The Gilbert AZ Temple Open House

There is a lot of temple building going on in Arizona!!  It's very VERY exciting!  The Gilbert Temple is the second to be built since we moved here in 2009. (The Gila Valley Temple was dedicated in May 2010, Reagan was pretty little so we didn't make it to the open house.)  It's the 3rd temple in AZ.  There is a Phoenix Temple currently under construction and a TUCSON Temple has been announced!  So wonderful and exciting!  And such a cool and special experience for our kids!  This was the first temple our kids have been able to walk through... And they LOVED it!

Despite it taking over 3 hours to see, they held on to their excitement and paid very close attention to everything.  :) It was really cool to watch our kids reactions to this beautiful place and the spirit there as they experienced it for the first time. :)

What a beautiful, peaceful, sacred place.  It may very well be the most beautiful temple I've ever been in.  The glass and the colors were so vivid, I loved it.  The boys eyes and smiles were so big the entire way through, and they were full of questions.  :)  

The Celestial Room was amazing! In the center of the ceiling was the biggest crystal chandelier I have ever seen, and as soon as the kids saw it there was a lot of excitement. Reagan's reaction was probably the loudest though.  She just kept pointing and yelling "Wow! WOW!" and she didn't stop saying it until we left the room. :) I felt sorta bad that she was so loud in a room that was so filled with reverence, but she really meant it. She was in awe and she was expressing her feelings using the only words she had available to her.  She just happens to be very loud when she is excited.  ;)

The boys favorite room, other than the Celestial Room, was the Font Room.  :) They also really loved all the mirrors.  They would stand and look at themselves going on forever and giggle.  It made my heart happy.  Being in that place with my forever family.

We spent some time outside walking around the grounds, which were also beautiful. The kids got a nice picture of the temple from the visitors tent and we loaded up and made the trek home.  It was a long, wonderful, beautiful day. 

TOFW - UT Edition

February 1st, I got to take a little trip to Utah to have some girl time with my mom!  (Patrick was brave enough to let me leave for 4 days!)  :)  We did some shopping and eating and hanging out, but the main attraction was Time Out For Women.  "Higher" is the theme for this year. 

Think Higher
Believe Higher
Live Higher

"So are MY ways HIGHER than your ways..."  Isaiah 55:9

It was an interesting theme, and I had high hopes.  TOFW is always good, but this year I struggled a little more than usual to get out of it what I was hoping for.  That being said, it was still very good, just different.  :)  Here are some of my favorite thoughts and quotes:

"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that will determine the outcome of your story."
-Pres. Uchdorf
"Your Happily Ever After"

"We should strive to be a blessing to our fellow human beings."
-Dean Hughes

"Heavenly Father did not send us to earth to fail, but to succeed gloriously!"
"Speak hopefully, speak encouragingly, especially about ourselves."
"Live as if you matter."  ...Higher Thinking.
"Words are sacred and must be used with great care."
-Hilary Weeks

Check your assumptions!  (This was one of my favorites!!)
How Heavenly Father Works:
1.  Trust Him to act according to the bigger picture!
     * Be thankful the God lets you struggle for awhile, it causes an increase in Faith.
2.  What if life is fair?
     * Fair is not that we are all equal - it's everyone getting what they need when they need it.
     * Things don't happen for everyone the same way all the time.
     * If you are in perfect balance you are not moving - Risk = Progress.
     * Heavenly Father does answer prayers - but not always when or how we want or expect.
3.  He guides and protects my children more than I will ever know! 
     * Sometimes they get hurt, experience helps them grow, but it doesn't mean they aren't being protected.
4.  He needs me to use the gifts He has given me! 
     * Am I?
-Emily Watts

Letting go of Your Fears!
Fear is a king of intentional storytelling, that we are all born to do.
You decide how your story ends!
Don't spend time looking back at past disappointments or failures!
Fight your Fears:
1.   Fight fear with Power.
     *Your identity, even if you don't like it, is your comfort zone - we are not meant to live in our comfort zone!
     *Fight fear with the power of Change!
      (2 Corr. 5:17)
2.  Fight fear with Love.
     *When you stop praying for what your heart really wants, your heart stops wanting what you weren't willing to pray for.
     *The tragedy isn't not getting what you want, it's not wanting it anymore.
     *God will not waste a miracle on a doubter.
     *There is no fear in Hope.
3.  Fight fear with a Sound Mind.
     *Sometimes we use the notion of "God's will" as a way to abdicate the responsibility to exercise our own.
     *He expects us to choose, He trusts us!
     *Involve Him.  Learn His ways.  Then make choices for your life. 
Have the courage to rise above your fears!
-Laurel Christensen

It was a great experience!  And I felt like there were things I needed to hear, it always seems to work that way.  I'm grateful that I got to go, and it was so much fun to share it with the ladies in my life! :)

I also got to see these guys!  ;) 

It was a fun weekend!  I haven't gotten to do a trip like this by myself before, so I enjoyed every minute of "freedom".  Hahaha.  But don't be deceived, I missed my little family!  Probably more than they missed me!  Hahaha.

My Reminder....

A friend of mine posted this quote, and it sort of took my breath away... especially the last few lines.  I thought, this is something I need to remember... every single day!  


"Some might ask when faced with such suffering, how could Almighty God let this happen? And then that seemingly inevitable question, why did this happen to me? Why must we experience disease and events that disable or call precious family members home early or extend their years in pain? Why the heartaches? At these moments we can turn to the great plan of happiness authored by our Heavenly Father. That plan, when presented in the pre-earth life, prompted us all to shout for joy. Put simply, this life is training for eternal exaltation, and that process means tests and trials. It has always been so, and no one is spared."

     - Elder Ronald A. Rasband

And one more, just because I love Sheri Dew!  She says things in the most profound ways!  

"Life is a test.  It is only a test - meaning, that's all it is.  Nothing more, but nothing less.  It is a test of our convictions and priorities, our faith and faithfulness, our patience and resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires.  It is a test to determine if we want to be part of the Kingdom of God more than we want anything else."

     - Sheri Dew (Saying It Like It Is)

Hmm.... I wonder if there's a learning curve?!  I sure hope so!  ;) 

HaPpY EaStEr!

Easter!  First thing in the morning, they found their baskets.  Lots of sugar induced hyper activity followed!  hahaha.  

 So we stayed busy by coloring eggs!  They took it very seriously!

And then before church, we had an egg hunt in the yard.  (Egg hunts in AZ are not necessarily difficult, they are more about being stealthy... and cautious!  hahaha.)  But they loved it anyway!

And then there was the attempt at a cute picture of the 3 of them together!  ...At least no one was crying!  Right?  Right!  :)  I love my little family, so VERY VERY much!

The past couple of months, I have found myself thinking a lot about Mary.  Not to take away from what Christ did for us as our Savior, but what she must have gone through being his mother.  What who He was and what He did must have meant to her!  


Our RS had the opportunity to hear an amazing lady (from our ward) speak at an activity called "You Are Incredible".  She spoke with an amazing spirit, lots of tears and laughs!  But completely and directly to my heart!  She spoke a little bit about Mary, and how she must have felt when she realized they had lost Jesus when he was a boy. The panic and fear.  And making the long trek back to find him... in the temple.  But that we know, because she was obviously a important part of his life, that she didn't punish herself forever because of one mistake.  She was not expected to be perfect.  She taught us to trust the faith the Lord has in us.  That we are where we are for a reason and that the children we have are specifically meant to be ours.  That spoke to me in a very deep, heart-wrenching way.  


I don't always feel like a good mom, in fact I rarely feel like a good mom!  And I have questioned a million times that I am the best mom for my children!  But then I think of Mary.  What must have seemed like an impossible request, to be the mother of the Son of God.  How easily doubt and fear could have been her enemy and even her demise.  How she knew that part of being His mother would mean inevitably watching Him die.  And yet, what a blessing it must have been.  To converse with angels, to bear the Savior of the world, to watch Him grow and learn from Him, and to witness His sacrifice for all.  And His Resurrection.


She was on my mind a lot this year as we celebrated this Easter season.  Because she was His mother. I am humbled to think of the love she must of had for Him as His mother.  I wonder if she knew then the magnitude of what He would mean to the world so many hundreds of years later.  And that because of Him, I am able to be more than I ever could be on my own.  Better than I ever could be on my own.  Forgiven.  Saved.  Redeemed.  Changed.  


I am so grateful for my Savior and for His perfect example.  And for a loving Heavenly Father who has blessed me so much and entrusted me with a few of His precious children.  I'm grateful for the opportunities He gives me to learn and grow and stretch, even when I don't want to!  And I'm grateful for Mary, and for her example of strength and faith and humility.  And I am endlessly grateful for the Atonement!  For the strength and perspective it gives me.  But especially for the opportunity it gives me to be with these people I love so much forever! 


HAPPY EASTER!   

Time Out For Women

I had the opportunity to go to TOFW again this year, and it did not disappoint!  I wrote A LOT of what was said last year, you can read it here.  Last year I was in a very spiritually vulnerable place, I needed everything that was said!  It was about Hope, and I was completely filled with it when I left!  This year the theme was:
Choose to Become
"ALL THINGS are possible to him (or her) that believeth"
Mark 9:23

And this year, the feelings I had were quite different.  They talked a lot about Becoming the person you were are meant to be.  Not adding more to your to-do list, but simplifying.  Finding something, one thing, that you can really focus on.  And by doing so, making your life better, bettering other lives, being happier.  

They talked about talents a little in a video at the beginning, and I have to say, I was suddenly very discouraged.  I am not a really talented person.  I like to do a lot of things, and I'm not bad at them, but I don't have a stand-out talent that I am passionate about and excel at.   

So... there was a lot of thought over the 2 days I was there and continued to listen and learn.  And as the time went on, I started to realize it wasn't all about talents.  It was about finding that passion in something, becoming better at it, and the possibilities that follow. 

My list of things I wanted to Become read as follows:

A present mother
More patient
Self-disciplined
In shape
A supportive Spouse
Better organized

As time rolled on and my list got longer and longer, I kept waiting for one of them to jump out at me.  But instead, very persistently, a quote from Pres. Uchtdorf was constantly on my mind:
"In regards to relationships, LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E."

TIME
If I could manage my time better, just about every thing on that list would become a possibility.  If I got myself on a better schedule, I could sleep more = patience; I'd have more time for things I want to do = getting in shape; I wouldn't always be running from one thing to the next = organized, present mother, supportive spouse.  Imagine the possibilities!  :) 

I should point something out...  I am the worst Time Manager ever!  Don't get me wrong, my kids lives are planned down to almost the minute, but me... ya, well, sleep is optional!  It's that self-discipline thing that's going to be my Achilles heal!   So this is my promise to myself... right here for everyone to see... I am going to get myself on a good schedule!  I am going to go to bed earlier, even if I don't want to.  I am going to take advantage of the quiet moments to pray and read my scriptures.  I am going to eat at normal times and exercise because I have the TIME!  :)  And let's face it, who isn't a generally nicer person with more sleep under their belt!  I am going to become a better, higher functioning, me!  :)  Or at least... I Hope to! 

"We Become what we want to Be, by consistently Being what we want to Become." - Elder David A. Bednar

...That's right, we're in "Fake it 'til ya make it" mode!  :)  But you heard it, right from a general authorities' mouth, it totally works!  So here goes nothing!  :)

Some of my favorite quotes:
"Don't be the one thing standing in your way!"

"Do the thing you think you cannot do!" 
- Laurel Christensen

"Jesus chose to become like us, 
so that we could choose to become like Him."

"A God that requires nothing of us,
will make nothing of us."

"Christ is not only concerned with Saving your life.
He wants to make it better."

Redeem = To make Better 
- Brad Wilcox

"Who I am is who I have always been.  
From the seed to the roses death, it has always contained it's whole potential - It was always a rose."

"Becoming is about Remembering... who we Really are... and Returning."
- Mary Ellen Edmonds

"We have a duty to not only enjoy happiness, but to produce it." 

"We can have a bad day and still have a good life."

"Remember it says 'and it came to pass', not 'it came to stay'."
- D. Kelly Ogden

There was SO much good stuff!  I could just keep going and going!  hahaha.  I had an amazing time with a couple of very wonderful ladies in my ward, and it was a weekend I really needed... for so many reasons!  I am already excited for next year!  :)  

*If you made it to the bottom of this post you should get a gold star!  :D  This is the longest post EVER!