleeping on the floor with our mattresses the last week) for our first night in the home. Goal accomplished! We have worked again past 10 pm - there is still much to do. But soon, everything will be in it's place and the cars will be in the garage. Jody - I know you will be proud of me. :-)

I truly appreciate everyone's help over the past 10 days more than you can know.

Embrace It

I have been fighting all this moving stuff. So today I decided to embrace it; and tell myself that I love moving (don't think I can really do this but it sounds good)!

Last night the Richael family over to help us move for FHE. It turned out to be a lot of fun. All the kids hauled tons of paper towels and toilet paper bundles to the truck. Meanwhile the adults lifted the heavy items and loaded the truck and both of our vans with stuff. Then we drove to the other house and unloaded it all. Everyone was a tremendous help. Thank you so much, we appreciate your help more than you know. Lastly we ended our night of work with a cool splash in the pool and popsicles.

Also a huge thank you to Jody for helping me for several more hours this morning - I can't believe you are still my friend! I know I have a years supply of too many things! You are a lifesaver.