It’s that time of year

/2 Comments/in , /by

Crisp mornings.
Warm days.
Brilliant Sunsets from smoke in the air.
Autumn colors in the mountains.
(taken by Dustin Erskine shared by KSL Weather)

Cleaning out the garden. Enjoying the last of the harvest.
Apples & Caramel for after-school snacks.
Walks to preschool.
Yummy smells of granola in the home.
Cute babies… oh wait, they are around all year. Isn’t this fro so awesome?!
Oodles of freshly picked raspberries to freeze

And to end this gigantic photo post… a thought I reread this morning. It brightened my morning and set a great tone for the day (it also helped that all 3 littles slept in till 8 and all was quiet in the home).

wrinkles

/1 Comment/in , /by

This is about how swell my Friday is going thus far:

I really do have quite a deep crinkle in between my eyebrows from furrowing my brow from stress. Eyebrows up… breathe deep… smile a bit. Wrinkles release.

Patriot’s Day

/1 Comment/in , /by

You can download
free 8×10 Patriot’s Day Prints
over at Simply Fresh Designs.

progress … and trust

/0 Comments/in , /by

2 thoughts from today.

Progress: I took a nap this morning. I kinda felt bad… but not. I told myself it was going to help rejuvenate myself to take care of my family the rest of the day. And ya know – it helped. After my nap, either from guilt… or increased energy/motivation, I got a ton of work done. Given – I wasn’t the most attentive mother today and we all hung out in jammies until 2 or so. But little Liza played around while I went through her clothes and tidied her room. We got some laundry done… some dishes done. Sorting/decluttering/etc for d.i. bins. I really felt like there was PROGRESS. I tried to look at all that I was accomplishing… instead of looking around feeling discouraged about all the rest that was left that wouldn’t be done today(yes, this happens frequently). But Progress… there was progress. It’s a good feeling.

Trust: The hymn that kept going through my head today was this:
I know there are reasons for certain adventures, events, and changes in our lives. So often we wonder where we’re heading next … God knows, and if we trust Him… and move forward with courage and a calm heart, we will start to see where He is taking us… what He is helping us become. This is random and perhaps doesn’t make sense… but it will, all in time.

I like the description in verse 2 about how we see the dark clouds a-comin’. We dread the ‘hard’ but really, the Lord is showering us with blesses throughout it all. Also love the imagery in verse 3 with the budding flower. At first the change is hard/bitter, but with time we see why it is the Lord’s will.

I love that the Lord teaches me to understand in small and simple ways such as this.

imagine … make it happen

/1 Comment/in , /by

I loved this quote I heard in Sharon Eubanks’ Women’s Conference message.I certainly wish imagining would make this principle a bit easier to accomplish every single day. But isn’t it a great goal – to strengthen our home and family by looking for the best in each other, etc. I’m grateful for more days … to work on essential life principles such as this one.

Great Things

/0 Comments/in /by

How in the world can this 4-year-old play the piano so well? I suppose he is a child prodigy. Max, my 4-year-old said, “He is amazing. He’s a genius. They have a piano like us. I wish I could play that song.”

Great quote from the RNC this week.

Can you believe all the interesting and beautiful creations for us to enjoy on this earth? And this is telestial? How glorious will celestial be!

I’m really recognizing how GREAT & essential the Holy Ghost is… My kids are never alone if they have the Holy Ghost. Lately I’ve focused on this so much with my kiddos… having the Holy Ghost in our home. Listening to the Holy Ghost. Silent prayers during the day – listen to the Holy Ghost if you don’t know what to do. Comfort from the Holy Ghost. Feeling the Love of God through the Holy Ghost. It’s GREAT! and … there’s so much more I have to learn about this gift:

Zucchini … Great Big Zucchini.
The recipe for Zucchini bread calls for 2 cups of grated zucchini (1-2 medium size). This whopper of a zucchini missed getting picked in its prime and hence will make 3 batches of the recipe. Zucchini grows so fast. I kinda want to see how big we can grow one. That’d be fun. For now, I’ll enjoy the zucchini bread. Thanks cookography for the great photo of the bread. Mine tasted as good as this looked. Maybe. Thanks AllRecipes for the 5 star recipe.

Summer Evenings
are
Great!

6 things I love about today

/2 Comments/in /by

Truman: We’ve been trying to encourage Tru to kneel down, fold arms, and close eyes during family prayer. Oh, how hard it is for him. Tonight. He jumped up after prayer and said “I tried so hard.” That boy did! He can do hard things!

Max’s prayer: “grateful for … uhhhh … hmmmm… sigh … hmmm… uhhhh … i don’t know the word.”

Abe: doing his best job ever telling a scripture story with a meaningful message about faith for fhe. So proud of him for doing it even though he was nervous.

Hannah: Working hard to get the bathrooms to sparkle. Pushing forward with dinner and setting the table when she knew I was spent.

Eliza: Eating lots of zucchini for dinner. She is much happier with a full stomach.

Jimmy: Making dinner because I was being a slouchy discouraged mom. He loves me!

I am blessed. Sometimes I get discouraged… there are challenges… but I am blessed.

Hurrah for Israel!

p.s. if you have a little time, this talk by Chad & Michelle Lewis is well worth it. It rejuvenated my heart to keep a goin’.

Faith – Hope – Charity

/2 Comments/in , /by

There have been some hard things going on this week with sisters/families in my ward. Indeed, the faithful have really hard things … really hard. Part of my “What about JOY?” lesson coming up involves HOPE. Isn’t that the ultimate JOY – the HOPE that comes through our Savior’s Atonement. Here are 3 prints I made to remind myself to focus on the eternal.

Peach Heaven … whatever shall we do?!

/0 Comments/in , /by

We have been swimming in peaches the past few weeks.
I placed a few group orders for our neighborhood from Burgess Orchards.
They even delivered them to my home.
They are Red Haven Peaches and are so juicy and tasty.
I think I ended up with 4 (20 lb) boxes by the end of it all.
$20 for 20 lbs for freshly picked peaches. Okay!
I wanted to freeze some… I can’t even remember how many quart bags I finished with.
I was so very tired. I don’t know how people can all autumn long.
My feet and legs get weary.

I made a peach crisp… which was so-so… not so crisp –
but makes for a tasty breakfast the next day!

I made jam.
Plain Peach jam failed. Completely failed.
It is peach syrup only I put too much sugar in. Bleh.
Raspberry peach set up much better.
I froze it for the next year of happy eating for Miss Hannah (my only jam eater)

Zuzu loves peaches.
Tru loves peaches.
Max and Abe – not so much.
Hannah loves peaches … like loves them.
She’s also a good helper at peeling the blanched peaches.
I love happy helpers.

I love me a tasty peach. They make my tummy happy.

Does LIGHT and TRUTH make me a changed person?

/0 Comments/in , , /by

remember a while back when I asked the question…
“How does knowing who you are, as a child of God, affect your every day, your every moment?”
It was the direction I was heading for my R.S. lesson.

Well… it broadened and morphed into this …

I really liked researching this topic.

Q: WHAT IS THE TRUTH & LIGHT WE HAVE RECEIVED?
A: Plan of Salvation, Divine Nature, Eternal Life, Marriage Sealing, Agency, Prophets of God, The Atonement, Baptism, The Priesthood, Repentance, Sacrifice, Atonement, Service, Honesty, Obedience, Temple Work, Communication with God through Prayer. There are many more, just peek in the Gospel Principles book.

Q: HOW DO WE KNOW THE TRUTH OF THESE THINGS?
A: Study, Witness of the Holy Ghost “By the Power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things.” Moroni 10:5

How often do we think about these marvelous truths throughout our day? Do we recognize how blessed we are to have this LIGHT?

Then I shared a few examples of Latter-day saint pioneers who recognized the blessings of LIGHT and TRUTH and let it positively affect their daily life.

Q: What can we do daily to WALK IN THE LIGHT OF TRUTH?
A: so many things … a few we talked about are on this handout.

lastly,
Q: WHAT ARE THE Blessings that come when I fill my mind & heart with LIGHT … and ACT on that Truth?
A: “Consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual.” Mosiah 2:41

Basically, I have been thinking about all the gospel knowledge/testimony I have received. Do I really live differently than others in the world because of the LIGHT I have received. Is it reflected in my attitude about my daily life?

I fear I often don’t live up to the responsibility I have to reflect all that LIGHT and TRUTH … putting it into Action. But this lesson was a good one for me – to start getting on the right track.

p.s. never fail… when I teach a lesson, I have a goober hard time with that very thing in the next week or two. I’ve decided this is one of two things… Satan tries his darndest to discourage us because he knows we have just born testimony of a very important gospel principle. or … Heavenly Father gives us a challenge to conquer to see how firmly we believe it. Wow – climbing mountains over here.

Next Lesson Topic:
Yep … life is hard … so, where does JOY fit in?