More thankful

I know it's Christmas but I still feel the thankful from Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for the Book of Mormon. What a book! What a blessing! I finished reading it on Christmas eve. It was my little tender mercy this month. I'm thankful for a loving family. I'm thankful for a son in law who gave my daughter a letter for Christmas. It made her cry...with joy...for feeling loved. I'm thankful for a beautiful world. I'm thankful for health that enables me to enjoy the beautiful world. I am thankful for Christmastime and the opportunity to reflect on the birth of my Savior. Oh, and I love cross country skiing on Christmas day with my daughters.

Mulitplicity of blessings

Jim and Sarah learned this week that they are having a girl. All I can say is "And I will bless her with blessings, and multiply a multiplicity of blessings upon her, and upon her generations forever and ever, saith the Lord your God. Amen." D&C 97:28

Hooray, I'm rich!

Ok, I don't have a lot of money but I'm rich. I have a husband who loves me, 6 children who are doing good things with their lives, 2 daughters in law and a son in law whom I love, a healthy grandson, a warm home to live in, health and strength to do what I need to do, feelings of peace and love in my home, likin' hikin' ladies who put a smile on my face, a ward family, my parents and Dan's parents who are nearly perfect and love me unconditionally, siblings and nieces and nephews who are fantastic people. I live in a beautiful place that frequently reminds me there is a God. I have a testimony of Jesus Christ. Yes, I am rich.

What about you? If you read this blog please list in the comments why you are rich. I'd love to know.

My baby turned 16

John turned 16. How did that happen? Wasn't he born yesterday? He was our little caboose. Planned and wanted but it took a little divine intervention to let us know we wanted to plan for another child. He's been a joy from day one. I'm so thankful he came to our family. When he was a baby, and even as he grew, I was so appreciative of his ability to bring out the best in the rest of us. I loved seeing his older brothers and sisters love and adore him. I could see in them qualities of unselfishness, compassion, and charity that I weren't always evident but they were there in abundance around their little brother.

An experience that I had with John before he was born taught me that he was a valiant, good, and pleasant person. Yes, he is all of those and more. I love John and am so thankful he is a part of my family.

Now, look out on the roads because here he comes. He'll be driving a little red car. Use caution!!!

And I did go into the mount oft

Yesterday I came home from another wonderful hike with some friends and sat down to read my Book of Mormon. One of the first verses I read was 1 Nephi 18:3 "And I, Nan (I like to substitute my name in the scriptures), did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things."
I know that Nephi went into the mount oft because he didn't have a temple and so that was where he communed with the Lord. I have a temple. I have a home where I can also commune with the Lord. The next place where I really feel the spirit and feel divine direction is in the mountains.
Yesterday as I hiked I kept thinking about the Creator and the beautiful world he created for me. As I came to the mountain peak and saw the breathtaking view of Bear Lake my first thought was, "Thank you." I then thought, "There is a God. Only a God could create this beauty."
This summer I've been blessed to hike with some wonderful women. We did "go unto the mount oft." Yesterday was the 22nd hike as a group. I feel the "Lord showed unto me great things."
He showed me he loves me, that I have friends, that he created the world, that I can go to him and feel peace, that he answers my prayers, that it is a blessing to be alive, that he wants me to be happy.
I love the mountains. We all have places to go where we can commune with God. The mountains are one of those places for me.

Tradition

I love November 1st. It's the first day of my decade old tradition. I start reading the Book of Mormon on November 1st and finish it on December 24. I have a schedule that I follow. On the average it's about 10 pages a day. As I read I look for Christ. For me it's a great way to keep my mind focused on why we celebrate this season. It adds a little calm to the craziness.

And it was given to me...

Today we had Regional Stake Conference. All I can say is that I was fed throughout-the music, the talks, the whole thing...I'm so glad I was there. One talk in particular, given by Elder Eyring, resonated with me. He told of a time when he was in a district presidency on the East Coast when he was in graduate school. He had a test that, in passing it, he would receive his doctorate degree. On Friday he was given a lengthy and complicated case study that he needed to read, study, review and on Monday morning, for the test, needed to present his opinion of the case as well as his solution. On Saturday morning he got up and spent the rest of the day with the district president, driving around his district visiting various branches in the district as part of his calling. He said he'd read the case study and as he and the district president were driving home, at the end of the day, he started to discuss the case. Then, amazingly, he saw the case, understood it, and saw the solution. It was as though it was all written up on a paper before him. An understanding and solution to the case was given to him. On Monday he went to the test to present his study and solution to 3 professors. He presented to them what he had been given the Saturday before (after spending the day fulfilling his calling). The professors were delighted his ideas. He did very well.

I could relate to what he said because of an experience I had a few years ago. I was at a very busy time in my life. I was a full-time mom, had a full-time job and things were overwhelming with my calling as Stake Young Women's President because there was so much going on. That week, along with everything else, I needed to give a talk for the Laurel Training Camp leadership on Friday. As I looked at my week there was no time to prepare the talk. My week was full, from the moment I woke up until I went to bed each night. I didn't know what I was going to do. Then, one morning, as I took a short bike ride for exercise, I was thinking about my talk and I had a similar experience to Elder Eyring. My talk was given to me. I felt the words flowing into my mind. I knew what I was going to say, what scriptures I would use, and the experiences I would share. When I arrived home after my ride I had my talk. I felt the Lord knew my circumstance, knew I was doing my best, and knew I needed help, so in that busy week, He gave me my talk.

To everything there is a season

It's interesting being a grandma. I love the little guy as I loved my own children but I'm not the mom. There are some things he needs his mom for that I can't help him with. That's a big change for me.

Mindy is loving every minute of being a mother. She feels like she's playing house all day but now that Cash is 5 + weeks old she's getting tired. She knows her life has changed and while she wouldn't want it any other way, she's missing being able to make plans with her friends and do all the social things she is accustomed to doing. She knows those are small sacrifices for the innumerable blessings she is receiving. She has moved into a new phase in her life.

I look at my past summer and realize I am in a totally different phase than Mindy. It was 20 years from the time my first, Mark, was born until the time my last, John, went to school. I loved those years and gladly made any personal sacrifices for the children I love so much and miss those days of young motherhood but now, I wonder with all the activities I've been doing, if I'm trying to make up for lost time.

I learned that every phase of life is wonderful and challenging. We need to remember to enjoy the ride.

Brothers

What is it about siblings? There is some kind of a real connection. I know with my sisters, even though I don't see them often, whenever I do I feel connected to them. I understand them, laugh at the same jokes, and talk their same language.

We had Dan's two brothers spend the night last night. They have traveled very different paths in life. One had one son, retired, divorced and is happily living alone in Seattle. One emigrated to Switzerland, became an OB-GYN, married, had 2 children who were raised Jewish, divorced and is now happily remarried. Dan married (me :-) had 6 children and is a computer nerd (a cute one)

I loved hearing them talk although I wasn't much interested in what they were talking about. There was a problem with the computer program at work so Dan got on his computer to fix it. His brother looked over his shoulder for 45 minutes while Dan worked with the computer jibberish having Dan explain it as he went a long. (ugh!) Today they spent hours in Dan's little office working together on the computer. I was so happy I wasn't expected to participate in those conversations.

It will be months, maybe years before they are all together again but the connection will be there again, when that time comes, and they'll pick up right where they left off.

Day one, again

Yesterday I attended a mini class given by my friend, JoLynn, about blogging. I learned a lot. I started a blog last summer and posted twice and then got frightened by all the internet boogey men out there and quit. After JoLynn's class I learned some things that gave me more confidence in what to do and how to do it. So here I go, a new blog, a new day.