The Trials of Life

This morning I woke up bright and early ready to have a great day at the Billings, Montana Temple. I was able to spend 4 hours in the House of the Lord, and it was great. I learned alot about what I need to start doing, what I need to do better and what I need to know about myself and the course that I am on. One scripture that really stuck out to me this time was Isaiah 1:19, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:" This was quiet the reprimand to me from our Heavenly Father. I need to be more obedient, more willing to learn from Him and more willing to be obedient to the commandments. All areas in which I seem to always fall short. I wish that I could just excuse myself with my being mortal, but that excuse doesn't cut it all of the time. I need to be better. I know I do. Anyway, after a perfect day in the temple, at around 5:00 Ned got home and said that he was headed out to get Jame out at Yellowtail because the Suburban had broken down. Well, now I trust the Lord to help us. I need to learn that too, trusting the Lord because everything is in His hands. That's hard for me, being the control freak that I am :) There will be more on the outcome of the story as it develops, but one thing that I have learned from this evenings events are: Trust the Lord, he knows better than I do what I need right now, Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it, and it could have been a whole lot worse, he could have been stuck in Shoshoni.

Christmas Eve Day Activities

So, to prevent boredom, I've been trying to keep myself busy with projects that I would otherwise not get done during the school year and projects that I want to learn. I also have three books with me that I haven't had the time to read. Yesterday, my sister-in-law and I baked some peanut blossom cookies and made and frosted some sugar cookies. There were a few complications along the way, but all in all our cookies were a success. I absolutely love buttercream icing. Today, however, I am going to make some bows. My friend Jeffy has a post on her daughter's blog that shows you how to make the Gymboree bows for a fraction of the price that you pay for them. Thanks Jeffy for your ideas. I'm also going to try to make some paperbag scrapbooks that I learned how to do at a Fabulous Friday we had for our ward. They are so cute and I thought that maybe Ashlyn and Breckin would like to have a fun book of pictures of themselves. I might also get some gospel pictures off of the internet and make a book about that. I have so many ideas right now and I just need the motivation to do them instead of watch a movie with the kids. Of course not everything is going to get done today, I still have 10 more days of vacation, so I should probably stretch it out some. Merry Christmas Eve everybody!

I Thought I Was On Break

So, I think that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. This weekend is going to be crazy. Tomorrow in and of itself might do me in. I have been working out everyday this week so far, and tomorrow I plan on going swimming in the morning, just to ease my muscles, they are really sore. That happens at 6, then I have Ashlyn's Christmas program at school at 9:30, then work from 11-5:30. In the mean time, I've promised my husband fudge and banana bread. Friday should be a normal day, we'll see. Just work and home, but I do have Christmas presents to get ordered. I have a house that desperately needs cleaned. Then on Saturday, Jame and I are going to Cheyenne to look at getting a new car. I honestly thought that I was supposed to have some kind of break while I was out of school, but I've found myself already thinking about what is going to happen when we get back from Cody. I will only have a week until classes start again. Sigh. I'll make the best of what is left of this "vacation."

Putting the Christ Back in Christmas

This year the funds in our house are kind of tight, but it has given me a chance to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas instead of being caught up with the shopping and busyness of the season. This year we are doing a different Family Home Evening for each week of December and they all have something to do with Christ. The first week we read an article out of the Ensign about the true meaning of Christmas, last week we watched The Nativity Story, this week we are reading a children's book called The Miracle of the Wooden shoes, and the week of Christmas I plan on reading the Christmas story out of the book of Luke and having a birthday party for Jesus. I feel strongly that it is important for my children to learn about the true meaning of Christmas and to realize now how important our Savior's birth was to our own lives. I hope that you can also find the true meaning of Christmas and I hope that you will keep it in your hearts all year long.

New Project

So, since finals are now over for me, and I find myself with some extra time on my hands. This is my new project. We'll see how it goes. I've wanted to write a newsletter for our family members, but this seems like a better idea, maybe I'll keep up on it. So here is the update. Jame and I are both in school at the University of Wyoming. We both work. He works on campus for the director of the WWAMI program, which is the medical school program that he wants to get into. I work at a daycare in town. My kids go there and I love being around the kids all day. We are both active in church and otherwise. We have found that life has gotten quite busy, but we are happy for each moment that we have. We have 2 kids. Ashlyn is 4 years old and is quite a little girl. Her good looks tend to allow her to get away with more than what she normally would. She has the cutest dimples, a gift from her daddy, and that seems to be the first thing that most people notice. Breckin is 2 years old and full of spunk. He is all little boy. He likes to wrestle and horseplay with his friends. He is the ring leader of his "bad boy club" at daycare. He makes our family very happy and both of the kids are constantly entertaining us. Currently we are living in Laramie, but who knows what the next few years will bring. Jame will graduate with his bachelor's degree this May, and then he'll have a few more classes to take before he can take the MCAT. I have 2 more years left, which leaves perfect timing for possibly moving again. We both love school and are happy to set good examples of getting a good education for our children. I hope that someday I can get my Master's degree in special education. For now, we're dreaming big and taking things one day at a time.