The List Goes On and On

I have been staying up late the last few nights doing some editing in a few chapters of the book I am writing as well as transcribing an interview with a therapist and doing additional research.  My brain was fried by the end of that so I was too tired to update the blog, so here is a list of the things that I have been grateful for over the past couple of days:

Finally found a physical therapist who knew what he was doing (we have been to doctors, physical therapists, and chiropractors to figure Ty's hip problem out)!

A diagnosis for Ty's hip problems - His right leg is over a 1/4 in shorter than his left!

Glad that the treatment is simple.  He is already seeing results after suffering for six months with it!

Beaver and Paul Elieson, PT...  Thanks for the great care and professionalism (love my home town)!

Carter and Blaine studying Spanish together by using a Spanish Book of Mormon along with the English version.  I am impressed with Carter's ability to read it and understand it!  It is so fun to listen to them.

Carter working hard his first semester of college and achieving a 4.0 GPA!

Dallin receiving word that SUU has upgraded one of his scholarships and he will now be receiving an additional $750.00 per semester!  Wow! What a blessing.  Both Dallin and Carter have all of their schooling paid for through scholarships with money left over to pay for housing, etc.. Way to go guys!  I am so proud of you!

Fascinating people...  I had the privilege of helping Blaine in the dental office yesterday while he did some dental work on some of his all time favorite patients.  First he worked on the daughter of one of Blaine's patients (who is also our good friend Lana).  Lana's daughter came all the way down from SLC to have Blaine do some dental work for her.  I also met the Mortensen sisters - all four of them! Wow!  Talk about intelligent and interesting.  They are so cute.  They all came to the dental office together to give their love to Blaine and to support their sister Amy who was having some dental work done.  They have been all over the world serving in various capacities from family history work, teaching English, archaeology digs, and serving full-time missions - to name just a few!  They shared many stories about their experiences and travels.  They have witnessed many miracles as they have been called upon to use their many talents throughout the world.  It was especially interesting to hear of their experiences in main land China, Japan, Mexico, and Bangladesh. They brought Blaine some salmon that they caught on a recent fishing trip to Alaska.  He is such a wonderful dentist.  I love to watch him interact with his patients.  He is so gentle and patient with them; he truly cares about his patients and they know it!

Carter's willingness to do laundry once again.  He had the entire bin washed when I came home last night, and he even cleaned his room and the bathroom!  Your mission companions, roommates, and your wife will surely appreciate your skills someday!

Good books!  I have been re-reading "The Peacegiver:  How Christ Offers to Heal our Hearts and Homes" by James L. Ferrell.  It is a book that should be read and re-read.  It provides incredible insight into grace, forgiveness, and charity.  I promise that by reading it, your entire perspective will change in regards to your relationships!  The section on "The Gift of Abigail" especially resonated with me.

Blaine's New Mexico License came today!!! We have been waiting for three months.  I thought we were all going to go insane.  The tension was growing stronger and stronger everyday in our house. Last night I think it hit an all time high so out of desperation I told the Lord that he had the power to speed up that license and that he could push it through immediately if it were His will, and if it was not His will then it would keep dragging on long enough for us to work on more patients here to convince us that it was worth staying in St. George.  Well, the call came today that it was approved and we should receive it by Monday!  We were told on Tuesday that the board would likely take another three weeks to get this approved, but the Lord really came through!

The Lord's mindfulness of each one of us, and His ability to penetrate our hearts and give understanding even when we might be bitter or cankered.  I am grateful that He loves me enough to bless me with His Spirit especially when I am the least deserving of it!

Verses to Ponderize:

2 Nephi 22:1-3

And in that day thou shalt say: O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou was angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Monday Morning Initiatories!

I can't think of a better way to start a Monday then going to the temple and being reminded of the glorious blessings promised to us during the initiatory ordinance of the temple.  After a "rocky start" morning that began at 5:30 am I decided to head to the St. George LDS temple and take in an endowment session at 7:20 am.  Just as I pulled into the temple parking lot the thought occurred to me that I did not have my debit card.  I do have my own temple clothing, but the hem of my dress has come out and I haven't been able to fix it because my sewing machine is in storage and I am too lazy to go get it.  Thus, I have been renting my temple clothing for quite some time, and every time I do I think that I could have paid for a new temple dress by now with the money I have spent on rentals.  I have digressed from my intent in writing today - sorry!  Anyhow, I opted to go participate in the initiatory ordinances instead.  The clothing is provided at no cost, and plus they only take about an hour instead of over two.  I am so grateful that I did this today.  I really needed to be reminded of the magnificence of my mortal body, and the grandeur of my mind and spirit.  Our Heavenly Father loves us so much, and this love becomes very evident in the pronounced blessings of the initiatory ordinance.

The rest of my day was wonderful.  My burdens were lifted, and I was able to accomplish many things today with a much improved attitude from the 5:30 am attitude that threatened to ruin my day!

Another thing that I am grateful for today was the opportunity I had to eat lunch with Dallin and the Swedish moms and missionaries from St. George.  We ate at a new place called Marv's over on Bluff Street.  It is like an old fashioned diner.  We had a wonderful visit with these sweet mothers, and Sela Sandburg who served as a sister missionary in Sweden who just recently returned home.  Thank you Lesa Sandberg for organizing this fun lunch together.  We will meet again in May when two more missionaries from St. George return from serving in Sweden!

Welcome Home Sela!

Today's Verse to Ponderize:

2 Nephi 18:17

17 And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

The Blessings of Christmas

My apologies for not posting the last few days...  I love, love, love Christmas and all its surrounding excitement, but despite my resolutions each year to have everything taken care of a few days before Christmas arrives, what generally happens is that I over plan, over do, over book, and of course over spend, I still find myself stressed to the max and not enough hours, minutes, and even seconds in the day.  This year was no different, and so some of the fallout of that is that I simply did not have the energy to post until tonight!  So, please forgive me, and enjoy a quick recap of the past few days...

Christmas Eve day was awesome, but it was planned down to the very second of its entirety!  So the first thing I am grateful for is the fact that I had the strength and energy to not only get through it, but to enjoy it as well.  Also, I am grateful for the Lord's tender mercies along the way that allowed everything to fall into place.  Some of the highlights of the day included:  Rejoicing that Kneaders hadn't sold all of their gingerbread men cookies, buying a loaf of cinnamon bread for a perfect stranger because she noticed that I was in a hurry and she let me go ahead of her in the line, delivering gifts with Blaine and Ty to neighbors and friends, last minute shopping at the mall, the annual Milne Family Christmas party with Santa himself, our Christmas Eve dinner with Rod and Bobbi Allen - our dear, dear friends that are more like our parents, and wrapping presents until 1:00 am while listening to Christmas music.  

Every year we have a gathering with the Milne Clan on Christmas Eve day where we all bring our own food, and get to meet Santa with his bag full of gifts for all the kids.  It is always so fun to visit with family members and watch the joy and excitement of the kids as they sit on Santa's lap and unwrap their gifts!  I cannot believe that my baby is now 15, but he still loves to sit on Santa's lap.

Even our newly called missionary - Carter enjoys sitting on Santa's lap!

Dallin does too!

My three sons have been really good this year Santa!

Blaine and I, on the other hand, just might be on your naughty list!

Here's the whole crew!  Thanks for the picture Becca!

Glenda Gai kissing Santa Clause and it is not her husband Scott...  What do you think?  Is she naughty or nice, Santa?  Thanks Glenda for always planning a terrific Milne Christmas Eve Party!

The only real regret that I have from Christmas Eve is not taking more pictures.  I hate that I didn't take any pictures at the Allen's.  I had prepared bbq ribs, baked potatoes, corn, rolls, and baked beans to take to their home, and Bobbi provided a yummy salad and an incredibly delicious apple cake with a warm sauce and whipped cream.  It was all so good.  Rod gave a beautiful prayer on the meal and in commemoration of the birth of our Savior and the birthday of the prophet Joseph Smith.  The Spirit was so strong.  We enjoyed our dinner and then we watched a movie called the Magic of Belle Isle starring Morgan Freeman (one of my favorite actors).  If you haven't seen it - you must!  It is a really touching movie and highlights so many wonderful life lessons!

This lantern is similar to the one that we gave to the Allen's.  It symbolizes the light that they are in our lives.  I attached a copy of the Hymn: Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy

Brightly beams our Father's mercy

From his lighthouse evermore,

But to us he gives the keeping 

Of the lights upon the shore.

Dark the night of sin has settled;

Loud the angry billows roar.

Eager eyes are watching, longing,

For the lights along the shore.

Trim your feeble lamp, my brother;

Some poor sailor, tempest-tossed,

Trying now to make the harbor,

In the darkness may be lost.

Let the lower lights be burning;

Send a gleam across the weave.

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman

You may rescue, you may save.

Thank you Rod and Bobbi for being our lights upon the shore!

Christmas morning...  Can you believe that we made the kids wait until 12 noon to open their gifts? We had to do some damage control with the house - dishes, de-cluttering, etc...  We also had a big breakfast and lots of discussion!

Not many gifts, but they were big!

Santa was good to all of us!

But this is the greatest gift of all!!!

After we finally opened all the gifts we loaded everything up and drove through the wintery white weather to Minersville.  It was a beautiful white Christmas.  Nanette and I were in charge of the dinner.  We decided to have a Mexican Christmas meal - Cafe Rio style salads and burritos, along with chips, salsa, guacamole, and fruit.  Mom and Raymond, Nanette's family, David's family, and our family enjoyed the evening together.  There is nothing better than being with family for Christmas!  Family is the next best Christmas gift!  I love, love, love, them!!!  Everyone watched the Joan of Arc movie on KBYU.  It is an excellent movie funded by the LDS Church.  Joan of Arc is absolutely inspiring.  Another must see!  We drove back to St. George late.  It was a wonderful Christmas day.  There were a few wrinkles in it, but that is for another time and a different venue.  I am grateful for the love of family and the manner in which the Spirit can heal hearts and repair relationships!

Saturday and Sunday were both days of rest and rejuvenation.  I went on a long hike Saturday afternoon and enjoyed some much needed alone time.  Although the wind was bitter cold, the sky was an incredible blue and the Dixie sun was shining.  It felt good to run, walk, climb, and breathe in the crisp air.  Sunday was a beautiful day of worship and rest.  Where would I be without the Sacrament each week?  It is like pushing the reset button. It never ceases to amaze me how life can seem so hard and overwhelming, but after attending church and feeling the Spirit everything becomes so much more manageable! Clarity of thought is actually restored, and faith is renewed!  I am so grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and for the sweet and precious blessings of the Spirit!

Today's Verse to Ponderize:

2 Nephi 15:20

Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Laundry!!!

LOL!!!

Do not let the title of this post deceive you...  I am not grateful for laundry, in fact, it is the one chore that makes me insane.  No matter how hard you try, it is never completely finished, because even when you think your laundry basket is empty, all you have to do is look around and see that everyone is wearing clothes and using towels that will go right back in within a matter of minutes.  But today my sons gave me an early Christmas present by doing all the dirty laundry in the laundry basket, and trust me - this was no small undertaking.  It had reached what we call "Mile High Stadium" status.  I was so happy when I returned home from helping Blaine at the dental office and gift wrapping for the Dove Center because all the laundry was washed and put away!  Thank you Dallin, Carter, and Ty - You are the best sons a mom could ever ask for.  It is so nice to have them home for Christmas break. Now the biggest challenge I will have is keeping them fed!  So grateful for my three boys - they bring me so much joy!  Thank you Heavenly Father for choosing me to be their Mother!

They learned it all from their Mother!

Such Good Boys!

Today's Verse to Ponderize:

2 Nephi 8:12

I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you...

The Joy of Serving with Others!

Today I am grateful for the feeling of joy I experienced as I served with others from our community to raise money for the Dove Center here in St. George.  The Dove Center is an outreach and support center as well as a residential center for women and children who are victims of abuse.  Last year my family and I fixed a complete Christmas Dinner for the 25 women and children who were staying at the shelter for Christmas.  It was such a wonderful blessing to be involved with this.  This year I didn't have time to be that ambitious, but today and tomorrow I am volunteering to wrap gifts at the factory outlet stores to raise money for the Dove Center.  I have always enjoyed wrapping gifts.  It is very therapeutic for me.  It allows you time to reflect upon who you are giving the gift to and why.  It was so much fun today.  I especially love it when husbands come in and bring gifts for their wives to have us wrap them.  They are always so grateful for this service!  Today I was able to reconnect with two of my favorite women that I worked with last year while I volunteered at the outreach center and also did the gift wrapping - Inger from Hurricane and Lana form St. George.  I could not believe that it had been an entire year since I last saw them.  It literally seemed just like a month or two ago, and it was so amazing to just pick up where we left of.  I love to meet women like Lana and Inger who are so service oriented and Christlike.  You can see it in there eyes and their countenance.  We had so much fun wrapping gifts and catching up on each others lives.  The three hours that I was there just flew by.  It was a much needed and a much appreciated break from the stressors of my own life. Thank you Heavenly Father for blessing me with the opportunity to serve today!

If you are looking for a good cause to donate to or to offer service...  This is definitely a good one!

Today's Verse to Ponderize:

2 Nephi 7:11

Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled.  This shall ye have of mine hand - ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Touching Moments...

I was so grateful for the blessing I received this morning as I went into the gift shop of our hotel to buy some toothpaste that somehow I managed to forget to pack. How is it that I can remember to pack toothbrushes and not the toothpaste?  Anyhow, I am so glad that I did forget, otherwise I would not have met Matthew, and I would not have had my heart overflowing with love and my eyes fighting back tears as I left the gift shop.

Matthew is a down syndrome 20-year-old young man who was being trained to work the register at the gift shop counter.  I was so impressed with his boss - an older gentleman who was so loving and patient with Matthew as he very slowly punched in the numbers to add up my items for purchase. Matthew was very talkative and reminded me that there were only four more days until Christmas and then told me how excited he was.  I told him that I was so excited too, because I absolutely love Christmas.  He then told me that his birthday was just a few days ago.  I asked him what day and he told me it was on December 18th.  I excitedly told him that that was the same day as my husband Blaine's birthday.  His face lit right up with a giant smile and asked me how old my husband turned. I told him he had just turned 47.  "Boy that is old!" he said with a grin.  I agreed.  By then I had finished paying for my items, and as I turned to leave, Matthew wished me a Merry Christmas.  I told him to have a very merry Christmas as well, and then he said, "I love you!"  With tears starting to well up in my eyes and a lump in my throat I told him that I loved him too.  He grinned from ear to ear.  My heart soared and my step was light as I left the store.  What a precious young man!  No wonder the Lord commands us to be as little children.  They love so unconditionally.  Thank you Matthew wherever you are for blessing my life with your childlike love and wonder!  I just wish I had taken my phone with me to take a picture!

Blaine had an interview with a dentist down in Murray at 10:00 am so I took the boys to breakfast and then did some shopping.  When Blaine was finished we met him back at the hotel and then we walked over to the Temple Square visitors center and went up to see the Christus statue.  We sat in that room for about 30 minutes just visiting and enjoying the peace that was there.  Then off to the Joseph Smith building to eat at the Garden Cafe up on the 10th floor.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch and shared a piece of some of the best cheesecake I have ever eaten!!!  From there we headed home to Washington.  It was another wonderful day!

The Christus...

I loved this gigantic tree in the Joseph Smith Building...  Can you imagine decorating it?

Today's Verse to Ponderize:

2 Nephi 2:18

...and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am their Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

The Perfect Day!

Today has been a perfect day! Those kind of days don't happen too often so I will document it well. It started off at 6:00 am with me making cinnamon rolls and cookies for the gathering we had today while Carter opened his mission call.  I also made final preparations for the Relief Society lesson I was blessed to teach today.  During church we enjoyed a wonderful Christmas program that really set the tone for my lesson on "A Christ Centered Life".  The lesson went well.  I am always so grateful for the many comments that these wonderful sisters share.  They really strengthen my testimony and add so much to the Spirit and the lesson.  The most important aspect of the lesson was the importance of obtaining charity.  Charity is the pure love of Christ.  It is a gift of the Spirit that we can receive through prayer and righteous living.  Charity allows us to see others as our Heavenly Father and Savior sees them, to love them as our Heavenly Father and Savior loves them, and to understand them as they do as well.  This Christmas season, may we all have eyes to see, hearts to love and understand, and ears to hear so we can lift and bless the lives of those around us.

Immediately upon returning home from church are house was filled with guests.  This little adobe was packed.  There was truly "no room in the inn today", but it was awesome.  The house was filled with love and excitement.  Carter opened his mission call after everyone had the opportunity to guess where he might be going.  Wouldn't you know it, Uncle Gary guessed where he would be serving - the Argentina Buenos Aires East mission.  Carter will be leaving us on February 17th.  That is just around the corner.  He is so excited, and we are all so proud of him and excited as well.  Hopefully all those years of taking Spanish will serve him well!  Carter is such a good boy and he will make an excellent missionary.  Just remember Carter that charity is the one and only way to be a successful missionary.  My mission trainer - Sister Melissa Roddy - told me the first day I was in Mustang, Oklahoma, that if I didn't love the people of Oklahoma I had better get on my knees and pray until I do, because the work would go nowhere without it!  I give that same advice to you!  "Pray with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love."

Can I have a drum roll please....

So happy to have Aunt Kim, Uncle Mike, Keaton, and Uncle Gary with us today and all of our other friends!

I love my three sons!

No room in the Inn!

After everyone left, we as a family sat around and just enjoyed the feeling that was here.  We had family prayer and then hopped in the car and headed to Salt Lake City.  We stayed in the Salt Lake City Plaza Hotel which is right next to temple square.  It is a newly remodeled hotel and very nice, and for only $89.00 it was a super deal!  We walked over to temple square and stood in awe at the beautiful sight of all the lights.  Temple Square was packed with people.  Everyone was excitedly taking in all the sights.  I noticed on a few different occasions that Carter stopped and offered to take pictures for families who were trying to figure out how to get everyone in the photo.  He is already off to a good start of service and love.

There are those three handsome sons of mine again!

I love this!

Beautiful Sunday Evening at Temple Square

Here it is again!

I love to see the temple!

What a wonderful and blessed day we had.  I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for the many, many blessings that He has given me, and especially for this most wonderful day that we spent with family and loved ones!

Today's Ponderize Verse:

2 Nephi 5:27: And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness.

The Force Awakens!

Today I am grateful for many things, but I am especially grateful that the powers of the dark side will always be no match for the light side of the force.  I am also grateful for free movie tickets!  Our three boys were able to see the new Star Wars movie Thursday night with some friends.  Blaine and I decided that we would go later-on when ticket demands had slowed a bit.  However, today was our lucky day.  Blaine's old baseball buddy Randy Wilstead gave Blaine four free tickets to tonight's showing of Star Wars at the Pine View Cinema.  We were so excited!  We couldn't talk our boys into going again with us so we called and asked Blaine's nephew Adam if he and his family wanted to join us.  We were so lucky to have Jaden and Cooper come with us.  Adam and Marcia have raised three great kids.  We had such a fun time with them, and we all really enjoyed the movie.  We even won two free giant buckets of popcorn.  The movie has received mixed reviews, but has managed to set blockbuster records which was expected.  I enjoyed the movie.  However, it was your typical star wars plot and very predictable.  Anyhow, may the force be with each of you throughout this holiday season!

It was awesome seeing Harrison Ford in the movie!  He is one of my favorites!

Today's Ponderize Verse:

I absolutely love 2 Nephi 4.  It is a beautiful chapter and beginning in verse 15 is what is known as the psalm of Nephi.  I won't write all 20 verses of his psalm, but I will share the final verse:

Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh.  Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto the, my God, the rock of my righteousness.  Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God.  Amen.

Grateful for My Birthday Boy!

Today I have so much to be grateful for.  It was a fantastic day mixed with a little stress here and there.  But Heavenly Father really blessed me with the strength and energy I needed to get everything done so we could have a super special end to our day!  Today is Blaine's 47th birthday.  It kinda snuck-up on me.  I knew it was coming, I ordered his gift well in advance, but before I knew it, it was here and I hadn't finalized anything for the day.  So, after dropping Ty off at early morning basketball practice I went straight to work cleaning my house and making a list of everything that I would need to do to make this day extra special for Blaine.  When it was finally not too early, I sent out some text messages to some of our close friends and family members inviting them to a birthday dinner at 6:00 pm at our little adobe home.  The morning flew by as I check one thing after another off my list.  Just when I thought I had everything under control I received a phone call from the principal at Piedre Vista High School in Farmington, NM.  He asked if I would be available to do a Skype interview today at 2:10 pm.  I knew I was super busy, but this was important so of course I said sure!  I quickly ran to Costco and purchased a pork loin roast, came home and threw it in the crock pot and prepared for my interview.

The interview went well.  I have no idea if I will get the job or not.  It is up to the Lord.  I am not a certified teacher, and I really think I surprised them with the depth of some of my answers.  Anyhow, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.  As soon as I finished my interview and quickly finished cleaning the house and then off to Harmons' to finish my shopping.  I was amazed at how things came together, and at 6:00 pm everything was ready to go.  I am so grateful this day for the tender mercies the Lord showed me along the way.  He knew that I was under the gun most of the day, but He really opened the door for things to run smoothly and not have any unexpected glitches because there was not a second to spare.

Tonight's menu included:  Sweet pork and grilled chicken burritos and/or salad, chips and salsa (mango/pineapple and regular), guacamole, cilantro lime rice, Cranberry Sierra Mist, and birthday cake and ice cream.  It was delicious if I do say so.  I was starving.  I had decided to start a fast last night because I really needed to find some peace and also ask the Lord for some extra help in helping our family move forward in whatever direction He deems best.  I just seem to be struggling in my ability to receive any concrete answers at this time.  I finally finished my fast at dinner time and I was famished.  It was so worth it though.  I cannot describe to you the peace that I have felt throughout this day.  It has renewed my faith that the answers will come, and when they do, I will recognize them when the time is right.

Tonight's guests included:  Our dear friends Rod and Bobbi Allen and Shane and Monica Johansen. My mom and step-dad Raymond also came and Blaine's brother Kirk.  Then of course the three boys were here as well.  It was a wonderful evening of food, friends, and family, but what made it even more special was that Carter's mission call came in the mail today just before the party started.  He will open it tomorrow evening at 6:00 pm.  Everyone is invited!  We are so excited to find out where he is going.  He is going to be a fantastic missionary!  What a wonderful day we have had.  Thank you Heavenly Father for my many, many blessings.  It really is true that gratitude = joy!  I am grateful and joyful this night! And, I am especially grateful for my wonderful Husband!  Happy 47th Birthday Blaine!  I love you always and forever!

Happy birthday to you; happy birthday to you; happy birthday dear Blaine; happy birthday to you!

Take a deep breath and blow hard!

Got 'em... Make a wish!

This is what the boys and I gave him - this is a framed certificate of his Army AEGD program.  We should have had this done years ago, but I just came across it in a box that has been in storage for some time.

Look what showed up today!  Can you guess where Carter might be going?  Join us tomorrow night at 6:00 pm to find out!

Today's Ponderize Verse:

2 Nephi 3:24

And there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith to work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren.

This prophecy given by Father Lehi is referring to Joseph Smith!

Temple Blessings

Today I am grateful for the blessings that come from having a holy temple so close by.  Blaine and I joined our stake for a special temple night at the St. George LDS temple.  We met at 7:15 pm in the chapel of the temple and had a special devotional by a member of the temple presidency and our stake president President Ellsworth.  This really set the tone for the endowment session.  Their counsel centered on light and truth, and how light is the symbol of truth - particularly in the temple. They reminded us to focus on our Savior who is the way, the truth, and the life, and is also the light of the world.  Then they challenged us to let our light shine, that others may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven.  President Ellsworth shared this scripture:

D&C 50:24

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

He then went onto tell us that the more we visit the temple the more light and knowledge we will be given, and that light will grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day.  This same light will also serve as a protection to us.  His words reminded me of something that the Denver temple president shared when we were in a similar setting over ten years ago.  He said that there would soon come a day that attending the temple once a month and even once a week will not be enough to restore the peace to our lives that the world will surely take from us.  I think that day is getting closer and closer. Some weeks I find myself wanting to sprint to the temple because I cannot get there fast enough.  I long for the peace and serenity that is there.  I love to sit in the endowment session and be filled with light and knowledge, and then enter the Celestial Room, and while surrounded by its grandeur and beauty, feel the love of my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ.  I love to listen for the whisperings of the Spirit, and then be filled with the faith and courage to move forward.  I often find myself in the main sealing room where Blaine and I were married.  It stands as a beautiful reminder of the things that are the most important and that families are forever!

I love the St. George Temple.  It is my favorite temple, and I am so grateful for it!  I am grateful for a husband who is a worthy priesthood holder and loves attending the temple as much as I do!

I love how white it is!

The Celestial Room is beautiful!

One of my favorite pictures of the St. George Temple

Today's Ponderize Verse:

2 Nephi 2:24

But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

A Tender Mercy

Today I am grateful for many things, but particularly for the tender mercies of the Lord.  I woke up at 5:30 am to take Ty to basketball practice and I still felt horrible.  I managed to get him there, but I came home and went right back to bed.  I slept restlessly because I knew I would need to get up soon so I could prepare myself for my interview with Principal Golden from Piedre Vista High School in Farmington, NM.  He was scheduled to Skype with me at 11:50 am.  I crawled out of bed at 8:30 am still having a fever, chills, and body aches.  I stood in the shower for what seemed an eternity letting the hot water soothe and massage my body.  I ate some breakfast and then did what I could to prepare for my interview.  To my relief Principal Golden's secretary called and said that he would have to reschedule our interview due to an unexpected schedule change.  I was so relieved.  I felt ready for the interview, but I truly didn't have the strength that I needed to be at my very best.  I consider this a great blessing and indeed a tender mercy from the Lord when I truly needed it.  Once the interview was cancelled I crawled back into bed and slept!

Today I am grateful to celebrate the Christ child.  It is because of him that tender mercies are possible.  Elder David A. Bednar has said that tender mercies are evidence that the Lord's grace is present.  I need His grace every day of my life!  I know that whenever I look for Him I will find Him and everything else that is important in my life!  #ilovecslewis

Upon waking up from my nap I felt my strength starting to return so I did some more research for this book that is taking forever to finish.  I also took the candy that I made yesterday out of the fridge and dipped each piece into melted chocolate.  Yummy!  I still felt weak, but not as sick.  I was able to fill five candy tins with homemade goodness.  I then took some to the sweet sisters that I visit teach and to my visiting teaching companion.  Check out the homemade chocolates and other goodies:

Bottom layer:  Pecan brittle and peppermint bark

Top layer:  Almond joys and chocolate dipped caramels

The finished product

I am so grateful that I felt well enough to go visiting teaching.  This always lifts my spirits, and it is wonderful to feel the love our Savior has for His precious daughters.  This months lesson is on Jesus Christ's divine attributes of compassion and kindness.  President Thomas S. Monson has said, "The Savior has always shown unlimited capacity for compassion.... Let us open the door of our hearts, that He - the living example of true compassion - may enter."  I am grateful to have felt the Savior's unlimited capacity for compassion through His Holy Spirit as well as those who have administered unto me throughout my life.  Thank you Heavenly Father for the precious gift of Thy Son and Thy loving sons and daughters.

Today's Ponderize Verse:

2 Nephi 1:20

And he hath said that:  Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

Blessed to Rest!

Today I was so grateful to not have a full-plate of activities and obligations; what few I had I was able to barely get through.  After spending the morning finishing up the laundry, cleaning out closets, making caramel and almond joys to dip in chocolate, and running some errands with Blaine I started feeling very achy and weak.  I kept trying to push through it, but by 3:00 pm I surrendered to a headache and fever and fell asleep on the couch after taking some ibuprofen.  I slept for about an hour and then went and crawled into my bed and slept for two more hours before Blaine woke me up to take an important phone call. The sleep had revived me somewhat but I still felt icky.  I spent the rest of the night half listening to the Republican debate and trying to do some research on the effects betrayal trauma has on the brain and body for a chapter I am trying to edit in this book I am still writing.  I don't know how productive I was because my head was still too heavy to make any progress, but I at least have a better idea of the direction I want to go with it.  I also did some research on classroom management in preparation for a job interview I have tomorrow.  I sure hope I am feeling well enough to do my very best - talk about bad timing!  Anyhow, I am going to stay positive and be grateful that I have been able to rest and not be stressed out about being unable to do things that were pressing!  I am also grateful for Blaine and Ty being so loving and understanding.  Poor Ty has had to eat grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup twice today because I was too weak to fix anything else.  Blaine had leftover salad - poor thing.  Tomorrow is a new day, and I am going to pray to be better and not worse in the morning.  It is amazing to me that I can find something to be grateful for even when I am sick!  This is such a great exercise for me to do each day.  It always allows me to go to bed on a positive note!  I am truly grateful for everything that Heavenly Father has blessed me with!

Count your many blessings see what God hath done!

Today's Verse to Ponderize:

1 Nephi 22:31

...Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved a the last day.  And thus it is.  Amen.

Let Him In!

Today I am grateful for the way the day began.  Just as we were waking up Blaine grabbed the laptop next to the bed and found a song on YouTube that was sung at our ward Christmas party.  It was written by Michael McLean and is Called "Let Him In."  It is sung from the persona of the Inn Keeper in the Nativity or First Christmas story. He laments the fact that he did not let Mary and Joseph into the inn, but then he discovers that even though he turned them away the Savior still loves him and will be there for him as long as he will let Christ into his heart!  This song is a beautiful reminder to let the Savior into our lives, especially when we don't think we have room for Him.  This song is a great carry over from the lessons we were taught yesterday about making Christ the center of our Christmas and our lives.  Here is the link to the video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3f6SXPYDAU  He loves us so much, but we will never fully experience His divine love until we let Him into our hearts!  I am so glad that Blaine shared this with me this morning... It really set the tone for the rest of the day!

Luke 2:7

Turn off the "No Vacancy" sign in your heart and let Him in!

I am also grateful that I was able to spend some quality time with Blaine throughout the day.  We ran some errands together and then we went to drop a thank you gift off to Carmen Snow for helping Blaine and his High Priest Group Leadership with their Family History activity at the Covington Home.  Carmen wasn't home so we dropped her gift off next door to her parents' home - Grant and Grace Iverson.  What a treat that was to visit with them.  Grant is a 90 year old WWII Vet. Blaine asked him to share some of his experiences.  Boy his mind was sharp.  He took us way back to the war and his journeys with the Navy.  He started in San Francisco and soon found himself on the way to New Guinea and everywhere in between.  He talked about the horrific things that he witnessed and also the fun and exciting experiences he had.  We were amazed at the detail he included in his stories and we even were shown some pictures.  Both he and grace were so kind and they really lit up when they shared their memories.  It was such a sweet and tender visit.  We should all be forever grateful for these wonderful men and women who served our country during this crucial era in history.  We owe them so much!  I thought it very fitting that when Blaine and I returned home we turned on the TV and caught the ending of "A Few Good Men."  One of the all-time great movies - Powerful!  After dinner Blaine and I went and exercised and then we did the dishes together.  I made Ty his favorite night-time snack of Orange Julius and sent him to bed.  I did some laundry and then it was time to blog, and guess what?  I'm listening to "Let Him In."

Let Him in, let Him in, let the peace on earth begin... Let Him in, let Him in, let the joy and hope begin!  Let Him In!

Today's Ponderize Verse:

1 Nephi 21:23

...and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Super Sunday!

I absolutely love Sundays, especially those when I have all of my boys home.  Today was one of those Sundays.  It was such a treat because for Sacrament meeting today we were able to go to the Washington 3rd Ward and listen to Dallin speak with Brother Lang the high councilman that he has been assigned to.  We are learning that Dallin is a very gifted speaker.  He always gives excellent talks and does it so easily.  He never uses any notes, and his message is always powerful, real, and concise.  He quotes scriptures that he has memorized, shares personal stories, and quotes the prophets and apostles.  He has a strong testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and his love for the Savior is evident in the words that he shares and the Spirit which accompanies them.

My Handsome Son Dallin!

Today I was especially grateful for Dallin's talk.  He talked on the importance of having Christ in our Christmas by making time for Him.  He shared experiences from his mission of how he learned to place Christ at the center of his Christmas by serving others.  His first Christmas in Sweden he and his companion spent 5-6 hours doing service for a sister in their ward who was a widow and also a recent convert.  They shoveled snow, hung Christmas lights, washed dishes, and tidied up her home. She fixed them a Christmas meal of mashed potatoes and the equivalent of hamburger helper.  He said that this particular Christmas was not the typical Christmas that he was accustomed too, but it was the best Christmas he had experienced up to that point in his life.  The next Christmas in the mission field he and his companion set a goal leading up to December that they would find a way to serve a ward member in their area every day in the month of December.  He testified of how this service added tremendously to the Spirit of Christmas that he felt and how much he missed being a missionary.  He then challenged the congregation to find ways to put Christ back into their Christmas by serving those around them even if they were a complete stranger.  In closing he shared some counsel from President Monson from this month's Ensign:

In our busy lives, with ever so many other things competing for our attention, it is essential that we make a conscious, committed effort to bring Christ into our lives and into our homes. And it is vital that we, like the Wise Men from the East, remain fixed upon His star and “come to worship him.”

Down through the generations of time, the message from Jesus has been the same. To Peter and Andrew by the shores of Galilee, He said, “Follow me.” To Philip came the call, “Follow me.” To the Levite who sat at receipt of customs came the instruction, “Follow me.” And to you and to me, if we but listen, will come that same beckoning invitation: “Follow me.”

As we follow in His footsteps today and as we emulate His example, we will have opportunities to bless the lives of others. Jesus invites us to give of ourselves: “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.”

Is there someone for whom you should provide service this Christmas? Is there one who awaits your visit?

Dallin's words really touched my heart and I resolved to do all that I can to help facilitate the kind of Christmas season that will invite Christ into every moment of it.  Thank you Dallin for this beautiful reminder to take the time to make Christ the center of our Christmas and the center of our lives!

Another thing that I am grateful for today is Sunday dinner.  Sunday dinner has always been a big deal to me.  It is my favorite meal of the week.  This all started with my sweet Grandma Gillins. Without fail she would prepare a Sunday dinner that was not only huge but delicious as well. Nearly every Sunday as I was growing-up we hopped in the car and headed to Minersville after our church services. There would be times when we would fit all ten of us in the car to make the 20 minute drive. Seat belts weren't required back then and we were sometimes stacked three deep depending on what vehicle we were driving.  We were never disappointed with the dinner.  My Grandmother was an amazing cook! Today I cooked a meal similar to the ones she would prepare, and every Sunday I try to do the same.  Today's menu included:  Honey Glazed Ham, what we call Cheesy or Funeral potatoes, green salad, corn, a roll, and homemade banana cream pie for dessert.  What made the meal even better though was that we were all there.  I love sitting around the dinner table and listening to everyone talk about what's going on in their lives.  I am so grateful for this tradition! Thank you Grandma Gillins!

Amen...!

And finally, I am grateful for Family Home Evening.  We have ours on Sunday nights because that is when we can all get together.  We have been having Carter teach our lessons the past several weeks so he can better prepare for his mission.  He should have his call sometime this week - we are so excited.  He gave another awesome lesson.  He carried-on Dallin's theme of making Christ the center of our Christmas this year.  He showed a video and also accompanied us on the piano as we sang a hymn.  He shared his testimony of the importance of the things that he taught and then he had us all share our own thoughts.  Carter is going to be an incredible missionary!  I love the feeling in our home when Family Home Evening has ended and we are all preparing for bed.  There is so much love!  I will always be grateful for this inspired program of Family Home Evening.  We have been blessed in countless ways every time we have had it!

I love my family!

Today's Ponderize Verse:

O that thou hadst hearkened unto my commandments - then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.