Gratitude - A Happy Memory

Imagine camping and you come across an uprooted tree with some roots sticking straight out and shaped into a two prong fork. If I would have taken some pictures and saved them somewhere, then I could show you.

But that is exactly what we found while camping one year when the kids were still little.

Doran took an ax and shaved off the bark on both sides so that a bare bottom could sit on it and not get slivers. Then he prepared one little branch close by to store a roll of TP on it. He then dug a hole below the "seat" and taught the girls how to go potty then cover it up when their duty was done.

It was so funny to see the girls grab the shovel and say; "I'll be right back!" as they skipped down the path. They seemed to enjoy going potty and did more frequently than other camp trips.

Gratitude - Crochet

What is something that I am grateful to have today that I didn't have a year ago?

The ability to crochet.

My mom taught me to crochet between Saturday Conference sessions last year. I went over at lunch and she helped me get started by letting me put a border on a project she was working on. That was pretty trusting of her. I did realize that you can rip out what you don't like or if you mess up, and start again.(I have had plenty of practice "ripping".)

I made each of my girls a scarf for last Christmas.

I also make head bands for my Primary girls.

This green, grey and white baby blanket was my very first solo project. I had plenty of practice ripping and redoing, but I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. I ended up giving this to my ministering teaching partner for her new first baby.

This was another baby blanket.

This cute blanket I made for McKinley for Christmas last year. I made the boys a rag quilt and she got the crocheted blanket.

I then thought I could tackle a big project so I decided to make this for my friend for this Christmas. She is a die hard for a school that wears red. The slippers were an attempt to go with the blanket but I couldn't master those very well. I might have to try them later.

And then I thought I could jump right into making baby clothes. What a joke. I found so many different patterns and tried and failed so many times. These are the only ones I finished. After the pictures I added ribbon around the waist on both of these. They were given to Ayla when we went up to see them this July. Can I say...I don't enjoy clothes. At least I haven't found a little dress that was easy enough for me to read and follow the pattern...yet.

I found a pattern for an easy C2C (corner 2 corner) pattern and thought I would give it a whirl. I also revamped the border and just made it my own. I enjoyed doing this. I also made another one but not sure where the picture is.

I made this for Cortney's new baby coming in July and I also made Ayla a matching one for her baby doll.

During our travels, I have been trying to crochet without getting car sick. It worked for the most part, but lately I can't do much without getting sick. 

This was my first attempt at a bag. Not super happy with it but maybe when it gets stuffed with stuff, eh?

This grey and white blanket is another project I worked on while traveling. This was actually a kit I bought and it is a lot smaller than I thought. It is also a baby blanket size. I love how the border turned out!

This baby blanket is the last completed project I worked on. I enjoyed this pattern! I think I would like to make some more of these.

I am currently working on this...but I ran out of grey. 

I would like to make a bunch of blankets and find somewhere to donate them.

So what am I grateful to have today that I didn't have a year ago?

The ability to crochet.

You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

Gratitude

There are so many things that I am grateful for but a simple pleasure that I am grateful for is...

Hot chocolate and toast.

Some days this is such a comfort food for me. 

During my simple pleasure, I either enjoy a book, scriptures, Hallmark or just ponder.

It is never a bad idea to enjoy this simple pleasure.

Gratitude

I can almost see retirement.

I won't say that "I'm almost there." because I can't stand that saying when I am still so far away.

The decision is to go out in

FIVE month

or

ONE year and FIVE months

or

stick it out until my 30 years are up in

TWO years and FIVE months.

As with most people, health insurance is the clincher.

Once Doran retires, we lose our health insurance.

Doran will wait until I retire before he does.

Today he received an award at work for 40 years of service. Not many people can say they have been at their job for that long. I am so proud of him and so grateful that he has been such a dedicated provider for all these years! We aren't rich but we aren't in need.

I can't wait to wake up NOT to an alarm.

I can't wait to wake up WITH my best friend by my side.

I want to put more energy into:

exercise

quilting

baking

traveling

camping

hiking

a mission

yard work

gardening

and just anything that involves spending more time with Doran.

Yep, THAT is something that I am looking forward to.

FINAL - Becoming Project

This semester my primary goal for my Becoming Project is DILIGENCE, DILIGENT, DILIGENTLY attribute.

Some weeks were a stretch for me, and others were easier. I like who I have become and some of the “service opportunities” I have had to really focus on being positive when I had negative thoughts. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing, what matters is what I am doing. What am I doing to help others and WHY am I doing it? I need to make sure that my mindset is because this is how the Savior would like me to help. I have been diligent in my morning prayers to ask to be guided to service opportunities that come my way. Sometimes I feel like I haven’t done anything all day but when I look back over my day, I need to count even the little things I have done for others.

We have had a lot of move in’s and move out’s in our ward this past couple of months, and I was determined to help when I could. During the four moves, I worked right alongside the Elder’s Quorum. I was the only woman from the ward that helped, so I got a workout. I’m not as strong as I used to be, but I pulled my weight and I climbed many stairs.

I have loved the opportunity to be diligent about weekly temple attendance. Most weeks I would call ahead and schedule a time so we would be more committed to going. We were able to do endowments, sealings and baptisms. Because of work, one week got thrown out of whack and we didn’t make it to the temple. Each time we attend the temple, we have had great experiences. I even found a couple of names on my side to do. A few weeks ago, I found a relative that needed some work done. He is a great-great-great uncle (Emilio). His name was reserved and shared with the temple but hadn’t been printed yet. I was determined to get this work done, so I sent an email to the individual that reserved the record to see if she would release it to me. I didn’t hear from her so I talked to the temple and they gave me a number I could call. In the meantime, I finally heard back from this individual and she released the name, so I was able to go reserve and print it off.

I also got looking at my cousin’s (Delores) info and her dad (Ambrose). They have both passed so I contacted her brothers to see if they had some information on Dee’s baptism. They thought that she might have been baptized but after searching and finding no information, we decided to go ahead and have her baptized. My cousins said it was okay for me to do Dee’s work and their dad’s work (my aunt had passed away years ago and we had her work done. However, I will not be sealing them because they were divorced, and I think I would get throttled by my aunt).  Because we were busy moving people last Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday morning (think of the muscles), we didn’t make it to the temple until Saturday afternoon. We snuck in during the last of some boys doing baptisms and asked them to do the one name I had, then the next group of girls would do Dee’s baptism. During Emilio’s baptism, the man got a little choked up doing it, as did I. However, I didn’t know this until after the confirmation when Doran told me he talked to the guy. He also mentioned some lady getting choked up. We do believe that Emilio was happy to finally have this work done. We will continue doing this work for the next couple of weeks and finishing with my brother helping at the Idaho Falls Temple.

What blessings are taking place for others as I strive to be DILIGENT in my search and determination. I realize that every time we go to the temple there are many people being blessed, but when we do our own family names, it means a little more. It never fails that when Doran and I attend the temple, we always have some kind of experience that we are in awe about.

I have also been diligent in blogging my insights that I have learned in my studies. I have also been brave to post on my Face Book page and on our ward FB page. I have had a few comments from people that have said that is just what they needed to read that day. One of the things that I fasted for this past Sunday was that I wouldn’t stop studying and that I would keep sharing what I learn.

The Come, Follow Me curriculum has been great as well. I learned a bunch when I taught this past Sunday. After church as we walked to the cemetery, I told Doran all that I learned and taught. I was so excited for everything that I learned. I even shared my “lesson” with his mom when we called her that night. I still remember the night my in-laws “converted” me. Through their prayers and diligence, they were able to touch my heart through their example.

We continue to visit those that we think need a visit and sometimes that is my parents. They have been having a lot of health issues and spending more time with them has helped them feel comforted and know that there is someone close if they need anything. Our relationship has strengthened over the past few months.

I am thankful for this Becoming Project that had me focus on certain attributes that I want to improve on. I sometimes get lazy and just live from day to day but when I think of a “purpose”, I feel less like a slug.

Faith, Works and Watch Your Mouth

James 1:5–7. What Does It Mean to “Ask in Faith”?
Elder David A. Bednar has said; “True faith is focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ and always leads to righteous action. …

“… We press forward and persevere in the consecrated work of prayer, after we say ‘amen,’ by acting upon the things we have expressed to Heavenly Father.

“Asking in faith requires honesty, effort, commitment, and persistence”

Am I willing to put in to action of the things that I pray for. I know Doran and I have had many discussions on this after our prayers. We can’t just pray for something and it’s answered. We have to be willing to put in the work, find information, do our research on some things. THEN our prayers will be answered.





James 2:14–26. “Faith without Works Is Dead”

Elder David A. Bednar taught, “Thus, faith in Christ leads to righteous action, which increases our spiritual capacity and power.”

One thing that came to mind when reading this was a person doing rehabilitation for, let’s say walking. That person can’t just pray and sit back and wait for their legs to get stronger. They must put in the hard work, having faith that they will get stronger.




James 3:1–10. “The Tongue Is a Fire”
What a powerful statement, yet so true. I often reflect on things said to me while in my youth. (Why do I still harbor them?) They were hurtful things said by “Mormon girls”, when I was not active. Do you think I wanted to join their “club”? I am sure that all of us have felt the sting of words and we have been the cause of stinging words. I pray that I can see the good, BE the good and DO the good. I want to focus on building and NOT tearing down a person.

James warned the Saints of the potential ruin that unkind words, inappropriate language, or the loss of one’s temper can cause. To help readers recognize the importance of speaking with care, he compared the mouth and the tongue to a horse’s bit, a ship’s rudder, fire, and poison.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles quoted from James 3:2–10 and then expressed the following about harsh or hurtful speech:

“Obviously James doesn’t mean our tongues are always iniquitous, nor that everything we say is ‘full of deadly poison.’ But he clearly means that at least some things we say can be destructive, even venomous—and that is a chilling indictment for a Latter-day Saint! The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process.

…“Husbands, you have been entrusted with the most sacred gift God can give you—a wife, a daughter of God, the mother of your children who has voluntarily given herself to you for love and joyful companionship. Think of the kind things you said when you were courting, think of the blessings you have given with hands placed lovingly upon her head, … and then reflect on other moments characterized by cold, caustic, unbridled words. … A husband who would never dream of striking his wife physically can break, if not her bones, then certainly her heart by the brutality of thoughtless or unkind speech. …

“… Wives, what of the unbridled tongue in your mouth, of the power for good or ill in your words? How is it that such a lovely voice … could ever in a turn be so shrill, so biting, so acrid and untamed? A woman’s words can be more piercing than any dagger ever forged, and they can drive the people they love to retreat beyond a barrier more distant than anyone in the beginning of that exchange could ever have imagined” (“The Tongue of Angels,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 16–17). To read more about the need to control what we say, see Matthew 12:34–37; Alma 12:14; and Doctrine and Covenants 42:27.

Peter indicated that when the Saints “suffer as a Christian” (1 Peter 4:16), they can feel joy knowing that they are following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ (see 1 Peter 2:19–23; 3:15–18; 4:12–19).

1 Peter 1:6–8; 4:12. “The Trial of Your Faith” 
Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “How do you remain ‘steadfast and immovable’ [Alma 1:25] during a trial of faith? You immerse yourself in the very things that helped build your core of faith: you exercise faith in Christ, you pray, you ponder the scriptures, you repent, you keep the commandments, and you serve others.

“When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view” (“Trial of Your Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 39–40).

I love this. Distancing ourselves from church is the last thing we need to do when we are facing a trial, though it is usually the first thing that we do. We tend to hide from the world, but we need the gospel.