Honey Bee Fall Beauty bouquet

I love this gorgeous floral bouquet from Honey Bee Stamps. I spent a couple of hours coloring it over the weekend. It's going to a dear friend and her sweetie to thank them for their love and support. I love mums and Fall. The colors of Fall are so lovely. The air is so crisp. It makes my heart happy to watch the leaves change their gorgeous colors. It's so fun coloring this beautiful bouquet in lovely Autumn colors.

Thankful Tree

I love fall and Thanksgiving! I tried to figured out something for my entry. I've seen Thankful/Gratitude trees and loved them. I pulled out my trusty Silhouette Cameo and went to town cutting out leaves from the Basket and Leaves {Design ID #6488} and a tree from {Button Tree Shirt pattern}. I ended up using the tracing and copy features to make my tree more full. 

 I left the leaves out and let my family fill out their gratitude leaves. Some of them were:

Sweet Pea's: shoes, water, bed, food, shelter {she came up with that one all by herself}
Cutie Pies's: cuddles, naptime, thumb
Reed: candy, nibbles, tickles
Grandma: Children, baby giggles, heaters, rain
Heather: the Gospel, chocolate, family, books

Love my polka dot tree

 

I'm excited to have it in our entry as a daily reminder of our blessings.

What I Meant to Say

Do you ever have those moments/experiences when you know what to say, but then when you forget everything because of the people watching you? So many times my mouth takes over my brain and says things I didn't want to, Sunday was one of those times.

In my church, we set aside the first Sunday of the mouth to fast and to share testimonies of Jesus Christ and His teachings. Anyone in the congregation can go to the pulpit and share their feelings/thoughts and experiences that helped them gain a deeper understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I had those "butterflies in the stomach" feeling and knew the only way to get rid of them was share my testimony.

I wanted to express my gratitude for Heavenly Father and His protective hand in my life.
Here's what I tried to say:

A couple of weeks ago, my family and Sara's family went to Glacier National Park. We were touched by the beauty of the park and with God's amazing power in creating such a beautiful world for us to learn, grow and enjoy. On one of the hikes, I saw a bear (more on that experience read here). Everything turned out fine. The past couple of weeks I've thought of the experience and was so grateful it was a "positive encounter".

I've been thinking about some of the parallels between life and this experience. We can be walking along enjoying life and suddenly a huge obstacle/challenge (bear) blocks our path. We can be frightened, shocked, wonder why this bear is on our path. Our survival mode kicks in and the heart starts rushing as we try to figure out how to solve this situation and be safe/happy. Heavenly Father provides us with answers or reminds us of what we know (grab the sticks and make some noise as you back away). He gives us a peaceful feeling as we pray for help, sing Primary songs/Hymns. Sometimes He sends people (strangers, friends or family) to help us continue on the path/hold our hands through the trials. Then when you get past your "bear" you can continue on your hike enjoying nature until you reach your end goal (finding your family).

I'm so grateful that even when I sometimes mess up, He will still send me help and peace.

What I'm Thankful For ...

....knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The past year has been extremely heartbreaking, challenging and difficult. I never knew a person could have SO MANY TEARS and that they could come out during a variety of experiences (ie: grocery shopping, a lesson about Eli and Samuel in the Old Testament, going to the park, etc). The past couple of weeks have been quite heart-wrenching and I wanted a TIME-OUT from life, then came that "Heavenly Lifeline". Today, I was checking out a couple of blogs, when I came across this video and this testimony and talk.

I especially love Elder Holland's thoughts:

"Yet in my mind’s eye, for just an instant, I thought perhaps I saw on that side road an old car with a devoted young wife and two little children making the best of a bad situation there. Just ahead of them I imagined that I saw a young fellow walking toward Kanarraville, with plenty of distance still ahead of him. His shoulders seemed to be slumping a little, the weight of a young father’s fear evident in his pace. In the scriptural phrase his hands did seem to “hang down.” 15 In that imaginary instant, I couldn’t help calling out to him: “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it—30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

Their words reminded me how grateful I am for a Heavenly Father who throws me a lifeline, just when I'm ready to say "I QUIT!"

THANK YOU!!!!

Car Accident

Reed, Ms A and I were on they way to our Ward Christmas Party when we were hit head on by a pickup truck. The other driver was coming around a curve and hit us. Reed's car is totaled. Reed and Ms A have a couple of scrapes, but I have a spiral break on my left hand and six possibly seven fractures on my right foot. I have a wheel chair, boot on my foot and a splint on my hand.

My mom is here until the 26th and Sara will be here for Christmas. We feel so blessed that there wasn't more injuries. Heavenly Father had His protective hand over us.

Here's a picture of Reed's car.

Gratitude

It's been a bumpy couple of weeks for me. Now that life is calming down a bit, I've been thinking about some of the experiences I've had. Saturday morning I attended a funeral for a friend of mine. We've known each other for a rather short time, but she taught me to smile even when life is hard. At her funeral, one of her dear friends mentioned how important it is to let our friends know we love them. I was sitting by a dear friend who has touched my heart many times. She leaned over and told me that she loved me. I can't express how peaceful those three words were to me. I know that I am loved. The power behind that statement is awe-inspiring. Life is too short to forget to let our friends and family members not hear those three little words. So in honor of my friend, I want you to know that I love you! Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for lifting me up when I was down. Thank you for a shoulder to cry on. Thank you for making me laugh and see joy in life.

It is my prayer that we don't forget to let those we love hear those three words from us. :)

Mundane Chores

We all have them. They never seem to get acknowledged or end. The other day I received a bit of praise for one of the chores I don't mind doing, but it does get old and never seems to end. It made me see the appreciation and love that is received.

Ms. A woke up the other morning and joyfully exclaimed, "My Ariel panties are clean!" It made my day. Laundry is one of those things that have to be done, but how often do others recognize the task has been completed. Usually it's the "My ... is dirty and I need to wear it!" or another favorite of mine, "Next time you wash the clothes, will you wash my ...?" (After I washed three or four batches of clothes that morning.) It was so nice to hear Ms. A's gratitude and bliss knowing her favorite panties were clean. I knew she loved me.