Gifts.....

It's 1:25 in the morning and I awoke to a pillow soaked with tears...my tears....

Several weeks ago a sister from my ward called and asked if I could do her a huge favor. My response..."well...it depends on the favor"....I would do it no matter what but I was dreading it...especially since she's in the Relief Society presidency...

Her favor you might ask..."could you tell a few experiences on gifts that the Lord has blessed you with or when someone has blessed your life with a gift?" I responded with a "sure, I could totally do that...I was afraid you'd ask if I could teach a lesson." Dodged that bullet....

Throughout the past few weeks I've been thinking about this topic and nothing came to mind. I said a quick prayer tonight before I went to bed asking for help....and my prayer was answered...

Eight years ago, around this time I was packing my house in Tulsa to move to the grand state of Arizona. My husband Brent was already out here working while I stayed behind with my young children and packed. This move was so difficult for me. I was leaving my house...the house that held so many happy memories...where my children took their first steps...I was going to leave my friends and ward family...these were the people that helped me with my little ones and helped me to become a better person....
This Christmas would be different from those past. Brent flew back to Tulsa to help with the move and my wonderful mother-in-law also flew out to help us out. All my Christmas decorations were packed up, so the house seemed empty. I mentioned to Brent how strange it felt to not have anything up. I was very sad...Then the doorbell rang. Who could that be we wondered? They were the young women from my ward. These were my girls. I was their leader the year prior...They came in and put up handmade decorations on my walls..they were made with love and alot of thought went into each of them. Oh how that little gesture brightened my evening. There were many tears of joy and sorrow shed that evening. I will forever remember that experience and that gift that was given to me and my family...

My other gift...
Growing up in my household was very difficult. There was a lot of contention in my home and I felt as though something better out there was awaiting. As a child I lived in Washington D.C. and my family would drive to Maryland every weekend to visit my grandparents and family members. On those drives we would drive past the most beautiful castle I had ever seen. I told myself that I would someday enter the castle...That "castle" turned out to be the LDS Washington D.C. temple. When I turned 12 we moved to San Jose, California. I was leaving behind my extended family and my heart ached that I wouldn't be seeing them for a very long time ...looking back...that was the best decision my parents made. Several years after we moved, my parents divorced. It was one of the most trying times of my life. I had to make a choice between my parents and I chose my dad. Several years later as a senior in high school I met my future husband Brent at work. As we dated, I thought to myself...I think I'm going to marry him...I thought that was a silly thought since we were still in high school. Several years later we were married in the Oakland LDS Temple. That was the happiest day of my life..the day I was sealed to my eternal companion forever...death could never separate us..and our children would forever be with us... As the years went by, we were blessed with two wonderful children.

This other gift was the Lord's love for me. These experiences I have shared are the snapshots I have been reminded of this evening. He was there with me throughout the difficult times of my life and the happy ones as well. I will be forever grateful for the gifts he has given me...My eternal marriage...my children...Temples here upon this earth...and of course the gospel that makes this all possible.

When I awoke this morning I had the overpowering feeling that the Lord truly does know and love each and everyone of us. I have known this all my life, but tonight/this morning I have been reminded of it. For some reason I have been prompted to share these experiences and hope this has helped in some way.

Well I should be getting to bed..it's almost 3 in the morning and Joseph's excited to see Santa tomorrow morning...I wonder if he still believes in Santa..

Good night dearest family and friends....

BTW- Several years ago I had the opportunity to enter the D.C. Temple and it was a dream come true...

Socks and sandals....

My son is not a rule breaker. He's all about following the rules and sticking to them. As we were entering the food establishment we were going to eat at, I noticed my son wearing a fashion No No....Socks and sandals!

(Audible gasp)...
"Joseph what ARE you wearing"?

puzzled look..."sandals" my sweet boy answered.

How do I convince my boy that this is forbidden? Ahh....I know...
"Joseph, wearing socks and sandals are against the rules. You don't want to break the rules..do you?"

(gasp) "no! But Grandpa always wears black socks and sandals Mom."

"I know....I guess Grandpa doesn't know he's breaking the rules...Perhaps you can tell him the rules when he comes out to visit in a couple weeks"....


This reminds me of the time when Alycia was preschooler in Tulsa. At parent teacher conference I was told that my sweet daughter took a girl aside and explained to her that she shouldn't wear socks and sandals. She told the girl that was a fashion No No. The teacher assured me that she did it in a very kind way. I wanted to hide under a rock when I heard what my daughter did...yet...I was quite proud of her...

hehehe...Am I terrible or what?

Joseph's EEG...

As you can see...My sweet son Joseph didn't go to sleep like he was supposed to. You would think he'd fall asleep with just 4 hours of sleep. Nope! He definitely has his father's genes. They were able to get some readings, and unfortunately there were some issues that the doctor's concerned about. We'll be having to go back and do an overnight EEG so that they can do further testing. This is not fun.....

Halloween 2009

I know I'm a bit late posting out Halloween pics....so sorry!

Brent and Alycia took Joseph out trick-or-treating while I stayed home handing out candy.

I dressed up in my Corpse Bride outfit and actually scared a little girl. No...I didn't do it intentionally....I just answered the door and she ran to her mother screaming. I tried so hard not to laugh...but I must say...I did enjoy it (just a little)...

This is Joseph's last year to go out trick-or-treating, since our cut off is 12 and Halloween falls on a Sunday next year...bummer.

I hope you enjoy our silly pictures!

Update on Joseph....

I took Joseph to a doctor's appointment a few weeks ago and we're having an EEG done on our little guy to check for any signs of seizures. The doctor's scheduling this as a precaution.

I'm seriously freaking out.

He'll be getting this procedure done Wednesday morning at Phoenix Children's Hospital. In order for this to work, he'll have to stay up until midnight Tuesday and be woken up at 4 am. So this should be very interesting...

I'll post an update as soon as we find out what the results are....

Young Women's...

Last night was Alycia's first Young Women's in Excellence program. She gave a talk on knowledge and did an awesome job. She volunteered to give the talk...what a brave soul. I'm so proud of her! I didn't think to take a picture of her until just now...too late.
I'm so sorry I'm not doing well with keeping up with this blog...I will try and do a better job!

tweens.....

After I picked Alycia up from school, I asked how her day at school went and who she played with.

"Uh...Mom...Junior high kids don't play...we "hang out""....my dear tween informed me.

Tweens.......I guess I'm not as hip as I thought I was....