Sunday thoughts

"If you feel like you don't measure up, remember the Savior doesn't expect you to be perfect immediately.  He simply asks you to be willing to do your best.  He sees you and knows your heart."

I think of that every time I have to teach my gospel doctrine lesson and lead the choir.

And what I learned today:

"Trusting in the Lord includes trusting in His timing and requires patience and endurance that outlast the storms of life.  In a paradoxical way, afflictions and sorrow prepare us to experience joy if we will trust in the Lord and His plan for us.  The good news of the gospel is not the promise of a life free of sorrow and tribulation but a life full of purpose and meaning - a life where our sorrows and afflictions can be "swallowed up in the joy of Christ."

If we are faithful in keeping our covenants, we too will one day arrive safely home and will bow before the Lord and shed tears of joy for the multitude of His tender mercies in our lives, including the sorrows that made space for more joy.

Happy Sabbath everyone!!!!

300 Voice Choir

Neal and I have the opportunity of singing in a 300 voice choir at the tabernacle next Sunday evening.  We have been going to practices for the last 4 weeks and the big event is scheduled for next Sunday.  We had our first practice at the tabernacle last night and were assigned our seats.  I am on row 3, seat five.  Actually a perfect place to sit.  Neal was helping people find their seats so I asked him to sneak a picture when he had a minute.  He actually remember and just before the practice began he took these two pictures.  I also got my hands on a ticket.  They call these the golden tickets.  The event is for all Jordan River Temple workers, spouses and any endowed members of the church.  They will be broadcasting it to Tooele, Elko, Nevada and some other remote areas.  The songs we are singing are beautiful and I have a hard time singing them without getting emotional.  Nothing uglier than crying while trying to sing.  Not possible for me!

Guide Dogs

We know that the Gertson family is totally enrolled in the amazing project of raising guide dogs.  Well, Abby raises them but the whole family has a part to play when a new puppy come to live with them.  Abby is on her third guide dog while attending Logan college.  The other day she sent this cartoon and we all loved it.  Just had to post it.  I would add here that Schulz's daughter joined the church and went on a mission.  I've read a little of her story and she said that her dad would send her cartoons about her on her mission.  I wish she would compile them all and put them in a book and publish them along with her story.  They would be priceless!

A Fun Surprise

Maren surprised me with this t-shirt and I LOVE it!!  I wore on Valentine's Day to work and the following day, Saturday, to meet up with Susan and Lila Mae.  I will probably wear it all year long even thought it has hearts on it for Valentine's Day.  Thank you, Maren.  Absolutely love it.

A Weekend Visit

Tucker popped into town for a very short but fully packed visit.  He arrived Thursday afternoon and Neal picked him up at the airport.  The drove from there to a ski rental place so Tucker could get outfitted for skiing.  When he got to the house we were all hungry so headed to the Habit for dinner.

The next morning he got up early and picked up Grayson and the two of them spent the day on the ski slopes.  Grayson snowboarding and Tucker skiing.  Tucker took a bunch of fun videos of Grayson and is going to put them together and send them to him.  They had an incredible time.  The weather certainly cooperated with Tucker's visit because it had snowed all week and snowed that day.  They couldn't drive up the canyon so they hitched a ride rather than wait for a bus they could get on.  Apparently everyone who wasn't working on Friday was headed to the mountains.

That evening Maren and her family came over and we played games and had the usual laughs.  Nothing much better for this family than gathering around the table for food and games.

 As you can see from the picture below that Tucker had Mallory, Maren and Greg spell bound with whatever he was telling them.  Well maybe spellbound is not quite the right word, maybe bored?  Just kidding.  I have no idea what the conversation was.

 Just wanted to add that I won the game.  Below would be the proof.

While Tucker was here, he and his dad went to a U of U basketball game on Thursday evening and then Saturday afternoon and evening Tucker met up with his friends from high school for dinner and another U of U basketball game.  

Sunday morning bright and early, 6 a.m., we said our goodbyes and Neal took Tucker to the airport.  It was a whirlwind visit but I'm always happy to have any visit from my son and his family.  

Some Fun Dance Pictures of my California Girls

We are so proud of all you have accomplished and continue to excel in dance as well as life!  We are looking forward to great things from all three of you.

Emmi Leaves Florida

Emmi has officially graduated from her training in Florida and we should add here, did so with honors.  She has now begun a new adventure in her life and will be living in Georgia.  From all of her emails and texts she has certainly taken advantage of all the sites in and around Florida and now has a new state to explore.  I love this picture of her with the battle ship behind.  She was on one of her many weekend adventures to see the sights of Florida.  I believe this was Blakeley Island.

This next picture is her officially release from Florida with her graduating honors papers.  She is packed up and ready to go.  I would add here that she had a new roommate the last few weeks she lived in Florida and it was the roommate from . . . . well, you can guess.  She has never been so happy to be out of that apartment and away from the psycho!!!

She sent this picture of her arriving safely at her new destination.  She found out that she has her own private apartment with no roommate!!  that made her very, very happy. 

Congratulations, Emmi on all your achievements so far and happy trails!   I know very little if anything about Georgia so I'm hoping there will be a visit from your Gam sometime in the next couple years!!

Stitching Project

I'm making progress on my stitching project.  I like posting my progress at the beginning of each month.  It's fun to look back and see how much I've done.  This is a really, really hard project but I know I'm going to love it when it is finished.

February come in with a bang!!

This is what we woke up to this morning.  We had about 18+ inches of snow in our happy valley.  They closed the county offices so I got a paid day off!  Mallory pretty much couldn't get out of the driveway and so she was able to stay home too.  It was a good relaxing day for both of us.  I did go out mid morning and shoveled the snow.  Just the driveway and then when Neal got home he finished the whole area off.  This is Mallory's car before we cleaned it off and shoveled the driveway.

 Notice the huge pile of snow!

A few random pictures of the Super Bowl Gathering.

I think the three girl spent most of the evening playing some crazy game with Emmi instead of actually watching the game.  They had a great time.  It was fun to hear them laughing and talking together.  

 Annie in the kitchen preparing all the food for the gathering.  She always does an amazing job.

 Neal watching the game the way he usually watches games.  I have to admit that I took a picture and sent it to Tucker to add to his collection.  He must have a gazillion pictures by now!

 Eating good food.  Annie had every kind of snack food, including candy, that anyone could possibly want.  Thanks Annie for inviting us out.

Sunday Super Bowl

The Chiefs and the 49rs played and the Chiefs won.  It was actually kind of a boring game but we had fun out at Annie's.  She invited us out for snacks and to watch the game.  She had a ton of finger foods and soup.  I brought a vegetable tray and some grapes.  We had a fun evening.  We got a picture from Jamie of their group gathered for the game so, of course, we had to send one back.
Mallory is in this one.  She did a great job getting all of us in the picture.

And I think this one if me giving directions - just being a grandmother!!

 Jamie and Tucker's group.

Blakeley Island

Emmi was visiting Blakeley Island and some of the huge battle ships.  She is having so much fun traveling around and seeing the sights and I love that she send pictures.  You look beautiful Emmi Girl!!

P. S.

I forgot to mention that I had two girls from the primary sing the first verse of I Am A Child Of God.  Madison Jackman and Reese Ewing.  I wanted to do something special for them so I had Annie find a necklace to give them.  She ordered them for me and I gave them to the girls after stake conference.  They did a beautiful job.  I was so proud of them.

These are the necklaces that Annie ordered.

Stake Conference

Stake Conference was amazing.  For some reason, the older I get, the more I love stake conference.  I remember when Jeff and Annie were little that often we would count stake conference as a 'vacation' from church.  We did go to stake conference often but we also skipped it often as well.  Shame on me!!

So fast forward 45+ years and I found myself speaking in stake conference often as the stake relief society president and now leading my ward choir (that I refer to as my little tabernacle choir) in stake conference.  Before I left for conference that morning, I knelt in prayer and asked Heavenly Father for help for me as the director and for my choir that He will accept the songs we sing.  What an amazing a spiritual experience that was for me.  The two songs that I chose for the choir to sing was I Am a Child of God and The King of Love My Shepard Is.  Both beautiful and very moving spiritual songs.

My confidence began to diminish as stake conference started and then an amazing thing happened.  President Little had already announced the first half of the program.  He sat down, I lead the congregation in the opening song, we had the opening prayer and all of a sudden President Little stood up and said that he needed to say something.  He talked about how our Heavenly Father accepts everything we try to do.  And it doesn't matter if we fail at what we try, it is that we tried and he accepts that and rewards us.  I wish I had recorded it.  It was the most amazing little sermonette that touched my heart and gave me the confidence I needed to lead the choir.

After stake conference I had so many people tell me how wonderful the choir sounded and one gentleman even said that he had been a choir director and sung in ward choirs for over 16 years and had never heard a ward choir that sounded that good.

I don't take credit for any of it.  I know that the choir was blessed from beyond.  I even think Annette and Mother were there.  Annette was probably singing with them.  What an incredible spiritual high I experienced.  I came right home and found a quiet place and knelt down and thanked my Father In Heaven for hearing and answering my prayers.  How I love the Gospel and the challenges that every calling in the church has brought to me.  The growth that I have experienced is amazing and beyond anything I ever thought I could do.

Yup, THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!  And don't you forget it.