Arizona!

I have been so busy since I have been here and I have enjoyed every minute of it!  I have made a craft with my nephews, made cute houses with my mother in law & sister in law, shopped with my mom, threw my friend a baby shower, and all in less than a week!  I am so grateful I have been able to come out and hang out with family :)  I miss Bruce sooooo much, and I beg him every night to drive to Arizona before we go to Denver.. but we will see!  

 This is a craft I did with my nephews :) It was a lot of fun... We made "I spy" jars!  We found some things around the house and put them in the jars, then colored some rice and filled them up. There is a list of all the things in the jar, and they have to shake it up so they can find each thing.  It was fun, and they loved going outside and finding "their" rock, and going through all their toys and picking things they wanted to put in the jars.

Happy Birthday Colton

Today is my little brother's birthday!!  He is on his mission and this is the first birthday he has missed...  I miss him so much!  I hope and pray he has a good day, and that he knows how much we all love him here at home :)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLTY!!!

New Skirt!

Yesterday I got really bored, so I decided to make a skirt.  I didn't really have an idea in mind, and I was nervous how it would turn out, but I LOVE it!  I did a simple a-line skirt, and then gathered the bottom under the lace.  It fits really good, and I am so excited to wear it to church on Sunday :)  This is the first skirt I have made without my sister-in-law sitting right next to me helping me out, so it was a big accomplishment!!

Happy Birthday Racheel!

I have the best mother-in-law in the world!   Happy Birthday, we love you so much!

Happy Birthday Bruce :)

Today is Bruce's Birthday and I am so excited !  I feel like the luckiest girl the the world to be able to call that hot guy my husband :)  Life would be so boring if I didn't have Bruce here to make me laugh every single day, and I am so grateful that his parents raised him to be such an amazing man. I will list some reasons why is is so awesome!

1.   He has the ability to talk to anyone.
2.   He keeps me laughing all day long.
3.   He is unbelievably HOT :)
4.   He has a strong testimony, and is a worthy priesthood holder.
5.   He makes some really random, but funny comments sometimes.
6.   When there is a song on the radio he likes to sing along to it, but change the words.
7.   He treats me better than anyone, and is always trying to make me happy.
8.   He is going to be the best Dad in the world :)
9.   He gets in these moods that are hilarious, and you can't stop laughing
10. He is such a hard worker.
11. He is really smart.
12. He is someone that will do anything for anybody.
13. He is honest, loyal, trustworthy,
14. I have never heard him use a cuss word in the whole 5 years we have been together.
15. He is so good with kids {me nephews and niece love him}
16. He is always trying to help people.
17. Family means so much to him
18. He has always been the guy to do the "right thing" even if everyone else isn't.
19. He served an honorable mission.
20. He is the best husband in the world!

I love Bruce soooo much, and I feel honored to call him my husband... He amazes me everyday, and makes life so much fun!  Happy Birthday Babe, you're perfect :)

I miss our FAMILIES!!!

Today is one of those days that I just really miss our families.  I am flying home next week, and seriously cannot wait to:

1.  Play with my nephews and niece!
2.  See my parents, brothers, and sister in laws
3.  Have a girls night with my mother-in-law & two sister-in-laws {can't wait}
4.  SEE MY DOG!!!  {i miss my dog sooooooo much!}
5.  Hang out with some girlfriends
6.  Hang out at my in-laws
7.  Spend quality time with my mom {so fun}
8.  See my grandparents
9.  have a girls night at my Grandma Sue's with all my cousins!

I know I am going to miss Bruce soooo much while I am gone, but it will be really good to be able to see our families and to finally get my dog :)  We have already been gone for 2 1/2 months.  It is so hard for us to be away from family, if Bruce's job wasn't so good we would be in Arizona in a second, but it's a sacrifice we have to make.  I am also excited because my brother Rocky is flying out here in a couple days so he can start selling, and I can't wait!  I think Bruce is a little jealous he doesn't get to come home with me, because I know he misses our families just as much as I do!  I am so excited for next week :)

Rag Quilts

Lately i have had a lot of time on my hands, so I have made a few baby blankets! :)  I love sewing, so it has been a lot of fun.  This is the patchwork rag quilt that I made, and I think it turned out so cute!

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

As many of you know, I was having a hard time lately.... until I read this talk.  After I read this talk I have had complete peace, and I am so grateful I found it.  I know life can have its challenges, but if we keep our faith is Jesus Christ everything will be okay.  Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways, and I think he knew that I needed this talk..

FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST BY: DALLIN H. OAKS

The first principle of the gospel is not “faith.” The first principle of the gospel is “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ”. I wish to speak to you young women about that supremely important truth.

Faith does not exist by itself. Faith requires an object. It must be faith in something or someone.

In that respect, faith is like love. Love cannot exist without an object.

A personal experience illustrates that point. Sister Oaks and I are the parents of six, including four daughters. Our youngest daughter is still in her teens. As parents, we have learned a lot about teenage girls. I remember when one of our teenage daughters announced that she was in love with eight boys. She produced a list of their names. I made silent note of the fact that she had never even dated some of these boys, and one of them she had never even met. Within a few weeks she dropped several names off her list and added others. When I asked her how she could fall in love and out of love with so many boys so quickly, she wisely admitted, “I guess I’m not in love with those boys. I’m just in love with love.” Your parents and grandparents will remember the words of an old song, “Falling in love with love is falling for make believe”   Love is meaningless unless it is directed toward something or someone. We love our parents. We love our brothers and sisters. We love the Lord.  Faith is the same. If we think we have faith, we should ask, faith in whom or faith in what? For some, faith is nothing more than faith in themselves. That is only self-confidence or self-centeredness. Others have faith in faith, which is something like relying on the power of positive thinking or betting on the proposition that we can get what we want by manipulating the powers within us.

The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Without this faith, the prophet Mormon said, we “are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church” (Moro. 7:39).

The scriptures teach us that faith comes by hearing the word of God (see Rom. 10:17). That word, which comes to us by scripture, by prophetic teaching, and by personal revelation, teaches us that we are children of God, the Eternal Father. It teaches us about the identity and mission of Jesus Christ, his Only Begotten Son, our Savior and Redeemer. Founded on our knowledge of those things, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a conviction and trust that God knows us and loves us and will hear our prayers and answer them with what is best for us.  In fact, God will do more than what is best for us. He will do what is best for us and for all of our Heavenly Father’s children. The conviction that the Lord knows more than we do and that he will answer our prayers in the way that is best for us and for all of his other children is a vital ingredient of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This important reality is beautifully described in an experience recorded in Elder John H. Groberg’s recent book, In the Eye of the Storm. He describes a lesson he learned as a young missionary traveling on a sailboat in the Tongan islands.  “We would always pray for protection, success, and good seas and wind to take us to our destination. Once I asked the Lord to bless us with a good tail wind so we could get to Foa quickly. As we got under way, one of the older men said, ‘Elder Groberg, you need to modify your prayers a little.’

“ ‘How’s that?’ I replied.  ‘You asked the Lord for a tail wind to take us rapidly to Foa. If you pray for a tail wind to Foa, what about the people who are trying to come from Foa to Pangai? They are good people, and you are praying against them. Just pray for a good wind, not a tail wind.  ’“That taught me something important. Sometimes we pray for things that will benefit us but may hurt others. We may pray for a particular type of weather, or to preserve someone’s life, when that answer to our prayer may hurt someone else. That’s why we must always pray in faith, because we can’t have true, God-given faith in something that is not according to His will. If it’s according to His will, all parties will benefit. I learned to pray for a good wind and the ability to get there safely, not necessarily a tail wind” (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1993, p. 175).

Faith must include trust. I am glad that each member of the presidency stressed that fact in her talk. When we have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must have trust in him. We must trust him enough that we are content to accept his will, knowing that he knows what is best for us.  The kind of faith that includes trust in the Lord stands in contrast to many imitations. Some people trust no one but themselves. Some put their highest trust in a friend or another family member, perhaps because they feel that person is more righteous or more wise than they. But that is not the Lord’s way. He told us to put our faith and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Savior gave us the model for that kind of faith and trust. Remember how he prayed to the Father in the agony of Gethsemane? This was the culminating event of his life, the climactic fulfillment of his mission as our Savior. The gospel of Luke, as corrected in the inspired translation of the Prophet Joseph Smith, describes how he knelt down and prayed: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done” (JST, Luke 22:42).  Here we see the Savior’s absolute faith and trust in the Father. “Nevertheless,” he said, “not my will, but thine be done.” The Father’s answer was to deny the plea of his Only Begotten Son. The Atonement had to be worked out by that lamb without blemish. But though the Son’s request was denied, his prayer was answered. The scripture records: “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him” (JST, Luke 22:43).  Strengthened from heaven to do the will of the Father, the Savior fulfilled his mission. “And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly; and he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (JST, Luke 22:44).

When we try to develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ rather than merely cultivating faith as an abstract principle of power, we understand the meaning of the Savior’s words: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moro. 7:33).  Similarly, the Savior taught the Nephites that they must always pray to the Father in his name, adding: “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you” (3 Ne. 18:20).

Here the Savior reminds us that faith, no matter how strong it is, cannot produce a result contrary to the will of him whose power it is. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. That is why we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security in our lives. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith” 

I read of a young woman who exercised that kind of faith and trust. For many months her mother had been seriously ill. Finally, the faithful father called the children to her bedside and told them to say good-bye to their mother because she was dying. The twelve-year-old daughter protested:  “Papa, I do not want my mamma to die. I have been with her in the hospital … for six months; time and time again … you have administered to her, and she has been relieved of her pain and quietly gone to sleep. I want you to lay hands upon my mamma and heal her.”  The father, who was Elder Heber J. Grant, told the children that he felt in his heart that their mother’s time had arrived. The children left, and he knelt by his wife’s bedside. Later he recalled his prayer: “I told the Lord I acknowledged his hand in life [and] in death. … But I told the Lord that I lacked the strength to have my wife die and to have it affect the faith of my little children.” He pleaded with the Lord to give his daughter “a knowledge that it was his mind and his will that her mamma should die.”  Within an hour the mother died. When Elder Grant called the children back into her room and told them, his little six-year-old boy began to weep bitterly. The twelve-year-old sister took him in her arms and said: “Do not weep, Heber; since we went out of this room, the voice of the Lord from heaven has said to me, In the death of your mamma the will of the Lord shall be done”  When we have the kind of faith and trust exhibited by that young woman, we have the strength to sustain us in every important event in our lives. President Spencer W. Kimball said that we need what he called “reservoirs of faith” to stand firm and strong against all the temptations and adversities of life (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1972, pp. 110–11).

My beloved young sisters, each of you needs to build a reservoir of faith so you can draw upon it when someone you love or respect betrays you, when some scientific discovery seems to cast doubt on a gospel principle, or when someone makes light of sacred things, such as the name of God or the sacred ceremonies of the temple. You need to draw on your reservoir of faith when you are weak or when someone else calls on you to strengthen them. You also need to draw on your reservoir of faith when some requirement of Church membership or service interferes with your personal preferences.

You need the strength that comes from faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ if you are to fulfill your duty “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9). In times of trial you need the comfort offered in the holy scriptures, which assure you that when you have the shield of faith you will “be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (D&C 27:17).  Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ prepares you for whatever life brings. This kind of faith prepares you to deal with life’s opportunities—to take advantage of those that are received and to persist through the disappointments of those that are lost.

Most importantly, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ opens the door of salvation and exaltation: “For no [one] can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name” (Moro. 7:38).  I testify that these things are true. I invoke the blessings of Almighty God upon you, my faithful young sisters, as you seek to develop and exercise your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and as you seek to serve him and keep his commandments, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

3 years

3 years ago today I entered the Temple & knelt across the alter

3 years ago today I married my best friend 

3 years ago today I gained a companion

3 years ago today all my dreams came true....

I can't believe 3 years have come and gone.  I love Bruce more today than I ever thought possible.  He is the best husband in the world, and I thank Heavenly Father for bringing him into my life everyday.  It has been the BEST three years of my life!!

Happy Anniversary babe, I love you so much!!!

Faith...

The definition of faith...
1.confidence or trust in a person or thing.
2.belief that is not based on truth.
3.belief in God or the doctrines and teachings of religion.

Faith is amazing...

I have always loved the lyrics to Miley Cyrus' song "The Climb"  I was listening to it today and I just started crying.  This is exactly how I feel.  Trying to get pregnant really drains you emotionally.  There are times I feel like I can't do it anymore, but the only thing that keeps me pushing on is my faith. I know Heavenly Father is doing this to make me a better person, so I will look back on this experience and have gratitude in my heart.  It really is all about the climb, the struggles you have in life and how you take those struggles to become the person you are.  Lately I have been giving up, and feeling almost lost... But I know I just need to keep the faith and everything will be okay.  Faith is what will get me through this, and faith is what has always gotten me through all my struggles.  I am so grateful for the gospel.  It gives me strength I didn't even know I had....

I can almost see it
that dream I'm dreaming
but there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb
The struggles I'm facing 
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going
And I, I gotta be strong
Just keep pushing on..........