For anyone who had the privilege of attending/watching/listening to the General Relief Society Broadcast, I doubt they will ever look at a Forget Me Not the same way again.
I sure won't.
And I feel safe to say that President Uchtdorf's talk was amongst everyone's favorite and one that we all feel we needed to hear. It was applicable to everyone in so many ways and I wouldn't be surprised if everyone felt the way I did after the talk- feeling like that talk was given just for me.
The sweet tiny Forget Me Not flower has always had a special meaning to me and after this talk the special meaning has only grown deeper.
I remember as a little girl my mom pointing out the flower to me when we were up at our family cabin in Island Park. She told me what it was called and that it was her favorite flower. Every summer since then, I have always specifically looked for that flower and have loved it myself. The memories I have of seeing it the most are at Railroad Bridge (as my family calls it) and at the end of floating down the river right by the dock at Macks Inn.
So, as President Uchtodorf started talking about this sweet Forget Me Not flower my thoughts immediately went to my mom and to the cabin. My eyes filled with tears and I got so homesick for my mom and for the beautiful pines and the sweet smell of them, the majestic mountains and the quietness of the evenings in Island park. Floating down the river, taking a walk to the meadow, making a fire at night, playing games with my family, etc...
Then President Uchtodorf gave us five things to never forget- symbolic of five petals on a Forget Me Not flower. So, I want to write them down and I hope I will never forget them.
1. Be patient with myself.
2. Understand the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.
3. Be happy now.
4. Know the 'why' of the gospel.
5. The Lord loves me.
*The other thing I want to remember for my memory is going to the Philadelphia temple groundbreaking ceremony. To go to the actual site was by invitation only as space was limited so we went to the church and watched it on the tv. It was wonderful. And I just have to say, it has been such a sweet spiritual experience and privilege to see everyone's excitement about a temple being built here. It brings tears to my eyes because it's talked about so much in the church by the members and you honestly can just feel everyone's excitement about the temple. It's so neat. I love it. I don't want it to ever change.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Paper Decorating
Alrighty, well let's just say my daughters room needed a little pick me up. Something more exciting, something more girly. So, with our extremely limited funds I packed us up and we took a trip to the dollar store to see what we could find. This is what I call decorating for $1.oo ...
We did a border around her room of paper flowers :) I think it turned out pretty cute!
Paper letters to one of my favorite primary songs
This is not in my daughters room but I thought it was a cute craft found on one of my favorite sites (tipjunkie.com)! A vase from the thrift store (50 cents) twigs from outside (free) and leftover paper from the dollar store to make these oh so simple flowers!
We did a border around her room of paper flowers :) I think it turned out pretty cute!
Paper letters to one of my favorite primary songs
This is not in my daughters room but I thought it was a cute craft found on one of my favorite sites (tipjunkie.com)! A vase from the thrift store (50 cents) twigs from outside (free) and leftover paper from the dollar store to make these oh so simple flowers!
So there you have it, we definitely don't have the latest and greatest but we are making do. And to be honest, it's quite fun!
Have a great day!!!
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Answered prayers
I'm not really sure where to start. It's been a fantastic week! So many wonderful things happened that I want to write down so I never forget them.
To start off with, we have made friends with our next door neighbors, Paula and Ryan. They are awesome! (Paula attends PA school with my husband) I know we are neighbors for a reason. It's not coincidence. We have hung out a few times and we have a blast. They are not of our faith and we lead different lives but when we're all together our common interests come out and we have a great time.
Okay so here's the last week in a nutshell:
Sunday I was sruggling. Really struggling. Not happy, didn't feel spiritual, wo is me, no self esteem type of day. Well a sweetheart named Sarah from the ward started talking to me and was such an answer to my prayers. We clicked so fast and she was such an angel. She told me how sweet I was and that I was beautiful and how I was welcome to come over to her house anytime. I cannot even explain how much she did for me that day. She was an answer to my prayers. (Side note: Saturday I was struggling too and a senior missionary couple stopped by with some cookies. They brought such an added Spirit to our home. They were very inspired!)
Monday we invited Paula and Ryan to our ward cook out and they came! We were thrilled and it turned out great.
Tuesday I got a lot of errands and things at home done. Felt good.
Wednesday a group of ladies from the ward were taking their kids to a playhouse and I wasn't going to go but I got a sweet message from Sarah on FB asking me to go and something inside me told me I should go so last minute decision we went! I'm so glad I listened to that prompting- not only was it great to get out and have some adult conversation with ladies in the same boat as me, but I really made some great friends! I also got a hair appointment out of it! Then later that day my friend Gel texted me and asked when we could get together with our kids. So many prayers answered. I've been feeling alone and lonely lately so all these ladies don't know how much they have helped! Also, that night when my hubs got home he said he was able to share a lot about the gospel with one of his classmates. :) He was so happy! I loved seeing and hearing the extra joy in his voice and expressions when he told me about it.
Thursday I went to institute and then ran to do my hair appointment I had scheduled. It turned out great and the lady loved her hair! Then that evening Paula came over and I cut her hair and she just stayed and chatted with my husband and I for about an hour. Which again was an answer to prayers because before she came I prayed that she would feel the Spirit in our home and want to stay. She did :) Also, my friend Sarah called asking for a haircut. Which I was quite surprised because she's friends with another lady in the ward who does hair. But I'm not complaining! I will be thrilled to do it.
Friday I was content to be at home in the morning. I usually like to go go go in the mornings and get things done. For some reason I was content at home. And now I know why. Carrie, the lady who's hair I did thursday is going through a rough time right now, and she texted me that morning to see if i'd be around to watch her kids for an hour or two. Perfect! I have been praying for ways to be able to serve. I watched her 3 darling kids and my daughter was in heaven with other kids around. Later that afternoon I was at Nicholes house and she told me my husband and I hadn't been on a date in a while and she'd be more than willing to watch our daughter. Can people get any sweeter? Then later that night we went to Paula and Ryans for dinner, came home and put our daughter to bed, then they came over to our house and played games til almost 11. Fun times!
Saturday (today) my husband cleaned the whole house for me while I went to the store. Then we took our daughter to Nicholes house and we went on a date to Target and to the park.
I honestly cannot even say how much this week has been an answer to prayers in so many different ways. Prayers of contentment, being happy, being able to serve others, staying busy... The Lords hand is in every tiny detail of our lives. I know that. We need to recognize that and have faith that He knows what we need and what is best for us.
I don't want to forget the incredible learning experiences I've had this past week. My eyes have been opened to a lot of different things. This post doesn't do justice to everything that happened as it's just the very basics without detail but it will be enough to help me remember for myself.
Life is good!!!
To start off with, we have made friends with our next door neighbors, Paula and Ryan. They are awesome! (Paula attends PA school with my husband) I know we are neighbors for a reason. It's not coincidence. We have hung out a few times and we have a blast. They are not of our faith and we lead different lives but when we're all together our common interests come out and we have a great time.
Okay so here's the last week in a nutshell:
Sunday I was sruggling. Really struggling. Not happy, didn't feel spiritual, wo is me, no self esteem type of day. Well a sweetheart named Sarah from the ward started talking to me and was such an answer to my prayers. We clicked so fast and she was such an angel. She told me how sweet I was and that I was beautiful and how I was welcome to come over to her house anytime. I cannot even explain how much she did for me that day. She was an answer to my prayers. (Side note: Saturday I was struggling too and a senior missionary couple stopped by with some cookies. They brought such an added Spirit to our home. They were very inspired!)
Monday we invited Paula and Ryan to our ward cook out and they came! We were thrilled and it turned out great.
Tuesday I got a lot of errands and things at home done. Felt good.
Wednesday a group of ladies from the ward were taking their kids to a playhouse and I wasn't going to go but I got a sweet message from Sarah on FB asking me to go and something inside me told me I should go so last minute decision we went! I'm so glad I listened to that prompting- not only was it great to get out and have some adult conversation with ladies in the same boat as me, but I really made some great friends! I also got a hair appointment out of it! Then later that day my friend Gel texted me and asked when we could get together with our kids. So many prayers answered. I've been feeling alone and lonely lately so all these ladies don't know how much they have helped! Also, that night when my hubs got home he said he was able to share a lot about the gospel with one of his classmates. :) He was so happy! I loved seeing and hearing the extra joy in his voice and expressions when he told me about it.
Thursday I went to institute and then ran to do my hair appointment I had scheduled. It turned out great and the lady loved her hair! Then that evening Paula came over and I cut her hair and she just stayed and chatted with my husband and I for about an hour. Which again was an answer to prayers because before she came I prayed that she would feel the Spirit in our home and want to stay. She did :) Also, my friend Sarah called asking for a haircut. Which I was quite surprised because she's friends with another lady in the ward who does hair. But I'm not complaining! I will be thrilled to do it.
Friday I was content to be at home in the morning. I usually like to go go go in the mornings and get things done. For some reason I was content at home. And now I know why. Carrie, the lady who's hair I did thursday is going through a rough time right now, and she texted me that morning to see if i'd be around to watch her kids for an hour or two. Perfect! I have been praying for ways to be able to serve. I watched her 3 darling kids and my daughter was in heaven with other kids around. Later that afternoon I was at Nicholes house and she told me my husband and I hadn't been on a date in a while and she'd be more than willing to watch our daughter. Can people get any sweeter? Then later that night we went to Paula and Ryans for dinner, came home and put our daughter to bed, then they came over to our house and played games til almost 11. Fun times!
Saturday (today) my husband cleaned the whole house for me while I went to the store. Then we took our daughter to Nicholes house and we went on a date to Target and to the park.
I honestly cannot even say how much this week has been an answer to prayers in so many different ways. Prayers of contentment, being happy, being able to serve others, staying busy... The Lords hand is in every tiny detail of our lives. I know that. We need to recognize that and have faith that He knows what we need and what is best for us.
I don't want to forget the incredible learning experiences I've had this past week. My eyes have been opened to a lot of different things. This post doesn't do justice to everything that happened as it's just the very basics without detail but it will be enough to help me remember for myself.
Life is good!!!
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