Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope that everyone has a wonderful day! Josh and I will be spending Turkey Day at home, just the 2 of us...we are missing the feast we were invited to because he is sick. Poor guy feels awful, but we will try to have a nice day. I love this picture by Norman Rockwell, it reminds me of my youth. My parents have this pic and I would stare at it as a kid and always loved how happy everyone looked (and how strong the grandma is because she is holding a HUGE turkey!!). To me, this is the essence of Thanksgiving; to be able to be together and find joy. My mom loves Thanksgiving and taught me to have a great love for this holiday. How wonderful it is to have a day to celebrate all that I am thankful for! Even though it has been a really tough year, I am so very blessed and am grateful for all that I do have. Let us all give thanks to God, the great source for all that we have.

Put in Your Pie Orders Now!

Just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday...enjoy your pumpkin pie!

Doubt Not, Fear Not

Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.
~D&C 6:34, 36

I love this little reminder and promise that in all things, the Lord is with me...a lesson I've been learning (and re-learning) for the past few weeks.

Yay For Saturday!!

Oh, how I love Saturdays! :)

Courage

I taught a lesson today in Young Women's about Courage...a subject I have had many lessons on. I was thinking about past experiences and wondered how I was able to get through them and then I remembered I didn't; it was the Lord who brought me through and taught me to have courage in the face of adversity. We talked in my lesson about the Cowardly Lion and how he had courage all along, he just needed to be told that he did; he needed to believe in himself. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ who has given me the ultimate example of courage.

"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9

How Great Thou Art

As I sat in church today, I felt a wonderful and amazing spirit. I sat and pondered the wonders of our God and the gifts He has given us. The only words that I have to describe what I felt are borrowed from the Hymn, "How Great Thou Art". I have no better words to express what I feel.

O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power through-out the universe displayed.

When through the woods and forest glades

I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze

In the words of Alma:
"all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44)

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;

That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin:
When Christ shall come with shout of

acclamation And take me home,

what joy shall fill my heart!

Then I shall bow in humble adoration,

And there proclaim, my God. How great Thou art!

"I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life..."

(Mosiah 4:6)

I am so very grateful to a loving and kind Heavenly Father who has given me the opportunity to obtain eternal life through my Savior, Jesus Christ. I stand in awe at the wonder and beauty of our Heavenly Father's plan. When my grandma Eleanor passed away 5 years ago, we found lots of inspirational quotes and scriptures written on scraps of paper in her purse. I have 2 and they truly are treasures to me. One says: "I believe that I am always divinely guided. I believe I will always be led to take the right turn in the road. I believe that God will always make a way when there is no way."

How grateful I am for my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ and for the love and guidance They give us every day.

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend." (Mosiah 4:9)

Thanksgiving...

In the past little while, I have really been trying to express my gratitude to my Heavenly Father for all the wonderful blessings I have in my life. I feel like I have learned so much in the past few months as I have been humbled (more than I would have liked) continually. But, now I look back and I see that there was wisdom in it. For example, I am so dang grateful to have a job! I have always taken work and employment for granted and being unemployed for 4 months certainly has a way of helping you appreciate the ability to work. I am so grateful for the job that I have. It is perfect for me and I really do love it! After putting out so many resumes and applications only to receive rejections, you start to doubt yourself. I am so thankful to know that I do have something to offer (even though Josh told me daily of how great I am...he's such a good guy!). I am grateful for the ability I have to work and the opportunity I have now to prove myself.

For The Beauty of The Earth

Last week, Josh and I went to the Fort Worth Botanical Garden. We had been there before, but this time I was smart enough to bring my camera! It is so beautiful there, we love it. We love to go and walk through the Rose Garden, not only is it beautiful, it smells lovely! It's great to literally "stop and smell the roses". I love having time with my husband to just chat about the beauty that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with.

We have been having so much rain here, part of the garden looks like a swamp! Nice!

All of the flowers are identified there...we found our very own rose!! LOL!

I love to sit and listen to the fountains or waterfalls that they have there...and to chase the fish!!

Ok, as we were walking, we noticed this log with mushrooms...naturally, I wanted to take a picture...my hubby thought I was on 'shrooms for thinking this was "picture worthy"!!

Cool fountain

I was picture-happy and kept trying to convince Josh to go and pose with various plants, sculptures, and the large pumpkin displays they had there...he's a party-pooper because this is the only picture I got!! Ugh!!

The Lovebird fountain...I loved it!

So, not many people know this, but I am a bit scared of squirrels! Back in my Provo days, I was attacked by a squirrel while a group of us were at Bridal Veil Falls. So, I'm not a fan of the little devils! Josh and I sat on a bench while we were in the Rose Garden; it was under a tree. No kidding, the squirrels in the tree were bombing us with acorns!!!! I think there is some sort of anti-squirrel mark on me...

The pond...it is full of cool fish and turtles. I love it!

Turtle!!

Can you see the fishys?!

Don't ask my why, but I love that there is a variety of rose that is named Julia Child! So cool!

Julia's rose

So, this was a bit awkward...we accidentally crashed a wedding!! LOL! Just kidding, it was only their rehearsal, but they still looked at us funny.

Walkway through the Rose Garden

These white roses were so fragrant and beautiful! I love white roses, they always make me think of my nephews that passed away, Ajay and Sameer. There is something wonderful about something that is so beautiful and yet so pure.

Is this not the coolest rose ever?!

I am grateful for the beauty of this earth. I love the wonder of it all.

Woo Hoo!!

I GOT A JOB!!

My day started with a bang...a call with a job offer!!!!! I am so dang excited and grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with this great job!! YAY!!

Blessings and Gifts From God

Last week, I was able to go to Gridley for a quick (according to my nephew Brennan, too quick) visit to see my family and meet my sweet nephew Karam. It was a great weekend, although it was packed with lots of activities. We went straight from the airport to the Sacramento Temple. I had the privilege of attending a session with my parents to do the work for both of my grandmothers, Kathryn and Eleanor. It was amazing! We also did sealings for them, which my sister was able to join us for. Words cannot describe the joy that I felt there in the Lord's house sealing my family together. We are so blessed to have temples available to us.
The Sacramento Temple

I love the fountain!

The next day was my niece Meredith's 3rd birthday! Poor kid was sick, along with her brother, so the party was kind of cancelled, except for family. It was a cute Nemo party and she had fun, so that's all that matters.

Mer mer and Grandpa

Ok, I know she looks like she is being tortured, but for some reason she doesn't like the candle burning on her cake or having "Happy Birthday" sung to her! It's hilarious, she cries every year!

And...well, I guess when it's your party, you can celebrate any way you want! She is so her father's daughter with this move!! ;)

Brennan the goof-ball!

If you can't tell, it was REALLY good cake...good enough to wear as a beard!!

All that partying makes a girl tired...

...apparently, it makes Grandpas sleepy too!! LOL!

And, here he is...Karam!! I was so excited to finally meet my nephew!! He's the one who decided to make his appearance 12 hours after I left California in July...too funny! He is a wonderful and happy baby, so adorable!

Here he is in his blessing outfit. Karam's blessing was on Sunday; my dad did it. It was a wonderful blessing, so special. Again, I don't have the words to describe how special it was. Karam and I spent a lot of time together over the weekend and I can truly say that he is a gift from God. He has a very special spirit and is such a blessing. I am so glad to have this cute little man in my life!!