Faith

Here is the last experience for Faith that I have chosen:

Increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ by reading: Isaiah 53:3-12;

John 3:16-17; Romans 5:2; 2 Nephi 9:6-7, 21-26; Alma 7:11-13; 34:8-17; and D&C 19:15-20. In your journal write your feelings about the Savior and what He has done for you. Share your feelings in a testimony meeting.

I need to explain why I chose this one. And just as a warning, I really have a hard time explaining what I am feeling and thinking. I think that is why I am a dancer. It is easier for me to use my body to express how I am feeling than using words. Sometimes I feel like Moses. He had a hard time too, that is why the Lord provided a mouth piece for him....Aaron. I don't have a mouth piece, so please bear with me on this. I will probably ramble.

I know I am probably the only one, but every time I would hear someone in church talk about how they had used the Atonement to overcome their weaknesses, I didn't really understand. I was sure that it was a big secret and only those who had served missions could understand. Until this morning, I really didn't know how to use the Atonement. There is a reason there are so many scriptures that we have to read! Get out your scriptures right now and let's read a couple of them together. Are you ready yet? Please open to Alma 34:8-17 . Now, I knew that the Atonement was when Christ came to the Earth, suffered for our sins in Gethsemane and died for us. Please read verses 16 and 17......I'll wait.

When I read that I was like "WHAT!?! Wait a minute! Repentance?? That is it?!" I was truly shocked that THAT is the way we use the Atonement. Please don't think I'm an idiot, but I really didn't know that. I knew I needed to repent, but the two just didn't connect for me. I thought there was some great secret thing that I needed to do but nobody was telling me. I was shocked. It was too easy. I think we forget how important Repentance is. Now, turn to D&C 19.

Let's read verses 15-20. Go ahead.

Wow!!! Holy Cow!! Repentance is SOOOO important! Just reading verse 15 made me want to jump to my knees and start repenting! "-how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea how hard to bear you know not." That gives me the chills!

To sum it all up, if we- and especially WE because WE have the FULLNESS of the gospel! We have been taught!! We know! We can't get to the judgment bar and say..."Uh, I didn't know." - if we don't repent, we will be -"exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice"(Alma 34:16). It will be like Jesus never did anything for us. I don't know about you, but I don't want that! I need every bit of mercy the Lord can give me!

Sometimes I wish I didn't know, but what would my life be like with out the gospel? What would I be doing? I think I would be a very selfish person. I'm selfish with the gospel, so I would really be bad without it!!

I am so grateful to have the scriptures, the ensign ( by the way, you all need to read in the Conference Ensign, turn to page 60. It's from the Priesthood session, but it has many points that we women-folk need too!-Plus, I could hear Pres. Monsons voice as I read it this morning. I love him!)- anyway, I am grateful to my Savior. I am thankful that I can repent when I make mistakes and that I can be washed clean through His infinite sacrifice.

Remember to Change Your Choices today!

Faith #4-7 continued

Wow! Can I just say, this Personal Progress Program is amazing! If you aren't doing it with me, I really encourage you to start. It is not just for the Young Women! Here is the second experience that I chose:

Increase your understanding of the plan of salvation. Resources for study include:

1 Corinthians 15:22; Revelations 12:7-9; 2 Nephi 9:1-28; 11:4-7; Doctrine and Covenants 93:33-34

76:50-113; Moses 4:1-4; and Abraham 3:24-27. Draw or obtain a picture that depicts the plan of salvation, incuding the premortal existence, birth, mortal life, death, judgment, and life after judgment. Using this picture, explain the plan of salvation to your class, your family, or a friend. Discuss how knowledge of the plan affects your actions, helps you understand your identity, and has strengthened your faith.

WOW!!! I mean, that is great! First of all, don't be intimidated by all the scripture reading! Especially the 50-113. It is really fast reading and I learned so much!! Did you know that in the Telestial Kingdom, there will be different degrees of glory? Reading those scriptures really boosted my motivation and has helped me get back on track. I will admit that I have been lost lately. I haven't been making the right choices that will help me be who I want to be.

When I was a teenager, I remember over-hearing my Dad talking about what his new goal would be for the following year. I learned that my Dad would have a Theme Of the Year that he would post up somewhere at work and he would use it to help him stay on track. I don't know if he still does this, but it's something that I want to start.

I got my Theme from the December 2011 Ensign. Seriously, this was amazing! After doing the required scripture reading last night, I got up early today and made a list of all the things I want. Ex: I want to be strong. I want to stop being lazy and I want to be a better mother and wife.

I made some daily goals to help me reach these, and other goals that I had written down. One of the goals was to read one article from the Ensign every morning. I opened it up and I turned to an article entitled "Lost and Found". It was exactly what I needed!! It is about a woman who, through making small wrong choices each day, found herself spiritually "lost". She stopped going to church, she ended up living with her boyfriend and then had 3 children with him. To make a long story short, through changing some of her daily choices, she got married to her boyfriend, he joined the church and they were sealed in the temple. Did it happen over night, you ask? NO WAY! In fact, it says how it took over two years just from the time that she was going back to church. It took many months before that just to get her back on track. At the end of the article, there is a quote from her boyfriend/now husband. He says: "When you realize there is more to this life that what's Now, it changes your choices."

That is what the Plan of Salvation means to me. It helps me see past the Here and Now. There is so much more waiting for us in the next life! It is time to Change our Choices! As you can guess, that is my Theme for 2012. I want to Change my choices to keep me on an eternal path that will lead my family back to Heavenly Father.

I love my family so much and I want to be with them Forever!

Faith #4-7

Okay, Here is the rest of Faith. You get to choose 3 out 4. Here is the first that I have chosen:

- The Lord has commanded us to pay tithing. Read Doctrine and Covenants 119 and Malachi 3 :8-12/ Since obedience to the law of tithing is an evidence of your faith, pay a full tithe. After 3 months record in your journal how paying tithing has helped your faith grow. List blessings in your life, both large and small, that have come because of your faith in the principle of tithing.

I know it hasn't been 3 months, but I'm going to pass this one off now anyway. Tithing is something that I have never had a problem with and I'm very grateful. I don't even think twice about not paying it and I know that Kyle and I have been really blessed because of it. A few years back (well, more than a few), when we just had Audrey and Natali, my dad came to visit and did our taxes for us. We had only made $3,000 for the entire year. He stared at us and asked how we were even still alive! We had a warm home, food in our fridge and an old car that hadn't died on us once. The only way we had made it was because of our tithing. We are still receiving so many blessings from it. Our kids are hardly ever sick, we don't have any insurance, yet we are always protected from harm. We just refinanced our home so we could pay off some debt and lower our interest rate. We should have had some extra money every month and when we did our budget, we are still just barely making it....Kyle asked me how we had been making those extra payments that we just paid off and I told him it's because we pay our tithing.

I gave a lesson to the YW on this subject and President Benson said that paying our tithing is paying off a debt to the Lord. He has given us everything, even our very lives.

We owe Him so much! I owe Him so much! I love my Heavenly Father and I am so grateful for the many blessings that He has given me!

Faith #3

Wow! I'm sorry it's been a while! It's been so crazy here! I started this week with an eye infection, then I had my Christmas Dance Recital and that was super stressful! I ended up having a nightmare about it and I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and I couldn't go back to sleep. I watched the first Pirates movie (love my Johnny Depp!), then Emily got up so we watched Hairspray; my dad was on Facebook, so I chatted with him for a while; then I made banana bread and folded laundry while I watched my all time favorite movie "Moonstruck". Then by 6:30 the kids were up and we were off for the day! I ended up staying up until 10:30 that night and it was a long day!

Is anyone doing the Personal Progress with me? Now that my life has slowed down just a bit more, I'm hoping to get more of this done. Here is #3 in Faith:

Living the gospel principles requires faith. Read about faith in the Bible Dictionary or True to the Faith. Faith in the Savior Jesus Christ leads to action. Choose a principle such as prayer, tithing, fasting, repentance, or keeping the Sabbath day holy. In your own home or another setting, plan and present a family home evening lesson about how faith helps you live that gospel principle. If possible, ask a family member to share an experience that has strengthened his or her faith. Share your own experiences as well. In your journal write down one of those experiences and describe your feelings about faith.

Here is what the Bible dictionary says about Faith: "Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true".

I think that this is a great experience and it's something that I need to do!

Faith #2 comment

I just got around to reading the scriptures that go with Faith #2. Here are my thoughts, since no one else is commenting......

I wish that Helaman would have written down what their mothers had taught them. Obviously it was to be obedient, but what did they say to inspire such obedience that their sons actually listened? I am trying to teach my kids to be obedient and I can say that for the most part they listen, but not with such exactness! I want to be an inspiration to my children the way that my mom is an inspiration to me. She's 55 and she is still teaching dance and exercising. She is AFAA certified and she is so great with kids! My dad said that she is like a celebrity at her dance classes. The kids come running when they see her and just want to be around her. I want to be someone that other people want to be around. I want my kids to succeed and be strong, independent women! Does anyone have any ideas how I can do that?? Is anyone still reading this??

Brain Dead!

I am going back to school!! Well, kind of. Right now I am starting with getting my AFAA (Aerobic and Fitness Association of America) Certification. I have started studying and I really think that I am brain dead. It's been 8 years since I went to school and I guess my brain is out of practice. I have to remember every detail of my family's schedule, but I can't remember the 5 basic questions of Fitness....AH!

On another note, How is everyone's Personal Progress going? Are you ready for the next experience? Here is Faith #2:

Discover the principle of faith taught by the mothers of Helaman's stripling warriors. Read Alma 56:45-48 and 57:21. Review what "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" says about a mother's role. With a mother, grandmother, or leader, discuss the qualities a woman needs in order to teach children to have faith and to base their decisions on gospel truths. How can these principles help you in your life today and help you prepare to be a faithful woman, wife, and mother? Record your thoughts and feelings in your journal.

Wow! What a great one! I think this is perfect for us as mothers and wives to review and discuss! I know that I need this! Off the top of my head, I remember that in the Proclamation it talks about mother's being nurturing....what does that entail? When I think of nurturing I think of gardening. When you have a seed, you give it warm soil full of nutrients to help it grow. It is cuddling with my kids, reading them stories, rocking them to sleep, holding them when they are sick or crying, rubbing their sore legs when they have growing pains, dancing with them in the kitchen, sitting at the piano helping them learn their recital songs, having snowball fights, teaching them to cook, sewing blankets for them, etc. I think that it should also mean that we teach them to be responsible. Not letting them grow "wild". Keeping them "Trimmed and weeded". I think that this is teaching them right from wrong. Having FHE EVERY week, reading scriptures everyday, never leaving the house without having Family Prayers, grounding them when they lie or steal, teaching them what it really means to say and be Sorry for their mistakes, Teach them to do chores around the house and help them learn to take care of their clothes and shoes and the furniture. Being a mom is HARD! We have to do so much and we are responsible for SOOOO much! I am tired from just typing all that we are responsible for! But if we can go back to that word, Faith. After all is said and done, you have to then give your children space to grow and make their own choices and have Faith that they will Choose the Right. I think that is the Hardest part, but Heavenly Father sent us here with Faith that we would Choose the Right. We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives to help us know what He would have us do! I am so thankful to be a mother and wife and to know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me and He loves my children!

Not so often

I wanted to give you a heads up that I won't be posting on here as often. I've been in a lazy funk lately, so I am giving up the computer during the week so maybe I can actually get some stuff done and be productive. I will still be working on my Personal Progress and I'm going to attempt to meet someone new everyday. Have a great week and I will post the next experience for PP on Friday!

p.s.

I just remembered something. You don't need a book! If you go on lds.org, you can look up personal progress and you can create your own Personal Progress chart under your ward. All you need is your member number. I will continue to post all of the experiences and when you are done, you just click on the box for that experience on lds.org. Ask your wards YW leader to explain if this doesn't make sense. It's great that it's all online now and very convenient!

Reality

Okay, let's get real...I am not going to be able to do this! With the holidays and everything, I just don't think that I can meet a new person every day! Especially since I'm going to be in seclusion with family for 6 days over Thanksgiving....SO, instead of setting myself up for failure, I'm going to be real. I think that I will have to change my goal for this month, but I am going to use that goal in the future. I think it's really fun to get to know new people!

- Here is my new goal. I'm going to work on my Personal Progress for 30 days. I did it when I was in Young Women's, but I feel a need to do it again. It's like re-reading the Book of Mormon. You learn something new every time you do it. It's been 11 years, and I think it's time for a refresher.

Today I am starting with Faith - "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore, if ye have Faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Alma 32:21

The first Experience is " The first principle of the gospel in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Learn about Faith from the scriptures and living prophets. Read: Hebrews 11;Alma 32:17-43;Ether 12:6-22; and Joseph Smith -History 1:11-20. Read two General Conference talks on Faith. Exercise your own faith by establishing a habit of prayer in your life. Begin by regularly saying your morning and evening prayers. After 3 weeks of following this pattern, discuss with a parent of leader what you have learned about faith and how daily personal prayer has strengthened your faith. In your journal express your feelings about faith and prayer."

Holy Cow that is a lot! As I as typing all of that, I was thinking that it would be great for all of us to do this together and I think I'm going to try to get it finished by my next birthday. This is going to be an ongoing goal. Get a Personal Progress book from your YW President in your Ward and let's do this!!

Days 3,4 and 5?

Wow! This week just flew past me! I have been super busy and I don't think I've even met anyone new so far......I did meet Emily Vance. She is our Stake YW President. She is really nice and her family is training to do their first half marathon together in January. I guess that's not really getting to "know" her. I need to do better. Today I am doing my visiting teaching and we have a new girl, so I will get to know her tonight. I am going to do better!

Eating is good. I definitely love eating my salads. I have romaine lettuce, spinach, apples, walnuts, and feta cheese. I top it with Raspberry Pecan Vinegarette. YUM! Have one today and enjoy it!

Day 2

Today I met Taya Oakey. I had seen her before, but I hadn't really met her. Her family is in my ward, but she has been attending BYU. I came to meet her because we have a mutual friend. Her roommate is one of my very very good friends from High School, Sharla Lawlor. Try saying that name 5 times fast! Anyway, Taya is home from school and getting ready to serve a mission in Africa....talk about crazy! She leaves on Valentine's Day to report to the Johannasberg, South Africa MTC. She has flaming red hair, so she is sure to attract a lot of attention!

Raw Diet update: There is an amazing woman in my ward who has eaten Raw for 10 years, and yesterday I finally got the nerve up to ask her for some help. I've been eating green smoothies and salad and I'd like to see what else I can have. For instance: She said that she had spanish rice in her dehydrator at home for her lunch after church....I'm all about eating that! She was so excited to help me and I am going to call her today to see if I can meet with her to get some other recipes. Also, Kyle has decided to do it with me, except he will eat chicken too.

*I'm going to see if the people I meet will let me take their picture to post on here so you can meet them too!

Good Grief!

I know it's been a while....this week was bad! With my parents here, I was so super busy and I just never had anytime to get on here, then when I did, I couldn't get in so I had to reset my password and my internet went out while I was in the middle of doing that! Crazy!

Speaking of my parents being here, my raw diet went out the window! We went to Jackson for the weekend and my dad is an amazing cook and he made so much yummy food that I couldn't resist! Then I had a date day on Monday with my dad and I took him to The Snake Bite for lunch and then we warmed up at Great Harvest with pumpkin bread and hot chocolate! I was really naughty! So today was my official Day 1....again. I'm back on my raw diet and I am also going to meet someone new everyday for the next 30 days. I started that off by meeting Sarah Nelson. She is the mother of Quindy Nelson, who rides the bus home with Emily everyday. They live in Carriage Gate, just up the street from us and she has 3 kids. We exchanged phone numbers and Emily showed me where they live. It was fun to have her give me directions. She was remembering from her bus ride everyday. She did good and we only got lost once.

I ate a delicious salad today and made a batch of raw cookies to help me make it through the rest of the weekend. I just feel better when I eat healthy. I am determined not to get side tracked again! I can do it!

Day 4 and Day 23

For my service today, I went to my neighbor Angela's house and showed her how I curl my hair with Hot Rollers. Her hair looked beautiful and she is going to send me a picture so I can post it on here. It was fun! As for my Raw Diet, I am doing good, but I really need some good recipes' for beans....Come on people!! I did get a recipe for bean burgers that I am going to try...I'll let you know!

p.s. I am going to be MIA again over the weekend! I have been so busy for the last 2 weekends! I love it! I'll post tomorrow, but then I'll post again on Monday. Happy Thursday everyone!

Day 3 and Day 22

Okay, this is totally crazy! I have already lost 3 lbs. and I feel amazing! I was a little hungry yesterday and I had a slight headache from sugar withdrawl, but other than that I feel like I have so much energy! I made more raw chocolate chip cookies today and they are amazing! My kids love them! I have been eating salad like crazy and my shakes are so delicious! I am still trying to figure out the whole bean thing, but my dad is going to help me find a good way to eat them.

Service today is writing letters to my family members who are so far away! I miss them so much! I love getting mail and it lifts my spirits when I hear from my family! Family is so amazing! I hope that everyone loves their families as much as I love mine and Kyle's! If you are having problems with your family, clear it up now. Life is too short to be angry or to have bad feelings for someone. I pray that my children will always love each other as much as they love each other right now! It warms my heart when Natali leaves for piano lessons and she gives her sisters a kiss and hug and says goodbye to them! I love watching Emily and Kathryn playing house under my kitchen table together. I love hearing Audrey and Natali giggling like crazy on their way downstairs to get ready for bed. They are all such good friends and I pray that they stay that way!

-Do you have a good relationship with your siblings? I would like some comments so please tell me about your family!!.....is anyone out there? I know my sister-in-law is reading this. Anyone else?

Day 2 and Day 21

I think I'm going to get confused with my days! Oh well, it's okay. As for my service yesterday, it was all at home. I helped Kyle re-arrange our house which took until 12:30 a.m. and all we ended up doing was moving the t.v......crazy! We moved our couch 4 times, took the door off the hinges twice, brought my desk upstairs and then back down again! I swear Kyle should own a staging company or do interior design with all the times he likes to re-arrange our house! Today I'm going to finish delivering treats to my visiting teaching women and then help the YW presidency get ready for YW in Excellence. I am also going to try to stop by someone's house and do something for them...I'll let you know what I do!

As for my Day 2- I am currently drinking the best spinach,mixed berry, banana, orange juice, flax seed, and almond milk shake I have ever had! I made it through Halloween without any candy and I felt great! I made raw chocolate chip cookies last night and they were soo sweet and good! I'm going to have a few today! I'm feeling really good and unusually energized, especially since all the work I did last night. I'm going to keep up the good work today! Here is the recipe for my drink:

I filled my blender with baby spinach

1/2 cup. almond milk

3 cut strawberries

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (blueberries, rasperries, etc)

1 whole banana

1 tsp. ground flax seed

juice from one freshly squeezed orange

Blend until it turns the most disgusting shade of dark green and enjoy! I promise it really tastes good! It tastes like an orange julius!

Starting Early

So, I am too excited to wait for my next 30 day project, so I am starting now! I will still keep doing my 30 days of service until the 10th of November, but now I am adding "30 days eating Raw"! Okay, so that doesn't mean I am eating raw meat or anything. I am going to try eating a "raw" diet. My cousin Emily got me so excited about this! She is so amazing and healthy and she still eats yummy stuff! Basically I am eating a lot of salad! I have to eat 1 lb. of raw veggies, 1 lb. of cooked green veggies, one cup of beans (I'll come back to this in a minute), 1 serving of starch or grain, 4 fresh fruits, 1 tbsp. of ground flaxseed, and an ounce of nuts or seeds a day. That is actually a lot of food! The yummy stuff comes in the form of "raw" cookies....Oh my goodness! I made my first cookies today and they were delicious and super sweet! I used cashews and oats as the base with vanilla, coconut oil, and agave nectar. Then I made my own chocolate chips with cocoa, nectar, coconut oil, and vanilla. Totally healthy and yummy! The kids even loved them! My cousin says she makes her own raw girl scout cookies, cinnamon rolls, oreo's, anything you can think of! My main goal is to get more veggies back into my system and to get healthier. I've kind of let myself go while I was running and now that I can't run as much, I need to get eating better.

Back to the beans...I'm going to need some help with this part. I am NOT a bean person! I really don't like them or even know how to cook them! If you have a good recipes-I can't eat any animal products or salt, so keep that in mind-please let me know! I will let you know how I feel over the next couple of days. I started today and I am feeling great so far! Tomorrow will be harder though.

I'm here-Really, I am!

I have not blogged in about a week and I know that is bad!! I have been busy and I have been gone. We had to go back to Utah to pick up my daughter Audrey who got back from Albuquerque with my parents. I did service this week though! I made plates of goodies for my neighbors and my visiting teaching ladies, and I deep cleaned my grandma's house for her this weekend. I am going to be in full force this week because I know I am getting close to the end of my 30 days of service. Please call me if you need some help this week so I can finish strong!

* Meanwhile, I am gearing up for my next 30 day project! I have one thing already picked out that I am going to do, but I would like to learn to do something else at the same time. If you have any ideas of what I could do, let me know!

Day 17- WoW!

I can't believe I am past my half way mark! It's been amazing to do service everyday! Yesterday was Day 17, and I was very productive. I took Kathryn with me and we did some Major Shopping! It was great! One of my service's yesterday might not seem like a service, but believe me it was a huge "gift" for the person. Let me start by saying, I have road rage! Kyle can attest to that! I have no problem rolling down my window, leaning out and yelling at someone for cutting me off ( I actually did that in the church parking lot on the 4th of July!), so yesterday, as I was driving down the parking lot lane- minding my own business and following the rules- this lady decided to cut across all of the lanes and just drifted right in front of me and took my parking spot...."Oh No You Didn't!" ( imagine my head swerving like a black girl!). My blood pressure instantly rocketed and I was all ready to give the girl a tongue lashing when I got out of the car....but instead, I decided to leave it alone. I could tell she was stalling in her car. She knew what she had done and she could see me coming, so she wasn't getting out of her car. When she finally did, I walked right past her and into the store. That might seem weird, but to me, I gave her a huge service! I'm sure she was grateful that I didn't yell at her.

This morning when I was reading scriptures with my kids, Nephi is asking the Lord to help him to not make any room in his heart for anger against his enemies. 2 Nephi 4:26-35 is so wonderful! I truly feel the same desire. I pointed out to my kids that at the time, Nephi's enemies were his own brothers! I would hate for my kids to feel like they were enemies. It must have broken Nephi's heart. That lady at the store is my heavenly sister, and I need to love her and not allow any anger in my heart towards her.

This quest has made me think of service in a different way. I'm not getting any comments from anybody! Is anyone else doing service? I want to hear about it!! I'll blog about Day 18 later tonight.

I'm Back!

After a whirl-wind trip, I am back! I had so much fun being with my parents again. I miss them like crazy and I love spending as much time as I can with them. They are now on their way to Albuquerque to see my brother and they took my daughter Audrey with them. She was so excited to go! I missed her this morning when I was dropping the kids off at school. I bet she is having fun though!

So, I bet you all thought I wouldn't get any service done while I was gone.....Wrong! It was funny, because my services were not planned whatsoever and yet, I had many opportunities to serve my family and even a total stranger! I'll start with the stranger:
On Saturday morning, I had to go to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and as I was in the produce section, there was a woman in a wheel chair who asked me to help her. There weren't any produce bags in the containers that she could reach and the only ones left were way up high. I gladly helped her get 5 bags so she could continue her shopping. As a short person, I understand how frustrating it is to not be able to reach something, but at least I can climb up to get it! I can't even imagine how hard it must be to be in a wheelchair at the store and not be able to reach something that you need! Think about every time you need to get up on your tip toes to get something and then think about that woman at the store who HAD to ask for help to do something that for many of us is so simple. That would be very humbling to me to have to ask for help to do even the simplest of tasks.

For my other services, I helped my grandma make her delicious spaghetti sauce - it's hard for her to even lift the cans of tomato juice to pour them into the pot- and I made two lasagna's for her 80th birthday party. I also helped my Aunt Karen by cleaning all of the dishes on Sunday after we ate our delicious meal! I also did dishes at my grandma's, vacuumed her car, washed her car windows, did laundry for her, and picked my parents up from the airport.

Here is my moment where I get to toot my own horn for a bit...First of all, my grandma makes the most amazing spaghetti sauce you have ever tasted! Even better than mine! On Saturday she made the sauce and then made us her amazing spaghetti and meatballs! I didn't have ANY spaghetti!! It was so hard! I love spaghetti SOO much! Sometimes Kyle thinks I even love it more than him! He really helped me though. He made sure I had plenty of meatballs and salad instead. I am glad that I was able to resist! Did any of you do any service this weekend? Please share it as a comment!

Weekend

Just so you know, I am going to be MIA for the next few days. My parents are coming back from Cambodia for my grandma's 80th birthday, so we will be out partying with them until Monday. I will keep working on my service while I am gone and I will blog all about it when I'm back!

* I have a picture of Natali because my service for Friday will be making copies and binding math books for Natali's school class! I'm glad I can go and help out in her class.

Day 11- Salad

Today's service was fun! One of my neighbors had a baby 3 months ago and I had taken her spaghetti and a salad. Well, her husband LOVED my salad dressing and yesterday she asked me to come over to teach her how to make it. After Emily got home from school, we packed up our ingredients and went over and made a salad! It sounds simple, but she said her husband hasn't stopped talking about it and she tried to make it herself and it turned out super bad, so she was excited to make it for him. I also use the same recipe to marinate my chicken in..It's delicious! Here's my dressing/marinade recipe:

Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Onion Powder, Basil, Parmesian Cheese, Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar.

Just start sprinkling the ingredients in and then taste it and see what you need to add more of. I always go a little lighter on the garlic and a little heavier on the cheese and vinegar. Add a cucumber and you are set! Oh! I also put this on my pasta salads! Add broccoli and some feta cheese...YUM!

Day 10- Grasping

I know I'm grasping at straws here, but here are my services from yesterday. I wrote a letter to my best friend and I helped a friend find some quarters for her sons quarter collection that she accidentally spent! This is WAY harder than I thought it would be! Would you let me in if I just showed up at your house? I don't know if I would let someone come in and help me if they just showed up. I guess that's where we all need to change! I did get my service done for today. I exercise at my friend Susannah's house every morning and when I got there, she had saved her dishes from last night for me to clean. I was actually excited to do her dishes!! We had fun talking while I did it and I'm glad I can help her. She works at the library every night, so I'm sure there are nights when she comes home and just is too tired to do anything but crawl into bed. I know I have felt that way and then I just have to do them in the morning. I'm glad that I could do them for her!

Days 7, 8, and 9

Well, I know I am playing catch up, but I haven't had anything to blog because I can't get anyone to let me into their homes to serve them!!! Come on you guys! This is ridiculous! Sunday and Monday were No Service days! That means I need to do 3 acts of service today. Please say Yes when I call you or just show up at your house!!!

I am going to count my phone call with my mom this morning as one of my acts. I am ordering her some dance shoes, tights, and leotards that she can't get in Cambodia. I was on the phone with her for over an hour trying to get all of her items ordered. I'm glad that I can help her. I will blog later today and let you know how my 2 other acts of service go.

Day 6- Saturday is a special day

My Saturday service was a little closer to home. Today I served my husband. He was cleaning out the garage and insulating it, so I thought I should help him. It ended up being a much bigger project than I thought it would be, so I'm glad that I helped him. I also kidnapped him and we went on a date. He works so hard for our family all week and this week seemed especially rough on him. I told him we were going to a friends house for dinner and when we got there, I asked him to go get my purse. As he was opening the car door, I ran out and jumped in the drivers seat and told him to get in. Then we went and picked up his "boyfriend"(seriously! They might as well be boyfriends! It's really just his best friend Brian) and his wife and we went to Cafe Rio for dinner and then to see Captain America. It was a great night and Kyle was totally surprised! Thank you Missy for babysitting my kids, Thank you Brian and Sharla for going with us, and Thank you Kyle for all that you do for our family and especially for me! I love you!

Day 5-Temple

For my service today, I babysat for my friend Missy so she could go to the Temple. Missy is getting ready to have her 4th baby and I had to beg her to let me watch her kids so she could go. Missy is one of the most stubborn people I know! She never let's anyone help her, but she is continually helping others. She has helped me and my family in more ways than she could ever imagine, so today was my way of paying back a fraction of the debt that I owe to her. Plus, her kids were great and they played with Kathryn all morning!! Thank you Missy, for letting me serve you and expect another call soon! I owe you big time! (I will post the picture of my service later. I have to find my cord to hook it up to my computer)

**Tomorrow is Saturday! I know everyone has cleaning, yard work, laundry, etc. to do! Let me come and help you! PLEASE call me or say Yes if I call you!!!

Day 4- Callings

Today was a different day of service. While reading scriptures with my kids this week, we have been talking about the difference between Laman and Lemuel vs. Nephi and Sam. I believe the only difference was their hearts. It consistently says in 1st Nephi how hard Laman and Lemuel's hearts were. If they would have only humbled themselves and gone to the Lord and asked Him, they would have had their answer and their hearts would have softened. We have also talked to our kids about becoming more like Nephi when we are asked to do something, especially at church. We have all been called into the Bishop's office and asked to accept a calling. Sometimes it's the calling of our dreams, but most times we come out of the office thinking, "What?! Why would I be called to that calling?" I know that I have felt that way, but I was taught to answer like Nephi....I will go and do. I bet you are wondering what this has to do with my service today. I hope this all makes sense since I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words.

As women, we are all given the Calling of Visiting Teaching. I know that I am guilty of forgetting that it's a calling. I have a woman that has been on my list for the past two years and I haven't been able to contact her once. She's actually my next door neighbor and I think I see her once every 3 weeks. I have been praying and fasting to know how to reach her. I really had no idea what to do. Every time I thought about her, I would just draw a blank..... Until, I listened to Pres. Uchtdorf's talk during the General Relief Society Meeting a few weeks ago. The last part of his talk gave me the chills! Here is what he said:

"Forget not that the Lord loves you! You are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, not matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how over-shadowed you think you may be, you’re Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. He loves you with an infinite love! You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful and glorious being in the universe. He, who created and knows the stars, knows you and your name. You are a Daughter of God."

It was so powerful and I felt like my neighbor needed to here that message. I knew I needed to get it to her, but I started to feel insecure about how she would receive it and I kept putting it off. Today I finally did it. I wrote her that message in a card and put it in her mailbox. Now I can only pray that she will actually read it and hope that she will allow it to touch her heart like it touched mine. If anyone has any ideas on what my next step with my neighbor should be, please let me know.

Day 3 continued

This is my friend Sharla! I have known her for just over 7 years. When I got home from canning apples this morning, I was thinking about how I was going to do my second act of service for the day when I suddenly thought of Sharla. I called her up and asked her if I could come over and help her.....with a slight hesitation, she said Yes! She was having her carpets cleaned and the cleaner came early, so she wasn't quite ready for him. I was able to help her move beds, pick up rooms, and vacuum. I also helped clean up her kitchen and wipe down her counters, chairs, tables, microwave and dishwasher. The whole time she kept saying "I'm so sorry that you have to do this!" Why do women (and I'm talking about myself as well) feel bad when we have to ask for help?! That is what friends and family are here for! That is why Heavenly Father gave us them! To help us! I know that when I ask for help, I feel guilty. I don't want someone to come and see my dirty house and clean it for me. I feel like I should be able to handle everything on my own. The truth is, some times we need help. We can't do everything on our own. Even though Sharla felt sorry that I was there helping her, we ended up having a lot of fun!! Because I was willing to share my time to do service today, I got to help and spend time with two very dear friends and I had fun! I encourage you to find someone to serve today and if someone asks if they can serve you, please say yes!

Day 3-Canning

SOOOO, yesterday I did NOT get to do my service because I couldn't find anyone who would let me do something for them. That means I need to do two acts of service today. I already did one this morning. I went to my neighbors house to help her can some apples. It was fun, it took half as much time as it should have because I was there to help and I learned how to can! Now I want to ask for canning items for Christmas! This is a picture of our finished product and my friend Susannah's hands....she didn't want to be in the picture. Do you see how much you all could get done with me helping?! LET ME HELP!!!

As for my second act, I am on the look out and I will be calling someone to let me come help them. If you need any help, Call Me! -For those of you in Utah, I don't live that far and I'm coming down to Utah two times this month, so let me know if I can come and help you while I'm down there.

I was talking to my brother about my blog and we both came to the conclusion that I am Addicted to noodles and cookies. It's really bad too! I think that I am going to have to go off of them for longer than 30 days. So far I am doing great though. I'm just surprised how much I LOVE noodles and cookies....Does anyone else have a weird obsession?

Day 2- Searching

Yesterday's service went really well. The kids were fantastic and we all had a great time! I realized that I should have taken a picture of them to post on here. I think I will try to take a picture of the people I am serving and maybe tell you a little bit about them. My friend Karin, who's kids I watched yesterday, had to go help her husband at work. Earlier this summer, her husband was in an accident where their horse rolled on top of him and broke his hip. They had just purchased a tree trimming business and he couldn't work for the next two months. She had to basically do his job for him! She is amazing! Anyway, it was an honor to watch their kids for them so she could go and help him out.

This weather is making my "cookie" free days harder! When it's cold outside, all I want to do is bake! Am I the only one who feels that way? I was good though and I didn't make anything.

As for today, I was surprised to get onto my blog to fine NO comments! I have basically offered myself as a slave to all of my friends and family that are within my reach and No One has any service for me to do for them??!! I just can't believe it! There has to be someone with a dirty toilet SomeWhere!! So, today's blog title is called "Searching" because I guess I will be searching for my service project today and you better let me in if I show up at your house!

Day 1 - Service and Sacrifice

Today's service actually fell into my lap. My friend Karin needed to go help her husband at his work and I am going to watch her two youngest kids for the day. I can say that babysitting is not always my favorite form of service, but I love all of my friends kids and I actually do enjoy having them over. I have found that when I babysit, I actually get more freedom from my own kids. They are happier and have someone to play with and I actually get a lot done! Sometime's I feel like it's not easy to ask someone to watch your kids. You feel like you might be intruding on their plans for the day or that your kids might be too big of a burden. I know I have felt that way, especially since we don't have any family around us to help. I'd like you all to know, that your kids are always welcome here and I will watch them anytime you need me to! (Especially now that we have grass and I don't have to worry about them bringing mud into my house!)

I'll have to let you know how I do without noodles today. I know it sounds funny to give that up, but I really do have them at least 4 times a week! They are so easy to make for dinner or lunch, so it's going to be hard. I need some new recipes...any suggestions?

First Projects

Today is the day I begin my first projects! It's exciting to begin something new, but I know that it's not easy to keep up my motivation. That's why this blog is really for all of us! We can all do it together and keep each other motivated!

Okay, so here are my projects for the next 30 days.

First: I have been feeling the need to do more service. I have had so many wonderful people help me and my family that I really want to give back. So, thus begins 30 days of Service. I'm going to do an act of service for someone everyday. I serve my family everyday, so I would like to serve someone outside of my home and get my kids involved. If you have anything that you need done, and you don't want to do it, Leave a comment and I'd be glad to come and do it! (Really! I love cleaning other peoples houses, so please let me come and scrub your toilets for you!)

My second project came to me this weekend. I was reading a book of poems to my kids and I came across this poem and it spoke a little too near to my heart.

Oodles of Noodles

I love noodles. Give me oodles.

Make a mound up to the sun.

Noodles are my favorite foodles.

I eat noodles by the ton!

That poem must have been written for me! I have a slight obsession with noodles.....okay, you can say a HUGE obsession with noodles! I love them any way I can get them! I am also a cookie junkie! Just call me the original Cookie Monster! Unfortunately, my waistline doesn't like my obsessions! So, for the next 30 days, I will be noodle and cookie free! I can tell you now, this is not going to be easy! Do you have an obsession with something? Can you give it up for the next 30 days? Let me know and we can help each other through it.

About the Blog

When I was a little girl, my mom would give me my birthday spankings, determined on how old I was, and she would always end it with "A pinch to grow on". Since the growing stopped a lot earlier than I wanted (I'm only 5'3"), the "pinch to grow on" doesn't really do anything for me in the height department. With my 30th birthday approaching, I was thinking how the "pinch" could help me grow in other ways. Thus, the birth of this blog!

There are so many things I would like to learn and do! Staying with the 30 theme, I'm going to do or learn about something that will help me grow either spiritually, physically or emotionally for 30 days. Once the 30 days is up, then I will start on a new project. I will blog my way through the 30 days and share how I have grown.

Here's the thing. I am going to need your help to pick my new projects! I am open to all suggestions, so please don't be afraid to be creative! I am probably going to do two or three things at a time, so I'm going to need a lot of suggestions! If you feel like doing any of the projects with me, Please join in!