Snapshots of Christmas 2011

Ugly sweater party...

Christmas lights at the temple

Back to Bethlehem

Universal Studios Grinchmas celebration

 (Santa Picture with Max)

 (Kirk Cameron reading "How the Grinch Stole Christmas")

 Christmas Eve

 Opening Jammies-For Someone Special

 Feeding the Reindeer

 Christmas Morning

 Christmas Night

Thanksgiving 2011

If I Knew

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall alseep
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each actions and word
So I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say, "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day
Well, I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away,

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will always be another day
to say, "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our, "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone
young or old alike
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight

So if you are waiting for tomorrow
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes
you'll surely regret the day

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone
what turned out to be their one last wish

So hold your loved ones close today
and whisper in their ear
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say, :I'm sorry"
"Please forgive me" "Thank you."
"It's okay!"
And if tomorrow never comes
you'll have no regrets about today.

author unknown to me...

well-i did it.

19 years ago, when my son was born,  I looked forward to this time with great anticipation. When he was barely a toddler, we would play "spin the globe" and where the globe stopped under his finger is where he would go on a mission. 

We prepared him for this day. We taught him to cook, clean, and sew. We spent countless hours in scripture study and Family Home Evenings. As the time grew nearer, I panicked. What if I haven't taught him enough? Does he really know enough to be on his own for two years? 

These last few days I have been feeling a little like Abraham, as he was asked to offer his son Isaac. I read that the Lord gave Abraham this challenge not for the Lord's benefit, but so that Abraham would know what Abraham was made of.  I have often pondered the discussion Abraham might have had with Isaac as they headed to the appointed place. I think I have a better idea now. I am sure that there was lots of talk about faith, and love, and being obedient. I am pretty sure there were some tears. And although this has been a pretty hard thing for me to do,  I never once looked for the ram in the thicket. And though the tears spilled freely, they were tears of sorrow mingled with lots of tears of joy. 

How grateful I am for a son who is found worthy and willing to serve the Lord. How grateful I am that my son will become a man while in Heavenly Father's service. How grateful I am that I now have an opportunity to see what I am made of.

F.D.O.S.

Well, after 14 years, I think I have done it. Got it figured out. Sent off my kids with only minimal tears. Really. 

I only think it was easy because in about a month I'll be having a much harder good-bye.

Really? 

(Max-on the first day of school)

two lucky girls

got to have these two young men as their prom dates!

I am glad they still humor me...

 Rice Krispy Eggs filled with candy...

 Coloring eggs...

Easter Egg hunt

I am glad my big kids still let me pretend they are little.

I could not resist...

Found these at Fresh and Easy yesterday...

Eco Friendly bags...

I just might be going green now...

cupcakes

We are all unique and beautiful---just like cupcakes;  And, just as no two cupcakes are alike, they are all uniquely beautiful.

But, just as beautiful as the cupcake may appear, the cupcake is more treasured if it is delicious on the inside. Like cupcakes, our inner beauty is more important. You know, it was prophesied that there would be nothing attractive about Jesus and yet people drew near to him. Why? Because he was so good. Because he loved others, truly loved them, people wanted to be near him.

Another thing about  cupcakes...without the rigid cupcakes tins, they would cook up to be nothing but a blob. Sometimes we view rules or standards as restrictive...and yet-if we live within these standards we will rise above and beyond what we could even imagine for ourselves...but to rise above, there must be heat...or trials...I know that Heavenly Father can and will make more of our lives than we can even imagine if we let him...

valentines...

Normally we do these...

This year we did these...(thanks to my friend Keri...)

                                                  

                                     (Aren't they the cutest???)

Always filled with love and gifts of service to each other.

My GPS

My husband got a GPS as a gift last Christmas. He loves using it. I don't know why though. He doesn't listen to it. He thinks he knows better. (I think it is because it has a woman's voice giving him directions.  Funny.)

One day, my sister in law and I were taking a car full of girls to Hollywood. My husband set up the GPS for the trip. The visiting started. We talked and we talked and we talked. We paid ZERO attention to the GPS and soon we were lost. Well, we'd missed the street we were supposed to turn on. Fortunately, the GPS did not give up on us. It kept giving us directions to get us back on track. When we finally stopped talking and started paying attention to the GPS, we got to our intended destination. We did have to learn how to listen to it though.

I think the gift of the Holy Ghost is like a GPS. We can choose not to listen to him because we think we know better. Or, we let the distractions in our life speak louder than he does. The more we allow the Holy Ghost to guide us, the more we familiarize ourselves with his voice, the easier it is to hear him. The Holy Ghost will always be there to help us get back to our intended destination. We just have to take the time to listen, learn how to listen and then follow the promptings we do receive.

"We need such inspired knowledge as we live our lives, as we seek to find God and apply his teachings, as we seek to find marriage partners, as we perform our responsibilities of parenthood, as we help others around us learn gospel truth and find God for themselves, as we seek understanding from scripture, as we implement present-day prophets’ counsel, as we contemplate the signal time in this dispensation in which we live, and as we seek to endure faithfully to the end. In all these and many more matters—indeed, in all aspects of our lives—we need guidance and knowledge from the Sure Source."  -Marion G. Romney, "Receiving and Applying Spiritual Strength" Ensign,  Feb. 1984

what will you be?

No matter our age, circumstances or abilities, each one of us can create something remarkable of his life.


David saw himself as a shepherd, but the Lord saw him as a king of Israel. Joseph of Egypt served as a slave, but the Lord saw him as a seer. Mormon wore the armor of a soldier, but the Lord saw him as a prophet.


We are sons and daughters of an immortal, loving, and all-powerful Father in Heaven. We are created as much from the dust of eternity as we are from the dust of the earth. Every one of us has potential we can scarcely imagine.

-Joseph B. Wirthlin April 2006 General Conference

A good one!

An elderly couple was attending church services.

About 1/2 way through the lady handed her husband a note.

It read, "I just let out a silent fart. What should I do?"

He scribbled back, "Get new batteries for your hearing aid."

thought for the day

                                
 Even with baby steps you can get to the mountain top.

A Belated Christmas Tale

This story was shared with me and I just so loved it...hope you all do too!

An elderly couple that I know was at Costco right before Christmas. One of the things on their Christmas list was bananas. They searched and searched for bananas but couldn't find anyway. They shrugged their shoulders and thought, "Oh well. Guess we won't eat our daily breakfast banana this week." Well, at the check out line, they noticed the gal in front of them had some bananas in her cart. They asked her where she had found them. She replied that she actually had picked up the last of the them. The banana pallet was empty.

When this elderly couple got to the register, the clerk handed them a bunch of bananas and said that the lady in front of them paid for them and wanted to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Really, don't these great stories just want to make you be a better person???