A Savior is Born

Love is Born 

Hope is Born

Joy is Born

#ASaviorIsBorn

DISCOVER WHY

christmas.mormon.org

Here's another excellent video that can answer the "Why?"

He is my (& yours) Prince of Peace, the Creator (and oh, what a gorgeous world He created for us!), and my Savior.
I have been blessed by the enabling power of His atonement for me; it has given me the strength to do, and bear, and be MORE than I could all on my own.  
I know He lives.  I know He loves me.  With all my heart, I want to be like Him, and I know I can see Him again!

We had the opportunity to visit with our missionary friends who are currently serving in Chinatown (Manhatten, NY), and they gave us one of their pass-along cards (as I'm sure our own missionary son will be sharing this with us in his next letter, as well) with this same great message:

Looks cool, eh? 

Can you read it? ;)

This Weekend

* On Friday, we went to a new place at Station Park, Brixton's (a baked potato restaurant!), for my birthday lunch out with 'The Girls.'
I didn't realize S.P. was such a happening place in the middle of the day - I saw several other people I knew there.
I guess I'll have to 'make an appearance' there more often!  ;)

* The afternoon was spent carting my daughters to and from friends'/parties.

* We went to The Roof with Matt's parents for our "anniversary dinner" on Friday night.

 (they want to take out each of their kids/spouse on an annual basis, so they use their
anniversary date to keep track of who they've taken out and whose turn is next)

* After returning home (and consuming much food & dessert), we thought it prudent to go out in our neighborhood in an attempt to WALK OFF dinner.

* Saturday morning, I did my first (of the required five) turn of being the chaperon/volunteer at the Bye Bye Birdie rehearsal that Katelyn is a part of (and will be performing in November).
Side Note: it was an interesting "study" in human behavior.
Each participant is suppose to sign in with their name and time of arrival prior to each rehearsal.
As background information, there has been a lot of emphasis put on the importance of being at and ON TIME to every rehearsal.  The directors have said that they will be giving out additional parts to those who do well in this area, and taking away from those who do not demonstrate dependability in this area.
One of my jobs is to check in all the kids.  So, when not everyone was there by the starting time, I wondered what those other kids would write down when they finally did arrive....
AND I observed that the majority of the kids (who were anywhere from 1 to 15 minutes late) STILL wrote down the time that the rehearsal started (when they were suppose to be there by) on the sign in sheet.
Hmmmm....See?  Interesting, huh?

* Matt & I took a jaunt up to Snowbasin...

for a Gondola ride and afternoon mountaintop dining,

followed by some hiking.

Apparently, we didn't get the memo about the XTERRA Utah off-road triathlon that was going on up there Saturday!
(notice all those cars down in the parking lot?  Normally, you wouldn't expect to see that AT A SKI RESORT in late Summer/early Fall)
So, we shared the area and our lunch table with that crowd!  (talk about some amazing athletes!)

* I attempted to go donate plasma....and was rejected. :(
The snag? Low protein.  I guess I better start eating more liver and tofu!  Yippee! (not.)

* Matt & I went up to the Bountiful Temple to do a session.

(I did pretty good staying awake this time!)  ;)

* We made sure to end the evening with a treat at Dairy Queen.
A Cherry float always hits the spot.

* Since we have afternoon church, I like to spend the morning reading/viewing things on www.lds.org.

I first read this blog post.

Which led to/referenced this article.
Valuable things to ponder. 

* We did our "yearly measurements" on the kids (height, weight, shoe size, waist/inseam).
It was only about 2 months late, I usually like to get to it in the Summer PRIOR TO going school shopping, but oh well.....
I write these all down and keep it in my purse, so I don't have to keep it all in my brain,
and I can look at it when I'm out shopping.
It's also fun to see how much they've grown from the year before!
Although everyone has grown and gained weight, the most unanticipated are:
Kyle now sports the same size shoe as his dad - a size 12!
Katelyn is just 4 inches away from being taller than I am!  She is only 10 yrs. old!

* Churchy-Church

In Sacrament meeting, we heard from a returned missionary who'd served in New Zealand.
THAT'S where I dreamed of going on my mission back in my youth!

While sitting there, I tuned-in to the fact that Matt needed me to rub his neck - he was not exactly
displaying a great deal of calmness at the moment - because of his first Gospel Doctrine lesson he had to teach in Adult Sunday School the next hour.
He prepared A TON on this lesson - and only taught a small portion of it before time ran out.
(Ya never know how it'll go with the class participation factor)

* After church, I made squash casserole.
(we've still got an overabundance from our garden!)

* We had dinner and FHE at Brenchley's

While talking together afterwards, we had an intriguing conversation about the lesson many of us had had in our Relief Society/Priesthood classes today titled,
 "Beware of Pride."

Bottom Line:  We ALL have it in some form.
(withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, won't change our mind to accept truth, comparison, fault finding, jealousy, love the praise of man, don't receive correction easily, rebellion, puffed up,  defensiveness, not happy for another's acheivement, etc., etc.)

AND we all need to overcome/repent of this sin!

* I started my [Sunday night ritual] weekly letter to Ryan out on his mission.

This Weekend:

YES!  I am actually going to write a post that is not about Elder Brenchley!  ;)

THIS WEEKEND:
*Matt & I were in charge of our ward Christmas party this year.

It was on Friday night, the 12th.

But, I worked on getting it ready all day Friday.

And Thursday.

And Wednesday.

And the whole month before.

We had an awesome committee, though, who contributed a TON!

{Thanks Christensen's, Derrick's, Evans', Floyd's, Becky & Gina}

Some of the HIGHLIGHTS:

  ~"Neighborhood Trivia" was projected up on a movie screen up front as people arrived.

First, the "clue" would come up on the screen for people to read, and then a while later, the answer (person's name) would go up on the screen.
(THINK: movie theater before the movie starts.)

It was a great "mixer" to get people talking to start the party!
The ones from our family were:

This woman had a leg hair growing contest with a guy – and WON!

This person drove 140 m.p.h. in a blue Mustang GT – and lived to tell about it.

This [non-native Japanese] married couple both know how to speak Japanese. 

This person played on an ALL-GIRL baseball team (with pink uniforms) in a BOYS’ league.

This person has a purple belt in Karate.

This person cracked his head open doing a flip off the couch. 

This 6 YR. OLD likes to eat tomatoes, green peppers, avocado, cauliflower, & green salad! 

This missionary has now picked up the “Southern” patterns of speech. 

(Can you guess them all?!?)
~A "Green Screen" Photo Op

(THINK: weatherman on the news)

People literally just posed in front of a green screen......THEN......

it turned into THIS:

~Dinner with food from Mo' Bettah Steaks

I broke tradition and did away with the chili & soup (not my favorite) they'd done in the past!  I'm such a rebel!  But, that's one of the perks of being in charge!  

PLUS, this menu had the "gluten free" crowd in mind.

~Entertainment/Musical Program

{The Primary sang, "Stars Were Gleaming"}

Katelyn is 3rd from the left (fuchsia pants, turquoise vest).  Brookelle is 5th from the right (pink camo pants, navy shirt).

We also have this TREMENDOUSLY talented Sister Missionary serving in our area - she plays the ukelele, she sings, she plays the piano, she does it all together!
(Too bad [for us] she is returning home this week.)

She performed, "A Hallelujah Christmas."  Have you seen/heard this song?!!?

I've been watching/listening to it on YouTube ever since the party!
 

 You won't be able to get it out of your mind, I tell ya!

*On Saturday, we spent the whole day in bed recovering from the ward party.

HA!

NOT!

I WISH!

But, we had the Fowers Christmas party at our home that night.

We barely got all the dishes & small appliances from the night before washed up & returned, then started cleaning up our house before the people started to come!

{Scenes from the evening}

One of the highlights from the evening was when my Aunt Louise shared experiences

from her mission to Australia back in the late 60's and her news reporting career at KSL television.

(She started at age 22 and was the 1st and ONLY woman reporter at that time in the Salt Lake area!  She was just the 2nd woman in the nation to do it, and the ONLY woman on the air at that particular time.)

Many of the youngest generation did not know any of this family history, so it was great to have her share it!

She brought a few clips of her news stories she reported on from the past, too.  They were fun to watch!

She is also a talented musician, and we always gather around the piano and sing a Christmas song that she wrote, "Waiting for the Child."

She's written other songs, too.  You can see one of her pieces on YouTube here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWIvnQHEa8

and here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZm8Ny0CoI

(That's my cousin singing the song!)

*On Sunday, we finally rested & recuperated all day.

(HA! again.....In my dreams)

Our darling niece, Megan, recently returned from her mission to Madrid, Spain on 12/9....

 YES!  I cried at the sight of the reunion between missionary & parents - THIS one AND strangers I don't even know!

 {COUSINS!}

Megan had her "Homecoming" (reported on her mission at church) on Sunday - at 9:00 in the morning!!

We got to attend that and hear her testimony (in Spanish - don't know what she said!) and her contagious enthusiasm for the Gospel!

We went to my brother's house afterwards for food and visiting and stayed well into the afternoon.

*We had Tithing Settlement with the Bishop later Sunday evening.

GOOD THING we discovered those missing checks so everything really could be "settled." ;)

*I realized I have 9 days to get ALL the Christmas stuff done, now!

THE LIST for this week started rolling through my mind at extraordinary speeds!

He Is The Gift

My missionary son, Ryan, wrote home yesterday insisting that I  #sharethegift.

He is very enthusiastic about the "He is the Gift" video he, and many other missionaries, are sharing with everyone.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints wants this true message to flood the nation.  He is doing his part, and he wants us to do our part.

The first gift of Christmas was a simple gift given by a father to all his children, to us. He gave us His son, the Christ. He is the gift. This Christmas season, how will you share the gift?




It's BEAUTIFUL. Just beautiful.

It really puts things into perspective......especially after the way I've been spending my time lately (See yesterday's post).  Woops!

Way to keep me on the "Straight and Narrow," Elder Brenchley!   ;)

In the Right Place at the Right Time

Ryan's day at the St. George Temple....

going for the first time to receive his own endowments.

 To find out more about temples, click HERE.

So GLAD for his choice to be there!

So GLAD to be there with him!

What a BLESSING the temple is!
It IS the House of the Lord - I could feel it!

Because of the temple, we can be a Forever Family = JOY.

------------

*For a history enthusiast like Ryan, the St. George temple holds a special meaning since the spirits of our country's Founding Fathers visited [the then President of the Church] Wilford Woodruff requesting that their temple work be performed for them.  A great painting (an artist's rendition of Pres. Woodruff's testimony) and plaque with all the men's names on it is displayed inside this temple.  Read about this interesting fact in THIS article.

The End of my YW Era

I got released from my church calling as 1st Counselor in the Young Womens' Presidency.

Siiiiggghhhhhhhhhh.

Such mixed emotions about all of this.

I've been serving in that position for going on 3 years now.

THREE!
That's 130 mutual activities, 75 meetings, Three Young Women in Excellence events, Three New Beginnings events, Three Girl's Camps (1 with my daughter, Haylee, in attendance!), three youth conference (attended one, helped/supported on the other two), a few culminating events and dinners for all the youth, dozens of hours on the phone and visiting homes, and on & on.....

I have come to love "my girls".  I thought about them and worried about them all the time.  I considered them an extension of my own children who live in my home with me.  Whenever I referred to them in conversation, I called them, "My young women....."

This calling, and each young woman, has been such a HUGE part of my life for the past few years.

I SO SO wanted each girl to have their testimonies strengthened during this very important & amazing time of THEIR life.   AND on various occasions, THEY shared an experience or scripture in class, or gave a talk in a meeting, or bore their testimony at camp & youth conference, and it strengthened MY testimony.

They will forever be apart of me.....I swear, when I am in my 80's, and if I run into one of them, I will hug them, then still call them, "my girl" (even thought they will be in their 50's!!!)

I am incredibly BLESSED to have had this opportunity!

I knew though...with serving for that amount of time...that this day would someday come.

Being in a Young Women's Presidency is A LOT of work.

It consumes MOST {if not ALL} of your extra time.

Mutual, lessons, firesides, Girls Camp, tending to the girls' needs, supporting the president & making sure she doesn't take on too much work....it is CONSTANT.
And, THAT SERVICE I gave is WHY I ended up loving them.....You LOVE who you SERVE!

And while I have {honestly} had some frustrations & heartbreak along the way (they are ATTACHED to their cell phones a little TOO MUCH!, they are, at times, persuaded by the ways of the world more than the church standards, and sometimes they chose not to join us in our mid-week & summer activities or at church on Sunday) but for the majority of the time, I LOVED it.....

I knew ahead of time I was being released.  My Bishop came to my home last week to extended a release - and thanked me profusely.  But, when it was officially announced in Sacrament meeting before the congregation, it became "official" to me - and I am sad.
I think I'll go into "mourning" - I can joke about that because I'll actually be gone for a couple of Sundays in July due to traveling....but it's kinda true.
I knew I'd be sad, but I also thought I would be relieved.  It was a LOT of work and there were so many other things on my plate that I could not keep up with for the life of me.

But man, I miss those girls already - more than I could have ever realized I would.  I'm thinking about them all individually and am going to write them all a letter letting them know of my feelings.  The relief I expected has not come yet.  It will take a little while to find peace with this big change in my life right now.

Good thing I sobbed my way through my final YW lesson -- NOT!  (little did I know, at the time, it was THE LAST)

I still need to pass off all my stuff to the new Young Women's 1st Counselor, but I might drag my feet a little bit - because maybe I won't be able to bear it?!?

I'll probably linger outside their classroom on Sundays and it'll feel so weird to send off Kyle and Haylee to their activities on Wednesday nights and not go, too.

Gradually I will start to feel how nice it is not to have to worry about all the logistics that went into every activity, every meeting, every group text, everything I was SUPPOSE TO be doing and couldn't quite get to.

Of course, other things will pile into my life and fill up every nook and cranny the Young Women things left behind (like getting Ryan ready to leave on his mission in 5 1/2 weeks!!), but oh, how grateful I am for that experience with those girls and I will always have a special spot in my heart for them and all the wonderful things I learned as their leader.

YES.......

Life goes on.

{We don't get to choose what church calling we will be given, but IF I COULD, I'd want to be the primary pianist for my next calling!  How could I NOT LOVE doing that?  Gosh, ANYTHING after being in the Young Women's presidency should seem like a walk in the park, right?  I would want the piano calling .....IF I could even play the piano well enough!!!  haha!  I don't know how to sight read!  Is that unusual?  I took piano lessons for 8 years - how long do you have to take to actually get good at it???  It maybe has something more to do with HOW MUCH I practiced - or how effectively/consistently I practiced (or didn't) during those years!!}

My faith is a HUGE part of who I am.

I thank my lucky stars each day for the knowledge of the Gospel that I have.

I look forward to what the future has in store for me now.

I hope you'll enjoy the ride with me!!

This Weekend:

* Our elementary school aged children invited us to go with them to the annual V. I. P. breakfast at their school.

We "dined" on muffins, bagels, cold cereal, & fruit.

* Matt met me at the Bountiful Temple Friday late afternoon to attend

a session together.

It was nice to be there with him again - due to our schedules,

I have just been going single a lot lately.

* When we came out of the temple, it was pouring rain!

Uh Oh.  Ryan was umpiring at the ball park, and 

the plan was for us to drop him off a car to have

when he got done with his games later in the evening.

The rain forced them to call the games early, and

he was stuck in the rain without a car.

* Matt & I finished our date night by going out to dinner at our "standby", Costa Vida, afterwards.
{It's so convenient now that we have one RIGHT IN Farmington!}

* Saturday morning, my friend/photographer came out to take

Ryan's Sr. pictures.....BUT, it was raining still!

And it was MORNING! = he was NOT a happy camper!

After an hour or so, we called it good and rescheduled

for when it's suppose to be a lot better weather.

(But, then he got to go to work - refereeing soccer IN THE RAIN for 3 hrs!)

* I went to a bridal shower brunch for our Bishop's daughter.

It was really fun visiting with the ladies in attendance and the bride & groom-to-be.

This girl really "has it together" and it was sweet to hear her fiance talk about how amazing she is.

In fact, he told the story about how he's had this certain conversation with her a few times now, asking her: 

Tell me what I even have to bring to the table?  I know I'm good looking, ;) but YOU....

you've already got all these accomplishments, talent, brains, skills, & a whole list of attributes. 

(That's GOOD he's starting out with the proper adulation for the most important woman in his life!) 

Anyway, after his comment, one of the more "mature" ladies there gave a sermon reminded

them that it is Heavenly Father's PLAN for men & women to marry and have their own family!

{THAT'S WHY he's needed}

* In the afternoon, I actually started hanging up pictures and decorations
on the walls of my "new" [20 month old] home!
I finally committed and put holes in my walls - some in the wrong place and had to do over!  {sigh}

* Went to the store and then picked up Little Caesars pizzas on the
way back for dinner.
It's Saturday night, and we are trying to follow Matt's tradition
of his youth: always having pizza on Saturday night.
(Gluten-Free Haylee eats an alternative meal}

* It was our Stake Conference weekend, so we went to the Saturday
evening session, and took Ryan & Kyle since the youth were
invited this time to what is the usual "adult" session.
We had some great speakers including one who told the story of how he
 invited a gang member, in a colorful Sacramento area, to church,
then invited him to hear the missionary discussions, then invited him to be baptized!!
He accepted it all, and actually had to get the FBI involved; be relocated and get a new identity.  WOW!
Afterwards, the parents of Ryan's future prom date approached us and we met & visited with them.

* We went to Roxberry afterwards for smoothies with Kyle (Ryan left the conference early to go "crash" another High School's prom.  It's dumb, I think).
{and then I was CHILLED and couldn't wait to get home in my warm jammies & bed!}

* We got up pretty early on Sunday morning so we could leave
our home at 8:30 a.m. (all church-dress-ready) to drive out to the Conference Center
 in Salt Lake City for our Stake/Regional Conference.

It ended up we got there PLENTY early (in our seats 47 min. before it started),
but it was good, because I like to have a good seat, close & center, so I can SEE!
We didn't know beforehand who would be speaking, but we got to hear gospel messages from
several general authorities & officers of the church, including Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife - which was really special.
Especially because usually children under the age of 8 are not allowed into events at the Conference Center,
(frequently these live events are being filmed/recorded, so they can't have too much noise)
so it was a real treat for Brookelle & Katelyn to be able to go this time - they'd never been, yet!

* We had my cousin and her family of 6 over for Sunday dinner.
She has three daughters who match up in age with my three girls,
so they got to officially meet and hang out for the first time.
They actually live quite close, but we'd never gotten together.
They are a delightful family.  And we got to pull out our high chair again for their baby!  :)
When it was time for them to go, the girls were hugging and begging
to have them stay, asking when they could be with them again!
And, of course, they tried to pull the "stowaway" trick in their minivan.
We hope to see them some more.

* We wanted to go on a walk in the evening to assist the digestion
of our turkey dinner & brownie sundaes, BUT it started to rain again!
Aaugh!
So, we just stayed inside and put our computers, TVs, & electronics to use.
(That wasn't a wise trade off! hahaha.)

This Weekend:

It has been a tradition of Matt & mine, over the last several years, to go on a "recovery" overnighter at a hotel sometime between Christmas and New Year's.  We usually have our niece stay with our kiddos, but this year she is on an LDS mission in the Canary Islands.  And my other niece (the sister to the above mentioned niece) is getting married on New Year's Eve this year, and she planned her pre-wedding temple day on the Friday evening that we would've gone on the overnighter.....so, it didn't work out this year.  We decided to substitute an "all day date" instead.  Matt took the day off work on Friday.

* Breakfast at Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon

(No outdoor seating this morning in the frigid temps where the sun was blocked by the mountain the patio backs up to!)

* Then we looked at some cars at about 4 different dealerships in Salt Lake & Davis County.

Can I just say that some car salesmen are in the wrong job!  They're really bad!  NO people skills!

(One really good car had been sold just 20 minutes before we arrived and the buyer was still there 

doing paperwork and the car was, too, getting detailed!  Miss!)

* We went to this movie matinee:

(It was interesting.  Walter is quite a delightful geek. ;)  We liked it.  Very clean (PG).
We got good seats this time, unlike my last experience at a movie. 

Spoiler Alert:  Matt's favorite part was when I screamed out loud and grabbed his arm,
practically jumping into his lap, when a shark came out of the ocean!)

* We had "linner" at Costa Vida afterwards.

We got the usual:  sweet pork for Matt, grilled steak for me.  (Salad, that is.)

* We went home and changed into our dress clothes, then went up to the Bountiful Temple

to attend a session with our niece, Maddie, and her fiance, Josh - and a lot of my 

extended family.

{Interesting note about Maddie's maiden name/married name:  Currently, her last name is Fowers (same as my maiden name)
and her fiance's last name is Baum (pronounced, "bomb").  So, when she gets married, she will be known as "Maddie F. Baum."}  haha!  ;)

* We went to my brother's house for dessert following the temple session.

There were a few choices, but I had peppermint ice cream pie with Oreo crust - YUM!

* Everyone (except exhausted me) did their Saturday jobs in the morning...which drug into

the afternoon for "some" (who shall remain nameless).

* Matt took the girls sledding

* The boys went to the movie, "The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug"

* Which meant I had the [quiet] house all to myself!!!!  And I read some more

from my book, A girl name Zippy: growing up small in Mooreland, Indiana

And then I fell asleep while reading, for about 1 1/2 hrs., until the troops [noisily] came home.

* We got together with some of the Brenchley adults for

Dickey's BBQ for dinner, card games, and visiting.

* Church on Sunday

I taught the Young Women two lessons:

This one and This one. 

As far as establishing a Christ-centered home, I found this helpful chart on Pinterest recently: 

{It's hanging on my fridge now, ready to go for 2014}

* Sunday afternoon was spent with a visit from my Visiting Teacher,

more reading, and a nap!

* We had a non-traditional Sunday dinner for Sunday dinner

(Creamy Black Bean Salsa Chicken), but it was

easy and allowed me to have a leisurely afternoon while

I am still recovering from the post-Christmas-run-over-by-a-truck feeling.   

* We never got to watch "A Christmas Story" during the month,

so we actually finished off the night watching it, even though it's after Christmas - that's OK, isn't it?

With the magic of Wikepedia and imdb, we discovered those "kids" (Ralphie & Scut Farkus) 

in the movie are like MY AGE! ~ weird.  

(the actors who play them, that is.)

The Writing on the Wall......or Mirror

I have been listening to General Conference talks while I get ready in my bathroom for the day. When I hear a line or phrase that REALLY strikes a chord with me, I have been writing it down......with a dry erase marker, in large-ish letters, on my bathroom mirror.

This way, I can see and read it again and again - like EVERY TIME I walk into the bathroom. While I'm brushing my teeth. While I'm washing my hands. While I'm putting in my contacts.......No wait, let's be honest - I can't see, let alone read, ANYTHING real if my contacts aren't in. Soooo, every other time besides then, it's a good reminder!

Here's my latest:

"There is no substitute for love."

It's taken from President Thomas S. Monson's talk titled, "Come, All Ye Sons of God"

(http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/come-all-ye-sons-of-god?lang=eng)

This one hit me because I have my children and my Young Women (12-18 yr. old girls at church, who I feel like are numbered among my children) on my mind SO MUCH - particularly while listening to the words of our church leaders.  There HAS TO BE love.  They need to know I love them.  Even - and especially - for the ones who make me super, uber frustrated sometimes!!!

I checked this book out from the library to give my more inspiration on the subject:

The other ones that have "made the mirror" so far are:

"...A still voice of perfect mildness..."

This one is taken from Sister Rosemary M. Wixom's talk (General Primary President) titled, "The Words We Speak"

(http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-words-we-speak?lang=eng)

It is also a quote from scripture, Helaman 5: 30.

I don't need to holler around the house like a maniac when I'm trying to find someone.  I could, like, actually get up and go to another floor or walk down the hall and speak to that person NORMALLY and calmly!!  

I can learn from that voice from heaven - it gave firm direction while giving hope.  It was not loud, scolding, or demeaning.   This is SO hard!  Even 3+ years after I first wrote on this blog about it, I don't have it perfected!  I AM practicing at it though - and I've found that when I speak even quieter than my "normal" voice, my husband ALWAYS says, "What?"  Uh Oh, he can't even tell what I said - his hearing is going!  But, my vision is going - SO WE MAKE A GREAT [disabled] PAIR!  ;)

Here's another one:

"Recognize the good in others, not their stains....always build on his or her virtues."

This was taken from Richard G. Scott's talk titled, "For Peace at Home"

(http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/for-peace-at-home?lang=eng)

This may be very beneficial to the "Love" one above.  It could lower my disappointment in others and prevent me from becoming upset or discouraged about others and what they are doing with their Free Agency!  This one is hard, too - it's against my natural tendencies (and the part of me that is "Realistic"!)

Because I erase the previous one when I write down a new one, I wanted to record them here! :)

But, I am thankful for the EASE of which we have to listen to the words of God.  It's right there on my iPad in the comfort of my own bathroom - with just a few touches!  So great!

Called to Serve

My neice opened her Mission call tonight.
We all went up to their house to witness this EXCITING event.
There was my family of 7 and about 100 other people there, too.  Really, maybe half that many.  Or a third.  I really don't know how many, but there were enough to make quite a ruckous with our cheering and clapping when she read aloud her mission she has been called to serve in.

MADRID, SPAIN

And the shouts continued when she read from her call that she will report directly to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in SPAIN - not the traditional one in Provo, Utah that everyone else in the family has gone to.

And the noise [of gladness & congratulations] burst out again when she read that she will start her mission on June 12, 2013.

I am thrilled for her!

With the new announcement from the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, at last October's General Conference that the new age for women to serve a full-time mission was changed to age 19 instead of 21,  she immediately was eligible since she was already 19 yrs. old!  There is now a SURGE of women submitting their missionary applications -- and I think IT. IS. WONDERFUL.  Sister Missionaries are SO effective and amazing.  They were THE BEST in my mission, but, unfortunately, we were in the minority......but things are changing now with the lower age!  Amongst some of my neice's other "fans" there to watch, there were three other girls who had their mission calls, too!!  It's so great.

Being there tonight, I couldn't help but recall receiving my OWN mission call.

Although, my experience 21 1/2 years ago was very, very different from hers today, it still brought back the EMOTION associated with it..  Tears filled my eyes as I listened to her read her call, just the same as they have the other few times I have been privileged to be a bystander when future missionaries have opened their calls.....BECAUSE I KNOW what it's like to open a Mission Call.  I have been there!  The tears were there when I opened my OWN call, too.  It is SO important and SO profound.  It is SO BIG - a call to serve from The Prophet.

After being a part of her "Mission Call Opening Party" with the masses, Matt asked me if it made me wish I would've done it like THAT.

No.

That may surprise some because I am very much a "social creature" by nature and a "People Person" who loves friends and being around others.  USUALLY.  But, opening my mission call was NOT a USUAL experience.
There is not a wrong way and a right way to do it.  The way I did it was just PERFECT FOR ME!

I chose to open my Mission Call all by myself, in private, out in nature, next to a river in the beautiful surroundings of Logan Canyon in Northern Utah back in the summer of 1991.

I wanted to have my own true, REAL initial reaction to the call - without having to "put on a show" for an audience.

So, when I learned of my call, FUKUOKA, JAPAN, there was no fanfare.  No deafening crowds whooping and hollering.  No eyes on me - at least not of the human kind.  But I felt very, very close to my Heavenly Father & Jesus at that moment - I KNEW They were with me.

(Signed by Ezra Taft Benson, the Prophet in 1991)

Even though I am "Geographically Deficient" and I didn't even know WHERE Japan was....North?  South?  East?  West of here?  Even though I had indicated on my application that I was NOT interested in learning a foreign language....  And even though I [might have] exclaimed, "Holy Cha!" when I read it, I immediately prayed - right then and there on that big boulder I was sitting on out in the open air.  I was surrounded with just the sound of the trickling water, the fluttering of leaves in the trees up above and the occasional chirping of a bird.  And as I did so, I felt The Spirit confirming to me that I was "up to the challenge!"

For DAYS afterwards, it still seemed like an "Out of body experience" to think about ME serving a mission in Japan.  I still can't believe that I did it sometimes, now!   But, that day will always be a tender memory for me.

I did go to my parents home the next day where the rest of my "groupies" had gathered and I "opened" my Mission Call (however I already knew where I was going) in front of them.  Then they were all made privy to the BIG NEWS for the first time -- and they shared in my joy and excitement, too.  So, I got BOTH - a private and a public opening - I've always been one to prolong the CELEBRATION as much as possible!  ;)  haha.

GO Sister Missionaries! 

(This plaque hung in the glass case at our church building the whole time I was gone.)

Dare to Stand Alone

I have been serving in the Young Women organization in our church for just over a year now.

This week, I especially had them on my mind, and a prayer for them running through my heart.

Because of that, I was reading this month's issue of The New Era, a magazine geared for the youth, ages 12-18, published by the LDS church, for some inspiration and comfort. One article referenced THIS clip and I thought it was great.  It hit me as SO pertinent for them - and for me -- and for all of us.

I love this message from our living Prophet.....

"In reality, we are never alone, when we stand with our Father in Heaven."

The Behind-the-Scenes Story

Over time, I've learned a few "tricks" when showing a home - especially when you have very little or NO notice.  Allow me to share them with you....

Throw any extra stuff laying around the house, including the training potty because NO ONE wants to see that - YUCK!, in the back of your car before leaving.

Or throw it in between rows of seats - that works, too.

It's the laundry baskets full of CLEAN clothes that you haven't had a chance to fold and put away yet.  It's also the DIRTY clothes hamper removed from the boys' bedroom, both to "create" more floor space AND to remove the smell!

*In fact, I had forgotten that I had all that stuff in the second seat once when I picked up my Visiting Teaching partner.  She got in my car, looked back there at all the laundry, and asked, Are you going somewhere?  She later told me she thought it looked like I was planning on running away!  (Not a bad idea sometimes)

Put the crock pot in the dryer when the call for a [short notice] showing comes in the middle of dinner -
and there's no time to clean up and no room in the fridge RIGHT THEN.....

Stash extra "stuff" under the bed.

Or underneath the pile of pillows on your bed - that's a good hiding place, too -

and hopefully people aren't rummaging through your bed sheets....ARE THEY?!?

 Spray all the "good-smelling-challenged rooms" (i.e. boys' bedroom & bathrooms) with a nice fragrance.

 For the people we actually got an offer from, on their 2nd time through our home,
I made some homemade chocolate chip cookies right before they come (the aroma still fills the Kitchen)
and left them out on a platter for them to partake of.

You might be thinking, What "expertise" does SHE have?  After all, it took her a FREAKIN' 76 TIMES to get an offer(s) on her home!  What the HECK is SHE sharing "tricks" for?  I'm not listening to HER!

But, it was all about TIMING, my friends.  And WHERE we are suppose to be.

And NOT MY TIMING, but The Lord's timing.

You see, 7 years ago, we bought an "option" to build a house on some land near our current home that had now been sold to a builder.  The land used to be these giant corn fields that produced the. best. corn.  We loved walking down there to buy some in the Summer -- when we got there in time before it sold out, that is!  In the Fall, they turned part of the field into a big corn maze.  We were sad to see the corn fields sold off because it held some good memories for us, but that's part of what drew us to that location, we felt "connected" to it.  Although it would not be in our same ward, we would be in all the same schools.  It felt really good to us at the time.  Our plan was to build in the very last phase, Phase 6.  The whole project was suppose to be DONE in two years, which would put us moving around 2007.  This was about 2 years sooner than we had planned on moving when we first bought our current home, but like I said, It felt good to us.

And then the housing market went down the toilet.

And this new development didn't get started on schedule, and then the homes in the earliest phases weren't selling fast enough, either, so their "two-year-plan" was no longer a reality.  But, we didn't mind because that gave us more time to stay in our current home like we had wanted to - and to build more equity/pay our mortgage down further and to save more money, etc.

But then the housing market stayed IN the toilet.

And this new development was getting further and further behind schedule, and they weren't opening up later phases until their current phases were all sold which just wasn't happening very rapidly.  The builder had been struggling through this project for four years trying to stay ahead of their bank obligations that they have on this development. It had certainly been a lot different from what they had projected from the very start of
this project.  But, we had reached the point in our lives and the time that we had planned on moving.  We had wanted to move BEFORE Ryan started High School, even while he was still in Jr. High, and get all the kids settled in schools before they got too old and it became harder to leave.  So, we kind of gave up on the new build idea.

So, we started looking at existing homes instead.

(But left our "option" money with the build project)

We had our Realtor show us many, many houses.  On multiple occasions.  We probably looked at 40 or more houses.  The whole time, I had prayed that I would KNOW when we saw the RIGHT HOUSE.  That I would feel good about it.  I was looking for the same experience I had when we walked into our current home - within my first few steps into this house, I blurted out, I LOVE IT!  We even went back to a few houses a couple of times.  One house even changed their kitchen paint to a neutral beige color since our Realtor had told their Realtor that we hated the Orange Kitchen!  But, the paint overhaul still didn't cause me to feel good about it.  There WAS one house that I thought was IT - my heart stirred within me right there in the front foyer - but it turned out Matt had some serious objections about it, mainly because on the drive up there, we passed THREE BMWs - no lie!  We even stopped looking for a while because we were kind of disheartened when we never could find THE ONE that I felt good about.  On multiple occasions during this time, the thought/voice came to my mind, You felt good about building [in the corn fields.]   But, our current home wasn't selling anyway, so the urgency wasn't there. 

So, time went on, and we continued to look at houses.  We had first included four cities in our search; Bountiful, Centerville, Farmington, & Kaysville, but truth be told, whenever I thought about leaving Farmington, I was SICK - even though Bountiful is my beloved Alma Mater!  And then our oldest, Ryan, really started talking about how he didn't want to leave his school.  At the time, his Jr. High fed into two different High Schools, and he said he'd be fine going to either of those since he had Jr. High friends going to both, so that narrowed down the cities where we could look and move down to three.  AND THEN, our next son, Kyle, who typically is hesitant to tell his feelings, revealed that he really didn't want to go to any other Jr. High except for the one we currently lived in the boundaries for, so that eliminated one more city from our search.  And then they changed the Jr. High boundaries, which left us with only Farmington to work with.  Which is the place we LOVE and have always felt the best about anyways.  We just weren't finding the "perfect house" so we had tried to broaden our search.  People were telling me there was no such thing as a perfect house.  To which I silently thought, Unless you build your own "perfect" house.  Then the little girls begged to stay in their same Elementary School...and then later, our same ward.  Now, where were we suppose to look for a house?

About 15 months ago, in Feb. 2011, our ward boundaries changed (enlarged) to include the new build site.  At that time, many of our ward members were asking us, Why don't you build in the new neighborhood?  Then you can still be in our same ward!  Well, because, 5 1/2 yrs. after announcing the project, they were just barely plowing some dirt roads into Phase 5.  Our phase, Phase 6, was probably still at least 2-3 years off, and we were ready to move now.  But, interestingly enough, the more people asked me that question, my answer began to change to, We might.  Who knows [if we'll ever be able to find an existing house we like and feel good about].  And the thought, You felt good about building, was brought to my remembrance - again!  But, the new-build project didn't seem to be working out, so it didn't seem like a viable option.


Then 6 months later, I was released from my Primary Presidency calling and immediately called to the Young Women's Presidency in our ward.
In the Bishop's office, when I was extended the calling, sitting beside my husband, I remarked, Does THIS mean I can't move?
To which the Bishopric member responded, We hope so!
That day, the newly called Young Women's President came to talk to me.  She shared with me the very strong spiritual experience she had had when given the task of choosing counselors for her presidency.  She said MY NAME came to her mind and heart immediately. Strongly, almost forcefully.  Deliberately.  And without a doubt.  She admitted to me she thought, That's crazy!  Her house is For Sale and she is going to move.  But, she knew.  And she submitted my name anyways.
When she relayed that to me, it caused me to wonder also.....WHY ME?  What does this mean?  Am I supposed to be HERE? 
With that thought on my brain and with this new calling, it PUSHED me towards considering the building option again.  It OPENED MY MIND to the idea that I could just change Phases.  I had been stuck on Phase 6 all along, thinking it was that one or nothing.  But, then, all of a sudden, Phase 5 began to be attractive to me - and I couldn't get it out of my mind.

We switched gears with our Realtor.  Instead of looking at existing homes, we told her to now approach The Builder about making a deal with us to build in Phase 5.  The finding-a-plan and the negotiating process took several months, but finally we came to terms and our plans were sent to the city for approval.  And they got stuck there - for months!  But, even that ended up being good because then the great wind storm of Dec. 2011 came and took off our roof & siding and broke a window and we decided to take our home off the market - since it didn't exactly have great curb appeal in it's current condition.  Then it took 4 1/2 months to fight with the Insurance company (and call a hundred times) to get all the repairs approved, paid for, and completed - all the while our new house had started to be built - and I was stressing because I knew we needed to get our current home back on the market!  But, after it was all done, the projects, our new roof especially, really improved the look and condition of our home.  So, the storm was really in our favor!  :)  A $1,000 deductible for $15,000 worth of work!

We got our home back up For Sale in April - almost half-way into our new home's completion.  We had always prayed, and fasted several times, that our home would sell, but at this time, Matt & I started to pray even more fervently.
I was getting annoyed with the kid's prayers because they would go something like this, Please help that our house will be clean and look good for those who come see it, so someone will want to buy it.

AND THEN THEY WOULD NEVER DO THEIR CHORES & COMPLAIN WHEN ASKED TO DO ANYTHING!

What?  Did they think that the "house fairy" would come to visit and that every day the house would just magically clean itself all up?!!?  I told Matt that we needed an "intervention" during our next Family Home Evening.  He gave a lesson using the scripture in James 2:20, Faith Without Works is Dead.  To explain the meaning, we gave some examples:

What if you prayed, Please bless me that I'll get straight A's on my report card.  And then you never ever studied, did homework, or turned in assignments?
What if you prayed, Please bless me that I'll lose weight.  And then you sat around all day, inactive, pigging out on chips, Big Macs, and ice cream?
What if you prayed, Please bless me to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  And then you never even opened up the book nor read one word?

They all were making fun of those scenarios and thought those "people" were RIDICULOUS!  Then we informed them that THEY were those "people" in the way they had been praying/failing to act.
It was definitely an, "AH HA!" moment for them.
And then we spent the rest of Family Night clearing out closets and wiping down every floor board and shelf in our home!  We're ALL in this together!  :)  (Are you thinking about High School Musical now?)
As the days followed, they improved and started contributing to our home & family, so now I felt that their prayers were not in vain.  I did a calculation of our new home completion time and also the time it takes to complete a deal after an offer is received, and I came up with a deadline of June 8th (Matt's Birthday) as the date we HAD to sell our home by.  And we started praying accordingly.  (More like pleading.)
Then during the first weekend in May, I went to a scrapbook retreat with a bunch of friends - something we do about 3X a year.  During the course of talking about my situation, one friend told me it sounded like it was time for me to do what her Grandma always taught.  Her Grandma swore by it.  It was her secret weapon in times when an extra measure of blessings was needed, and specifically when a house needed to sell.  Her Grandma had done it - and it worked.  Her parents had done it - and it worked.  And she had done it - and it worked.  (There's my THREE witnesses!)
The secret is THIS:
DOUBLE your Fast Offering.
Don't just increase it by 15%.  Or 20%.  Or 30%.  Or even 50%.  Completely DOUBLE it.
(I had never heard of this theory in regards to selling a house.  And I was intrigued!)
I texted Matt the idea, to which he immediately replied, OK.
And the following day just happened to be Fast Sunday.  Perfect!

I have heard it said of Tithing before that it is not a principle of MONEY, but rather it is a principle of FAITH.  That came to my mind when I was embracing my friend's Grandma's "golden nugget of knowledge."  Yes, doubling our Fast Offering DID involve money, but it was really another way - a harder way, a more out-of-our-comfort-zone way for us to demonstrate our FAITH to Heavenly Father.  It was something in addition to the prayer and fasting that we had already been doing for a while.

And it brought our desired results!  15 days before our deadline! 
And talk about TIMING, the people who we have an accepted offer with, are in a contract with their current apartment until July 31st, so aren't in a rush to move.  That is the same time our new house will be done.  They have agreed to close in June (more security for us) but let us live here until July (more convenience for us with only moving once!)  AND we have two "back-up" offers.

Sure, I posted about some changes we made to our home, which surely helped the appearance, but I believe the real reason, or the beginning of getting the ball rolling is the Fast Offering part.  Clearly those ideas/inspiration came to me after showing forth the necessary faith.  Other home selling strategies felt right to us, also, as a result of our actions....which all worked together to lead to a SALE!

And the fact that each of these circumstances, thoughts, events, conversations, and opportunities happened in the just the way that they did, over the last 7 years, led us to exactly the point where we are right now.

My mom used to always say, There are no coincidences.  Everything happens for a reason.

The Lord is in charge.