Remember Lots Wife

Well, I have waited a long time for Elder Hollands talk to be put online. And I found it today. I am so excited. Here is the link if you would like to listen to it. It is one of the best talks I have ever heard! I will be adding this to my Mp3 player. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have and will continue to have. And I would like to say Thank You, Elder Holland!

http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1819&tid=5

These are the best of times, these are the worse of times

I was checking the news on the Internet. I don't remember where I went online but as I scanned the headlines I saw that a man had killed his family and himself because of financial problems. I felt sad for the family and wondered why this man thought he could take their lives. I had a scripture pop into my head as I read about his possible financial ruin. "Men's hearts shall fail them...." I grew to a greater understanding of this scripture and how increasing this problem is becoming. Men's hearts are failing them. I have taught this scripture many times and I have thought about the great depression how Men's hearts failed them but I am now living to see it really happen.

I think about Madoff who stole billions from investors and how some people who were once wealthy now have nothing. For months after we read how men killed themselves because of financial ruin. Finally I think I am understanding these 2 things and how they are connected together. Then of course my mind is left to ponder over this and I end up asking myself, how do you insure that your heart does not fail you?

This past week I have had another scripture running through my head for some reason. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding..." I have pondered upon it as well. Then this morning as I was laying in bed pondering on different things these two thoughts came together. Men's hearts shall fail them.... lean not unto thine own understanding but to Trust God.

My thoughts then went back to those who have taken their lives because they trusted in Man and not God. These two thoughts intrigued me and how they fit so well together. I got out of bed and went to the computer and to the internet. LDS.org is our home page. There was the sweet face of Pres. Monson. I pulled up his current Ensign talk. What did the first sentence read??? “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Now while this is all very cool to me and now I have come to understand the theme that was building in my head better, I have no idea why these thoughts have come to me? Is something coming on the horizon and I need to have this knowledge and testimony in place? I sure hope not! Is it a wink from God saying I'm just checking to see if your still thinking about me? Perhaps I use it to make sure that I always trust in the Lord and not in man's arm or knowledge.

Which is very interesting to me since I work with people who achieve what the world acknowledges as the highest degree of education that of being a Ph.D. I often listen to them talk and while they know their stuff they are relying on the arm of flesh and how long will that carry you or will it carry you? I think I can say no that when we rely on ourselves solely we fail.

So I might not have a Ph.D but I have a sure knowledge and I am grateful that I don't have to fear the future because I can trust Heavenly Father. That is worth more than any amount of school knowledge, life knowledge and all the money in the world. Thanks for the wink!

Sometimes life is just that way!!!

So Kath asked me if Mike and I were going on Saturday and I said, where would that be? She told me there was a High Priest Temple trip. I said oh, well let me ask Mike if he has anything planned for Saturday. What would be better than a trip down to Orlando with Devin and Kathy.

As it worked out Mike was free to go and so we took the opportunity to snag a ride down to Orlando with some of our favorite people. We got up early Saturday morning and headed down. Mike and I both had talks to finish/start writing but we just chatted the whole way down and back. Ya have to love family who are also very dear friends.

We made it to the temple and to our great surprise the temple was stuffed full of people. Kathy and I had to wait in the dressing room because there was standing room only in the halls and the Chapel. I thought this is great. This is exactly how it should be every time. We were able to do 2 family names for a women from So. Florida as she stood in line with us. I looked at the name and other stuff on my card and noticed she was born 29 Feb 1872. She would have been 43 years old. Her birth day date is a leap year. How cool is that. Anyhow, we eventually make it into a session and gather back together in the celestial room.

We decided that we were very hungry and decided we would go to lunch at "Sweet Tomatoes."
We were hungry and nothing better than stuffing yourself with yummy salad, soup, pasta, bread and you even get to have dessert. We were finally settled into our table with our salads, drinks and good conversation. We ate until we thought our eyes were going to pop out. But we still needed to have dessert. Some of us were sitting for a moment to let our stomachs digest some before taking on the dessert bar.

I happened to look to the right of me and my eye caught an older women quickly putting her chocolate muffin into her purse. I didn't think much of it until I continued to watch her stuff more chocolate muffins into her purse. She was quick. She was scanning the restaurant for anyone that might be watching her. I tell you she had this move down pat. Before I could blink she had 2 then 4 muffins in her purse and that was just what I saw go in there. Kath was getting ready to get up and I said.... sit down... and shared with her the old women who was high jacking all the chocolate muffins.

She didn't have the "hot" muffins in her purse too long before an elder gentleman came walking up to her with 4 more chocolate muffins on a plate. He sat it down in front of her and she went to work again. She did leave one on the plate which told me her purse must be full. By this time we were counting how many she had in her purse. I counted 10 and that was just what I had seen. She excused herself from the table and I wondered what she was going for next. She came back with a yam. I wondered how that was going to mix with the muffins. I was disappointed because she ate that at the table. We chatted about why the need for so many chocolate muffins. We all eventually made our way to the dessert bar. I went to try a chocolate muffin. I assumed they were very good! But they were ALL GONE. Awe darn! But while standing at the dessert bar out came a whole new batch of you guessed it "Chocolate muffins." My face broke out with a huge smile. I figured it wouldn't be long before the word got out there was a new pile of chocolate muffins.

We finished up our meal and knew we needed to head back home. I noticed that the elderly man had cut the last muffin into 4th and was sharing it with their friends. They all seemed to like what they tasted. But by the looks on their friends faces they had no idea they were sitting with Slick Finger Sally and Sam. We were getting ready to leave when here he comes again with 4 more chocolate muffins on a dish. We just looked at each other and laughed. That was sure some purse you've got there sister but I think the friends on the other side of the table were cramping their style. As we headed out to leave we could hear the elderly man ask his friend if he didn't need to go and get more ice for his tea. To which the man replied. No I'm fine. Our final decision about why they were taking all the muffins was the grand kids must be coming over!

We talked about that on the way home. I only hope that if Mike and I get so bad off I can still make chocolate muffins for him and anyone else who might like to have one. I hoped she was able to make it out the door carrying her 15+ chocolate muffins. That had to be one heavy purse!

Oh and by the way... they really weren't that good. Kind of tasted like they had lots of bran in them.

Thought for the week!

There are days that I truly still miss Pres. Hinckley. I love the sound of his voice and the way he taught. Someone shared this with me and I thought I would share this touching story with you. It has caused me to want to be better person.

3 strikes and yerrrrrr OUT!

Kristen showed me a very bad thing! What is that thing you might ask. Hot Chocolate from the mini marts. Yes!!! I had no idea you could get hot chocolate from a gas station. I learned a sad fact that not gas stations have the hot chocolate button on the coffee machine. She also shared with me that if you pour creamer into the cup it will make it even better. It is yummy on a cold day. I also learned not all mini marts are created equal and that some sell weak and pathetic hot chocolate. I mean come on people am I the only person on this earth who buys your hot chocolate?

We have had some cold days this past month and half. Last week we woke up to 14 + 16 deg mornings. That is just plain BURRRRRR Seriously we live in FLORIDA and I have thin blood and so I get cold easily. Just ask Mike and he will tell you. I carry blankets in my car along with extra clothing just for those chilly times.

On one of these early morning this past week I needed to be to a school very early in the morning and it was about an hour away from my house. I left a few minutes early so I could stop and get me a cup of hot chocolate. It was a great plan and a great way to start the morning or so I thought. While I was in getting my cocoa I thought to myself okay what can I grab for breakfast as well. Donuts yummmm but too fattening. A big muffin? No they said on the radio muffins are like eating cake. Too fattening.

I scanned the room and my eyes fell upon something that was a make shift McDee's breakfast sandwich. I know FATTENING! But is had a certain appeal to it and it was warm. Warmth is a major plus factor when it is so cold outside. So I grab the last one. Hey there is only one left so they must be good right?

I get into my car and the first thing I do is taste my hot chocolate... it's hot ... but very weak. Darn I think. I unwrap the breakfast sandwich and look at it. It's an English Muffin with an egg and a small sausage dog cut down the center and spread open and finally it has some yellowish cheese type substance on it. Okay, how bad can it be?

I take a bite when the hotness from that wiener rushes to all corners of my mouth. I pull the sandwich back to take a better look. This is one spicy dog. My brain says take it off and just eat the rest. But like a fool I continue to consume this spicy breakfast crap all the while saying to myself... this is bad!

About 3 weeks or so ago I was driving down to this same school with the same thoughts. I stopped at a different mini mart hoping to get a cup of cocoa. I find they have the machine and I am happy. I look around for something else to grab. Donuts yummmm but too fattening. A big muffin? No they said on the radio muffins are like eating cake. Too fattening. The same thought running in my head.

I spot a small fried chicken place within the mart. You know like Church's Fried Chicken but this one was called Chesters. I walk over to see what they have. You can order just about anything and it hot. This is a good sign! So I said, can I have a biscuit, bacon and cheese sandwich please? I watch as the old guy pulls out about 8 -10 slices of very crunchy bacon. He is doing something behind the window that I can't see. Hands me the wrapped sandwich. I pay for my meal and head out. I take a sip of my cocoa and it is sooo good. Just right! I unwrap my sandwich and there it is... a biscuit with a mound of crunchy bacon in the center of the biscuit and a slice of cheese. Just like I ordered and that's it. Nothing else. I guess I expect more but I just looked at it. My choice was to either eat it or throw it away. So I take the plunge and say why not? This is the south and it just might be good. I take my first bite into a towering biscuit filled with Bacon and a slice of cheese. It was crunchy to say the least and bacon fell all over me. I felt the fat rushing to my heart. I think to myself, well I wont be doing this again.

So the lessons I am slowing learning is... Don't buy breakfast at the mini mart unless you plan on buying packaged donuts or giant muffins. I might give one more chance to the mini marts of the world and hopefully it will redeem all the heart clogging breakfast I have had these past 2 months. But I think next time. I might just say.... do you have a banana?

Senior Discounts

Mike and I went down to Orlando Friday night and came home late last night. The temple is always the main reason why we go down to Orlando but there are also other things we enjoy doing like outlet shopping.

I must go back a bit for a moment and tell you that I went to the Eye Dr. in Dec and have been wearing bifocal contacts. When we he gave me the contacts to try on the distance was outstanding. Better than 20/20. The reading part was less then okay. It was blurry and I found that if I held things out far enough I could possibly read it. It proved to be a bit frustrating since I work at a computer almost all day and I read and write as well all day and none of this was fitting into the perfect and clear window like my new distant was. I found that my arms just weren't long enough to see and do everything. I went back and asked him if I needed trifocals. He said get some reading classes and that ought to help. So I did. And that proved to solve my problem for most things except one... I couldn't see the time nor the date on my watch face. So I searched for a face that was big enough for me to read both things. I found something at an outlet Timex store in Naples but it was actually a male watch. I figured if I changed the black band for a purple one it would solve that problem. I looked around town and no such luck. No feminine colored bands. I googled purple watch bands and did everything but push the pay button.

Since we were going to Orlando I thought I would wait to see if I found anything down there. We have our favorite places we hit up when we are in Orlando like VF Factory Outlet and other outlet stores. We had some pretty good luck yesterday. I found a watch band for my new BIG watch face. I asked the guy if he had a purple band. He laughed I took that as NO. But he pulled out about 20 different ones. Finally out came a cream soft looking band. That proved to be the one. Problem solved!

So I can now wear my bifocal contact with my big faced watch and feel confident in keeping track of my time and day. Life is looking up! As Mike and I wondered around in Orlando going from place to place our list was getting shorter and we realized it was about time to head back for home. It was also getting towards dinner time and we decided to stop at Golden Corral. I usually don't like these types of places as much as other places but this seemed like a good fit this time. We walked in, paid and found a seat. I claimed the table and stayed put until Mike came back. As I looked at our receipt with my new eyes I noticed something on there I have never seen before. Senior Discount!

Strange things happened inside my head. I was excited to see if we actually saved anything and then in a split instant within my new found joy crept unhappiness. We aren't old enough to have a senior discount I thought!!!! What is wrong with that lady. Did she see my bifocal contacts and my extra big watch? Did she notice all the gray in my hair? Do we even look like we are old enough to have a discount???? Na we don't look that old! I kept thinking....we certainly don't look like we are old enough to be eligible for a discount?? Maybe she needs my bifocal contacts and big watch faces. As the drama played in my head back and forth I finally decided it wasn't so bad. I asked Mike if he had seen anything on the slip that was odd. He said ya the senior discount. The discussion ensued the same way it had gone on in my head. We determined that hey if they are willing to give us a discount then we darn well deserve it.

So I say... hit me up babe! Give me those discounts! I'm a senior and darn proud of it!

Jan 25, 1984

I would like to CELEBRATE ALYSE today because it's her Birthday and I am so happy Heavenly Father put her into our family. I remember very well the day when I had Alyse. She came into the world very quick. I guess she couldn't wait to get here. She came 2 weeks early and my labor was only 2 hours long. Yes from first contraction until I was back in a recovery room, 2 hours. I was so excited to hold in my arms a little girl and she was going to be in our family.

My dad use to call Alyse, "White Lightening." She was quick! Alyse learned to walk when she was 7-8 months old. And as soon as she could walk she was climbing on everything. We were at a park one day and I happen to look at the top of a very BIG jungle gym and there stood Alyse teetering back and forth in front of a steep slide. Terror went through my soul as I tried to get her to sit down. There was no way I could race to the top and rescue her. After much coaxing and prayer she finally sat down on her bum and then came down the big steep slide no year old should be on. As soon as she came down she headed right back up. I grabbed her hand and we went off to try other smaller things. But she was quick and loved heights! Alyse also has the ability to make friends where ever she is. She could tell you all the names of the children on the play ground. Did I mention that she talked early as well!

Alyse is a very smart cookie. She will tell you otherwise but she is very quick at picking things up and learning. When I think of Alyse as a child I see lots of blond hair bouncing as she would run and climb. She was given the nickname Lisse Belle by my mother.

I have been very proud of Alyse as she has grow in her life. She has always had the right things within her sight. A testimony has always burn strong and bright within her soul. The most amazing day came last year when Alyse set a goal and we all went to the temple with her. There is nothing better in this life nor quite as wonderful in this world as to see your daughter standing in all white in the House of the Lord. These are the moments when you understand just a fraction of the joy Heavenly Father feels when we return home to him. This must be heaven I thought that day. She still has blond hair and it still bounces but now in a different way. She returns often to the temple and she loves being there.

I love to hear Alyse laugh and to talk to her about the gospel. She sends me funny stuff during the day via email and sometimes it is just what I needed to make my day better. She truly is everything a mother would want in a daughter. Happy Birthday Alyse!! I love you without measure!