Happy Thanksgiving!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I hope and pray that all of your turkey days are filled with love, friends, family, good eats, relaxation, smiles, laughter, good memories and most of all, gratitude for the many blessings we have all been blessed with!  I'll be enjoying time with my family and I hope you get to do the same.

Olivia "Paints"

Olivia told me she wanted to 'paint' the walls...

I was a little scared at first until I saw her idea of 'painting.'

She wet down the sacrament meeting program and stuck it to the wall.

As you can tell, she's VERY proud of herself for doing it.

"See my 'painting' mom?  Isn't it pretty?"

The finished artwork!

Follow the Prophet

My sister-in-law posted this quote on our family blog that is private.  (Thanks Jill.)  It was just too good to not share it with more people.  Especially in light of what is going on in the world with the Proposition 8 and all the division within the church because of it.

"Make no mistake about it, brothers and sisters, in the months and years ahead, events are likely to require each member to decide whether or not he will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions.  President Marion G. Romney said, many years ago, that he had 'never hesitated to follow the counsel of the Authorities of the Church even though it crossed my social, professional or political life.'

This is hard doctrine, but it is particularly vital doctrine in a society which is becoming more wicked.  In short, brothers and sisters, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ includes not being ashamed of the prophets of Jesus Christ... Your discipleship may see the time when such religious convictions are discounted... This new irreligious imperialism seeks to disallow certain opinions simply because those opinions grow out of religions convictions.

Resistance to abortion will be seen as primitive.  Concern over the institution of the family will be viewed as untrendy and unenlightened...  Before the ultimate victory of the forces of righteousness, some skirmishes will be lost.  Even in these, however, let us leave a record so that the choices are clear, letting others do as they will in the face of prophetic counsel.  There will also be times, happily, when a minor defeat seems probably, but others will step forward, having been rallied to rightness by what we do.

We will know the joy, on occasion, of having awakened a slumbering majority of the decent people of all races and creeds which was, till then, unconscious of itself.  Jesus said that when the fig trees put forth their leaves, 'summer is nigh.'  Thus warned that summer is upon us, let us not then complain of the heat."

Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "Meeting Challenges of Today,"  BYU Devotional October 10, 1978

My Joys

"Gratitude turns what we have into enough."

I figured this being the season of gratitude, I should focus on some of my small pleasures in life that I'm grateful for.  I've noticed when I'm more grateful for things in life, I'm less inclined to focus on myself, and see more of the needs of others.  So, I'm going to periodically write down some of the joys of my life so they don't pass me by, and so that I can refocus on those around me.

Fall Leaves:  I love fall leaves.  I love the vibrancy of the colors, the sound of the crunching as I walk on them and the beauty they give to the world around us.  I also love that they symbolize the changing of the seasons.  Signifies that Christmas is just around the corner!

Olivia: She has taught me so much.  One of the simple things she keeps teaching me over and over is the blessing of prayer.  Whenever we sit down to dinner or to family prayers, she will often start saying the prayer as soon as our arms are folded.  They often are similar to this... "Father in Heaven, I see Papa (to)morrow, see Grandma morrow, see Dada morrow, see Addie morrow,  see friends morrow, see Robyn morrow, see Ina (Karina) morrow... play at park morrow.  Bless dada at work."  At this point she'll insert something about her doggies or her baby dolls, then continue with this, "See baby Tagen morrow.  (Tagen is the name of our baby.) Um, Amen!"  Cute, right?  I've relearned through Olivia that we can and should pray for the simplest desires of our hearts.

Tithing:  I've learned over and over that the blessing of tithing comes in full measure.  It doesn't matter how tight or non-existent the money seems to get, we've been blessed beyond measure to be able to still somehow pay bills and have food to eat.  Even when it seems like there is no way possible for it to be happening.

Friends:  I'm so grateful for friends who will call just to see if I'm still alive, or drop a quick email to say hi, or drop off some veggie surplus they have from their gardens and don't mind when I'm still in my pj's as I answer the door.  Also those friends who will drop off a goodie because they know it's my favorite, or loan me some maternity clothes.  Or those friends who are willing to take Olivia for a couple hours so I can get errands done or just so I can get some uninterrupted nap time in.  Friends like these are what blessings are made of.  I'm so glad I have great friends that support me and care about me.  I just hope I'm somewhat of a decent friend back.

Brad:  I'm so lucky to be married to this amazing man.  He has been wonderful.  He's such an good father to Olivia.  Over the past few month he's been so good to help me out with the little things around the house.  Especially when I'm dead beat tired and worn out.  He'll come home from work and help out with the cleaning, carrying heavy loads of laundry downstairs, carrying in the heavy groceries, playing with Olivia to give me a break and rubbing my sore muscles to help me feel better.  He's my greatest blessing.

Christmas music:  I love the way music in general will usually lift you and make you feel happy inside.  But, when it comes to Christmas music, it is like a drug for my soul.  It lifts me and fills me with such a joy and remembrance of the greatest blessing in life.  That blessing of Christ and all that He has done for us.  Doesn't it just make you happy?

Caffeine Free Mt. Dew/Dr. Pepper:  Honestly.  I know it sounds really dumb, but I'm so grateful they make these two drinks 'unleaded.'  I love the taste of them both, but I haven't been able to drink caffeine in about a year.  It just does funky things to my heart.  So, when I remembered they make them for the wimps like me to drink, it was like an answered prayer!

So, those are just a few of the things I'm grateful for.  What small things do you have in life that make you smile every day?

Real Values...

    I wish our country as a whole felt more like this again.

    I definitely think it's something we need to return to...

This is for the Star Wars Nerds like me!

I seriously think this is one of the coolest things I've ever heard!

Kudos to this guy and his TALENT!  I hope you enjoy!

(Pay particular attention to the sayings on his t-shirts.  Hysterical!)

Olivia Funnies

I had to take Olivia to the doctor the other day. When Brad got home from work, he walked in the room and asked me, "So, what did the doctor say?"  Without skipping a beat, Olivia answered him by saying, "No more monkeys jumping on the bed!" It was so funny.

When Olivia watches "Enchanted" and the dragon falls off the building at the end of the show she always says, "Night dragon! See you tomorrow!"  (Sorry if that is a show spoiler for anyone.) I think it's adorable that she thinks the dragon is just going to sleep.  She will also sing along with Amy Adams during the songs.  If I start into one of the songs and leave the ending unsung, Olivia will finish it for me.  I also love that she will laugh when Prince Edward jumps off the bridge and trips up all the bicyclists.  She seriously gets the humor!

When we put Olivia to bed at night, we have a little ritual.  We will kneel at her bedside to say prayers.  We will sing a song or two and then she will hug and kiss me goodnight.  After she's done that, she will 'excuse' me from the room. Seriously.  She says, "mama, you go.  Dada read me a story."  Then Brad has to sit and read her a story or two, most often one of which will be "Olivia."  She's a creature of habit I guess.