Spiritually Ecouraging Humor

Give God what's right - not what's left.

"Pray" is a four-letter word you can say anywhere.

Man's way leads to a hopeless end - God's way leads to an endless hope..

A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma - but never let him be the period.

Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.

Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a facelift.

When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

God doesn't want shares of your life - He wants a controlling interest.

We don't change God's message - His message changes us.

The church is prayer-conditioned.

When God ordains, He sustains.

WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

Plan ahead - It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

Suffering with truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

Exercise daily - walk with the Lord.

Coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Wisdom has two parts -

1) having a lot to say; 2) not saying it.

Never give the devil a ride - he will always want to drive.

A clean conscience makes a soft pillow.

Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

Compassion is wonderful to give away because it keeps coming back.

He who angers you controls you.

Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.

Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

Be ye fishers of men - you catch them & He'll clean them.

Deciding not to choose Jesus is still making a choice.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

If God is your co-pilot - swap seats.

Read the Bible - It will scare the hell out of you.

Last Weekend

Friday night, we hung out at home and just relaxed. I read an excellent book called Against Medical Advice by James Patterson and Hal Friedman. That book hit home for me. It's about a boy that suffers with OCD, anxiety, and Tourett's Syndrom. I don't have tourett's, obviously, but I deal with OCD and anxiety. It was an eye opening experience to read about how he lived with and eventually overcame these things. I feel that I finally got my anxiety and OCD under control, and then my hormones got all out of whack and unbalanced everything else. I'm on the downside of it now, and my hormones are getting back into balance. This book was amazing to read. It made me grateful for the strength I learned. (I wasn't the only one that loved it. Check these reviews out.)

Saturday, Selo and I went down to the Smiths'. We met Jim at the Timpanogas temple and did an endowment session with him. Then went back and had dinner with everyone. The girls are getting so big! It was so much fun to play with them. Selo and I are even more baby hungry now. After dinner, the girls went to bed and the four adults ate Doritos and ice cream and watched The Illusionist. Cris and Selo had a long talk about Jim's business website, and came up with some ideas to improve it. (Jim is the attorney we had represent us in the child support case. He got it all straightened out, and got us back all of our money!)

Have I mentioned how wonderful it is that the weather is starting to creep towards warm? I'm so anxious for summer I looking at outdoor furniture just to pretend I am warm.

Sunday we went to church with them and kept the girls while Jim and Crystal spoke in sacrament meeting. They did an awesome job. I especially like a part of Crystal's talk where she spoke about showing the love of Christ others, and being able to see them and love them as Christ would. Selo and I handed the girls off the Cris' parents as soon as the talks were over and dashed up to our ward to meet with our bishop. We wanted to go to the Draper temple dedication and had to get our special recommend for it. Once we got them, we stopped at our house long enough to grab the makings for dinner, and then went back down to the Smith's. Jim, Selo and I, and Crystal's dad and brother, all went to the dedication. It was the first one I've been to, and it was amazing! What a beautiful experience. After the dedication, we went back to the Smith's (her dad and bro went home) and had dinner. Mmm it was good. They watched Star Trek while I made dinner. It was nice for Cris to have a break lol.

After dinner, Selo and I went back home. We had a good weekend. It was long, but we had a lot of experiences we will never forget.

Thought I'd Post An Update

It has been forever since I've posted an update, so I thought now would be a good time. We've had a lot of changes.

We are doing fantastic.

Selo's health is good right now. He hasn't had any attacks for about a month, all his meds are steady. We had a bit of trouble with his stomach med, since all it was discontinued, but we got it changed and he is doing a lot better. He feels good, he looks good, and he is able to carry on a normal and active life again.

Work is going well for both of us. My job is booming, especially with the financial market dropping so harshly. I am busier than ever at work, and it is great. Selo has something in the works that could be a very, very good thing for us.

We are making progress in our finances. We are getting things caught up, and paying all of our monthly bills, with money left over. At this point, we are also making some serious payments on Selo's medical bills. We have made some excellent progress, and have high hopes for our financial future.

We are traveling again. We are traveling people, and it's diffuclt to stay put for so long!For Thanksgiving, we will probably be gonig to Saint George. Christmas might be in California. We are planning a 7 day trip to Las Vegas in January to spend a week with another side of the family. Look how beautiful the resort we will be staying in is! Our time share has really paid off. We have gotten more out of it than we ever paid. It has been sooo nice to able to travel again.

We have a sweet new baby. Her name is Shinobi, and we have enjoyed having her. We spoil her, and she loves to show us how grateful she is. She is a little snuggler and is constantly on one of our laps or curled up next to us. And she is very much a daddy's girl. He picked her out and named her, and she has him wrapped around her little finger.

No plans to have any children yet. We just finished with a big mess with his ex wife. (Thank heavens it is over!) We are enjoying it be just the two of us, and having the time to get to know each other, strengthen our marriage, and the freedom to go whenever we want. We are planning another year or so, and then we will talk about starting our family.

We are loving our home. Our apt is wonderful and we haven't had any problems. We'll probably stick around here until we have our first child. Our new ward is suited very well for us. There are a few kids, but mostly married couples that are in the same life phase that we are. We will probably be getting callings soon, and we are looking forward to all the friends in the ward.

I think that's it for now. Have a wonderful day!

Pictures

My cute cousin

Andy and Beka in front of the Mt Timpanogas temple
where they were sealed on Aug 2, 2008
Selo, Me, and Pixie out for breakfast
Me, Katie, Natalie, and Selo
Doll making at our house
Selo teaching Katie about his guitar

Who I'd Like To Meet

You know how there is always someone you wish you could meet? You're asked in interviews, on MySpace, the first date. Well, for me, I'd like to meet the soldier in this story. I would be honored to shake hands with someone this bold, brave, and quick witted.

An American Soldier Helping with a Lesson From God

"In God We Trust" is True

It's true- check it out on Snopes. And I am completely in favor of this one.

The email I received:

LET'S DO IT!!!!!
WRITE IT ON THE BACK OF YOUR ENVELOPES
I THINK THIS A GREAT IDEA. I WILL START WRITING THIS ON THE FRONT OF ALL MY ENVELOPES, TOO!

You may have heard in the news that the Post Office has been forced to take down small posters that say ' IN GOD WE TRUST '

The law, they say, is being violated.

Anyway, I heard proposed on a radio station show, that we should all write ' IN GOD WE TRUST ' on the back of all our mail...after all, that is our national motto and it's on all of the money we use to buy those stamps. I think it's a wonderful idea.

We must take back our nation from all the people who think that anything that offends them should be removed.

If you like this idea, please pass it on. It has been reported that 86% of Americans believe in God. Therefore, I have! a very hard time understanding why there is such a mess about having ' In God We Trust' on our money and having God in the pledge of Allegiance.

Could it be that WE just need to take a ction and tell the 14% to sit down and shut up?

If you agree, pass this on again, if not delete.

Thank you, Rebeka from GrassyHill, for the lead on this one.

Under Control

My friend, Sue, just sent me this message. I can't tell you how much it said to me.

Good morning Marie,

This is God. I will be handling all of your problems today. I will not need your help. So relax and have a great day.

Happy Anniversary to Selo and Mini!!!

Today is our one year wedding anniversary. Married for eternity in the Latter Day Saint temple in Washington DC.

Our Wedding Webpage
(with guestbook)

All of Our Wedding Pictures

Outside the temple just after we got married. Even the snow felt warm!I had to have my duckies :)At the one of our receptions, in Utah. Everything was perfect. It was truly a dream come true.

*sigh* I'm so in love with him.

From The Mouths of Babes

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human being because although it is a very large mammal it has a very small throat. The little girl said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human. The little girl said, "When I get to Heaven, I'm going to ask Jonah". The teacher asked, "What is Jonah went to hell?" The little girl replied, "Then you ask him."

A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see the children's work. As she got to one little girl who was diligently working, she asked what the little girl was drawing. The little girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat, the little girl replied, "They will in a minute."

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "Honor thy Father and thy Mother", she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?" A little boy in the back (the oldest child of a family) replied, "Thou shalt not kill."


One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes. She noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out among her dark hair. The little girl looked at her mother and asked, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?" Her mother replied, "Well, every time you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white." The little girl thought about this for a while and then asked, "How come ALL of Grandma's hairs are white, Mom?"

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clear, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood would run into it and I would turn red in the face." "Yes," said the class. "Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position the blood doesn't rush to my feet?" A little fellow shouted, "Because your feet ain't empty!"

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted it on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching." Moving further along the lunchline, and the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate cookies. They also had a note: "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

Mobile Alerts to Drama to Medical and Back Again

I signed up for a bunch of mobile text alerts. News, Amber Alerts, Politics, Weather, ect. I signed through a couple of different sites, so that I can decide which ones I like best. It took me forever (!!!) to get the confirmation code from Yahoo, and then I had to do it three times before it accepted the code. But I'm finally signed up. I love text messaging. And now I will stay more up to date, from my phone. lol I sound like a commercial!

Tomorrow is Selo's neurologist appt. I'm a little nervous about it, but it will be nice to have some answers.

Last night, he did the scavenger hunt to find out about the vacation planned for his birthday. We are both looking forward to it, and he was so tickled by it. I love seeing him happy and knowing he is important. (I have the videos of him finding the clues, if anyone wants to see them.)

Someone is out to get me. No, I'm not being paranoid. She was a friend of mine back in high school, and got pretty angry when I decided she wasn't someone I wanted in my life anymore. She has- IMO- freaked out a bit, and has threatened to email my dad (um, really?) and to cause drama with Selo's ex wife. Lizz has been warned- be on the lookout!- and I heard she (Lizz) took it well. I haven't read her blog since the first of the year (go me!), so I don't know what's going on with her, but I hope. . . well, let me change my thought, I just hope the drama with this chick (the "friend") ends soon, so that we can all move on with our lives.

Ohhhhh, what else is going on with us?

Medical stuff. I heard from radiology that the insurance has already sent a check for a small portion of those bills, and we will find out in about a month what the rest of the balance is. With some of the other ones, they are sending some paperwork to see if we can have any of it written off and Selo's mom says she can write us a Hardship letter. I don't know about you, but I don't have a spare $25k laying around somewhere. At this point, we don't even have a spare $1,000.

As for the car, we are going to have it towed to a wrecking yard. The insurance said it would cover the cost of towing it, but we are not getting anything back for the vehicle (or the medical). So we are out of a car, officially, when it has been towed. Not that we have one to drive now- we aren't even supposed to drive it from one end of the driveway to the other. No plans to buy a new one now, with the medical bills hitting us pretty hard. Anybody know if we have to keep auto insurance if we don't have a vehicle to ensure?

I watched The Biggest Loser tonight. When the first season of that show came out, I absolutely loved it. It was about time to have a positive and uplifting reality show. The fourth season is definitely different than the first, but people are still being motivated to lose weight and change their lifestyles. (PS have you seen the walk in tubs they have? I'm so jealous!)

Don't see much of my sisters anymore. They both changed jobs recently, and I don't even get to talk to them on messenger now. I'm pretty sad about that. I look forward to when they are out of their respective trainings and we can text each other again!

We won't be going to the Prophets funeral, like we (okay, I) wanted to. Since it is Saturday, we will be out of town. I bet it is going to be beautiful, and very spiritual. And now that I have come out of shock, I know it is a good thing for him. He is with his wife now, and the rest of Heaven. I can't think of anywhere I would rather be. *sad smile*

Anyway, enough rambling. That is plenty of info for right now. I hope you all have a wonderful week!

President Hinckley (Found some links)

KSL.com

SUU Journal

Associated Press

Deseret Morning News

FOXnews

No info about the funeral yet. I'll let you know.

President Hinckley Has Passed Away

The Leader of the Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ (the church which my husband and I belong to) has passed away.

That's all I know right now. My sister called me and told me. I've already talked to my dad, my sister, and my best friend. *tears*

Rest in Peace President Hinckley.


EDIT: I've found only one link so far. I'll post more when I find them.

President Hinckley

Puppy Size

This is one of the neatest stories you will ever hear. You will know precisely what this little girl is talking about at the end!

"Danielle keeps repeating it over and over again. We've been back to this animal shelter at least five times. It has been weeks now since we started all of this," the mother told the volunteer.

"What is it she keeps asking for?" the volunteer asked.

"Puppy size!" replied the mother.

"Well, we have plenty of puppies, if that's what she's looking for."

"I know...we have seen most of them," the mom said in frustration...

Just then Danielle came walking into the office.

"Well, did you find one?" asked her mom. "No, not this time," Danielle said with sadness in her voice. "Can we come back on the weekend?"

The two women looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed.

"You never know when we will get more dogs. Unfortunately, there's always a supply," the volunteer said.

Danielle took her mother by the hand and headed to the door. "Don't worry, I'll find one this weekend," she said.

Over the next few days both mom and dad had long conversations with her. They both felt she was being too particular. "It's this weekend or we're not looking any more," Dad finally said in frustration.

"We don't want to hear anything more about puppy size either," Mom added.

Sure enough, they were the first ones in the shelter on Saturday morning. By now Danielle knew her way around, so she ran right for the section that housed the smaller dogs.

Tired of the routine, mom sat in the small waiting room at the end of the first row of cages. There was an observation window so you could see the animals during times when visitors weren't permitted.

Danielle walked slowly from cage to cage, kneeling periodically to take a closer look. One by one the dogs were brought out and she held each one.

One by one she said, "Sorry, you're not the one."

It was the last cage on this last day in search of the perfect pup.

The volunteer opened the cage door and the child carefully picked up the dog and held it closely. This time she took a little longer.

"Mom, that's it! I found the right puppy! He's the one! I know it!" she screamed with joy. "It's the puppy size!"

"But it's the same size as all the other puppies you held over the last few weeks," Mom said.

"No not size... the sighs. When I held him in my arms, he sighed," she said.

"Don't you remember? When I asked you one day what love is, you told me love depends on the sighs of your heart. The more you love, the bigger the sigh!"

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Mom didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As she stooped down to hug the child, she did a little of both.

"Mom, every time you hold me, I sigh. When you and Daddy come home from work and hug each other, you both sigh. I knew I would find the right puppy if it sighed when I held it in my arms," she said.

Then holding the puppy up close to her face she said, "Mom, he loves me. I heard the sighs of his heart!"

Close your eyes for a moment and think about the love that makes you sigh. I not only find it in the arms of my loved ones, but in the caress of a sunset, the kiss of the moonlight and the gentle brush of cool air on a hot day.

They are the sighs of God. Take the time to stop and listen; you will be surprised at what you hear. "Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Huckabee is Gaining

At least in my book. Since my last post, I've laid around on the couch and done research. (I know, I'm lazy. lol But it's Saturday!)Between YouTube, CNN, and Wiki, I am learning a lot. When it comes the the candidate that I would choose to represent the Republican party, Mike Huckabee is slowly climbing the ladder.
Not only do I connect with him as a Christian, but it is a breath of fresh air to hear a candidate so sure, so ready, and so un-waivering on their religious and moral beliefs. All of America could use a leader with morals this strong.

It's called CHRISTmas

And while you're at it, you can check THIS out, too. God Bless America!

The Countdown

Grab a snack and a refreshing drink (cran-apple juice!) and sit back, this one is a long one.

My birthday is in one week from today. Fall break starts when school is over tomorrow. And we might even have a countdown to FFXI FanFair, if we get lucky.
On my birthday, I will be 25. A quarter of a century. I asked someone a few days ago if I would finally have people starting taking me seriously once I hit 25. However, just like when I asked if I would be taken seriously at 18, 21, and when I got married, I was told no. Oh well, being serious is overrated. lol No plans yet for my birthday. We were going to go to Canada, since it is fall break the whole week and I have no school, but we changed our minds. School has been so busy I haven't been able to plan much. I don't think I will be disappointed though. Hubby has always remember my birthday and our anniversaries, and he always makes them memorable for me. He's so good to me <3
I also look forward to next week because I will get my hubby back. This whole week he has put in SO many late hours at work. Every day he plans on a regular eight hour day, but something comes up and he doesn't get home until really late. We had our date night planned for tonight, but he will be at work until at least eight again, so we shall see after that.
Hubby and I are reading the Bible. We started it this morning. I have read BOM, D&C, and PoGP fairly consistently for the last while, but he wanted us to read together again. So we started the Book of Matthew this morning. He has our study path already decided. I am happy to be reading with him again, and I am more than willing to let him decide where we are going with it. He is the head of our household, and I am happy to let him lead the way. I will be right next to him, reading, supporting, and enjoying every step of the way. I look forward to this.
Something funny I wanted to share with y'all. I have a lot of English papers to write for my English class- about one every other day. I don't mind writing them, in fact, I enjoy it. I like being creative and coming up with different things to write about. Yesterday we were assigned a short paper- a descriptive paragraph. I chose to write a descriptive paragraph about Hubby's computer area. I wrote mostly truth, but I threw in a few extras and left out other parts. Here's the part I made up:
The right side of the table holds a few random objects, a gaming controller, a lone USB cord, a red pen-cup stuffed as full as it can get, and a white mouse that stands out like a sore thumb against the classy black color of everything else. Spread across the two computer stations are Jolly Rancher candies, quite a few empty candy wrappers, bags of sunflower seeds, bits of papers, notes, an unopened fortune cookie here and there, and cords- in, out, and between everything.
I asked Hubby to proof my paper for me. While he was doing that, I went off to the kitchen or something. When I got back, he had cleaned his desk! lol I guess he didn't like that I had added the parts about candy wrappers and sunflower seeds all over the desk (he has a bag of seeds, a pile of candy, and a trash can to keep the garbage), so he cleaned the whole desk. I laughed for a while- but I hugged him and told him I loved him. He just grinned at me :D
I have another CougarCry meeting tomorrow. In my ACA class, we recently discussed the difference between scholarly writing/ journaling and just plain writing. For example, anyone can write in a blog. But that doesn't make it truth or even correct. However, being published in a book or newspaper means several people review the article, piece, and/ or material before it is published. So material read in one of these sources is more reliable than other sources. Basically, I am excited about having pieces that *I* wrote published in a newspaper. It means that my writing is more than just blah blah blah words, it is going to be taken seriously and, more importantly, it will be helping people. I can't tell you how much that means to me. I have a blog for me to write and to help myself. But now I will be helping other people- and a large number of people too. What a great feeling.
I'm going to play a lot of FFXI next week, since I will be home the whole week. I want to lvl my WHM and RDM to 37. It won't happen all in next week, but I can at least get them so my main won't be gimped anymore. I would love to get my BRD higher too. I like BRD better than any other job so far, and I would love to have BRD as my main. I haven't even started COR yet, though, so maybe I should start COR before I take BRD much higher if I am just going to change to COR in the end. I look forward to the new dancer job, too. I won't be one of the ones running out to lvl it first, but I do plan on taking it to the Dunes at least. It looks really fun. I can't wait to see the impact it has on the other jobs in the game. I wonder what the other two new jobs will be. . .
Guess who got paid another $18 today? That's right, me. I have slowed down quite a bit with the paid blogging stuff, but I am still making some $$$ with it. (Minus $5 for the digital thermometer I bought on eBay.)
I have been working closely with the host of my website lately. We are in the process of getting my blog set up on my domain under my domain name. I don't exactly understand the difficulties, but I may have to change hosts because of it. Nothing that the host has done wrong, in fact, he is great. I am hoping we will be able to get the issues resolved, and I can keep my domain where it is.
The Apple Festival is this weekend! Yay! I love festivals, and I love this one. We are going on Saturday afternoon. I'm still trying to get in touch with Jessica and with Chris, to see if they want to come with us. But no matter what, I am going, and I can't wait.
Well, I am going to get back to work. I am working hard to finish any homework and all loose ends by tomorrow, so that I have NO HOMEWORK over fall break. So far, I have this accomplished.

Eyeballs, Oceans, and Kittens

Yay! I'm not so disgusting anymore (even though Hubby told me I am beautiful no matter what <3).

I still have trouble finding my way around. Did ya really think I could get the oceans straight? But I would like to thank Jessica for pointing it out to me. Were the rest of you just going to keep laughing about it without telling me? ROFL
The kittens are doing well. They are growing up so fast! I know, you hear that all the time. But I'm such a sucker for them. Just imagine what will happen when I have my own children to adore.
Been doing research on TTC lately. One of my sisters is TTC her first baby, so I have put in a lot of time finding info. It's all really interesting, and I am glad I got a head start on it. If you have any info, I'd love to pass it on to her.
I need to scan this photo my (other) sister gave me and put it up here for you guys. Not only is she beautiful, but she is *so* photogenic, too. She takes her own photos of herself, and better than anyone else ever could. The chick amazes me.
I might go to church with a friend of mine this weekend. He invited Hubby and I when I first moved out here and I talked to him about it today. I'm not looking to replace my religion, rather, I would like to expand and strengthen my faith.
Alright, well that is my nothingness update. Looking forward to the weekend. But right now, since homework is done, I'm going to grab a shower (just call me Belle!) and get in game until Hubby gets home. Have a great night everyone!

Moving soon? Check out moving pods and make your move easier.

For the Love

Day 3 of vacation:
The air matress Kristine bought for us was surprisingly more comfortable than anticipated. We still woke up before anyone else- except Grandma. The East coast people just can't sleep past 8PST. That gave us first dibs on breakfast though, hee hee.
After breakfast, we had the tantrums. It goes without saying that we will have at least one explosive tantrum when all of us are together. And, as most times, it was Kristine that started it. See, my mom is married again. And to see her affectionate with someone that isn't my dad is a big deal to us. We all want her to be happy, and some of us have even gotten past the point of hating and despising her new husband. But it's still . . . just . . . weird. And, like this time, very difficult. So, the blowout occurred. When Kristine exploded, the room cleared rather quickly. Grandma had never seen this before, and was stunned so much she didn't even try to leave. Hubby had heard about it plenty of times, and knew I was already in "Damage Control" mode, so he stuck around for moral support. After several minutes, I moved into phase two of DC and went to the other room where Mom, Dave, Rebeka, and Andy were. Although this time, something new happened. Grandma and Hubby picked up with Kristine where I left off. I did what I could in the other room, and headed back to first room. Thankfully, I heard Grandma and Hubby talking with Kristine, so I just stayed out. I stood on the balcony between the two rooms, and let the people in the rooms work themselves. Wow, that had never happened before. I have always been the peace-maker, the fix-it, the "make it better" person. Seeing Grandma at work on Kristine opened my eyes to where I got it from. In the end, Grandma talked Kristine into staying and continuing with our original plans and we all went on to the zoo.
When we got to the zoo, we were short on time. So started with the tram to take us around the whole park. It was a lot of fun. The driver did a great job and made us laugh pretty hard. After the tram, Mom, Dave, Andy, Rebeka, and Grandma decided to make their way back to the entrance and look at the animals that were on the way. Hubby and I decided to take the long way, and took off pretty quickly. Kristine caught up with us shortly and the three of us had a blast making our way through the zoo. We took lots of pics. Back near the entrance we pulled up alongside everyone else just as they were making their way into the gift shop. Kristine bought a very cute little hippo made of beads. She named it Fishy.
After the zoo, we went to the memorial park. They gave us a boys room and a girls room to change in. Thirty minutes later, after cleaning up and dressing up, we went to the memorial site. Teri, Michael, Barry, and the officiant were waiting there for us. It was a short and memorable ceremony. We got to see where Grandpa Bill was, and the place Grandma would be put- just next to him. Since it was just the eleven of us (minus the officiant) we moved the whole group to Red Lobster for dinner. The next few hours were spent catching up, and reminiscing. I learned more about Grandma Bill and Grandma than I had ever known. I got to hear stories about Teri and Barry and my mom as kids. I got to hear about Grandma Casey and her many tactics. And, since Hubby and I were at the table with Andy and Rebeka, I got to learn more about Andy. (He isn't the shy, quiet guy everyone thinks he is. Do you know how many Dr Peppers he can drink in a single sitting?) And since it was Andy and Rebeka's one year wedding anniversary, and Grandma Casey and my birthday, there were deserts all around. It was a wonderful experience, and one that I will keep tucked away.
After dinner, we went back to the hotel. We all went our ways, and continued to think about the day. It was an dramatic, emotional, learning day. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Pictures are coming- check back soon!

Babies really are a gift from God . . . and can be taken at any time

First the sad news, because I like to end on a positive note.

Trinity passed away during the night- early, early this morning. Trinity was three years old, and had a very rare heart condition. Due to her heart condition, she was having the last of five surgeries to 'fix' her heart. Unfortunately, complications occurred, and Trinity is now Home with God. Trinity lived longer than any one else to ever have this condition, and we are grateful for the time we were blessed with. The service will be held this Saturday in Gilroy, California. Our prayers are with all of the family. We love you Trinity.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And second, my sister Kendra had her baby today! She and her husband, Nick, went to the hospital early this morning, and Kendra had a C-section.

Cyrus Blade *insert last name here*

He was born at 7:57am. He is 7 lbs 4 oz, and 21 1/2 inches long. Cyrus has lots of auburn hair! Congrats Kendra and Nick for the newest addition to the Harwell family. And congrats to the extended Davis family as well. Yay, I'm an auntie! Cyrus is my first nephew and I am so excited about him. See the cute baby shoes? I got to buy them for him :)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It goes to show that God really does know what he is doing. He blessed both of these babies with entry into a new world. Thank you, God, for the gift of life.

Pregnant? Or just not Average?

So I read a great post by my good friend Journey Gal today. Journey Gal and I have known each other since junior high school, and she has always been a strong and independent woman. I am hoping for a little visit with her in Nov, but until then, we keep up with each other through blogging and lots of emails. A few days ago, she made an awesome post about Women and being average. Some of it made me happy (not being 5'3" cause I like my height) and some of it was motivating (only a quarter of women over 25 have a bachelors). I wanted to share the info with you, and ask, how average are you?
Thank you, Elise, for this information.

To Sparrow's House

And a quick note about another post that has been on my mind a lot for the passed few days. I have had many thoughts on the way I will handle teaching my children about sexual preferences and loving everyone. Ana, from Watch Out for Mama, has done both. Her post is about an activity night her family holds once a week, specifically for family time. During that time this week, she taught her children two very important things. Once again, I am taking notes.
Thank you, Ana, for sharing this with us.

To Watch Out for Mama