Knowledge

"Seek learning, even by study and also by faith." D&C 88:118

I loved learning about knowledge. I remember this was one of my favorite values the first time that I did my Personal Progress. I learned abou the importance of gaining knowledge, learned a new talent (time management/scheduling & being productive instead of procrastinating (obviously something I'm still working on )), re-memorized the 13th Article of Faith, gave a talk in sacrament meeting, and memorized two of my favorite hymns. For my project, I created a personal health & fitness plan and followed it for one month.

It was amazing.

It was a very simple plan - drink 2 water bottles full of water every day, cut back on unnecessary snacks & cut out all sugary snacks, eat lunch every day, stretch & do core strengthening exercises every day, exercise 3-5 times a week for at least 30 minutes. Even though it was simple, it was more than what I was doing and enough to give me a feeling of accomplishment, but not so much that if I messed up I felt devastated. And now, I feel great! I am in better shape right now than I have been since before Hannalyn was born. I feel so grateful for the project - and for the knowledge I have about the Word of Wisdom and how important our bodies our. This project was so good for me and I'm hoping the good habits I started will stay with me forever.

Knowledge is a powerful tool if we really use it. :)
Happy Tuesday!

Photo a Day 22-28

22. Money

23. View

24. In the garden (my mom's garden)

25. Depth of field

26. Gift

27. Mini

28. Orange

Photo a Day is created by Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim. It's a super fun way to look for something new every day. It gives me a chance to pretend to be creative and do a tiny something for myself every day. I love it. I'm only playing for one more week (though I'll probably do it again in September or something), but new prompts are posted every week all year - go check it out! :)

the youngest of us

It's official. No more little kids anymore. My youngest sibling has turned 14.
I have no clue what my parents are thinking, but I'm kind of freaking out.

The first picture is Megan as a little baby - probably one-ish because she finally had hair ;) See how interested she is in the Gameboy Advance (GBA) that I'm playing? She has always been more tech-savvy than the rest of us. I remember a time when she was about 3 years old and we couldn't get the computer to work, us older kids were complaining to my parents and when they finally went to check it about an hour later, Megan was in there playing a game on the computer. She'd gotten it to work somehow and it didn't have any more problems. Crazy.

I think this is our first all-sister "selfie". Though of course we didn't call it that back in 2001. This was taken on my very first camera (one that used FILM of all things) and I have a whole progression of pictures. We didn't have screens on our camera back then, so we are extremely lucky that this turned out at all and as much of us on the sides made it in as we did. What can I say, we're talented girls.

Last, but not least, this is Megan in 2010. Only five years ago. It's amazing how much she has grown up since then. Megan has really become a beautiful young lady. And to top it off, she is ridiculously talented. She easily has the most unique and exciting singing voice of all us - she is super versatile and writes her own music (and it's actually good! not the weird stuff I typically hear from 14-year olds). I am so proud of this young woman. She is amazing in so many ways and I'm so grateful to have her as part of our family. We would not be complete without her. She is the cherry on top that makes everything come together & so much more awesome and fun.

Love you, little sis. Happy 14th birthday!
xoxoxo

A Good Day

Yesterday was a fabulous day for 9 reasons. I want to share with you (and with my memory) the things that made yesterday a very good day. I think one of the reasons not listed below was because it was a surprise. I expected an average, normal day, and got a really really good one. Don't you love happy surprises?


1. This blanket made for Daniel & me by Daniel's sister Lorraine. It's beautiful, right? I pulled it out, draped it on the couch, and haven't touched it. I just love looking at it and it's in my dining room where I see it anytime I walk through the house. It just makes me feel so happy.

2. Hannalyn didn't nap, but she was still really good all through the long night of Beauty and the Beast. What a trooper :) Even when the other little kids tried to pick her up out of her pack-n-play...and failed... she only cried because she was watching me run in and out.

3. Daniel bought me flowers. I love flowers.

4. I bought a bunch of books! The store that I have bought all my favorite books at since I was 13 and would save my pocket money until I had enough to go get two at a time (because I could never pick just one) has closed. I am devastated. There are no other book stores in Vernal. I happened to go in with my mom who was looking at their furniture as possible options for Cold Stone and they offered us music books and reading books - for $2 each! Uhm... YES. So I bought about 50 books, mostly music books but a few of my favorite books that I've read before but just haven't owned yet, and a few new ones, too! Including a first edition Harry Potter hardback book ($2!!!). Yeah. I'm kind of floating on cloud nine right now.

5. I also was given a free music stand from this same store. As well as a bunch of CDs and DVDs that were just handed to my mom & I and told to "enjoy". :)

6. Hannalyn slept in until 10 which means I slept til 10 (which is probably why she didn't take a nap... or maybe it was because she'd slept all day the day before. oh well. sleeping in is always a happy surprise)

7. I got told I was funny by someone who came to Beauty and the Beast and met a random person who wants to marry me. True story. He came over, flexed his muscles, and told me that he is the Beast and I am Belle, so he is my husband now. Never seen him before in my life. Then he ran off and I didn't see him again. So... ? Also. Picture of us dancing napkins below.

8. I saw Mr. Hansen!!! He came to Beauty and the Beast. I haven't seen him since Julie's funeral. It was so great to see him. He told me that he really enjoyed watching me onstage again, which of course I appreciated more than anything. Mr. Hansen's good opinion of me and what I do means so much to me. I was grateful to see him and cried just a little bit, too.

9. Last, but definitely not least, I said a LOT of prayers. The afternoon when Hannalyn would sleep for 30 seconds and then jolt awake for whatever random reason was tough. I prayed a lot to make it through and I think that God blessed me to not only make it through, but have a really wonderful day. So, hooray for prayer!

And here's to more good days coming. :)

Good Works

Good Works was TOUGH. It involved a lot of time and a lot of energy. But man, it felt really really good. In the Young Women Personal Progress book, there is a line that says "I will help others and build the kingdom through righteous service." I really like that. I can help others - I'm good at that! And if I do it right, I'm providing righteous service and that builds that kingdom of God. Amazing.

While working on this value, I learned why service is a fundamental principle of the gospel, learned how to comfort others, taught a lesson about service in family home evening, served a specific individual in my family (for a month!) and then recorded in my journal how our relationship improved, and weeded (wed? wode?) my mom's garden. It was hot, dusty work. And there were a lot of bugs. Ew. For my project, I gathered new recipes, put together a new book, shopped following a budget, and made dinner for my family. Doesn't sound that exciting, right? But when you consider that most of the time we eat the simplest, fastest meal I can concoct, I did a great job. For two weeks we ate really well - fruits, veggies, proper servings and everything! Yum. And now I have better motivation to continue doing a good job because I know that I am capable of being awesome.

Plus, it was an awesome feeling to really take time to serve my family every day. Even if I felt like I did nothing else worthwhile in the day, at least I made a really delicious dinner and gathered my family around me. That counts for something. I love serving the people I love the most. It was a very simple project, but one that reminded me that service doesn't have to be difficult, it just has to be heart-felt. :)

Yay for good works!

Opening Night

Opening night was last night and it was a BLAST! I had so much fun. Hannalyn got to watch the show with my dad, brother, and grandparents and she was such a good girl - very well-behaved. And Daniel sounded fabulous with his full voice back. A success all around I think. Hooray!

Hannalyn wasn't really excited about taking pictures with me before the show. Normally she gets really excited to look at herself in the camera, but this time she had none of it. It took me singing a song and bouncing her up and down for her to even give an open-mouth-I'm-excited type of face. *sigh* Oh well. There will be lots more chances.

These girls are my Silly Girls. They are SO much fun. I was worried at the beginning because I didn't want to be ridiculous with girls I didn't know, but these two made it so easy to have fun and be crazy. I think we make a pretty good set. First, horrid selfie, and then better full-costume shot.

And my mom! She is Mrs. Potts and does such a great job. I'm so proud of her. She has worked really hard and is really quite outstanding. I am so grateful to be able to do these fun things with her.

So... the question of the day is: ARE YOU ON YOUR WAY YET? We would love to have visitors and spend time with you. The show runs all this week (tonight - Saturday night) and next week Monday - Friday. You really need to come so that I can test out my new-found funny skills. I didn't realize that I was funny until I did this show. I was always cast as the not-funny one that makes everyone else looks funny. This has been a new challenge for me. AND you get to watch me do the splits! Yay! I mean, what more could you ask for? ;)

...how about a link to buy tickets?? Just click HERE.
You're welcome.

Photo a Day 15-21

15. Sun

16. Anything

17. Lunchtime

18. Local // Hint, hint: Set of Beauty & the Beast in Vernal!

19. 9 o'clock

20. What I'm doing now

21. Wet// Hannalyn's hair - it's amazing the shapes it will make :)

Photo a Day created by Chantelle at FatMumSlim

Check it out! It's easy & fun to do.

Father's Day

First, to the father of my child:

Daniel, I love you. I admire and respect you so much. I am so grateful for you.

I love watching you with Hannalyn. The two of you together make my heart sing.

Thank you for being a wonderful husband and father. I love you.

Second, to the father of me:

Daddy, Thanks for being my friend and reminding me that I'm not odd. Not odder than you anyway. ;)

Thank you for teaching me good things. Thank you for playing with me.

Thank you for helping my imagination grow. Thank you for being my dad & an awesome grandpa.

I love you.

Third, to the countless fathers that have made an impact on me & my family:

THANK YOU. Your influence means the world to us - makes us stronger & better. 

We love and appreciate you so very much. Your strength & kindness is never forgotten.

Happy Father's Day all you dads.

Keep being awesome.

Faith

You guys, I am so proud of myself! I am on a roll here. I only have 3 more projects to finish by the end of the month! I can SO do this. Hooray! Good vibes, good vibes. Also, doesn't my mom grow the most gorgeous flowers? I mean, seriously. I kill every plant I touch. I need to learn her skills.

Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things;

therefore if you have faith ye hope for things which are not seen,

which are true.

(Alma 32:21)

We learn early on in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For this value, I got to exercise faith my establishing a habit of prayer, learn how to be a faithful woman, wife, and mother, taught a Family Home Evening lesson on faith, carefully studied the sacrament prayers & songs, learned about the plan of salvation, and paid my tithing. For my project, I wrote a song about faith. It's super cheesy. Basically it's a poem set to music. Part of my project stated that I have to share the poem I wrote with family & friends and Daniel said I need to share it here, so, I'm going to. Just don't mock my weakness in writing. It's not particularly good, but it came from the heart, and that's all that matters to God. 

What it means to me

I've never seen an angel

descending from above,

or any other vision

sent from God with love.

I've never moved a mountain

or made the whole earth shake

I've never made the wind cease

or walked across a lake.

I have seen wondrous beauty,

heart-stopping and divine.

I have seen God answer honest prayers

both other's and of mine.

I have read the words of promise

that are written in a book,

and found the peace Christ promised

would come if we just look.

I've witnessed many miracles

in life, both big and small

and can think of no greater miracle

than one God gave to all.

He sent His Son to die for us,

to rise and live again.

Our Savior lived and died for me,

and all children of men.

I wasn't there, I didn't see.

It probably sounds absurd,

but I have found a testimony

by learning about this word:

FAITH. Just faith. A little word

so common and oft-spoke.

But this one little word

gives me continual hope.

My faith's not great like men of old

who saw the Savior's face,

who calmed the lions, storms, and seas,

made earth a better place.

My faith is small, but strong and proud

and so I'll raise my voice aloud

to praise my Lord, my God, my King

my thanks for faith and what it means to me.

Divine Nature

My Divine Nature Project

(yes it really took me 10 hours. I'm awesome)

"I have inherited divine qualities, which I will strive to develop."

-- Young Women Personal Progress

I think Divine Nature is such an important value in the Young Women program. I really believe that if all women - young and old - knew and understood, and I mean perfectly understood, their divine nature, we would be unstoppable. Unstoppable! One thing attacked the most in the world today is a woman's divine nature. It's so sad, but women seem to have forgotten who they are and where they come from. Even women who know don't really understand. I don't feel as though I truly "get it", but I learned that it's important for me to try. 

As part of this project, I got to learn about the divine qualities of a daughter of God. Did you know that just being loving towards your siblings, parents, and children is a DIVINE quality given to you by God? It's true. I also got to learn more about how much The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints loves and upholds womanhood. I made efforts to strengthen relationships with my family members, memorized the sacrament prayers, focused on a specific diving quality to strengthen (and succeeded!), and learned about becoming a peacemaker. Fabulous experience from beginning to end.

For my project, I made a 'temple wall' in our home. The three plaques shown above are just the beginning of this wall. Each temple is very important to our family - the Vernal temple on the left and the San Antonio temple on the right are the temples in which Daniel & I received our endowment (I in Vernal and he in San Antonio, in case you wondered). The Manti temple in the middle is the temple in which we were sealed for time & all eternity. Which is the most amazing blessing that I could ever imagine and the one I am the most grateful for every single day. Added to the wall will be temples that we have visited together. I have several pictures & labels ready to go... I just have to find them. They are buried still from when we moved here two years ago in my crafting stuff that I never really unpacked. Oops. But I'm thrilled.

I want my children & my family & people who come into my home to know how important the temple is to me. Being creative is part of my divine nature and if you are creative, it's part of yours, too. Especially when you use that creativity to bless and bring joy to the lives of those around you. I know that having pictures of the temple in my home will bless my family - it will keep them focused on the right things. It also makes me feel good because I know that I made something (very simple and not the most gorgeous, but I did it) beautiful for my home.

Remember, YOU have eternal worth. You are of immense value to your Heavenly Father. Never doubt that He loves you and know that every good thing that is part of you comes from Him. We are blessed in countless ways daily, and I am grateful for good qualities that help me get closer to my Savior.

Photos from my "real" camera

Woo! Payson temple. What a gem. What a beauty. What a day.

All photos taken on my canon powershot...something. It's like, a dinosaur now. I got it in 2008. But I still love it and plan to use it until it turns into fossils. Or whatever happens to cameras. Ha! It was crazy playing with sister's brand-spanking new camera last weekend and I admit, I got a little covetous, but then I used mine again and remembered why I haven't upgraded just yet and I was happy. Eventually I will. Soon, probably. But I still love my baby canon.

And this cute girl. She was SO tired but SUCH a good sport. Look at her sitting so nicely:

And PROOF! She can walk. This was the first day in WEEKS that she chose to stand up instead of just collapsing as soon as I set her on her feet. We were thrilled. She walked everywhere. Yes barefoot. I was lucky I'd remembered to pack her a dress for the day and she wasn't in pjs. *sigh*

Dan-the-groom's-man.
(and the best looking one there, if I do say so myself.)

(favorite pic of the day that one right up there. I said "give daddy a hug" and she fell right into him.

 insert emoji with smile & heart eyes here) 

Michael & Melanie walked out the temple & everyone started clapping, so Hannalyn enthusiastically joined in.

Beautiful temple, beautiful cloudy day. Someday I'll go back and get pictures in the sunshine. :)