I believe in Miracles

So this week has been an interesting one. Mom went in for a knee replacement on Wednesday and I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little bit nervous about it. She had an amazing doctor and the staff was just as amazing I am sure. Everything went well though and she has pulled through like a champ. She was in the hospital until today when we were finally able to spring her out. =^) While she was in there she had two of the best CNAs. Mark, a big, burley, bald guy and Ren, a smaller, younger kid. Mark was loud and funny and made me laugh and Ren was quieter, but still funny. They were amazing because, even though they were as different as night and day, they both had a knack for putting me totally at ease. They were attentive and caring and they made sure my mom had everything she needed. Miracle #1.

Also while my mom was in the hospital she had lots of love from those that we love. She lots of visitors and well wishers. Flowers littered her room. The flowers that mean the most to me came later last night. A very kind and loving friend, who has never met my mom, sent her flowers. A beautiful reminder of the kind of love Christ has for all of us. Miracle #2

The best miracle of the week though came from a very dear friend of ours. One who for a long time mom and I thought that we had lost. It has been months since we have talked to her and we thought that we would never hear from again. While we were at Wal-Mart filling mom's perscriptions this friend texted me and asked if she could come and see us. Tears filled my eyes as a door that I thought was closed swung wide open again. She came, we talked, and the air was cleared. Miracle #3.

Thank you Heavenly Father for the tender mercies that fill my life and bless my soul.

Change is in the Air...

Why is it that just as you get used to something and think you have it figured out everything changes??? I don't know that I like change... I mean I accept it and I move forward, but I am not sure I like it. It takes a bit for me to warm up to the idea. My ward recently lost A LOT of members and we are gaining A LOT of members. I was not very happy about it at first, but now that I have warmed up to it I am kind of excited. The anticipation of a new adventure makes my heart beat a little faster. Change is what makes or breaks us. It is how Heavenly Father helps us to grow and makes us the people he wants us to be. It's a good thing He knows us so well that He how best to help us along our journey.

Happiness Is...

Happiness is...

• A warm hug
• A smile from a friend when you need it the most
• Family who love and support you
• The laughter of a child
• The smell of rain
• A good book, warm blanket, and a cup of hot chocolate in the middle of a snowstorm
• Homemade cinnamon rolls
• The first flowers of spring
• The feeling of accomplishment after you finish a project
• Midnight movies with my big sister
• Talking to mom
• Meeting your favorite Disney characters
• Laughing until your stomach and face hurt
• Talking all night long
• All night video game marathons

And most important

• The gospel of Jesus Christ
• A living prophet who leads us
• A testimony
• Knowing I am a daughter of God

I wanna be a runner...

So I have decided that I want to be a runner. Now looking at me, runner is not the thing that one would think. I don't know what has suddenly drawn me to running other than being told that running makes people skinny. I hate running!!! I hate it with a passion, but I would like to love it. I see my friends and family who love it and I am a bit jealous. My sister has always been a runner and now a few of my good friends are really getting into it. I think it is amazing and it takes an incredible amount of determination to be able to have the will power to do it. How do I start being a runner though??? I am in no shape to just go out and run. I might die if I did. So I have a dream of being a runner and a hope that I will figure it out and be able to start and that I will eventually love it.

Go BIG or go home

Last week my friend Amanda and I went to the Biggest Loser auditions. It was definatelty an interesting experiance. The day before we went, my friend and I were joking about how funny it would be to be eating McDonalds in line. Well, Amanda and I were in line at six in the morning and the girls in front of us had a bag of McDonalds. I just had to laugh. We got talking to the girls in front of us and by seven we were pretty good friends with Drea, Rosie, Lisa, Melissa, and Rebecca. Also at 7 a man came around passing out campain flyers for Mike Lee. To be totally honest I have no idea who Mike Lee is, but this guy had a captive audience in us, since we weren't planning on going anywhere. He ended up being really cool though. He brought us gloves.

Any way three and a half hours, lots of honking horns, lots of laughter, and lots of cameras later the line finally started to move. They took us in in groups of 10 and told us that we would have seven minutes. Not seven minutes individually mind you, seven minutes as a group. We were told to be our selves and have fun when we were talking to the casting director. When we sat down, a couple of people asked serious questions and then we spent the rest of the seven minutes talking about past seasons of Biggest Loser. After our seven minutes were up we were told that we would know before the night was over if we made callbacks. Although I am still not sure how they managed that. They saw 1250 people that day. How do you remember who all you saw and what stood out. I didn't get a callback, but you know what, I am okay with that. We have a second chance by making a video and Amanda and I are starting that tomorrow. Life is good and no matter what, it was fun.

Who do you think you are????

I watched the new show Who Do You Think You Are today and it really struck a spot for me. I have been feeling like I need to do my family history. I am kind of at a stopping point though and I don't know where to go from here. I don't know where to start. There has been a lot of work done on my dad's side due to my wonderful uncle, but my mom's side is a virtual mystery to me. I know my grandma and I know her parents. My mom's father though is a totally different story. All I know about him is his name. I can't find anything on him other than that. It is kind of frustrating. I just want to have an idea of my history. So that I can answer the question who do you think you are...

Here's to hoping. :D

Sticks and Stones...

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me...

I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you...

Simple words that we know from childhood. Most of us probably said them more than once. I think that they are completely wrong. It should be: Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can hurt the most. I had an experience tonight that hurt my feelings a bit. Words were said in passing that in no way were meant to be hurtful. I know this because the person who said them doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but they hurt me none the less. I smiled and walked away, because what else could I do. I am not confrontational when it comes to something about me. He will probably never know that his words hurt me. He'll never know that I cried the whole way home because of it. It is for that reason that I am blogging tonight. We need to watch the words we say, because we never know what simple words can do to a person. The wounds that are inflicted by sticks and stones will heal. The wounds that are inflicted by words tend to have longer reaching results. Long after bruises and broken bones are gone the hurtful word lingers...