It's easy

When you have your 7 year old tell you he doesn't want to go to church and you ask him if he thinks Jesus loves him and his response is "no" , it becomes easier to see all that you've been blessed with and have been given as you start to list the ways and reasons Jesus does love that innocent, impressionable, young, sweet boy. In a moment like this I am terrified that I have done something wrong to make Tanner say that he doesn't want to go to church. It makes me grateful for my testimony, yet still tries my faith as I don't know if he just says that or if he really does not like going to church. It makes me unsure of what to say to him so that he also can grow his own faith to know that Jesus loves him even more than everyone in his life combined love him. That is something there is no specific answer to. Prayer and faith is all I have and is going to have to be used to the fullest in a moment like this.

Day 12: my beliefs

What you believe

This may seem sort of silly, because to me it kind of obvious, but the Articles of faith are what I believe and what helps me get through a lot.

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.

3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

4 We believe that the first principles and aordinances of the Gospel are: first, bFaith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.


6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.

7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions,fhealing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.

8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.

9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

10 We believe in the literal agathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

12 We believe in being asubject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.

13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

The Quote

I love this quote...it's from Elder Hales

"The greatest faith we have will be within our homes as we remain strong in the trials and tribulations of parenthood"

Also a really good one

Joseph Smith "...let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" (D&C 123:15,17)

I love re-reading the Ensign and highlighting all the things I love or that stand out to me.

We had a great start to the weekend. I know...a little late...but whatever, this is my blog...lol



This is a picture Tanner took of his light in his room. Random...I kow.




What's a BBQ without s'mores...mmmmmm




Matt enjoying his hot dog...lol




Tanner LOVES the water

We had a BBQ and just spent time running through the sprinkler and spending time together. Tanner and I made Peanut Butter cookies that were very yummy. They are my fave!

My computer is acting slow so I'll have to post pictures later.

Sorry for the randomness...

295

I have 295 posts...so my account tells me. I'm thinking of giving something away for the 300th post but wondered if any of you have any ideas. If I did a give away, what would you like to get if the winner is you?






We saw the movie Shrek 4 on Saturday. It was really a cute movie. Tanner wasn't a big fan of the 3-D glasses but he said he really liked the movie anyways.

He was stalling when going to bed last night and finally I shut off the lights and said no more dilly dallying around...time for bed. Then he came into our room and said "I have to say goodnight and give a true loves kiss to you Mom". Man, that boy can have me wrapped around his finger in no time when he says stuff like that. How can you not love a boy so cute?

Today we had a regional conference and it was great except for the fact that people, today, seem to have forgotten what reverence is. It was so difficult to concentrate on the messages or to even hear them. Everywhere I looked, there seemed to be pockets of noise/distractions. I need to learn how to shut out the outside distractions but sometimes it's hard. For example, if I'm on the phone and Matt's trying to tell me to ask the person I'm talking to a question, I have to stop my phone conversation to hear what Matt is asking. My Mom can talk and listen to 2 different conversations at the same time. I don't know how, but I clearly do not posses that talent.

Well, I hope everyone has a great week!

5 for Friday

The 5 things that made me most happy this week...in no particular order



1. Matt and Tanner. They are so fun and love me for me and are both so good to me.





2. Going to Relief Society last Sunday and this Sunday. I miss it soooo much and love being able to go when I can.





3. Reading the messages in the Ensign. I love the General Conference issue and love re-reading the talks. I just finished reading President Uchtdorf's talk on patience. SO GOOD!!!!






4. Friends like Susanne, Sharon and Jamie (no picture). I know these are old pictures and you're both probably going to complain that you look terrible in them but I don't have recent pictures of either one of you so you'll both have to suck it up...lol. These friends are some of the greatest friends I have . Sharon watches Tanner and always has nice things to say no matter what. She's always so positive. And Susanne is there night or day whenever I need to talk or just to tell her good news or bad news...whatever it may be. Jamie is supportive and loyal and understanding and always puts equal amounts of effort into our friendship.




5. My sister's, Amy and Megan. These are pictures from last year's birthday because we are celebrating their birthday's tomorrow so you'll get pictures next week. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my sisters and they really are my biggest fans and greatest friends. Although we did not get along as kids (no one really liked me...I was a little mean) we have really become true friends as we've gotten older and married/moved away/went on missions. Each of my sisters (I have 3) are special and unique in their own way and I love them all.

There are other things that made me really happy this week. 5 is not even close to the number of things that made me happy this week. It is just a small fraction of all the blessings in my life.

Tanner lost his second bottom tooth. It was actually kind of funny because it was the night that I run and when I got home he said: I lost my tooth while you were running. He had been eating corn on the cob and it came out. He didn't tell the babysitter and so he said it fell on the floor and wanted me to help him find it. Right! because finding a tooth on a beige colored carpet is easy. I told him I would look for it while he went to bed but then he found it. I don't know how, but he has really good eyes.

I also planned our trip to Salt Lake. I thought I should think about booking a motel because it probably isn't smart to drive all the way there in one day. right? Tanner is an excellent traveller and we spoil him on trips...as in, we have a portable DVD machine that he can watch movies on. He really likes that so we have put some movies away until our trip so they'll be "new" for when we drive down there. I might see if I can borrow a couple from some friends, but if not, I think we'll be fine. We bought him this travel bingo game that he loves and also travel size Trouble. If you know of any other games/activities that you find your kids like, I would love to hear about them. Movies are the easy way out if he's getting bored but I would like him to do other things too. Books and music only go so far for him.

We are trying a few new things while we're there. Normally when I've gone, we do Temple square and shopping but this time we're going to do some tours and the Children's museum and the zoo. Now that a lot of the stores that use to be only in the states and not in Canada, are now in Canada, shopping won't be so "special". I remember Old Navy and Bath and Body Works were special stores but now that they are in Canada, the novelty isn't there as much. We always go to See's Candy store and this time we are actually going to do a tour of the Candy Factory that makes the world famous Salt Water Taffy. It should be fun. I'm sure Tanner will love it, if nothing else.

So I guess that's all for now. Have a great long weekend and don't get burnt!

A great day

Yesterday was a great day! Do you ever have those perfect days where everything just go great and there's nothing, at the end of the day, that you can think of that you didn't like? I love those days. Even Tanner was so good and obedient. A funny story about him...okay more like a conversation:

Matt: You did great today at skating buddy!

Tanner: Yeah! (this is a VERY typical response. He doesn't really say thank you unless you prompt him to)

M: pretty soon you'll be skating better than me.

T: Yeah...pause....and swimming too





Matt got pretty good at swimming this summer, but Tanner is better than him. We all had a good laugh about that.

Matt is home now as the season ended on Monday. I told him it was nice to have him home and he said "we'll see if you think that in 4 days". It can drive me batty to have him home but recently, I actually really enjoy it.

I was looking at where I was in my scripture reading this morning...I am WAY behind. I really wanted to read the Book of Mormon and the Old Testament this year but I am only in Numbers 21 and in 2 Nephi 18. I guess I feel like I've been able to get more out of my studies than just reading it and not really pondering it and thinking about what I'm reading. When I finish, the next time I read them I'm going to keep a scripture journal and write any thoughts or questions I have on them. I try to do something new each time when I read the scriptures. I'm just reading about Moses and when his brother Aaron died. I just love learning about the things in the Old Testament. I never really fully appreciated learning about them when I was a teenager. I think as we grow, we learn to appreciate them a lot more because we can apply them in our lives more easily. We have more life experience and have experienced more trials.

We had a great Stake Conference this last weekend. I was able to go to the Adult session and Matt went to the Sunday session. Tanner had been sick all week and I am a little paranoid of him getting the H1N1 so I kept him home. If I could, I would keep him home this week too...but we can't all live in a bubble. Anyways, Matt and I took turns going. The theme was "Lord, I would follow Thee". We had a great talk on how we need to ultimately rely heavily on the Lord because he is the one constant in our lives. It was a really good talk. I wish they would publish the conferences in a newsletter so we could re-read them. You can only write notes so fast and you usually miss stuff.

Well, I think that's it for now. Tanner and I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies. I'll put the recipe up later. They are most excellent.

If my life depended on it

I could not fall asleep last night if my life depended on it. I lay awake with random thought going through my head and the song " I could have danced all night" from the movie My fair lady. I watched it and LOVED it! I love watching all the old movies that my Mom loved when I was a kid and I thought they were so boring. Like Casablanca, and Breakfast at Tiffany's and Singing in the Rain.

Anyways, I am thankful for so much lately. For being able to go to the pool as much as I want with Tanner. We love the pool and it's a great place to be on a hot day like today.

I am thankful for being re-connected with my friend from childhood through our blogs. She was my first best friend and I actually slept at her house the night my Dad died. I remember her and her Mom talking to me about what had happened and that they were there for me. It was such a huge comfort to know that my friend was still my friend even though my Dad had just died.

I am thankful for my amazing husband who this last Sunday carried my heavy church bag to church while we walked to church because I was careless and got a sunburn. He is so thoughtful and constantly does little stuff like that for me.

I am thankful for my sisters. My sisters are a huge part of my world and I love them a lot. I think about them daily.

I am thankful for my friends who are amazing and forgiving and kind to me. I have the best group of friends anyone could ask for.

I am thankful for Christal's blog. She is so uplifting and I hope my blog will be more like hers and that I myself can be more like her. I think she is an amazing person and she is so grateful for so many things.

I am thankful for my Mother who always has such great advice. Just this week I was asking her how do I encourage Tanner to say other things in his prayer other than the 3 things he always says every other time he prays. So we've tried a different tactic and it's been working pretty good. She's so smart!

I am thankful for the Bible. I love the Bible. I have been studying it this year and am thoroughly enjoying it. The stories are more personal to me as I read them and I love that I can apply the principles into my life.

I am thankful most for the gospel and for the Savior. I can see the difference it makes in a persons life and am grateful that I have the blessing of both in my life.

Anyway, those are just some of the many things I'm grateful for this week. My life is not my own. It belongs to the Lord and I hope that I can do the things that He wants me to do and live a life that honors His name.

Safety

Today in Primary the Teacher was talking about how the Holy Ghost helps to answer our prayers and she related a story about how when she was getting her children ready to go to swimming she lost one of her children. She looked all around the house and in their yard but couldn't find him. So she said a quick prayer and the feeling that came to her was that he was at the pool. She ignored the prompting and continued to look because she didn't feel that her son would ever just start walking to the pool on his own. So one of the other members in the ward saw him and went to tell the boys mother. So Tanner turns to me after this story (he's sitting a row in front and across from me) and says "Are you coming to my swimming this week?" and I replied that I was. Then he says "I won't go alone. I will wait for you and not walk there by myself". To which I said thank you and "turn around and be reverent please". Everyone had a little chuckle over that. I love him, he's so cute!

The Elders are having a father/son camp out in September and my boys (meaning Matt and Tanner) are SOOOOOOO excited. It will be Tanner's first camp out with Matt in a place other than our backyard. AND! I'm excited to have the night for myself. Maybe I'll have a girls night....hmmmmmm

150 already????

So, in this moment right now, I'm feeling somewhat reflective myself so I thought I'd write something that everyone is use to....a thoughtful (and hopefully non-controversial) post.

Here's a thought: If you went to bed and woke up in the morning and a miracle had happened in that everything in your life was the way it could or should be, how would it look?

What would you be doing that would tell your family and friends that this miracle had occurred?

What would you be doing?

What would other's notice that was different?

How would you treat other people?

I've been deep in thought lately on many topics but this one is something I can't stop thinking about.
I think sometimes I think I'm grateful for things in my life, but when I really think about it, do I feel the gratitude burning within my heart? Am I really truly grateful for what I have right in front of me? I say thank you and say I'm grateful, but do my actions show those words?

I'm reading 3 books right now; The Book of Mormon, The miracle of forgiveness, and a parenting book that is sooooo fabulous that I highly recommend it to anyone and would be happy to lend it out. Anyways, in The miracle of forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball talks about sins (obviously) and how someone who doesn't share their testimony is committing a sin. That really struck me because who knew that? I didn't. Weather it be small or great, it is our responsibility to others and the Lord to share our beliefs with others at every opportunity. Of course, I admit that I am a huge sinner in that department. But now that I know, I pray for the strength to share that testimony publicly and with others and have the courage to do that. I think that people are afraid to do it because of what other people might say or think. I think it's especially hard for people who have a fear of speaking or getting up in public but I know, without a doubt because it's happened to me, that when you share your testimony on a regular basis the Lord's spirit increases within you...if that makes sense. You're in better tune with the Spirit and your knowledge of Him increases so much more.

My sister and I were talking about the Spirit and she said that when you're not doing the things you're suppose to be doing and don't have the spirit with you, you don't remember the things of a spiritual nature as easily. Like your mind fogs up. I think that's so true because when I don't feel the spirit as easily, it's hard to remember even simple things like a scripture story. So I know that it is so important to live as worthily as we can and know how to.

Life is so short. We don't have time to be wasting. The time to do and be better is now. I get so afraid when things like what's been happening with the economy and the weather and freak fires, that the end is so much closer than what we want it to be. I think of the scriptures and how the wrath of the Lord was upon the people who didn't and or don't repent. It's so scary...but it's exciting at the same time. I know this is minor to what will really happen when the time gets even closer. Things will be so much more worse than this. We'll look back on this time and wish we could live back in this time. Now, I'm not trying to scare anyone, but I'm just expressing my feelings of worry and excitement about what's going on in our world today. I think people have times when they are much more aware of things like this. I mean, last month, I didn't think anything of the last days. But lately, it's been in my mind and thoughts a lot. Like I said, things like freak fires or hail storms, or flooding, or other crazy things make me think about it more. I think every day we should treat like a gift of preciousness. A day where we are given the chance and opportunity to be better and know Christ better and do better. I think sometimes we get into our routines and we just go through the motions of our life and don't really truly appreciate all that we are blessed with.

For me, a huge part of what motivates me in life is Tanner. Now that I have someone else that depends on me to teach him the gospel and build his testimony...failure is not an option for me. So I try really hard to do the things for him that will build him up. Of course there are other things too. I know that may sound like I put a lot of pressure on myself, but I honestly feel like it makes me the kind of mother that I am today and the kind of mother I want to be. It works for me and that's all that really matters.

So for my 150th post, there's another piece of me for now while I'm feeling a little bit myself.