Nothing special today. Just hoping you have a great one!
Longest Summer Ever
10 months ago
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happiness. Show all posts
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Thursday, April 5, 2012
"Lazy" Chess
As there was no chess club this Wednesday, Ryan and Greg had some extra time before leaving for school and work. Greg offered to play a little chess with Ryan if Ryan would go downstairs and get the game. Ryan got out the game pieces and timer, but not the board. "Too lazy" he said to go back downstairs for the board, Ryan set up the game on the tiles of our dining room table. It's 8 tiles long (just right), but only 4 wide (half right). The benches each are 2 tiles wide, but only 6 long. So, the "board" was set up with the two rows on each side being lower than the middle. The four end squares on each lower section were made by dividing a regular chair into 4 sections with rulers and a tie. They gave up using the timer because without black and white squares and with a two-level board, it was taking too long to figure out which square a piece moved to.
They ran out of time to finish before Ryan had to leave for school, so no body won. But, they had fun and got a good mental spatial orientation workout to boot. It even seemed to still be more worth it to Ryan than a quick trip downstairs for a real board!
Friday, September 16, 2011
Welcome Fall!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thank You!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Happy Sounds
Know what the best sound of the day today is? Ok, besides the sounds of pavement being laid on the street outside (hopefully done in the next few days!)? It specifically is a sound that has never been heard in this house and generally a sound that hasn't been heard for almost a week. (That's not a good thing, but it could be much worse.)
It's the sound of this:
washing this:
because this:
had given us everything it had and earned a rest.
Soon the old one will have a final resting place at the dump. Until then the camp and garden stuff is keeping it company. The new one is on it's second of countless washes to come in it's lifetime and at least one more tonight. Hope it's up to the task because the picture of laundry above is just the stuff that's made it to the laundry room- a mere fraction of the love we're waiting to share.
It's a good day!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
An Open Letter to Greg
Thank you so very much, I think, for bringing home that box of heavenly goodness. Please feel free to do so at any time. Loretta must be one amazing cook. I do think it is a good thing that you do not travel to New Orleans very often and that we live on the other side of the country or your wife would seriously weigh 500 pounds. I think that stuff should be on a DEA, FDA, or ATF hit list because I CANNOT stop eating it. I hope you got some before you left because there's like a 99.99999998% chance that all you get when you get home is a box with a picture on it. I don't even want to know how much butter is in it. Good thing it's the 5th ingredient in a list of 6- right behind sugar, which is at least behind pralines and pecans. One redeeming quality is that I can pronounce all 6 ingredients. That means the calories are better for me, right? I must admit that I'm not totally up on what a praline is, but I'll fix that as soon as I'm done here. They are yummy, whatever they are. Thank you so much for thinking of us. We all appreciate it, but mostly me. So glad you're home!
Love,
Shan
pra·line/ˈprāˌlēn/Noun
1. A smooth, sweet substance made by boiling nuts in sugar and grinding the mixture.
2. A crisp or semicrisp candy made by a similar process.PS-I've decided that I love online dictionaries!
PPS- Maybe it's not such a good thing that pralines are the second ingredient behind praline flavoring. Looks like listing pralines at the top gives one a distorted view of how much sugar there really is in this box- and I notice there's no nutrition label. Convenient.. This is definitely a time when ignorance is bliss!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Mission Accomplished
For the last several years I've thought it would be cool to make freezer jam from strawberries we grew in our backyard. Yesterday it finally happened. We went from this:
to this:
in rather short order.
It's been declared "yummy" by Steven and now I'm off to try some myself.
to this:
It's been declared "yummy" by Steven and now I'm off to try some myself.
Monday, June 13, 2011
pave·ment
pave·ment (p
v
m
nt) 
vmnt)n.
1.
a. A hard smooth surface, especially of a public area or thoroughfare, that will bear travel.
b. The material with which such a surface is made.
2. Chiefly British A sidewalk.
Use it in a sentence:
The best thing about pavement is that we have some (the thoroughfare kind, that is, not the sidewalk kind!). =)
Sunday, October 24, 2010
When You're in the Service of Your Fellow Beings...
...You might just be helping yourself.
Earlier this week I noticed that someone had pulled out the last roll of toilet paper in the main bathroom. I was grateful and mildly astonished that the plastic packaging actually made it into the garbage can, but no one had gotten a new package to go under the sink. Thinking I'd be nice to whomever was caught paperless at some upcoming point I decided to grab a new package and place it in the cupboard. Well, guess who found herself as the paperless user in there this afternoon? Yep, you guessed it- Me. Let this be a reminder that no act of kindness is ever unrewarded!
Earlier this week I noticed that someone had pulled out the last roll of toilet paper in the main bathroom. I was grateful and mildly astonished that the plastic packaging actually made it into the garbage can, but no one had gotten a new package to go under the sink. Thinking I'd be nice to whomever was caught paperless at some upcoming point I decided to grab a new package and place it in the cupboard. Well, guess who found herself as the paperless user in there this afternoon? Yep, you guessed it- Me. Let this be a reminder that no act of kindness is ever unrewarded!
Friday, September 24, 2010
A Princess in Gold Cloth, Rags and Tatters, or Both?
Today is September 24. For once, I don't have anything on my mental calendar for this date. It's just a regular Friday and I'm happy to have one. Erica is at a cross country meet, Greg and Steven are on a camp out, and the rest of the family is chillin' at home. Soccer is almost over and a blank night on the calendar might actually be looming on the horizon. Better not blink!
A friend and her children are coming to visit UT this weekend and I can't wait to see her. It's been a couple of years. We've been friends for just about as long as we didn't know each other. We've stayed in contact for all the time and miles- and a good portion of that pre-email and Facebook. At times as far away as opposite ends of the country and then as close as the same town. We have children the same ages, almost exactly. Our girls are both graduating and heading off to college next year. How crazy is that?! We have snapshots of the two of them next to each other in their infant carriers and now they'll be leaving their respective coops together. It doesn't seem to matter where we are or how long it's been, we pick up right where we left off. Everyone needs friends like that.
This weekend, and the last month, has had me thinking, though. I still have cleaning that hasn't gotten done, baking I need to do, tomorrow will be a crazy day with activities and the Relief Society Broadcast. Sunday will be it's own kind of busy. I've even been a bit under the weather today and enjoyed a forced day of rest. Then there's all the background pushings and pulling on time and energy that never seem to go away. Sometimes one starts to feel a little put-upon. After all, I have plans and dreams for my life and I seem to be diverted from them frequently. My life is certainly not the hardship that I sometimes make it out to be, but the selfish part of me wants to know why my life can't go as I want it to. I'm trying to be a good person, doesn't that count for anything?
Right about now is when I'm given a gentle reminder of what's what. As an "assignment" for a wellness activity we're participating in through Greg's work I re-read the book "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett this week. I read it years ago and remembered the gist of the story, but was delighted by all the details I'd forgotten, and now better appreciate somehow as an adult than I did as a child.
The main character, Sara Crewe was raised by a loving father in India until she was sent to a boarding school in London. For a couple of years she lived as a princess, but was never a mean or proud girl. She befriended those around her and tried to make her world a better place. Her father died both suddenly and penniless. Sara is only kept from being turned out into the street by the fact that she is a bright girl and the headmistress plans to force her to work until she'd old enough to become a teacher at the school. She spends the next two years living in unloved squalor, doing every imaginable horrid chore, and being treated as less than human sometimes. Sara has a vivid imagination and decides, there's the key- she decides- to live her life as if she was a princess. She refuses to lower her behavior to match those around her. She shares what she has with those who need it, which most of the time means all she has to offer are her imagination and her friendship. It drives the headmistress crazy to see a girl who should obviously be in disgrace carry herself as one who is of noble birth.
"What ever comes," she said, "cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it."... This was not a new thought, but quite an old one by this time. It had consoled her through many a bitter day, and she had gone about the house with an expression in her face which Miss Minchin could not understand and which was a source of great annoyance to her, as it seemed as if the child were mentally living a life which held her above the rest of the world. It was as if she scarcely heard the rude and acid things said to her; or, if she heard them, did not care for them at all. "
In the end, what is rightfully hers is returned. She hadn't lived a life that deserved punishment before, but she faced a pretty sore trial none-the-less. Her experiences, however, combined to make her an even better person than she already was.
It reminded me of Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk at the last Young Women broadcast.
"In each of these stories, Cinderella, Belle, and the miller’s daughter have to experience sadness and trial before they can reach their “happily ever after.” Think about it. Has there ever been a person who did not have to go through his or her own dark valley of temptation, trial, and sorrow?"
"Sandwiched between their “once upon a time” and “happily ever after,” they all had to experience great adversity."
"As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I leave you my blessing and give you a promise that as you accept and live the values and principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, “[you] will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.”10 And the day will come when you turn the final pages of your own glorious story; there you will read and experience the fulfillment of those blessed and wonderful words: “And they lived happily ever after.”
Whether dressed as a princess in cloth of gold or the rags of a beggar, we choose our reactions to the situations in which we are placed. Some situations are the result of our own actions and some are not. It doesn't really matter. What we do with each one determines how we travel through them and the outcome each provides. It is easy to be happy, kind and charitable when things go "right". It's a little more difficult to do the same when things go "wrong". But, like Sara said, it's more of a triumph to do and be the princess we really are inside at those times. Trials are not given to punish, but to bless us and help us live up to the potential we have as children of God. The rewards are there and will be given to those who really want them. The choice is up to each of us.
A friend and her children are coming to visit UT this weekend and I can't wait to see her. It's been a couple of years. We've been friends for just about as long as we didn't know each other. We've stayed in contact for all the time and miles- and a good portion of that pre-email and Facebook. At times as far away as opposite ends of the country and then as close as the same town. We have children the same ages, almost exactly. Our girls are both graduating and heading off to college next year. How crazy is that?! We have snapshots of the two of them next to each other in their infant carriers and now they'll be leaving their respective coops together. It doesn't seem to matter where we are or how long it's been, we pick up right where we left off. Everyone needs friends like that.
This weekend, and the last month, has had me thinking, though. I still have cleaning that hasn't gotten done, baking I need to do, tomorrow will be a crazy day with activities and the Relief Society Broadcast. Sunday will be it's own kind of busy. I've even been a bit under the weather today and enjoyed a forced day of rest. Then there's all the background pushings and pulling on time and energy that never seem to go away. Sometimes one starts to feel a little put-upon. After all, I have plans and dreams for my life and I seem to be diverted from them frequently. My life is certainly not the hardship that I sometimes make it out to be, but the selfish part of me wants to know why my life can't go as I want it to. I'm trying to be a good person, doesn't that count for anything?
Right about now is when I'm given a gentle reminder of what's what. As an "assignment" for a wellness activity we're participating in through Greg's work I re-read the book "A Little Princess" by Frances Hodgson Burnett this week. I read it years ago and remembered the gist of the story, but was delighted by all the details I'd forgotten, and now better appreciate somehow as an adult than I did as a child.
The main character, Sara Crewe was raised by a loving father in India until she was sent to a boarding school in London. For a couple of years she lived as a princess, but was never a mean or proud girl. She befriended those around her and tried to make her world a better place. Her father died both suddenly and penniless. Sara is only kept from being turned out into the street by the fact that she is a bright girl and the headmistress plans to force her to work until she'd old enough to become a teacher at the school. She spends the next two years living in unloved squalor, doing every imaginable horrid chore, and being treated as less than human sometimes. Sara has a vivid imagination and decides, there's the key- she decides- to live her life as if she was a princess. She refuses to lower her behavior to match those around her. She shares what she has with those who need it, which most of the time means all she has to offer are her imagination and her friendship. It drives the headmistress crazy to see a girl who should obviously be in disgrace carry herself as one who is of noble birth.
"What ever comes," she said, "cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it."... This was not a new thought, but quite an old one by this time. It had consoled her through many a bitter day, and she had gone about the house with an expression in her face which Miss Minchin could not understand and which was a source of great annoyance to her, as it seemed as if the child were mentally living a life which held her above the rest of the world. It was as if she scarcely heard the rude and acid things said to her; or, if she heard them, did not care for them at all. "
In the end, what is rightfully hers is returned. She hadn't lived a life that deserved punishment before, but she faced a pretty sore trial none-the-less. Her experiences, however, combined to make her an even better person than she already was.
It reminded me of Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk at the last Young Women broadcast.
"Today I want to draw your attention to something very significant, very extraordinary. On the first page of your Young Women Personal Progress book, you will find these words: “You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father, prepared to come to the earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose.”1
"Sisters, those words are true! They are not made up in a fairy tale! Isn’t it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of “once upon a time,” complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”
"But such a blessing does not come without a price. It is not given simply because you desire it. It comes only through understanding who you are and what you must become in order to be worthy of such a gift.""In each of these stories, Cinderella, Belle, and the miller’s daughter have to experience sadness and trial before they can reach their “happily ever after.” Think about it. Has there ever been a person who did not have to go through his or her own dark valley of temptation, trial, and sorrow?"
"Sandwiched between their “once upon a time” and “happily ever after,” they all had to experience great adversity."
"My dear young sisters, you need to know that you will experience your own adversity. None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted, and make mistakes. You will learn for yourself what every heroine has learned: through overcoming challenges come growth and strength."
"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.""As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I leave you my blessing and give you a promise that as you accept and live the values and principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, “[you] will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.”10 And the day will come when you turn the final pages of your own glorious story; there you will read and experience the fulfillment of those blessed and wonderful words: “And they lived happily ever after.”
Whether dressed as a princess in cloth of gold or the rags of a beggar, we choose our reactions to the situations in which we are placed. Some situations are the result of our own actions and some are not. It doesn't really matter. What we do with each one determines how we travel through them and the outcome each provides. It is easy to be happy, kind and charitable when things go "right". It's a little more difficult to do the same when things go "wrong". But, like Sara said, it's more of a triumph to do and be the princess we really are inside at those times. Trials are not given to punish, but to bless us and help us live up to the potential we have as children of God. The rewards are there and will be given to those who really want them. The choice is up to each of us.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Thanks, Thanks, and Thanks
“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs”
Spencer W. Kimball (“Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, Dec. 1974, 5).
Spencer W. Kimball (“Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, Dec. 1974, 5).
And sometimes he meets our wants. And sometimes it's in ways we wouldn't necessarily have chosen.
This week has been a great example. The screen door on our house has needed to have the screen replaced since we moved in. (That would be over two years ago, in case you've lost count!) Every morning I look at it and think how terrible it looks. Then I remind myself I don't have time to take it off it's hinges and replace it, so I walk on through and do my best to ignore it. I think Heavenly Father got tired of my silent wishes. This week the screws on the lower hinge pulled out of the frame. Twice. I now dreaded going through the door because we really didn't have time to fix it until today and it now sounded terrible as the bottom dragged across the porch. And, if I thought the screen had looked bad before, well swinging in every possible direction from only the top hinge wasn't doing anything to improve my opinion of the situation.
Enter today and my sweet husband. He spent the better part of the day working on the frame and hinges. I spent the better part of an hour on the screen. He wins the prize for doing the most work, hands down. End result is that we have an unblemished screen on a door that not only is hung properly, but now closes all the way by itself, no scraping sound effects included. Bonus!
Or, how about that food storage we're always working to build? Some days it seems like we aren't getting anywhere. Nearly a year ago we signed up for Sunday papers to get coupons. I hadn't had a ton of success over the summer and was considering canceling the paper. This week Macey's had Libby's canned veggies on sale for 3 cans for $1. That was a great price I hadn't seen in a long time, so I ad matched it at Wal-mart and bought 2 dozen cans. Then, on Sunday, both the Parade magazine and one of the coupon inserts had coupons for $1 off three cans. Well, they were still on sale for $.33 each at Maceys so off I went and bought 33 cans for something like $.34- I still had to pay sales tax. New printable coupons for $1 off 3 cans of Libby's veggies came out the day after the sale went off. Drat. Figures! At least I'd gotten what I could. I'd just save those coupons and hope for another sale before they expired. Greg brought home a copy of the Daily Universe from work later in the week. Macey's ran a one page ad that included 3/$1 Libbys veggies extended until Friday at the Provo store only. So, happy, cheap date night, we went and bought 24 more cans for $.25 total. The shelf is full and the wallet's not totally empty.
And, sticking with the finance theme, Erica was in the market for a Homecoming dress. She'd been asked by a nice guy from school and was looking forward to a fun evening. She and I have looked a bit for dresses, but not found anything. Someone mentioned yesterday that Penneys had dresses on sale- and clearance prices at that. We headed over there this morning. Lo and behold, the second one she tries on looks great and is modest. It also has a clearance price tag for $27. Mom and daughter are both very happy! Upon checkout, it rings up at $13.97 for a with-tax total of $14.91. Even happier! Less than an hour of shopping, a cute dress, and a fabulous price. Who could ask for more?
Now, none of those things mentioned above are needs in the sense that we were going to die if we didn't have them. A screen does allow us to enjoy the cool breezes while keeping the bugs out of the house. We are counseled to have food storage and there have been times when we've really needed it, so we do our best to be obedient. Homecoming isn't a required event, but it sure is a fun date and a memorable part of high school. (However, if you agree to go to the dance, you do need to wear clothes. That one is an absolute must.) Wants they all were on some level- verbalized or not. I like to think that Heavenly Father was watching over us this week and through many different people, most of whom have no idea who we are, gave us little gifts to lift our spirits and brighten our journey here on earth. None was big or grandiose, just something small to let us know He's up there and aware of us and our needs. I know that I'll be saying silent thank-yous every morning on my way out the screen door, each time I open a can of vegetables, and as I smile and wave Erica out the door to the dance. And, those are just three of the reasons today I have to say thanks.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Happiness for $1.66
This is currently one of my favorite dresses.
(Pardon the lovely presentation. I didn't think to take a picture with it on me. Instead, enjoy the closet background.)
I'm kind of a suit person. This one not only is light weight and cool, it also has the ability to make me feel like I look nice, AND it is machine washable as well. A dress made in Heaven.
Imagine my dismay when it came out of the wash with the shoulder looking like this.
There must have been something in the wash the last time that bleached it a bit and the fabric turned pink. I tried washing it again, on the 1:1,000,000,000 chance that it was a washable stain and not a color washout.
It didn't help.
I was sad and the dress hung in my closet for several weeks because I just couldn't bring myself to toss it.
One morning I had an epiphany.
In the third grade, I was Daisy Duck in the third grade play. (I know, you're jealous.) My costume included 2 baseball hats worn together to look like a duck bill- because everyone knows that ducks have their bills on their foreheads- AND a pair of orange tights because everyone knows that ducks have orange legs with saggy elephant knees and baggy ankles. Guess what. They didn't sell very many pairs of orange tights in the 70's (don't know why) and my mom ended up dying a pair of white ones to give me beautiful Daisy Duck (not Daisy Duke) legs. If I ever find my childhood pictures again I'll have to post a picture for your viewing pleasure.
So, 30-something years later, I remember Daisy and wonder if there might be hope for my dress.
Here is my hero for last week.
It was close enough to my dress color that it was worth a shot.
Add the dye with some hot water and salt to the washer. Insert dress. Agitate for 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
And, voila!
Slightly darker but perfectly wearable and no pink mark on the shoulder. See.
Right here would be the perfect spot to insert a picture of a smiling me wearing the dress last Sunday, but I didn't take one. I did wear it and I was happy and two of my children asked when I got the new dress and didn't I have one kind of like it already. The other three didn't notice.
Mission accomplished. I am one happy woman with a wearable blue dress.
I'm kind of a suit person. This one not only is light weight and cool, it also has the ability to make me feel like I look nice, AND it is machine washable as well. A dress made in Heaven.
Imagine my dismay when it came out of the wash with the shoulder looking like this.
There must have been something in the wash the last time that bleached it a bit and the fabric turned pink. I tried washing it again, on the 1:1,000,000,000 chance that it was a washable stain and not a color washout.
It didn't help.
I was sad and the dress hung in my closet for several weeks because I just couldn't bring myself to toss it.
One morning I had an epiphany.
In the third grade, I was Daisy Duck in the third grade play. (I know, you're jealous.) My costume included 2 baseball hats worn together to look like a duck bill- because everyone knows that ducks have their bills on their foreheads- AND a pair of orange tights because everyone knows that ducks have orange legs with saggy elephant knees and baggy ankles. Guess what. They didn't sell very many pairs of orange tights in the 70's (don't know why) and my mom ended up dying a pair of white ones to give me beautiful Daisy Duck (not Daisy Duke) legs. If I ever find my childhood pictures again I'll have to post a picture for your viewing pleasure.
So, 30-something years later, I remember Daisy and wonder if there might be hope for my dress.
Here is my hero for last week.
It was close enough to my dress color that it was worth a shot.
Add the dye with some hot water and salt to the washer. Insert dress. Agitate for 30 minutes. Rinse thoroughly.
And, voila!
Slightly darker but perfectly wearable and no pink mark on the shoulder. See.
Right here would be the perfect spot to insert a picture of a smiling me wearing the dress last Sunday, but I didn't take one. I did wear it and I was happy and two of my children asked when I got the new dress and didn't I have one kind of like it already. The other three didn't notice.
Mission accomplished. I am one happy woman with a wearable blue dress.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy Dance
Have to take a moment and be pleased. I stopped at the store today and bought 3 boxes of Trix, 2 boxes of Cocoa Puffs (the kids only get one box per week, don't think I'm dooming us to hyperactivity!), 5 tubes of toothpaste, and 1.5 pounds of tomatoes all for $6.65. I love hitting a great deal!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
It's Finally Here!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
The cards didn't get out and the snow we had is melting, but the baking is done, the presents are wrapped, our family is all together and healthy and, most importantly, this particular holiday can be celebrated anytime and anywhere if we keep in mind the real reason for it. How grateful I am for the star, the shepherds, the angels, and wise men and most especially the Baby that brought them all together so long ago. Hope you have a most wonderful Christmas!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Thoughts on a Monday Evening
This is another one of those times I feel like writing, but don't really have anything to say. So, I'm going to ramble and see where it takes me.
1) It snowed today. Alot. Well, ok, Southern UT could get up to like 40 inches, so our 6 or 8 isn't really all that much in comparison. Try driving down our hill when it hasn't been plowed and has several inches of snow and your friend's house is at the bottom with the garage watching you head right at it and then it feels a little more impressive. I like that the school district doesn't cancel school for snow,just football. The kids seem much more excited to come home and head out to play in it than they do if they've had free time all day.
2) Greg finished his last paper for the semester and turned it in this afternoon! Woo Hoo! Christmas break has arrived, at least for one aspect of our lives. The kids are very jealous, though some seem to be struggling with the concept that he still has to go to work even though he's on a break. It doesn't help that he works at one school while attending another, so whose Christmas break are we talking about, anyway?!
3) I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's talk at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night. I'm going to spend a little more time this Christmas season making sure I can still see the reason for the season and not just the season.
4) My mental calendar just reminded me that today is the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and entered the US into WWII. My grandparents were married in July of 1941 and then left almost immediately for Honolulu. They were there during the attack, so I always think of them. Grandpa was a weather forecaster for the entire South Pacific, so he didn't have to ship out, but they spent the rest of the war in Hawaii and Grandma has some intense stories to tell about being married 6 months and then not knowing if her husband was alive after the bombing, driving around with headlights blacked out except for quarter-sized navy blue circles in the middle, giving birth in a hospital by flashlight, having to seal off every window in the house in the middle of the night so no light could escape before warming a bottle, and torpedo watches every morning and evening on the ship sailing back to the mainland to visit her parents. They sure make me grateful for the sacrifices made by those who serve in the military and their families and for the life I live today.
5) I love white lights on Christmas trees. They look like little stars to me.
6) I bought Pillsbury brownie mixes last week for $.48 a piece. I thought it was a smoking deal until I made them tonight for FHE and they gave me heart burn. Guess I should make them a lot this month because they aren't tempting me at all. That might help the waistline.
7) The Christmas bins are still sitting in my living room. They're beginning to bug me because it's been 10 days since we started decorating and they are now becoming tables that everyone is putting stuff on. What are the odds that I'm ever going to finish getting the rest of the decorations out? I'm thinking that I'll enjoy this season a whole lot more if I stick with the tree, the stockings, and the one nativity that's already out on the piano and get the bins back downstairs.
8) Our mail carrier is also the Bishop in the ward next to ours. He told me today that one of the kids in their Primary saw him all bundled up (which means he's wearing a coat, hat and boots with his shorts. Must be related somehow to our boys!) and said he looked like a ninja snowman. Kids have the best imaginations!
Ok, I just had to go back and correct the spelling for almost every word in the last sentence. I think that means my brain has passed some limit, especially since they weren't really complicated words! Have a great night and enjoy your tomorrow!
1) It snowed today. Alot. Well, ok, Southern UT could get up to like 40 inches, so our 6 or 8 isn't really all that much in comparison. Try driving down our hill when it hasn't been plowed and has several inches of snow and your friend's house is at the bottom with the garage watching you head right at it and then it feels a little more impressive. I like that the school district doesn't cancel school for snow,just football. The kids seem much more excited to come home and head out to play in it than they do if they've had free time all day.
2) Greg finished his last paper for the semester and turned it in this afternoon! Woo Hoo! Christmas break has arrived, at least for one aspect of our lives. The kids are very jealous, though some seem to be struggling with the concept that he still has to go to work even though he's on a break. It doesn't help that he works at one school while attending another, so whose Christmas break are we talking about, anyway?!
3) I really enjoyed Elder Uchtdorf's talk at the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night. I'm going to spend a little more time this Christmas season making sure I can still see the reason for the season and not just the season.
4) My mental calendar just reminded me that today is the day Pearl Harbor was bombed and entered the US into WWII. My grandparents were married in July of 1941 and then left almost immediately for Honolulu. They were there during the attack, so I always think of them. Grandpa was a weather forecaster for the entire South Pacific, so he didn't have to ship out, but they spent the rest of the war in Hawaii and Grandma has some intense stories to tell about being married 6 months and then not knowing if her husband was alive after the bombing, driving around with headlights blacked out except for quarter-sized navy blue circles in the middle, giving birth in a hospital by flashlight, having to seal off every window in the house in the middle of the night so no light could escape before warming a bottle, and torpedo watches every morning and evening on the ship sailing back to the mainland to visit her parents. They sure make me grateful for the sacrifices made by those who serve in the military and their families and for the life I live today.
5) I love white lights on Christmas trees. They look like little stars to me.
6) I bought Pillsbury brownie mixes last week for $.48 a piece. I thought it was a smoking deal until I made them tonight for FHE and they gave me heart burn. Guess I should make them a lot this month because they aren't tempting me at all. That might help the waistline.
7) The Christmas bins are still sitting in my living room. They're beginning to bug me because it's been 10 days since we started decorating and they are now becoming tables that everyone is putting stuff on. What are the odds that I'm ever going to finish getting the rest of the decorations out? I'm thinking that I'll enjoy this season a whole lot more if I stick with the tree, the stockings, and the one nativity that's already out on the piano and get the bins back downstairs.
8) Our mail carrier is also the Bishop in the ward next to ours. He told me today that one of the kids in their Primary saw him all bundled up (which means he's wearing a coat, hat and boots with his shorts. Must be related somehow to our boys!) and said he looked like a ninja snowman. Kids have the best imaginations!
Ok, I just had to go back and correct the spelling for almost every word in the last sentence. I think that means my brain has passed some limit, especially since they weren't really complicated words! Have a great night and enjoy your tomorrow!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Thoughts on a Monday
A friend emailed this morning. She was concerned about the world, politics, and changes she sees occuring in America. She also asked me what I knew about the 7th seal spoken of in Revelations. I have read about it, but don't know a whole lot, so I opened to Revelations and read again. It does sound pretty scary, especially since there aren't too many specific dates listed so you know whether or not now is the time to begin worrying or to get yourself and family prepared. It was a thought provoking hour trying to come up with an answer for her. There are a couple of things I do know, though.
1) D&C 77 is a "question and answer" session with the Lord about some of the things in Revelations. That would be a good place to start if you have questions about it.
2) Matthew 24 and the Joseph Smith Translation are also about the signs of the last days. They, too would help.
3) We know that before the Lord comes again our nation and the constitution are going to hang by a thread. In my mind that means it's going to appear that the inevitable conclusion is that they are going to fall and that means that there's a very good chance that politically, socially, and economically things will be pretty bad. Like most things, there's a chance it will be a gradual decline over decades, with maybe a few spikes, that most people don't notice. Just look at the difference in TV over the last 50 years and that gives you a pretty good idea which way things have been heading for a long time already. Satan generally can't take a people from righteous living and drop a bombshell that will cause the constitution to hang by a thread over night. He can get us to a point over time where the bombshell will be effective, though, and we need to be careful about that. He's working just as hard to make his side win as we are.
4) In those days the ONLY safety and security is going to be found in the gospel. The scriptures say that the saints will be gathered together in Zion and that the wicked will fear and tremble at the sight of it.
5) The Lord promises all over the place in the scriptures that the righteous will be protected. Mosiah 2:41 talks about the happy state of those who keep the commandments. I think that means not only day to day, but also when times get tough, and even afer we die. Another great scripture with respect to both keeping the commandments to be happy every day and to receive protection in the trials of the last days is D&C 64.
See, we aren't just working to keep things at a status quo. We're working to prepare for the day when the Savior will come again and life on earth will be better than we could ever dream it could be. Yes, there are going to be some pretty dreadful things that happen between now and then. Yes, our government and the people in our country are going to have some very difficult times. Yes, it's hard to know it's going to come and wonder if "this is it". That's why it's so important for us to be aware of what's going on, do our part to see that good men and women are elected to serve in government, and that we make our voices heard on the issues. Satan and those following him are certainly going to do so.
The most important thing we can do, though, is take care of ourselves. I don't just mean food and money, though that is part of it and will be important. I mean that the time will come when we all will have to decide where we stand with respect to God and His commandments and the Church. The world is going to go to heck in a hand basket, but we don't have to. The Lord has promised protection and guidance here and exaltation in the world to come if we choose to be humble, obedient and follow Him. No, it's not easy, but it will so be worth it in the end. We also don't have to worry or face it alone. We're all here to help each other through and the Savior will be there to guide, direct, and comfort us as well.
Have you ever really thought about what it means when we say that the Savior stands at the head of the Church and guides and directs what goes on here on earth? It literally means that He is in charge- not some human trying to guess the next step. There isn't one thing that is going to happen that He isn't aware of and that He can't stop if He chooses to. Most of these trials will be to create a people worthy of the Savior and to separate the "wheat" and the "tares". The Lord is going to let us choose where we end up when all is said and done. It's not a popularity contest or random judgement. He's a loving God and will let us go where we will feel and be most comfortable- and that in large measure is chosen in earth life. Do we want to humble ourselves pay the price now to live righteously and have an eternity of happiness, or pay the price later and live with an eternity of regret and sorrow?
President Kimball once said that there is no sorrow in death, only in sin. I think the idea behind that applies to these last days, too. There is no need to worry or fear if we are right with our Father in Heaven. If we're in good standing, it won't matter if the government collapses, nations fight against nation, or disease ravages the earth. We will be ok. We will be safe- at least (and most imprtantly) in the spiritual sense. The physical is temporary by design, anyway. That being said, it's somewhat easy to write all this when we aren't actually living through most of it and I hope that someday my faith is strong enough to carry me through everything that will come. For now, though, I'm just trying to work on the basics and be a little stronger today than I was yesterday. I can say, without a doubt, that Christ is standing at the head, He is directing the affairs of the Chruch and the world in the last days. If we choose to plant ourselves squarely on His side, then let the rest rage around us. We will be where there is safety.
1) D&C 77 is a "question and answer" session with the Lord about some of the things in Revelations. That would be a good place to start if you have questions about it.
2) Matthew 24 and the Joseph Smith Translation are also about the signs of the last days. They, too would help.
3) We know that before the Lord comes again our nation and the constitution are going to hang by a thread. In my mind that means it's going to appear that the inevitable conclusion is that they are going to fall and that means that there's a very good chance that politically, socially, and economically things will be pretty bad. Like most things, there's a chance it will be a gradual decline over decades, with maybe a few spikes, that most people don't notice. Just look at the difference in TV over the last 50 years and that gives you a pretty good idea which way things have been heading for a long time already. Satan generally can't take a people from righteous living and drop a bombshell that will cause the constitution to hang by a thread over night. He can get us to a point over time where the bombshell will be effective, though, and we need to be careful about that. He's working just as hard to make his side win as we are.
4) In those days the ONLY safety and security is going to be found in the gospel. The scriptures say that the saints will be gathered together in Zion and that the wicked will fear and tremble at the sight of it.
5) The Lord promises all over the place in the scriptures that the righteous will be protected. Mosiah 2:41 talks about the happy state of those who keep the commandments. I think that means not only day to day, but also when times get tough, and even afer we die. Another great scripture with respect to both keeping the commandments to be happy every day and to receive protection in the trials of the last days is D&C 64.
See, we aren't just working to keep things at a status quo. We're working to prepare for the day when the Savior will come again and life on earth will be better than we could ever dream it could be. Yes, there are going to be some pretty dreadful things that happen between now and then. Yes, our government and the people in our country are going to have some very difficult times. Yes, it's hard to know it's going to come and wonder if "this is it". That's why it's so important for us to be aware of what's going on, do our part to see that good men and women are elected to serve in government, and that we make our voices heard on the issues. Satan and those following him are certainly going to do so.
The most important thing we can do, though, is take care of ourselves. I don't just mean food and money, though that is part of it and will be important. I mean that the time will come when we all will have to decide where we stand with respect to God and His commandments and the Church. The world is going to go to heck in a hand basket, but we don't have to. The Lord has promised protection and guidance here and exaltation in the world to come if we choose to be humble, obedient and follow Him. No, it's not easy, but it will so be worth it in the end. We also don't have to worry or face it alone. We're all here to help each other through and the Savior will be there to guide, direct, and comfort us as well.
Have you ever really thought about what it means when we say that the Savior stands at the head of the Church and guides and directs what goes on here on earth? It literally means that He is in charge- not some human trying to guess the next step. There isn't one thing that is going to happen that He isn't aware of and that He can't stop if He chooses to. Most of these trials will be to create a people worthy of the Savior and to separate the "wheat" and the "tares". The Lord is going to let us choose where we end up when all is said and done. It's not a popularity contest or random judgement. He's a loving God and will let us go where we will feel and be most comfortable- and that in large measure is chosen in earth life. Do we want to humble ourselves pay the price now to live righteously and have an eternity of happiness, or pay the price later and live with an eternity of regret and sorrow?
President Kimball once said that there is no sorrow in death, only in sin. I think the idea behind that applies to these last days, too. There is no need to worry or fear if we are right with our Father in Heaven. If we're in good standing, it won't matter if the government collapses, nations fight against nation, or disease ravages the earth. We will be ok. We will be safe- at least (and most imprtantly) in the spiritual sense. The physical is temporary by design, anyway. That being said, it's somewhat easy to write all this when we aren't actually living through most of it and I hope that someday my faith is strong enough to carry me through everything that will come. For now, though, I'm just trying to work on the basics and be a little stronger today than I was yesterday. I can say, without a doubt, that Christ is standing at the head, He is directing the affairs of the Chruch and the world in the last days. If we choose to plant ourselves squarely on His side, then let the rest rage around us. We will be where there is safety.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Best Thing About Today
I was up at 4:15 this morning. That was not the best thing about today. Being at the temple first thing with my children was pretty good, though. I'd say it ties for first. Coming home and getting everyone else out the door by 7:30 was also nice. Not as good as a nap at 7:40, though, made even better by the numbers "10:12" on the clock when the phone woke me up. And thus we have the other half of the tie! I should get so much sleep all the time.
Second place was the Fall Festival at church tonight. How could one not have a great time with guys like these?
Yes, Greg's dressed as a tourist.
No, he does not dress like that all the time.
Spencer is his bodyguard.
(As if the outfit wouldn't keep harm at a very safe distance!)
What a day! Must be time for bed. Again. A body can only take so much excitement.
Second place was the Fall Festival at church tonight. How could one not have a great time with guys like these?
Yes, Greg's dressed as a tourist. No, he does not dress like that all the time.
Spencer is his bodyguard.
(As if the outfit wouldn't keep harm at a very safe distance!)
What a day! Must be time for bed. Again. A body can only take so much excitement.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Right
I should be doing dishes, but I don't feel like it. I want to write something, but haven't figured how to put what I want to say into words. Rock and a hard place. Tough one.
For those that don't know, we've had a pretty amazing weekend. The kids had Fall Break beginning last Wednesday. It happened to coincide with the first available time at the Mesa Temple for my one-year-ago baptized brother-in-law to take my sister and their sweet family to the Mesa temple to be sealed for eternity. Greg, his dad (Tom), and I were able to spend part of an afternoon in the Mesa temple with three of our children doing baptisms and confirmations. Another brother was able to schedule his 8-year-old daughter's baptism for the same weekend. All of my siblings, most of their spouses, both of my parents, my father-in-law, and my grandmother were able to be together for a few days. I love my family, all of it, both sides, and I love every minute we get to spend together.
The kids picked up perfectly timed cases of gatroenteritis on the drive home. Even this turned out to have several silver linings. Since all 5 were all sick at the same time they kind of watched out for each other. Sunday morning found them all on the floor in the living room with blankets and bowls, keeping each other company. That sight continued while Greg, Tom, and I went to church that afternoon. We were met there by Greg's brother (Mike) and his wife (Terri) and later my Aunt Nancy. They were all in our ward to be present while Greg was sustained as our bishop that day. All 5 of our kids missed it. I tried calling home on the cell phone so they could at least listen on the speaker phone at home, but the mike on my cell phone wasn't strong enough. The sweetest part came when Tom and I got home after church, though. The kids had really wanted to be there and were bummed when they couldn't hear anything. Since they couldn't hear what was happening and when, they picked a random spot during their meeting and all raised their hands to sustain their dad on their own. I don't know why that meant so much to me. I guess I just felt like that was the end of any issues we'd have with dad being bishop and gone alot. I hope I'm right.
I slept more and better than I had in weeks that night. Probably had nothing at all to do with getting no sleep the night before with kids sick all night. I know it had lots to do with a feeling of peace and that everything was right. Travel was done, we'd had some great family time, and the stress of keeping hushed about the bishop news was over. Everyone keeps asking me how life is going now. All I can say is great so far. Regular life hasn't been affected at all (knock on wood at the end of day three!). The kids are all back on their feet and back to school. I'm coming to grips with the fact that my remaining time in YW is rapidly growing very short. Even the dishes and backlog on the rest of the housework haven't been able to disrupt this feeling that everything is just "right" with the world. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm loving it.
For those that don't know, we've had a pretty amazing weekend. The kids had Fall Break beginning last Wednesday. It happened to coincide with the first available time at the Mesa Temple for my one-year-ago baptized brother-in-law to take my sister and their sweet family to the Mesa temple to be sealed for eternity. Greg, his dad (Tom), and I were able to spend part of an afternoon in the Mesa temple with three of our children doing baptisms and confirmations. Another brother was able to schedule his 8-year-old daughter's baptism for the same weekend. All of my siblings, most of their spouses, both of my parents, my father-in-law, and my grandmother were able to be together for a few days. I love my family, all of it, both sides, and I love every minute we get to spend together.
The kids picked up perfectly timed cases of gatroenteritis on the drive home. Even this turned out to have several silver linings. Since all 5 were all sick at the same time they kind of watched out for each other. Sunday morning found them all on the floor in the living room with blankets and bowls, keeping each other company. That sight continued while Greg, Tom, and I went to church that afternoon. We were met there by Greg's brother (Mike) and his wife (Terri) and later my Aunt Nancy. They were all in our ward to be present while Greg was sustained as our bishop that day. All 5 of our kids missed it. I tried calling home on the cell phone so they could at least listen on the speaker phone at home, but the mike on my cell phone wasn't strong enough. The sweetest part came when Tom and I got home after church, though. The kids had really wanted to be there and were bummed when they couldn't hear anything. Since they couldn't hear what was happening and when, they picked a random spot during their meeting and all raised their hands to sustain their dad on their own. I don't know why that meant so much to me. I guess I just felt like that was the end of any issues we'd have with dad being bishop and gone alot. I hope I'm right.
I slept more and better than I had in weeks that night. Probably had nothing at all to do with getting no sleep the night before with kids sick all night. I know it had lots to do with a feeling of peace and that everything was right. Travel was done, we'd had some great family time, and the stress of keeping hushed about the bishop news was over. Everyone keeps asking me how life is going now. All I can say is great so far. Regular life hasn't been affected at all (knock on wood at the end of day three!). The kids are all back on their feet and back to school. I'm coming to grips with the fact that my remaining time in YW is rapidly growing very short. Even the dishes and backlog on the rest of the housework haven't been able to disrupt this feeling that everything is just "right" with the world. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm loving it.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A Baptism, A Birthday, and Forever
Ryan turned 8 last Saturday.
That means that today, being Stake Baptism Day, he got to be baptized.
It was great to have Greg's dad here to participate. 7-1/2 years ago, Erica was our first to reach the baptism milestone. The possibility of the then 6-month-old Ryan ever being old enough to be baptized was a blurry dot somewhere in the far distant future. Well, 7-1/2 years, 3 other child baptisms, 2 states, and 5 moves later, the day has finally come. And, as a little tender mercy, it happened to fall on the birthday of my grandpa, Charles Maurice Woffinden. He would have been 98 today. Someday I will scan in the pictures I have and post one of him. He was a great person who gave me my love of meteorology and family history. Ryan's middle name is Charles, after him. Grandpa died the month before I found out I was pregnant with Ryan. His original due date was June 2, just 4 days before Grandpa's birthday. I had at one time thought it would be neat to have him born on June 6, but things didn't work out that way. Close, but not quite. We'll take this, instead. How grateful I am for Ryan, the choice he made, and the fact that we will be a family forever. I am also so grateful for my parents, grandparents, and those who came before. As another part of my family, their choices and lives played a big part in who and where Ryan is today. And, while Ryan never met Grandpa here on earth, chances are they met before and will do so again after. Thank Heaven for The Plan and that one end is really just another beginning in the great continuum called eternity. Small steps here add up to endless possibilities in the hereafter. Heaven, with my family, will be a great place to be.
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