This Is Spring In 2020.

It's times like these where I know that the Lord is our guide and His word is true and all we need to do is have no fear and just be kind to everyone and love each other and not let the stresses of this particular virus take over our lives. I have found myself stressed out on some days which is very rare but it's human nature to be stressed out from time to time. Not a good thing, but The Lord is in charge for us who believe in Him and know that we can get through this together. Families are bonding even more like never before (let's hope), virtual activities are becoming more popular. Virtual reading with teachers are a daily thing, and on the days that are sunny with blue skies with trees that have branches blossoming into pink beautiful flowers is a reminder to me from the Divine above saying that things will be ok. That the new norm of dancing indoors won't last too long. That being cooped up in the house won't last long. That the shelves in the store won't always be empty. That my kids will soon be able to play outside with their friends. That we will be able to attend church again and fellowship with our church family. That we can gather inside a restaurant without the fear of getting sick. And that all will be well. All will be well. 

Happy First Day of Spring everyone! More pics below...

What Is The Most Important Thing In Life?

There are very few people in this world who inspire me with their words, and actions. Some are the leaders of my church, some are friends I've known my whole life, and some are friends whom I've met online. 

An Encouraging Post to Myself When It Comes To Attending The Temple.

 "Jesus lives here. He's so lucky." -Noah

It has been a couple of months since I've gone to the temple, and as I was finally importing some photos from my iPhone I stumbled upon this one. I will always remember what Noah said as we stopped to take another good look at this beautiful temple. He said, "Jesus lives here. He's so lucky." He also added how he wishes he could come here every day.

general conference on a sunday with a side of gratitude, & love.

The gospel is about love. God is about love. Service is love. Kindness is love. God is love. It should be that plain and simple, but in this day and age it usually isn't. Luckily I have gratitude in my heart that connects with love, and compassion because without those two things, I don't think I'd have a big heart towards mankind. My neighbors, my family, my friends, and yes...even those who may dislike me, or who have wronged me. 

I really enjoyed President Thomas S. Monson's message of love this past Sunday. He said, "Love should be the heart of family life." Fortunately for my family of six it truly is. I tend to focus on the positive side of love. That's the kind of love I want to pass on down to my posterity. I don't want them to experience the kind of love that I learned while growing up. I always remind them to pray for that special love which is the one like Christ. Luckily we have a song titled "Love one Another" as a reminder for our children whenever they sing it in primary as well as for us grown ups who may sing that simple hymn during a relief society and/or priesthood meeting. 

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf always hits me to the core of my soul with his words. This is one man who is so in tune with the spirit that he knows exactly what we need to hear, and how to be. President Monson certainly knows how to choose his counselors.

Love and gratitude definitely tied into each other for me at this year's conference because without a good attitude I don't think I could ever exhibit the love I have for everyone. Within the past four years I have truly learned to be grateful not only for the blessings I receive, but for the trials as well. I find myself being in a state of major thanksgiving when I kneel down in prayer praying to Heavenly Father for every single hardship that has come our way while living in Jersey. Even more and more for all the trials I have experienced on my own. Call it maturing in age or in the gospel, but when I humble myself before God I have a heaviness in my heart that I sometimes can't believe how grateful I am for the "big" things I've gone through in this life...especially with with my family. I know that because of those trials our lives have been blessed, and have made us stronger members of the church. Having an "attitude of gratitude" makes a huge difference in our lives, and it continues to strengthen our spirit, and overall makes us a better person. 

This year's conference was so special. Special because it is the actual and accurate day of the Savior's birth. Seeing Noah looking up at the picture of Jesus Christ next to the Bishop's offices with a huge smile on his innocent face reassures me that he knows who He is. He even said, "Happy Birthday Jesus." That was a precious moment!

I absolutely love this time of year, and it certainly was a perfect day for conference. The weather was just the right temperature, and the signs of spring such as the sun shining with green grass is proof that winter is finally coming to an end. 

Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk on family history gave me even more motivation to not get complacent in my genealogy. Just because I have a few family names doesn't mean I should stop there because the work of the Lord never ends. I have so much work to do for my side of the family, and it brings me tears to "sense" that some of them are waiting on the other side praying and hoping that it's their turn. And when I finally do their work it's a sense of fulfillment, and pure joy! 
I sometimes find myself in a dream state. Maybe I'm being hard on myself, but there are moments when I can't believe I have a family this wonderful. With all our imperfections, bad days, exhausting days, drama moments, and "tiger mom" moments having the gospel of Jesus Christ, and knowing that "we have the atonement to make up for life's imperfections" ( as Gary E. Stevenson quoted) makes life tolerable.

Today was one of those days where the only thing that mattered was hearing the words of our church leaders with my family (excluding Sierra who had the opportunity to watch conference live...lucky her!)

Six months goes by way too fast, and before we know it October will be here with another conference & a mixture of fall to show it's beautiful colors.

Luckily we have back issues of the Ensign to read up on past conferences.

**In case you missed conference you can watch, listen, or download any of the talks here.

**How did you like conference? 
**Is there any specific talk that hit the core of your soul? 

General Women's Meeting with my nine year old.

"Heavenly Father sees greater potential in his children than ever your earthly mother sees." 

~President Henry B. Erying

What a unique experience it was to have had eight to eleven year old young girls invited to General Women's meeting. When I heard about the age change I was so excited! Not only is it my job as a mother to teach my daughters true principles of the gospel, but taking them to conference at an even younger age is so important. 

This past Saturday I had the privilege of escorting my two daughters ages 14 & nine for a lovely dinner, and to watch the broadcast afterwards. This age change is indeed an advantage being that girls these days seem to be growing up way too fast & their need for spiritual guidance in preparing them for the young women program by taking them to women's conference is so important. 

Mothers & daughters in our ward gathered for an evening of spiritual fun, bonding with my nine year old by making washer necklaces, and playing a "getting to know you" game with the other mother and daughter duos in the ward was absolute fun! Dinner that evening was prepared by some of the brothers in our ward, and we are so grateful for the time they took in doing that for us.

Watching conference on the big screen in the chapel gives it so much meaning & it makes me feel as if I'm actually there. Made me a little homesick to tell you the truth. Seeing so many faithful mothers with their daughters sitting in the conference center made me miss my oldest daughter who is currently attending college in Utah. 

The messages tonight were so important about sisterhood, and how we truly need each other. We are all that we have, and our daughters are looking up to us as their role model to learn a proper behavior as to how we treat our fellow sisters. No matter how old my girls get I want them to become a faithful daughter of God & for them to pass it down to their prosperity. Society is changing everyday & as sisters & mothers who hold the truthfulness of the gospel it is our responsibility to pass that down on generations to come. 

President Erying brought me to tears throughout his whole talk on how he emphasized on treating every person we meet as a child of God. His words were so encouraging, and I pray that I will continue to strive to see every human being in that nature. It's so true when he said that we are more alike as daughters of God than we are different. We all carry the one thing that makes us strong, and unique as one and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we love, forgive, and are kind to one another we are being like our Father in Heaven, and that "divine inheritance" comes from Him. 

Women need women, and as sisters in the gospel we truly need each other. No matter how old we are we need each other. Some of us may be at the level where we may be comfortable in how we love, but in the end we truly need to love each other better. That is my hope, and I pray that I can be able to exhibit that to my children, and to sisters I meet everywhere around the world. 

Now we plan to "unplug" just a bit by being tech free this week by spiritually preparing for the 184th annual General Conference this weekend!

***If you missed the General Women's broadcast you can watch it here. 

Have a great week!

a good cause: part II

^^^ two more weeks until this head of hair is gone ^^^

A week has past since we announced that Lexie will be one of the candidates at her school in volunteering to shave her head to raise funds for childhood cancer. We have received so much support, and love from our friends, and I appreciate those of you who have "liked" the St. Baldrick's Facebook page. I know ya'll get bombarded with invites to all sorts of pages, but it touches my heart to see those who've accepted it. You exemplify your caring, and love, and empathy for the cause by just a click of the button. So I, we thank you!  

Lexie has received her first donation online, and I want to thank everyone who is able to do that. I can't stress enough how important this foundation is, and how we'll never give up on finding a cure for childhood cancer. I don't want to sound too pushy, but if you can donate as little as a dollar that would be wonderful. I know nowadays a dollar may be too much for some, but I ask to find it in your heart to strive your best to donate...you will be blessed for your efforts. 

I know some of you have had loved ones die from it, and some who have survived from it. Whether you've already donated before in the past, or feel that you've donated "enough", and feel that you did your part already it shouldn't stop there. Even if you can't donate money to the recipients who are shaving their hair off, or donating their hair to locks of love why not  "donating" a smile instead, a hug, or a "congratulations, I'm so proud of you" moment (which some of you have already done on my daughters picture on Facebook) Those compliments are worth a million dollars, and I so appreciate all my friends...especially those from out of state, and friends from the St. Baldrick's Foundation page , (who I don't consider strangers) who have done that so far.  

Finding a cure for cancer is never going to end, and we will continue to go forth until a cure is found. I'm so proud of my kid for doing such a bold, and selfless move. This is a story she's going to tell to her future posterity, and an experience that she's going to hold dear in her heart for the rest of her life. 

This past week her sister has been finding excuses to play with her hair, and Lexie tells me that all the kids in her class are constantly playing with it too. She doesn't mind, and when they tell her "I can't believe your gonna give up your hair!" Her response is always the same, "it's for a good cause, and it's just hair...it'll grow back!" 

I continue to be amazed at all the choices she makes, and all the things that she does...all in the name of service. 

Again...if you want to donate please click on this link. This is her personal page where donations can be made through the St. Baldrick's website. It will be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks and may God bless you always. 

^^^ Have a wonderful weekend! ^^^

''Love" & the Saratov Approach

We made it! We survived the harsh, bitter cold winter that January brought & made it into February...the month of love! And so far we've started it off on the right foot.

Before I start going off on a tangent about our weekend I want to write a little bit about love. Everything in this world can be filled with love, and can be lovely. We just have to find it, and show it. We can turn our dark & dreary days and fill it with the light of love. The unloving things that happen in the world such as death, kidnappings, murder, school shootings, drug overdoses & every unkind action that happens in our life can be turned into love. This is a perfect example of turning something dark into something lovely.

The love that I carry for my family & friends is very deep. So deep that I will sacrifice my life for them. And in any moment when I'm feeling down I find that when I journal, help a friend in need, or read the scriptures a unique transformation takes place & I'm a much more calm & happier person!  I'm almost like June Cleaver, no, not really...I just don't raise my voice as much. Turning to the source where that love comes from can help you recover any dark thing that overcomes your light. Seriously though, being in tune with God without harboring any bad thoughts no matter what situation you may be in is a miracle and life changing! Compassion definitely kicks in, and with all your might, and strength it will be done! And that is the greatest feeling to have! It doesn't feel good when any of us harbor any ill will, or negative thoughts towards someone.

This past weekend was filled with so much "love and compassion", and so many tears. Testimony meeting at our church yesterday was filled with nothing but expressing our love, and praises for Jesus (no...we're not like the characters in Joyful Noise, but it would be interesting if we would sing like that)! 

Going on a double date with one of my newest, & dearest friends with our men was the highlight of my Friday evening. Taking my 14 year old daughter to see the Saratov Approach movie again on Saturday was unforgettable. I loved seeing the emotional side of her. The love for family, God, & the scriptures are number one in my life. The scriptures...because whether it's the bible or the Book of Mormon & especially the Book of Mormon really sheds a lot of light. So much light that when I read them no matter how dark the moment...light & love takes over. And I never want to get out of the habit of reading something that's so true and filled with nothing but the light of Christ. 

Watching the Saratov Approach movie not once, but twice this weekend was one of those 'great' examples of love & compassion, but most of all faith. I remember reading about these two young missionaries being kidnapped back in 1998, and having an almost three year old kept me too busy to follow up on their story. 

Now their story is being told on the big screen. This is an amazing story of faith and survival which came from the hand of God. These young men who served as missionaries for the LDS church exhibited that attribute while being held captive in Russia nearly 15 years ago. I can't even imagine the thoughts that were going on through their mind in figuring out ways to survive. They were the perfect example of love and faith in their true story. Even when they knew they were going to die they had a peace within them that came from their Father in heaven, and it was a victorious & beautiful ending.

^^ picture via Maclain Nelson's Instagram ^^

This movie strengthened me in so many ways. It reminded me of the love Heavenly Father has for me, the calm assurance that Heavenly Father brings while being in the middle of a hard situation (because believe me...I've had plenty), and the faith to rely on the "tools" in which The Lord has given us. The scriptures being one of those tools can certainly save a life, and knowing that with faith "light always overcomes darkness".

And that is so true!

This movie was amazing & tastefully portrayed. It will get anyone pumped for a mission, and you'll leave with a heart so big! 

They're probably going to show it until this Thursday at King of Prussia so I highly recommend finding the time to watch it. The drive is worth it folks! It was "awe-spiring"!